Page 69 of Zeke

Zeke and Eli look pleased, but Julia has a question. “What about the club? What happened to the rest of them?”

“Gage took over,” Savage says, referring to Wizard’s older brother, who’d been more than a little displeased with Wizard when we brought him back. “He’s going to take care of Dee, since Wizard isn’t smart enough to stay alive for his own daughter. He’s making sure that anyone who thought Wizard had the right idea is dealt with, either by being punished or kicked out. But they’re on the right path now, and Gage officially cleared me to stay here.”

For some reason, Julia seems annoyed. She scoffs and looks away, but Savage isn’t having her attitude today.

“Julia,” he says in a low, dangerous tone. “You are more than welcome to go back to Miami. No one is forcing you to stay here. You need to figure out where your loyalty is and where you want to be because everyone is done putting up with you acting like a brat.”

She gives him an angry look but keeps silent. I have no idea if that means she’ll cause fewer issues or if it means she’ll leave. Either way, it feels good to have Savage say something. I guess the trip and the ambush have worn on him enough to make his patience for his sister’s attitude evaporate.

“Now,” I say, yawning and stretching my arms toward the ceiling. “I have been driving for almost a whole-ass day, and I need some fucking sleep. Anything else, we can talk about when I wake up in, oh, about a week. Eli and Zeke, until I do, you two are in charge.”

They nod, and Savage stands up, coming to my side.

“Let’s get some sleep,” he says, wrapping his good arm around my waist and guiding me to the stairs. Before we disappear around the corner, I glance back and see Zeke giving Julia a sympathetic look as she clearly tries not to cry. I wonder what happened between them while I was gone.

We get back to our bedroom, and when I open the door, I feel like I could cry with how happy I am to be home. I built this place, this club, with my blood, sweat, and tears after Torque almost drove it into the ground. This is mine, and I will protect it and the people in it with everything I have.

But first, I turn to my ol’ man and help him get undressed around his injured arm. He winces but doesn’t make a peep. He must be in agony, but he’s tough, which is good. Right now, I need him to be because I feel small. I’m the most powerful woman in MC culture, but with him, I’m able to be taken care of, which I need right now, even if he’s the one with stitches in his arm.

“Come on, Sweet Girl,” he says, putting his arm around my waist again and pulling me to the bed, where we crawl under the covers. He positions his hurt arm so it doesn’t get in the way and pulls me against him, where I fall instantly asleep.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

Zeke

Iwatch my sister and Savage go upstairs to bed and turn back to Julia.

“Hey,” I say, and she glances at me, seeming unsure about what I’ll say. “You feeling any better, now that he’s home and safe?”

She seems like she doesn’t believe I’m checking in on her, and I don’t blame her. It was only yesterday that she’d gotten physical with me in her anger and fear about Savage’s status. But now that they’re home, and she can see that he’s okay, the tension she’s been carrying around with her loosens up just a bit.

A very, very small bit.

“I guess,” she says, picking at a spot of smeared dough on her jeans. She was at the bakery working when Eli came in to tell us that Eden and Savage were almost home. Julia ripped her apron off faster than lightning, but I wasn’t willing to leave Kira without someone to watch her. Thankfully, Pony was there, and Rebel agreed to give him backup so I could feel better about coming home to meet Eden when she returned.

She gave us a short version of the story when she got in, but then she went up to bed with Savage, leaving us to piece together the rest and hope everything was taken care of.

“I mean, it seems like she has it under control,” Eli says to me in the kitchen as he pulls out a beer for each of us. He hands me mine, and I hold it up in a gesture of thanks. “Eden’s not one to leave a situation half taken care of. It’s not really like her, is it?”

“Definitely not,” I confirm, cracking my can open. “Hell, she’d probably spend twice as long making sure the deal was done before returning, rather than have there be a single possibility of anything coming back to bite us in the ass.”

“Too true,” Eli says, holding out his can to tap it against mine. It’s the first time in months we’ve been close enough to do it. It feels like a confirmation of the fresh start between us. “Eden is thorough to a fault.”

“Then I guess as long as that’s all taken care of in Miami,” I say, “our only real issue at the moment is whatever is happening with Kira.”

“Yeah,” Eli says, frowning. “I saw something weird, something I think we need to talk to Eden about when she’s up. Might help us with a starting point for figuring this shit out.”

I stare at him for a second before taking a sip of my beer. “You care to share?” I give him a look that says I don’t like how secretive he’s being.

“Might be nothing,”he says, frowning. “But I saw the same car close to the bakery twice in the last couple of days. Earlier today, the fucker almost ran me over when he pulled out of the lot.”

“That’s definitely more than a little suspicious,” I say. “Why didn’t you bring it up when Eden was here?”

“Because she was obviously too tired to deal with it,” he says, looking as frustrated by it as I feel, but I can’t blame him for not pushing Eden to talk more when she’d been through what she had. As long as someone watches out for Kira, and as long as she sleeps here where I can make sure she’s safe from whoever is after her, it’s not immediately urgent that Eden know all the details.

“All right,” I say, looking down at my watch. “Kira’s going to be getting off work any minute, and I want to make sure I’m there to pick her up. Not that I don’t trust Pony and Rebel, but I’d feel a lot better if I’m the one bringing her back.”

“Totally get it,” Eli says. “I’m gonna see if I can remember anything about the car. Maybe try to figure out who the driver is so we can see if this guy is a threat.”

---