Sin & Savage (4 page)

The tall biker swung around to the others. “Okay, who’s next?” he snarled, and waited to see if any of them wanted to take him on too. But when the fight had begun, all the others had parted from the brawling duo, giving them space. Tori sensed they were afraid of and respected this fellow club member, and none of them were going to challenge him.

“Aw come on, Savage, you didn’t have to do that,” one of the fifty-year-old bikers said to the tall one as he gazed down at Wizard’s crumpled body. “He was just havin’ a little fun.”

“Yeah, he didn’t mean nothin’ by it,” the fat one who’d been holding Nana hostage added. When the punch-up began, he had released the older woman who now stood off to the side, she too seemingly transfixed by the brutality that had just occurred.

With the back of his hand, Savage Monroe wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth where Wizard had leveled a glancing blow. “It’s bad for business. Let this be a lesson to the rest of you clowns,” he growled.

Tori had never seen such violence in all her life except in the movies. Coming to her senses and realizing that they should get the hell out of there fast, she rushed to where Nana was standing in the back. Grabbing her purse off the table, she yanked at her grandmother’s arm. “Nana, let’s go,” she commanded but the older woman stood rooted to the spot, with a curious expression of wonder on her face as her eyes were glued still to the tall, brutal biker.

Tori tried to pull her away again. “Nana, come on,” she hissed.

“No, I have to speak to that young man first and thank him.” She made a move towards him.

“Are you crazy? After what just happened?”

She looked up then, just in time to see Savage or whatever the hell his name was, barreling towards the both of them with a frown marring his handsome features. Her heart leapt into her throat. Maybe he was going to beat them up too like he had Wizard? Or would he finish what that satanic bartender had started and drag her into the back for his own pleasure and rape her himself?

He stopped a foot away and peered down at the duo from his superior height. Suddenly, his mouth curved into a devastating smile. “Ladies.” He nodded at them politely. But in the twinkling of an eye, his smile dropped only to be replaced with a fierce scowl. “Get the fuck out!”

Before the women had a chance to move, he had clamped one hand on each of their arms and was escorting them out the door, like a bouncer would at a nightclub.

Tori was livid. “Get your filthy hands off me, you animal.” She tried to wrench out of his death grip. She’d been manhandled enough today to last a lifetime, and none of these creeps were ever going to touch her again.

Nana, on the other hand, had a big satisfied smile on her face and allowed herself to be led by his strong capable hand.

Savage kicked the front doors open with his right black biker boot and the trio emerged into the bright, hot Vegas sunshine. It was only then that he released them.

He turned to Tori. “Listen, Snow White, you’re at the wrong party here, unless you wanted to get gang-raped in there.”

He sounded stern but an amused gleam twinkled in his eyes, the same gleam she had seen when he’d looked her over when they’d first walked in.

“Look, mister, all we wanted to do was ask about our friend, Joe Sorelli.”

“Yeah, well you did. You got an answer. Now leave. And don’t come back.”

Nana seemed enthralled by him and threw him a radiant smile. “I want to thank you, young man, for what you did for my grandbaby. What’s your name, by the way?”

He turned to her. “They call me Savage, ma’am.”

“Of course, they would,” Tori mumbled.

Savage heard the sarcastic sotto-voce comment and smirked her way. “I suggest you remember that then the next time you decide to leave Fairy Tale Land and venture into Hell.”

Tori’s defiant eyes lowered to her grandmother. “Come on, Nana, let’s go.”

Okay, so maybe this biker had saved her from a fate worse than death and yes, she should be thanking him, but dammit—he was one of them after all; and from what she’d seen, he was just as violent and if not more so, since those other psychopaths had been scared of this one.

Besides, what he’d done hadn’t been for her benefit but for his stupid club’s. Hadn’t he schooled all of his fellow bikers afterwards that what had happened to her—or almost happened—was quote ‘bad for business’ unquote? Of course it would have been! He wouldn’t have wanted his entire gang taken out on rape charges, now would he?

Suddenly, the enormity of it all hit Tori like a subway train and her whole body began to shake. Oh my God, she’d almost been gang-raped—and who knows what could have happened afterwards. They might have even killed her and her wonderful Nana too. Her knees suddenly gave out and she crumpled into a sitting position on the sidewalk.

“Tori!” Nana yelled, as she came down on her haunches beside the younger woman.

Savage also crouched, a look of worry crossing his features. “What’s wrong?”

