Empire of Savages (Savage Hunt MC #1)

19. Alex

Chapter 19

Alex

“Please tell me we’re going out to a bar tonight,” Bliss called from the office.

I shut the lid on my tool chest and walked through the adjoining door. “You’re underage,” I reminded her, lowering the zip on the front of my coveralls and fanning the fabric against my overheated skin.

She gave me a devilish smile and flipped her bubblegum-pink braid over her shoulder. “It’s never stopped me before.”

She had a point. Shaking my head, I said, “Not tonight, Bliss. I have things to do.”

She turned off the computer monitor and folded her arms across her chest. “Are you seeing Nick tonight?” she asked warily.

Her tone made me look at her more closely. “No. Why?”

Dragging her bottom lip between her teeth, she nibbled on the flesh for a moment. “It’s nothing. I probably shouldn’t even mention it.”

“Mention what?”

Bliss released her lip and blew out a breath. “Just… promise me you’ll be careful with him, okay?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “All right.” Folding my arms over my chest, I asked, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Bliss batted the question away and bent down to retrieve her purse from under the desk. “It’s nothing. Forget I mentioned it.”

“I can’t now that you’ve said that.”

She feigned digging in her purse for something. “Have you seen my phone?” she asked absently.

“It’s in your hand,” I told her. Her cheeks flushed with color, and I pressed, “Are you warning me away from Nick because of what happened at that party?”

She huffed a laugh, shaking her head and getting busy looking at the screen of her phone. “No, not because of the party.”

“What is it then?”

She started chewing on her bottom lip again, and I knew whatever it was, it was important to her.

“Bliss,” I warned.

“Look, I can’t say much other than his club is into some pretty deep shit.”

“What kind of deep shit? How deep?”

She shook her head. “It’s bad, Alex. If Nick is involved, then I’d be running in the opposite direction.”

“You haven’t told me anything , Bliss,” I shot back, frustrated “ What kind of stuff is the club into?”

She finally looked at me, resignation in her eyes. Resignation and something else I couldn’t pinpoint. “My sister got tangled up with them about a month ago, and I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”

“What do you mean ‘got tangled up’ with them? Tangled up with them, how ?”

“I don’t know. She told me about a new job she got working at the strip club the MC owned. Then, one day, she just disappeared. I haven’t heard from her since.”

I could see why Bliss was concerned. “What about her bank accounts? Social media accounts? Have they been used?”

“Nothing. It’s like she disappeared off the face of the planet, which is why I went to the clubhouse in the first place.”

“So, having a friend there was a load of bullshit?”

Loose tendrils of her hair slapped her face as she shook her head. “No, that was true. Beckitt is a friend, and when he asked me to go to that party with him, I knew that was my way in.”

“Your way into what?”

“Seeing if my sister was at the clubhouse.”

“You think they kidnapped her?”

She shrugged, and I noticed for the first time that her shoulders were curved in. “I had to check.”

“That’s why you disappeared on me,” I said, finally piecing things together. “You went to check if she was somewhere inside the clubhouse.”

Bliss nodded. “But I couldn’t find here there, and I have no idea where to look next.”

“Have you called the cops?”

“I did, but I could tell they didn’t take me seriously. I figured if I got some evidence, they’d have to do something.” She tugged at the end of her t-shirt. “I thought I could get some at that party.”

I had to admit that Bliss’s theory sounded ludicrous, but I knew her. I knew she was fiercely protective of all her sisters, so the fact that one was missing without a word must’ve been eating her alive.

“I guess that’s it,” Bliss added with a shrug. “I just want… I want you to be careful with Nick.”

“He wouldn’t be involved in your sister’s disappearance.” Of that I was sure.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But he is a Savage. Even if he’s not involved directly, he’s guilty by association.” With that, she left through the office door, locking it behind her.

Turning, I walked back into the garage and startled when I found Nick standing just inside the door with Lucifer by his side.

I put a hand over my heart, swallowing back my rapid pulse. “Nick, you scared me.”

His expression grew darker. Rage beaded off his body, and for half a second, my mind conjured up the scenario where he knew who I was—who I really was. As if sensing the dark thoughts, Lucifer whined at Nick’s feet, looking between us.

“Nick?”

His chest was heaving, the muscle in his jaw ticking with each deep inhale he took. My gaze traveled down, finding dark stains on his black shirt—stains that looked as if they’d been sitting there for a while and gone stiff. I knew what they were without having to touch them.

