Page 13 of Savage Guardian

Perhaps he could make her see thathecould be part of that future.

Fuck. If the Raiders could hear his thoughts….

Tomorrow.Once the sister was busy fetching coffee or dry cleaning or whatever the hell she did, he could get ask Carrie all the questions that had been swirling in his head and burning in his guts since the first time he’d heard her voice. No, he couldn’t fuck her. Yet. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t start something…fun. Carrie looked like the kind of woman who enjoyed having his brand of fun.

His gaze flicked back to the sister, wondering whatherkind of fun was. Despite only having just met her, there was something about her he couldn’t quite put his finger on…and it bothered him enough to have AFK look into her, which he would do anyway. Anyone connected to Carrie would undergo a deep dive background check. Fae first, then the skeevy manager he’d met in the lobby on his way up to the suite. The man had “grubby parasite” written all over his cheap suit, comb-over, and sweaty forehead. The man was a fucking cliché, but he appeared harmless.

Better safe than sorry. Especially when it came to doing his job. He couldn’t let Grimm, the club enforcer and the new director of Savage Protection, Odin, or Carrie down.

Fuck, there was so much weighing on him, and he couldn’t just go and get laid or drunk to blur the burden for a while.

Mentally shaking his head, he pushed that question away. He wasn’t there to focus on the sister; he was there for the client. Carrie.

When the cell rang again, he answered.

“Church in forty,” Odin declared, unwavering command in his voice, even over the phone. “Grab some pie from Danny’s on the way, would’ya. My Valkyrie is hungry for chocolate cream and she’s stuck at the clubhouse because there’s no way I’m letting my woman out of my sight.”

Hell. When the prez’s old lady, Skathi—road nameValkyrie—wanted something, it was every brother’s duty and honor to get it for her. Not that the badass Danish Jaegerkorpsetneededanything from anybody. She could kill a man with her bare hands and still bake a mean banana bread right after.

Andshe was two months pregnant, which meant Odin was off the rails, insanely protective of his woman. As he should be.

“I’ll be there,” he replied before ending the call.

Shoving his cell back into his pocket, Hawk turned back to face the two women—one draped over the chaise and the other practically teetering on the edge of the cushy chair, as though she were preparing to take flight.

Like a frightened pixie, waiting for the hawk to strike and dust her wings.

Where the hell had that thought come from?

Shit. It was a good thing he was leaving, because he needed to get busy so he could get his mind on right.

“Got to go,” he said, watching as disappointment flashed on Carrie’s face right before her pouty lip made an appearance. “Madden is on tonight. He’ll be posted at the door to the suite. Let him know if you need to go anywhere, and he will escort you.” Alex Madden was one of the first hires when Savage Protection began expansion from a club-run side business to part of the Savage Corporation holdings. In the beginning, the protection detail comprised Savage Raiders brothers, but once word got out and the company expanded, Odin hired on ex-mil operators looking to make bank while still using their battle-honed skills.

“What about you?” Carrie asked, slowly rising to her feet, her lithe movements like an art of practiced seduction. This woman knew what she was doing, and it was working for her.

Maybe he didn’t need to work his seduction after all. She seemed willing. Eager.

Nothing like the shy woman behind that YouTube videos that never showed her face. For a woman so obviously used to being the center of attention, it made him wonder why she’d kept herself hidden. Why the need for anonymity? Certainly, being a mystery created a mystique that made the Aoibheal brand popular, but with Carrie’s looks, she would have hit stardom hard and fast.

Carrie James was beautiful, sexy, and she made sure to make a statement with every word, look, and movement.

So why did that give him pause?

He smirked, winking at the woman in question playfully. “I’ll be here in the morning, and every morning, while you’re in Vegas. I have the morning and afternoons with you, but Madden and Jenkins will switch off nights, from six to six.”

“Where will you be at night?” she purred, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Unable to stop himself, Hawk flicked a glance at Fae, curious about her reaction to the flirtation going on right in front of her.

Once seated on the edge of the chair, she was now slunk back, curled into herself, her chin tucked into her chest. It was the position of someone was used to being invisible. Forgotten. Was that the source of tension and anger he’d sensed earlier? His gaze landed on Fae’s hands—small but with long, thin fingers. Hands thathishands still remembered…like a phantom sensation tingling along a missing limb.

“Well,” he began, dragging his gaze from Fae and back to her sister, “this is Las Vegas, so there’s no telling where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing.” More than likely, though, he’d be at the clubhouse getting drunk with his brothers, or at the new club-bought MMA gym, Savage Fist—which used to be Steele Fist until the owner lost it because of a gambling addiction—kicking some ass.

His cell vibrated against his chest, notifying him of a text, and he just knew it was Odin.

Shit, Skathi was probably getting hangry—and that was something nobody wanted.

Urgency pushing him toward the door but something intangible holding him in place, Hawk forced himself to say goodbye to Carrie, his Aoibheal—and her sister—and leave.

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