Chapter Two #2
Securing arrangements and coordinating the cleanup ate away most of the day.
By the time I finished, the promised rain had blown through, and I found Tessa in the kitchen.
She leaned over the counter with her head down, looking like the weight of the world had settled firmly on her shoulders.
She looked up when I approached. When her gaze locked on mine, I knew she’d leave when I told her to without argument.
“You’re leaving,” I told her.
She straightened slowly. “I hadn’t decided yet.”
“I have. You’re going to a property in the Smokies. Now. My driver’s outside waiting.”
She stared at me. The cut above her temple had started to bleed again, a thin line tracking toward her eyebrow, but she didn’t wipe it away.
“Your driver,” she repeated. Her voice had gone very quiet. “You’ve decided to send me somewhere. Just like that.”
“Yes.”
“No discussion? No asking what I want?” I could see the temper rising in her eyes. She definitely didn’t like being dictated to.
“The building is compromised, and I think you suspect you were the target. Discussion is a luxury you don’t have right now.”
Anger flashed in her eyes, bright and sudden. She opened her mouth to respond, but Knuckles stepped between us before she could speak. He inserted himself into the conversation with easy authority.
“She stays.” His voice was flat. “Haven protects its own. We don’t hand our people to the Miles family, alliance or not.”
I held his gaze. Knuckles was a head taller than me and built solid as a tank. The only bigger man in the club was Tiny, and I had my doubts that man was even human, he was so big.
“The alliance,” I said, “includes the understanding that when one of us identifies a security risk, we address it. Like it or not, Tessa was the target of this attack. I will be taking her somewhere secure until the threat to her is… addressed.”
“Then she goes somewhere secure on Kiss of Death property. Not yours.” Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest. I probably should have been intimidated but couldn’t be bothered.
It wasn’t like Knuckles thought he would win this argument.
He argued for argument’s sake sometimes.
At least, that’s what I figured, because I always got what I wanted.
“The property in the Smokies has better security. Electronic countermeasures. Reinforced construction. And the only way in or out is by helicopter or ATV. Or possibly a horse, though some of the terrain would be difficult for even the most experienced rider. No one gets in or out of that property without me knowing it.”
Behind Knuckles, Griffin stood with his arms crossed. He hadn’t moved from his position near the wall where he watched over his woman, Veda. He stood, quiet and immovable, his green eyes watching the exchange with careful attention.
Veda stepped beside Tessa, putting her arm around her sister. Veda Garrison was lean and angular, her dark hair pulled back in a practical ponytail. She fixed me with a look that could have cut diamonds.
“If she goes anywhere,” Veda said, “I go with her.” The fear in her voice was sharp, and I knew she only wanted her sister safe and trusted her man’s club more than she trusted me.
“She goes to my safehouse,” I said. “Both of you, if that’s what it takes. But the decision stands. She moves tonight.”
Tessa stood wordlessly between us, her sister gripping her arm. Knuckles looked at her. Then at me. Then back at her. “This isn’t our call,” he said finally. His voice had changed. Something in it had gentled, which from Knuckles was more unsettling than any threat. “It’s hers. Always has been.”
Tessa looked at Knuckles. Then at me. Then at the ruined common room, the women huddled in the doorway, the blood on the floor where Gunnar had gone down.
She took a breath, then let it go. “I’ll go,” she said softly.
“But not because you decided.” She turned to me, her gaze level.
Steady in a way that made something in my chest tighten.
“I’m going because whoever came through that wall came for me, and I will not stand here and watch this place get torn apart any more while someone else gets hurt protecting me.
” Her voice shook with emotion. I could see tears glistening in her eyes.
She raised her chin, though, and held back her tears.
“Haven is supposed to be safe. These women came here because they needed somewhere no one would find them. They deserve to feel safe.” Her voice didn’t waver.
“So yes. I’ll go to your safehouse. But I’m going because it’s the right thing to do for them. Not because Antonio Miles told me to.”
Holding back my triumphant smile took every ounce of my self-control.
I’d achieved exactly what I’d come for. Tessa Garrison would be behind my walls tonight.
