Page 5 of Savage

Your club.

That hit me in a way I didn’t expect. She saw us as a shield, a wall between her and whatever the hell she’d stumbled into.

Damn right.

“You did good, baby,” I muttered, standing in one fluid motion.

A thunderstorm was rolling in my blood as I stalked to the office door and yanked it open, then stomped into the hall. When I reached the swinging door that opened to the front area of the bar, I practically ripped it off its hinges.

The place was still calm, only humming low since it was early in the evening.

I spotted Hawk by the corner of the bar, arms folded, posture relaxed as he spoke with Maverick, who stood beside him, sipping from a dark tumbler. As if they felt a change in the air, their eyes were locked on me the second I stepped out.

They both clocked my expression instantly, but Hawk moved first.

“What happened?” he growled as he moved toward me.

I didn’t slow down until I was nearly toe-to-toe with them. “Some motherfucker thought it was a good idea to mess with my girl. Now I’m gonna make sure they’re breathin’ their last breath.”

Maverick raised an eyebrow. “Your girl?”

I didn’t blink. “Yeah.”

Hawk looked confused, but Maverick just smirked.

“You want to explain that?” Hawk grunted.

I gave them a quick summary of the situation. “She seems smart as hell but scared. Thought she got away clean, but some supervisor watched her when she left. On the phone and looking like she wanted her gone.”

Maverick’s eyes narrowed, his drink forgotten. “Sounds like they’re covering something. Testing? Trafficking?”

“Could be,” I growled. “I don’t know. But I’m gonna find out. And when I do?—”

“You’re gonna light the place up,” Hawk finished for me, but only because of my reputation. He wouldn’t truly get my mindset until he found the one meant for him. Only a brother who’d claimed his woman could understand the stakes.

“Damn right.”

“Savage.” Maverick’s voice was sharp. “You gotta pull back on the reins, brother. We don’t charge in without a plan. We need intel. Need to know who’s involved. If there’s a trail, we follow it.”

I knew he was right, but my reaction to Tamara wasn’t about logic. It was instinct.

“You go off half-cocked, and you risk shit goin’ sideways and making her a bigger target.”

My fists ached from how tight I was clenching them, but I forced myself to breathe. He was right. That didn’t mean I had to like it.

Maverick stepped closer, his voice quieter now. “Is she what I think she is?”

There was no hesitation. “Yeah.”

Hawk blinked, staring at me as though I’d lost my mind, but I ignored him. I didn’t have the time or the desire to justify instincts I couldn’t control.

Maverick nodded once, crossing his arms over his chest. “Then we have your back. No one touches her. I’ll have Fox loop in our contacts. For now, best she stays with us. At the clubhouse. Full protection.”

I didn’t even need to think about it. “Agreed.”

Then he clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Worry about your woman for now. You’ll get to burn shit down eventually.”

My jaw ticked as I turned and stormed back to the office. Tamara was still sitting in the same chair, but Lainie had taken my place in the other one. Their heads snapped up when I walked in. Tamara must’ve seen something in my face because her spine straightened.

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