Butcher brushed his thumb lightly across her hip. “Yeah.”
Emotion flashed across her face instantly. “Someone could die.”
Butcher held her gaze steadily. “Baby, somebody already declared war against you, so that means they declared war against us.”
Princess surprised everyone as she slowly stood up from his lap and looked around the table at every biker there. “If you do this—” Her voice shook slightly before steadying again. “You’re all risking yourselves because of me.”
Trigger snorted. “Yeah, that’s kinda how clubs work.”
Lynch nodded his agreement. “You’re family now.”
Princess looked completely blindsided by that word—family. Butcher stood slowly beside her before she could get overwhelmed by the emotion building in the room, and he did something he hadn’t done in over a decade. He reached for the cut lying across the back of his chair, with the new, partially finished Savage Bastards patch on it. The unfinished patch felt heavy in his hands. The room went silent as he slid it onto his shoulders. Princess stared at him like she had stopped breathing entirely. And honestly, he understood why. Because the second the leather settled against his back, he stopped feeling like a man running from his past. He felt like a Prez.
Chloe smiled at him. “There he is.” Butcher looked around the room slowly at his brothers, at the woman he loved, and the family he somehow found again when he thought that part of his life was dead forever.
Then his eyes hardened. “Romano wants a war?” A dangerous grin spread across his face slowly. “Let’s show him what happens when somebody threatens the Royal Bastards.”
Mississippi storms hit hard. The sky cracked open just after midnight, thunder rattling the walls of Wade’s bar while rain hammered against the roof hard enough to drown out half the noise inside. It was the perfect weather for violence.
Butcher stood near the front window wearing his cut while lightning flashed across the parking lot outside. The leather settled more heavily on his shoulders tonight, making everything feel real now. Behind him, his brothers moved through the bar with controlled purpose—checking weapons and getting everything ready to go to war with Princess’s father. There was no fear anywhere in the room, which was exactly how it should be.
Princess sat at the end of the bar, wrapped in one of his hoodies, while Chloe stayed beside her, talking quietly. Every few seconds, Princess’s eyes drifted back toward him automatically. She was checking on him, and that thought hit him right in the damn chest, because somebody loved him enough to be afraid for him. That was new.
An engine roared outside through the storm, then another, and another. Butcher checked the parking lot to find three black SUVs parked out front of the bar. Wade grinned slowly from beside the jukebox. “Showtime.”
The front doors opened hard enough to slam against the walls, and Marco stepped inside first with six men behind him—all armed. Her father was sparing no expense when it came to arming his men. They were all wearing expensive suits that had been ruined by rainwater, and right behind them, Vittorio Romano himself walked into the bar like he owned the world. He wasn’t taking any chances with Princess. By showing up himself, he’d guarantee that he’d get the job done. The problem with his logic was that Butcher had no intention of letting her go—ever.
Princess went completely still behind Butcher, and he felt it instantly. The room seemed to get colder, because this was the man who hurt her. He was the man who made fear live in her eyes, and suddenly, Butcher understood something ugly about himself—he wanted to kill him.
Romano’s gaze landed immediately on Princess and then slowly shifted toward Butcher. Disgust curled across his face. “So,” Romano said smoothly, “you’re the biker.”
Butcher stepped forward. “And you’re the asshole.” Several Bastards snorted behind him, but Romano didn’t look impressed.
“You’ve involved yourself in business that doesn’t concern you,” her father continued.
“The woman you tried to sell is mine, so it concerns me,” Butcher countered. Princess sucked in a quiet breath behind him.
Romano’s expression hardened instantly. “She is my daughter.”
“No,” Butcher said coldly. “She’s a person.” Silence slammed through the bar, and Princess stared at him like her entire world tilted sideways.
Romano’s jaw flexed. “You think she belongs here?” he sneered. “With criminals?”
Wade looked deeply offended. “Wow, that’s just rude.”
Butcher ignored him. “Yeah,” he said calmly. “I do.”
Romano looked toward Princess again. “You’re embarrassing our family.”
Princess slowly stepped out from behind Butcher, and Christ, she looked beautiful standing there in his hoodie with fire finally burning in her eyes instead of fear. “No,” she said quietly. “I’m freeing myself from it.” Pride hit Butcher so hard it almost knocked him sideways. He wanted to fist-bump the air and shout that she was his girl, but now wasn’t the time.
Romano’s face darkened instantly. “You don’t know what you’re choosing.”
Princess laughed then, sharp and bitter. “You’re right.” Her eyes filled with emotion. “Because for the first time in my life, I actually got a choice.”
Romano looked back at Butcher. “You think these men protect you?” he asked Princess.
Butcher’s smile was slow and mean. “They’ll protect her.” Every Bastard in the room shifted slightly behind him. They were a unified family now, and Romano seemed to notice. For the first time since walking inside, uncertainty flickered across his face.
