Sin & Savage (8 page)

Chapter 18

Friday – 11:35 a.m.

Pleasurably Yours Massage Spa

Savage dismounted from
the Harley and shot Tori a dark look as she removed the helmet. They had just parked in front of the massage parlor in a seedy strip mall near the downtown area.

As she moved towards the front door, Savage grabbed her wrist, preventing her from going any further. “Hold on, princess, you’re waiting out here.”

Tori stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“This place isn’t for the likes of you.”

Tori bristled. “I’m a grown woman and I can go anywhere I want to.”

“Not in there you’re not. I promised your grandmother and she’s the one paying the bills.”

“If you’re going in, then I’m going in, and you can’t stop me.” She yanked herself out of his grip. Her eyes flashed up at him with fury. How dare he treat her like a child!

Savage leaned back, crossing his hulking arms across his chest and blocking her path. He stared down at her with a simmering scowl.

“Listen up, honey, because this is the way it’s going to be. I go in there alone and you wait for me here, outside, by the bike. If you refuse, our deal is off—right here, right now—and I leave and keep your $1500 for services already rendered. Do I make myself clear?”

The edge in his voice caused Tori to clamp her mouth shut. “Perfectly,” she huffed, her irritation at having to acquiesce to him clearly stamped across her face.

Savage studied her defiant stance and nodded his approval. He may be someone who was violent, brutish and did things that were way beyond polite society, but in his own way, he was a man of his word. He had promised the senior that he would protect the girl’s ‘goodness’ this weekend and protect her he would. It was his job—
for the time being.

He relaxed and he flashed her a good-humored grin. “I might be inside a while, Snow White, so be patient,” he said, throwing her a knowing wink.

Tori’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Before he could answer, the establishment’s front door swung open and a trio of excited, giddy Asian girls came running out. “Savage!” they screamed in unison, obviously thrilled at seeing the biker again.

The leader of the troop, a small-boned, dark haired, twenty-something, threw herself into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and planting a rough kiss on his lips. He held her up by her behind, returning the peck, as the other two hugged his arms.

“Long time no see, Savage,” the girl squealed in a thick, broken English accent.

“Hey Ivy, I missed you too.” He smirked, before releasing the girl, who immediately dropped down.

“Let’s go.” She and the others tugged him towards the door.

He turned back to Tori then, to see her reaction. Yup, it was just as he’d expected. A look of revulsion was now marring her pretty, adorable face.

“Really, Mr. Savage?” Annoyance flashed in her eyes.

Savage grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “I have a very stressful job, Snow White. I need to relax just like any other businessman out there.”

“Businessman?” Tori rolled her eyes heavenward. “You’re a disgusting pig!”

He laughed at that, and allowed the women to drag him inside. “Just remember to wait out here. And don’t—touch—the bike! Got that?” he ordered, before the door swallowed him up.

Seething, Tori watched him disappear. Well, she wasn’t about to wait out here, sweltering in the hot, Vegas sun while that animal enjoyed himself in there instead of doing the job he was being paid to do!

No. She would take matters into her own hands, march in there and see what she could find out for herself! In fact, she could probably have a quick look around, ask a few questions and be back outside with him none the wiser.

“Okay, Mr. Savage, ready or not, here I come.” Tori stalked toward the front entrance, yanked the door open and walked in.

Chapter 19

Tori crossed the
threshold in time to see Savage disappearing down a hallway that led into the back somewhere, still being tugged along by the same three girls.

She frowned, annoyed at his disgusting behavior. Of course, he would do something like this, she huffed. She shouldn’t expect anything less from him. After all, he was base, uncultured, crude, and rough. But why should it be bothering her so much to see him with those women? It didn’t make sense! He meant nothing to her except a hired gun for the weekend.

Suddenly, a raw, carnal hunger stirred to life from deep within her, turning her blood red hot. In a flash, she knew why the sight of those girls leading him away disturbed her so much. She wanted him too, just as much as those girls did; and she was jealous—monster pea-green jealous—that they were the ones who were going to be giving him pleasure and not her.

