Sin & Savage (17 page)

Chapter 37

The biker grabbed
a fistful of Tori’s hair and yanked her head back hard.

“Ahhh—you’re hurting me!” she yelled.

“Shut the fuck up!”

He dragged her by her locks towards the back door, his handgun now shoved squarely into her back. From her side vision, Tori could see that he was probably in his 50’s, about 5’ 6” short and weighing 350 lbs. plus. His biker vest tightly encircled his wide girth. His head was shaved bald but what he lacked up there was more than made up for on his chin, where he sported a shaggy gray beard.

When they reached the door, he shoved his gun into the waistband of his dirty jeans and turned the doorknob with his free hand, jerking her inside along with him. He shoved her into the room, releasing his hold on her hair the second she crossed the threshold.

“Look what I found snooping outside,” he jeered.

The room went deathly quiet.

Tori blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the light inside. She glanced around and found herself in a long living room area that spanned from the front door of the bungalow all the way to the back door. The open space housed a TV on one end with an old couch in front of it, the stuffing visible through its threadbare material; and three long tables positioned end to end in the middle. Various kinds of firearms lay atop each one from handguns to what looked like military assault rifles of every model, make and type. Boxes and crates were stacked at the sides of the walls, some of them with their lids open, displaying more guns inside. What in the world had she gotten herself into now?

Shocked, Tori’s eyes swiveled back up to see biker after biker staring at her, all of their eyes dark, ruthless and cold. She counted twelve of them, including the one who’d caught her outside and she recognized two from that disgusting Delilah’s club.

But the one she knew the best—considering that she’d almost made love to the bastard—was Savage Monroe. He was standing at the far end of the room, near one of the tables that had even more guns on it, along with a black duffle bag.

Beside him stood another biker, probably in his 60’s, as unkempt and crude as the rest of them but this one held an air of authority about him. He was wearing a different style of vest than the Sons of Perdition members did. In fact, a lot of the bikers in here were wearing that exact same vest, and it finally dawned on her that they were from another outlaw club.

Tori’s frightened eyes latched onto Savage’s cold ones. He stared back at her with no emotion, just like the others were doing. But he looked meaner than the rest of them combined. Instinctively, she recoiled from his dark, withering look. A chill surged through her as she stood there frozen and indecisive.

The short, fat biker who had caught her clenched his clammy fingers around her left arm and dragged her further into the room, right into the middle of everything. “Looks like we’ll be havin’ some fun after our business concludes, boys.” He laughed in a low, sinister way.

Some of the bikers snickered at the lewd comment, while they all kept staring at her like a pack of hungry wolves would at a baby lamb that had just innocently trotted into their midst.

“Maybe she’s a cop?” one of them piped up.

A deadly murmur rippled through the room. Tori glanced back at Savage. He was just looking at her, his eyes flat and cold.

Suddenly, a faint smile flitted across his lips. “She’s mine, assholes,” he drawled, before turning his dangerous orbs back on her. His smile ended. “Bitch, I thought I told you to stay the fuck home! What the fuck are you doing here?” he roared at her.

Tori gasped at the outburst directed at her. No one—but no one—in her entire life had ever spoken to her like that and it shocked the hell out of her! She could even feel the violence radiating off of him.

For a second, she was speechless, not knowing how to respond to his anger; and then a fuse lit into her, as a surge of outrage coursed through her. How dare he speak to her like that!

“Listen, you—”

“Did I fucking give you permission to speak, bitch? No! So, shut the fuck up!”

Tori took in all of the evil faces looking her way. Some were even nodding their approval at how Savage was treating her. Cold fury shot through her and she swiveled her angry eyes back to Savage’s cold face.

And that’s when she saw it! His eyes blinked three times in rapid succession. The gesture told her everything she needed to know. It told her to play along and follow his lead because they were in a shitload of trouble. If they were to get out of this alive, she had to do exactly what he told her.

Her brain went into overdrive, computing the situation at warp speed. “Can I say something, please, Savage?” She addressed him in a softer, subservient tone and he nodded. “I thought you were…partying…with your other sluts, so I followed you.”

“Does it look like I’m partying?” he bellowed.

Her furtive eyes darted around the room, taking in all of the interested, curious looks being directed her way before they returned to Savage’s cold face.
Play along, play along, play along, play along!
The mantra reverberated in her brain over and over. “No.”

“This is business, bitch! And you don’t fuck up my business. You’re in for a beating when we get home, so you’ll remember for next time. Now, get your ass over here,” he decreed.

Tori went to step towards him when the fat biker who had caught her outside clamped his hand on her arm again, preventing her movement. “Hold up, Savage.” He laughed again. “This one’s a real tasty morsel, all fresh and juicy-like. We’re all brothers here, and brothers share.”

