Page 48 of The Prez’s Daughter

“You’re getting it,” Doc said, but then he held out his leather jacket. “But I don’t accept you screwing my daughter and leaving the club. You want to screw my daughter, you want to marry her, you will do so being a member of the club. You’re not going to get away that easy.”

“Have you talked to Charlotte?” Savage asked, taking his jacket and sliding it on over his other one, seeing as it was fucking cold.

“Not yet, I know she might need a little time. She’s a strong one, and sometimes, I don’t realize how strong.”

“She’s not, you know,” Savage said. “She is strong, but you sometimes overestimate her ability to cope. She struggles, and I know she still mourns the loss of her brother, but because you and Nancy can’t talk about it, it’s hard for her.”

Doc sighed. “It’s where I failed. I failed my daughter and my son.”

Savage gave him the silence he needed.

Doc looked pained.

And then, Savage’s cell phone went off, invading the silence. “Shit, fuck,” he said. “I’m sorry.” And he had every intention of turning the damn thing off, when he saw Paulie’s name on the screen. “I’ve got to take this. Paulie, what is it, man?”

“You’ve got to get to the Peterson ranch, and you’ve got to do so now. So, I’ve been following the details, and Maeve and Betty are set to inherit the whole Bernadette estate, and we’re talking millions of dollars. Martha has been collecting wealth and bonds and all kinds of shit. She is a savvy investor and has been for a long time. I just got an alert that a message from Martha to Maeve was sent for an unscheduled appointment, and with the direction to take them to the Peterson ranch. You need to move. I don’t like this feeling. The message doesn’t read anything like Martha’s. I can only assume it’s from Andy.”

“Shit!”

He hung up and got to his feet. “Please tell me you kept Nitro and Iron on guard with Maeve,” Savage said, getting to his feet.

“No, I sent them to do perimeter checks,” Doc said.

“Get them to the Peterson ranch. There’s no time to explain. Maeve’s life is in danger.”

Savage ran to his bike, and he called Charlotte’s number, but of course, she wasn’t going to answer. If Maeve was going to work on Martha, that meant Charlotte would be there with her, which put the two women in the line of fire.

This day could not get any worse.

He started his bike and had no choice but to take it as easy as he could, because the roads were slippery as fuck.

All he could think about was Charlotte. He didn’t have enough time with her, and he had to get to the Peterson ranch. Doc was right behind him, and he knew he would put the alert out on the club. They had to get to their women, and they had to do it fast.

Savage couldn’t stop cursing himself for not talking to Charlotte sooner. This was so fucking messed up, and he would never forgive himself if something happened to her. Charlotte was his only focus. If Andy had even harmed so much as a hair on her head, he was going to fucking kill him.

When they were only five minutes from the access point, Savage stopped his bike. “There’s two ways to get to Andy, either of us can do this. It’s a shot from right up there, the tree line.”

“You go,” Doc said. “I’ll be there as a distraction.”

“Damn it, Doc, he will shoot you.”

“No, he fucking won’t. He won’t even get the chance, because you’re going to be there.” Doc nodded at him. “Go and protect our women, Savage. That’s an order.”

“You go on the bike, he’ll hear you.”

Doc climbed off his bike. “Hurry,” Doc said, and was already taking off toward the ranch.

“Shit!”

Savage was able to get to his place on his bike. Once he was at his location, he pulled his binoculars from his pouch and got into position, being careful not to alert anyone to his presence.

He saw Martha Bernadette tied to a chair, unable to escape. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was trying to scream through the gag he’d placed over her mouth. He spotted Maeve and Charlotte next. They were both on their knees, with their hands behind their backs. Both looked terrified, although he was proud to see the women also looked really pissed at being on their knees.

Clearly, both women turning up had shocked Andy, as he kept flashing the gun between them, as if he wasn’t sure who to fire at first. He kept alternating, and Savage reached for his gun. He was going to need good aim. There was no way he would risk sneaking up from this angle.

His anger surged forward as he watched Andy clearly screaming something, as he pointed the gun at Charlotte’s head. The barrel pressed to that very spot, and he couldn’t handle it. Dropping the binoculars, he held his gun poised, and it was like he knew Andy was about to take absolutely everything away from him.

Savage stared down the barrel of his gun. If he missed now, shit was going to hit the fan very fucking quickly, and that wasn’t good. He needed to be accurate. For Charlotte. For both of them.