Savage Fire (Savage Angels MC #2) (7 page)

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

“...Otherwise this will be your life forever and trust me, you don’t want that.” The compassion in her voice is endearing. It’s obvious she has endured the same trauma. There is a pause in the conversation and I am about to knock on the door when my Amare continues, “I don’t know how long I am going to be in town for. I totaled my car. I did a good job. But if you want to talk or want some help, all you have to do is ask, ok?”

“Thank you. What made you come into the motel?”

“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.” After all she’s been through, she went and got me coffee. This woman  is amazing.

“He’s in room five,” Adelynn says “Thank you.”

“That coffee is going to be cold by now. How about you come in the back and I can refill it for you?” I can hear the smile in Adelynn’s voice

“That would be wonderful! Thank you, Adelynn, lead the way!” I hear my Amare laugh and they leave the room.

I stand in shocked silence for a moment and then head back to my room. There is more to my Amare than I thought; a hidden strength that I did not think she possessed. From the little I had to do with the motel owner yesterday, I could tell he was soaked with alcohol, so I can only guess they were talking about him. The woman I rescued, twice in one day, did not appear to have the capability of looking after herself, let alone an alcoholic. Her kind words to the woman, Adelynn, move me. Shame, embarrassment and anger; these are all words I understand. My father made me feel this way, not because he was an alcoholic but because he was sadistic and ruthless. My mother put up with him for years. He cheated, lied and eventually used her like a punching bag. Then he would use her body anyway he wanted. He eventually got tired of her and moved on. My mother never recovered. The men she chose after my father were carbon copies who only wanted her for what she could give them. I could never make her see the light; I couldn’t save her, I’d tried. In the end, I had to walk away and hope she would save herself, but she never did. Back in my room, I remove my jacket and shirt, then sit on the end of the bed and anticipate the arrival of my Amare.

Emily

I
chatted with Adelynn for a while and discovered her mother had died of cancer, a while back. She told me she was married to a wonderful man named Ricky and that he was killed six years ago. He was in logistics and supply and was killed by an IED when it blew up and destroyed the truck he was in. He was based in Iraq. They have a son Ben, and he is eight. He doesn’t remember his father. Adelynn moved back to Tourmaline after Ricky’s death to be with family and to help her father. She didn’t realize he needs more help than she is capable of giving.

After out chat, I head towards room five. My stomach is in knots, as I don’t know what kind of reception to expect. I knock on the door and Salvatore steps out and into my space. He has no shirt on and goodness me, does he look divine. I notice the tattoos across his chest and down one arm. I have never seen such a well-sculpted physique. I have a fleeting thought of running my lips over his skin.

For a moment, I am speechless but he breaks me out of my thoughts when he says, “Amare, what brings you to me again?” His voice is deep and gravelly. I slowly drag my eyes to his and when I do, he has a knowing smirk on his face.

“I got you some coffee...to say thank you and...” I pause and stare at his chest again and say, “I thought maybe I could buy you breakfast. The café apparently does amazing waffles...” I slowly raise my eyes to his and he is still wearing that knowing smile.

He puts his arm around me and ushers me into his room. “Come in, Amare, while I put a shirt on.” He closes the door and I stand there like a mannequin, searching my mind for something amusing to say. I am barely inside the room; my back is almost up against the door. He bends over the bed, grabs his shirt and faces me. Again, he comes into my space and touches both my hands. “So, which one is mine.” I hold up my right hand slowly and he takes both cups out of my hands and places them on a small table. Then he returns to me and I find myself pushed up against the door as he examines my face. “Ahh, I see you’ve had this treated.” He has his body pressed up against mine as his hands prod my face. “I do not think you will even have a scar. Tell me, did they tow your car to the Compound?”

I am completely overwhelmed. My core is on fire and I want so much to kiss him, to touch him. I feel sparks of electricity shoot through every fiber in my body and every nerve ending is screaming for release. I want his hands on me, all over me.

“Amare?”

I put my hands on his chest and push him away. He’s too close, making it hard to form a single thought. I take two steps to the side to put some distance between us so I can speak like a human, not a lust induced zombie. “Yes, they towed my car and it’s in their lot. I haven’t really spoken to them about it yet. I kind of fell asleep on them...”

