Page 180 of Heartbeats & Highways

They quieted when they saw me enter with Savage. I didn’t know them well yet, but all of these men had come to my rescue.

Emotion choked me and I quickly battled it away, not wanting to break down in front of them. But all that went out the window when Colt rose from his chair, placed a hand on my shoulder and asked, “How are you doing, Evie?”

I burst into tears and turned to Savage for comfort. He quickly enveloped me within his arms. The big, silent biker—Torque—pulled out several napkins from the dispenser and offered them to Savage. Savage gave them to me, and I hastily wiped my eyes and blew my nose.

“I’m okay,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, you look like it,” Crow joked.

A startled laugh escaped my lips, and I gave him a watery smile. “I’m hungry.”

“Then let’s get you fed,” Savage said.

There were three empty chairs near Colt, which Savage, Duke and I took. Colt waited to speak until after the waitress had taken our order. Finally, Colt looked at me when he said, “We caught the man—Calvin—who kidnapped you for the Grand Patriarch. He was headed out of town, but we got him.”

“And the doctor?” Savage sneered.

“No leads yet,” Colt said. He looked at me. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”

“So, what happens now?” I inquired.

Colt’s eyes met mine. “Now you go home with Savage, have your babies and live your life, and you never worry about those people ever again.”

“They kidnapped me. That means I’ll have to testify, doesn’t it?” I asked, fear permeating my tongue. “The whole thing. The fire, the bodies?—”

“No,” Colt stated. “Listen to me. The Grand Patriarch and his wife are dead. The cult has no leader. Whatever they have going on with local law enforcement is too deep for us to get involved in, but it also means there won’t be an investigation. So, as far as the world knows, a little old house on the outskirts of town burned down and that’s that. No one is coming for you. After what we did, they wouldn’t dare. You’re free of that place, forever.”

I frowned and looked at the table.

“Babe . . .” Savage said. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Not nothing,” Savage insisted. “What is it?”

“What about Dr. Winchester? What’s going to happen to him when you find him?”

Colt clenched his hand that rested on the table. “You’re going to let us deal with it, and you’re going to do us all a favor and forget he ever existed. You’re never going to speak about him again, to anyone—ever. Do you understand?”

“Yes, but?—”

Savage held my hand and looked me in the eyes and said, “It’s over, babe. You’ve been through enough. You have to trust us, it’s really over. You’re safe.”

The food came out and the bikers dug into their meals. I pushed the potatoes around my plate, my appetite suddenly nonexistent.

I shoved back from the table. “I’m gonna step outside for a bit.”

I didn’t wait for anyone to respond, I just got up and left the diner. I was nervous about being alone, without the protective shadow of Savage, but the threat to my life was gone. It would take time to remember that, but hopefully, one day, I’d no longer feel like a trapped rodent, always waiting for someone to jump out and hurt me.

The front door to the diner opened and Savage stepped outside. It was cold and I hunched lower in the coat that Savage had brought for me. Savage didn’t appear at all put out by the weather. He wore a flannel with a long-sleeved white undershirt, and his hand was warm when it engulfed mine.

“Talk to me,” he said quietly.

“I feel too exposed out here to say what I really think.”

He tugged me toward the car, hit the clicker and let me climb in first. Savage quickly followed me into the back seat.

“Okay, it’s private now. What’s going on?”

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