His dirty fingernails bit into her flesh, giving credence to the fact that he wanted her for himself and wasn’t letting go anytime soon. All at once, another deadly silence permeated the dank room. As one, the bikers held their breaths, probably curious to see how this latest standoff between the two would resolve itself.

Savage’s mouth curved into a superior grin. “Sorry, Stitch, that’s my property you got your fat, fucking fingers on and I don’t like other people touchin’ my things. I’m kinda funny that way. So, I suggest you let her go now.”

Stitch’s laughing smirk evaporated as the rival biker’s threat was received loud and clear. “And if I don’t? What are you gonna do about it—motherfucker?”

Savage threw him a disarming grin. Then, quick as a bolt of lightning, he grabbed the older biker beside him around his throat with his arm, putting him into a chokehold before whipping out his Glock pistol and shoving it against the man’s temple.

“I’m gonna splatter your fearless leader’s brains all over your freshly, painted walls. That’s what I’m gonna do about it—motherfucker.” He was deadly serious about it, and everyone in the room knew it!

The leader remained calm, even though his life could be over within the next second. “Okay, Savage, stay cool.” Then he addressed his gang. “Do as he says and back off, assholes.” But all the bikers remained where they were, as if frozen to the spot, no one moving even a tiny muscle.

Tori felt a trembling shoot through her body like she’d never felt before in her life, not even when she’d been dangling off the rooftop this afternoon. For God’s sake, there were guns everywhere—hundreds of them—and she knew in her heart of hearts that some of them must have been locked and loaded, ready to fire. Not to mention that all of these bikers were probably packing their own weapons anyway. All it took was for one of them to shoot one shot and all hell would break loose! And she, standing as she was in the middle of the room, with all these outlaws surrounding her in a circle, would be the first one to die, no doubt about it. Her life would be over, right here, right now! Was this how it was all going to end for her?

A wave of nausea coiled itself in the pit of her stomach, as her heart leapt into her throat with panic. Oh please, Jesus, help me, help me! Her eyes scanned the biker’s faces again, and she could have sworn she saw some of them eyeing the various firearms on the tables.

“Don’t even think about it, assholes,” Savage growled. “He’ll be dead before you pop off your first shot, I guarantee it. Then you’ll be next.”

“Let the bitch go, Stitch! Now!” the leader shouted again and immediately, she was released. “Back off everyone and give the man some space,” he ordered.

His crew moved back, like a tide pulling away from the beach.

“Tori, get behind me,” Savage ordered, as he tightened his chokehold around the leader’s throat.

Tori scrambled there, scooting behind him, his large body becoming an instant shield against all the evil pervading the room.

“Get the bag.”

She grabbed the black duffle bag off the table and slung it diagonally along her body, over her purse. Her brain and body were now on autopilot. She wasn’t thinking anymore, or rationalizing or anything because every instinct in her was commanding her to do whatever he said, no matter what, if she wanted to get out of this mess alive.

“Okay assholes, get in that corner over there.” Savage nodded towards the front of the house. As the crowd obeyed, he moved towards the back door, dragging the biker leader along with him, with the Glock still pointed at the other man’s head.

Tori stayed protected behind Savage’s back, easing out along with him, but her heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest. She glanced around the room and her eyes rested onto the two bikers from Delilah’s, fellow members of Savage’s gang.

The shorter of the two frowned deeply at the scene taking place. “Snake’s not gonna be happy about how this played out, Monroe. You know he wants his guns.”

“Yeah, well, it is what it is, Rocker.” Savage kept moving closer to the back exit, his eyes constantly darting around the room in case any of them decided to play hero and go for a weapon. “Snake’ll just have to wait to play another day. And I’d advise you and Goose to leave too, because this party’s over, boys.”

By now, they had reached the back door. Suddenly, the entire house was flooded with bright light, as if a solar flare from the sun had erupted over the bungalow. A split second after that, an ear-splitting explosion at the front of the home rocked the structure, blowing the front door off of the hinges. Pandemonium erupted amongst the bikers as they scrambled for their guns.

Tori froze. In horror, she suddenly watched as Savage viciously brought the butt end of his Glock down hard on the back of the leader’s head. The older biker immediately crumpled to the floor, his body limp and unconscious, even before he hit the hardwood. Savage then grabbed Tori’s hand and yanked her hard out the back door.

Just as she stepped into the backyard, she heard someone shouting, “This is the ATF! Come out with your hands up!” through a bullhorn from outside the front of the house.

Gunfire exploded from within, and Tori knew there was a real live shootout playing out between the bikers and who knew who else.

“Run to the bike, Tori!” Savage shouted even as he continued to drag her behind him.

Tori ran to the bike, the duffle bag still wrapped around her body. She straddled the Harley a second after he did, wrapping her shaking hands around his waist.

Turning on the ignition, Savage brought the mechanical beast to life. A second after that, they were blazing at sonic speed down the alleyway at the back of the house, as if they were being chased by Satan himself. The bike’s tires churned up the hard packed dirt of the road like soft candy and before she knew it, they had blasted onto a paved street a block over.

