by Anna Mara
Savage remained rooted to the spot, taking the slap like a man. His hands clenched at his sides, the only telltale sign of his anger, as a glint of a smile played on his lips. “Surprise, surprise—now look who’s resorting to violence because she can’t handle the truth about herself,” he taunted. “We’re all just one emotion away from turning bad, aren’t we, Snow White?”
Still reeling at her violent outburst, Tori stared wide-eyed, her vocal cords paralyzed. Oh my God, what had she done? She had hit another human being, just because of something he’d said. After all, he hadn’t physically attacked her or anything; he’d just said something that she hadn’t liked and she’d hit him. What was happening to her?
“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry,” she whispered, her guilty eyes suddenly turning away from his laser-sharp ones. “I—I have to go to the bathroom.” Turning, she hurried towards the donut shop’s main entrance.
Savage watched her leave and he had to physically restrain himself from going after her. The truth of it was that his heart had melted at how devastated she’d looked just now and he knew she was hurting inside at what she’d done. He should have been mad at her—furious even—and he had been for a split second—but it had evaporated as quick as a snowflake landing in a lake of fire. All he wanted to do was to gather her up in his arms and hold her until that breathtaking smile of hers returned, lighting up her angelic face once again.
But yeah, no shit—she was absolutely becoming a dangerous complication to him. After all, he hadn’t allowed anything to pierce his hard, cold heart in two years’ time. But in just two days’ time, Victoria Alexandra Jones had blown it apart.
Chapter 26
Friday – 5:50 p.m.
Donut Shop
Tori came out of the washroom and into the store’s main area. Like a spineless jellyfish, she had run away from him and retreated into a toilet stall, sitting there for five minutes trying to come to terms with what she had done. She hadn’t meant to hit him. It had just happened. But that was no excuse for resorting to violence—ever—and she’d been appalled at herself.
She gazed out the storefront windows. Savage was leaning against a metal signpost near his bike and talking on his cell phone. His eyes were riveted on the shop’s front entrance, probably waiting for her to come out so that he could tell her to take the job and shove it! She couldn’t blame him really, not after what she’d just done.
She took in a deep breath of courage. Okay—it was time to face him.
Tori walked to the shop entrance and swung the door outwards, stepping into the Vegas heat. On seeing her, he straightened up, shut his phone, and tucked it back into his vest pocket. His face was a mask of stone, unreadable and cold; his eyes, which were locked on her, were flat and cool.
She stopped several feet away and tilted her chin up to his superior height to meet his gaze. “You were right—about what you said about me not wanting to face some truths about myself—and you didn’t deserve what I did. I’m sorry, truly sorry. If you want to quit, I’ll understand completely and I’ll pay you the thousand dollar balance that I owe you. We can drive back to the hotel and I’ll give you the money, no questions asked.”
Tori paused, studying his eyes. They were still without emotion, and his body was rigid and tense. What was he thinking? Because it certainly looked like he was still furious and wasn’t forgiving her any time soon. Her heart beat faster with nervousness. More words spilled out of her, her lips tripping over the syllables.
“I—I just want to say that—maybe—if I’m not all good, then maybe, you’re not all bad. And if you’re still willing to help me find Joe, we can meet somewhere in the middle and call a truce.” She held out her hand to him. “You can shake on it or not. It’s your call—Matt Monroe.”
Savage’s ears perked up on hearing her call him by his first name. That was the first time, he’d heard her say it; and he liked it—he liked it a lot. And no, he wasn’t mad at her, even though his stoic stance may have belied it, but he wasn’t making it easy for her either.
Suddenly, he threw her an easy smile and he put his strong hand in her small one and shook it. “All right. It’s a deal, Snow White. I forgive you.”
Toir’s lips curved into a wide grin to match his. “Thank you,” she gushed. “Again, I’m sorry about hitting you. That was wrong of me and I should never have done such a thing.” Her hand slipped out of his grip and he reluctantly let it go.
