by K. L. Ramsey
“Already forgiven,” she promised. “I’ve been in love with you this whole time too, Savage. You gave me the most precious gift ever—Greer. I couldn’t look at our daughter without feeling like a part of my heart was missing. I’m so thankful you came looking for us. I love you,” Dallas said.
“I won’t promise that this will always be easy. Hell, I’m as bossy as they come and I’m probably just as difficult to deal with, but I’d like to give us a try. So, we’re really doing this?” Savage whispered.
“Looks that way, Bowie said. “You good with all this, Dallas?” She enthusiastically nodded her head, making him and Savage laugh.
“I’d like to give the three of us a chance,” she said. “Whatever that might look like.”
“It will look like you both moving into my house, as soon as we get back to Huntsville. Greer and Chloe already love each other and I’m sure they’ll be happy to be together all the time. Say you’ll both move in with me,” Savage begged.
“Deal,” Bowie said.
“Yes,” Dallas breathed.
“Thank you—both,” Savage said. “Now, let’s join the others and come up with one fucking good plan. We have some Dragons to destroy and then we can go home.”
“Now, that sounds like a fucking good plan,” Bowie said. He was ready to go back home and begin their new lives. It was time for some happiness—the three of them had earned it.
SAVAGE
Savage and Bowie agreed that Dallas and the girls would stay with Bowie’s parents. It was safer for them that way and he’d do whatever he had to do to keep his new little family safe. Dallas protested, but she also knew the score—Greer needed her and Chloe was starting to depend on her too. Chloe didn’t remember having a mother, but Savage could tell that his daughter was starting to think of Dallas as a mother figure. It wasn’t a stretch. Dallas was a fantastic mom and Chloe loved both her and Greer.
“I want to be kept in the loop,” Dallas insisted. Savage liked the way she wasn’t shy about asking for what she wanted. She was going to fit perfectly in his little club’s family. Bowie seemed more reserved when it came to letting the guys get to know him, but Savage knew it might just take him a little time to figure out that the guys were behind their unusual relationship one hundred percent.
“As much as humanly possible,” Ryder agreed. “But, you need to let Savage and us handle the Dragons. We’ve had problems with them before, but this time it’s different.”
“Different how?” Bowie asked.
“It seems personal, somehow,” Savage admitted. “Their president, Dante, told me that the guys who are trying to get to me are a rogue faction that just took off. He claimed to want to bring them down as much as we do, but—” He was afraid to finish his sentence. The last thing Savage wanted to do was scare Dallas or worry Bowie with his troubles.
“But, you don’t believe him?” Bowie finished for him.
“No,” Savage breathed. “I don’t. Our feud with the Dragons goes back years. I don’t believe that Dante wants peace. He might not have sent his guys out after us, but he didn’t do anything to stop them either.”
“What’s the plan?” Dallas asked, cutting right to the chase. Savage smiled at his woman. She was always a get right down to it kind of person. “The plan is we go back to Bowie’s place and wait for the Dragon’s to get there. According to the last text Dante sent me, they are about an hour out.”
“How does he know where his rogue group of guys is?” Bowie asked.
“He claims to have a guy on the inside,” Savage said. “But, who that guy is or why he’s staying loyal to Dante through all this is the question.”
“So, you go back to Bowie’s house and then what? Just wait to kill or be killed?” Dallas sobbed. Savage pulled her against his body and Bowie immediately flanked her other side.
“No, Baby,” Savage whispered. “We’ve already called in the local authorities. They are meeting us out at his house. We need to get back before they show up.” Savage turned to his guys, “I’ll need for most of you to hang back. No sense all of us showing up. It will look like we’re trying to cause trouble. I need this to go nice and smooth and then we can all go home.”
Bowie’s dad cleared his throat, “I won’t pretend to know what’s going on here, but I think I might be able to offer some assistance,” he said. “I am retired from the local police force and I still have some buddies downtown.”
“I appreciate that, Mr. Wolfe,” Savage said. “But that might bring my trouble to your doorstep.” He worried that getting Bowie’s parents involved in any of his mess was a bad idea.
