“He wasn’t going to hurt me,” I say incredulously.
“We didn’t know that.” His jaw clenches.
“Seriously, I’m fine.” I glance at each of them, unsure whether to be flattered or offended that they jumped up to defend me.
Regret glitters in Wes's eyes, as if he knows they just crossed a line. Dane looks as relaxed as ever, an amused glint in his eye. But Rhett… he’s visibly shaking as he stares at the mess Pyro left behind.
“I’m fine,” I say, reaching for him.
He flinches, snatching his hand away. My stomach sinks, the walls closing in around me as I realize we have an audience that contains most of the club.
“My office,” Dad barks, raking his hand through his shaggy hair. “Now.”
23
Wes
Sadie looks back at the three of us with fear in her usually bright green eyes as a similar feeling races through me.
We shouldn’t have done that, but the second the guy with the menacing tattoos looked like he was threatening her, my ass was off the seat, and I was making my way over.
I guess I should have predicted that I wouldn’t be the only one who’d want to protect her from the crazy, pissed-off biker.
“I’m sorry,” I mouth, feeling guilty that I’ve made all of this worse for her.
Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if just Rhett and Dane stood up for her—that is their job, after all. But me… That screams suspicious, and I can totally understand why Ray is calling us out on it.
The intrigued stares of everyone in the room burn into my back as I follow Sadie and Ray down to his office. After sharing a concerned glance, Rhett and Dane follow as well.
Our footsteps on the concrete floor echo around us, my heart thundering in my chest as I try to predict what could happen next. I have no idea what I’m going to say if Ray turns those cold, critical eyes on me.
My hands are already beginning to tremble at the thought. Not that I’m going to allow any of them to see it. Sadie asked me earlier if I wanted to be a part of this. Wanted my very own cut. This might just be the time to make that decision as I prepare to go head-to-head with her father, the Prez of this MC.
Sadie, Dane, and I take a seat in Ray’s office, but Rhett remains by the door. Not wanting to be near us all or wanting to run, I have no idea. Although, I wouldn’t have thought it would be the latter; I can’t imagine Rhett Savage running away from much.
“I’m waiting,” Ray booms, and I have to fight the flinch that wants to rip through me at his demand.
“We’re just looking after our princess, Prez,” Rhett says, his voice cold, his face unreadable.
Ray regards him for a moment before running his eyes over the three of us. “Stray?”
He looks a little more nervous as he glances between Rhett, Sadie and Ray. “J-Just doing our job,” he confirms, much to Ray’s irritation if the pulsating vein in his neck is anything to go by.
I can’t imagine this will go well for them when he discovers—if he doesn’t already know—that they’re lying to him.
“You know,” Ray starts. “I’ve been watching the four of you. At first, I thought it was Dane who was stupid enough to put his cock on the line.” He lifts his hand from beneath his solid mahogany desk and places a wicked-looking knife on top.
Fucking hell.
“Daddy,” Sadie pleads, but he’s having none of it.
“Then Pretty Boy showed up, and I thought maybe you were straying outside of the club. But then the way Rhett took Justin down last weekend in your honor… Well, let's just say that threw a cat amongst the pigeons.” Ray scrubs his jaw, keeping one hand on the knife.
“Daddy, please let me explain…” Sadie sits forward between the two of us, trying to placate her father.
“Yes, Sadie Ray. Please, enlighten me, because I’d really like to not have to kill two of our brightest young members and prove to Grant Noble that he’s right, that we are a bunch of brutal savages, after I deliver his son back to him in tiny little pieces.”
I swallow nervously. He’s joking.
Right?
Of course, he’s joking.
I glance at the others to see zero reaction on their faces. Is this shit just normal club life, or are they better game players than I expected?
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not going to touch any of them,” Sadie says calmly, her voice strong and determined as she stands, staring right at her father, whose fingers are still flexing around the handle of his knife.
Ray’s eyes narrow at his daughter. “Sadie Ray,” he growls, the vein in his temple joining the one in his neck.
“I care about them, Daddy. All of them.” She narrows her eyes, and I’m struck by how similar they look in this moment. “You will not threaten them, you will not go after them. They’re protecting me. Each of them is making this shitty situation that little bit better.”
Ray’s lips part to respond, but in a move I never thought I’d see, he closes them again, totally lost for words.
“I’m sorry, Daddy, but there’s nothing you can do to stop me from seeing any of them.”
His chest heaves as he looks between us, a deadly warning in the depths of his scary eyes. “Pretty Boy?” he suddenly barks, making my spine straighten.
I hate the Pretty Boy nickname they’ve given me, but I figure that it’s their way of showing they’ve accepted me, so I just have to suck it up.
“Yes, sir.”
“Your father know about this?”
“No, sir. He’d probably kill me.” The words were meant to be a joke, but even as I say them, I know they could well be true.
Sadie drops back down beside me and laces her fingers through mine, a move that Ray doesn’t miss but it doesn’t seem that she cares.
“Is he going to be a problem? We’ve got enough shit on our plate right now; we don’t need your over-opinionated cunt of a father distracting us.”
“I’ll make sure he’s not.”
Ray stares at me, probably wondering how the hell I’m going to keep that promise. And in all honesty, I have no idea myself. But I know I need to keep it, because without it, he has every right to kick me out of the compound and keep me away from Sadie.
He holds my eyes for a beat longer before turning back to his daughter. “You… Fucking hell, you’re playing with fire, Sadie Ray.”
“I can handle it, Daddy.” She smirks.
His teeth grind at her response. “Whatever… this is, you will not flaunt it around my club. I appreciate that they’re all looking out for you… But as for the rest of it… Well…” He drags a hand down his face.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Daddy. I’m a big girl, I can make my own decisions.”
“I know that, sweetheart, but your independence and constant need to push the boundaries at every turn terrify me.”
“Nothing will happen to her,” Rhett growls, speaking for the first time in what feels like forever.
“Like being driven off the road and abducted?” Ray deadpans, cutting off anything else Rhett might have wanted to say.