Free Heart of Steel (Demon Riders MC Book 2) by Evelyn Glass

very much involved in all of this.  Dane pulls his cell out of his pocket, turning away from her and speaking low into the phone.  Just as abruptly, he shoves the iPhone back into his pocket and reaches out to take her hand.
     
    “What’s happening?  Who was that?”  Elyse takes his hand and lets him lead her towards the front door.
     
    “Rick.  We’re meeting him somewhere safe.”  Dane gives her a meaningful look.
     
    “Here isn’t safe?”  She can’t help but look around, as if she expects someone to jump out at her.
     
    Dane lowers his voice and pulls her towards him, speaking in her ear.  “Not if the person we’re talking about has a key.  We don’t know what he’s planted in here so, for now, we don’t say anything in The Shop that we don’t expect someone else to hear.”  He pulls back and looks at her to make sure that she’s understood.
     
    Elyse nods slowly, poised to tell him that Lance wouldn’t bug the body shop, that he wouldn’t know how to, and that apart from that it was unethical and Lance wouldn’t do something so underhand.  But if her conversation with her ex from the night before had taught her anything, it was that she clearly didn’t know him anywhere near as well as she thought she did.
     
    “Good.  Let’s go.”  Dane locks up behind them and leads her towards his bike, all without letting go of her hand at any point.  “And for the record, whatever Lance has planned for the club, it can’t be any worse than me thinking he would do something to you.”
     
    Dane doesn’t give Elyse a chance to respond, handing her the helmet, which she takes wordlessly. It’s only when they’re riding through the streets that she realizes the significance of what Dane has just said to her.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER NINE
     
    It seemed a little like overkill, driving to a remote location by the lake to meet with Rick and Suzi.  But Elyse knew enough about the Demons to know that they weren’t exactly the extra-precautious type.  If Dane and Rick thought that all this cloak and dagger stuff was necessary, then there was a good reason for it.
     
    As Elyse and Dane walk up to the picnic bench where Rick and Suzi are waiting, Suzi gives them an appraising look, peering at them through the gloom.
     
    “Well, at least one good thing has come out of all of this.”  She takes in Elyse’s crumpled shirt with the buttons missing and raises an eyebrow, making her blush.
     
    “Glad to see you didn’t run screaming for the hills, Elyse, after Dane’s little performance last night.”  Rick claps a friendly hand on her shoulder, and she leans into his comforting touch.
     
    “He’s pretty hard to run away from.”  Elyse shrugs shyly, looking up at Dane and seeing the corner of his mouth quirk up into a pleased smile before his expression changes back to business.
     
    “Thanks for getting here so quickly.”  Dane looks between Rick and Suzi, taking charge of the meeting.
     
    Rick just shrugs, as if there was no need for thanks.  “You said it was important.”
     
    “It is.”  Dane nods, looking down at Elyse.  “Do you want to tell them?”
     
    They’d spoken about this when Dane had parked the bike.  Elyse nods, gathering herself together.  “Lance, the new mechanic, he’s not who you think he is.”  She looks between Suzi and Rick, their faces expressionless.  “He’s a reporter for The Gazette.”
     
    “Goddammit, I knew there was something that wasn’t right about him!”  Rick’s voice is more of a bark, and he looks up at the sky, trying to gather himself together.  When he’s recovered, he motions for Elyse to continue.
     
    She tells them about the conversation she had with Lance the night before, about how ambitious he is and how much he craves the validation and the fame that an article on the Demons would no doubt bring.  They listen to her, cursing occasionally, but hanging on her every word.
     
    “I needed to be sure before I