Chapter 2
2
SAVAGE
“ P ut it on my tab, dammit!”
I glanced over at the bar and sighed when I saw Junior, one of our regulars at The Midnight Rebel, the bar co-owned by my motorcycle club and me.
Rowan, one of my newest bartenders, raised an eyebrow, silently asking what she should do. As the manager, it was my decision. We had a protocol for shit like this, but Junior had been drinking here for at least two decades. I usually didn’t have him tossed out on his ass unless he was making too big of a ruckus.
Lately, he’d been a problem more often. Starting around the time I cut him off from having a running tab that didn’t require immediate payment at the end of the night. It was a privilege that was granted to very few people. It had been given to him by Cox, the former Iron Rogues president, who was also the father of Fox, the current prez.
A few months ago, Junior stopped settling his account at the end of each week. I tried to talk to him, see if there was a problem he needed help with, but he’d been tight-lipped. He left me with no choice except to cut him off.
“I’ll handle it,” Hawk muttered.
He was an Iron Rogues enforcer who worked security for the bar on occasion when he wasn’t doing club business or on assignment with Iron Shield—the security company owned by our club and Midnight, another patched member.
“Thanks.” I leaned back in the chair I’d dragged to the end of one of the booths, taking in the room with a sharp sweep of my eyes.
The Midnight Rebel was more than just a bar. After the clubhouse, it was the beating heart of the Iron Rogues.
It had an old-school feel, almost vintage, but it was also gritty and pulsed with danger and quiet power. It was an upscale twist on a typical MC bar, with plenty of grit but also masculine charm.
Dim pendant lights bathed the space in warm gold, casting long shadows across dark-stained walnut and mahogany furniture. The bar stretched long and gleamed with polish, lined with perfectly spaced stools. The wall behind it had shelves of top-shelf whiskey that glinted under the low light. No flash, just strength. Tradition. Power.
Everything about the place was built to last, including the solid wood tables and chairs and black leather booths made for serious conversations. The club’s skull-and-handlebars insignia was painted boldly across one wall. A claim of ownership and warning all in one, it dared anyone to forget whose territory they were in.
The place whispered danger and loyalty in the same breath. This wasn’t some dive bar in the center of town. It was another sanctuary. The clubhouse was exclusive and secretive, by invitation only. Something that was very rarely extended beyond brothers, their families, and prospects. But The Midnight Rebel was a place outside the compound for us to drink, laugh, and relax with outsiders. Although, the customers were most often people who were loyal to the Iron Rogues.
While we were open to the public, it wasn’t a place that welcomed strangers easily. Every knot in the wood grain, every flicker of candlelight on steel and leather, said the same thing. You’re either one of us…or you’re in the wrong damn bar.
Other than Hawk walking Junior out the door, I didn’t see anything else that seemed off. So I turned back to the booth and looked down at the papers and computer set in front of me.
Phoenix, the club’s treasurer—and a fucking genius with numbers—was going through the bar’s books with me since we were nearing the end of the year and had some renovations we planned to start in January. It was mind-numbing shit, but as the manager and co-owner, it was part of the job.
“You doing okay, baby?” Phoenix asked his wife, Lindsay, softly, rubbing a hand over her swollen belly.
She nodded and leaned back in the booth, stretching her legs out to prop them on the bench seat across from them.
His gentle tone made me smirk, thinking about how he’d been adamant that he’d never let a woman get a grip on his balls. He couldn’t have been more wrong because the asshole seemed to have lost all his dignity.
After he finished promising her a foot rub, he caught me watching them with amusement.
“What?” he growled.
I shrugged. “Just never thought I’d see you go so soft.”
He rolled his eyes. “Only for her. And our kids. Everyone else still gets a bullet.”
I snorted at the thought that what he said was true…unless his old lady told him not to.
“You’ll see,” he muttered before turning back to the numbers.
The front door opened again, letting in a cool breeze. Phoenix glanced up, and a wide smile broke over his face.
At his unusual expression, I shifted around to see who’d entered the bar and— holy fuck .
Phoenix’s eighteen-year-old sister walked inside, but it was the girl who followed her that had all of my attention.
She looked about Lainie’s age, probably around a half a foot shorter than my 6’3”, and despite her clear hesitance, she walked gracefully, with an enticing swing in her hips. She had a heart-shaped face, full round lips, and a straight nose with a tiny sparkling stud on the left side, and the most enchanting cornflower-blue eyes I’d ever seen. Her golden blond corkscrew curls bounced as she walked, hanging to just below her shoulder blades.
