Page 26 of Double the Dilemma

“Put me down,” Karissa ordered stiffly as soon as he walked into the room. He didn’t want to let her go, sure that she was going to try and leave again, but he also knew that if he didn’t, she would start fighting him again and he was damn tired. So he set her down but didn’t move away from her, gripping her hand firmly. She glared up at him, but he ignored her and led her towards his seat. When he moved to sit down and pull her into his lap, she resisted and wrenched her hand away. She didn’t move any further, but he ground his teeth in frustration.

Damn stubborn woman.

As the rest of his brothers all filed in, Karissa looked around the room. No one said a word to her, not even when Savage came in and stormed to his seat, slamming the door behind him. He sat down, turned to look at Karissa, and gave her a hard glare. Karissa met it head on. Razor had to admire her, because most men wouldn’t be brave enough to do the same.

“Am I supposed to be impressed that you allowed me into your inner sanctum?” she deadpanned. “Or is this so you can keep me hostage? Because I have to say, I’m getting really tired of it.”

“And I’m getting really tired of your bullshit,” Savage barked.

“Prez,” Razor said warningly. Savage might be President, but he wasn’t about to let his woman be disrespected either.

Savage ignored him. “I don’t give a shit that you can take care of yourself, Karissa. We’re trying to help you, and you act like we’re making your life miserable. Most in your position would be saying thank you.”

She let out a sound that was part rage and part shock. “Thank you?” she said incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You make it sound like I came to you for help. Like I’ve been begging you to take care of my problems. Like you’re some kind of knight in leather cuts. When, in actuality, the only reason I came here was to tell Esme where I was going so she didn’t worry. I have been very clear. I don’t want your help. I don’t need your assistance. You all think that because Razor and I have been sleeping together it automatically means I belong to him and he’s in charge of my life and my protection. Like I’ve said before and I’ll keep saying:I don’t belong to any man. I don’t belong to Razor. I don’t answer to any of you. You would think that after I’ve helped out in multiple situations already that you would know I can take care of myself. You can all live in the dark ages all you want, but I’m not going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs while people get hurt. Because they will, especially now that you’ve pissed Sena off.”

“She’s not going to hurt anyone here,” Fury said firmly. “No fucking way.”

“We’re on the lookout for her now, so she’s not going to get to any of the women or the kids,” Ice added, eyeing her. “She’d be stupid to try and do anything to any of them or us.”

Karissa let out a sound of frustration. “You don’t get it. You don’t know her like I do. You didn’t even know she was out there until she started shooting at me! Right across the road from your own compound! You had no idea that when Esme came back with Gabe that she could have killed her. She was in the perfect position. You had no clue.” She rounded on Razor. “If you let me leave instead of fighting with me, I’d have been able to lure her away from here. She’d have never even gotten to that spot in the first place. I could have lured her out of town, and everyone would be safe.”

His temper burned but he forced it down. He was damn tired of this. “Yes, we know you blame me for this, so how about instead of going over this shit again and again, we work to figure out where she’s going and take her out before she gets that far?” he suggested tightly. “You want to run this show, and you don’t care if you put yourself at risk, but unlucky for you, you’ve got us now. Have since Esme and Gabe came into Fury’s life. Since you came into mine. We’ll fight about you and me later. Right now, we need a plan to catch this bitch before she comes back or goes underground.”

Everyone was quiet, including Karissa. Normally he liked to be light-hearted in Church, but he wasn’t pulling any punches today. He was done with it all. Karissa just stared at him, and he could see the war in her eyes. She knew what he was saying was right, but at the same time she wanted to argue with him.

Savage let out a sigh. “Karissa, all I want out of all of this is for you to be alive when it’s over. I know you can take care of yourself, and yes, you have helped us out in the past, but we are bikers. You may not like how we do things, but this is the way they are done and we’re not going to change. So we’re going to work together, and we’re going to help you figure out where she is and get her off the street.”

“And you’re going to willingly stand back and let me handle her once you do that? You’ll let me put her six feet under without any interference?” Karissa asked suspiciously.

Savage didn’t answer, instead looked at Razor for confirmation. He didn’t like the idea of Karissa killing anyone; didn’t want that on her conscience. Still, he knew that if he said anything, she wouldn’t take too kindly to his answer. He looked at her and said, “We’ll sort it out.” It was all he could allow himself to say.

Karissa’s eyes narrowed on him. “So that’s a no.” She huffed out a sigh. “Then why bring me here at all?” she demanded, throwing her hands up in the air. “You’re going to take over and let that be it. You’ll let me help you get her, because I’m useful for information, but when it comes to actually letting me solve my own problems, you’ll come riding in to save the day.”

Razor merely replied, “This is new territory for me, for all of us. You think I want to see you suffer with the knowledge that you killed someone? Royal killed her sister and had nightmares for months. You really think I want to see you deal with that?” he demanded.

She gave him a cool smile. “Your mistake is thinking that Sena will be the first person I’ve killed. I think you know I sleep perfectly well at night, Razor. You’re not saving me from anything. I certainly don’t need to be saved from myself, because I’m just as dark as the rest of you. You just don’t like it because I’m a woman, and you believe women are weak and delicate.”

He stared at her, struck again by the fact that he really didn’t know anything about this woman. She killed people? What the fuck? She was some kind of serial killer in disguise?

He quickly dismissed that thought. Karissa didn’t hurt innocent people, and hell, she was pissed enough at him to murder him more than once and never had. Whatever she was talking about, he would ask her about it later. “I’m never going to be the one to sit here and tell you that you’re not strong or that you can’t handle yourself, Karissa. But we do want to help. You just need to let us in. Simple as that. Are you going to stop fighting so we can work together or not?”

Karissa held his gaze, assessing. Finally, she gave a long sigh. “I’m going to regret this,” she muttered. “What do you want to know?” she asked Savage.

Razor relaxed and reached out for her again, but she ignored him. He had half a mind to haul her down onto his lap, but he didn’t bother. There was going to be plenty of time later for them to hash it out.

“We need to know everything about Sena you can possibly think of,” Savage answered.

“I assume you’ve already looked me up and know my history,” Karissa said drily. It was a statement, not a question. No one denied anything. She huffed out an annoyed breath but said, “Then you already know that she wants to finish what she started.”

“How many times has she found you over the years?” Steel asked, leaning forward and holding her gaze.

“In total, five. The last time was close to four years ago.”

“Before you and Esme came here?” Fury asked.

Karissa nodded. “We were constantly on the move for a while, so it was harder for her to find me.”

“How does she keep finding you?” Code asked, arching a brow. “She’s all but dropped off the grid since she left the psych hospital, and I’m not finding any evidence of her changing her name.”

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