Page 21 of Dark Savior

I gritted my teeth. “I don’t want to fuckin’ leave her, Carter. You remember what happened last time? In case you’ve forgotten, I almost lost her. Her life was irreversibly changed.”

He sighed. “I know, but I have a plan in place. Just trust me.”

I made a sucking sound with my teeth. “When it comes to her, brother, I don’t trust anyone.” Carter grunted, sounding a little offended. Tough. She was too goddamn precious. I didn’t trust anyone with her any longer.

I glanced at my watch before looking at Rachel, who had barely touched her coffee. “Give us two hours,” I finally told him. “Rachel needs to finish her coffee, have breakfast, and we both need to shower. Is this going to be an overnight thing?”

“Yeah,” Carter muttered.

Fucking hell. And fuck this club.

“Two hours,” I said again.

I hung up the phone before setting it down on the counter. Reaching up, I scrubbed my hands over my face, hating the scruff along my jawline that I hadn’t had time to shave. Rachel was frowning, her brows furrowed. “A run?” she asked, not sounding pleased about it. Couldn’t really blame her. I didn’t want to fucking leave either, and if I didn’t like or trust whatever plan Carter had in place, he could count me the fuck out.

I nodded. “Carter supposedly has a plan in place. I’ll find out more when I get there.” Turning, I headed for the fridge to begin whipping up pancakes and bacon for Rachel. The pain medicine she was on needed to be taken with food, and she only took it in the mornings, preferring to take ibuprofen and acetaminophen throughout the rest of the day, claiming the prescription meds made her too loopy. “But if I don’t like the plan he has in place, I won’t be going.”

She sighed. “But the club⁠—”

I cracked an egg into the bowl before adding the amount of milk I needed. “If you think I won’t turn my cut in and get my ink blacked out for you, you’re sorely mistaken, kitten.” Turning my head, I looked at her over my shoulder, letting my eyes meet hers. “You are my priority,” I told her. “Not a goddamn thing else matters. Not anymore.”

She swallowed thickly before nodding her head, letting the subject drop.

I knew she understood the club was supposed to come first. But not before her. Never fucking again. I’d made that mistake once, and it almost cost me everything. I wouldn’t make that mistake a second time.

The gravel lot was full of bikes when I pulled onto the lot. Rachel tightened her arms around me, her head lifting off my back to look around us. I slowed to a stop near the clubhouse doors and turned the bike off. Carter stepped outside as Rachel slid from behind me and began removing her helmet. Once she’d handed it to me, Carter pulled her into a hug, holding her for a moment longer than he usually would.

It’d terrified him, too, to almost lose her.

“Good to see you back here, sis,” he told her quietly.

She made a noncommittal noise but didn’t say anything else otherwise. I knew she didn’t want to come back here—not yet. But I wasn’t leaving her behind, and honestly, I wasn’t sure she was ready to be apart from me. Another reason I hated Carter was calling for a run.

I arched a brow at the president. “Who the fuck else is here?”

“London’s Tears,” he informed me. I frowned. It was rare they ever came around. “They’re offering their services after what happened to Rachel. They’ll leave some brothers behind to protect her while the rest of us are gone.”

“Then why do you need me?” I demanded as I pressed my palm to Rachel’s lower back, relishing in the way she leaned back into my touch.

“Because if we accomplish what we’re looking to do, then you’ll be able to get your hands on everyone who hurt Rachel,” Carter told me.

I stared at him for a moment before nodding my head once. That was a plan I could get behind. “Then, let’s get inside and get to the table.” I looked at Rachel. “You want to sit in?”

She shook her head, her eyes clouded with darkness and internal pain. My gut twisted, my heart wrenching in my chest. I wished I could do more to make this go away, but all I could do was wipe out every son of a bitch who touched her. Who hurt her and made her suffer. Who ripped her chance of having children from her and her memories.

“I need a drink,” she muttered. She didn’t need to be drinking with her pain meds, but I didn’t say anything. I trusted her to choose something weak and only a shot. Rachel wasn’t stupid.

She separated from me, heading inside the clubhouse before either Carter or I could move. I sighed and shoved my hands into my pockets, staring after her until the door shut. Carter grimaced. “Did I do something wrong?”

I shook my head. “She just needs time.” With that, I headed inside, instantly finding her leaning against the bar. I stared at her for a moment before heading into the chapel, nodding once in greeting to Drake, the president of London’s Tears, who was already seated at the table.

“Been a minute,” he gruffly spoke up.

“Yeah, it has. Everything on your end been good?”

He nodded. “Good as it can be.” Hell, I was pretty sure that was all any of us could ask for anymore. It’d certainly been better than two weeks ago, so I guess that was a plus, at the very least.

Carter stepped into the chapel, shutting the door behind him. Once everyone, aside from Genesis, who was still recovering, was seated, Carter cleared his throat. “Drake has informed me that the Souls of Grim are holed up two states over while they work on expanding their territory there and their club. The goal seems to be a second charter.”