Beads of sweat broke out on Tori’s forehead as a bolt of fear squeezed her heart. Her stomach felt queasy. “I—I can’t get up. I don’t know…what’s wrong with me?” Her breathing had become short and shallow.

“It’s called aftershock, sweetheart.” Then his voice turned hard and he mumbled half to himself, “For fuck’s sake, I don’t need this right now.” But then his eyes softened, as he looked down at Tori again and he let out a resigned sigh. Scooping her up, he lifted her into his powerful arms.

“What are you doing?” Tori tried to put a good amount of indignation into her voice but she was still shaking very badly and all she could manage was a squeak of a question.

He ignored her and turned to Estelle. “Where’s your car?”

“Over here.” Nana retrieved the keys from Tori’s purse where she’d dropped it when she’d collapsed, and opened the car doors.

Gently, Savage deposited Tori into the back seat, laying her prone as best he could. “Do you want me to drive you home?” he offered, a modicum of concern seeping through his words.

“No thanks,” Tori whispered, mustering up as much strength as she could. She certainly didn’t want this thug knowing at which hotel they were staying. He was not to be trusted.

Nana shook her head. “I can drive, thank you, Mr. Savage.” She graciously smiled at him before getting into the driver’s seat. She opened all the windows to let the heat out before putting on the air conditioning.

Savage shut the back car door with finality. “Then good-bye, ladies. It’s been—
fun
,” he mocked, obviously having eavesdropped on their conversation earlier. He bent and popped his head through the open window to peer at Tori. “I’ve got some advice for you, Snow White. In future, stay out of dragon caves. But I think you’ve learned your lesson today.”

His lips broke into a wide smile, showing a set of perfect even white teeth before a bout of soft laughter escaped from his full, sexy mouth. He was clearly laughing at her, making fun. With one last teasing look, he turned and disappeared back into the bar.

“You big jerk!” Tori mumbled, as those black double doors swallowed him up.

Chapter 7

Thursday – 12:37 p.m.

Jubilee Hotel & Casino

Tori and Nana
entered Tori’s hotel room, both ladies silent and lost in their own thoughts. Not much had been said in the car on their drive back. By the time they’d reached their hotel, Tori had regained her strength, and despite Nana’s coddling and over-the-top insistence on getting a hotel wheelchair for her granddaughter, she was able to walk just fine to the elevators and up to her room.

Now, as Tori plopped down on her bed, she watched Nana rifle through the minibar and pull out a small whiskey bottle, unscrewing it open. Guzzling it down in one shot, the senior turned to stare at her granddaughter. Tori noticed that the elder’s hand was shaking slightly.

Suddenly, Nana’s mouth dropped open in shock. She approached Tori. “Oh my God, baby, look at your arms,” she wailed.

There were bruises on her skin where Wizard had grabbed her. Getting up, Tori went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Blue marks marred both of her arms. A shiver of fear went down her spine as she remembered what had almost happened.

Nana came into view and she burst into tears. “Oh, Tori honey, this is all my fault!” She wrapped her arms around her granddaughter and hugged her tightly. “We should never have come. You were right all along. We’re going to pack our bags right now and go home tonight.”

“Don’t cry, Nana, please.” Tori hated to see the elder upset. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was. We should have gone to the police about Joe. You were right.” She raised her head to look into Tori’s eyes, her blonde hair tilting up awkwardly. “I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you, sweetheart. You’re the love of my life!”

“I know, Nana. I love you too!” Tears welled up in the younger woman’s eyes as she squeezed her grandmother tightly. “Why don’t we go sit down and talk about things, okay?”

Nana allowed herself to be led to the bed. The pair sat down, and the elder blew her nose loudly into a tissue, dabbing at her wet eyes.

Tori continued. “I’ve been thinking and I want you to hear me out. We’re not going home. In fact, we’re staying right here and looking for Joe, no matter what.”

“What?” Shocked, Nana sprang off the mattress. “Have you gone plumb crazy? After what happened?”

Tori stubbornly tilted her chin up. “No! No one is going to run me out of this town. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready, and I ain’t ready yet.”

Tori had been thinking about this the entire drive back from the biker bar. Of course, what had happened to her had scared her to death but she had come to Las Vegas to find Joe Sorelli and get her grandmother’s money back and dammit, that’s what she was going to do! No one, not that evil pig Wizard, or those other disgusting biker thugs, or that arrogant, vicious, Savage person, or anyone else in this sin-city-of-a-town was going to stop her.

