Page 5 of Savage

Closing my eyes, I settled back into the leather seat, but I’d be damned if his face didn’t flash through my mind. The fear in his eyes as they’d latched on to mine, followed by the shock when he fell to his knees without a bullet hole piercing his body. The curiosity rearing its head again when he started to run away, but turned back to watch me. Were his eyes brown or blue? It’d been too dark to tell, but now I wondered?—

Wait, what the fuck.What color are his eyes?Jesus Christ, had I let someone hit me in the head tonight?

Annoyed at where my thoughts had gone, I shoved open the car door when it stopped at a traffic light a couple of blocks from Libertine.

“I’ll walk,” I said, and then slammed the door. Obviously I hadn’t burned offallof my adrenaline, and the cold air cleared my head as I hopped onto the sidewalk. The mask I’d slipped into my trench coat pocket after leaving the alley bounced against my thigh with every step I took, reminding me of what I’d risked tonight. If Boy Scout had gotten a glimpse of me without it, I would’ve been in much deeper shit than I already was.

That was one of the main reasons King had wanted me to send a team and not deal with those assholes myself—discretion. The number one rule when it came to Libertine was anonymity, and being caught disposing of a group of drug dealers in some back alley wasn’t exactly discreet.

But I’d been careful. My mask had held. Boy Scout had looked at me like I was some figment of his overactive imagination, and I had no doubt he’d be questioning what he’d seen for the rest of the night. Hell, maybe his life.

I turned down the street where Libertine’s headquarters were situated, made my way toward the nondescript black door of the main building, and gave a couple knocks.

Could I have taken my time returning to base and gone to grab a drink or five? Sure, but I had a feeling that would’ve made the impending ass chewing even worse. So I figured the best course of action was to get inside, track down Alessio, and see if we could do some damage control before the bossman showed.

A small panel in the wood slid open at eye level, and when security saw me it immediately slid shut, and the bolts inside were turned so the heavy door could be opened.

“Good evening, Mr. Stone.”

I acknowledged the greeting with a clipped nod as I stepped inside and unbuttoned my coat, handing it over so it could be hung in the members’ coat closet.

“Would you like me to inform anyone of your arrival?”

“I think I’m going to go with the element of surprise tonight.” Why not stick with the theme of the evening?

“Of course, sir.”

I glanced at the main entrance of the club, and while it was tempting to head inside and lose myself in whatever debauchery I could find, I knew I wouldn’t enjoy myself with the inevitable reprimand looming over my head.

Instead, I headed toward the imposing wrought-iron door at the far end of the entryway. Its impressive height and weight made it impenetrable to anyone who didn’t have the right key. Lucky for me, I wasn’t just anyone.

I pushed up the sleeve of my suit jacket and held my wrist to a scanner on the wall, and as soon as it detected the microchip under my skin, mechanical locks began to whir and jolt.

The mammoth door yawned open, and I stepped inside and headed underground, leaving behind the world outside.

Torches flickered along the stone walls as I descended into a place only seven of us could go freely. The heart of the Libertine society pulsed between the cavernous rooms that occupied our private space. The floors above served the needs and desires of all members, but down here, decisions were made that affected not only our domain, but the entire world.

That wasn’t an overstatement, either.

Tyrone “King” Kingston had assembled a handful of us, men he trusted, men of different backgrounds, specialties, and influence, to wield power for the greater good. Which didn’t always mean coloring within the lines.

I headed to Alessio’s “office,” which was a strict “look but don’t touch” zone. Computer monitors took up the entirety of one stone wall, along with tech gadgets meticulously stored in a way that only he understood. He was methodical to the point of OCD, and it was terrifying what he could do with the click of a button. For that reason, he was the one we all went to in order to get us out of any…situationsthat arose.

None of the offices had doors, just wide, curved openings, so I had a perfect view of Alessio as I went to place a bottle of whiskey on the corner of his desk.

“Not. There.” Annoyance laced his voice as he turned in his chair to face me, and I handed the bottle to him instead.

“Fine. Here. Consider this my peace offering.” I crossed my arms and nodded at the bottle in his hand as I leaned against the entrance. “There. We’re even now.”

“That would be true if you hadn’t cut off all communication.”

I reached into my pocket, grabbed the earpiece, and tossed it in his direction. “It fell out.”

“Bullshit. You took it out. Question is, did you break it this time?” He inspected the earpiece with narrowed eyes.

“I was tempted, but no.”

He grunted in response, but set the earpiece carefully in its place. Then he looked me over and tucked a long strand of his hair behind his ear.

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