Sin & Savage

by Anna Mara

  Tori’s entire body flushed underneath his raw, scrutinizing gaze and she would have bet money her cheeks were turning red too. Her pulse flickered wildly, leaping in her chest. She couldn’t logically understand why she was having such a primal reaction to his stare. But he seemed oblivious as he continued with his speech.

  “This is my kind of town and these are my kind of people. Not yours. They don’t operate by the same rules you do back in Wonderland where you come from, so when we go down this rabbit hole together, you listen to me. If I tell you to move, you move. If I tell you to stop, you stop. And if I tell you to shut the fuck up, you shut the fuck up. My world, my rules. Got that?”

  Tori glared daggers at him as he finished his speech. The heat that had begun as a physical primal reaction to him suddenly morphed into red, hot anger. How dare he speak to her like that? “Look here, you…” She was just about to tell him to go to hell when her grandmother interjected.

  “Tori! You listen to him, understand? The man knows what he’s talking about.”

  Tori’s brain sizzled as she turned to her Nana. “How can you condone the way he just spoke to me?”

  “Because I want you safe and this man is promisin’ to keep you safe, but you gotta listen to him and do what he tells you to do, do I make myself clear?” Tori remained stubbornly silent and Nana continued. “Tell me you understand or we go back to Texas tonight.”

  Tori gritted her teeth, as she turned back to the biker sitting across from her. “I understand—sir.”

  Savage nodded, pleased that she was promising to comply with his rules, even if it had been the senior who’d made Tori agree and not his tough guy persona. She had no idea the kind of rough and tough people they’d probably have to deal with this weekend in order to find Sorelli and he wasn’t going to be boxed in on how to handle them by her prim and proper morals.

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at eight sharp.” He glanced out the window at his motorcycle, its shiny chrome gleaming bright under the hot, Vegas sunshine.

  Tori’s eyes followed his and she frowned. “I’m not going on that thing. We’ll take my car.”

  “No! We take my bike or the deal’s off. My world, my rules, remember?” Insolently, he crossed his muscled, tattooed arms across his chest and threw her a sharp look that dared her to argue with him again, a look that had made many a braver man cower.

  But Tori wasn’t afraid of him. His superior, upper-handed attitude had lit a fuse of indignation inside her and she was fuming mad. But Nana was right. She needed him—she needed his talents, she needed his knowledge and she needed his big, strong muscles, especially his big, strong muscles; and if she didn’t want him getting up right now and walking off, she’d have to bite her tongue.

  She nodded. “All right. Your world, your rules.”

  A broad grin split his face and he nodded his approval at her acquiescence. “Okay, Snow White, I’m glad you decided to take my advice and shut the fuck up.” He laughed, a slow, sexy smile replacing the previous grin.

  His powerful body suddenly relaxed with careless charm and for one split second, she actually thought how wildly handsome he looked. But no matter how fiendishly good-looking the bastard was, she would never never never forget who he was—Evil—and where he had come from—Hell. That was a promise she was making to herself right here and now, and keeping. And may God forgive her for having just made a deal with the Devil himself.

  She turned to Nana beside her who was already counting out the money. The older woman pushed the stack of bills at Savage.

  “Fifteen hundred upfront, Mr. Savage and you get the rest, $1000 at the end of the three days. Tori and I are staying at the Jubilee Hotel and Casino on the Strip. I’ll give you our cell numbers too.” She scribbled the numbers on a paper napkin.

  Tori watched as his avaricious regard glued itself to the cash and he picked up the bills.

  “Thank you, ma’am.” He proceeded to count the stash in front of them, as if they were actually going to cheat him in the amount. Finishing, he smiled. “Ladies, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”

  “How do we know you’ll show up tomorrow? Maybe you’ll just keep the cash and skip out on us,” Tori challenged, not trusting the thug as far as she could throw him, which, looking over his large size, was nowhere.

  Savage pocketed the greenbacks and the napkin with their phone numbers and grinned. “You don’t. You’ll just have to wait outside your hotel tomorrow morning and see if I decide to show up.”

