Guns & Dusty Roads: The Iron Brotherhood Series by Samantha Westlake Page A

‘criminal informant,’ and referred to Cross.  It took Kara a moment to remember that, however - the man had already felt like he was something more than just a stool pigeon, lying to save his own and his friends’ skins. 
    “He’s handling things well,” she said, aware that Rogers was waiting for an answer.  “I don’t foresee any problems.”
    “Good, good.  You’re taking a lot of risk, Sybil.”  Rogers still didn’t sound fully convinced.
    Kara was about to hang up the phone, but the man opened his mouth again, and she paused.  “Kara,” he said, and she started a little.  Rogers usually never referred to her by anything but her last name!  “Kara, take care.  Don’t forget the end goal.  Remember what’s most important.  If you need to walk away to stay safe, don’t hesitate.”
    The man was concerned about her!  Kara momentarily felt her throat close up; she was touched by his concern.  “Thank you, sir,” she said, trying not to let any of that emotion show in her voice - and failing.  “But don’t worry, sir.  I’m not in too deep.”
    “Good.  Then I’ll await your next report with bated breath, Sybil,” Rogers finished, already sounding back to his old self.  The phone clicked before Kara had even pulled it away from her ear.
    As she finished riding back to the Iron Brotherhood clubhouse, however, Kara considered those last words she’d spoken.  She would know if she was in too deep, wouldn’t she?  She’d be able to tell, be able to take a step back before going over the edge.
    The little spark that Cross seemed to have towards her, it was something to watch, but it wasn’t anything that she couldn’t handle.
    And, Kara insisted, the tiny little flame inside of her, the counterpart to what he might feel towards her, was not a threat. 
    She could squash that feeling at any time.
    It wouldn’t compromise the mission - and that was all that mattered.  She remembered what was most important.
    #
    So now, at dinner with the rest of the Iron Brotherhood bikers, Kara was being more cautious than she’d been at the previous night’s gathering.  Even before the sun had set, the other bikers had busted out a case of beers, but Kara insisted on sticking to water.
    Some of the other men raised eyebrows at that at first, but thankfully, Gimli stepped in, coming to her rescue.  “If she has another night like last night, her liver might explode!” he commented with a chuckle as he passed over Kara’s glass of water.  “Besides, I’m sure Cross needs a break after last night - after going so long without a woman, we don’t want to break him from over-use!”
    That got a laugh from the other men, and they didn’t push Kara any further. 
    When she glanced over at Cross, however, she was expecting him to look a little annoyed.  After all, he hadn’t gotten lucky, no matter what these other men might believe.  But to her surprise, he was grinning, looking somewhat rueful!
    He leaned in close to her ear a minute later.  “Trust me, you were pretty trying to me last night,” he whispered.
    Kara’s eyebrows rose.  “Nothing happened, remember?”
    “I got to see you naked - and trust me, that put some strain on a few systems that are out of use.”
    Kara almost slapped the man right there - but she settled for a sneaky grin.  “Maybe I can get you to explode tonight,” she whispered back instead, and was gratified to see Cross nearly walk into a table as he tried to saunter away.
    Of course, she wasn’t going to do anything of the sort!  It was fun to flirt back and forth with the man, but she was going to keep all of her clothes on.  So after dinner, as she helped a few other women gather up the plates and clean off the table, she listened in as the bikers discussed what to do next.
    “Bars again?  I bet I can beat that darts score of yours from last night,” one man suggested.
    Cross’s voice cut in.  “Not tonight,” he said.  “Staying in.  I