Page 10 of Savage

“He did,” Fox replied, ignoring my jab. “Wanted to hear it for myself.” His lips curled up a little more, and he shook his head. “Warned you. One look, and you’re all in. Already picturing baby booties and car seats.”

I gave him a flat stare. “You done?”

Mav snorted. “He’s just surprised it hit you that fast. Thought you were immune, but it turns out you just hadn’t met yours yet.”

“Figured I’d need to chip the ice off your soul before you’d ever fall,” Fox added. “The kind to go down swinging.”

I leaned back in my chair and smirked, slow and dark. “Still got teeth, boys. And plenty of swing in me. Just might be aimed at any motherfucker who is stupid enough to come near her. And if you two don’t stop runnin’ your mouths, I’ll bury both of you under the new concrete slab behind the garage.”

That got a chuckle from both of them. Fox stood and clapped his palm on my desk. “We’ll let you keep your pride for now.You decide how to handle shit with the bar, but you’re off club business until this shit with Tamara is sorted. That’s not a request.”

I didn’t argue. I couldn’t when it was the right call.

“She’s your priority now,” Fox added as he stepped back toward the door. “Get some damn sleep. She’ll need you on your game.”

When they left, the silence returned, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the office just yet. The thought of lying in my bed while she was down the hall in a room too damn far from reach made my skin crawl. So I didn’t. I crashed in the empty room next to hers, not bothering to change my clothes. I just yanked off my shirt, kept my jeans on, and lay down on the mattress, staring at the ceiling.

I didn’t sleep. Couldn’t. Not when I didn’t have eyes on Tamara.

The second I heard her and Lainie leave their room in the morning, I was up and in the shower, scrubbing away the restless night. Fifteen minutes later, I was in the kitchen.

Tamara sat at one of the long tables, fresh-faced but tired. Her hair was up in a messy bun that made me want to fist it. She didn’t see me at first. I took up position against the wall behind her like a shadow that wouldn’t leave.

Her T-shirt and jeans clung to her toned body and slender curves. It wasn’t meant to be alluring, but she’d make a potato sack look sexy as fuck. A few of the guys looked too long, but I didn’t need to say anything. One low growl, and they suddenly remembered how to find the far side of the room. One prospect walked too close, his eyes lingering, but when I grunted and he looked at my face, clocking my thunderous expression, he turned around so fast he damn near tripped over his own boots.

I didn’t touch the food. The only thing I wanted to taste was her.

I didn’t sit either. Just watched over her.

Eventually, Wrecker called from across the room. “I’ll be at the bar to help open tonight.”

Wrecker was filling in because Riot, my assistant manager, was off for the night. Which meant I had to be there.

Tamara laughed at something Lainie said, the sound low and sweet. She leaned forward to take another bite of her breakfast, and my hands curled into fists.

The idea of leaving her, even for a shift, made my jaw lock so tight it ached. But I nodded once.

When one o’clock in the morning rolled around, I was still behind the bar at Midnight Rebel. My patience was gone. The register jammed, one of the taps sputtered, and I hadn’t stopped checking the clubhouse camera feeds on my phone. I’d kept tabs on Tamara through security footage and brief check-ins with my brothers. She’d spent the day with Lainie. Met the wives. Played with the kids. Seeing her with my friends’ babies made me think about putting my kid in her, and I’d had to adjust myself several times.

I was in the back storeroom, cussing out the ancient register and grabbing a case of whiskey to restock the shelf, when my phone buzzed.

Deviant.

“Got something?”

“Clinic’s a front,” he said, low and clipped. “Flash drive’s files were buried behind multiple security layers. Took me a while to untangle it all. The clinic is being funded through a shell corporation. It traces back to a pharma group flagged twice before for unauthorized biotech trials. We’re talking illegal testing. Unlicensed, black-market level shit. It’s fucking bad.”

My blood turned to ice. “Name.”

“I’m sending everything I have now. But I’ll keep digging.”

I hung up, forgot about the whiskey, and stalked toward the front. Wrecker glanced up from where he was serving a Jack and Coke to some college kid who didn’t know better than to be here this late.

“You look like you’re about to go full scorched earth,” he grunted. “This about your girl?”

I gave him a short nod before running a frustrated hand through my hair.

He didn’t hesitate. “Go. I have it. I’ll pull in someone from the schedule.”

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