“Don’t sweat it. You’re not the first woman to slap my face. You’d be surprised how many times it’s actually happened to me.” He grinned like a naughty ten-year old caught kissing his first girlfriend in the backyard shed.
Tori burst out laughing. “And I’m sure you deserved each and every one of them.” Her eyes turned wistful again, telegraphing once more how sorry she was. “But you didn’t deserve this one.”
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t, but one thing I gotta say—you pack quite a wallop there, missy,” he grinned.
“Jimmy Taylor would probably agree with you there,” she teased. “I caught him cheating at checkers when we were eight and I gave him a black eye. He ran home crying to his mommy and I was grounded for a month, but he never did it to me again.”
“Lesson learned?”
“Something like that. So what’s our next move, Mr. Savage? Should we go to the police and report what happened?”
“Police?” The biker burst out laughing, long and hard. “Honey, that word’s not in my vocabulary.”
“Then what do we do? Whoever it was could be out there right now, around the corner even, just waiting for us to get back on the road.” Apprehensively, Tori’s worried gaze glanced around the parking lot, looking for potential trouble.
“I already know who the asshole was. His name is Rat. He’s a part-time punk-for-hire who does construction work on the side. I know where to find him.”
“What? How did you find that out so quickly?” Tori was stunned. She’d only been away from Savage for ten minutes at the most when she’d gone to the washroom.
“I got his license plate number, made a few calls and found out who the car belonged to.”
“Who’d you call?”
“Let’s just say, I have people in this town who owe me favors and I called a few of them in.”
Tori was confused. “But why did this Rat person try to run us off the road? I don’t understand.”
Savage grinned knowingly. “That’s because you don’t have a criminal mind like me—or like our Vivian. The way I look at it, she sent us on that wild goose chase to Rebecca Shelton so that Rat would know where to find us. He was obviously waiting for us when we left the Selah, and was either trying to scare us off looking for Joe or trying to kill us to keep from finding him.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“We—do nothing. You—are going back to your hotel to see what other information your grandmother might know and I will pay the scumbag a visit.”
Tori boldly folded her arms across her chest. “Oh no, mister, I’m coming too! Wherever you go, I go.”
Savage took in the stubborn tilt to her chin and the defiance flaring in her eyes, and he knew that there was no dissuading her. He nodded his acquiescence. “Okay, Snow White, we go together. But remember, it’s my world and my rules. Promise me that no matter what I ask you to do, you do it…” he raised his voice to make his next point, “without question!”
“I think I already promised you that yesterday at our initial meeting.”
“Yeah, you did, and you’ve done shit about it since. Promise me again, Tori!”
“Okay, I promise,” she replied coyly, while keeping her fingers crossed and tucked underneath her armpits, away from his gaze.
Okay, maybe she shouldn’t lie to him like this but it was her search—hers and Nana’s—and she needed to play things by ear, keep her wits about her, and do what she felt needed to be done in the moment. And she wasn’t going to be constrained by any promises made to a Son of Perdition
biker—someone she should never trust one hundred percent anyway, even though his mere presence made her feel more alive than ever before, like a little daisy blooming underneath the brand new, morning sun.
Chapter 27
Friday – 6:37 p.m.
Daggar Road
Savage and Tori rode up the long, secluded dirt road towards a 2-story, shell-of-a-house that was still being built. The lumber beams had been erected and the walls were laid out, framing the structure into a contemporary-styled home with a flat roof and a gable overhang at the sides.
Savage cut the Harley’s engine a good 50 feet from the building. Tori climbed off first. Studying the semi-finished house, she could see a lone male figure up on the roof laying down a roll of tarpaper and bending down to nail it in. He was in his mid-twenties and wearing scruffy jeans but no shirt. His well-built, upper torso was deeply tanned from probably working under the blazing, Vegas sun day-in, day-out.