“This is already affecting my son and well, I know how he feels about you. It’s the least I can do. We’re family now,” Mr. Wolfe said. Savage felt a little choked up at the mention of them all being family. It had been a damn long time since he had any family outside of the guys in his club.
“Thanks, Dad,” Bowie said. “We’ll take all the help we can get. I’m with Savage,” he added.
“No,” Savage growled. “There’s no fucking way you’re going with us.”
“That’s not really your call, man,” Bowie shouted back. He didn’t want Bowie anywhere near this mess. He hated that both he and Dallas had been caught up in the Dragon’s coming after him. Savage stared him down, almost willing him to back the fuck down, but he could tell by Bowie’s determined smirk that wasn’t about to happen. Dallas sighed and got between the two of them.
“A pissing match is the very last thing we need here, guys,” she warned. “If I get a vote, I like the idea of Bowie having your back, Savage.”
“You don’t get a vote,” Savage barked. He knew he was treading a fine line but he really didn’t give a fuck.
Dallas stroked her hand down his arm as if trying to soothe his foul mood. “I need you both to come back to me,” she whispered. “The girls and I won’t be alright if that doesn’t happen, Savage. I love you both too much.” Savage let out his pent- up breath, closing his eyes to take a minute to think things through.
“It’s up to you, brother,” Ryder interrupted his thoughts and he nodded.
“Fine,” He grumbled. “Bowie is with us and I’ll bring us both back, Dallas—promise.” Savage worried that he was making her a promise he might not be able to keep, but he was going to do everything in his damn power to make it happen.
“I need about four other guys and the rest of you will hang back here, if that’s alright with you Mrs. Wolfe, to keep my family safe,” Savage said. Bowie’s mom quickly smiled and nodded her agreement. She sure seemed to like having them all around, which seemed crazy to Savage. They were a bunch of rough, beat-down bikers. Most of them were either ex-military or ex-convicts and being so effortlessly invited to be a part of the Wolfe family was unexpected.
“We leave in five,” Ryder said and Savage suddenly felt more anxious about their little mission. Mr. Wolfe disappeared to make the call to some of his buddies on the force while Bowie’s mom finished washing dishes as Chloe dried them. Everything seemed almost too perfect and that was beginning to worry Savage. His life had never been easy and he worried that keeping his promise to Dallas, about them both coming home, might not be so easy to do.
_______
They got to Bowie’s house and Savage worried that his guy was giving him the cold shoulder. Bowie hadn’t said two fucking words to him since he demanded to tag along. Maybe he was being an ass, but Savage wanted to keep Bowie as far away from his problems as possible.
The guys scattered around the house, each taking up a spot to keep watch for any sign of the Dragons. Mr. Wolfe had arranged for the local cops to hang out just down the road, ready to be called in once the Dragons got to Bowie’s house. Savage was secretly hoping for a few minutes alone with their new ringleader, Joker, to try to get some answers. Dante’s explanation of them just going rogue wasn’t quite adding up and he wanted to get to the bottom of this. Bowie had promised his dad that he’d call it in as soon as the Dragon
’s showed up, but Savage was hoping to persuade him to give him just a little time with Joker.
Bowie followed Savage into the master bedroom and dropped his gear. “What the hell was that, man?” Bowie’s tone was too loud to be considered a whisper, but Savage could tell that he was trying to keep his voice down so the other guys wouldn’t hear him. Savage turned and Bowie looked his body up and down, and he couldn’t help himself. Savage shut the door and pushed Bowie’s big body up against it, not caring about the loud “thud” that rang through the room. He didn’t give a fuck if his guys could hear what they were doing—Savage had been waiting for weeks to be able to taste Bowie. He didn’t even hesitate, sealing his mouth over Bowie’s, licking his way into his guy’s mouth. He broke their kiss leaving them both breathless. Bowie had that effect on him. He was a complete distraction who was able to turn him inside out with just one look.