  “You’d better be there, mister!”

  Savage chuckled half to himself at her bravado. A slip-of-a-girl trying to push a Son of Perdition biker around—it was just too comical to consider, even if she was just about the most beautiful thing he’d seen in a long while. In fact, he’d forgotten what normal women looked like and sounded like and smelled like but this one was reminding him in spades.

  “Or what? You’ll come looking for me? Don’t make me laugh,” he teased, while at the same time admiring her courage.

  Tori knew he was making fun of her and the thought infuriated her even more. “You think you know everything, don’t you?”

  “In this town I do.”

  “Well, don’t underestimate me, Mr. Savage, just because I’m smaller than you. Have you ever tried going to bed with an itzy bitzy fly buzzing around your head? Sometimes, size doesn’t matter.”

  Suddenly, the corners of his laughing eyes crinkled even more and his voice dropped to a low, sexy, softer tone. “And sometimes it does, sweetheart.” He leaned into her from across the table.

  A crackle of sudden, raw sexual energy passed between them. Stunned, Tori jerked back in her seat. A hot blush of mortification infused her whole body, as she realized what she’d said. She hadn’t meant it like that, of course, but obviously, he, the brute that he was, had. For the life of her, she couldn’t think of a suitable retort. All she could do was sit there and allow his suddenly feverish eyes to roam the contours of her face before finally resting on her lips. Every spot on her face that he’d stared at tingled as if he had touched it with his finger and in a flash a burst of longing flooded the pit of her stomach. Why was she letting him get to her like this? Because really, he was just doing it to show her who the boss was in their little business arrangement—which was him. Well, he wasn’t going to win this battle!

  Annoyed, she turned to her grandmother beside her. It was obvious the older woman hadn’t been paying attention to their little exchange because she was busy securing her leftover cash with the elastic band again.

  Tori’s gaze swiveled back to Savage, and watched as he leaned back in his seat, his mouth twitching with humor. She could tell that he was enjoying the little game he was playing with her, and enjoying the fact that she wasn’t even more.

  Nana unintentionally broke the tension when, after stuffing her money back in her purse, she turned to her granddaughter. “Now that that’s all settled with, Tori honey, I need you to go wait for me outside. I want to talk to Mr. Savage in private.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I said so, that’s why.”

  “No! Whatever you have to tell him, I want to hear too,” Tori demanded.

  Nana’s nostrils flared. “Victoria Alexandra Jones—don’t make me start spittin’ fire. Do as you’re told right now!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, not caring that every eye in the restaurant had turned their way at her outburst.

  The biker laughed softly to himself, obviously enjoying seeing her being put in her place. She turned to him and her eyes blazed murderously but his look said he didn’t care—in fact, she deserved to be spoken to in that way. If she wanted to act like a spoiled brat, then that’s how she should be treated.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Tori gritted back at her grandmother, before slipping out of the booth and walking, with head proudly held high, to the exit.

  She felt his eyes glued to her back, following her every step out. Suddenly irritated and fed up by the both of t
hem, she hit the door hard with the flat of her palm and stomped outside into the hot, Vegas heat.

  * * *

  After making sure that her granddaughter wasn’t inside the restaurant anymore, Estelle turned to the biker sitting across from her. “I just wanted to tell you one thing, Mr. Savage. You see that child out there?”

  She pointed through the window to where Tori now stood beside the Harley bike, in her sunny, yellow sweater and with her arms insolently crossed against her chest, glaring at the pair of them through the glass.

  Savage’s eyesight followed the elder’s finger and a smile naturally came to his lips as he took in Tori’s angry stance. But no matter how big of a frown she was wearing, she was still so heart-stoppingly gorgeous.

