Savage Fire (Savage Angels MC #2) (6 page)

Emily

I
wake up, momentarily confused as to where I am before it all comes flooding back to me. I roll over and groan, remembering the events leading up to me being here. Jonas must have carried me the rest of the way. I sit up slowly. The throbbing in my head reverberates through my ears and I think for a moment that my head is going to explode. I throw my feet over the side of the bed and stand on shaky legs. I walk across the room and open the door. A man sits directly in front of the door. He slowly moves his head in my direction, and when he looks at me, a smile spreads across his hard features. He stands, hands up in a non‐threatening  manner.

“I’m Rebel, Emily. Jonas carried you in here from Doc Jordan’s. Do you remember?” he asks.

“Yes, is Jonas here?” I poke my head out the door and see a group of men staring back at me from the main part of the clubhouse.

“No, he’s at the garage, but I can get him if you want?”

I look at him and say, “No, that’s ok. I can go find him.” I move my hand to my head and wince. My headache feels much worse.

“You got a headache?” I nod at him but that makes my head hurt and I wince again.

“You’ve been asleep for a day. You’re probably dehydrated and you haven’t eaten. I’ll find you food, water and Advil. Just wait here, yeah?” He gives a slight nod and moves out into the hallway. I walk back to the bed and sit down, resting my hands on the comforter. I feel as though I am moving in slow‐motion as my head lolls off my shoulder. I realize, in the quiet of the room, I haven’t showered in days.
That’s hot
Emily, I scold myself. You probably smell awful. I need new clothes and a shower.

“Here you go. I’ve asked one of the prospects, Luke, to go get you something to eat.”

He passes me the bottles of Advil and water, which I gratefully accept. “Thank you. Is there anywhere I can shower?”

He points to a door on the other side of the room and says, “Through there. This is the President’s room so he gets the en suite.” He grins at me and continues, “We couldn’t find any clothes in your car. Maybe they were taken?” he asks, eyebrows raised.

“No, it was kind of an impromptu visit and I didn’t pack anything. Luke, he’s the guy I met with Jonas, he got my car?” I asked.

“Yeah, you’ve been out a long time. He’s a good guy. He said your car is in a bad way.”

I drink the water down and take two Advil. The cool water feels good going down my throat. Rebel’s right, I am dehydrated.

“I hit a tree. Do you think they can fix it?” I ask.

“I haven’t seen it myself. I was on guard duty. If they can’t fix it I’m sure Dane will work something out.”

“Guard duty?” I ask.

“Yeah, Jonas wanted you kept safe. I am the one he volunteered to watch over you.” He smiles at me and I nod.

“Sorry, Rebel, you must be tired too.”

He smiles at me and runs a hand over his shaved head. “Well, I could use some shut‐eye and a shower too. But it’s ok, I didn’t mind.” The whole time I’m talking to him I’m sipping the water and don’t realize there’s not a drop left. He points at the empty bottle and says, “There’s more where that came from, I’ll go find you another. Why don’t you go shower?”

“Thank you. I think a shower might help clear my head,” I say and he walks out of the room, pulling the door shut.

The shower feels fantastic and it feels so good to be clean. I stand under the water and think about my decision to come here. If my car was fixed, I think I would leave and go back home. I sigh and turn the water off. I step out of the shower, towel myself off and catch a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. I hardly recognize myself. My eye is a lovely shade of black, but the cut above seems to be healing nicely. I still look a complete mess though. I look around the bathroom; thankfully, there are toiletries available, along with a brush and comb. Thank goodness for a woman’s touch.

I’m standing in the middle of Dane’s room in a towel when there is a knock at the door.

“Yes?” I say. Jonas walks in and stops dead in his tracks, staring wide‐eyed at me. “Sorry, but I didn’t want to put my clothes back on, I’ve been wearing them for days.”

His eyes drift over my towel-clad body and he says, “Kat has some clothes here. She’s a little taller than you but they should fit. I’ll be in the bar, come find me when you are,” he takes in my body again, “dressed.”

I rummage through the dresser and closet. I eventually find a nice dress but all of Kat’s bras are way too big for me. I don’t like not wearing one but I am small chested so it’s not that big of a deal. I slip on my shoes and make my way towards the bar area.

