Page 46 of Axe
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Axe
I pulled out onto the main road and tossed my arm out of the window. I hated being trapped in a goddamn cage.
“You have five minutes,” I growled at her. “Anything you think you should tell me, better say it right now. Once we get to the clubhouse, you’re on your own.”
My eyes were glued to the road ahead of me, even though I knew them so well that I could drive them in my sleep. I may not have been looking directly at her, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her body begin to tremble as tears leaked from her eyes.
“It’s not what you think,” she mumbled.
“I sure as fuck hope it’s not. ‘Cause right now, I’m thinking you’re a lying bitch who is trying to spy on my brothers for some sick fuck.” My teeth clenched together so tight I felt like they were going to crack and my knuckles were turning white from the death grip I had on the wheel.
“I’m not one of his girls, I’m his wife,” she said, her words sounded surprisingly strong and I could hear the downright disgust in her voice.
I glanced over at her to see if the expression on her face matched her tone, but her head was turned and she was looking out the window. Her face was angled enough that I could see that the tears had stopped falling and her body now looked rigid with anger.
I eased the car off the side of the road. If it had been just her and me, I would have jerked the car over and slammed on the damn breaks, but the reminder of Lil man in the backseat had me cautious.
Out of the front windshield, I could see the compound gates up ahead. I knew I didn’t have long to sit there and I could only imagine that Cal was probably sitting there stressing the fuck out waiting on me.
We knew that Savage had a wife, however, Bocca couldn’t come up with anything about her. She had been a mystery, but now she was sitting in the car beside me and his son was in the backseat. Things had taken a hard turn and I couldn’t help but look at them differently. But I knew that wasn’t fair, especially to Neiryn. He couldn’t help his role in all of this, it wasn’t like the kid had a choice to be born to a monster. I hated it for him. And if her story even had an ounce of truth, I hated it for her too.
My mind couldn’t decide if I believed what she had told me just now. On the one hand, it was obvious that she was, for lack of a better term, damaged. She had been through some shit. But on the other hand, I might be able to see her being the Devil’s queen and I wouldn’t put it past her to have mastered the art of manipulation. Then again, maybe I had become too paranoid with the whole Savage thing.
I studied her profile. Her throat bobbed with a swallow before she turned to look at me. There was no way this woman sitting here had even an ounce of evil in her. I knew what I’d seen, and while some might say that I was blinded by my feelings for her, I knew better. I wasn’t. I could see her, the real her. She was a good mother and sure, she’d been through some fucked up stuff, but she was strong and warmhearted. And while she did have an amazing strength inside her, not one bone in her even seemed a bit malicious.
“Everything I told you is true,” she said breaking the silence. She cleared her throat and continued on. “But there is more.” A shiver traveled down her spine shaking her entire body.
“Tell me,” I whispered, not one hundred percent sure that I really wanted to know.
“I was seventeen. My dad got into trouble with Savage’s club. I was sold to Savage to pay off my dad’s debt. He married me just to let me know that he owned me. Everything I already told you, it’s all true. Savage wants to be number one. He wants to rule the world. He has his hands in everything. Guns, drugs, girls…”
My eyes widened in shock. The first two I knew about, but I had no idea that he was selling girls. I knew this was going to be a shock to the club as well. I would like to have said that finding that out changed everything, only it didn’t. We were going to put him down at the end of this regardless. Maybe now we’d make him suffer a little more than we’d originally envisioned.
I started to reach out to her but she shook her head.
“He has many different methods for breaking the girls in. Each and every one, he tried on me first. I was his test subject to see how much the human body—and mind—could endure. I stayed because he said he would kill my family and friends if I tried to leave, and when I looked into his eyes, I knew he was telling the truth.”
The need to hold her was overwhelming, but she needed to get through this without my comfort, I could tell. I held back, even if it killed me to do so.
“When I became pregnant, I knew I had to get out. It took me a long time but I finally did. I couldn’t let my son be tortured like I had been. And I couldn’t stand to see Neiryn turn into his father. I came here because I know about you guys. I had hoped that I would be safe here. Savage has the hate and the power, but you guys have the numbers. I figured he would hesitate before crossing the line and I could hide out here and give myself some time to figure out my next move.”
With lightning speed, I undid her seatbelt and pulled her across the console and into my lap.
Her fingers gripped my shirt as she buried her face in my neck and I didn’t hesitate to wrap my arms around her.
“I’m not trying to start a war, I’m just trying to save my son,” she whispered into my neck.
I rubbed her back, trying my best to soothe her.
What the hell was I going to do now? I had to tell Cal. I didn’t keep things from him or the club. Not to mention the fact that if Savage came for them, we needed to be prepared. Would Cal send her away? Sure he had a heart, but he was the damn prez and that meant he had to make the hard decisions. He had to do right by the club.
I pulled her head back and my thumbs wiped the tear streaks away. Without thinking, I pulled her lips to mine. Her body relaxed instantly and I couldn’t deny that I wanted her lips on mine for the rest of my fucking life. Touching her, kissing her, felt like the most natural yet explosive thing in the world. Her fingers threaded through my hair as our tongues tangled together. I wanted nothing more than to push my way inside of her and fucking claim her as my own. But now was not the time and this definitely wasn’t the place.
All too soon, I broke away. My hands cradled her jaw as I looked into her eyes. The tears had dried, but the sadness and fear were still piercing her eyes.
“You said you trust me, then let me handle this,” I said with an odd tenderness in my tone. I smoothed her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. With my lips still pressed against her skin, she nodded.