  Her brown shoulder length hair was innocently tucked behind both ears; and her face was angelic and soft, not hard like the women he was used to. His fiery gaze travelled down her body. She was small but lush and curvy in all the right places. He felt the heat rush between his legs, making him hard for her. No doubt about it, she was beautiful. She oozed breeding and goodness and sweetness and innocence of heart—and for the first time in a very long time, Savage Monroe suddenly felt—dirty. In a flash, his dark eyes turned stormy, angry at her for making him feel this way—because compared to her, he was a no-good, worthless, piece-of-shit.

  He glanced back at Estelle. “I see her, ma’am.”

  Estelle nodded. “Good. I thought you would,” she said, knowing full well what the man had been thinking. She may have been born at night but it wasn’t last night!

  She continued, “My Tori is the most priceless thing in my whole life. She’s good, with a good heart. She believes in the goodness of people and giving people a second chance. But you and me, we know different. We’re not good like her, are we?”

  Savage stared at the older woman’s stern face. “No, ma’am, we’re not.”

  “Now it’s your job this weekend to protect that goodness. Anything bad happens to that child and I’m gonna blame you. And then, I’m gonna come lookin’ for you and I’ll castrate you myself, with my bare hands. Don’t think I can’t do it. I grew up dirt poor on a Texas farm and I’ve done things in my life that would shock even the likes of you. Do I make myself clear, sir?”

  Savage nodded, not quite believing the fearless audacity of both of these southern belles threatening someone like him. “Perfectly,” he intoned softly.

  Satisfied, Estelle nodded. “Good. I’m glad we had this chat.”

  Chapter 11

  “But why won’t you tell me what you talked about?” Tori asked for the twentieth time since they had walked back to their hotel.

  “Great balls of fire, Victoria, it’s none of your business and that’s final!” Nana plunked down on the couch in her granddaughter’s hotel room and lit up a cigarette. “My gullet needs a shot of whiskey and my stomach needs some food. Let’s go downstairs and get us some supper,” she added, neither of them having eaten anything at the pancake restaurant except for their black coffees.

  “Fine,” Tori huffed, finally accepting her Nana’s pronouncement. “But first, there’s something I have to do.”

  “What?”

  She held out her hand. “Give me that big roll of cash that’s in your purse.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m going to stash it inside the hotel safe here in my room. If I let you keep it, you’ll play the slots while I’m gone, then lose it all and that goon will come after us with a lead pipe if we don’t pay the balance of what we owe him.”

  Nana nodded. “This is true. Good thinkin’.” She reached into her purse and handed over the bundled money. “There’s over $2500 in there, by the way. What Mr. Savage doesn’t know is, I would have gone as high as $4000 for him to do the job, but we won’t tell him that, now will we, sweetpea?” She let out a naughty giggle.

  Tori smiled. “No, I think we should keep that information to ourselves.”

  Tori thought back to the last moment she’d seen Savage. After Nana had had her private chat with him, the ladies had walked out of the parking lot to return to their hotel. She’d turned back then and had spotted the biker still seated by the window, only now, Lynnette the waitress was sitting in his lap, her hands splayed across his handsome face while she kissed the hell out of him. His arms had been around her and the pair was putting on quite a window display for everyone around to see.

  Tori’s insides had twisted at the sight. But why? After all, it had nothing to do with her, and the way they were acting, well—you wouldn’t expect anything less from an animal like him anyway. And the waitress? Well, she should be fired for being so unprofessional! But considering that the restaurant was a dive anyway, that probably wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

  Nana broke into her thoughts again. “Listen sweetheart, you put $1000 of that money in the hotel safe to pay him and put the rest in your purse. You never know when you’re gonna need cash this weekend but don’t tell him you got it. You can trust Mr. Savage, but not when it comes to money. Remember to always keep your wits about you.”

  “He won’t get the best of me, Nana, don’t worry.”

  “I know, sweetheart, I have every confidence in you. And one more thing…” She reached around her neck and took off her gold crucifix and put it around her granddaughter’s neck. “Wear this and it’ll protect you. No matter what happens, the blood of Jesus will see you through. Always remember that.”

  Tori hugged her grandmother. “I love you, Nana.”

