Sin & Savage

by Anna Mara

“That depends on you, honey. We won’t hurt them, if you do what we say. Come alone to The Valley at 10 sharp and we’ll talk terms.”

  The call disconnected.

  Tori stared dumbfounded at the cell phone in her trembling hands. Through blurred vision, she frantically dialed Nana’s number again but it just rang.

  Oh my God, someone had kidnapped her grandmother! What was she going to do now? She swiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand.

  The front door opened and Savage walked in. When he spotted Tori crying, he rushed towards her and grabbed her arms. “What happened?”

  “It’s my grandmother. Someone’s taken her. They just—called me,” she cried, trying to get her emotions under control but failing miserably.

  Savage was stunned. “What?”

  “They said they have Nana and Joe Sorelli too. They want me to come to some place called The Valley Lodge and then they’ll let me know what they want.”

  Savage’s sharp eyes narrowed. “The Valley Lodge? Is that what they said?” Tori nodded and he frowned but kept his countenance cool. “That’s an abandoned hotel about 25 miles from here.”

  The Valley Lodge, huh? One guess who was behind this—his biker brothers, of course!

  Tori’s sobs subsided, morphing into sniffles as she wiped the tears with her fingers. “They want me to go there—alone—at 10 o’clock this morning.”

  “You’re not going, of course.”

  “Yes, I am! They have Nana!”

  “I’ll go,” he stated as if that had been already decided between the two of them.

  Tori shook her head. “No, absolutely not! I’m to go alone, that’s what they said—otherwise they’ll hurt them.”

  “Tori, it’s too dangerous! Let me take care of things.”

  “No! I’m going and that’s that. You can’t stop me!” She yanked herself out of his arms to move away.

  Savage blew out a deep breath of frustration. “Okay, fine, but I’m coming with you.”

  “Don’t you understand? They said they’d kill them if I brought anyone with me. I’m not taking that chance!”

  Savage put his hands up in surrender. “Okay, listen to me. You have to get up there somehow, don’t you? Let me drive you on the bike. I’ll drop you off down the road and they won’t even know I’m there. At least, you’ll have some backup and if anything goes wrong, I can help you. What do you say?”

  Tori nervously chewed on her lip as a bout of indecision enveloped her. Okay, maybe he did have a point. She couldn’t do this on her own, could she? Could she really risk the lives of her precious Nana and Joe Sorelli by being stubborn and going it alone? After all, these life and death situations were exactly what Savage Monroe had been bred for. She knew he would protect her, and she trusted him.

  She nodded. “Okay, Matt, you can come with me.”

  In a flash, he had breached the space between them, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her into his chest. “I won’t let anything bad happen to your Nana or Joe, I promise,” he vowed hotly, his breath fanning the top of her hair. “Tell me you believe me, Tori.”

  “I believe you, Matt. I believe you!” she whispered softly, as she closed her eyes in relief, loving him all the more for being here for her once again when she really needed him.

  Chapter 49

  Saturday – 8:48 a.m.

  Nevada Highway

  The Harley thundered down the lonely stretch of highway at a good clip. Tori held on tight to Savage, blinking against the bright, morning light hovering over the plain. But her mind couldn’t focus on the desolate beauty because her thoughts were still on her sweet Nana. Was she all right? Had they hurt her? Oh please please please God, let her be okay, and Joe too.

  She and Matt had left the cabin about ten minutes ago and were now on their way to the deserted Valley Lodge and Casino building, which Matt had told her was about 25 miles away in the middle of nowhere. He’d also told her that there was a long drive that led to the ramshackle complex. He’d decided that he would drop her off at the base of that drive where no one would see him. Then, while he drove around the building to the back, she could walk up to the front doors and enter from there. He, of course, would try to get in unnoticed somehow from the back. Okay, it may not have been the best of plans but it was all they had right now and they would play the rest by ear when they got there.

