Page 24 of Phoenix

“They said that they will come for everyone I care about and won’t stop,” Vin said.

“Fuck, it sounds like someone is coming for you, personally,” Savage said.

“I guess it does, now that I’m saying this out loud.” Vin hadn’t had much time to think about anything that happened last night, well, except the part about Aggie. He was up most of the night worrying about her.

“There’s more,” he said. “I was an idiot and went over to Aggie’s place

to get her to patch me up, and I think that when I left last night, there was a car sitting down the street from her house. I didn’t think too much about it until I got home, and then I couldn’t seem to shut my brain off.”

“So, you’re worried that she’s in danger now too?” Savage asked.

“Yeah, and that damn woman is so stubborn, there’s no talking to her,” Vin insisted.

“Well, did you tell her that she was in danger?” Savage asked. Sometimes, Vin thought that the man was a mind reader or something. Instead of telling her about the Ghosts and the possibility of her being in danger, he asked her a question that he wished he hadn’t. At least if he didn’t ask, he wouldn’t knowthat she didn’t want him. Or that she was possibly lying to him for some reason. He just couldn’t read the woman and that frustrated him to no end.

“Not exactly,” Vin admitted. He knew that wouldn’t hold Savage. He’d have more questions and if he wanted his club Prez’s help, he’d need to answer them.

“What exactly did you tell her then?” Savage asked.

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Vin said, “I actually asked her something.”

“Ok, what did you ask Aggie?” Savage questioned.

“I asked her if we are just friends,” he admitted.

“Why the hell would you ask her that?” Savage asked. From the smirk on his face, he already had a good idea why Vin would ask Aggie that question, but the son of a bitch wanted him to say it out loud.

“I asked her that because I wanted to know if she has feelings for me,” Vin admitted.

“Because you have feelings for her, right?” Savage asked.

“I do, but the woman is so stubborn, she looked me in the eyes and outright lied to me. So, I left.” It might not have been his finest moment, but he couldn’t help it. His feelings were hurt, whether he wanted to admit it or not, and a quick getaway was his go-to move.

“You just left?” Savage asked.

Vin shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal, but he knew that it was. “I didn’t know what else I was supposed to do. I mean, I couldn’t have stood in her kitchen and called her a liar,” he insisted.

“No, I don’t think that Aggie would have been okay with you doing that, man,” Savage said. “So, how can I help? Please don’t tell me that you want me to tell Aggie that you got her mixed up with the Ghosts.”

Vin thought that it might be a good idea to hear the truth from someone else, but that wouldn’t be fair to Aggie. “No,” Vin breathed. “I guess it should come from me since I’m the one who led them to her. I think she’ll need a place to lay low until I can figure out what they want from me.”

“You used to be a cop, right?” Savage asked.

“Yeah, a detective,” Vin said, “but I wasn’t involved with drug cases. I worked homicide.”

“If I had to guess, one of your old cases had to do with the Ghosts, and you have information that they want. I think that you and Aggie both need a place to lay low, man,” Savage said.

“I can take care of myself,” he insisted.

“Yeah, your face doesn’t look like you can take care of yourself, Vin. You look like hell,” Savage said.

“Yeah, you’ve already pointed that out, man,” Vin grumbled. “Listen, can you help me get Aggie someplace safe or not?”

“I can, but only if you agree to go with her, Vin,” Savage said. He wasn’t going to back down. When Savage dug in his heels, they all knew to back off. Fighting with him would only be a waste of time, and that was something that Vin didn’t have if he was going to keep Aggie safe.

“Fine,” Vin spat, “let me talk to her and we’ll pack some bags. Can you just text me that safehouse location?”

“Sure,” Savage said. Vin thanked his friend and turned to head out into the bar. He was going to have to find Aggie and face the music because he was sure that right now, every second counted. “Oh, and Vin,” Savage called. He turned back around, and Savage smiled at him. “Be careful.”

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