The knowledge shook her to her very core and Tori gasped, taking a step back. What the hell was wrong with her? That gorilla wasn’t even her type. She’d always preferred the clean-cut, preppy kind, like Tod had been, not tall, dark and mean!

But she had to admit that the biker, with his 6 foot tall, chiseled, hard body, did exude a sort of primal masculinity with loads of charisma thrown in. He was devastatingly gorgeous too; and when he smiled that slow, sexy smile—well, it could leave you breathless and wanting more. It was just magnetic.

Tori smirked to herself as another bolt of insight hit her. You know what it was—why she was feeling this way about the brute? The close proximity she’d been forced into with the biker while on the bike was just bringing back all those old feelings again that she hadn’t felt since she’d been with her ex. Hadn’t she admitted to herself earlier that she’d felt as if she was coming back to life after being in a deep freeze that her failed marriage had put her in?

Yeah—that was it! That’s why every hormone in her system was on overdrive right now. It wasn’t lust for Savage, the criminal thug. It was just lust for living life again.

Happy with her logic, Tori let her feelings fade away and she scanned her new surroundings. She was in a reception area with an unmanned desk on the main wall and a long couch along another. Two separate hallways on either side of the desk probably led to the ‘spa’ rooms in the back, where they obviously catered to their debauched clientele.

Suddenly, she sensed that she wasn’t alone in the room. Her curious eyes shifted to a bay window at the side. It was occupied by another pretty, Asian girl, also in her mid-twenties. But this one was curled up in a ball, smoking a cigarette and gazing absentmindedly through the pane of glass.

An aura of sadness enveloped her and Tori immediately sensed her life story without knowing anything about her life story. She had helped enough souls in trouble through her father’s church in Gideon that she intuitively knew when someone needed help.

She approached the forlorn girl. “Hi, my name’s Tori,” she said, to break the ice.

The girl turned with haunted eyes and studied Tori from head to foot. Having appeared to decide that this new intrusion didn’t mean her any harm, she responded with a blank, “Lily.”

“Are Stella or Roger here, Lily?”

“Stella’s out. Roger’s in the back.” Lily turned to stare out the window again.

“I’m new in town. I’m here from Gideon, Texas. Where are you from?”

This time the girl didn’t turn at all. She blankly continued to smoke her cigarette. “Home,” she uttered wistfully, her voice barely a whisper.

Tori sensed that the girl didn’t want to talk anymore. Wanting to respect her privacy, she turned and began walking away. But something made her stop in her tracks—whether it was the soft, sad way Lily had said the word ‘home’ or Tori’s still, small voice inside of her that was screaming for her to go back.

Having made up her mind, Tori took a deep breath and turned back, noticing that Lily was now watching her. She stopped a foot away. “Children of God are not slaves.”

Surprised, Lily stared wide-eyed for a couple of seconds. “What?”

Tori raised her voice. “I said—that Children of God are not slaves! You were created by the Almighty to be free and not under anyone’s rule. You have power. If you don’t want to be here, don’t be here! Leave!”

Lily seemed to let the pronouncement sink in. “I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because they…” she indicated the back rooms with a curt nod of her head, “brought me here to work for them and I owe them money.”

A shot of dark, hot anger coursed through Tori. “You’re not their slave. This is a free country. Don’t let them keep you in chains. Like my grandmother always says,
fuck ’em all,
and walk!”

As if in slow motion, Lily straightened up from the fetal position and stood up. A sharp gleam had entered the girl’s eyes. Tori nodded to herself, knowing that her speech had been heard loud and clear.

“Fuck ’em all!” Lily said, as if the words held magic power and she was testing out that newfound power for the first time in her life.

“Do you have anyone who can help you?”

Lily shook her head no. Tori pulled out her smart phone and scrolled through the screen. “Let’s find you a woman’s shelter here in Vegas. They’ll keep you safe.”

“I know of one on North Sahara Street.” Lily suddenly seemed excited and blooming back to life, like a dying flower that had just been given a shot of life-giving water.

