Savage (Spartan Watchmen MC #4)

Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

SAVANNAH

S avannah sat on the worn leather couch in the Spartan Watchmen clubhouse, her hands twisting nervously in her lap. Across from her, Trinity, Makenzie, and Emilee sat in a cluster, their expressions mirroring her own apprehension. The usual buzz of the clubhouse was gone, replaced by an eerie quiet that made every creak of the building seem louder.

“Do you think they’re okay?” Makenzie asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“They’re fine,” Trinity said, though her tone wavered. “They’re The Watchmen. They’ve been through worse. Remember all of them are combat veterans. They’ve been to war and back, a few times. They know what they are doing.”

Savannah wished she could share Emilee’s confidence. Her stomach churned as the minutes dragged on, her mind cycling through worst-case scenarios. She knew they had a solid plan—Savage had gone over it with her a dozen times—but the idea of the men she’d come to care about walking into danger made her chest tighten. How in the hell did military spouses do this? Firefighter spouses? Knowing their partner was headed into danger all the time? It would give her an ulcer.

The ticking of the clock on the wall seemed to echo through the room, each second stretching into an eternity as they waited for news of the ambush. Savannah's palms grew clammy, and she wiped them on her leggings.

"God, what's taking so long?" Emilee muttered, running a hand through her hair.

Trinity's eyes darted to Makenzie. "Relax. No news is good news, right?" Savannah noticed the leadership role Trinity took among the other girlfriends. She was quite a bit older than all of them, and the girlfriend to the club’s president, but it was more than that. She showed respect and care to everyone and in return, they gave her the same. Savannah could see her taking on an older sister role.

“So, Savannah, how’d you get mixed up in all of this?” Mackenzie asked suddenly.

The question hung in the air, heavier than Savannah had expected.

“Seriously, Kenz?” Emilee shot daggers at the other woman. “Didn’t our Daddies say not to push the issue? We weren’t supposed to know she was involved and wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been snooping.”

“Makenzie! I know for a fact you were told to leave Savannah alone and let her come to you when she was ready,” Tater scolded from across the room. For a minute, Savannah had forgotten he was even there. He wasn’t the only one, of course. The officers had gone on the ride, but many of the other members were on guard, just in case they decided to ambush not only the riders, but also the clubhouse itself. “What do you think your Daddy is going to say when I tell him?”

“Please, Uncle Tater!” Mackenzie said. “Don’t tell him.”

“It’s okay,” Savannah said, glancing down at her hands. “I was going to tell them all about it sooner than later anyway.” After she spoke, she felt the weight of their gazes, their curiosity. She couldn’t blame them—they deserved answers. She opened her mouth to tell them and then snapped it closed again. She could hear her heart beating in her ears, her mouth became dry as cotton. She swallowed hard, fighting the urge to flee.

“No pressure,” Trinity said, coming to sit down next to her. “Really. You can tell us when you are ready.”

Savannah's fingers twisted in her lap, her mind screaming at her to stop, to keep her secret. They might judge her. They might hate her. Continue to lie to them. But she couldn't. Not anymore. These women had become friends. Savage’s chosen family.

"I... I haven't been entirely honest with you all," Savannah began, her voice trembling. "There's something you need to know about why I'm really here." The girls exchanged glances but stayed silent, letting her continue. “The first night I met you at The Citadel, I lied to you. I wasn’t there because I was interested in becoming a little or to play. I was there to spy on The Watchmen. I was blackmailed–”

“Blackmailed to spy on them? What does that even mean?” Emilee asked.

“Shh,” Trinity scolded her. “Don’t interrupt. Let her finish. I’m sure she will explain.”

Taking a deep breath, Savannah continued. “I’d never done anything like that before. I’m not a liar and I don’t hurt people,” she said, her voice trembling. “It started with my mom. She got sick with cancer. We’d never had a lot of money, but we always made the ends meet until the diagnosis. We had insurance through my mom’s work, but it was a high deductible plan.

Thousands and thousands of dollars. We met the deductible pretty quickly but then she was laid off for missing too much work. She didn’t qualify for FMLA or anything, just laid off. Once she was without a job, we lost insurance, too, and the bills kept piling up. Soon, we couldn’t pay for the medication she needed and then she was moved into hospice. We didn’t have the money we needed for her medication. I tried everything—worked two jobs, sold whatever I could, but it wasn’t enough.” She paused, the memories clawing at her. “I was desperate. That’s when I met a man who said he could help. He lent me the money to pay for her treatments and, later, her funeral. I didn’t realize he was a loan shark until it was too late.”

Trinity reached out, placing a comforting hand on Savannah’s knee.

“I tried to pay him back, but the interest… It was impossible. And when I couldn’t pay, The Rejects came knocking.” Her voice wavered, but she pushed on. “They said I owed them now. They’d bought my debt. I tried everything in my power. I was working sixteen-hour days and donating plasma. They gave me a week to pay it off, in full, plus interest. They added interest on top of the interest the original man charged me. I couldn’t pay. I couldn’t pay the amount they wanted in a lifetime. So, Zeb, the leader, offered me a way out. They wanted information on The Watchmen. I could get them the information they needed, or they’d kill my sister and niece. The only family I had left.” She couldn’t look at the women. Didn’t know if she could handle seeing anger or judgement in their eyes.

“Zeb told me terrible things about The Watchmen. He said they were into arms dealing and trafficking children, made them sound like real scumbags. Almost like I was doing society a favor by spying on them. He told me to read up on BDSM and DDlg, and use it as a way to manipulate my way in. So, I did. The night we met, I was playing a part. Trying to save my sister and niece. Zeb’s brother was the bartender. I knew then, they really did have eyes and ears inside. I was terrified.” Tears filled her eyes. “I didn’t do it to hurt any of you. I just…I was trying to save my sister and niece. They threatened to hurt them if I didn’t cooperate.”

