Sean sat up, worry turning his gaze a dark amber. “Hell. We have to deal with Gran on top of this?”
“And no phones to speak of.”
Sean groaned.
“But hey, things are looking up,” she said with false cheer. “I gave King Eric one hour to come to his senses and let us go.” Vicki checked a nonexistent watch on her wrist. “So hey, we’re almost saved.”
She sagged onto the couch next to Sean and laid her head on his shoulder.
He hugged her tight, his arm around her, and kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry, Vicki. I’ll find a way out of this mess for us. Butyou’redealing with Gran.”
“Not fair.”
“Better you than me. Besides, you know you’re her favorite.”
Vicki sighed. “Gimme a few minutes. I feel sick from eating so many pancakes.”
Her cousin’s stomach chose that moment to rumble.
“You need to meet Rule. He doesn’t talk much, but he sure can cook.”
They sat without speaking, feeling each other’s exhaustion.
“The silence here is nice, you know?”
Sean nodded. “Just going to close my eyes a sec.”
Vicki did too, after convincing herself she’d find a way to make Sean deal with her great-grandmother while she rescued them from the ravenous Ravagers. Smiling at her play on words, she closed her eyes for just a minute.
Or two.
Chapter Fourteen
Dom grinned at the sour look on Eric’s face. Priceless. Prime finally had a worthy female, and he didn’t know how to handle her. Sure, they could keep Vicki here indefinitely. But they didn’t want her unhappy. Unlike the Lawless clan, the Savages prided themselves on pleasing their females. And there was no doubt in his mind that Vicki belonged.
“Well, Prime? What do you want to do about our new guest?”
“Not a damn thing. That woman is going to accept her place. One way or the other.”
The gathering menace on Eric’s face should have worried him, but Dom had a feeling Vicki would hold her own. In the short time she’d been with them, she’d nearly overpowered them twice and had taken on Tommy Chen, a man known throughout the city as the leader of the underground. Hell, he ruled The Tombs.
“Yeah, well, something we should consider. Chen’s after her. He won’t stop because this isn’t his territory. We need to find out exactly what business our female had with him.”
Eric raised a brow. “Our female?”
Dom flushed. “Say what you want, but you know that as your guard I’m the closest thing you have to a shadow. She’s yours, yes, but that very fact makes her mine as well.”
“I know. I just wanted to see if you knew it.” Eric paused. “What do you really think, Dom? You told me to mark her, and I did. The sex was incredible. But she’s human. I’m not so sure I did the right thing.”
“We’re not talking about you claiming her, Eric.”Not yet.“No one’s going to protest you taking her as consort. The woman’s a walking wet dream.”
“It’s bad enough we have two females in the pack who won’t conform. And now Diana’s marked a non-Ravager as well?” Eric swore. “She and Kate are a huge pain in my ass. They do nothing the way they’re supposed to. I should have given them to another pack when they tumbled into this stale world. But no,my guardtold me to take them in. Give them a home, a family.” Eric snorted. “You’re fired.”
Dom ignored him. He’d been fired so many times he’d lost count. “Speaking of Kate. There’s something not right about her.”
“What’s wrong?” Eric frowned. Though he constantly bitched about the females in their pack, he worried over them like a proverbial mother hen. “Is she sick?”
“No, not sick.” Dom wasn’t sure if what he thought was true. Their packmate had been putting out some strange vibes lately, and her displeasure with Jesse and Logan felt more like jealousy than real anger. An interesting dynamic that would drive Eric crazy. Best to let it lie until he knew something more concrete. “It might be nothing. Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on her. Butyouneed to pay better attention to Nev. I still think it was a mistake to let any of their clan live. Fucking integrate them already and be done with it.”
