Belle let out a shaky breath and leaned against the wall in the corner of the small room, trying to distance herself from the two giant men. She didn’t want to look at either of them—but Beast stepped closer to her, not crowding her, just offering his presence as he had earlier in the parking lot.
“Belle,” he murmured, voice deep but gentle. “What’s going on?”
She looked up at him, her throat tight. “Shane and I broke up about a month ago, and let’s just say that he’s not been too happy about the breakup.”
Savage’s brow lifted. “Thought you said it was a clean break and that he was fine with it.”
“It was,” she said. “For about a week.” Beast’s jaw flexed. He didn’t say anything, but she felt the shift in him—the silent, simmering anger, and the protective coil tightening. He had no right to be that way with her. They hadn’t even known each other for a full twenty-four hours, yet he was hovering over her, protecting her, and for some strange reason, that she couldn’t explain, she allowed it. Hell, she liked it, not that she’d admit that.
Belle continued, voice barely above a whisper. “He started showing up everywhere. The grocery store, outside the diner when I’d stop there for dinner, he was even here after my shiftended. He’d sit in the parking lot for hours and wait for me to come out of the bar. And every night when I went out to my car, he was there, watching.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Savage snapped. “I could have made sure that he left you alone. I could have at least made sure that someone walked you out to your car every night, Belle.” That was exactly why she didn’t tell Savage or anyone else about Shane. She didn’t want to become a burden to the bikers, who she knew would go out of their way to protect her. She thought that she could take care of Shane herself, but today had proved her wrong.
Belle’s eyes filled with heat—not tears, but frustration. She was ashamed that she had ignored the problem and let things get so bad with Shane. She was afraid, and that was something that she didn’t want to admit. “I didn’t tell you or anyone else because I thought he’d stop. I didn’t want to drag the club into something that might just be him acting out because he was mad at me. I kept silent because I didn’t want to be someone you all had to rescue.”
Savage muttered a curse and ran a hand over his jaw. “Belle, you work here. That makes you mine to protect. That makes this club and all the members your family. Don’t ever think you’re a burden to me or any of us.” Her throat clenched. She looked away, trying to keep her tears at bay.
Beast stepped closer, his voice low. “Did he ever hurt you?”
Belle shook her head immediately. “No. He never laid a hand on me. He just started following me and asking questions about who I was with and what I was doing. He’d act normally in public, but the moment we were alone, he turned cold and controlling—even verbally abusive.”
Beast’s hands curled into fists at his sides. “He threatened you?”
Her voice dropped. “Not outright. Just enough to make me wonder if he’d snap and do the things that he threatened to do. I couldn’t take his questioning me and following me anymore, so I broke up with him. He seemed to be okay with it until a couple of weeks ago. That’s when I noticed him following me and waiting in the parking lot after I got out of work.”
Savage cursed again. “And he knew you were working here—so now he’s bringing this shit to my parking lot. I’m betting he’s the reason why you're stuck here waiting for new tires,” Savage said to Beast. Belle finally met Beast’s gaze, and the intensity in his eyes nearly made her step back.
“Belle,” he said quietly, “this isn’t just some ex acting stupid. That man came here to throw down a challenge, and I don’t think that he’s done.” A shiver ran up her spine. Hearing it out loud made the truth harder to swallow.
Savage straightened. “We’ll handle it. I’ll loop Bolt, Ryder, and Banshee in. Nobody bothers you, Belle, without answering to the club.”
Belle exhaled shakily. “Savage, I don’t want?—”
“You don’t get a vote,” Savage said bluntly. “This is happening whether you like it or not.” She wanted to tell him that she didn’t like it, not one bit, but she also knew that it wouldn’t matter.
Beast stepped even closer, voice softer than Savage’s but somehow more terrifying. “You’re not dealing with him alone again. Not while I’m here.”
Belle stared at him, heart thudding too fast. “Beast, you’re only stuck here until your tires come in. You don’t owe me anything. And you don’t need to get caught up in my messy life.”
He didn’t blink. “Someone slashed my rig’s tires last night. And if your ex is the kind of asshole who thinks he owns you, then I’d bet money it wasn’t random.”
Savage’s eyes snapped to Belle. “Do you think that he saw you and Beast talking last night?”
Belle swallowed hard. “He—he might’ve. If he were in his usual place in the parking lot yesterday evening, then he might have been able to see the two of us talking at the bar. But I talk to a lot of men around here,” she said. Beast growled something under his breath.
Savage pushed off the desk. “Yeah, but you don’t talk to them the way that you’ve been talking to Beast. If he saw you two talking, then we’re dealing with a jealous, territorial idiot with too much time on his hands and not enough brain cells. Fantastic.”
Belle wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold. “This is why I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want it to turn into a club problem. Wait, what do you mean that I don’t talk to the other guys the way that I talk to Beast?” she almost whispered.
Savage softened, just a fraction. “Belle. This isn’t on you. This is on your ex. As for the way that you talk to Beast, I think that's something for the two of you to figure out. I’m going to check on the bar. You should take the night off and make sure that you let someone walk you to your car before you just leave out of here.” Savage left the office, leaving her alone with Beast, and she wondered why he was still staring her down the way that he was.
Beast reached out, hesitated for half a second, then laid a gentle hand on her arm—warm, grounding, and steady. “You’re safe,” he said. “I’ll make damn sure of it.” Her breath shook as she exhaled. She believed him, and that terrified her almost as much as Shane did.
BEAST
Beast hadn’t expected to feel this furious on someone else’s behalf. It had been a damn long time since he felt much of anything for someone else. He wanted to chalk it up to him just being a decent human being, but there was more to it than that. He couldn’t explain it really, but he felt protective of Belle when he had no right to be.
He’d spent most of this past year running—a lone wolf, quiet, keeping to the roads, and minding his own business. But standing in Savage’s office with Belle looking small and tense against the wall, something dark and unfamiliar settled in his chest. It was a possessive, protective anger he didn’t try to talk himself out of because Belle allowed him to be that way with her.