“Okay, then! Do you have a means of getting there?” Lily again shook her head no. “I’ll call you a cab.” Tori scrolled through her phone for a taxi company. She dialed the number and ordered the car.

A luminous smile lit up Lily’s face. “Fuck ’em all,” she repeated again and again, this time with more grit. She turned to Tori and hugged her fiercely. “Thank you.”

Tori nodded approvingly. “Let’s get your stuff, and get you out of here.”

“Okay, follow me.” Lily led Tori through the hallway on the right of the reception desk and into a back room that appeared to be some sort of lounge area for the spa workers. There was a bank of lockers on one wall, a couch with end tables and lamps, a coffeemaker near a sink, and a small refrigerator next to that. Lily went straightaway to one of the lockers and on opening it, began stuffing its contents, which consisted mainly of clothes, into a black duffle bag that she’d fished out of it first.

A little man of about 50 years of age with greasy, longish hair and a very noticeable potbelly, shuffled into the room. He gave the appearance of someone who was rumpled and dirty, even though his clothes were obviously clean.

His furtive, small eyes took in Lily’s movement. “What the fuck’s going on here? You have a customer waiting in the back.”

“Fuck you, Roger! I’m leaving. I’m not your slave!”

“Leaving?” Roger’s beady eyes bulged. He came closer to the girl. “You can’t leave. You owe us money.”

Tori stepped in between them. “She can leave if she wants to. You have no right to stop her.”

Roger’s beady eyes swiveled to her, finally realizing that there was another girl in the room. “Who the fuck are you, bitch?”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Tori stood her ground.

Lily finished stuffing her things into her bag. To make her point of leaving even more forcibly, she picked up a table lamp and threw it against the wall. The ceramic base smashed into pieces; the sound reverberating throughout the room.

“Fuck ’em all! Fuck you, Roger, and Stella too! I’m tired of this shit and I’m gone.” She snatched up her carryall and marched out.

Roger turned to Tori, his eyes blazing with evil intent. “You—you did this!” he spat out. Suddenly, he lunged at Tori, grabbing her by the arms and shaking her violently, his rage giving him superhuman strength.

Tori screamed and began to fight back. He pushed her away then, releasing his death grip on her. She sprawled backwards onto the couch, the soft springs cushioning her fall.

Just then, Savage burst into the room and immediately pounced on the older man. Grabbing him by the arm, the biker yanked the spa owner around to face him before hauling his fist back and landing a vicious punch to his jaw. Roger folded like a cheap lawn chair, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

But Savage didn’t stop there. He grabbed a handful of the other man’s shirt and hauled him back up again before spinning him around and making him face the outlaw once more. This time he buried his fist hard into the older man’s solar plexus. As Roger moaned and bent over in pain, the biker brought his knee up and thrust it into his stomach—once, twice, three times…

Tori scrambled up from the couch and watched in horror as Savage pummeled the spa owner, landing another fist to his face, this time drawing blood from his mouth. It was obvious that Roger was no fighter and was already a defeated man, but Tori knew, as sure as she knew that the sun was going to shine tomorrow, that Savage wasn’t going to stop until the other man was unconscious—or worse, dead.

“Savage, stop it!” she screamed.

The biker froze instantly, his fist in mid-air, about ready to land another punch on the defenseless man’s jaw—the man he was now holding up by the scruff of his bloodied shirt.

Savage turned then and took in the look of pure horror stamped across Tori’s face—and for one second of time, he saw himself through her eyes. He saw the shock, and the terror, and the fear, and the revulsion at the vicious animal he had allowed himself to become—and for the first time in a very long time, he was ashamed.

He felt the blood drain from his face. Immediately, he released his grip on Roger’s shirt and the spa owner crumpled to the floor in a spineless heap. He stared at the other man’s blood smeared all over his own hands and, blinking rapidly, he began to calm down, his breathing returning to normal.

“No more, please,” Tori whispered.

“Did he hurt you?” Savage demanded roughly.