  “Me too, child,” she whispered, as she hugged Tori back even tighter.

  Chapter 12

  Thursday – 8:26 p.m.

  Delilah’s Bar

  Savage stood in front of Snake’s makeshift desk in the back office of the bar. His strong, lean body made up of pure, solid muscle, filled the dank room with a sense of power, like that of a jungle cat that could tear an arm off with one swat; and his massive tattooed biceps flexed hard as his arms tucked across his chest.

  Snake, the leader of the biker club and owner of the bar, sat behind the small table, slouching back in his chair, looking up at him. His bald head shone bright underneath the naked light bulb hanging over the room. The green snake tattoo which encircled his right arm from wrist to shoulder seemed to give off a fluorescent glow that added to the room’s evil atmosphere.

  His second-in-command, Rocker, sat in another chair beside him, his small beady eyes glommed onto the younger member standing in front of them.

  Savage grinned. “It was just like you said. They want me to help the girl find Joe Sorelli.”

  Snake sneered, feeling proud that he’d been right. “What did you tell them?”

  “That I’d do it, just like you asked me to.”

  “Good. What are they paying you?”

  “A thousand bucks for the weekend,” Savage lied effortlessly.

  Rocker laughed, interrupting the conversation. “Dude, you should have asked for more.”

  Snake’s head whipped around and glowered at the smaller man. “Did I fucking ask for your two-bit, shitty opinion, asshole?”

  Rocker lowered his snake-like, unblinking eyes, but not before throwing Savage a scowl. It was clear he was jealous of the younger man. “Sorry,” he mumbled to his boss.

  Snake continued to scowl at him. “In fact, I want you to get the fuck out of my office. I need to speak to Savage alone.”

  Rocker stalled. “I think I should stay and be a part of this.”

  “Did I ask you what you thought? No! So, get the fuck out. Now!”

  Rocker slid out of the chair and stood up. He made his way to the door but not before shooting Savage another look of pure evil.

  As the door shut behind him, Savage turned back to his boss. “What are my instructions for the weekend?”

  “I want you to stick to the girl like glue. Use her to find Sorelli.”

  “And when I do?”

  “Kill him. He owes me money and he won’t pay.”

&nbs
p; “Why kill him? I can break a few bones and put him in the hospital. You’ll get your money soon enough. You know that’s my specialty.”

  Snake nodded. “You’re my top earner and you bring in a lot of money for this club, but I want an example made of Sorelli. I want him dead, no questions asked. Can you do it?”

  Savage smirked. “You know I can.”

  Snake laughed. The sound he made was almost like a rattlesnake’s hiss. “Yeah, I know you can.” He shot the younger man a look of admiration. It was obvious that even though he was the boss, he respected Savage’s brutal abilities.

  Savage didn’t join in with the laughter, his expression remaining cold and all business. “And the girl and her grandmother? What do you want me to do with them once I find Sorelli?”

  “Kill them both and make their bodies disappear, what else? I don’t want any loose ends coming back to bite our asses.”

  Savage nodded. “Okay, but before I do, I can have some—fun with the girl, right?”

  Snake let out another peel of laughter. “Have all the fun you want, dude, I don’t give a fuck, but don’t let Wizard find out. He’ll be jealous as all hell and I don’t want any more conflict around here. We’re one crew and we stick together, got that?”

  Savage remained cool and remote. “Loud and clear,” he affirmed to the man sitting in front of him.

  Snake’s reptilian eyes flicked over the younger biker and he shook his head in amazement. Savage Monroe had to have been the coldest, most calculating, meanest, son-of-a-bitch he’d ever met in his life, and he had met them all. He was also the best money-making machine the Sons of Perdition had ever had too. In fact, everyone knew that there was nothing Savage Monroe liked more than making money—not pussy or drugs or fighting—nothing—and if the prick continued to keep earning like he had since day one…well, maybe he just might find himself second-in-command of the club one day soon, sitting right beside Snake himself.