She wore dark green scrubs, but they didn’t hide her full, rounded tits and slender, toned body. I instantly knew that she would fit perfectly against mine.
“Bro!” Lainie screeched, running over to throw herself into Phoenix’s arms the second he was on his feet.
“Hey, kid,” he greeted her, then grunted, “What the fuck, Lainie? You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
The other girl hung back, her eyes darting around, clearly uneasy in this environment. Considering how demure she appeared, I assumed the sight of all the muscles, leather, and tattoos made her nervous.
“I wanted to surprise you,” Lainie chirped, climbing into the booth to hug Lindsay.
When the other girl’s eyes flitted to the diamond stud in my ear, she looked a little intrigued. I suddenly wondered how she’d react to the piercing in my?—
My train of thought broke off when Phoenix held out his hand to the girl, my gaze snapping to him. “Hey. I’m Lainie’s brother, Phoenix.”
Before their hands could touch, I jumped to my feet so fast my chair crashed to the floor as I moved to stand between them.
“That’s Savage,” Phoenix muttered.
“Talon,” I told her, keeping my gaze locked with hers.
“Um, Tamara,” she returned.
Beautiful.
“We need your help,” Lainie said as she climbed back out of the booth.
I didn’t give Phoenix a chance to reply.
“Let’s go to my office,” I suggested, though my tone made it clear that it hadn’t been a request. Without waiting for another word, I grabbed Tamara’s hand and stalked to the swinging door behind the bar that led to a hallway where the bathrooms and offices were located.
When we entered the hallway, I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes. The lights were brighter so patrons could easily find the restrooms. My office was the first door on the right, and I pulled Tamara into the room with a vibe similar to the bar's front. Then I guided her to one of the wooden chairs in front of my desk. Because of my height, our knees were almost touching. I liked that she didn’t shift away.
I heard Lainie rush through the door but didn’t take my gaze off Tamara.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I ordered, careful to keep from sounding too gruff.
She glanced up at Lainie, who’d come to stand beside her, leaning her hip against the desktop. Lainie nodded, then Tamara’s gaze swung back to me and she took a deep breath.
It was the wrong fucking time to notice how the movement made her big tits bounce, but my libido—which had mysteriously appeared after who the hell knew how long—didn’t give a shit what my brain thought.
Tamara had my full attention when she began to explain, and I realized she really was in danger.
Her voice was low at first, but I didn’t miss the tremble in it. “I work at a mobile clinic as a CAN. I started noticing little things at first. A patient’s name that disappeared from the system. A follow-up that was never scheduled. A file I entered myself on Friday that was gone this morning. No trace. Like she’d never even been there.”
Tamara’s hands were clasped in her lap, knuckles white. I couldn’t stop staring at them, then at the faint shimmer of fear in her wide blue eyes. It caused a sharp pain in my chest. I hated seeing her looking scared. I wanted her to know she didn’t have to worry, that I would never let anything happen to her. And I really wanted to take her in my arms. But all that would have to wait unless I wanted to risk her freaking out and hightailing her sweet ass outta here.
Pride also pricked at me when, even with her anxiety bleeding through, she didn’t stop. Her words picked up speed, like she had to get them all out before she lost her nerve.
“I checked a few others. Two more were completely missing. One had the discharge summary dated before the appointment. And then I found a hidden folder. It was labeled ‘Transfers—Internal Use Only.’”
My jaw clenched, and my hands curled into fists, suppressing the desire to reach out and touch her. “What was inside it?”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Data. Spreadsheets. Patient ID numbers. Medical codes. The names were all scrambled or redacted, but it looked like a list of testing protocols and transfer locations.”
I leaned forward, planting my forearms on my knees. “Transfers to where?”
She shook her head. “It didn’t say. Just numbers and initials.”
Lainie crossed her arms tightly and muttered, “It sounds shady. Like something straight out of a conspiracy documentary.”
Tamara let out a breath and met my eyes again. “I copied everything to a flash drive. It’s clipped to my badge. I didn’t know who to trust. I just...knew I had to get out. And Lainie said we should come see Phoenix. When she explained why in the car, I figured if anyone would know what to do, it’d be your club.”
Your club.
That hit me in a way I didn’t expect. She saw us as a shield, a wall between her and whatever the hell she’d stumbled into.
Damn right.
“You did good, baby,” I muttered, standing in one fluid motion.
A thunderstorm was rolling in my blood as I stalked to the office door and yanked it open, then stomped into the hall. When I reached the swinging door that opened to the front area of the bar, I practically ripped it off its hinges.
