Page 83 of Havoc

Celt’s voice rang out, tense and angry. “Why does everyone think that shit? We are not that kind of feckin’ club. Ain’t no Slayer gonna do anything with ye unless ye be askin’ real nicely. If any of them do, I’ll beat their arses myself.”

My arms tightened protectively around her. Although I was still very much conflicted about her lying and endangering my freedom and maybe my life, I vouched for her. “Maritza’s my friend. I’ll make sure she stays out of trouble.”

Maritza turned to me with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry about Slater. I didn’t know…”

I cut her off curtly. “We can talk about all that later. Right now, we just need to get outta here.”

She stammered, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I deadpanned back, “I’m pretty sure it’s not optional. If you don’t come with us, Slater is going to circle back around and get revenge on you if and when the Slayers let him go. At least if you’re with us, you’re safe.”

She glanced away with a slight nod. And that was that.

Meanwhile, Havoc stood there with his chest heaving, watching his club brother haul Slater towards the van. For a cop, he was being a big baby about it, kicking and screaming every step of the way.

Havoc’s eyes landed on me, and he began moving towards me. He looked every inch the badass biker, bruised and battered. All his fury melted away in an instant. His slow walk became faster until he was practically running. His eyes were full of worry and concern.

My feet felt heavy and stuck to the ground. Otherwise, I would have flown into his arms in a heartbeat. I didn’t have much time to unpack what was going on because within seconds he was standing in front of me, looking me over with a critical eye.

“Are you hurt, sweetheart?” he asked. “Did that bastard bruise you when he put his hands on you?” He reached out, gently turning my arms over to see the marks Slater left on me. His fingers skimmed over one, as he cursed under his breath.

“I don’t mind a few bruises. Thanks to you and your club brothers, I survived it.”

“He’s a fuckin’ dead man,” Havoc growled. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“I don’t want you to kill him. Remember, we decided sending him to jail was the way to go?”

I reached up and began wiping away the blood from his face with the sleeve of my shirt.

“I don’t want to risk you ending up in jail over an egotistical asshole like Slater.”

His forehead dropped to mine, as his arms came up around me and tugged me closer.

“Yeah, I remember.” Bringing one hand up to cup my face, he added, “I was just hoping you didn’t.”

“I don’t want you going to prison for killing some asshole who doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Don’t do things that pull you down to his level. You’re better than that, you know?”

He pulled me into his side and held me tight. I wrapped my arms around his waist and just enjoyed the moment. When he looked down at me, his gaze was filled with love and admiration.

“You’re right. Now that I’ve met you, I am a better person. And I don’t know if I’ve ever properly thanked you for that, sweetness.”

I playfully grabbed his shirt and tugged him down for a kiss. “You can thank me later. Let’s get going. Abandoned buildings give me the creeps.”

“I always say, give the lady what she wants,” he teased before scooping me up off my feet and playfully carrying me to the van.

I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. “I almost forgot to ask. Did you get your man, you know, the IT guy you went to find?”

His expression shifted to one of satisfaction. “We sure as fuck did. We not only got him but also grabbed all the information off a bank of servers Slater’s old man set up. Hacker thinks it might be enough to put their whole business out of operation and land them in jail.”

“That’s good news, babe. I’m proud of you.”

He climbed into the van and settled into a seat with me still on his lap.

I saw Maritza hesitating at the open side door of the van and called out to her, “It’s okay, Ritz. I promise you’re safe with these guys.”

She reluctantly climbed into the van and took the one remaining seat.

Havoc didn’t need to declare his undying love for me. I knew he loved me because he’d shown up when I needed him, just like he told me he would. Havoc was a man of action, who kept his word and would always have my back. He probably wanted to chide me for putting myself in danger, but he wasn’t. Knowing how protective he was, that must have taken some real self-discipline.

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