Chapter 16
SAVANNAH
I paced the common room like a caged animal.
Back and forth. Over and over. My feet barely made a sound against the floor, but inside my head, everything was loud. The hum of the television. The pounding of my heart. And the worst-case scenarios spiraling so fast that I felt dizzy.
I’d helped put all the pieces together, but Kane had refused to let me leave the compound. It was too dangerous. Yet he was out there in the thick of things, while I was stuck here wondering if he was going to make it out of all this in one piece. If he was even going to come back to me at all.
Hours had already gone by, and I was barely holding it together.
I crossed my arms, then uncrossed them. Fidgeted with the hem of my shirt—another of Kane’s that I’d borrowed—then shoved my hands into my hair. I couldn’t sit still. Couldn’t breathe right. Couldn’t stop imagining what might be happening out there.
For days, I’d been consumed with worry over my brother. But now it was Kane I was agonizing over. Devon was safely off the grid, hidden from danger, and no longer in the Redline Kings’ scope. While the man I’d fallen for had stepped straight into it.
I jerked my gaze to the front door again, willing it to open. Still nothing. And I couldn’t help but think about the fact that I knew where they’d gone.
Just as I took a shaky step toward the exit, a low voice drawled behind me, “Don’t.”
I spun around. Drift was propped against the wall like he’d been watching me spiral this whole time. His arms were crossed, his expression casual, but his eyes were sharp.
“You walk out that door,” he continued, “he’ll skin us all alive.”
I blinked. “I wasn’t?—”
Drift arched a brow, clearly aware that I was lying. “Then chain you to the damn bed for a month. Minimum.”
My breath caught.
He shrugged. “Trust your man. He has everything under control. He’ll be back before you know it.”
I swallowed hard and nodded, though I wasn’t sure if I believed him.
Drift didn’t say anything else. Just tipped his head toward the couch, silently ordering me to sit my butt down before I gave the rest of them heart attacks.
I did, but only because pacing wasn’t helping. If I stood at that door a second longer, I might actually go through it. Even though Kane would be furious if I did. And I probably wouldn’t be able to sit for a week after he was done with me.
So I curled up in the corner of the couch, pulled a pillow to my chest, and kept my eyes on the door. Waiting. Praying. And counting every tick of the clock like it might be the last one before I saw him again.
Luckily, Drift turned out to be right. It wasn’t too much longer before the door finally opened.
I shot to my feet, the pillow tumbling to the floor, my heart leaping so fast I could barely catch my breath.
And then I saw him.
Kane.
His hair was slightly damp, and his jaw was tight. He looked like he was pulsing with barely restrained adrenaline.
But he was here.
He was safe.
And the moment his eyes found mine, something inside me unlocked.
“Kane.” I whispered his name like a prayer.
He crossed the room in a few long strides, pulling me against him with a force that sent all the air rushing from my lungs. I clung to him, breathing him in as I buried my face against his chest.
“You’re okay,” I mumbled.
“I told you I would be.” His fingers dug into my hips. “Nothing’s taking me from you. Ever.”
I pulled back just enough to look up at him, searching his face. “What happened?”
“Handled it.” Then his voice softened as he added, “It’s over.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He cupped the back of my neck, brushing his thumb along my skin.
“I let you help with the research on this because your brother was involved, but there are things I’ll never be able to tell you, Savannah.
What happened today was club business. That makes it off-limits.
Not because I don’t trust you…some things are meant to stay in the dark while you belong in the light. ”
I nodded slowly. To be with Kane, I could live with that. “Okay.”
His expression slightly softened, but the fire in his eyes shifted. “One thing you can count on, I’ll never lie to my old lady. You’ll always know where you stand with me.”
I blinked, my pulse leaping. “Wait…did you just say your old lady?”
“Yeah, sugar.” He captured my mouth in a kiss that left me breathless. “Did you think I was gonna fuck my kid into you without making it official?”
I made a strangled sound, halfway between a gasp and a laugh. “Oh my gosh.”
“You’re mine.”
“Here ya go, Prez,” Jax called before something black came sailing toward us.
Kane snatched it from the air, and I realized he was holding a vest that was smaller than his. Only this one had a tag sewn across the back that said PROPERTY OF KANE.
I stared at it, my chest tight with something that felt too big to name, then let him help me slip the leather over my shoulders. He stepped back just enough to take in the sight of me wearing his property patch. His jaw clenched. His nostrils flared.
Then he pulled a small box from the inner pocket of his cut.
My heart stuttered as he opened it, and a laugh bubbled up my chest when he slipped the sparkling diamond solitaire onto my finger without another word.
“You didn’t even ask me to marry you,” I whispered, breathless.
“Not giving you a choice, sugar. You’re marrying me.” There wasn’t a hint of doubt in his voice. “You’re mine, and I’m not letting you go.”
I swallowed hard. “Good. Because I don’t want you to.”
“I love you so fucking much,” he growled.
“And I love you too,” I whispered.
A sharp whistle pierced the air, loud enough to jolt me out of my emotional haze.
I turned toward the sound just as Edge walked through the door and strode over to us with a smirk.
“Well, well, look at that.” He clapped Kane on the back and turned to the rest of the crew gathered nearby. “Listen up, assholes! Our prez finally claimed himself an old lady.”
A chorus of cheers, whistles, and a few whoops echoed around the common room.
Kane just kept his hand on my lower back like he owned me—because, well, he kinda did.
“Dammit.” I turned to see Axle leaning in the doorway with a grin. “This better not mean we’re all headed for the altar. That’s exactly how it started with the Iron Rogues.”
Edge snorted. “Relax, Romeo. One old lady doesn’t mean you’re next.”
Axle quirked a brow. “That’s what you say now, but their VP and prez were the first to fall, so you may want to avoid women until you know I’m just being superstitious.”
“As if that’s a problem,” Nitro snorted. “Haven’t seen him so much as talk to one in forever, except for Savannah.”
Kane growled low in his throat. “Anyone who so much as looks at her sideways will be limping for a week.”
“Didn’t mean it like that. Fuck,” Nitro muttered.
“Yeah, bro,” Edge drawled. “She’s literally a sister to me.”
I blinked, caught between a laugh and a blush.
Edge winked at me. “Welcome to the family, Savannah. You ever need backup, you come to me.”
“Thanks,” I said softly, my voice thick with emotion.
Then Kane turned back to me, his hand tightening at my waist, and it felt like we were the only two people in the world.
I threw my arms around his neck, and Kane held me.
One hand on the small of my back. The other tangled in my hair.
His heartbeat thundered against my chest. Everything else—the worry, the waiting, the fear—faded into silence.
When he finally spoke, his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “You’re it for me, Savannah. You understand?”
I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.
“You’re the only woman I’ve ever looked at and thought—fuck, I need to build a life around her.”
My breath caught.
He leaned back just enough to look into my eyes, his voice rough with emotion. “You belong here. With me. Wearing that vest and my ring. Carrying my name.”
“And maybe more,” I whispered, sliding my palm down to rest over my stomach. It was too soon to tell, but he’d certainly done his best to try to get me pregnant.
Kane’s entire body went still. Then his mouth crashed down on mine—hot, possessive, and wild. He gave me a kiss that promised everything.
When he pulled away, he rasped, “Mine, and now the whole damn world knows it.”
There was no question. I was Kane’s. And I’d never stop choosing him.