“I missed you so fucking much,” Savage whispered against his mouth. Bowie sighed and Savage could tell he had reluctantly given up a little of his fight. That’s what Bowie seemed to want from him—a fight—but Savage wasn’t about to give it to him. Being without Bowie and Dallas these past few weeks told him exactly what he already knew—he needed them in his life and he had fallen completely in love with them both. They were his chance at happiness and his way to find redemption from a past that was sometimes clouded with painful memories and crappy choices. They were his promises of finding forever and he wasn’t going to fuck any of that up over some stupid fight.
“I missed you too,” Bowie admitted, his pissed-off scowl matching his disgruntled tone.
“Gee,” Savage said. “You sound like you mean it too, Babe,” he teased.
“You do know that I’m military trained and damn good at my job, right?” Bowie asked.
Savage shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Sure,” he agreed. “I’m sure you are very—capable.” Now it was Savage’s turn to look Bowie’s body up and down and he smiled.
Bowie chuckled, “That’s not what I fucking mean and you know it, man,” Bowie chided. “You dismissed my help back at my parents’ place like I’d be completely useless in this fight. How do you think that made me feel?” Bowie asked. He honestly didn’t think about Bowie’s feelings in the whole matter. When Savage was doling out assignments, the last thing he could bring himself to think about was dragging Bowie into his trouble.
“I’m sorry,” Savage offered. “I didn’t mean for it to sound that way. Honestly, I was only thinking about my feelings when I told you I didn’t want you here with me.” Bowie opened his mouth as if he wanted to protest and Savage covered his hand over Bowie’s lips. “Just hear me out before you say what you wanted to say next.” Bowie rolled his green eyes and Savage waited him out. He finally nodded and Savage dropped his hand from Bowie’s mouth.
“Thank you, Babe,” Savage said, giving him a quick hard kiss on the lips. “When you agreed to keep Dallas and my girls safe, do you know what I felt?”
Bowie shrugged, “Relieved?” he asked.
“Sure, but not for the reasons you are thinking. I thought that if something happened to me and I didn’t get to see either of you again; I knew you’d have each other. You and Dallas would have found a way to take care of each other and my girls. It gave me the courage and peace of mind to do what I needed to do back home. I felt relief knowing that you had Dallas and the girls covered.”
“I get that,” Bowie said. “But why not accept my help here? I can cover you too, you know Savage. You don’t always have to be the badass who goes off and saves everyone else. Sometimes, you can let someone save you.” Savage never had that before—someone who wanted to save him. His sister Cherry had tried after his mom died; she was the one who tried to pick up the pieces. But, Savage wouldn’t listen to reason and instead of accepting his sister’s help, he turned her away and ran as far and as fast as he could. He joined the Air Force and found his purpose for living. At least, he thought he had but then his damn helicopter went down, killing all his buddies. He came home wishing that accident had killed him too, but he wasn’t so lucky. Savage wallowed in a mix of self-pity and self-loathing that nearly consumed him.
When the police showed up on his doorstep with little Chloe, telling him that he was now responsible for her day to day existence, he had just about given up. He couldn’t do that to her. Chloe deserved so much more than a father who didn’t count himself good enough to even draw breath. She deserved the entire fucking world, so he became that for her. Savage turned his life around and learned that it was easier to take care of people than to be taken care of. He preferred things that way and it’s who he became.
“I don’t let people in very easily,” Savage admitted. “I guess I suck at letting people take care of me. That’s always been my role,” he said.
“How about you agree to work on that and I’ll agree to keep pushing you to let me in. Dallas and I, we just want a chance here, Savage. We want to be a team—that’s the only way the three of us are going to work.” He knew Bowie was right but that didn’t make any of this conversation easier.
“Alright,” Savage agreed. “I’ll try.”
“Thank you,” Bowie whispered. He leaned in to kiss Savage and a loud rapping on the bedroom door startled them both.
“Shit,” Savage grumbled. “This better be fucking good,” he growled through the door.
“They’re here,” Ryder shouted.
Savage looked at Bowie and he knew his guy was going to give him shit for this next question, but he didn’t care. “Give me five minutes with Joker and then call in your father’s back-up,” he said.
