Page 1 of Savage

1

Savagepulledoutofthe parking lot, falling into line with the others, as they hit the road. He’d been looking forward to this trip for the last couple of weeks and now he was glad to finally hit the road. Was he looking forward to four days on the back of his bike? Yes and no. But he was looking forward to getting away from the Arizona heat, though that wouldn’t be for a day or two.

They’d spent the last hour going over the plan for today, last minute changes and what to do if there was an accident or emergency. He’d shown up with a full cup of coffee, but it was long gone, and he wished he’d taken the time to get a second.

He yawned, then shook his head and forced himself to pay attention. He couldn’t afford to doze off, not on a motorcycle on the interstate and especially not with the rest of the Demented Souls around him. The last thing any of them wanted to do was to wipe out and take out the rest of the pack. Not that the five of them was a huge pack, but they did have the prospects and the women behind them in the trucks. He didn’t want to endanger them either.

If given a choice, Savage would probably have pulled out a couple hours later. He could have used a little more sleep, but he understood why Mac had insisted they get out early. Between the traffic here and what they’d have to go through in Phoenix, it was better to get through it early, before rush hour hit in either place.

It made sense, though Savage might not have thought about it until he was sitting in traffic, dying from the heat. Now he turned up the music on his headphones, and settled in. It would be a long day on the road, and most of it would be in constant traffic, at least until they got north of Phoenix.

They made it to the interstate and settled into their typical road pattern, not side by side but staggered so that they had time to see what was coming and space to move out of the way if possible. Mac was the road captain for the trip, so he rode in front of the formation, using hand signals they’d all gone over more times than Savage could remember to convey changes and directions. For anything more complicated they all had Bluetooth radios in their helmets as well as in the cars. Maverick was riding sweep today. Savage wasn’t sure if Mav would be there for the whole trip or if there would be others trading out with him, Savage was just glad it wasn’t him. He didn’t want the responsibility of the position. Especially as the newest fully patched member of the Souls.

Excitement bubbled through Savage as he settled into his place among the group, not that it was a long line of bikes, as there were only six along for this ride, plus the trucks, but still. He hadn’t been on a long ride like this one since he’d joined the Souls. Not that he hadn’t been on long rides. They’d been all over the state, through most of New Mexico and even into Texas a bit, but he’d never had the opportunity for a trip like this with them. Three weeks? Who even had the time to take a trip like that ever?

Not to mention that he’d never been to any of the states they’d be traveling through so that was a few more off his list of places to visit. He’d crossed off most of his international goals, and many places that he hadn’t ever wanted to see, while he’d still been with the Navy. At the same time, he hadn’t done as well for getting to see his own country, now though, he had more time and could do more of that, and with the men who had fast become his brothers too.

2

Donnabentherheadand carried a large stack of dishes from dinner back to the kitchen area where several women worked on washing them, along with the ones used to serve with. With one load dropped off, she went back to get another. She had to keep her head down, her eyes open and prepare for when she had a chance to escape.

In the meantime, she had to blend, to not call attention to herself, so that was what she would do.

“Sister Donna?” a voice startled her, making her jump and nearly drop the stack of plates she was carrying.

“Yes, sir?” She turned toward the man who’d called her name.

“Brother William said to send you over to the school building when you’re done in here,” Brother Jacob said, his gaze skimming down her body and back up again while he waited for a response.

“I’ll head over there presently. Thank you for letting me know.” She only glanced at his face before dropping her gaze again. She’d learned the hard way not to seem too forward, and meeting men’s gazes was seen as forward or aggressive. Now, she didn’t meet anyone’s gaze, doing her best to let them believe they’d beaten all the resistance out of her.

But she wasn’t beaten. No, she was planning her escape.

When she finished in the kitchen, Donna reported to the school building where the kids were all done for the day but that didn’t mean the work was.

“You need to clean this place,” Brother William instructed her. “Top to bottom, it needs to be done in time for classes to start again tomorrow. You know the consequences if you fail to meet my expectations. Do I have your understanding?”

“Yes, sir.” Donna went to the closet where the cleaning products were kept, dug out what she needed to get started and went to work. Once William was gone, she got a good look around the place. It was a mess. It would take her a couple of hours to get it into good shape. But she would, because it was better than the beatings or worse that would happen if she failed.

And she would bide her time because she had to time her escape right. She had to behave long enough to lull them into thinking she was fully indoctrinated. She kept reminding herself she just had to wait. She was close, she knew it, but the time wasn’t right. Not yet. But it was coming.

Soon.

3

Savageblinkedhiseyesopen and bit back a groan. He wanted to roll over and go back to sleep but knew if he wanted to get food, and more importantly, caffeine, before they hit the road, he needed to get moving.

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting there for a moment as he blinked against the light streaming in the window across the room. The bed in between him and the door wasn’t empty, not that he’d expected it to be. For the trip he and the only other single fully patched member on the trip were sharing a room, at least on the road. He didn’t know for sure what was waiting for them at the ranch, but from what they’d packed in the way of gear it may be tents, and Savage had brought his own tent. Sleeping rough he didn’t mind as long as he had access to showers and decent food. But if he was living in a tent, even if only for a little while, he wanted his own space.

Deciding he’d sat there long enough, Savage pushed himself to his feet, used the facilities and dressed, doing so as quietly as he could so he didn’t disturb Sackett. He’d let the other man sleep as long as he could, at least until he was in danger of being late. Then Savage would check on him, if he hadn’t seen him before then.

Stepping out of their shared room, Savage scanned the area. There had to be a diner of some kind nearby. Somewhere he could get food and coffee. If there wasn’t a diner he’d take a convenience store. They usually had coffee, and even if that was undrinkable, which he had encountered before, he could grab an energy drink.

“What you looking for?” Mac asked as he stepped close to Savage and stopped.

“Somewhere to get food.”

“There’s a Denny’s about a block that way,” the road captain said with a jerk of his thumb back the way they’d come in. “And a mom and pop place about the same distance that way,” he indicated the opposite direction. “It depends on what you’re looking for and how long you want to take.”

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