by Sarah Bale
“What fucking dinner? With who?”
I hate feeling like I don’t know what’s fucking going on, even if I don’t know what’s going on. I’m supposed to make sure my men and their women are taken care of and I’ve failed again.
King says, “The classmate asked her to dinner. Some fancy place. She wasn’t going to go, but we all think it’s a good idea if she does, especially after getting the third photo. See if he trips up and tries something.”
“Do you think it’s safe?”
“We’ll all be there. We were hoping you would be there, too.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
He gives me a look. “Saint, we know you care about her, too. Fucking get over yourself. This is about Liv. We’ve got to do whatever it takes to protect her.”
Razor agrees, “You’re only hurting her by pushing her away.”
They’re fucking right.
“I’ll go.”
Razor actually looks relieved. “Good. I’ll let her know.”
“Where is she now?”
King answers, “She’s with Bash. He’s bringing her home.”
Home.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Is her room ready?”
“She’s not staying in her room. She’s staying with us. We’ll figure out some sort of system that works for everyone, but she’s not to be alone.”
“I agree.” I stand. “I’m going to make a call.”
I make it out of the room before they can see the tears in my eyes. Goddamn it! I sent her away to keep her safe, and now I find out that I probably pushed her right toward the fucker who’s stalking her.
Fuck.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dial someone I didn’t think I’d ever be calling again.
“Saint,” Agent Hill greets. “To what do I owe this pleasure to?”
“Someone is stalking Olivia. Taking photos of her and leaving them for her to find.”
Agent Hill tells someone he’s stepping out of his office. A moment later he asks, “Do you have any suspects?”
“She thinks it’s a classmate. I was just informed of this, or I would have called sooner.”
“I can make sure she has eyes on her at all times.”
“No need. We’re going to take care of it.”
He makes a sound. “I’m assuming this will all be on the legal side, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“She’s supposed to go to dinner with him. Can you do me a favor?”
“Depends on the favor?”
“Check the guy out. And be there if we call.”
“I’ll do what I can, but this is more of local police business.”
“I thought you’d say that.”
“Like I said, I’ll do what I can.” He pauses. “How did this happen under your watch?”
“She wasn’t under our watch. After our meeting following the rally, my club officers and I agreed that she would be better off without us.”
He responds. “It appears you were wrong. I’ll be in touch later.”
The call ends and I’m left to my own thoughts. I was honest when I told Agent Hill we were going to handle this in a legal way, but old habits die hard. And I’ve never done well with people who go after those that I love.
Love.
Shit.
How am I ever going to make this up to her?
I shove the side door open and go outside. Even out here I’m reminded of her. The first night we met she had a panic attack. I run my finger over the rough brick of the building, remembering how I told her to work past the attack.
One of the Prospects sees me, and calls out, “Can I get you anything, Prez?”
“A bottle of Jack and clear everyone out from here. I want to be alone.”
The Prospect scurries off to do my bidding and I sit on one of the metal chairs. He’s back a moment later, handing me a bottle of Jack and a glass. Poor fucker. He has no idea that I don’t need a glass. Unscrewing the lid, I take a long drink. And then another.
I have no idea how long I’ve been out here when King comes outside and sits in the chair next to me. I pass him the bottle of Jack.
“She’s here.”
I nod. “I assumed as much.”
“You going to go to her? She’s in Bash’s room.”
I run my hand through my hair. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Saint, I’m going to lay it out here. I saw the photo at the Purring Pussy. We all did. We all know you two still have it bad for each other. What none of us can figure out is why you keep doing this? Why do you keep pushing her away?”
Closing my eyes, I can almost see her there, agreeing with King. If she were alive, she’d be so pissed at me right now, asking me what I was thinking. And I would have no answer. Because I don’t know why I’m doing this. I… fuck. I want Olivia. And it scares the ever-loving shit out of me.
“Is it because of Mary?”
King is the only motherfucker alive who would dare say her name to my face.
But I nod.
“Yeah.”
“Saint, she would want you to be happy.”
I know what he’s going to say next. He’s going to say that it’s been six years. That I should be over losing her. All things I know. All things that my fucking head can’t seem to get my fucking heart to understand.
“Did I ever tell you about the last conversation I had with her?”
This makes me sit up straight.
“No, I don’t think you have.”
He takes another drink before handing me the bottle. I take one, too, for good measure.
“I was out with the guys, getting fucked up. We came back real late, but Mary was still up. She was knitting or crocheting something. A blanket, I think.”
Grief tears at my heart. I know exactly what he’s talking about. That blanket is in my room, in a box. It was one of the things I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of after she died.
“She asked what I was doing out, and I told her I was up to no good. You know how she was. She smiled and said there was a lot of that going on around the club.” He smiles, remembering. “When I asked where you were, she said you’d gone to bed because you were exhausted from club business.”
I nod. “She never did ask questions, but she always knew when shit was going down.”
