Page 81 of Savage Guardian

“I’m sorry that I used your credit and ran up all those bills.”

All those bills being the nearly sixty grand in charges to clothing boutiques, restaurants, clubs, and spas. All places where Carrie had used a credit card with Fae’s name on it. Fae wanted to blame those places for not bothering to check for ID, but they wouldn’t even have to do that if Carrie hadn’t been there spending on Fae’s credit in the first place.

“I plan to pay you back, I swear, but…I need a little time. Once Jimmy gives me my percent from the contract—”

Fae raised a hand, closing her eyes to combat the surge of frustrated rage at Carrie’s words.

“Jimmy? You mean the guy you teamed up with to scam me out of my career and money? That Jimmy? The one who wrote the bogus NDA then planned to make me break it so I’d be forced to sell my house to pay for it? The same Jimmy who tricked me into signing a contract that indentures me to him for the next thirty years so that every word I sing and every song I write belongs to him? The same Jimmy who planned to take you on tour as the ‘real’ Aoibheal and get sponsorships left and right, usingmymusic and your face and body?” With every word, Carrie got more and more pale, more tense, more jittery. Fae gave a hard, bitter laugh. “You honestly thought I wouldn’t find out about your plan to ruin my goddamn life?”

“Who told you?” Out of all the questions she could have asked, Carrie askedthatone.

Fae rolled her eyes. “The guy who kidnapped me. Special Agent Brian Tyler. Apparently, he knew about your shitty plan from the very beginning. I guess it’s a good thing he became obsessed with Aoibheal so quickly because he found me, and then when you and Jimmy started planning, he was watching, gathering evidence. At least this terrible experience had one benefit—I have all I need to send you and Jimmy to prison for a long time.”

At that, Carrie broke into ugly sobs. “I can’t go to prison! I’m too pretty; they’ll hurt me!”

Grimm came up behind Carrie, gripping her twiggy shoulders in his enormous hands.

“Come on, tart, got some pigs outside waiting for you.”

Carrie tried to fight against the much larger man, kicking and flailing, and shrieking, but Grimm simply rolled his eyes and dragged Carrie from the room.

In the vacuum left behind, Fae let out the breath she’d been holding and rubbed at her chest, over where her heart was sprinting. Aching.

Carrie had been her sister for thirteen years. When she’d first met her, Fae had been excited to have a sister, someone she could look up to, someone who would look after her, care about her, protect her. The Carrie that was just dragged from the room wasn’t the sister Fae deserved.

ThatCarrie deserved all that was coming to her.

Feeling restless, her head pounding, her side pulsing a dull ache, she moved back to the window and watched the oranges and golds and purples paint the sky as the sun set.

Hawk turned off the ignition and kicked the stand on his bike. Throwing his leg over, he took in the building’s façade in front of him. Home. The home he’d made with men who would kill and die for him. Hisrealbrothers. Brothers who were loyal to the core. Brothers who would never betray him.

Unlike his own brother. Blood. Born of the same parents. Bound by family and history. But no brother of his.

After what happened to Fae, Hawk knew that in order to make things right with the woman he loved, he needed togetright. And that meant confronting the people who’d soured him to what he could have had with Fae, if only he hadn’t been blinded by the blackest taint of his past.

The morning after the rescue, when he’d heard Fae was awake, everything within him wanted to go to her, to pull her into his arms, to kiss her soft lips, but he knew that if he’d gone in there, he could never drag himself away from her. So, once he knew she was going to be looked after, he’d hopped on the first flight to Edinburgh by way of London Heathrow.

He hadn’t set foot on the grounds of Keswick Manor in nine years, so when he arrived, the surprise on his father’s face was almost comical. Gladly taking the time to catch up with his da, he explained to him why he was in Scotland. His father was sad to hear that he was only there for a short time, but he’d understood Hawk’s need for a reckoning. When Liam and Shannon betrayed had him, Hawk had been angry, hurt, and had taken the pain and rage with him when he’d taken off from L.A. to Las Vegas. He’d ignored their calls, texts, and attempts to trap him into conversation by way of his parents. Not once had he wanted to hear the words “I’m sorry” from either of them, because he knew they wouldn’t mean them.

They’d known what they were doing. They just hadn’t cared who they’d hurt.

But that week, to scrape off the weight that he’d been carrying for too long, he’d gone to them at their home in Aberdeen. Opened his chest. Showed them the pain and damage they’d caused. They’d been shocked at his vulnerability, having expected his anger. His vengeance. Once he was done, he told the people who betrayed him he would never forgive them, but that he had to thank them, because without their hideous actions, he never would have found his beautiful Fae.

Hawk had left Scotland a million pounds lighter, and bound and determined to claim the woman who meant everything to him. His love. His Aoibheal. The beating heart in his chest.

Now, back in Vegas, only a few yards from his Fae, he took a deep breath and prayed to whatever god would listen.

Just then, Grimm exited the clubhouse with a screaming Carrie in his grip. She was thrashing and cursing and looking the fool.

“What’cha got there, brother?” Hawk asked, smirking.

Grimm grunted. “Hey, welcome back. This here is just a bit of garbage I’m taking out.”

“Looks like.”

Grimm chuckled. “You got time for a beer after I’m done here?”

“No, brother. I got something to do and if I do it right, I’m not gonna be anywhere near the bar for a long while.”

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