Page 13 of Xavier

“Fuckin’ scum shoulda left her alone after we let them know she was under our protection. Knuckles ain’t gonna be happy about that.”

“Tiny.” Xavier glared at the other man where their gazes met in the rearview mirror. We were all silent for a long time after that. Tiny spoke occasionally to whomever was giving him instructions, but otherwise we were all silent.

About two hours later, we rolled through the gate to a motorcycle club. I was sure there was a way my parents would expect me to feel, but their feelings and mine weren’t even on the same planet. The second we were through the gate, I relaxed at the same time I felt the tension leave Xavier’s grip on my hand.

I turned my head to see his expression. His look said everything I needed to know about my surroundings. I’d been going to see Xavier every week for almost a year and a half. I’d memorized every expression, every crease on his brow and around his eyes and what they meant. This was the first time I’d seen him truly relaxed.

“You have complete faith we’re safe here. Don’t you, Xave?” I kept my voice down, mainly because the guys had been silent the entire second half of the trip and I didn’t feel right about breaking the silence too much.

“It’s home,” he said simply, his voice low. “And these men are my brothers. We protect each other.”

As Tiny parked the truck, I could see a group of men emerging from the clubhouse. It seemed this place grew them one size, and that was fucking big. All of them wore leather vests similar to Xavier’s. Their expressions were a mix of concern and what looked like relief.

“Come on,” Xavier said, releasing my hand to open his door. “Let’s go inside. We’ll find a place to get you settled.”

That alarmed me. “What?”

“There’s plenty of room. Each building has apartments on the top floors. Most of us prefer the single-room apartments but there are larger ones in several of the buildings.”

“Oh.” The punch of hurt hit me out of nowhere when I had no business being hurt by what I perceived as rejection.

“What’s wrong, Tillie?” He’d been about to open his door, but he stopped and turned to face me more fully.

“Nothing! Everything’s fine! Thank you for making sure I have a place to stay.” The last thing I wanted was for him to think I wasn’t grateful for everything he’d done for me.

“Are you sure? I want you to have your own space, but I’m not going to be far away.”

“Yes.” I let out a breath, needing to take a moment. As much as I really didn’t want Xavier out of my sight, I knew this was for the best. I needed to take time to process what had happened over the past few hours, as well as really think about this fantasy I had where Xavier was the perfect suburban husband, catering to my every whim. Even considering what he’d done for me, Xavier didn’t seem the domesticated type. “I’m sure. Thank you.” I squeezed his hand reassuringly. Time to put on my big girl panties.

If I’d expected some kind of male bonding reunion or something, I’d have been disappointed. Instead, the guys put me and Xavier between them and hurried us inside and didn’t stop until we were on the second floor in the middle of the big, open room. Then everyone started talking at once.

“Holy shit, man!”

“Talk about a welcome home.”

“‘Bout time you got your ass home, Xavier.”

Several of the guys clapped Xavier on the back. A couple of them gave me respectful nods and introduced themselves. Then four women pushed their way through the gang of men catching up with Xavier.

“Don’t mind them.” A slender woman with light brown curls smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Hannah. Knuckles is my husband. These are Pippa, Carrie, and Violet.”

“Welcome to the jungle, honey.” Violet gave me a quick hug. “We put a care package together until you can get anything you’re missing. We all know about life on the run or making a quick exit.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to put anyone else in danger, especially not people I’d never met.”

“Don’t you dare be sorry,” Pippa said, a fierce, almost pained expression on her face. “These guys are a tight bunch. You mean something to Xavier, so they have a driving need to help Xavier protect you.”

“Sounds like something out of a fairy tale.” I could feel tears pricking the back of my eyes. All my life I’d been weak. I let my parents push me around. I stayed with Paul after he hit me more than once and didn’t try to leave until the night Xavier found me. I absolutely would not show weakness in front of these women by crying now. But, Goddamnit! What Pippa described sounded like my most fervent dreams!

“Takes some getting used to,” Violet said with a soft smile. “I’m still learning.”

I ducked my head. “Thank you for coming to meet me here. All the testosterone is a bit overwhelming.”

Carrie laughed, her smile bright and beautiful. “I had about the same reaction. Though, to be fair, I freaked them out more than they freaked me out. Long story, but I watched the movie Carrie the other night with Riot like everyone kept telling me to, and I finally understood why poor Chains is afraid of me.”

A thought occurred to me. “I don’t wish ill will on anyone, but please tell me you at least looked like you had blood all over you.”

Carrie laughed gleefully. “I totally did! When Chains found out my mother’s name was Margaret, he started sprinkling holy water over mine and Riot’s door.”

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