Chapter 13 Give a Little Here
Give a Little Here
Savannah
Catalina took Nome back to her room, and turned out her light. Even when I knew the threat from Prime was gone, Catalina and I liked having the sweet labradoodle around. We offered to keep the Hader’s pooch at night, and the occasional weekends.
I needed to take a shower, but I wasn’t doing anything until I knew Punc was going home.
If I had a bad habit, it was my uncontrollable nosiness, and through the peephole I saw Punc sitting astride his bike, so I figured he was heading out.
To kill time until I heard the thunder of his bike, I went to the kitchen and prepped the coffee maker.
I heard the front door open, and I ran into Punc at the mouth of the foyer. “Punc, I’m pretty sure Frank isn’t going to react well to your involvement.”
He laughed, and it sounded ominous. “Don’t give a fuck. In fact, I’ll love it if he doesn’t like my involvement.”
“Really? Even if he hurts Cat?” I asked, my tone bordering on snippy.
His eyes hardened. “No, I won’t hesitate to take him down.”
My eyes widened. “You’re gonna kill him?”
“I didn’t say that, but I won’t shy away from it either.”
Part of me wondered if Alanis knew this about him, because that definitely wasn’t a misdemeanor. “Was that what your phone call was all about with Volt or whoever?”
He cocked his head a touch. “Somewhat. Turk wants me to hold off.”
“Good,” I blurted.
He stepped closer to me. “Why is that good?”
Between it being so late, and how tired I was, I didn’t weigh my words. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
He shook his head. “I’m gonna get you and your sister out of trouble.”
“Not at your own expense.”
He stepped even closer. “I don’t think you’re catching my vibe, sweet Ava.”
I waved my hand at him. “You can drop the ‘sweet’ moniker. It’s nice and all, but I’m not—”
He gently tugged at a lock of my hair. “It’s who you are to me. My sweet Savannah, who underestimates herself.”
My gaze darted to a point behind him and back to him. “I don’t underestimate myself.”
“You’re not paying attention,” he said, edging closer.
I nodded. “Yes, I am because you’re being so extra, as Cat says.”
He stared into my eyes for a beat. “Pronouns matter, Savannah.”
“Okay. I mean, I heard you—”
“My sweet Ava.”
A tingle shot through me. “I’m not yours.”
His brow ticked up and down. “Not yet.”
I froze. “What do you mean, ‘not yet?’”
“Do you want to be mine?”
Was he being serious?
He said, “I’d like to be yours.”
My eyes widened. “Don’t lie to me. You’ll lose your job… and your patch.”
He shook his head once. “Won’t lose my patch, and I care more about you than my job. I can find another job. I can’t find another you.”
I put a hand on my hip. “Punc, you don’t mean that. The dancers love you and say nobody’s better at dealing with the rowdy assholes than you are.”
He put his hand over mine at my hip. “I can train my replacement. There’s a lot on your plate, so give it some thought.”
“What about Alanis? She’s my rock and has been for as long as I can remember. No way am I doing something that jeopardizes my friendship with her.”
He gave my hand a squeeze. “She already ripped into me at the hospital weeks ago. Told me not to jack you around. It pissed me off that she’d think I’d do that.”
I bit back my grin. “She’s a great friend that way.” Another thought hit me. “She’ll be the same with me about you.”
His chin sunk toward his neck. “No, she won’t.”
I tilted my head. “She will because she loves you far more than you realize.”
He rested his hands on my shoulders. “You don’t understand. I won’t let her say shit like that to you. Nobody’s making problems for you. I’m eliminating as many of your problems as I can. And I can definitely keep my sister from being a problem here.”
“That’s sweet - if heavy handed - but you can’t promise that.”
“I just did. Are you going to bed soon, or what?”
I nodded. “Right after I shower. I’ll lock the door after you.”
His eyes widened. “After what your sister said, I’m spending the night. I’m not leaving you two alone in this house,” he said, his tone so firm it was solid.
I opened my mouth to argue, but between his tone, his stance, and the determination in his eyes, he wasn’t going to relent on this.
“I’ll get you some sheets and a pillow.”
He smirked. “Don’t want me to ‘just sleep’ next to you again?”
My teeth sank into my lower lip. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I’ll be right back.”
After taking the sheets to Punc, I peeked in on Catalina.
She leaned up. “Did Ted leave?”
“No, he’s spending the night on the couch. I didn’t want you to be alarmed in the morning, but try not to wake him up when you leave for band camp.”
In the dim light, I saw her tip her head toward Nome, who lay curled up in a perfect canine oval shape at the side of her bed. “I can be quiet, but Nome is raring to go first thing.”