His face clouds over and he says, “You kind of fell asleep on them? What. Does. That. Mean?” He pauses between each word and growls them at me.

“Jonas took me to see Doc Jordan and he gave me something for the pain, but because I hadn’t slept in days it made me sleepy. I think he ended up carrying me to their clubhouse.” I realize how all this must sound. If someone told me that exact same story, I would be thinking the worst.

“Did they touch you, Amare?” he growls at me, his eyes blazing with anger.

“No, no, no! In fact, Jonas put a guard on my door so no one would go near me. Not that they would. I was safe, Sal.” Something crosses his face and he stares at me so intently that I look away and stare at the floor.

He moves back into my space and lifts my head up. “Thank you for getting me coffee. Let’s go have breakfast and I’m buying. I think I shall keep you in my sights to make sure nothing else happens to you. I have never met a woman who allows herself to get into so many dangerous situations, in such a short space in time. You, my Amare, are a handful.” He moves away from me and does up his shirt, then grabs his jacket. He opens the door to his room and extends his arm. “Shall we?” he asks, offering me a smile that reveals his dimple. My core clenches again and I have to fight the urge to throw myself at him.

I walk out into the sunshine and he is about to join me when he says, “One minute, Amare, wait here.” He goes back inside and shuts the door. He’s only gone for a moment and I wonder what he’s doing, but then he opens the door and is back by my side.

I grab his hand and we walk, hand in hand to the café. I have never felt so aroused in my life. I wish I were more experienced with men. He looks at me as though he is amused and gives me a half smile. I’m sure he knows exactly what he’s doing to me. Do I respond? Do I try to make conversation? Or, should I kiss him and see what happens? All this runs through my mind as he guides me to a booth in Betties Café. I sit down opposite him and he continues to hold my hand.

The waitress from earlier comes bounding up to our table and Sal says, “Hello, Rosie, how are you this morning?”

“Great! It’s another glorious day in downtown Tourmaline! Now, what can I get you?” Her infectious personality just bubbles over.

Sal looks at me and I say, “Well, I think I have to try those waffles please, Rosie.”

“Fantastic choice!” she says and winks at me. Then she looks to Sal. “The same as yesterday? And pronto on the coffee?” she says with a smile.

“That sounds good, Rosie, thank you.”

As Rosie backs away, she points at Sal behind his back and gives me the thumbs up. I smile at her and Sal turns around to see a red‐faced Rosie who hurries back to the kitchen.

He raises his eyebrows at me and says, “I think Rosie approves.” Then he runs his thumb over my knuckles and heat pools between my thighs. I go to pull my hand from his but he holds on. “Tell me about yourself, Amare. Where are you from? What do you do?”

For a moment I am caught off guard, my senses have been so focused on him and now he wants to know about me. I look into his eyes and I see compassion there. I have no idea how to tell him about my life and myself, so I try turning the tables on him.

“No, you don’t want to know about me, not really. I’m an open book; tell me about you and what brings you to Tourmaline.”

He stares at me for a moment and is about to say something when Rosie appears with our coffees. “Here you go!” she says and I am temporarily saved from any conversation.

Jonas

I
follow Emily from the Compound to Doc Jordan’s, then Betties Café, then the motel. Now she sits in Betties, hand in hand, with the Italian that came to the Compound and asked questions about Ms. Saunders and Grinders Transport.

Is she playing us? Do they have an agenda? What is the real reason they are in Tourmaline? All these questions flood my mind. I know one thing for sure—Dane will want to know. I wasn’t lying when I said I had to go out there today, so I’d best be on my way. Our President of the MC, Dane, was shot six weeks ago and his woman has kept him hostage at his home, recuperating. I know he’s had enough and I organized for his woman Kat, to go shopping today.