His back was to them, and it was obvious that he had no idea that they were there. Rock music blared from a radio nearby and that alone had probably drowned out the roar of the Harley’s engine as they’d ridden up.
“Is that him?” Tori took off her sunglasses, and squinted at the man on the roof.
Savage followed her gaze and his own eyes narrowed in disgust. “Yeah, that’s the asshole.”
“What is this place?” Tori glanced around the parched, dry, desert location, the house frame being the only structure in view for miles.
“He’s building a house for himself. Been working on it for a while now. He makes quick cash for it by doing odd jobs for lowlifes, like our friend Vivian.” Savage nodded towards the back of the house. “Look, there’s the BMW.”
Tori stepped a few feet away and spied the car that had nearly run them off the road earlier, parked behind the building. A shiver of fear ran down her spine as she remembered the incident. “Maybe we should let the police handle this,” she stalled, suddenly afraid of what could happen if they confronted the criminal.
Savage threw her an easy smile, as he took off his own sunglasses. “Sweetheart, I am the police—sort of,” he teased before reaching into one of the black saddlebags hanging off the Harley and pulling out a handgun. He quickly cocked it. “And I bring my own form of justice.”
Tori gasped in shock at the sight. “Oh my God, that’s a Glock,” she hissed.
Savage’s amazed eyes sharpened on her face. “The lady knows her guns. You’re full of surprises, Little Miss Preacher’s Daughter.
“My uncle has one—for target practice,” Tori choked out. “You—you can’t mean to use that—please.”
The biker tucked the pistol behind him, into the waistband of his jeans, concealing it with the back of his vest. “No, I don’t intend to use it, unless he forces me to. But I do intend on using this…” He reached into the saddlebag again and pulled out a steel, large-linked chain, about four feet in length. He proceeded to wrap it around his right hand, letting threads of it dangle out from between his fingers. It was obvious he was going to use it to swing at Rat, like a weapon. “I’m gonna have to hurt him real bad for what he did.”
A wave of nausea hit her at the thought of the impending violence about to take place. She rushed forward and grabbed his arm to still his movements. “Please, please, don’t do this.”
“He nearly killed you—and me—and he’s not getting away with it. It’s what your grandma paid for, Tori.”
“No—she didn’t pay for this. This—this is evil. Don’t do this, please. Let’s just get back on the bike and ride out of here. We’ll go talk to Vivian again or…or we’ll go see my grandmother. Maybe she’s heard from Joe by now. How does that sound?”
Tori was throwing out every argument she could think of in order to stop what she knew was coming. No matter what, she could not allow another human being to get hurt on her behalf, regardless of what they had done. And she was scared for Savage too. Who knew what the construction worker would do when confronted. Maybe he had a gun too?
“Sorry, no sale, Snow White. I need to take care of business and he deserves what’s coming to him.”
Tori saw the determination in his eyes and knew that she couldn’t talk him out of it. “But—but how are you going to get him down here?” she blurted out.
“I’m not.” Savage looked up at the building’s roof.
Tori’s gaze followed his and she gasped as she realized what he was saying. “You’re not going to confront him up there, are you? What if you fall off?”
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. After all, it’s just another day at the office for me,” Savage smirked, as he finished wrapping the heavy chain around his hand. His focus landed on her face again. “Stay here no matter what, got that?”
Tori was speechless, only continuing to stare at him with wide, frightened eyes.
“Tori, tell me you understand,” he shouted with more force.
“I—I understand,” she choked out.
Satisfied, Savage nodded. “Good. It’s my world, my rules, remember? And now it’s time for me to go catch a rat.”
He stalked off in the direction of the building. Tori watched as he went to the back of the structure, to a ladder that had been placed against the side of the house, leading to the roof. He began to climb.
Up top, Rat was still nailing the tarpaper into the roof, oblivious to what was about to happen. The radio music was still blaring beside him, masking Savage’s approach.
