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5
Gallen led her down the hall by the hand, Taya almost jogging to keep up. Abruptly, he stopped and hugged her from behind, his lips nipping at her ear lobe.
"Giggle and call me a bad boy," he whispered.
"What?" She still felt light headed and well out of her comfort zone.
His fingers tickled her ribs. Taya shrieked. "Stop that...” she quickly remembered her line, “you... bad boy."
Gallen reached forward and opened the door they were standing in front of. He swiped her on the backside to get her moving inside. She giggled again as he kicked the door closed. He flipped the lock over and came straight back to her, cradling her face in his hands.
Her tummy flipped as he gently ran his thumb over her cheek. She was still reeling from that kiss and now she was about to melt into a puddle at his feet.
"What happened?" he whispered.
"Huh?" she was staring at his lips, remembering how they tasted.
"Your face? Who did this to you?"
She raised her eyes to his and reality slammed back into her. He wasn't staring at her with lust, only concern. You idiot, you're undercover. This is a job!
She stepped away from his touch, raising her hand to her face. A bruise must be blooming across her injured cheek. "Jesse. You were right, he's a loose cannon."
Gallen sighed. "He's an animal. What happened?"
They took a seat on the bed, side by side and Taya filled him in on what she'd learnt, as well as Jesse's overreaction to her presence.
"Do you think the other clubs are telling the truth about not knowing where Riley is?"
Gallen shook his head. "Who knows? The code of honour between the clubs is pretty fragile at the best of times."
"Could Riley have joined another club?"
"No. There's no way."
She picked at the balled cotton on the blanket beside her. "We would know if he’d become an informant. Wouldn't we?"
"For the New South Wales police, definitely. What about the feds?”
A familiar anxiety started to twist and turn inside her. “I have no knowledge of any other operation.”
The bed groaned as Gallen stood and began to pace the tiny space. He scrubbed his hand over his scalp. His silence only increased the tension in her gut. She'd been here before. She couldn’t let history repeat itself.
She sprang to her feet. "I think we should make contact with the boss." Her words came out too fast and too loud.
"Shh," Gallen stepped closer to her. "Keep your voice down."
"I'm sorry, I just-"
"I know about the shooting."
Taya froze.
"You missed the signal and a cop died."
All the oxygen in the room seemed to dissolve. Taya struggled to draw breath. The walls closed in around her and she found herself back in Melbourne, standing over the body of her partner after he was shot by another officer. He was dead because someone had screwed up the communication.
"McGovern!" Gallen shook her by the shoulders, bringing her back into the present. "Pull yourself together or you will get us both killed."