“She definitely knew that night. I asked her why she was still up, and she said she wasn’t feeling very well.”
The lump in my throat is so thick that I can barely swallow. If only I had known-
“She put the blanket and yarn aside and told me ‘King, I want you to promise me something.’ ‘Anything,’ I told her. She gave me a long look and said, ‘You have to swear that you’ll remind him that he deserves to be happy.’” He takes the bottle from me, taking a long swig. “Saint, I swear she knew something was going to happen. I mean, why else would she say that?”
Tears slowly find their way down my cheeks. My sweet Mary – god, she didn’t deserve the ending she got. She was the best of the best and when she died, I died, too.
When I look at King, his eyes are misty, too.
“What did you tell her?”
“That I would, but that you had her and that was all the happiness you needed.” He swipes at his eyes. “I’ve thought about that conversation several times since we met Liv. Do you remember the night you told me about her? When I asked if she was a club whore?”
I nod. Of course I fucking remembered.
“You got so pissed that I implied she was a whore. But then it hit me – you liked her. A lot. I kept waiting for you to make a move, but you didn’t.” He looks me in the eyes. “I didn’t put two and two together until the other night.”
“And what’s that?”
“You haven’t gone after her because of Mary.”
“I can’t say that you’re wrong.”
Because he’s not.
“Saint, by not being happy, you’re disrespe
cting Mary’s final wish.”
“Don’t fucking do that. Don’t use my dead wife to guilt me into doing something.”
“I’m not, but you need to face the music before it’s too late. We’re all being given a second chance with Liv. If we don’t take it, we’re fucking fools and she’s the one who will pay because of it.” He stands. “Go to her, Saint. Go to her and let her know how much you care. Before you wake up one day and find you’re too late.”
14
Olivia
It’s surreal being back at the clubhouse. Everything is the same, and yet nothing is the same. It strange not seeing Jas at the bar. There’s a different woman there, passing out drinks. Some of the bikers see me and wave. Others glare. But Bash puts his arm around me, and they turn their attention elsewhere.
“Come on. Let’s go to my room.”
He leads me down the familiar hallway to his room. Inside, Razor is waiting, and he pulls me into his arms.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just shaken.”
Bash hands him the photo and Razor curses. “This is my fucking fault. I shouldn’t have fucked you against the side of your goddamn house.”
“Razor, it’s not your fault some sicko is out there, watching me.”
He hugs me again, holding me close. But I can feel tension in his body.
Bash slaps his shoulder. “Come on, man. Give her a moment to catch her breath.”
Razor lets me go and says, “I packed you a bag before I left your place. We can go back tomorrow and get whatever else you need.”
I go to the bag at the foot of Bash’s bed. Inside, I find clothes, my schoolbooks, and even my laptop.
“I didn’t even notice it was gone this morning.”
King walks in and says, “That’s because you were too busy doing other things.”
I freeze. “Oh god. Will the next photo be of me and Bash?”
Razor shakes his head vehemently. “Not a fucking chance. The system I put up in your house is the best in the world. The pervert would literally have to be in the house to be able to snap another photo.”
Bash agrees, “Razor is the best at what he does.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I run my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know if I can go to dinner and sit across from Chase. If it’s him-”
King says, “Nothing will happen. I swear.”
I want to believe him, but I’m also human enough to admit that I’m scared. If the stalker is Chase, he’s managed to be one step ahead of me the entire time. And I have no idea why. I haven’t encouraged him. Hell, I’ve barely even spoken to him.
“What if he tries something?”
“We’ll all be there.” Saint says from the doorway.
I want to run to him. To feel the protectiveness of his arms. But, I’m frozen in place.
He comes into the room, kneeling in front of me. “Liv, I am so fucking sorry.”
And then he pulls me into his embrace. The crazy thing is – I feel like I’m finally home. I hug him back, blinking away tears.
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“I do. And I might spend the rest of my life telling you how sorry I am.”
“About fucking time,” Razor says. “But we need to make sure everyone knows the plan for tomorrow.”
Saint whispers into my ear, “We’ll talk later.”
He lets me go but moves to sit next to me on the bed, where he has his hand on my leg. King smiles at me across the room and I wonder if he had something to do with this.
Razor says, “Okay. This prick is too cocky for his own good and we’re going to get him to slip up. Liv mentioned that he gets mad when she refuses to let him do things for her.”
“At the party, he was livid that I wouldn’t drink the drink he brought me. When I said I wanted water, I really thought he was going to snap.”
“You’re going to push his buttons all night. Try to get him to mess up. We’ll all be there, watching. If he tries anything, we’ll stop him before knows what’s happening.”
“How are you going to get in? Chase made it sound like this opening was the hottest ticket in the world.”
King speaks up. “I know the owner of the restaurant, and he owes me a favor. He wasn’t happy about it but knows better than to go against the club.”
Saint nods his approval and says, “Good. Let’s make sure we take care of this fucker once and for all.”