In my care in a place where I controlled the variables.
I’d won. But her show of defiance almost made me double over in pain.
Because my cock shot hard and aching like she’d flipped on a light switch.
I’d expected her fear. I had not expected her quiet, unwavering determination to keep the others safe, even at the expense of her own comfort.
“I’ll bring you back,” I said. “The moment you ask. No conditions. No questions. You say the word, and you’ll leave my cabin within the hour and be back here straight away.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “That’s acceptable.”
Knuckles stepped forward. He didn’t look at Tessa.
He looked at me, his eyes cold. “Griffin, get Knight to give Tessa a sat phone. Tessa, you keep that phone on you and charged. We’ll check in with you every day.
And, Antonio? You break that promise…” Knuckles took a menacing step closer to me “… and Kiss of Death comes for you. Family or not. Alliance or not. You understand me?”
I held his gaze. The threat in it was real. Knuckles did not make threats he wasn’t prepared to carry out. I had seen what happened to men who’d crossed him. I also happened to know Knuckles was making a point. Not to me, but to Tessa. He had her back. The whole club did.
“I do,” I said. And I meant it.
He held my gaze for a long moment. Then he nodded, once, and turned away.
I needed some air. I stepped outside through what was left of the front entrance. The air hit cool and clean after the smoke inside.
Darby found me anyway. She always did. We had built a relationship of sorts since she’d come to be with Sully. She didn’t treat me as a father figure but more as an equal. I couldn’t deny she’d become a close friend. I trusted her and, by extension, Sully.
She came out through the same ruined doorway, pulling her jacket tighter against the chill. No Sully this time. She stopped beside me but didn’t acknowledge me at first. My driver now waited with the engine running for me and Tessa to leave for the airport.
“Don’t smother her,” she said.
“Tessa?” I made it a question when we both knew it wasn’t. Darby had me figured out better than anyone in my life except, possibly, my father.
She rolled her eyes. “No, Tonio,” she snapped. “The Goddamned Tooth Fairy. Yes, Tessa! She’s stronger than she first looked. The hell she went through might have bent her a bit, but she’s not broken. Don’t treat her like she is.”
“Darby,” I said. Her name came out rough. I had nothing after it.
“Just saying. She’ll surprise you if you let her. And if you don’t, you’ll be missing out on something truly special.” She held my gaze for a long moment. Then she shook her head once and walked back inside.
I stood in the cold air. She was right. From the moment I met Darby, she’d been able to see through me. Seth too. She’d inherited that from her mother.
I went back inside to see if Tessa was ready. She had changed into clothes that weren’t torn or bloodstained. Her hair was pulled back, the cut above her temple cleaned and bandaged. She stood with a small bag at her feet, talking quietly to her sister.
Veda looked up when I approached. The distrust in her eyes was palpable but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she gave me the stink eye. Yeah. I got it. No one was happy with me taking Tessa away from them, but they also knew I made sense.
“I’m ready,” Tessa said.
I picked up her bag, and we walked toward the front entrance together. Outside, my driver had the car door open. The interior light cast a warm glow across the gravel.
Tessa paused and looked back at Haven and her sister. Then she turned and walked to the car. I followed and got in beside her. The door closed with a soft, expensive click. My driver pulled away from the curb, Haven receding in the rear window.
Tessa sat beside me, her hands in her lap, her gaze fixed out the window.
She was quiet and composed. I wanted to reach for her hand.
I didn’t. I wanted to tell her she was safe now.
That nothing would touch her behind my walls.
That I would stand between her and any threat that came for her, and that threat would not survive the encounter. I didn’t say that either.
The car moved through the wet streets toward the airport and my waiting helicopter. I would keep my promise. I would bring her back the moment she asked. But if I played my cards right, she might want to stay with me. For a while.
The car turned into the private drive to my hanger, the helicopter ready and waiting for us. Kass stood just outside ready to open our door. I had what I wanted.
Somehow, in the getting of what I wanted, I’d lost every illusion I’d ever had about why I wanted this girl. No matter what I told myself -- or anyone else -- I didn’t just want to keep Tessa safe. I wanted her for my own.