And she wasn’t “chickenshit” either, as her grandmother had accused her earlier of being, nor was she going to bow down to defeat, running all the way back to Gideon, Texas like a scared little rabbit. She had grit and brains and balls; and no one was going to tell her what to do, from now on.

Maybe her Nana and Cassie and the girls had all been right? Maybe she had been turning into a little mouse, afraid of living after her divorce? But now it was time to step up and claim her life back. Something had happened to her in that biker bar this morning when she’d almost been raped. She’d found her fighting spirit and now that she’d found it, she wasn’t letting it go ever again!

Nana fished in her purse for a cigarette. Lighting it, she blew out a puff of smoke before pointing a stern finger at her granddaughter. “Tori, stop talkin’ nonsense. We’re goin’ to the police about Joe and then we’re leavin’ this town. Make no mistake. I love my Joe to death but honey, I love you more and we’re goin’ home where it’s safe.”

“Nana, this is not negotiable. I’ve made up my mind. You know how stubborn I can be when I want something, because I’m just like you.”

Nana studied her granddaughter’s pretty but set face and shook her head knowingly. “I can still remember when you were four and you made up your mind to save that dying pigeon you found on the side of the road. Damn, if you didn’t nurse that thing back to life!” The elder sighed in resignation. “I swear you can be as stubborn as a mule refusing to go up a hill sometimes. All right, sugarplum, we’ll stay and look for Joe.”

Tori jumped up to give her Nana another hug. “Thank you.” Suddenly, this quest had become the most important thing in the entire world for Tori to do, and with it, her strength and vitality were all coming back to her. She could feel it—and she hadn’t felt like this since before her husband had left her.

Nana put out her smoke. “Okay, darlin’, you take a bath, order up some room service food, and rest up from your ordeal. I’m going to my room and take a quick nap myself. I’m getting tired now. And then tonight, we’ll have a quick supper together and discuss our next move. How’s that sound?”

Tori smiled proudly, having gotten her way. “Like heaven.”

Chapter 8

Thursday – 6:16 p.m.

Her cell phone
was ringing. Tori opened her eyes and grabbed the device off her nightstand. Looking at the number, she saw that it was Nana. “Hello,” she croaked, still half asleep.

After having had a light lunch, she had taken her grandmother’s advice and had fallen asleep on top of her bedcovers for a quick nap. She hadn’t realized she’d fall into such a deep slumber but considering the emotionally draining morning she’d had, she wasn’t surprised.

“Tori, get your ass outta bed and come meet me for supper,” Nana dictated.

Tori rubbed her eyes. “Are you downstairs?”

“No. I’m down the street and around the corner at the Pancake Paradise Restaurant.”

“What are you doing there?”

“Can’t a body have a craving for some pancakes? Just hurry up and come on down, sweetpea. I’ll be waiting for ya.” Nana clicked her phone off.

Dumbfounded, Tori stared at her silent phone. What was her crazy grandmother up to now?

* * *

25 minutes later…

Having thrown on a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a sunny yellow, thin, summer sweater to cover up her bruised arms, Tori walked briskly along the street to her destination. A few minutes later, she rounded the block to the Pancake Paradise Restaurant. It was a one-story affair sitting on its own parcel of land, surrounded by a large parking lot. Glass windows encircled the building. Her grandmother sat in a booth by one of the front windows, perusing a menu.

Tori made her way to where her Nana was sitting and flopped into the booth seat opposite her. “Why’d you want to eat here?” Tori questioned, as she grabbed one of the menus stationed at the end of their table and began to study it.

At that moment, a 23-year-old, pretty, blonde waitress approached them. “Ladies, my name is Lynnette. I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some coffees?”

Nana smiled at her. “That would be lovely, honey. Two black coffees, please.”

Lynnette nodded and disappeared behind the counter.

Nana threw Tori a speculative look. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

Tori looked up from her menu. “Nana, I feel…great! For some reason, I have a gut feeling that we’re going to find your Joe and get your money back. And I have some ideas about what we should do next too.”

“Like what?”

“We need to go see Mrs. Moore again, Joe’s neighbor, and find out from her the names of some of his friends and then track them down.”

“Good idea. Joe’s lived his whole life in Las Vegas. He knows a lot of people here. Somebody has to know something.”

Suddenly, a motorcycle rumbled loudly into the parking lot. Instinctively turning towards the noise, Tori gazed through the large glass window and immediately recognized Savage, the brutal biker from Delilah’s, riding in on his Harley-Davidson.