The place was still calm, only humming low since it was early in the evening.
I spotted Hawk by the corner of the bar, arms folded, posture relaxed as he spoke with Maverick, who stood beside him, sipping from a dark tumbler. As if they felt a change in the air, their eyes were locked on me the second I stepped out.
They both clocked my expression instantly, but Hawk moved first.
“What happened?” he growled as he moved toward me.
I didn’t slow down until I was nearly toe-to-toe with them. “Some motherfucker thought it was a good idea to mess with my girl. Now I’m gonna make sure they’re breathin’ their last breath.”
Maverick raised an eyebrow. “Your girl?”
I didn’t blink. “Yeah.”
Hawk looked confused, but Maverick just smirked.
“You want to explain that?” Hawk grunted.
I gave them a quick summary of the situation. “She seems smart as hell but scared. Thought she got away clean, but some supervisor watched her when she left. On the phone and looking like she wanted her gone.”
Maverick’s eyes narrowed, his drink forgotten. “Sounds like they’re covering something. Testing? Trafficking?”
“Could be,” I growled. “I don’t know. But I’m gonna find out. And when I do?—”
“You’re gonna light the place up,” Hawk finished for me, but only because of my reputation. He wouldn’t truly get my mindset until he found the one meant for him. Only a brother who’d claimed his woman could understand the stakes.
“Damn right.”
“Savage.” Maverick’s voice was sharp. “You gotta pull back on the reins, brother. We don’t charge in without a plan. We need intel. Need to know who’s involved. If there’s a trail, we follow it.”
I knew he was right, but my reaction to Tamara wasn’t about logic. It was instinct.
“You go off half-cocked, and you risk shit goin’ sideways and making her a bigger target.”
My fists ached from how tight I was clenching them, but I forced myself to breathe. He was right. That didn’t mean I had to like it.
Maverick stepped closer, his voice quieter now. “Is she what I think she is?”
There was no hesitation. “Yeah.”
Hawk blinked, staring at me as though I’d lost my mind, but I ignored him. I didn’t have the time or the desire to justify instincts I couldn’t control.
Maverick nodded once, crossing his arms over his chest. “Then we have your back. No one touches her. I’ll have Fox loop in our contacts. For now, best she stays with us. At the clubhouse. Full protection.”
I didn’t even need to think about it. “Agreed.”
Then he clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Worry about your woman for now. You’ll get to burn shit down eventually.”
My jaw ticked as I turned and stormed back to the office. Tamara was still sitting in the same chair, but Lainie had taken my place in the other one. Their heads snapped up when I walked in. Tamara must’ve seen something in my face because her spine straightened.
“You’re coming with us.”
Her brows lifted, and she pursed her lips, blue eyes perplexed. “To where?”
“The compound. Our clubhouse. You’ll be safe there.”
Tamara blinked. “I…what? No. I appreciate the offer, but I can go home. I’ll avoid the clinic. I’ll be fine.”
“No, you fucking won’t,” I growled. “You said it yourself. That bitch was watching you. They probably know you suspect something. That makes you a target.”
“I still have to figure out work. If I can’t go back to the clinic, I need another job. I don’t have to worry about rent, but I can’t live off Lainie for everything else.”
I opened my mouth, ready to shut that argument down hard, but Lainie jumped in before I could.
“I think it’s a good idea,” she said quickly, reaching out to take Tamara’s hand. “I can stay with you for a few days. And it’s temporary. Until the club can figure this stuff out and make it safe for you to come home.”
I didn’t bother correcting her. It wasn’t the right moment to inform Tamara that she would never be leaving.
Tamara looked between us, clearly still uneasy. “I don’t know much about motorcycle clubs, okay? All I know is stuff I’ve seen on TV, what I’ve read in books, and the rumors that made their way around this town while I was growing up. It’s not like you shared much with me, Lainie, which I totally get. But a motorcycle club doesn’t exactly scream ‘safe haven.’”
Lainie rolled her eyes and gave her a crooked smile. “Yeah, well, the Iron Rogues aren’t like other MCs. They don’t do drugs or trafficking. You won’t find slutty club bunnies hanging around either. The old ladies would castrate the guys if they ever saw one there. Family comes first with my brother’s club. And they protect people. Especially those who can’t protect themselves.”
Tamara opened her mouth, probably to argue again, but I was out of patience.
“You brought it to us,” I cut in, voice low and final. “That means it’s ours now.”
What I didn’t add—what I wouldn’t say out loud yet—was simple.
And you’re mine.