Page 100 of Savage

“I got all her needs but the one for drugs met, Prez,” I say, and it’s my turn to lean forward, resting my arms on the table, and staring him down the way he’d stared at me. He doesn’t need to know that she and I aren’t having sex. We’ll get there. Neither one of us are going anywhere. “And that’s how it’s gonna stay.”

“Boys are gettin’ lonely, Tank. Missin’ their girl.”

“She’s never been their girl,” I snap. “I’m the one she came lookin’ for. I’m the only one that gets to call her that.”

Prez leans back in his chair and folds his arms behind his head. I don’t like the turn this conversation has taken. I don’t like the fucking smirk on his face. If it were anyone else, I’d wipe them fucking clean of it.Smarmy fucking bastard.

“You were really fuckin’ serious, weren’t you?” he asks, and his cocky smile is an all-out grin now. “About claiming her for your woman?”

“As a fuckin’ heart attack. Bitch is mine,” I warn. “And I’ll risk my cut to defend her.”

“Alright, alright. Calm your fuckin’ farm, arsehole.” He smiles and then shakes his head, taking a sip from his coffee. “Guess I’m in the market for a new girl then.”

“Guess so.”

“This isn’t why you came to talk to me, though.”

“No, it’s not,” I agree. “But it is about Ivy.”

“Of course it is,” Prez says.

“I wanna know who the bastard is. I want a name, and I want a fuckin’ address.”

“Ah, shit.” He scrubs a hand over his beard. “I knew you were gonna make this complicated. Actually, I’m surprised you didn’t come to me before now. I’m sorry, brother, but I can’t give you a name.”

“What do you mean you can’t give me a name?” I ask. He better start talking real fucking soon, because I’m about to lose my shit entirely. “You know who he is, right?”

Prez gives a solemn nod. “I know. Ivy came to me her very first day and struck herself a deal. I’d keep him away from her, give her a roof over her head, food, and the protection of my club if she’d take care of my men.”

My jaw ticks, and I find myself balling my fists together on the table. “She never told me that.”

“I’d bet my arse there’s a lot of shit she hasn’t told you, brother.”

“Looks like.”

“Don’t be too hard on the girl,” he says, taking a bite out of the muffin Raine left for him. “She didn’t want anyone to know. I don’t even think she told Kick all the shit about her old man—”

“I need to find him,” I say.

“Bad idea.”

“He’s a fucking animal, Prez. He deserves to be strung up and flayed open. This is Ivy we’re talkin’ about. She’s family, and he fucked her up worse than any of the shit that fucker down at the café did to Raine. We’ve put people down for a lot less.”

“Listen, there’s nothing I’d love more than to give this fucker his just deserts, but it’s complicated.”

“Complicated how?” I seethe.

“He’s workin’ with the Russians.”

“Fuck,” I say and shove away from the table. My chair clatters to the floor and I pace, running my hands through my hair. I grip the back of my head and let out a deep breath.

“Yeah, fuck is right. With this deal going south with Ryzhanov, drawing any more attention to ourselves is fuckin’ suicide.”

“You mean you’ve known all along where this fucker is? You’ve known exactly what she’s been runnin’ from all these years, and you haven’t put a fuckin’ bullet in his head?”

“We can’t risk it.”

“And what about her, huh, Prez? What about Ivy and what she’s risking? What I’m risking by keeping her arse at the cabin? You think about that?”

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