Savage (Spartan Watchmen MC #4)

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

SAVANNAH

S avannah's heart raced as she hurried out of the diner. She didn’t want to go back to the motel, but she didn’t know where else to go. The lingering scent of Savage's cologne clung to her clothes from the deep hug he’d given her. Unlocking her car, she reached into the backseat and grabbed her laptop bag. There was a bookstore coffee shop a few doors down from the diner. It looked cozy, she'd hang out there for a while.

She glanced over her shoulder as she hurried down the sidewalk, half-expecting to see an imposing figure following her, but the street behind her was empty. Tim had made it clear to her last night that The Rejects had eyes and ears everywhere.

As she approached Day her voice laced with worry.

But Savannah couldn't stop. Her feet pounded against the pavement as she ran, her heart hammering in her chest. Behind her, she heard the bell above the shop door jingle as Trinity stepped outside.

“Savannah, what's happened?” Trinity's concerned voice carried on the wind.

Savannah choked back a sob, forcing herself not to look back. She couldn't bear to see the kindness in Trinity's eyes, knowing the betrayal that lay before her.

As she rounded the corner, Savannah slowed her pace, gasping for air. She fumbled for her car keys, her hands trembling so badly she could barely unlock the door. Once inside, she slumped against the steering wheel, allowing herself a moment of anguished crying before starting the engine.

The drive back to the motel passed in a blur. Savannah stumbled into her room, barely managing to close the door before collapsing onto the bed. The sobs she'd been holding back erupted, wracking her body as she curled into herself.

“What have I done?” she whimpered, her voice muffled by the pillow. “How did I let it get this far?”

Images flashed through her mind: her niece's innocent smile, Trinity's worried face, Savage's intense gaze. The weight of her choices pressed down on her, suffocating in its intensity. She’d only been in Grand Ridge for three days and already, the weight of it all was overwhelming her.

“I never wanted any of this,” Savannah whispered to the empty room. “I just wanted to pay for my mom’s medicine.”

Savannah's mind drifted back to that fateful night three months ago. The neon lights of the seedy bar flickered in her memory, casting an eerie glow on the faces of the Rejects members who had cornered her.

“You owe us, little girl,” their leader had sneered, his breath reeking of cheap whiskey. “And we always collect our debts.”

She'd trembled, her heart racing as she stammered, "Please, I-I didn't know. I can't pay that much right now. I thought I had more time, I’m working, raising the money. But my mom?—”

“Your mom?” he'd laughed, a cruel sound that still echoed in her nightmares. “Oh, we know all about your dead mom. We also know a lot about your pretty little niece. Be a shame if something happened to her, wouldn't it?”

Savannah shuddered, the memory as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. She'd had no choice but to agree to their demands, to become their unwilling spy. Working overtime at the hotel, she hadn’t come close to paying off the loan she’d taken out to pay for her mother’s medication and eventually the burial. She should have listened to her gut, when it told her to run after she’d stepped inside the payday loan building. Desperate people do desperate things, and she needed money for her mom’s medication. She’d tried everything else, even the social worker at the hospital had hit dead ends.

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling through tear-filled eyes. The stark reality of her situation hit her anew. She was in too deep, caught between the ruthless The Rejects and the Spartan Watchmen. She’d never been a good actress and was a terrible liar. Her mom told her on more than one occasion to never play poker. She was more introvert than extrovert and this role she had to play, getting close to The Watchmen, was taking every ounce of energy out of her.

“What am I going to do?” she asked herself, her voice trembling. “How can I keep my niece safe and pay back these assholes without hurting anyone else?”

As the sobs subsided, replaced by a hollow ache in her chest, Savannah realized she had no easy answers.