  After they had tidied up the cabin a bit, so as not to alert anyone that they’d been there, they had both gone outside to where the Harley was parked. Because Tori’s sweater had been caked with Savage’s dried blood, it was pretty much unsalvageable. Taking it, along with some of the towels they’d used to clean him up, they’d stuffed the lot into a plastic bag which they had then deposited into a closed garbage bin at the back of the house.

  Savage had insisted that Tori wear his black leather jacket and helmet and he would just go without. The helmet she’d worn earlier he’d left at his place after they’d parted ways back at the Jubilee Hotel. When Tori had protested, he’d stopped her arguments cold by reminding her that, he was a seasoned rider and she wasn’t. Anything could happen out there on the road and he wasn’t going to be taking any chances with her life, period!

  He’d then helped her on with his oversized jacket and had rolled up the long sleeves for her to accommodate her small frame. He had positioned the helmet on her head, adjusting the straps beneath her chin, and had helped her while she slung her purse across her body, adjusting it comfortably so that it wouldn’t be in the way for her while she was riding behind him.

  Suddenly, he had crushed his mouth to hers, his lips moving roughly over her soft ones in a deep, desperate kiss. A second later, he had pulled away and Tori had noticed a faraway pensive look glistening in his eyes. But the look lasted for only another second before a cold mask seemed to fall over his countenance.

  He flashed her a crooked smile then. “Okay, Snow White, let’s do this,” he intoned, with a sudden iciness to his voice.

  Wrapping a red bandana that he had fished out of one of the bike’s saddlebags around his forehead to keep his hair off of his face, he had then turned away and straddled the Harley. Tori had felt a sense of unease at the sudden change of mood in him but she’d quickly dismissed the thought, rationalizing that he was probably too preoccupied with what might happen once they reached The Valley Lodge.

  She’d gotten on the bike then, positioning herself behind his hard body. When she’d wrapped her arms around his waist, she’d felt him wince with pain as her hand had come into contact with his injury.

  She gasped, feeling guilt all over again at what she’d done to him. “Matt, I’m sorry…” she’d begun but he’d stopped her rush of words immediately by turning his head back to her and laughing.

  “Remember what I told you, Tori. I’m a tough son-of-a-bitch,” he’d cryptically drawled, before turning the ignition on and bringing the beast machine to life.

  Within seconds, they had roared away down the drive.

  Tori had turned her head back then, craning her neck to take one last look at the lone cabin. That was the place that Matt had first told her that he loved her, she mused, and for that, it would always hold a special place in her heart.

  Chapter 50

  Saturday – 8:57 a.m.

  Nevada Highway

  The siren disrupted the peaceful, quiet scenery of the desert highway landscape. Turning her head back at the shrilling sound, Tori caught a glimpse of the cherry red lights of the police car flashing brightly behind them.

  “Shit!” Matt yelled. He slowed the bike and swung it onto the side of the road. Coming to a full stop, he lowered his feet to the ground to steady the machine and then shut off the engine. “Motherfuck!” The cop car parked behind them.

  “Matt, what’s going on?” she blurted as two police officers remained in the vehicle, making no attempt to get out yet.

  “These cops love to harass us bikers. It’s how they get their sick kicks, the bastards! They’r
e probably right now running my license plate. No matter what happens, Tori, just stay cool, okay?”

  She nodded, too scared to say anything.

  The cruiser doors swung open and two officers got out. One was holding a pistol, the other carried a shotgun. Right away, both weapons were locked, loaded and leveled at her and Savage.

  The officer with the handgun was older, probably in his fifties. He pointed the gun at Savage’s head. The younger one raised the shotgun in Tori’s direction.

  The older one addressed Savage. “Don’t move, asshole, and keep your hands on the handlebars where I can see them!”

  Savage grew still and very tense. Tori still had her arms wrapped around his waist. She swore she could feel the adrenaline kick in throughout his body. If that meant Matt was scared, then she was scared too. Her breathing quickened.

  The older officer approached, making sure to keep the biker locked in his gun’s sight. “Lookie here, lookie here, we got ourselves a real, live, Son of Perdition, asshole biker, Scott. And guess what? He isn’t wearing a helmet. Now, if I’m not mistaken, that’s against Nevada law, isn’t it?”