The room was silent, the weight of her confession settling over them. Savannah braced herself for anger, for accusations, for the inevitable rejection. But when she finally looked up, all she saw was compassion.

Trinity moved first, wrapping Savannah in a tight hug. “You did what you had to do to protect your family,” she proclaimed. “It must have been so difficult for you.”

Makenzie joined in, followed by Emilee, their arms encircling her in a cocoon of warmth and forgiveness. Savannah’s tears spilled over, and she clung to them, overwhelmed by their kindness. After the group hug, the girls had what felt like a million questions and Savannah answered them all.

“I find it weird that Tim would have passed all of Jay’s scrutiny,” Trinity said. “He’s normally on top of all of that.”

“Yeah, but the club has grown so much he hired a new human resources person,” Emilee said. “Remember Trinity? We introduced you to her at the tea party the other day.”

“There were several new people at the tea party, I’m getting old. Remind me again?”

“Lily,” Mackenzie told her. “Adorable blonde wears her hair in pigtails.”

“Lily,” Savannah parroted. “Lily from the playdate?” She felt the blood drain from her face.

“Yeah, why? You, okay?” Emilee asked.

“Lily knows Tim, or at least, she seemed to,” Savannah said.

“That makes sense,” Emilee confirmed. “She’d be familiar with him if she was the one to hire him and do the background check.”

“What if–” Savannah couldn’t find the words.

“Are you thinking that she’s one of them?” Trinity asked.

“Tim told me there were others. Others who had eyes and ears on us,” Savannah explained.

“That means one of two things,” Trinity replied.

“What two things? I’m only thinking one,” Savannah told her. “I’m thinking she’s one of them. A Reject.”

“Or the other thing…” Trinity said. “She could be just like you. Being blackmailed.”

“Oh my gosh, you are right!” Savannah said. That poor girl. If she was being blackmailed like I was… and she doesn’t have a clue that The Watchmen are all over it.”

“Right?” Trinity said. “She could be in the same situation you were in.”

“Should we call her?” Emilee asked, reaching for her phone.

“Absolutely fucking not,” a loud male voice said, causing them all to jump.

“Tank! Where did you come from? I thought you were on a mission with Elite!” Trinity jumped up and rushed to give the biggest man she’d ever seen a hug.

“That’s Delilah’s fiancé,” Emilee explained. “He’s not in the club but he’s best friends with a lot of the club members and super close to Lucky.”

“Your Daddy asked me to stop by and keep an eye on things,” Tank told Trinity. “Got here at the right time. Do not get involved in any of this, any of you. No one is going to text Lily anything you wouldn’t normally. Do you understand me?”

A chorus of yeses rang out, including Savannah. She didn’t have Lily’s number, but she definitely wasn’t about to argue with the giant standing before her. Before anyone could say anything else, the doors to the clubhouse burst open. Savage strode in, flanked by Lucky, Irish, and Arrow. Their faces were grim but triumphant.

Savage’s eyes locked onto Savannah’s, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “It’s done.”

Lucky stepped forward, his deep voice filling the room. “The Rejects fell for it. Just like we planned, they tried to ambush us during the ride.”

Arrow chuckled, shaking his head. “Idiots thought they had us.”

Savage took over, his tone serious but proud. “Dax and the DEA were ready. They hit them hard. Zeb and his crew walked right into the trap.”

“What happened?” Trinity asked, her eyes wide.

Lucky leaned against the table, arms crossed. “They came in guns blazing, thinking they’d take out the officers and leave the club vulnerable. What they didn’t know was that half the DEA and Dax’s team were waiting, armed to the teeth.”

“They got every single one of them,” Irish added. “Zeb, Tim, and the rest of the Rejects are in cuffs now. No one got away.”

“Was anyone hurt?” Savannah asked.

“None of ours, no.” Savage replied.

Savannah felt a rush of relief, her breath coming in short, shaky gasps. “It’s over?” she whispered. “Is it really over?”

“Almost,” Savage said, his voice gentle. “Dax recommended you call your sister and niece. He wants them here in Grand Ridge, at least until Zeb is locked away for good. He still has contacts, he might act out of pure rage.”

Savannah nodded, already pulling her phone from her pocket. “I’ll call them right away.”

“Let them know a couple of men in full motorcycle club gear are on their way. Slash and Blade are both en route to pack them up.” She nodded and made the call.

“Sis, I can’t explain everything right now, but two men are on their way to your house. Their names are Slash and Blade. I need you to pack some stuff and go with them. They are going to bring you here to me. I’ll explain once you are safe. I took out a loan to pay for mom’s medical bills and funeral and ended up owing some dangerous men money. I know you have a job and everything but it's life or death.” She expected her to argue and fight, but surprisingly she didn’t.

“I’ve felt like we were being followed recently. I was afraid it was Kayleigh’s dad or their family. I saw some men…” Nicole paused for a beat. “How much should I pack? How long will I be gone?”

“I don’t know. We will figure it all out once you get here,” Savannah said. She paused and looked at Savage. “Did they take one of the vans?” He nodded. “You can pack quite a bit if you want. They are picking you up in a SUV.”

After ending the call with her sister, she stood up and rushed over to Savage. He picked her up in a huge bear hug. It was okay. Everything was going to be okay. Her sister would be here soon, and Zeb was in custody.

“It’s over,” he murmured into her hair. “You’re safe now.”

For the first time in months, Savannah felt all the tension leave her body. She melted into his embrace.