A surge of annoyance lit through her. “I can’t believe it! Talk about bad luck, twice in one day,” she gritted, as he shut off the motor. He got off the bike and removed his black, half-shell helmet, which covered the top part of his head. He was dressed in jeans, and black t-shirt, with a red bandana around his forehead, and his Sons of Perdition leather vest, just as he had been that morning. His heavily tattooed arms glistened in the sunlight, as he slipped off his sunglasses.

Twisting her head around, Tori scanned the restaurant and spotted a rear exit door. She went to get up. “Come on, Nana. We can go out the back and not have to see that Neanderthal.”

Her grandmother placed a hand on her arm and stopped her. “Sit down, Tori. Now!”

That last word had been uttered like a command coming from a military general to his troops. Tori’s internal warning bells clanged. “What have you done?” she hissed, as she obeyed, suddenly realizing that that vicious thug showing up here was no accident.

Nana waved to the biker as he entered the restaurant. “Yoo-hoo, Mr. Savage, over here.” She beamed even more as he approached.

“Ladies,” he nodded, flashing them a good-humored smile. He turned Tori’s way. “Scooch over, Snow White.” He lowered his tall frame into the booth beside her, giving her no time to protest.

Tori moved further away to avoid having him land in her lap. His long leg brushed hers underneath the table and she scooted even closer to the window. She glared at him as he grinned boyishly at her, knowing how boxed in his large body was making her feel.

“Why is this person here?” Tori glowered at her grandmother.

“Thank you for comin’, sir,” Nana addressed him and ignored her granddaughter.

“I’m always interested in a business proposition, ma’am.”

“What’s he talking about?” Tori ground out.

Suddenly, Savage reached across Tori to the far end of the table to grab a menu, brushing his arm roughly against her breasts while he did so. She backed away, frowning at his atrocious lack of table manners but he just kept on smiling, clearly knowing exactly what he was doing and what she was thinking of him.

A sudden squeal pierced the restaurant’s interior and a high pitched female voice shouted, “Savage!”

Their waitress, Lynnette rushed forward and threw herself into the biker’s arms. She planted a long kiss square on his lips. He seemed to return the hard peck as his hand instinctively lowered to her bottom, caressing it lovingly.

He pulled back and threw her a saucy smile. “It’s been a while, Lynnette.”

“Ages. Where’ve you been? You missed a great party at Ed’s last weekend.”

“Outta town on business.”

“Maybe you can catch the next one?”

“Count on it.” Savage threw her a crooked smile.

“I’ll bring you all your coffees in a sec,” the waitress addressed the other ladies before winking at the biker and disappearing into the kitchen again.

Tori’s lips curled in disgust at the blatant public display of affection that seemed to have attracted all eyes in the place towards their table. “Friend of yours?” she enquired, as she sat there stiff and prim.

Savage sensed her annoyance and his lips twitched in amusement. “Yeah, I guess you can say that. Maybe you can even say I’m her Prince Charming,” he teased.

Tori’s eyes flitted up and down his heavily tattooed arms before coming back to his amused brown orbs. “Prince Charming? You?” she mocked, her voice suggesting he was the farthest thing from a Prince Charming she’d ever seen.

“Well, I saved your sweet ass from Satan this morning, didn’t I?”

“It was just business, you said so yourself,” she parried, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge what he’d done for her earlier.

Savage’s face leaned into hers, invading her personal space. “Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t,” he laughed softly. Tori got the sense that he was playing with her like a cat plays with a tiny mouse before sinking its teeth into its neck and killing it dead.

He pulled away then and turned to Nana sitting across from him. “I was surprised to get your phone call this afternoon, Miss Estelle.” It was obvious he was back to being all business again.

Tori’s eyes widened in surprise at his words and turned to her grandmother. “You called that disgusting bar?”

Nana nodded. “How else was I going to reach Mr. Savage? I need to talk business with him, so you hush up!” She turned back to the biker. “I’ll get to the point, sir, because I don’t want to waste any of your valuable time. I want to hire you as a bodyguard for my granddaughter here.”

Tori’s heart skipped a beat at the pronouncement and her jaw dropped open. “Are you crazy? What’s gotten into you?”

