Page 65 of Sacrifice
"Fair point."
We eat in silence.
It's strange, having someone else in my space.
I've had women here before, but never for breakfast.
Never with the assumption she'll be back tonight.
"So, what else are you guys gonna talk about inkirkja?" she asks eventually. "I mean, I know it's a secret meeting, but..."
I take our empty plates to the sink. "Los Coyotes made a move. We need to respond."
"Violence for violence?"
"That's the language they speak." I turn to face her. "You disapprove?"
"No." Her answer surprises me. "They hurt Elfe. They came into our home. I want..." She pauses, seeming to search for words. "I want them to pay. Does that make me a bad person?"
"Makes you human. Makes you one of us."
"I never wanted to be part of the violence. Growing up in the club, I saw what it did to families. The worry, the funerals, the prison sentences." She meets my eyes. "But now I understand it. The need to protect what's yours. To make people pay for crossing lines."
"Welcome to my world."
"It's a dark world."
"Sometimes. But it's our world." I move around the counter, pulling her to her feet. "And I'll keep the darkest parts away from you as much as I can."
"What if I don't want you to? What if I want to know what you're doing, who you're hunting?"
"Then I'll tell you. But knowledge comes with a price, Saga. You sure you want to pay it?"
She thinks about it for a few seconds, then nods. "I'm sure. No more being kept in the dark. If this is my life now, I want to know all of it."
"All right." I kiss her forehead. "Then after work, we'll talk. Full disclosure."
An hour later, we're back on my bike, heading to the boutique.
She's in her own clothes—black jeans, vintage Ramones tee, leather jacket that makes her look like the badass she is.
The morning air is cool, but the beginning of May always promises heat later.
She holds on tight, not out of fear but something else.
Possession, maybe. Claiming me as much as I've claimed her.
The prospects are already there when we arrive—Aren and Hakon.
They straighten as we pull up, trying to look professional.
"All day," I tell them. "No one gets close without going through you."
"Yes, sir," they chorus.
I turn to Saga. "You good?"
"Yeah." She surprises me by pulling me down for a kiss, right there on the sidewalk. Public as hell."Be careful. Los Coyotes might come for the club next."
