Page 5 of Room One Hundred and Seven: Catch and Claim

My eyes wander around the clubhouse. One of the club angels is lounging back on one of the couches. Hell, I don’t even know her name, but when our eyes meet, she perks up and I have to fight the growl of annoyance that wants to escape. She bats her eyelashes at me like that’s going to be enough to entice me.

It isn’t.

My dick doesn’t even perk up at the way she pushes her tits up in the air like she’s offering them to me.

Huh.

I’m not above having a fling here and there. I’ve done it before, but I always make sure that the woman knows where I stand.

I’m not sticking around.

I’m just passing through.

Wherever she is, it isn’t my home.

There’s no way she’s going to be more than a quick fuck. Nothing more.

No feelings. No promises. No strings.

That’s the way I’ve functioned for years, and I’ve been more than happy with it.

Still, as I follow Spark, Rites, and Crucify toward Spark’s office, knowing Navy is waiting for them the moment we’re done, has a foreign feeling building in my chest. Is that yearning? Is it jealousy? Is it something else?

Right before we enter the hallway leading toward Spark’s office, Penance strides into the clubhouse with the ghost of a smile on his lips. Penance was patched into the club after that trafficking ring was taken down. Back then, when I first met him, it was clear he was fighting his own demons.

The man rarely smiled and everything he did made me realize that his road name suited him perfectly. Everything about him screamed that he was trying to purge his soul of whatever sins he committed. I didn’t know the story then, but since his stepsister came back into his life I’ve heard enough to piece it all together.

She was the reason he was fighting an internal battle. Now they’re together and he’s been purged of the darkness he used to cling to. He might not be the life of the party still, but the burden of his past, which he was carrying on his shoulders, has been alleviated.

It’s good to see.

Penance helps to run Savior Saints Security. Since Volkov hired the security firm, he’s been our go-between since are arrival in Seattle to help get shit sorted.

That feeling comes back again, full force.

As we all sit in Spark’s office, I keep my voice neutral, “Let’s get down to it. Volkov’s enemies aren’t going away anytime soon. We need to get ahead of this shit before it becomes a problem.”

Everyone’s face is grim but determined. It’ll have to be enough. For now.

Even when we start digging into what we’ve been hearing around the city, our concerns, and how we’re going to combat them, the feeling lingers. I don’t like it at all, especially because I have no idea what to do about it.

Those damn eyes are a persistent thought, one I can’t seem to shake any more than the feeling of wanting something, anything, more.

Something must be wrong with me because the woman those eyes belonged to is long gone. I’ll probably never see her again.

Then why do I make a silent vow that if I do then I’ll make sure to catch her and never let her go?

CHAPTER 3

KIRBY

Even though I’ve tried to ignore it the entire time I was preparing for coming back to Seattle for the first time in ten years, I can’t ignore the flood of panic and fear overtaking me now that I’m here. I learned a long time ago that ignoring the way I was feeling didn’t help me. I had to acknowledge and accept my feelings before I could move on.

Why I thought I could just pretend like planning to be in Seattle wouldn’t make me feel like I was right back in that horrible, dark place I was in ten years ago, I’ll never know. It was easier to ignore it than try to accept how difficult it was going to be.

I would have canceled my plans, my contract, and put my head in the sand. But that’s not the woman I’ve turned myself into. I’m not the same as I was ten years ago when my life was irrevocably changed.

I’m stronger now. I’m better equipped to deal with the horrors that life can throw at you without warning. I can protect myself. I’ve built a life I’m damn proud of, one that allowed me to travel around the world, meet new people, and keep hold of the control I’ve cultivated.

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