Page 20 of Craving the Bad Boy

I can’t stay in this town.

I can’t stay near Saxon.

I’ll start fresh again. I’ll disappear.

And as much as it hurts, I’ll never,everlook back.

9

SAXON

If I wasa man of words, which I’m not, I would say that I’m glowing as I pull my bike up to Jayne’s bar. I’m absolutely glowing with anticipation. I’m about to see my girl.My girl.

Tammy.

She changed me.

Before Tammy, my mind was always on the present. Never the future. I figured I’d live fast, die young, just like all the clichés say. I took what I wanted and never thought twice about it. Never looked back. I could never be one of those men with a nine-to-five desk job and a house with a white picket fence.

I’m an outlaw.

But now, when I have her in my arms and I can feel her warmth and her heartbeat against me, I cansee it. A future beyond the road, beyond gang wars and gasoline. A home beyond the clubhouse and a reason to wake up in the morning beyond survival or revenge. Tammy opened me up, made me reveal my secrets, and showed me that I could want more from life than the next fight. The next thrill.

I could want forever. With her.

But loving Tammy isn’t easy. I showed her the scars I never showed anyone, and it was like ripping open an old wound andexposing myself to them. Like tearing out stitches I’d closed years ago. But now I know that I’d let Tammy stitch me up again a thousand times over if it means I get to keep her.

I’m man enough to admit that it scares the hell out of me the way she’s changed me. I’m not just a rough rider cruising through life without direction anymore. Now I have something worth protecting–someoneworth fighting for. And I believe, deep down to my core, that no matter where life takes me now, Tammy will be right there at my side.

I barely remember to shut my bike off before throwing a leg over and striding into Jayne’s. My boots echo off the floor as I step into the room, which is damn quiet for this time of day. No sound of clinking glasses, people laughing. Hell, they don’t even have the music playing. There’s a handful of old drunks nursing their drinks in the back shadows who glance up when I enter, but they’re not who I’m looking for.

My eyes go to the bar, expecting to find Tammy wiping down glasses or the counter, her shy eyes twinkling when she sees me. But she’s not there. I only see George, who shifts uncomfortably when he notices me.

“Where’s Tammy?” I demand, my voice a bit more threatening than intended. He stiffens and puts his phone in his pocket. I can see by the look on his face that he doesn’t want to talk about this. Whateverthisis.

“You just missed her Saxon,” he says with a sigh. “She ran outta here a few minutes ago.”

A dart of suspicion stings my chest. “Ranoutta here?” I ask. “What does that mean?”

George glances around, like he’s looking for trouble. Does he think I’m gonna attack him or something? Is he responsible for this? Whateverthisis?

“Look, man. I don’t want any trouble–”

“George,” I snap, leaning across the table and grabbing him by the shirt. “I don’t have time for this shit. Spit it out.”

His eyes flash, but before he can even get a word out, I go stiff. And not in a good way.

A familiar scent enters my nostrils.

Not Tammy’s.

Roxy’s.

“She was here,” I growl, every muscle in my body tightening as my heart begins to hammer against my ribs. “Wasn’t she?”

George knows who I’m talking about and immediately nods. “She showed Tammy something on her phone thatreallyupset her. Tammy just about had a panic attack and ran outta here. I just finished cleaning up her puke before you came in.”

The room tilts as his words slam into me like a massive fist.

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