I end up wearing a dress that belongs to Foxy, one of the club whores. If she is surprised to see me back at the clubhouse, she doesn’t let it show. Instead, she helps me get dressed, making me look better than I’ve ever looked before. The black cocktail dress shows just enough skin to be enticing, but not too much. She works and teases my hair into a faux hawk that’s held in place by a million clear hair bands.
“Good luck getting them all out,” she laughs. “You’ll be finding hair bands for weeks after this.”
“Foxy, this is seriously amazing.”
“I used to do hair before I came here.” She frowns. “I miss it sometimes.”
Saint says from the doorway, “Maybe I should invest in a hair salon, then, because you’re talented, Foxy.”
Her cheeks turn pink. “Well, if you ever do, let me know. I’d be interested.” She hands me a clear gloss. “Just put this on a few times throughout the night. It’ll keep the lip stain from rubbing off.”
“Thank you again for helping me.”
She leaves and Saint looks me over. The heat in his eyes says it all – he likes the way I look. And I like the way he stares at me.
“Are you ready to go?”
I have to be at my townhouse in thirty minutes to ensure I’m there when Chase comes to pick me up.
“Not really.” I let out a nervous laugh. “I’m wishing I told him we’d meet at the restaurant. I don’t want to be in a car alone with him.”
“Razor is taking care of that. Chase is going to find his car has a flat tire. Or two. When he calls for a car service, guess who will be there to drive?”
“Who?”
He bows at the waist. “Madame. At your service.”
“That’s brilliant, but what if he tries to take one of his roommate’s vehicles?”
“They’ll find they’ve all driven over nails.” He goes on, “Bash and King will be at the restaurant when you get there. Razor is going to follow us to make sure nothing happens on the way.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything.”
“Almost.” He pulls a box from his pocket, opening it. “A camera.”
Inside the velvet box sits a pin shaped like a daisy.
I smile. “You remembered I like daises.”
He lifts it, pinning it to my dress. Goosebumps lift on my skin when his fingers brush my exposed flesh.
He clears his throat. “Ready?”
“Not really. But I’ll do what it takes to stop Chase.”
“Let’s go.”
We go outside, to the shop. Saint is a car man, something that adds to his sexiness. When he takes me to a black Rolls-Royce Phantom, I stop.
“You’re joking.”
He opens the passenger door. “My lady.”
Grinning, I get in. This is, without a doubt, the most expensive vehicle I’ve ever been in. The black leather seats have the Devil’s Regents logo embroidered on the headrests and I run my finger over it. Saint goes to the driver’s side, sliding in. He’s a massive guy, but this car looks like it was made for him.
He starts the engine with a push of a button. On the hood, a golden ornament rises.
“This is seriously like something out of a movie.”
He grins. “Just wait.”
He pushes a button and on the ceiling above us a million tiny stars light up.
“Saint. This is awesome.”
“The view’s even better from the backseat.”
Heat floods my body at his words. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by them, but his deep, g
ravelly voice does things to me. His spicy cologne. The scent of cigar smoke that lingers in the air. The rock song playing softly on the radio in the background. I’m reminded of the first night we met, and I shift, trying to get my body under control.
“Liv?”
I turn so I’m facing him. His eyes are dark with lust, mirroring how I feel.
“Kiss me, Saint.”
And he does. God. He fucking does. His mouth covers mine, parting my lips with his tongue. I kiss him back, savoring every moment. I’ve waited for this for so long and it’s so much better than I thought it would be.
We’re both breathless when we pull apart.
He presses his forehead to mine. “We’ll finish this later. That’s a promise.”
I’m so turned on that I can barely think. That kiss was… wow.
Saint backs out of the garage, and reaches over, taking my hand into his. The drive to my townhouse takes no time, and we’re soon pulling into the driveway.
“Is your roommate gone?”
There aren’t any lights on inside, so I nod. “She must be.”
“How you feeling?”
“A little sexually frustrated, to be honest.”
Saint looks at the watch on his wrist and my heart leaps.
“Let’s move to the back, so I can show you the lights.”
But the look in his eyes is pure fucking sin. We both open our doors and move to the backseat. He’s not kidding when he says that the view is more impressive from the back. There’s enough leg room that he can stretch his legs out. And the star-covered ceiling twinkles above us.
“Lean back.”
I do as he says while he pushes a button, making the windows go dark. It’s almost pitch black inside, except for the lights on the ceiling.
Saint moves, putting his hand on my knees.
“Liv, I want to kiss you somewhere else. That is, if you’ll let me.”
An actual whimper escapes my lips. “Please.”
His hands slide under my dress, hiking it up in the process. When he gets to my thong, he loops his fingers through the straps and pulls it off. He inhales deeply, and I know without seeing that he’s got my thong to his face again.
“I’ve thought about this a lot,” he says. “Since that night at the Purring Pussy.”