Saved by Savage (Steel Souls MC #6)

1. Drake

one

Drake

“Have a seat, Phoebe.” I gesture to the chair in front of my desk and wait for Phoebe to sit before taking a seat. “How has life been here for you over the past three months?”

Phoebe and her siblings have been living on the Steel Souls compound for the past three months.

Her sister Piper is Phantom’s woman, and her other sister, Prue, is Ghost’s woman.

Their three younger siblings have split their time among all their houses and Mrs. Holt’s, favoring Mrs. Holt’s grandmotherly hospitality over their sisters’ hospitality.

This has given Prue and Piper more time to spend with Ghost and Phantom and to build their new relationships.

Phoebe is the one I’m worried about. Before the Steel Souls MC entered their lives, she was trying to earn money to support her family by auctioning her virginity at an illegal auction house run by none other than my younger brother, Lord.

To be fair, Lord is undercover, trying to stop it, or so we hope that is still the plan, since no one has seen or heard from him in months.

The last time was three months ago, when he dropped Phoebe off at the compound’s front gate.

I set Phoebe up in Lord’s house—all the MC brothers have a house on the compound for when they are ready to settle down and move out of the clubhouse. Phoebe is the only one living alone thanks to Lord abandoning her.

She hasn’t talked much to anyone about her two weeks with Lord.

All I know is that Lord dropped her off at the front gate with a check for one hundred thousand dollars and a baby in her belly, which I only just learned about, or at least I suspect she’s pregnant, judging by how often she touches her stomach.

It was the same way my mom acted when she was pregnant with Lord.

I was seven years old when she was pregnant with Lord—I can still remember her morning sickness and how no one else was there to help her but me.

“It’s been fine.” She gives me a small smile. “I’m not sure I’ve properly thanked you for helping my siblings and me.”

“That’s what families do for each other. Speaking of family.” I shift my gaze to her stomach and the protective hand placed there. “I know you’re pregnant with Lord’s baby.”

“What?” She gasps, placing her other hand on her stomach as well, as if protecting the little life growing inside of her.

“I’ve noticed the signs, and I want you to know you don’t have to face this alone.

If you’ll have me, I’d like to get married and give the baby my last name.

” I don’t mention that it’s also Lord’s last name.

I don’t want the baby to grow up a bastard like Lord and I were.

For whatever reason, he left Phoebe—the baby shouldn’t suffer.

“You want to marry me for the baby’s sake?

What happens when you find someone else—someone better?

” The pain in her voice is clear—she’s thinking about her piece-of-shit mother, who jumped from man to man when they grew tired of her, leaving her with six kids by six different fathers.

That’s not what makes her a piece of shit—it’s that she was willing to sell her adult virgin daughters for money after living off them for years.

Ghost and Phantom told me all about their mother, Patty, and how she treated her children.

“That won’t happen. But if you find someone better—that you love—we can get a divorce.

This is only a marriage of convenience for the baby—I don’t expect us to have sex like a real married couple.

The only thing I ask is that if you do find someone you love, you wait until the divorce is final before you have sex.

I won’t be made a fool of by having my wife cheat on me, even if it isn’t a real marriage. ”

Her shoulders sag—the relief is clear on her face.

“What about you? If I agree to this arrangement, I won’t be made a fool of, and I won’t allow myself to be cheated on by my husband either.

” There’s a distinct fire in her eyes, and I can see why Lord was drawn to her.

But her fire doesn’t stir anything in me.

Just the opposite. My feelings toward Phoebe are purely brotherly.

“I take my vows seriously, Phoebe. I will not cheat—I will not lie to you unless it’s for your own good. I will take care of you and the baby, for better or worse.”

I’ve been alive for thirty-eight years, and in all that time I’ve never wanted a woman—I don’t foresee that changing after I marry Phoebe.

It’s not that I haven’t wanted to be attracted to a woman or, hell, even a man, but no one has ever stirred lustful feelings in me.

I’ve lived my whole life celibate—why change now?

“I need some time to think about it.” Phoebe stands, running a hand over her still-flat stomach. “I want my baby to have a father, something I never had, but I won’t steal your future to give my child that.”

I stand and move around my desk until I’m by her side. “This baby is already part of me and my family. Let me do right by the baby.” I don’t add that Lord can’t or won’t step up for them.

“I don’t know, Savage. It’s a lot to think about. Give me a few days to think it over.”