  The younger officer smirked, taking a long look at the biker club patches on the leather jacket Tori was wearing and those on Savage’s vest too. “I think it is, Jay. My, what a surprise! A Son of Perdition dirt bag breaking the law! Who would have thunk it?”

  The older one readdressed Savage. “Okay, asshole, one wrong move, and you and your little girlfriend are dead, got that? You do what we say and maybe you’ll live.”

  “I’m all ears, officer. After all, I’m always willing to do my civic duty,” Savage jeered, but his hands remained gripped on the handlebars.

  “Shut the fuck up, asshole!” He turned his sights on Tori. “Hey there, Little Miss Sunshine, whatch‘ya doing riding bitch behind this sinner? You don’t seem like his type at all.”

  “Don’t answer him, Tori!” Savage shouted.

  “Didn’t we just tell ya to shut the fuck up?” The younger officer swung the shotgun from Tori’s head to the biker’s instead.

  The older officer named Jay repositioned his own pistol too from the biker to Tori.

  Tori’s hands squeezed tighter around Savage’s chest. There was a loaded gun pointed at her, for God’s sake. If she so much as breathed the wrong way, she’d be dead on the spot. Every cell in her body was screaming at the thought of it all.

  “Okay, sweetheart, get off the bike real slow. Step away from it and put your hands behind your head, locking your fingers together.”

  “O—okay, I—I’m getting off,” she squeaked, the words coming out of her on a breath of hysteria.

  Slowly, she climbed off, stepping away from the machine and locking her hands behind her head, according to instructions.

  “Now, lower your hands really slow, and take your purse, jacket and helmet off, in that order, and throw them on the ground.”

  Tori did what he said, removing her purse first. Even though the sun was blazing hot today, a chill went up her arms as the security of Matt’s leather jacket was stripped away from her next. Her helmet followed after that and she dropped it onto the hard packed earth before repositioning her hands behind her head. The awkward position caused her breasts to thrust forward and she caught the younger officer leering at her chest in a disgusting way. A surge of annoyance lit through her but she kept silent.

  The older cop was speaking again, this time addressing Savage. “Get off the bike nice and easy-like, and fucking kneel on the ground, asshole—now!” he barked.

  Savage unsaddled from the Harley and threw out its kickstand. Moving away from the bike, he stole a quick glance her way. But because of the dark sunglasses, she couldn’t read what he was thinking. He knelt on the ground.

  “Put your hands behind your head and lock your fingers together,” Jay barked at him.

  Throwing the cop a nasty scowl, Savage complied. With his boot, the younger officer shoved Savage roughly to the ground. The biker’s cheek hit the dirt hard. He grimaced, as a shot of pain coursed through his system from his stab wound.

  “Don’t hurt him!” Tori’s heart broke at the sight of Matt in pain.

  “Shut the fuck up, sweetheart! We’ll tell you when you can speak!” The older one stepped towards the bike, his pistol still cocked at Tori’s head. He snapped both saddlebags open and rifled through the compartments. He found Savage’s Glock and one of the plastic wrapped wads of cash.

  “Now where does a loser like you get this kind of cash, asshole? You ain’t no doctor or respectable businessman,” he laughed. “Look, Scott…” He lifted the money for the younger man’s inspection. Scott just smiled but his eyes were stone cold and laser-focused on Savage who was still face down on the ground with his hands locked behind his head.

  Savage gritted his teeth. “None of your damned business—sir—and I’ve got a permit for the Glock. Everything is all legal and above board. You’ve got nothing on me!”

  “We’ll be the judge of that,” Scott snapped.

  The older officer put the money and gun back into the saddlebags and after rummaging through them some more, snapped both shut again.

  Tori breathed a sigh of relief. For a second there, she’d thought that maybe they would rob Matt, and then kill the both of them in order to cover up the theft. She’d heard about dirty cops before, and that was a lot of money they were carrying around.

