Page 32 of Savage Outlaw

“I wanted someone, remember, dad?” She whispered and saw Axel’s eyes turn dead and his lips thinned out. “You killed that. Someone liked me and you killed it. So no, you don’t get to throw Reno at me and expect me to accept it. That’s not how it works. I wanted Tad…”

The growl out of Axel this time put the hairs on the back of her neck on end. “You do not say that fucking name in here, do you hear me?Do you fucking hear me?” He repeated with force and she found herself nodding, her heart tumbling. “Yeah, whatever.”

The rest of the day was spent with her giving everyone in the clubhouse the cold shoulder. Except for Chains and Ruin, but he didn’t speak back so it didn’t count.

This existence was hard, but it was of her choosing.

It was about to get a whole lot harder as she found out a few minutes later when one of the guys came in and let everyone know there was a Renegade Souls at the gate. It was only as his eyes hit hers that she knew in her stomach who it was.

“I’ll make sure to fucking kill him this time.” He barked, making like he was heading to the door.

“Maybe we find out what the dickhead wants first, Axe. It might beSoulsbusiness, we don’t wanna piss ‘em off right off the bat, yeah?” Said Chains. For once he was being the smart one.

Roux’s heart tripped over itself.

Was he really here?

“Rider knows never to send that fucker to my door. It’snotbusiness.” He pierced Roux with a look and pointed his finger. “You stayhere.”

He must be joking. She raced out after him, and her heart, which had been tumbling all around her rib cage, started to thump hard. Oh, my god, it was Tad, sitting astride his rumbling bike outside of the wrought iron gates.

His gaze came to her. She felt the look and her lungs started to pant.

“Dad. Wait!” She said, catching Axel’s arm. “Will you fucking wait a minute.”

“You’ll watch your fucking mouth.”

“Seeing as you’re the one who taught me how to speak, that seems redundant.” She told him and put herself in his pathway. “Let me go and talk to him.”

The growl said hell fucking no.

Others piled out to watch what they hoped was a slaughter. They always did love a good brawl, those assholes.

“Dad. Let me see what he wants. You owe me this!” She tried, using her hands on his chest to keep him in place. Her dad was a big guy, if he wanted to throw her to the side he could, but in her whole life he’d never been violent to her. She was hoping that wouldn’t change today because of the man he hated most in the world was waiting at the gates.

“Please.” She added. “I don’t want you to start fighting, dad. It’s ancient history.”

“Not for fucking me it’s not,” he hissed, but then he sighed and put his hands on his hips, turning away from Tad. “Has he been bothering you? Tell me the fucking truth, Roux.”

“No, he hasn’t. But you know already anything with Tad is not a bother.”

Another hiss.

“That’s the truth, dad, I know you don’t want to hear it. Let me find out what he wants.”

“Five fucking minutes, you hear? You don’t go anywhere but that gate. And you tell him he comes here again; it’ll be bullets that greets him.”

Fear for Tad dogged her steps knowing every man there was gathered around Axel, watching this go down. And then there was the excitement in her stomach the closer she got to him.

His lips were tight, but his eyes burned her.

She’d wanted this moment for so long. To see him come to claim her, to want her, to show that nothing would get in their way.

It felt a little too late even as she tried to tamp down the untamable joy.

Betrayal still clung to the inside of her ribs after all this time.

He hadn’t fought for them. That’s the one thing she always circled back to.

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