Page 89 of Avenging Devil: Part 1

Grimacing, I tell her the brutal truth. “Men like that don’t want to lose, Saffie. With him in the picture, you’ll never be able to stop looking behind you.”

“Where did I go wrong?” Her voice turns to a wail. “I thought I did it right, Niran. I did everything that the Freedom Trail people told me. Then I trusted you, and your guy betrayed me.”

“You did nothing fuckin’ wrong,” I growl, angry at myself as she’s right. If it hadn’t been for me, Duke would still be in the dark. “As for us trying to get info, well, we do that on anyone who the club comes across. Token knows what the fuck he’s doing. Duke must have a fuckin’ good hacker on his payroll or access to one.”

She huffs. “Duke has everything on speed dial, but in this case it’s closer to home.” Her brow wrinkles in disgust. “Grit. He’s the security man for the Crazy Wolves MC. He’s ex-FBI if you can believe that. He got kicked out when he was consorting too closely with White supremacists and found something he liked with the Wolves. When he joined, the club gained all the skills they needed.” Her voice breaks off, and she shakes her head. “Whether he’s good enough to track down my new name, I wouldn’t know, but he’s all I can think of.”

As an ex-fed, he well might, or have contacts who could help. I hone in on why Duke’s club had attracted him. “Crazy Wolves a White club?”

Her eyes roam over my face. “Let’s just say you’d never get a step in the door.”

Her answer isn’t unexpected. Hell, it was only just before I joined that the Satan’s Devils removed the colour clause restricting membership. When I’d first joined, I’d expected some flack as the token Black member, but here no one is judged by the colour of their skin, it’s the heart beating beneath it that matters.

Something occurs to me. Something important. “And you, Saffie? You buy into the White shit?” I hold my breath.

“Me?” Her eyes widen. “Hell no. Niran, I might not know a lot about you, but from what I’ve seen, you’re hands down better than any man in that club.” Shaking her head, she adds, “There’s no sense in judging a man by his colour. It’s just one more excuse for them to bind together and do the shit they do.”

She’s got that right. Problem is, there are far too many who hide under that umbrella, believing anyone looking different to them is a threat to be removed. For a moment, my hands clench as I force myself to put issues of race aside that have so often been the blight of my life. A White man can walk down any street unmolested, as if there’s a flag saying ‘I’m no threat’ above his head. A man such as me? Most of the time, I’m a suspected criminal until proved innocent.

I take a moment, then get back to the point, and one which annoys me no less. “The Freedom Trail needs to tighten up its shit. The only thing that makes sense is that this Grit hacked into their database and discovered your new identity.” I make a mental note to talk to Stormy and get him to check Grit out, find out exactly what kind of threat he is. At the least, if she moves on, next time Stormy and his crew need to do better.

“To be safe, I need to move away without leaving a trace. How the hell am I going to do that, Niran? What’s to stop Duke from finding any new name I choose again?” Saffie covers her eyes with her hands and rubs them.

I repeat to her what Token had told me when he’d caught me finding the tools to put on her lock. “This time we’ll make sure your new identity will never be discovered. It won’t be shared with the Freedom Trail nor anyone else. Once you’re relocated, we can destroy all records and traces of it. There’s ways for you to disappear completely if it comes to it.”

Sadly, she shakes her head, then turns watery eyes to face me. “Does that mean you wouldn’t be able to find me either?” It means exactly that. Earlier Token had suggested her new identity might not be shared even with me. Something I find abhorrent. All I can do is hope it doesn’t come to that and persuade her there’s another route she can go down.

For now, though, I give her that comfort. “If we do this right, Saffie. Then no.” She must know I’ll never betray her. But she needs that confidence that she’ll disappear without a trace. Even to those who have innocent reasons to find her.

Turning away, I know I can’t bear the thought of her once again having to rebuild her life. A hard thing to do at any time, but with her still immersed in her grief? Hell, I wouldn’t rehome a dog unless it was fully fit, and probably not even then.

She can’t leave. I offer the alternative. “You’ve got another option,” I tell her. As her brow creases, I continue, “We get Duke out of the picture.” Her lips narrow, but I don’t give her a chance to speak. “If you accept the protection of the Satan’s Devils MC, then we can deal with him for you.”

Her face, which hasn’t got much colour to start with, pales before my eyes. She even takes a step back. “You forget, Niran, I know how an MC works.” Her words sound forced, almost staccato. “Unless the MC is being paid, protection is only offered to property. I’m not a whore, I’ve never been, and will never be.” Tears once again leak from her eyes.

“Fuck, Saffie. How could you think we’d ask you to repay us by working on your back?”

“Well what else do you want?” she snaps. “You’ve probably found out that I come from a wealthy family, but there’s no chance of them paying you to protect me. For all I know, I’m dead to them now.”

“Saffie.” I try to keep my voice low, particularly when I hear feet walking past the door. I’d close it for this conversation, but now’s not the time to give off the wrong signals and make her more scared than she already is. “We’re not asking for money.”

“You want me to believe you’re doing this out of the goodness of your hearts?” She’s growing angry. “You think I’m stupid? You think your club would go to war for me? If Duke finds out you’re protecting me, he’ll come for me, and he doesn’t take prisoners. Or is it the Devils who have lost their minds? Are you so far away from a normal MC, that you’ve forgotten the blood that can be spilled? You, your brothers, would be putting your lives on the line for me if you go up against Duke.” She gets to her feet, shakily, but there’s determination in her eyes. “Your men…” She waves her hand. “You tell me you’re different from the Wolves, if that’s true, you’ve no idea what you’re up against. Duke wouldn’t come for a conversation, he’d come in with all guns blazing. And when push comes to shove, you think your brothers would give their lives for a woman who’s basically walked in off the street?”

“We’re not fuckin’ stupid,” I hiss, ignoring her accusing finger pointed my way. “Nor weak.”

“If everything you do is legal, perhaps you’ve forgotten how to fight. Duke hasn’t, I assure you.”

She’s pressing my buttons and I’m getting riled. It’s my temper that pushes the fateful words out of me. “You’re fuckin’ right, Saffie. My brothers wouldn’t go to war for just anybody. It’s property that’s protected. That’s why I’ve claimed you as my old lady.”

She gasps and retreats once again. A trembling hand rises to her face, and she shakes her head as if wondering if her ears are working. In a growl, she rasps, “Say that again.”

I’ve gone and fucked up. I know it. I shouldn’t have spat that out, should have kept it to myself. Another woman would have believed we’d help because we were sorry for her, but Saffie’s got too much experience with MCs. The Devils might not be the Wolves, but we work to many of the same principles.

Tonight should have been a time for her to rest and settle in. Fuck, that’s why I came to secure her door. Instead, what I’ve said could get her running for the hills, and I wouldn’t blame her.

“Saffie, listen to me.” I brush my hands over my head, linking my fingers together behind my neck. “Before I knew about your connection with the Crazy Wolves, I was gutted by the problems you were going through and wanted to help you. I wanted to be there for you, just as a friend. But throw in Duke and his MC, that’s not enough. You need more than just me on your side, you need my club.” Breaking off, I shrug. “Taking you as my old lady ensures your protection.”

“I’m not a fucking dog you rescued from the pound,” she throws back. “I’m a human being with wants, needs and desires all of my own. I’m not someone who can just be claimed. Hell, even Duke asked me first.”

---