Jace
“Do we have trouble over here?” Savage muttered.
Savage’s jaw tightened. “Dead Rabbits then?” he asked.
The man finally spoke, his voice calm, almost amused.
“You don’t belong here, agent. Thought you were smarter than this, I guess I was wrong.
You really took a chance bringing your girl and unborn baby out for a night on the town.
You do know that if you had just stayed away, we might have never found you?
Hell, we were about to fucking give up even looking for you. ”
Savage stepped forward, his cut catching the neon light. “You’ve got about three seconds to explain yourself before this whole bar decides you’re a problem,” he growled.
The man’s smirk faltered, but only slightly.
He glanced past Jace, toward Winter, and that was enough to ignite the storm inside Jace.
His hand closed around the grip of his weapon, ready to defend her and his unborn son.
Winter’s laughter had faded, and he knew that she was watching from across the room.
He turned to find her face pale, and her hand pressed protectively against her belly.
Jace met her eyes for a heartbeat, silently promising he wouldn’t let anything touch her, and she nodded as though reading his thoughts.
The man at the door shifted again, and the Bastards began to close in, circling like wolves.
The tension snapped tight, the air charged with the promise of violence.
Jace’s voice was steady and lethal. “You picked the wrong night to show up here, asshole.” And with that, Savage Hell was ready for a fight.
The man at the door shifted again, his smirk widening as if he knew exactly how to needle Jace.
That look toward Winter had been the final straw, and the guy knew it.
Jace’s hand tightened on his weapon, but before he could draw, Savage stepped forward, his voice booming across the bar.
“You have three seconds to tell me why you are here, fucker,” he warned.
The man sneered. “You think you scare me? You’re all just noise.
” That was it. It was all he could take, and Jace lunged at the guy.
Jace slammed the man against the doorframe, his forearm pressed hard into his throat.
The stranger fought back, swinging wildly, but Jace’s grip was like iron around the guy.
Savage was pulling the man’s arm behind his back, twisting until bone threatened to snap.
Banshee shoved Winter behind her, shielding her with a ferocity that made Jace’s chest tighten even as adrenaline surged. His sister, Rebel, flanked Banshee’s side, giving Winter extra protection.
The man managed to break free, shoving Jace back a step.
He swung a fist, connecting with Jace’s jaw.
Pain flared through his jaw, but Jace didn’t let it stop him.
He drove forward, tackling the man to the ground.
The fight spilled into the center of the bar.
Jace pinned the man, fists hammered down around him, each strike fueled by weeks of tension and the sight of Winter’s scared face across the room.
Savage barked orders as the Bastards formed a circle to keep the crowd back.
Banshee stepped in, her boot catching the man’s ribs with a crack that made him howl.
“Dead Rabbit,” she spat. “Knew it the second I saw him.”
The man snarled, blood on his lips. “You can’t hide forever.
They’re coming for all of you, and they certainly haven’t forgotten about you, Banshee.
” She and her brother were the reasons why the Dead Rabbits were mixed up with the Bastards and Harlots in the first place.
They had followed them to America from Ireland, wanting their pound of flesh from each of them for wronging the Rabbits somehow.
Jace’s fist silenced him, the words cut short by the crunch of bone. The man lay broken on the floor, groaning, his threat hanging heavy in the air. Savage hauled him up by the collar, dragging him toward the back of the bar. “We’ll deal with him,” he growled.
Jace stood there, chest heaving, knuckles raw.
His eyes found Winter across the room. She was safe—Rebel’s arm still around her, her hand pressed protectively to her belly.
Relief hit him like a wave, but it was laced with fury.
They weren’t safe, not really. The Rabbits knew it too.
He worried that they might never be safe if they stayed in Huntsville.
Hell, they might never be safe no matter where they landed, but that was something he’d have to worry about later because right now, he needed to get Winter out of Savage Hell and back to the safehouse before any more of the Dead Rabbits decided to show up at the clubhouse.
Jace wiped the blood from his jaw, his storm burning hotter than ever. “This was just the beginning,” he muttered, voice low, meant only for Winter. She nodded and took his offered hand, and in that moment, he knew that there would be no more safe places to hide.
The safehouse’s backroom smelled like coffee and old wood. A heavy map was spread across the table, pinned at the corners by spare mags and a wrench. Savage stood at the head of it, his cut half unzipped, the word President glinting under the low light.
Banshee leaned against the far wall, arms folded, her sharp eyes cutting between the Savage and Jace like she was measuring how much fire was about to be started.
Bolt was perched near the window, one hand on his phone, scanning updates from their watchers.
And Rebel stood by the door, her expression unreadable, except for the worry in her eyes.
Jace stayed standing, restless. His knuckles were still raw from making their escape the day before from the cabin. Every part of him seemed to be wired for movement, for a fight, and that made Winter worry.