I stand and watch the two of them in the café for a moment longer then head back to the Compound. I am supposed to be taking Dane for a ride to The Gorge so he can blow out some cobwebs. Then I was going to bring him back to the garage and finally to the depot, to make sure he’s happy with the way things are running. The club owns the garage but Dane owns the depot. We get a cut from it though, for doing ride alongs to ensure the freight isn’t stolen or tampered with. Dane also employs a heap of us at the depot so it’s to everyone’s advantage to make sure it’s running at a profit.

When I arrive back at the Compound, I see Fith and he walks towards me. He nods with determination as he keeps coming. He’s a big guy who is loyal to the MC. If Dane told him to slit my throat, he’d have no problem doing it. The sick thing is, he’d do it with a smile on his face and not think twice about it. There’s something in his eyes that goes from light to dark in an instant, almost as if evil waits behind them.

“Hey, VP, what gives?” he asks.

“You were here earlier when that Italian paid us a visit, weren’t you?” I ask.

“Yeah, man, I was.”

“I followed Emily and she went straight to him.”

He raises his eyebrows and says, “What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing for now; just keep an eye on them. They are at Betties and Fith do not provoke him. I need to talk to the Prez. It is his sister after all.”

He nods at me and says, “What if I go and order something to eat at Betties? It’s a small town and I eat there all the time so it wouldn’t be unusual.”

“Alright but remember whose sister she is, yeah? No confrontations. You understand?” I like Fith but you really have to spell things out.

“You got it, VP. On my way.” He smiles at me then heads towards town. I watch him go and hope he’ll follow orders.

I head for my bike. The ride out to Dane’s won’t take long; it’s a nice ride though.

I pull into his drive, turn off my bike and walk towards the front door of his house, only to find him walking towards me.

I call out, “Hey, hey, Prez! Where are you off to?”

“Oh, Jonas, thank God it’s you. Did you arrange for Kat to go shopping? ‘Cause if you did I owe you a fucking solid, man!”

“Had enough of Madam President, Prez?” I tease him.

“Real fucking funny! She won’t let me do anything, and if I have to spend another day in this house, cooped up without a fucking thing to do, I might fucking kill someone!”

I laugh. “I had Rebel get your bike ready. Wanna hit The Gorge?”

“Fuck yes!” He claps me on the shoulder and practically skips across the courtyard.

“Do you want me to call her, tell her where you are?” I try to make it sound like an innocent question, but I can’t help it: I laugh.

“Everyone’s a fucking comedian! Let’s go!”

“Wait, Prez, there’s something I wanted to tell you about. A guy came into the clubhouse yesterday, an Italian, and he started asking questions about Ms. Saunders and the depot. I followed him, saw he went back to the motel where he got a visitor.”

“A visitor? Well, who the fuck was it?” Dane turns on his ride, a smile spreading across his face.

“Emily.”

The smile freezes in place and he looks into my eyes. Then he kills the engine and says, “What the fuck is my sister doing in town? And what the fuck is she doing with an Italian who’s asking questions about Ms. Saunders?”

I shrug. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough. She turned up at the Compound yesterday, all busted up. Said she’d been in a car accident and we did tow her car back. It was about 170 miles out of town. Had Luke bring it back.”

“Why wasn’t I told?” His voice has gone steely and his eyes blaze with anger.

“Prez, she said she wanted to surprise you. Your dad passed. She said she wanted to tell you. I took her to Doc Jordan and he gave her something for the pain then she passed out in my arms on Main Street. I know I should have told you earlier. That’s on me.”

“Fuck, Jonas. You should have told me. Where is she now? Do you have anyone following her?” he growls at me.

“When I left town she was at Betties with the guy. I asked Fith to keep an eye on them,” I say.

“Ok. Let’s go into town and see what gives.” He looks at his bike and goes to turn it on but stops and says, “My dad passed? He’s been sick a long time and she’s looked after him through all of it. Did she talk about any of it? Did she ask about me?”

“Not really, Prez. I was just surprised she hadn’t told you that she was coming. I believed her story. She said your dad had died and she got in her car and headed here. On the way, she swerved to miss an animal and ran into a tree. She said a stranger stopped to pick her up and he just happened to be headed here too.” He looks at me questioningly. “Dane, I know how it sounds, I know. But I believed her. She’s either a really good liar or it’s happened the way she said.”