“Understood.” I nod, dropping the subject for now. But sometime in the next six months before the baby is born, Phoebe will bear the Walker last name.

A loud knock on my office door pulls me from my thoughts about my future. “Come in,” I yell to whoever is on the other side of the door.

The door opens to reveal one of our new Prospects, Stoker. “Prez, there’s a woman on a bike at the front gate demanding to see Lord’s brother and Lord’s woman.”

Before I can ask any questions, Phoebe jumps in excitedly. “Does she have long black hair, porcelain skin, and is she absolutely gorgeous?”

“I don’t know about her skin, but yeah, she’s fucking gorgeous, with huge tits and wide hips made for riding more than just a motorcycle.”

“Stoker,” I warn, glaring at him for speaking that way in front of Phoebe.

To my surprise, Phoebe laughs, the first real laugh I’ve ever heard from her, lighting up her face with joy. “That’s got to be Cass. Her road name is Raven. She helped me when I was with Lord.” The joy on her face is replaced by sadness.

“What in the hell is she doing here?” I’m not letting this woman near Phoebe if she’s part of the human trafficking ring Lord is involved in.

“It’s okay, Savage. I don’t know much about what’s really going on at the auction house, but Raven, her brother Hawk, and even Lord aren’t the bad guys.

” Phoebe might be na?ve enough to believe that, but I’m not.

I protect what’s mine, and right now, Phoebe and the baby she’s carrying are mine to protect.

“Fine, but you stay here. I don’t want you anywhere near her until I decide whether she’s a threat or not.”

Phoebe opens her mouth to protest, only to be cut off by Stoker. “Sorry, Prez,” he says, running a hand nervously through his hair. “Raven said she won’t talk to anyone but the two of you together.”

The urge to yell at the Prospect rides me hard, but I keep my cool, as I always do. Instead, I accept that the Prospect is only doing his job, even showing respect to our visitor by calling her by her road name, whether she deserves it or not.

“Let’s go.” I push past the Prospect, intentionally slowing my pace so Phoebe can keep up with me and stride out of the clubhouse and down to the front gate.

I’m brought up short at the sight of Cass leaning against her Harley.

Just as Phoebe described, she has long black hair and the whitest porcelain-like skin.

And just as Stoker described, she has huge breasts, accentuated by the tight black Guns N’ Roses classic Appetite for Destruction t-shirt.

Wide hips, but not so wide that my hands won’t span them while she’s riding me.

Fuck what am I thinking? I’m not even sure I can trust this woman, and now I’m lusting after her.

“Raven.” Phoebe launches herself into Cass’s arms, using her road name in public. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“How have you been, Phoebs?” Cass’s nickname for Phoebe throws me off. I’ve never even heard her own sisters call her Phoebs. And here is this stranger, who, in all likelihood, held her captive, calling her that. It must be some kind of Stockholm Syndrome.

“Not bad.” Phoebe shrugs, stepping out of Cass’s arms. “I have a house on the compound. You’ll stay with me.”

“No, Cass stays with me.” The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. The thought of not having her near me doesn’t sit well. That and calling her by her road name. Calling her by her birth name feels right. “Until I decide whether she’s a threat,” I add when Phoebe eyes me suspiciously.

“She won’t hurt me,” Phoebe glares at me, defending Cass.

“It’s not just you I’m worried about.” My eyes drop to Phoebe’s stomach.

“Fine.” Phoebe crosses her arms over her chest and keeps glaring at me. I should call her out on her behavior toward the club president, but it’s the spunkiest I’ve ever seen from her. It’s so much better than the sadness.

“Now that, that is settled.” I turn toward Cass. “How do I know we can trust you?”

Without missing a beat, Cass reaches into her tight denim jeans, pulls out a necklace with a ring, and hands it to me—my grandmother's wedding ring. She gave it to me when I was ten, right before she died. It was the only thing of value she had. She knew that if my mother got her hands on it, she would sell it. She made me promise to hold on to it and give it to my wife someday. The day Lord left to go undercover, I gave it to him and told him that if he was ever in trouble, needed me, and couldn’t reach me himself, he should give the ring to someone he trusted and have them find me.

“Do you trust me now?” Cass holds my gaze, her eyes never leaving mine. My heart races as an image of Cass wearing my grandmother’s wedding ring while we repeat our vows to each other pops into my head—except Cass isn’t the one I asked to marry me.