Page 45 of Triple the Danger

Savage didn’t answer for a long moment. “I don’t know. I need to think on this.” When he walked out of Church, no one moved.

Taz sighed. “It’s probably a good thing that most of the weapons are locked away, because I don’t know if he’s going to avoid getting a bullet in his ass this time.”

Jax had to agree, but that was a worry for another time. Right now, they had to focus on finding Leon and this Jared asshole to keep Saylor safe. Everything else could be sorted later. Right now, his woman was his priority.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SAYLOR

She watched Karissa and Glitch storm out of the clubhouse, curious as to what the hell was going on. She looked back at the Church room door, then made the decision to follow them. She wasn’t sure if they would want her around, but at the same time, she was sitting here alone, and she’d rather try to help somehow.

When she got outside, she saw them walking up the road toward the inner part of the compound, where some of the outbuildings and the warehouse stood. “Hold up,” she called, hurrying after them. They stopped and turned to look at her, their piqued expressions softening when they caught sight of her. She stopped when she reached them and said drily, “Whose ass are we kicking? Because I need to know who to call dibs on. I almost want to say Savage, but that might be too predictable. He’d see it coming.”

Glitch and Karissa both gave a rueful laugh, but there was a rawness to the sound that Saylor felt deep in her gut. “At this point it would be all of them,” Karissa said with a rictus grin. “Savage is definitely top of the list for us, though you’re right, he would see that coming.”

“I assume it has something to do with why the kid at the bar tried to stop you from going in?” Saylor asked. She had just come down from Jax’s room after cleaning it up, to find Karissa and Glitch arguing with the Prospect behind the bar. He was about to come around to stop them, but they completely ignored him and went into Church anyway, shutting the door behind them. The kid looked equal parts pissed and terrified, and quickly left the clubhouse.

Glitch and Karissa exchanged a look before they regarded her seriously. “It does, but we can’t tell you anything if you aren’t planning on sticking around,” Glitch told her briskly. “Us telling you anything that was said in that room is technically against the rules, but considering how the rules aren’t always followed around here, we’d make an exception if you’re planning on staying.” They stared at her expectantly, expecting an answer.

Saylor hesitated. While she was waiting for everyone to get out of Church, she pondered things. While she was cleaning up Jax’s room, thoughts of what it would mean if she stayed filled her mind. Which was crazy, because why the hell was she even considering making such a huge commitment to a man she barely knew? Was she feeling sorry for him because of his story? Or was she getting distracted by great sex? How could any of that be enough to consider uprooting her entire life?

Yet, the more her thoughts swirled, the more the thought of leaving panicked her. It was like her brain was trying to push her toward it, even if the rest of her wasn’t convinced. If she was honest with herself, she liked the community the club created, despite their attitudes being stuck in the fifties. They loved their families and friends, and they jumped to help her instantly, even when she pushed back or tried to refuse. She had something like that with Mater and the guys at the gym, but not like this.

“I’m considering it,” she finally admitted. “I’m a bit nervous. I mean, I barely know any of you, and with everything going on, I wonder if I’m just wishing for something that might not be the right fit.”

Both Karissa and Glitch nodded, understanding. “This group isn’t even close to being considered normal,” Karissa agreed. “I watched it from the outside when Fury and Esme were doing their little dance around each other, but here they are now, expecting their first baby together. I think it depends on what you want out of your life. But the biggest thing to remember is that while the women and the family come with it, it’s the man you’re going to have to live with. So if you have any doubts about Jax, you need to be willing to walk away. The rest of us will always welcome you back and keep in touch, but the one thing that keeps us all tied here is the men. Without them, there is no community.”

Saylor sighed. “I worry that I’m rushing things, but I like Jax. I think he and I could be something in any other circumstances. But right now is high stress, which means we could just be amplifying things that we’re not really feeling.”

“‘Fraid to tell you, but that’s how most of us ended up here,” Glitch drawled. “Savage and Royal were searching for her twin sister who was trying to take their son, Esme was on the run from her ex, Scarlett and the girls were running from their own demons, Karissa was dealing with her psycho former foster sister, and I was hunting a high school acquaintance that wanted to get revenge for shit from a long time ago. It was high pressure, high stress, and we all figured our way through it and ended up with our men. Personally, I think stress and high pressure situations show the real you, and how much you can truly handle, and what kind of person the other is too. People in those kinds of situations are either assholes or supportive. Jax strikes me as the latter.”

“Not that we’re trying to convince you of anything,” Karissa added with a wry smile, “but you do have the benefit of your job being remote. You can do it from anywhere, if you decide to stay and give him a chance when things have settled down.”

It was a thought that had been at the forefront of her mind. She nodded. “You’re right, but it’s not just me that needs to decide. It would be up to Jax, too.”

Karissa snorted. “Trust me, you don’t have anything to worry about on that front. If Jax didn’t want you, you wouldn’t have been in his room, and he wouldn’t have kissed you the way he did in front of everyone earlier today.”

“That means that choice is up to you,” Glitch finished.

Saylor nodded. She supposed it was. But still, that was something she was going to have to ponder later. She brought them back to the topic at hand. “Does that mean you’re going to tell me why you’re both upset, or should I follow along quietly? I’m good with either.”

Karissa and Glitch sobered. They glanced at each other and then jerked their chins as they turned and headed further along the road that led deeper into the property. Saylor trailed behind, curious as to where they were heading. After a few more minutes, the pavement turned to gravel, and they wound along a dirt path that seemed to snake into the trees toward the fence.

When they finally stopped, they were just inside the treeline, but Saylor could make out a chain-link fence that seemed to stretch all the way in both directions. She had a feeling its purpose wasn’t to keep people in, but rather to keep them out. “We need to get away from everyone. If you want to do that, staying around the clubhouse is a bad idea,” Karissa explained as she leaned against the fence.

Saylor glanced around. “You don’t worry about someone climbing over to take you?” she couldn’t help but question.

Both women chuckled. “This is the part where we tell you some things that you need to keep to yourself,” Glitch informed her. “You seem trustworthy, but this is the kind of shit that if it gets around, we’ll have to find you and kill you.”

Saylor first thought she was joking, but one look at their faces told her they were both completely serious. She nodded. “I won’t say anything,” she promised. “Want a signature in blood to prove it?”

Karissa and Glitch chuckled. “Nah,” Karissa drawled. “We’ll take you at your word. But just so we’re clear, if you ever broke that promise, we could find you extremely easily. The people after you are amateurs.” Saylor arched a brow but nodded. “The reason we can do that, is because Glitch and I, and the Predators MC, are a former mercenary team that unofficially worked for the government. We were the people who did the dirty work the government couldn’t be associated with.”

Saylor stared at them both. Okay, so she figured they were involved in some serious shit, but she would never have guessed anything like that. “So, what you’re saying is, not only can you kick my ass, you could chop me up into little pieces and send me back in boxes, like in the movies?”

Glitch sputtered out a laugh. “Yeah, I suppose so, but that sounds like a lot of work. I’d probably just snap your neck and drop your ass in the closest deep body of water where you’ll never be found. You’ll be shark bait.”

“But you’re not part of that anymore?” Saylor asked curiously.

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