  Next, the older one moved on to Matt’s leather jacket that she’d dumped on the ground and began searching through its pockets. But after a few seconds, he’d only found a packet of gum, which he promptly threw into the open brush. He then tossed the garment back onto the ground before moving to her purse.

  He flipped it upside and shook all of the contents out onto the ground—her wallet, her cell phone, her make-up case, her keys, a chocolate bar, a packet of tissues…and…

  Tori gasped at what came out next…

  A plastic baggie half-filled with a white powder!

  What!!!???? Oh my God, what the hell was that? Tori gawked at the incriminating item, and she felt the blood draining out of her face.

  “Well, lookie here, lookie here, Little Miss Sunshine ain’t so sunny!” The older officer laughed, as he bent to pick up the baggie. He inspected it against the sunlight, waving it in the air. “Wonder what this is, Scott? Any ideas?”

  “Don’t know, Jay? What do you think?”

  The older officer opened the baggie, dipped the tip of his finger into the powder, and put it to his tongue. He nodded and then smiled. “Why, Scott, this is cocaine and very high quality too.” He turned to Tori then. “There’s a lot more here than for your own personal use, little lady. Why, there’s enough here to turn a tidy little profit for yourself, if you wanna deal.”

  Tori felt like an invisible hand had wrapped itself around her throat, preventing her from breathing. “Th—that’s not mine!” she choked out in a breathy whisper.

  The two officers looked at each other and burst out laughing. “Gee, Scott, I’ve never heard that one before. How ’bout you?”

  “First time, Jay. Don’t you know? Everybody’s innocent in prison.”

  Tori’s stomach did a flip-flop somersault and a well of nausea rose up in her throat. “That’s not mine! I don’t know what that is or where that came from.” The hysteria in her voice came through loud and clear.

  “Is that your purse, ma’am?” The older officer nodded to her bag on the ground, while always keeping his handgun pointed at Tori.

  “Ye—yes, but I never saw—that stuff—before in my life! It’s not mine! I didn’t put it there, I swear!”

  “Well, whose is it then, if it’s not yours, sweetheart?”

  Tori’s wide, frightened eyes flew to Savage’s prone body. His head was turned towards the older officer, his dark shades glued to the bag of cocaine. His gaze swiveled to stare at her then before returning to the bag of drugs and his lips thinned with irritation. Suddenly everything became crystal clear to h
er.

  He had tricked her!

  The drugs were his!

  They were a part of his many business dealings and he had planted them on her because she was the last person anybody would suspect of carrying something like that! After all, she was supposed to be the sweet, innocent schoolteacher and pastor’s daughter. And then, when he deemed it safe, he would have secretly retrieved the baggie from her purse, with her being none-the-wiser.

  Oh my God, he had tricked her…

  And used her…

  And played her…

  He didn’t love her, after all. It had all been a lie!

  It was all just about business and money for him. That’s all it was—business and money—and money and business. That’s all he ever cared about! After all, it was his world and his rules, right? How many times had he told her that? And in his world, she was just another one of his many women, like all of the others she’d met, whom he would use to do his dirty work for him, or for his own sexual pleasure whenever he was in the mood for a little fun.

  As the truth hit her hard, bile rose in her throat and Tori wanted to throw up all over the side of this deserted Nevada highway. A crimson haze of fury enveloped her and she turned her angry orbs in Savage’s direction. “You bastard! You played me!”

  Savage, still face down on the ground, calmly turned his head to the older officer named Jay. “Officer, I don’t know anything about that junk.” He nodded towards the bag of drugs in the cop’s hands.

  “You big liar!” Tori screamed. “You put that crap in my purse, admit it!”

  “Officer, honestly, I don’t know what she’s talking about. I only met her a couple of days ago, and frankly, I have no idea what kind of shit she’s into.”

  His words chilled her to the bone. He was betraying her right before her very eyes!

  A black rage bubbled up in Tori’s blood. “You animal, I hate you!” Without thinking, she lowered her hands and lunged towards Savage’s prone body. What she intended on doing to him, she didn’t know, because as of right now, she was operating on pure adrenaline only.