“That’s bullshit,” Seychelle said. “You told Scarlet and Lissa. This has something to do with Savage and what he does.”
Maestro made a sound of derision. “You’re ready to run at the first sign of trouble. Do you really think we’re going to put our lives in your hands?”
“Be fucking careful how you talk to her.”
“Why, Savage? Are you going to beat me to death with your fists? You’re right there on the edge. You need a woman. Your woman is running away. She was never strong enough to help you, and you know it.”
“That’s enough, Maestro,” Czar ordered.
On some level, Savage knew Maestro was taunting Seychelle, trying to get her to fight back, to stand up for Savage and their relationship.
“It takes trust to allow Savage to take what he needs from me, Maestro,” Seychelle said, looking at the club member. “If he doesn’t trust me, then how can I possibly trust him?”
Maestro didn’t respond. He of all people knew what she said was the truth.
She switched her gaze to Czar. “You had him bring me here because you wanted something from me, just like the night in the bar when you wanted me to keep the Diamondbacks calm for you, yet none of you trusted me enough to tell me what was going on. I have no intention of helping you out. None. Again, I don’t trust you. It’s impossible to put my faith in people who don’t put it in me. So, Maestro, go ahead and think the worst of me, because, believe me, I think it of all of you.”
Czar stopped Maestro from responding with one look. “You shouldn’t, Seychelle. Not everything is always what it seems. The truth is, Maestro made the suggestion of another woman helping out Savage because he was worried about you. The club is protective of you,” Czar continued. “He wasn’t thinking in terms of Savage cheating on you. He was afraid of you getting physically hurt. He didn’t want you leaving Savage because he got out of control and no one was here to help you.”
“And yet we’ve come to this point anyway,” Seychelle whispered. She didn’t move away from Savage, rather gave him more of her weight, as if the world was just too much for her to bear.
Savage wanted to lift her into his arms and cradle her close. How many times could a man fuck up and hurt the woman he loved? Evidently, he could do it every damn day. He put both arms around her and pressed his mouth to her ear.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so damn sorry. I wish I knew what the hell I was doing.”
She turned her face up to look over her shoulder at him, tears glistening on her lashes. “Me too, Savage.”
They stared at each other for an eternity. Savage knew it wasn’t going to end well. Either way, she was going to leave him. If he gave her what she wanted—no, needed—she would never look at him again. If he didn’t, she would leave him. No matter what, he was going to lose.
“I can’t live like this, Savage.”
“You’re not leaving, Seychelle. That’s not what we agreed on. The deal was, we talk it out. We find solutions.”
“Savage.” There was despair in her voice. In her eyes. “You’re the one who isn’t talking, not me. I’ve been talking so much my throat hurts. I can’t find a solution. If I could, I would have told you what it is by now. I can see that you need me. Do you think it’s easy to leave you like that? If I don’t go, I’ll do something crazy. I know myself. This is self-preservation, Savage. I love you, but you need to be with me. With me. That’s the only way I can be with you. Then we can be with them.”
Savage walked her to the picnic table and sat on the tabletop, pulling her to stand between his thighs so she was facing him. “You aren’t going to like me much, baby.”
“Savage, you’re the one who doesn’t have a lot of faith in me.”
Czar stood up, drifting closer to her. “Seychelle, he’s putting his life into your hands. That’s what you’re asking him to do. I hope you’re prepared for that. The things he might say won’t be easy for you to accept.”
She lifted her chin, her blue eyes moving over Czar and then Maestro and Reaper, who had also moved closer. “Do you think I’m naïve? If it were easy, he would have told me a long time ago.” She turned back to Savage, framing his face with both hands. “I’m counting on you to save us. Just do it, Savage. Trust me.”
Savage shook his head. It was now or never. “That nightmare you kept having about Arnold? You asked the wrong question, baby. You asked me if I killed him. I didn’t. You saw those images because they were real. I told you I question our prisoners to find out who has the children or who are the ones taking them. I don’t do it nicely. I torture them.”
She was very still, her fingers digging into his thighs. They’d told her straight up that he’d questioned Tawny and that pain had been involved, but it had been different with Joseph Arnold. She’d seen images, and they’d been gruesome.
Savage kept his gaze fixed on her face while she processed. It was her way to take her time. When Reaper started to say something, Savage shook his head. They waited. The wind blew, touched his face, ruffled her hair. She took a deep breath. At least she wasn’t running.
“I’m not certain why Arnold would have to be questioned, but if all of you believed he needed to be, then I would want to trust your judgment.”
He forced himself to keep looking at her, not taking his eyes from hers. “I told you I was raised to be an assassin. I still do that work. I take out our enemies. I’ll be doing it here.”
She didn’t look away from him, nor did she say anything. No one did. There was absolute silence. Her fingers bit harder into his thighs. She touched her tongue to her lower lip, and then her chin went up. “You knew before we came here, all of you knew, that you would be killing someone.”
He nodded. His hand covered hers, his thumb moving over the back of it. “More than one person. Several.”
“Just you, or will the others be doing this kind of work as well?”
“That will depend on the situation. Usually, it’s me. Sometimes one of the others has no choice.” He wasn’t going to incriminate any of his brothers or sisters.
She inhaled deeply and then stepped back, pulling her hands away from his thighs. “I have to think about this for a minute. Give me a minute. You know how I am.”
He did. She needed to process. At least she wasn’t telling him to go to hell and demanding Czar get her a ride home. She was surprisingly cool about Arnold now that she had time to think about it. He had to learn to give her the time she needed, and if he wasn’t always able to protect her from the things he did, he needed to man up and talk to her about them so she didn’t have nightmares like she had with Arnold.
Czar glanced at his watch several times but refrained from breaking the silence. Maestro and Reaper assessed Savage and how close he was to the edge. They’d been through it with him many times and knew every single sign.
Seychelle came back to him faster than he’d thought she would. “You aren’t going to name names because you aren’t going to incriminate anyone but you.” She looked at Maestro and Reaper. “You came here with the intent to kill some people who I presume are an actual threat to you, or you wouldn’t want them dead. Can you give me your word that anyone you kill deserves it, Savage?”