Page 14 of Cash’s Trouble

“And your investigators?”

“Close enough to see what happens. They need Corbin to act on the lie where they can witness it.” He turns to Lilly-Rose. “You tell everyone there that Cash rescued you, that you’re staying voluntarily and that you don’t consent to leaving with Wade. It may not work, but it’s worth a try.”

Kane taps one finger against the folder. “If he keeps pushing after that, he gets this.”

“And if Wade orders them to cuff Cash anyway?” she asks.

The sheriff looks at me. “Then Cash doesn’t resist.”

“I can manage cuffs,” I say.

Lilly-Rose turns sharply. “That isn’t reassuring.”

“It isn’t supposed to be.” I cover her hand with mine beneath the edge of the table.

Her fingers close around mine, hidden from everyone except the man across from us. The sheriff sees the movement anyway. His jaw hardens, but he keeps his attention on the plan. The warrant is meant to put me on my knees in my own yard while Corbin walks Lilly-Rose past the gates. I can take the arrest, the cuffs and every deputy watching. What I can’t take is one second in which Corbin believes there’s nobody between his hands and her.

CHAPTER 5

LILLY-ROSE

The compound changes as soon as Dad leaves. Brothers move bikes out of the main yard, clear loose tools from the garage and make sure there’s nothing a nervous deputy can mistake for a threat when Wade Corbin brings the warrant through the gates. Guns stay where they always are, on men who know how to use them. But Kane makes the rule plain: nobody draws unless Corbin does first and it goes sideways.

Cash sits at the bar with King’s blue folder beside him and a fresh set of copies spread across the counter. The rest of the old club records have disappeared from the office behind church, and nobody explains where. Kingdom Come is preparing to give the sheriff enough to put a corrupt deputy in cuffs. It isn’t volunteering to become respectable.

Dad calls once more. The judge is expected to sign before midnight, Corbin plans to arrive at first light, and outside investigators will be close enough to move when he acts on the lie. I tell Dad I understand what I need to say. Cash tells him he’ll cooperate if Corbin arrests him, though the calm way he says it makes my father warn him not to turn handcuffs into a personal challenge.

When the call ends, Kane takes the envelope of copied records and leaves the bar with Judge. Cash remains on the other side of the counter, watching me with the same controlled distance he used after our kiss. I know that look now. It means he’s already planning how to lose something before anybody can take it from him.

“What happens after tomorrow?” I ask.

“Wade Corbin gets arrested. Doran follows, assuming he’s not smart enough to disappear before the sheriff finds him.” Cash closes the folder and slides it away. “You go home once the department is clean. Back to your job at the bank when your father says it’s safe.”

Every sentence sounds reasonable. Together, they leave him out of my life.

I wait until he heads toward the side hall, then follow him into his room. He removes his cut and hangs it over the chair, exposing the fitted black shirt beneath. He knows I’m at the door without turning. “You should get some sleep.”

“So should you, but that isn’t what either of us is doing.” I close the door and lean against it. “You’ve already put me back into my old life, haven’t you?”

Cash turns, his face unreadable. “I haven’t put you anywhere.”

“You just described everything I’ll do after this, and somehow you weren’t in any of it.”

His jaw tightens. “Because I’m not interested in being the bad boy biker you tried out while the gates were closed and your blood was still full of fear. I knew before I touched you that one night wouldn’t be enough for me. That’s why I stayed away. I want more. But I don’t think this life is you. You have a nice life outside these gates, Lilly-Rose.”

The admission is quiet, almost blunt, and far more vulnerable than anything he said while naked beside me. “You think I only want the fantasy?”

“I think you’ve had three days inside my world. Before that, you watched me from a bank window and went home to a life that never had to make room for Kingdom Come and what that means.”

“I watched because I wanted you. I came into your room because I wanted you. Tomorrow, when the warrant is gone and I’m back at work, I’ll still want your bike outside the bank and your cut hanging over a chair in my house.” I move close enough to place my palms against his chest. “I want you when Dad is furious, when people stare and when the danger isn’t making everything feel sharper. Stop assuming I’ll be embarrassed by you before I’ve even had the chance.”

Cash studies me for a long moment. “Your father may never invite me to dinner.”

“That’s a hardship I’m prepared to survive.”

His mouth curves, but I hook my fingers into his belt before he can use humor to escape the rest. “You controlled everything the first time. Tonight, I want to find out how much control you really have.”

The smile disappears. Heat replaces it. “Careful, Lilly-Rose.”