“Oh my God, oh my God, I have to do something,” Tori whispered.
Clasping her hands together, she looked up to the heavens. “Blood of Jesus, please, help me, help me, help me,” she pleaded, before lowering her eyes back to the roof.
As she stood there, Rat straightened from his crouching position and finally spotted Savage approaching. The biker stopped a few feet away.
Suddenly, Rat raised the hammer high over his head. Shouted words were exchanged between the two but Tori couldn’t make them out over the loud music. He then launched himself at the biker but Savage being bigger and stronger, dodged out of the way before lashing out at the punk with the chain. The metal links scourged into the construction worker’s bare back as he whizzed past and he cried out in pain. Rat fell onto the tarred roof, his hammer whizzing out of his hand and over the house’s edge, onto the ground below.
The construction worker leaped back to his feet and whirled around to face his opponent again. He yelled out something before heaving himself, with fists ready, at the outlaw biker. But Savage neatly sidestepped him and in a flash, had wrapped the steel chain around Rat’s neck. Putting pressure, he began to choke him before bringing his knee up into the other man’s stomach. The punk bent over in pain and gasped for breath as the metal noose was tightened even more around his neck.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Tori fretted. She had to do something and put a stop to this, no matter what she had promised Savage, she just had to.
She ran to the back of the structure to where the ladder rested against the house frame. Looking up, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach at how high the roof actually was from the ground. The house itself was a full 2-story structure. She needed to climb every rung to get up there as fast as she could, but she’d always hated heights and her hands were already shaking with fear.
She took in a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Okay, I can do this. I can do this.” Tori put her foot onto the first rung. Looking up, her foot instinctively went onto the second rung and then the third while her sweaty hands gripped the sides of the metal slats.
“Where is he, you punk?” she heard Savage yell out. “Tell me before I squeeze the life outta you!”
Slowly and warily, Tori climbed, one rung at a time. Without thinking, she turned back to look at the ground and immediately felt dizzy as she realized she’d already climbed up past the first story and halfway up to the second. Oh, God, she was going to fall off this thing. But she couldn’t! She needed to stop the fight, no mat
ter what. She had no choice but to go forward.
Breathing heavily, she grasped the ladder, swiveled her gaze back up towards the roof, and gingerly placed the sole of her white running shoe on the next rung. Clinging for dear life, she continued on.
Suddenly, she heard Rat gasping for breath and making a gurgling sound.
“Where is he, you worthless piece-of-shit? Or I swear this is the last second of your life,” the biker yelled again.
“He’s…he’s…” Rat choked out and Tori sensed that Savage released the pressure on the man’s throat. Rat continued, “I—I took him to a cabin on Preclude Road—number 126—near Lake Mead. Vivian paid me to do it.”
“Why?”
“I—I don’t know.”
Rat made another gurgling sound. Then: “I swear, man—I don’t know.” Rat coughed in between words. “She—she just paid me to take him there and to scare you away from him, that’s all I know.”
“I don’t believe you.” Savage’s cool, clipped words lashed out over the blare of the radio.
There was a two second pause and then Rat screamed even louder, “Shit, I swear, dude—I don’t know any more, I don’t! Please, don’t shoot me…”
Suddenly, Tori’s foot came up over the last rung and miraculously she found herself up on the roof. She took a couple of steps towards the pair. Savage, with his back to her, had the construction worker in a headlock with the metal chain viciously wrapped around his neck with one hand and had his Glock positioned against Rat’s temple with his other.
“Savage, stop!” Tori screamed.
The biker whirled around. “Tori, get outta here!”
But Tori’s appearance had taken the biker by surprise and the one second it took him to shout at her was the one second when he lost his focus on the construction worker.
Suddenly, Rat shot up from his crouched position and pushed at Savage’s hand holding the gun. The pistol went off, the bullet shooting high into the sky. The punk then rammed into Savage’s chest with as much force as he could muster, before rushing past him.
