_______
“You fucking mean to tell me that you went to the cops, Cillian? Why the hell would you do that when I specifically told you not to? You know how these things run. We take care of club business and leave the cops out of it,” Savage growled. Cillian watched as the big guy paced the floor in front of the bar. Bowie and Savage met him there when he called, leaving Dallas and the kids at home. Cillian told them he had news and they didn’t want the kids in on their conversation. They were just babies but Greer had asked about her sister a few times and Dallas had told her she was at a friend’s house. It broke Cillian’s heart that they were all having to go through this but Savage needed to remember the end game—getting Chloe back from the Dragons in one piece. Nothing else mattered.
“Just hear me out, Savage,” Cillian asked.
“No—just fucking no,” Savage growled.
“Maybe we should just all calm down and hear Cillian out, Babe,” Bowie offered. “It can’t hurt. If you still want to kill him when he’s done, I’ll help.” Bowie shot him a wolfish grin and Kill nodded his thanks. He could tell that Savage’s husband was just trying to soothe him and from the way Savage exhaled and sunk into a chair, it seemed to be working.
“Fine,” Savage grumbled. “Start talking.”
“I went to see Havoc,” Kill said.
“You should have led with that, from the beginning,” Savage said. “What did he say? Does he know if they have my daughter or where they are keeping her?”
“Yes,” Kill breathed. “He said they have her and last he saw her; she was safe and being held by the Dragons.”
“Last time he saw her?” Savage asked.
“Yeah, he didn’t have much to go on since he’s out of the Dragons. He refused to be a part of Chloe’s kidnapping and they stripped his patches and he walked,” Kill said.
“Fuck,” Savage shouted. “Why didn’t he warn me?”
Kill knew exactly why Havoc wouldn’t rat on his old club. “They’d murder him if he had. Hell, they would have probably killed Chloe by now if Havoc ran to you, just to make an example of you both. You know how they operate better than anyone, Savage. The Dragons don’t play by the rules. Havoc still has to watch his ass. They won’t let him just walk away from their club, but he’s out—for now.”
“So, we’re back to knowing nothing?” Bowie asked.
“Well, there’s more and this is the part that you both aren’t going to like very much,” Kill admitted.
“I haven’t liked one fucking word you’ve said so far, Cillian,” Savage griped. “Just spill it.”
“Havoc confirmed that Dante is running a trafficking ring and he specialized in virgins. He’s planning on moving Chloe to Mexico and selling her off.” Kill watched Savage like he was a bomb about to go off.
“What the fuck,” Bowie shouted. “We have to stop them from doing that, Savage. If they move her, we’ll never get Chloe back.”
“Don’t you think I know all that, Bowie?” Savage almost whispered. He sounded defeated and even broken. Cillian hated that anyone had the power to bring his friend to his knees.
“So, we don’t let that happen,” Cillian said. “We take Hart up on his offer and I go into the Dragons. I can work on finding Chloe once I’m on the inside and get her out. We don’t have time to sit around and think about this though, Savage.”
“She’s just a little girl.” Savage’s voice broke and it nearly gutted Cillian.
“I know man. This is the only way. Let me tell Hart that I’m in. It’s like you said yesterday, I’m one of the only ones who can do this. The Dragons will think that I’m desperate to be a part of a club and they’ll believe I want to prospect to join them. Once I get into the club, I can find Chloe and get her out of there,” Cillian said.
“Just like that?” Savage asked. “You honestly believe it’ll be that easy?”
“Yep,” Kill lied. He was sure that it would be a shit show but he wasn’t about to tell Savage that. His friend had seemed to lose all hope and there was no way he’d let Savage give in to his despair.
“I can’t lose her,” Savage choked. “You have no idea how much this hurts.”
“I get it, man, I’m not a father. But, I will be soon. I know that if anything happened to Viv or the baby, I’d be lost. At least let me try,” Kill said.
Bowie nodded at Savage and the two seemed to share a silent connection. “Fine,” Savage agreed. “Set up the meeting for this afternoon. You’ll go into the Dragons tonight and ask to probate. If they are going to move her, I want you in there to stop it. I won’t lose my daughter,” Savage growled and stood. He walked out the back of the bar, not bothering to look back.
“Sorry,” Bowie said. He stood and slid his chair under the table. “That’s great news about Viv and the baby, Cillian. He’s just not ready to hear anything goodyour right now. We need to get Chloe back—for all our sakes.”
VIVIAN
Cillian came running through the front door with about ten minutes to spare before they needed to head out to the diner. She had felt like shit and had spent most of the morning bowing to the porcelain god. Luckily, the trick her doctor told her finally started to work and she was able to keep the crackers and ginger ale down.
“Sorry,” he said. “I met with Havoc and then had my ass reamed out by Savage.”
“You can’t blame the guy. You would be just as upset if it was your kid,” Viv said.
“I’d kill every fecking one of the Dragons if they took our kid,” he said, cupping her belly. “How are you feeling today?”
“Same,” she said. “But, better now. I foolishly got out of bed when I should have eaten my Saltines before my feet hit the floor. I think that might help. I just need to remember to put them on my nightstand before I go to sleep from now on.”
“I think I can handle that chore,” he said. “You already do too much, Viv. You need to let me pick up some of the slack both here and at the diner, Love,” he offered. Viv smiled at the way he called her ‘Love’. Cillian had been doing that a lot lately and she had to admit, each time made her feel like a giddy schoolgirl.
“So, did Savage agree to meet with Hart?” she asked. Changing the subject was her safest bet. She and Cillian hadn’t professed their undying love towards each other, even though she just wanted to blurt it out so many times. They had other pressing matters to worry about and then, she’d find a way to tell Cillian she was in love with him. He had asked her to marry him and she had agreed but a part of Viv worried that was just for the baby's sake. At least on his part. She was in love with him, baby or no, and marrying Cillian just felt right.
“Yep,” he said. “I called Hart on my way home and we’ll meet at Savage Hell at noon.”
“What about your parole?” Viv asked.
“Hart said that I would be considered working and cooperating with an undercover operation and all of my parole rules would be overlooked,” Cillian said.