Page 26 of Savage

But I have to bite my tongue.

I need to bide my time. And I’m far from fucking patient.

“I’ve heard of you,” he says, removing his mask. He’s expecting me to do the same, but I don’t. “You’re new to the game, aren’t you?”

I tip my head to the side and allow my glare to settle on him. I don’t need to explain myself to anyone at this event. But I can feel the confusion emanating from him. He likes to be in control of everything and everyone around him. But I’m not one of his toys, his victims.

“I don’t think that matters. We’re all in this for blood,” I tell him earnestly. It’s the only truth I’ve spoken since I walked into the room.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Harper making her way toward me, and I note that Bane is watching her progress. He shouldn’t be able to recognize her with the half face mask she’s wearing, but I can’t take a chance.

“Perhaps I’ll see you around,” I say as I lean in closer, “In more intimate circumstances where you can show me how you do what you do.”

I know this will pique his interest. He’ll want to question me some more, but now isn’t the time. I straighten to my full height, towering over him, and taking my leave, I make my way toward Harper to stop her short of reaching the bastard.

“Who’s that?” she asks as I tug her arm and practically drag her back to the bar.

“I need a drink.”

“Dante,” Harper hisses my name under her breath. “Tell me who you were talking to.”

“Bane,” I inform her, reluctantly.

We’ve promised there will never be any lies between us. The three of us have had enough of being kept in the dark.

“I need to-”

“You need to come with me and get a drink,” I tell her, meeting those pretty eyes that capture me in ways I didn’t want at first.

Harper and Rayne both look at me as if I’m some kind of hero. I’m not. I don’t want to have that weight of responsibility on my shoulders. But, as much as I fight it, I can’t stop the need to protect them from overtaking me. The more I don’t want to be a knight in shining armor, the more I step into the role without a second thought.

“You’re insufferable.”

She’ll pout for the next few minutes, but it will soon be forgotten when we finally get our mark alone and my girls will get to play.

They are my girls. There’s never been any debate about that, and when I finally allow myself to feel, I know love will be at the forefront of my emotions.

But for now, our focus must be on getting revenge for all the children and young people who didn’t survive.

A text comes through, and I unlock my phone to find the additional information I requested from Falcon about our targets tonight.

“Has he sent it?” Harper asks as we stop at the bar.

Nodding, I slip the device back into my pocket and order a whiskey for me and a white wine for Harper. Rayne joins us moments later, and in her hand is a red wine that she’s sipping with a smile on her face.

“Did you find her?” I ask as she stops in front of us.

“Not yet.” There’s a sweetness to this girl who has been broken more than anyone else I’ve ever met.

Rayne lived most of her younger life in a fucking cage. And yet, here she is, looking magnificent and confident in a glamorous blood-red, floor-length dress that sparkles each time she moves. Her back is on display as the material is cut into a deep V from her shoulders to the curve of her ass, and her hair is pinned against her head with tendrils of blonde curls hanging down onto her shoulders.

“I’ve been asking around. No one seems to know where my mother is,” she tells us as her eyes search the room.

The tension in her shoulders is obvious, and I want nothing more than to make her forget why we’re here. But it’s important she gets the closure she needs. There have been moments over the past week where I’ve seen the fear in her eyes, flickering like a candle in the dark. Nothing will extinguish that flame other than revenge.

Maybe it’s stupid to think vengeance is the only way forward, but I’ve learned no matter how far you run, there’s no hiding from the painful truth—the past will always cling to you until you let it go.

“We will find her,” I assure Rayne, hoping to calm her.

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