“Shut up, Tori! This is between me and this gentleman here.” Nana turned to Savage. “My fiancé, Joe Sorelli has disappeared. We have three days to find him. If he doesn’t show up for his parole appointment on Monday, an arrest warrant will be issued. Now, I can’t go gallivantin’ around Las Vegas looking for him. It’s just too much for me at my age, and I refuse to send my precious Tori out there all by herself. So, I want you to go with her, to protect her and to help her, just like you did this morning. I saw what you can do with your fists. You’re a man to be reckoned with and I like that. Interested?”

Savage’s eyes narrowed on the older woman’s expectant face. “With all due respect, ma’am, I’m not a fucking babysitter.”

Tori’s jaw dropped in outrage. “Don’t speak to her like that, you big bully,” she shouted.

But Nana put a restraining hand on her arm. “It’s all right, darlin’. Mr. Savage and I speak the same language.” She turned back to the biker. “I can make it worth your while, sir.”

Sudden interest flared in the biker’s eyes. “How much?”

“A thousand dollars for the three days work.”

“Nana!” Tori couldn’t believe what was coming out of her grandmother’s mouth.

Savage ignored the younger woman’s outburst, but swiveled his head to study her from head to toe. “She looks like a lot of trouble to me. Three thousand and not a penny less.”

Nana nodded as she too studied her granddaughter. “Yes, I see what you’re saying. Okay, two thousand.”

Tori was indignant. “I’m not cattle to be haggled over, people,” she hissed, irritated by the way they were discussing her, as if she wasn’t even there.

The biker seemed to consider the proposition. “Three days of my time is going to cost me some other—business opportunities—you might say, so it’s gotta be worth my while. Let’s split the difference at $2500 and you’ve got a deal.”

Nana studied the younger man for a few seconds before extending her hand out for a handshake. “You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Savage, but we’ve got a deal!”

Nodding, Savage put his hand in hers and shook it. “I want $1500 upfront, now, on the table, cash money, and the balance at the end of the job, whether we find Joe Sorelli or not.”

“Of course,” Nana nodded, as she reached into her purse and pulled out a huge wad of cash that was wrapped with an elastic band. She began counting out the money and Savage’s eyes were glued to the bills.

Tori gawked at the money. “Nana, put that away!” She snatched the bills out of the elder’s hands. “May I speak to you privately in the washroom, please?” she ground out, before turning to the biker. “Excuse me?” She waited impatiently for him to get up so that she could get out of the booth.

He tipped her a lazy smile, before he unfurled his long body out and up. As Tori slid out of the seat and stood up, he grabbed her wrist and leaned into her with a wicked grin. “Just remember, honey, we shook on it and I’ll be out here waiting for my money. Don’t slip out the back and make me come looking for you.”

The smile on his lips didn’t reach his brown eyes and her heart skipped a beat. His veiled warning had been received, loud and clear but she refused to be scared or intimidated. She straightened her spine and looked down at his fingers clasped around her wrist. Surprisingly, they felt soft and gentle, not rough and brutish as she expected.

Her defiant eyes came back up to his and with one hard yank, she pulled out of his grasp. “Don’t ever touch me again.” She used the same threatening tone he had used on her mere seconds ago.

The air crackled with tension. Tori could feel the sultry male heat his body was giving off, like a solar flare burning everything in its path. She watched as his laser-sharp eyes bore into her—hard, before lowering to her sassy mouth and then flickering back up again to her eyes. Suddenly, like a dog who’d been jockeying for position and then had to accept defeat, he stepped away to let her pass. But in the split second before he did, Tori caught a glint of respect for her shining in his gaze, and she knew that she had somehow passed a test of some kind in his eyes.

She turned to her grandmother, who seemed to have been watching the little episode with a sly smile on her lips. “Come on, Nana.” Tori put a comforting arm around the elder’s shoulders, and led her towards the washrooms.

“Y’all come back now, ya hear?” Savage jeered, mocking their Texas twang while at the same time reminding them yet again that he wanted his promised money and he’d be waiting.

Tori threw him a dark scowl over her shoulder before disappearing into the washroom.

* * *

Savage watched the pair leave and with a proud grin, sat back down in the booth, remembering the fearless strength he’d seen in the girl’s eyes when she’d stood up to him. Many a man three times her size and ten times her muscle had quaked when he’d used that same tone of voice on them; and truth-be-told, his reputation around town was now so vicious that he didn’t have to use his fists all that much anymore. He just had to show up on his many collection runs, with a baseball bat, of course, and politely ask for his money. But that girl—Tori—she wasn’t afraid of him. She should have been, if she’d had any God-given sense—but she wasn’t.

He didn’t know whether he liked that—or not.