Page 33 of Savage Hunter

A more tame-looking Kendra blows me a playful air kiss around chewing on her gum—a new habit to help with her nerves. It’s better than the lines of heroin she used to go for. Ares put a quick stop to that and helped her get clean. Several times over. She’s sweet, but don’t let her cute smile fool you. She’ll have your man taking her on the nearest flat surface she can find before you can blink. I’ve seen it happen at the Savage’s up-scale club, Asylum, more than once.

I shake my head with a smile. When those two get an eye full of Wolfe, they’ll be all over him.

A surge of energy spirals from the center of my chest to shoot straight through my stomach. I try to breathe through the irrational thought of them touching a man I thought was dead less than an hour ago.

Instead of the unsettling jealousy swirling inside my stomach, I need to focus on what matters. I thought I had longer to find my footing, now I don’t know. I’ve almost convinced Ares to give me a full-time job at Asylum. Part time isn’t getting me much money.

Casanova pulls the front door open for us and I follow Nova into the Doc’s old place. Peeling white paint, green shutters and dry flower beds hide the fact that it offers a cozy interior. Inside, I see Ares and Nova have left everything as it was when Doc was alive. There have been talks of burning it down, I think the fact it holds the medical facility has kept it from meeting an ashy death like its previous owner.

It’s a two-story house with the rooms upstairs and one downstairs. Kitchen, living room and a medical facility in the basement. Not something many know about if you are not a Savage. Very few outsiders see this part of of the Savage compound.

The second the door closes behind me, my eyes dart around the room. It’s an old habit I can't seem to shake even though I know I am in safe company.

Nova heads straight for Ares who is talking with Riot and Lilith in hushed tones like someone is on their deathbed. Both wear expressions of worry and Riot, like Wolfe, still wears the aftermath of the fight they dragged Rage out of—soot everywhere. Dragon and Asena are in the kitchen, their little girl tucked close to her daddy’s chest. Asena has a glow about her. A sneaky voice in the back of my head says it probably won’t be long before she makes an announcement about expecting their second baby.

Dragon kisses her on the head and passes the girl to her mother before heading downstairs. With no in-house doctor I guess he’s tending to Rage with his field training.

They stretch someone new out on the couch against the far wall. Her shirt is pulled up, and she’s on her side while Fergie ties off the last of a long line of stitches. Blood stains the newcomers shirt and from the looks of the puckered sides, Rage is not the only one lucky to be alive. I offer her a small smile and ease myself deeper into the living room.

Riot’s cousin, Mace, stands off to the side talking with Fergie’s husband, Bear. It looks heated so I take a detour to the other side of the room.

Worrisome words filter through the murmured conversations like knife, fire and dead.

Ares catches my eye and signals toward Mace. Ugh. So much for just blending in. At six and a half feet tall, Macedonia is not a simple guy to miss. Especially in a room having trouble holding twelve people. The former FBI agent, and Riot’s cousin, gave up his badge for the biker life when Ares’ brother took it upon himself to eliminate the Savage crew and unite with Society 69. Or at least try. It’s been one fight after another lately and I’m not sure how much more stress everyone can take.

Mace sees me, and a smile pulls at his lips. Every time he sees me I feel like I light his world up. It’s refreshing and I’m glad I do that for someone as protective and caring as he is. But like all beasts, this one is gentle until riled up. He has the size to take out pretty much anyone with one blow of his fist. I’m extra careful to not be in the way when he and Casanova like the spar. Wrestling grizzlies would be nicer.

I move toward Mace, and he holds a hand out for mine. Right before my fingers meet his, the energy in the room turns from comfortable to electric. Like someone hooked up a Tesla coil in the center of the room and cranked it too high.

I angle my head over my shoulder to see what changed only to find Wolfe’s gaze arrow in on me. Perfectly shaped lips peel back into an amazing, heart-grinding grin revealing straight white teeth and killer sex appeal. I think it is what drew me to him. The undeniable bad boy energy meshed with the expanse of all that muscle. I like them big, well spoken and willing to fight for me. He’s all that and more. It’s not eloquent of me given my upbringing, but the truth hardly cares about wealth and social rank.

All that delicious muscle shifts and I can tell before he takes the first step in my direction Wolfe has every intention of coming my way.

I swallow hard and try to keep my cool and not run to him, but it’s nearly impossible. My heart rate doubles and the pulse in my neck thumps so hard it’s distracting. Blood rushes through my veins at a speed it’s hard to hear anything else.

An aura of energy ripples around him. I can’t see it, but I feel like an orbiting moon being pulled into his space. It is a force so strong that I have a hard time keeping my feet glued to the hardwood without retreating two steps back.

Given my earlier shock at seeing him in my space, I failed to notice he is as banged up as the rest of the crew hot off the road. Blood stains the front of his shirt. And I’m sure he had dark jeans at one time, but not black. Soot covers him and the smudges on his cheeks have lines through them from the tears we shed together.

I lick my suddenly dry lips and breath for the first time since he walked in the second Bear grabs his attention and calls him over. He hesitates, like he wants to brush off the older man, but eventually breaks eye contact and changes his course of direction.

“Hey sweet thing. You okay? Your hand is trembling.” Mace pulls me into him and kisses me on the cheek. He’s shown interest in me and I’ve not done much to steer him in a different direction. He fits most of everything I love in a man — big, protective and kind. But he’s not Wolfe, my intrusive voice mouths off yet again. And it’s right. Wolfe is one of a kind.

“Hey Mace.” I can’t find it in me to break the human connection he is interested in forming. It isn’t fair to him, but he’s also not taken it beyond some light touches and a few hugs.

The Savage brushes a thumb over my cheekbone and I know why. “Something keeping you up at night?”

Honestly, I haven’t slept well in nearly a year, but I don’t feel like getting into the gritty details of my nightmares. I slip on my mask and smile. “It’s nothing. I probably need a new pillow or less coffee.” I lie, to cover my faults. I might be out from under my mother’s control but her lifelong lessons of never showing weakness is glued to me like Fergie’s fake lashes are to her eyelids. They are not falling off. Not even with hurricane-force winds.

But Mace knows my past. Everyone does. The dirty parts of it, anyway. But not the reasons nor by who. It’s better this way.

“Liar.” He taps the end of my nose. Understand and regret move over his expression but he doesn’t press on the matter and it’s not like I want to talk about my time as a house sample for a couple of deranged brothers. Vomiting my jumbled up emotions all over the floor for everyone to judge and comment on is not on my to-do list for the day.

There’s a growl from behind me and then Mace looks over my shoulder. I already know what he sees without turning around.

“Wolfe.” I greet him as he comes up behind me.

“Problem, my friend?”

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