Revving the engine hard, Savage increased the Harley’s speed, weaving around one corner onto another street, and then taking another corner leading to another street, and then another. Soon, they found themselves shooting down the highway at blistering speed.

Tori’s brain felt as it had been scrambled, like eggs for an omelet, and she couldn’t think anymore. Her heart was pounding wildly, her hands were clammy and she could feel droplets of sweat popping out on her forehead.
What was going on,
her mind screamed—
and where were they going?

Her hands clenched around Savage’s chest and the funny thing was that, yes—she could feel his heart beating against his ribs but it was beating at a steady clip and his body felt cool as ice. There wasn’t a tremor or shaking or twinge or anything in his entire frame to tell her that the bastard was scared. But, of course, why would he be? As he’d told her before, this was just another day at the office for him, wasn’t it?

As they zoomed down the highway, Tori checked to make sure nobody was following. But no one was. They were the only ones on the lonely stretch of road. A blast of cold, desert wind hit her like a hurricane, ripping through her sweater and bringing her back to her senses. In a flash, the logical part of her brain began working again.

Her thoughts raced back to the bungalow at 868 Gable Street. What had that disembodied voice shouted through the bullhorn after the explosion at the front door? He’d said ATF!

ATF?

Wait! One of her cousins in Austin, Texas worked for the ATF. They were the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco—federal agents who arrested bad guys involved in illegal gun trafficking—like bikers—and like Savage Monroe.

And now—like Victoria Alexandra Jones!

Reality hit her hard, choking the breath out of her as she suddenly realized that, because of her association with the criminal bastard she had her arms wrapped around, she had just been dragged deep deep deep into his world, which was Hell; and had been forced to play by his rules, which were evil incarnate.

She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, following the wrong people. Because of that, her entire life had just been destroyed in the twinkling of an eye!

She was now…
a fugitive on the run!!!

Chapter 38

Friday – 11:58 p.m.

Nevada Highway

The light of
the full moon danced off of the Harley’s shiny chrome as it sped along the deserted road. Tori tightened her grip around Savage’s body, using him as a shield against the cold wind whipping through her thin sweater. They were travelling at the speed limit now that they were certain that no one had followed them from Gable Street.

Tori’s lips twisted with sarcasm. Of course the bastard was obeying the rules of the road for a change. He wouldn’t want to be pulled over by the police for speeding, now would he? No, the less attention they drew to themselves, the better, considering they were running from the law—at least, that’s how his criminal mind would think.

Her eyes quickly scanned the road again. Judging by the highway signs that whizzed by, she knew they were heading back to the cabin on Preclude Road. But the real question was—what would happen to her once they got there?

Suddenly, a flash of terror coursed through her as her brain computed the only logical answer to that question. Why, he was going to kill her, of course! After all, she was an eye witness to the fact that he was involved in the illegal gun trafficking deal with the rest of those evil bikers and thereby, she could testify against him in a court of law. And then they’d put him away in jail for a very long time, and he didn’t seem the type who would take kindly to that outcome at all.

A sense of dread began dancing in her stomach. Oh my God…Savage Monroe was going to kill her!

He was taking her, right now, to that isolated cabin in the middle of nowhere, with not a soul for miles. Then he’d turn his gun on her, shoot her dead and bury her body in a hole in the desert where no one would find her—ever ever ever and forever more! She’d disappear off the face of the earth without so much as a sigh, and her parents and her Nana would never know what had happened to her. In fact, no one, at this very second, even knew where she was. All her friends probably thought she was back home in Gideon, still soaking in that stupid bathtub, for God’s sake! Oh, what she wouldn’t give for that to be true right now.

Tori felt the steady beating of his heart beneath her fingertips and she knew that the bastard wasn’t the least bit worried about anything. He was cool and focused, just like a serial killer would be when he was about to commit his next murder. Or in this case, about to murder her—Victoria Alexandra Jones, star witness in the prosecution’s case against the devil himself.

Oh my God…

He was going to kill her!

He was going to kill her!

He was going to kill her!

But what was she going to do about it? He was as big as an ox and stronger than a bull. In comparison, she was tiny and no match to him in any way. She couldn’t outrun him, or physically fight him off. A surge of white, cold panic tore through her at the impending doom that was awaiting her back at the cabin.

Suddenly, a new thought popped up in her brain, fighting for space amongst all the fear-mongering. Hadn’t Nana felt her tingle when she’d first met the biker, signaling to her that he was a good man with a good heart? And her grandmother’s tingle was never wrong. After all, hadn’t he looked after her and protected her today? Why, he’d saved her life more than once even. Maybe he was intending to help her yet again?

No—he was going to kill her! It was the only logical, rational thing for a cold-blooded criminal like him to do.