My monster, and I was his woman.
“That’s because your buddy here learned this new trick where he-”
“Jesus,” Viper got up and moved away. Ace chuckled and shook his head before he pulled something from his pocket.
“I took the liberty of having this made,” he said, handing them to me. “The cut is in your room. I had Sheridan order it in, and she put it in there the night we went to Belfast.”
I took the patches off him and looked down at the one that clearly statedProperty Ofand another one that saidSavage. Looking up at Savage, he smiled down at me.
“About damn time,” he said as he chuckled.
I ran my fingers over the stitching, especially over his name. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I realised this was the official claiming, and I was excited for it. I’d never felt this way with Dog. I never truly felt like I belonged with him, and yet with Savage, I knew I did. He loved me for me, never told me to cover up when he knew I was comfortable in denim shorts and crop tops, never told me to stop drinking when I was getting tipsy. Instead, he held my hair back and let me throw up before he fed me his potato mash with broth. I’d never felt more protected than I did with him. He was…everything I had ever dreamed. It was almost like teenage me manifested him, and I was too stupid to see him before now.
“Can I show you something?” I asked him. Savage nodded and we headed out of the clubhouse. No one was outside right now, so it was the perfect time.
“What’s up, baby?”
I lifted my shirt up and showed him the tattoo I’d had done by Orla earlier this morning. Savage’s smile was broad as he took in my tattoo over my ribcage.
“That had to have hurt.”
I shrugged. “I don’t mind a little pain when it’s something I want.”
“I’ll remember that for later,” he said against my lips. He kissed me hard, wrapping his arm around my waist. I could feel how hard seeing myProperty of Savagetattoo had made him. He ground it into my hip, causing me to moan. He pulled away when he saw someone come into the compound from behind me. I turned in his arm and saw Brogan pull up.
“This must be about Darby’s protection, right?”
“She doesn’t really need it anymore,” he said. “Come on, he doesn’t look happy.”
I took Savage’s hand as he led me over to where Brogan stood by his car.
“Brogan.”
“Savage, just the man I wanted to see. Shona, it’s nice to see you again.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, seeing the way he was trying to avoid my eyes.
“We need to go inside.”
Savage shot me a look and then looked back at Brogan. “Head in. We’ll follow.”
Brogan led the way into the clubhouse. I held onto Savage’s hand a little too tight. He ran his thumb over the back of my hand, comforting me. Brogan slid into the booth with Ace, and we sat on the opposite side.
“What is it?” I asked again.
“We received word that all bodies were accounted for except for one. There was one man who was not at the clubhouse that night, because he was home with his child who happened to be sick.”
“He’s coming after us?”
Brogan shook his head. “I don’t know for sure, but he has blocked my request to have Darby placed in witness protection. Since there was nothing to report on now that the clubhouse is gone, witsec aren’t going to take the case, which means we can’t protect her. At first I didn’t see a problem, she could easily integrate into this club with you but when I found a few searches were done on the house she’d been in, I looked into it.”
“It’s one of my brothers, isn’t it?” I asked him. He looked at me then, and I saw the answer before he nodded.
“Bran. Since he is her older brother, and he is technically married with a good family and no criminal record, if he asks for Darby, we do have to hand her over.”
“She’s eighteen,” I argued. “She can live where she wants, right?”
“Technically, yes. When I handed her over to Tierney to watch when you guys were in Belfast, she told me that Darby was asking about the club, what was happening and when she could return.”