Jonas waits there with Rebel. There are another half a dozen men sitting around and everyone’s eyes are on me. I feel so self‐conscious. One of the men sitting on a stool stands up and walks towards me. He’s huge, in every way possible—height, weight and even his beard is massive. He smiles at me and when he is within arm’s reach, he engulfs me in a hug. All the air leaves my lungs in a whoosh and a little squeal escapes me.

He holds me at arm’s length. “I’m Bear, Road Captain of the Savage Angels and you look just like your brother!”

He engulfs me again and I hear Jonas say in a quiet, even tone, “Bear, enough. Can’t you see she’s terrified and you’re squeezing the life out of her?”

“Terrified?! Of what?! She’s family!” he roars at Jonas and places one of his big arms around my shoulders. “Now, Emily, what were you thinking, driving all this way? We could have picked you up or you could have gotten a plane or train. Seriously, woman! Dane is going to be so happy to see you!”

He is nothing like I imagined a member of the Savage Angels to be. He’s happy and jovial. I expected them to be more serious and dangerous.

“Don’t mind Bear, Em, he’s harmless. Do you want us to take you out to Dane’s now?” says Jonas.

“I have one thing I need to do first, is that ok?” I ask. His eyes flick to Rebel, then Bear. He does not appear happy with my answer. “It’s just that I want to thank Doc Jordan and the man who brought me here. I’m not sure how long he’s staying, he could be gone already.”

He nods and sighs. “I have to go out to Dane’s now.” He looks at Rebel. “Reb, you’ll keep an eye on, Em, yeah?”

“That’s not necessary. I’ve been on my own for a long time and in a city. Tourmaline should be a walk in the park. I’ll come back here when I’m done. Anyway, Rebel could use the sleep.” I lock eyes with Jonas as he appears to be weighing me up.

Eventually, he gives in to my request. “Ok, Em. You come back here when you are done and one of the boys will bring you out.”

“Thank you.” I look up at Bear who lets me go and I head for the beautiful day outside.

“Em,” Jonas says, “You run into any trouble, you tell people you’re Dane Reynolds’ sister and they’ll leave you be.”

“Trouble?” I shake my head at him. “What kind of trouble can you get into here?” I go to leave but stop and turn around. “Rebel, thank you for keeping watch.” He nods, a hint of a smile in his eyes and I continue on my way out of the Compound.

I head straight for Doc Jordan’s. When I enter the room, there is a middle‐aged woman behind the waiting room desk and she looks a little frazzled.

“Hello, is Doc Jordan available?” I ask.

“The Doctor is with a patient. Do you have an appointment?” From the way she has asked me the question, she knows I don’t.

“No, I don’t need an appointment. I just wanted to thank Doc for fixing me up. Could you tell me when he is available?”

She huffs at me and looks down at a diary. “He’ll have a spare minute in about an hour.”

“Thank you, I’ll come back then.” I give her my best smile; she huffs at me again and looks back down at her diary.

I walk back out onto the sidewalk and see a cafe called Betties, so I head for it. It’s early in the morning but it’s open. When I push open the door and enter, I am surprised at the number of people that are in there.

The waitress behind the counter gives me a huge smile and says, “Welcome to Betties! What can I get you?”

Everyone in the café turns to stare at me. I feel very self‐conscious, especially with my black eye. At least I’ve tamed my hair into a ponytail.

“Good morning, could I please have a white coffee and a black coffee to go, please?”

She nods at me enthusiastically and says, “Is that all, honey? No food? We do really good waffles and bacon.” Her smile is infectious and it’s hard for me to say no.

“I’ll come back for breakfast; I wanted to give someone a coffee as a thank you,” I say and smile back at her.

She gives me a slight nod and fills up two cups. “Bring them back here. I’m sure once they’ve tasted it they’ll know it’s the best coffee in the county.”

“Thank you, I will try.” I smile at her and pay for my order.

The rest of the patrons continue to stare at me. I smile at a few of them then make my way back outside.

The motel isn’t far up Main Street and I continue towards it. It doesn’t take long to get anywhere in this town and before I know it I am at the motel.

I can hear voices in the office and I open the door. There is a man on the floor and he groans as a woman tries to pull him to his feet. From the doorway, I can smell the sickly stench of alcohol that I know all too well

“Dad, I need you to stand up. We have a busload of people coming in and I need to get Ben to school. Please, Dad!” She doesn’t notice me until I clear my voice and she says, “I’m so sorry but we don’t have any vacancies.” Her face is one of pain and embarrassment. It is one I know, only too well.

