Page 22 of Crush's Fall

At his words, panic filled her, dumping cold water over the inferno that he had built inside of her. And just like the last time, she extracted herself from his grasp and bolted.

As Crush made her get away, she cursed herself for the urge to return to his arms and also for the fear coursing through her at the thought of giving in. She was a fucking coward, and she was well aware.

CHAPTER TEN

Two months later… Crush

Afterfindingoutwhatthe Hell’s Dogs were planning and assessing the vulnerability of the Howlers and the Claws having such a well-known compound location, Axle and Crush agreed that a new safe house or safe property needed to be acquired. They needed somewhere to send their families to if they received a threat. Axle had asked Crush if she knew anyone who would be a good fit for the search, and Crush had put Pinky on it.

Months later, Pinky and her yet-to-be-claimed mate, Xander, were sure they had a solution. Crush called a meeting with Axle and had told Xander to wait in the main room of the clubhouse while they went into Axle’s office, but the man had insisted on joining them. Crush just shrugged and let him go with, knowing exactly how it would play out.

Crush and Pinky walked into Axle’s office, followed by Xander and Skull. Xander had spent much of the last decade doing work as a stuntman in Los Angeles. He was returning to Warden’s Pass to be close to his sister, Pixie, who was mated to Pike, but also because he met Pinky during a visit, and the two discovered they were mates. Well, at least Pinky did. Like all human mates of shifter, Xander just felt a strong pull toward her and an undeniable attraction. He had returned to Los Angeles to finish a contract and prepare to move, but when he did, communication with Pinky had been less than stellar. It looked like the two were making up, but he would have a lot of work to do to prove he wasn’t going anywhere.

Xander had an offer to extend to Axle, Crush, and the clubs, but Crush knew Axle wouldn’t like having an outsider in the room for any discussion that was considered club business, whether you were a mate, family of an Ol’ Lady, or not.

Axle laid some papers down on his desk, looked over at Pixie’s brother, Xander, and asked, “What’s he doing here? This is club business.”

When Pinky snorted, Axle looked over at her, but she just shook her head and waved off his silent question. Crush knew Pinky had already told Xander that exact thing before they made it over to the clubhouse, because she had heard her.

“I can help with this,” Xander informed him and pointed to the paperwork, “if you decide to go that route.”

Axle narrowed his eyes on the man. “You’ll wait in the clubhouse’s main room while we talk about this. We’ll let you know if we need your input.”

“Axle, I’m willing to—”

“We. Will. Let. You. Know. If. We. Need. Your. Input.” Axle’s tone was letting Xander know exactly what would happen if Xander pushed him on it. Axle would make sure Xander was physically unable to give hisinput.

Axle’s VP, Skull, stepped in front of Xander and nodded for the door. “You heard the boss. We appreciate your patience while we look into the matter,” Skull said, voice full of sarcasm, essentially shoving the man into the hallway and shutting the door behind him.

That’s when Pinky burst out with laughter. “I tried to tell him,” she choked out. “He just didn’t want to listen.”

Axle grinned at her. “You just wanted to make him squirm.”

“I do enjoy a squirming man,” Pinky replied, returning his grin.

He nodded at the paperwork. “Tell me about this. I need to get back to Nugget. I left her with Bullet.”

Nugget was what Axle called his infant daughter, Caroline. She was fucking gorgeous. She got her mom’s beautiful blond hair and her daddy’s silver eyes, and her smile could melt the heart of even the toughest biker.

“You did what?” Skull gasped.

“Harlow is with them,” Axle replied. “Anyway, what is this?”

Crush didn’t say anything out loud, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that her brother’s woman was with them. At least Harlow had enough sense to know how to take care of a baby, because Crush was pretty sure Bullet was useless. It made Crush grateful for Harlow that her possible future nieces and nephews would be safe, since Harlow was her brother’s mate, even though they had yet to make it official.

Crush, Pinky, and Skull crowded around the other side of Axle’s desk. Spread out on the top were the blueprints and satellite photos of a property they were considering buying to use as a safe place for the clubs.

The four of them looked over the paperwork as Pinky explained, “It’s a peninsula of land about an hour and a half from here on the coast of Lake Michigan. It has two pole barns and an out-of-business, extended-stay motel. The motel has eighteen units, some of them more than one bed. There is forest all around it, so no one would see the buildings from the lake or from the road. I looked up the driveway on a street-view program. If it looks the same, the trees and brush have grown so much that it just looks like any other driveway, rather than a business entry. I don’t know the state of the buildings’ interiors, but it’s worth a look.”

Axle nodded his interest, and Crush agreed. It did look like it could be the answer to their safe place problem.

Axle asked, “How much are we talking?”

“Land, outbuildings, and all? Just under a million. Comes as is, but they are willing to let us look at it before we make an offer.”

Skull whistled. “I knew this would cost us, but… that’s a lot of dough.”

Axle nodded. “I could cover about half of that, personally, without touching my investment accounts. As for the rest, we’d have to take it from the business accounts, which means HTC would be on the deed.”

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