Tori shook her head. “No. He—he just scared me, that’s all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Savage nodded, seemingly accepting her statement. Bending down, he suddenly grabbed a handful of Roger’s hair and jerked his head up off the floor.

“Thank the little lady for saving your miserable life, because I wasn’t finished with you yet, asshole,” he growled.

“Th—thank you,” the spa owner whispered, barely making a sound with his choked words.

“No one touches her on my watch, got that?” Savage let Roger’s head drop back onto the floor. Then, as if to seal his decree, he reached down and wiped his bloody hands on the back of the man’s shirt, before standing up again.

Suddenly, four girls—the three who had greeted Savage outside and another that Tori hadn’t seen before—plowed into the room, rushing to their lockers.

Ivy glued her eyes to the crumpled heap of a man that was her boss. “If Lily’s leaving, then we leave too, jerk off. Fuck ’em all!” she decreed. The other girls nodded in agreement, and they all collected their things and streamed out.

Tori smiled. It was obvious a full revolt was now in progress.

Savage noticed the secret smirk playing on her lips. “Did you have something to do with all this?”

She threw him a casual shrug. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t, but either way, it looks like you’ll have to find another massage parlor to frequent, Mr. Savage, because this one’s closed for business.”

Savage scowled. “We’ll talk about this later, Snow White,” he threatened ominously.

The biker was red hot furious. For her own safety, he had specifically told her to stay outside. But she had blatantly ignored his request and look at what had happened!

He moved to the sink and quickly washed the rest of the blood off of his hands with soap and water. Turning around, he suddenly saw Tori helping Roger up off the floor. His jaw dropped in shock at the sight.

“What the fuck? Get away from him, Tori!” Savage rushed forward and pulled her away from the spa owner’s grasp.

“No! Help me carry him to the couch. He’s hurt.”

“I should damn well hope so. I hit him hard enough!”

“Savage, please—help me. I can’t leave him like this.”

She looked up at him then, her wide eyes pleading. Suddenly, he knew, then and there, that he couldn’t refuse her anything. When had he turned into such a mush ball, allowing a little thing like her to boss him around? Acquiescing, he bent down and hauled Roger up, throwing him easily onto the couch.

“You—you’re not going to hit me again, are you?” Roger choked out, still frightened by the other man’s brawn.

“Only if you have it coming to you, dirt bag,” the younger man snarled.

Savage snatched a white wash cloth near the sink and turning on the tap, soaked it under the running cold water. Finished with his task, he threw it at the spa owner. It landed squarely on the other man’s chest. Cautiously, Roger retrieved it and began dabbing at his bruised face.

Savage went to stand in front of him. Folding his massive arms across his chest, he assumed a pose of caged violence that threatened to erupt at any second.

“You’re going to answer some questions for me, you worthless piece-of-shit,” the biker drawled, barely raising his voice. “I’m looking for Joe Sorelli. Where is he?”

Roger’s eyes grew wide with fear at the outlaw’s imposing stance. “I—I don’t know—I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

Savage took a step towards him and the spa owner paled even more.

“I swear, Savage, I don’t know where he is—I swear it.”

“Who would know?”

“Try—try Vivian. She owns The Final Cut Hair Salon on Fremont. They’re old friends.”

Savage paused, his eyes narrowing on the cringing, shell-of-a-man and then he nodded, finally having decided to believe him. “If you hear anything else about Sorelli, you call me, understand?”

“Yes—yes, sir,” Roger stammered respectfully.

Savage nodded again. Then, grasping Tori’s hand, he threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her towards the exit. “Come on, Snow White, our job here is done,” he pronounced, marching her out like a three year old child.

He was still angry with her for disobeying his instructions. Someone like her didn’t belong in his world and she could have gotten hurt. Why, when he had rushed into that lounge ten minutes ago and had seen that slimeball with his hands around her, shaking her like a bed sheet, well—something in him had snapped and he’d gone wild. Maybe he shouldn’t have hit Roger so hard but then again, the asshole had had it coming to him for hurting
her
.