Savage tapped the map. “We’ve had eyes on three Dead Rabbit convoys moving through Tennessee the last two days. Bolt confirmed one of them peeled off north—straight toward your cabin.”
Jace’s jaw tightened. “So they knew where to look.”
“Yeah,” Bolt said, voice low. “They’ve been tracking chatter about a woman fitting Winter’s description since the day she left town. One of their runners saw her at that supply stop outside Sheffield. That’s what led them to you.”
Banshee pushed off the wall, pacing slowly. “They weren’t after you, Jace. Not at first. They wanted to know that she was tied to you.”
“How would they have even known that she and I were together?” he asked. “I mean, we only had one night together. If they were coming for me, how would they know to track Winter?”
“Maybe they were going to interrogate her to find you,” Rebel said.
“Or maybe they were going to traffic her to teach you a lesson,” Bolt offered. “No matter what they thought they could get out of her, they used Winter to get to you.”
Jace’s pulse kicked hard. He’d known that the Rabbits would do anything to find him. Hell, it was the reason he’d gone dark—to protect his family and friends, but hearing Bolt say it out loud made it real in a way that left a weight in his chest.
Bolt slid a folder across the table to Jace.
“Intel from Huntsville PD and a few of our guys in the field. The Dead Rabbits are running scared, which makes them dangerous. They’re burning through towns, and they’re not subtle about what they want—you.
” Jace flipped the folder open and found photos and surveillance shots.
All the bases had been covered, but that didn’t make him feel any better.
When it was just him on the run from the Dead Rabbits, he knew that he could cover his own six.
But now, they were coming for his woman and his son, and that had him questioning every decision that he had made since making Winter his.
Savage leaned closer. “We’ll keep you both hidden for now, but we need to think long-term. If you want to stop running, we'll take this fight to them. End it before they regroup.” Jace knew that his Prez was right, but he also hated putting Winter and the baby into even more danger.
Banshee nodded. “You’ll have the backing of the Royal Bastards and the Harlots—we’re aligned on this.
You’ve got our help. I would understand if you wanted to take off again, to try to stay off the Rabbit’s radar.
But if you stay here, you bring the fight to Huntsville, and we’ll be right by your side. ”
Jace looked from one face to another—Rebel, Banshee, Bolt, Savage—all of them waiting for him to make a decision.
They were allies, but with their own stakes in the war.
Then, he looked at Winter, knowing that she’d agree to what he decided, but he still wanted her input.
This was her war now, too, and she had everything to lose if he fucked it all up.
She shrugged, and he looked at her belly where their son rested, not having a clue about how much danger his father put him in.
No, he couldn’t let Winter ride into this war that he had created.
And if he stayed, she’d demand to stay too.
She was his responsibility now—they both were, and if that meant letting Bolt, the FBI, the Bastards, and the Harlots do the heavy lifting.
He exhaled slowly, knowing what he had to do next.
“We won’t stay,” he said. “I can’t put you and the baby in any more danger.
We’ll move somewhere they won’t think to look.
Let them chase shadows while you all come up with a plan on how to burn them down for good.
” Winter nodded and crossed the room to take his hand, squeezing it into her own.
He guessed that was her way of telling him that he had chosen the correct path—at least that was his hope.
Bolt arched a brow. “You got a place in mind?”
“Yeah,” Jace said quietly. “But first, I want her checked out before we take off again. She’s been through too much, and she hasn’t been seen by a doctor in a few weeks now.”
Banshee’s expression softened a fraction. “We’ve got someone. She’s new to the Harlots, but Ruby is trustworthy, and she’s a damn good doctor. I’ll make the call.”
Bolt folded his arms over his massive chest, studying his brother-in-law.
“Are you thinking this ends with you walking away clean?” he asked.
Jace didn’t want to hope for that outcome and jinx the whole operation, but yeah, that was exactly what he was hoping for.
He also knew that it was going to be impossible to accomplish.
The Rabbits would want their pound of flesh, and he’d have to pay up sooner or later.
Jace met his gaze. “No. I’m thinking this ends with Winter and the baby safe.
After that, I’ll take whatever comes. I just need them both safe.
” For a moment, the room was silent except for the low hum of the generator outside.
Jace worried that Bolt was going to try to talk him out of his plan or that Rebel would argue with him that he was being ridiculous.
Instead, Bolt nodded, slow and certain. “Then we’ll make damn sure you get that chance.
But we’re going to do everything in our power to keep you safe, too, man.
” He looked over at Rebel and smiled. “Because if I don’t, your sister will hand me my ass on a platter.
” Jace wasn’t sure how Bolt was going to even attempt to keep that promise to him, but he knew that his brother-in-law would try.