“No fucking way, Savage,” Bowie growled.
“I need to know why he’s coming after our family. This has to stop here and now. The only way that’s going to happen is to get some answers. You can be by my side the whole time,” Savage promised.
Bowie watched him like he was trying to decide if he wanted to believe him or not. Savage felt like he was holding his damn breath, waiting for him to answer. “Fine,” he finally said and Savage blew his breath out. “You have five minutes,” Bowie said, pointing his finger into Savage’s chest. “Then I call in the cops.”
“Deal,” Savage agreed. “Thanks, Babe,” he said, kissing Bowie’s cheek. He pushed past him to open the door, finding Ryder waiting for them on the other side.
“Ready?” Ryder asked the two of them.
“As we’ll ever be,” Savage admitted. “Let’s go.”
BOWIE
Bowie wasn’t sure about this whole meeting with whoever this Joker guy was. According to Savage, he was the man in charge of the rogue Dragons and he’d be able to stop the rest of the group from coming after their family. Ryder and Bowie flanked Savage’s sides as he made his way down to the end of the driveway to head off the ten or so Dragons who had just showed up. Bowie might not be a part of Savage’s MC world, but he had dealt with guys like them his whole life. They were bullies and he didn’t much like dealing with pushy assholes.
The guy who Bowie assumed was the leader, got off his bike and walked over to where the three of them waited.
“You Savage?” the guy spat.
“Yep,” Savage admitted. “Who’s asking?”
“Name’s Joker,” The guy had the nerve to smile at him, showing off his gold front tooth.
“What can we do for you, Joker?” Ryder asked. Joker rubbed his grimy hand over his chin and looked at Savage like he wanted to do a whole lot more than have a discussion. Bowie stepped in front of Savage, wanting to send the asshole a clear cut message that if he wanted to get to Savage, Joker would have to go through him.
“I’ve got this, Bowie,” Savage growled. Joker laughed and shook his head.
“I want my girl back,” Joker growled.
“Your girl?” Savage asked. “And who might your girl be?” Bowie had a sinking feeling that neither of them was going to like Joker’s answer.
“I hear you have my woman—Dallas,”
Joker said. Yeah, he was right. Bowie wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch the guy in his fucking face or let him keep talking.
“No idea who you’re talking about, man,” Savage lied. “I’m not sure what you are after, but this stops here.”
Joker’s laugh was mean. “This won’t ever stop, Savage. Our feud isn’t over. It will never be over. As long as Savage Hell exists, the Dragons will be coming for you.” Joker turned to get back onto his bike and Bowie felt a moment of panic. If they left, the local cops would never have a reason to go after the Dragons. His dad put his reputation on the line for them and if they let the Dragon’s just ride off, they’d be fucking everything up.
“Savage,” Bowie warned.
“Don’t worry, man,” Savage said. “We’ve got this.” Before Joker could even get his bike started, six cop cars rounded the bend, headed straight for them. “I had Repo call it in,” Savage said.
“Thank fuck,” Bowie breathed. He watched as cops scrambled to surround the Dragon’s members. Within just minutes, they had them all rounded up and in cuffs.
“Tell Dallas I’ll be seeing her real soon,” Joker said. “You can’t keep her from me.”
Bowie took a step towards Joker and Savage put his arm across Bowie’s chest, effectively stopping him. “Not worth it, man,” Savage growled.
“You expect me to just stand here and let that piece of shit talk about our woman that way? What’s the plan here, Savage?” Bowie asked.
“Now, we just need to hope like hell they can hold the Dragons long enough for us to get back to Huntsville. That should send a message to Dante that we won’t be messed with,” Savage said. “What the fuck does Joker want with Dallas?” Bowie questioned.
“No idea, but we’re going to get our woman and figure it all out. Tonight, we fly to Huntsville and tomorrow, you are both moving into my home. I’ve already put security measures in place.” Bowie nodded. Honestly, having them all under the same roof was exactly what they needed. If they stuck together, they’d be better off.