I nodded. “Do what you can. I’m showering, then going to bed. Goodnight.”
With a dejected sigh, I realized I had left my water bottle in the kitchen. In the hallway outside my bedroom, light shone from the kitchen, which seemed odd because Punc didn’t strike me as someone who slept with the lights on.
I crept back through the living room wearing my pajamas. It hit me belatedly that I probably should have put on my robe. Then again, Punc had seen me bare almost everything, so my pajamas weren’t nearly as revealing as watching me dance.
When he stayed here last month, I hadn’t seen him while he slept. Not even the night he shared my bed with me… I’d conked out before he even came to the bedroom.
Reflexively, I swallowed at the sight of Punc stretched out on the couch.
He wore a gray tank top, and I saw the waistband of his boxer briefs peeking out from under the sheet draped over his legs and waist. His eyes were closed, and I wasn’t sure if he’d fallen asleep. Maybe the lights were on for security.
He smiled half a second before he opened his eyes. “I never thought you were a lurker.”
I gave him a grin. “I’m not. Cat’s gonna be quiet in the morning, but Nome is a wild card.”
He nodded. “I can handle that, but if you want to protect me from Nome, feel free.”
I held a hand up. “I haven’t decided anything, Punc. This is bizarre - you flirting with me again when you went to such pains to make it clear we were co-workers.”
He pressed his lips together. “Fair. But about you calling this bizarre… if I’ve learned anything, it’s that life is bizarre. And that’s where the beauty is.”
I liked that, but kept it to myself.
“Are you sleeping with the lights on for some reason? Or do you want me to turn them off after I get my water?”
“You can turn ‘em off when you’re done, thanks.”
Punc
Catalina did her best to be quiet in the morning, but Punc couldn’t fall back to sleep until after she left the house at six-forty-five. Savannah hadn’t come out of her room; rather Catalina knocked on Savannah’s door to say goodbye. He knew he was cramping their style, but he didn’t care.
Every instinct told Punc he wouldn’t fall back to sleep, but he woke with a jolt when his phone rang.
He saw Volt’s name and the time was eight-thirty.
“Hey, Volt,” he muttered.
“Got your text about Ava’s problems. You have a moment to talk?”
“Yeah, Prez.”
“What are you after here?”
Punc dragged a hand down his face. “First, shit changed last night. I’m making Ava my old lady. As for the debt, ideally, I want to kick Frank Darren’s ass and make it crystal clear Ava doesn’t owe him shit.”
“None of this is ideal, though, so what’s an alternative?”
Since he hadn’t slept much and hadn’t had any caffeine, he said, “Whatever it takes to get rid of Ava’s debt.”
Volt let out a low whistle. “In theory, we could front her thirty-three grand, but it has to go before a vote.”
That seemed too easy, but Punc figured the club had money. “How soon can we have church? The asshole or one of his shady customers was in their backyard last night to freak out, Catalina. He better not fuck with them after this.”
Volt spoke in a knowing tone. “And that’s the biggest reason some brothers will say no.”
“What?” Punc’s voice rose, and he sat up fully.
“Darren’s known to keep lousy records - even with motorcycle clubs. We pay the debt, he may still harass Ava for the money. A member of the Devil Lancers had issues with him, and he pulled a similar stunt.”
Shit.
Even though Punc had earned his patch years ago, there was plenty he didn’t know when it came to local MC history.
“And we can’t offer club protection to them?” he asked.
“I didn’t say that, but you will probably be the extent of the club protection.”
“Seriously?”
“Punc, we’re footing her medical bills already. Now you’re asking for roughly thirty-five K on top of it with an asshole who has one of the worst reputations. Be prepared for some pushback on this.”
He swung his legs off the couch and leaned an elbow on his knee. “What about getting violent with this asshole? Turk told me not to do that last night, but—”
“Wait for church.”
Punc clenched his free hand into a fist. “Volt. He followed her sixteen-year-old sister out of the school parking lot with one of his drug buyers in the car. Told Ava that this guy liked the look of her sister. Then someone - could have been him or one of his people - was in their backyard last night. My gut says there isn’t any time to waste. ”
Volt sighed. “I’ll check with Blood, Cal, and Patch. It’s the weekend, so I think we can schedule church tomorrow. Do you have a shift tonight at Platinum’s?”
“No,” he said. Then he added, “And if Ava’s on the schedule, she isn’t showing up tonight.”
“Punc—”
“She’s mine, Volt. Whether she’ll agree to it has yet to be determined, but she has no business dancing.”
“Turk and Yak would disagree. If the past two nights are any sign, she’s headliner material, Punc.”
“Volt, she’s only dancing because she’s desperate. Hell, if anyone pays attention, that comes through in her every move.”