Gnawing on my bottom lip, I fought the urge to run. To hide. A shudder ran through me as his long legs ate up the distance between us, and it took everything in me not to move. He looked down at me, that anger flashing in his irises, making my abused heart thump too loudly in my ear. Nick stayed there for a long minute, each of us sharing breath.

That was when I felt it.

What the anger was masking.

Pain.

Such intense pain.

Moving slowly, like he was a skittish horse about to bolt, I lifted my arms and wrapped them around his shoulders. I stepped closer into his body, feeling how taut he was holding himself. Every inch of him was rigid. He was holding back, trying to keep the pain at bay while seeking solace. For a long time, he didn’t reciprocate the hug. Squeezing him a little more tightly, I urged him to let go. To let himself feel.

When he’d told me about his brother’s murder, I could tell he didn’t want to pick at the scab that hadn’t even had the chance to start healing yet. How could he have grieved in that time? I knew everyone went through the stages differently, and there wasn’t an end date on coming to terms with the loss of someone you loved, but I wondered whether he’d actually grieved at all.

I squeezed a little harder, resting my cheek against his chest. His heart was racing. Nick eventually inhaled deeply, and when he let the rough breath go, I felt the walls begin to crumble. With his arms banding around me, he tucked his head into my shoulder, and I held him. He never made a sound, but the wetness on my shirt that soaked through to my skin told me everything I needed to know.

I stroked his back, wishing I could take away some of this pain. When he eventually pulled away, he turned his head so I couldn’t see his tears. With rough, almost angry movements, he swiped at the wetness until all that was left was his red-rimmed eyes.

“What happened?”

A cold breeze blew through the open garage door, ruffling his hair. His nostrils suddenly flared, and he started to lower the garage doors. He kept his eyes on the darkening street—one hand on the door controller, and the other on the small of his back where a gun was snugged against his spine.

When he finally turned to face me again, his mouth was a tight slash of disapproval. “It’s not safe for you here.”

Trying to ignore the echo of my father’s words, I asked, “Nick, what’s going on?”

Running a hand through his hair, he walked through to the office. I could hear him rattling the front door, testing the lock. When he returned a moment later, the same barely restrained violence from before was back, riding the strong slope of his shoulders and angled jaw. “You’re in danger because of me.”

“Because of you? Nick, what the hell happened?”

Ignoring my question, he said, “I want you to take Lucifer for a couple of days.”

I looked down at the dog, then back at him. “Why?”

“I have to go away on club business. Leaving tomorrow morning. Back on Friday.”

Lucifer whined like he understood every word that was being said.

“Nick, I don’t?—”

“I’m leaving one prospect to watch the garage.”

This was all starting to feel too familiar. My father had said the same—I wasn’t safe. I needed someone to watch over me. I’d pushed back with my father because he had no right to pretend he cared about me now. Not after what had happened.

But Nick…

“Who’s the enemy, Nick?” I asked.

“That’s none of your concern.”

“Of course it’s my fucking concern!” I snapped. “You claim I’m in danger, but you won’t tell me who is coming after you and why. You… you tell me you’ll protect me, but the only way you can protect me is by telling me the fucking truth!”

Nick stared at me, his expression hard, his eyes even harder. In two quick steps, he was in front of me. Wrapping one hand around the base of my skull and the other around my waist, he yanked me flush against his body and kissed me. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t soft. It was a claiming, possessive, but I knew he was only trying to silence me. Wiggling my hands between us, I planted them on his chest and pushed. He stumbled back a step, surprise flashing across his face.

“You can’t distract me with sex,” I managed to push out of my lungs. “Tell me why I’m in danger, and I’ll do as you ask. I’ll keep Lucifer here. I’ll let you station the prospect out the front, but you have to tell me why .”

Nick ran his hand over his jaw, glaring at me.

I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

“Fuck,” he bit out, running his palm over the back of his head, tugging at the strands. When he met my eyes again, I saw the fear he’d been trying to hide. “My president’s old lady was shot in front of me today. I think the bullet was meant for me.”

“Jesus.”

“And I think I know who ordered the hit.”

My stomach suddenly dropped. “Who?” I asked on a whisper.

“The same person responsible for my brother’s murder. Talon La Croix.”

He practically spat my father’s name, his top lip curling into a sneer. The hatred he had for him was palpable, but all I could think was, what if he found out I shared half of his DNA?

Swallowing past the lump in my throat and with my heart pounding too loudly in my ear, I asked a question I already knew the answer to. “What are you going to do?”

“We’re going to make him, and his band of bastards pay.” His gaze was piercing. “We’re going to war.”