I put the coffees down on the desk and walk around to stand next to her. “How about I help you with him? My name is Emily. You haven’t got a hope of getting him to his feet on your own. Trust me, I know.”

She holds my gaze for a moment then sticks out her hand. “My name is Adelynn. I could really use the help. I didn’t want to ask anyone; you know how a small town can be. He’s not always like this, he’s my father.” Her eyes go to the man on the floor and she looks sad.

“Adelynn, I’m not from here and I won’t tell anyone. My dad was like this too. I know you said he’s not always like this, but I bet he drinks all the time. I can also guess that he’s not so nice most of the time, too. My dad was abusive. He died recently from lung cancer, but before he got sick—hell his whole life—he was a miserable bastard.” My eyes fill with tears as I stare at the drunken man on the floor and remember all the things my father did to me. There was no one else to look after him. What was I supposed to do, abandon him like Dane did?

Adelynn puts her hand on my arm and I look at her. “I don’t know what to do. I throw out all the bottles and...”

“And he buys new ones or he asks someone to buy it for him. He promises to be better and for a while he is, then...” I say.

“Then he goes back to this.” Adelynn says as we both stare at the man on the floor. He’s wet himself and begins to snore. I let out a sigh, bend down and grab one of his arms while Adelynn does the same. We lock eyes and both pull on his arms until he is in a sitting position.

He wakes and stares at Adelynn. “I’m shorry, Addy. Jusht had a couple.” His words come out all slurred as he tries to get his feet under him.

“It’s ok, Dad, I’m going to pull on three and you’re going to stand up, ok?” He nods at her but you can tell he’s barely awake. She looks at me, nods and says, “Ok, Dad, one, two, three!” We both pull as hard as we can until he’s on his feet, an arm flung over each of our shoulders. He is much taller than me so it’s a little more difficult for me to maneuver him. I can tell Adelynn has had plenty of practice. She goes through a doorway, down a short hall and enters a bedroom. “Do you think you could hold him up against the wall while I run and fetch some towels?” she says.

“Yes, go, I can handle him for a second.” She gives me a tentative smile and dashes out of the room. I have both my hands on his chest as he leans against the wall. He’s so drunk he falls asleep standing up. I am grateful his legs haven’t given out on him. When Adelynn returns with two towels, she pulls the covers back on the bed and lays them on top of the sheets, then together we manage to put him on the bed.

Without looking at me she says, “Thank you, Emily, you can go now; I appreciate all your help.” I nod and walk out of the room.

There is no way I am leaving her to clean up her father’s mess alone. I leave the office in search of cleaning supplies. Finding a mop and a bucket, I fill the bucket with hot water and return to the office to tidy up. When I finish, I empty the water out of the bucket, refill it with disinfectant and go back to sanitize the office. Adelynn returns as I am emptying the bucket for the second time.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she says.

“Yes, I did. It would have been nice if just once someone had done this for me. I know the shame, the embarrassment, the anger you feel and then you have to clean up after them. It’s not fair for you or for him. You need to do something, Adelynn, to make him stop for good, otherwise this will be your life forever and trust me, you don’t want that.”

I think of my now‐cold coffees and head for the door. I stop and turn around before leaving. “I don’t know how long I am going to be in town for. I totaled my car.” I point to my face and smile. “I did a good job. But if you want to talk or want some help, all you have to do is ask, ok?”

She straightens her spine, walks towards me and embraces me in a hug. “Thank you.” She pulls away and looks down at me. “What made you come into the motel?”

I take a step back from her and grab the coffees. “A friend is staying here and I thought I’d bring him a coffee. His name is Salvatore Agostino. I was coming in here to ask for his room number.”

She smiles at me. “He’s in room five.”

“Thank you,” I say, smiling back at her.

“That coffee is going to be cold by now. How about you come in the back and I can refill it for you?” she says.

“That would be wonderful! Thank you, Adelynn, lead the way!” She laughs and heads back into the hallway and I follow.

Salvatore

I
am headed to the office of the motel in search of fresh towels when I overhear the conversation between Adelynn and my Amare.