Beyond the Cut (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #2)(47)







ELEVEN

I shall show no mercy to those who have cause to fear me.

SINNER’S TRIBE CREED

Cade parked his bike outside Dawn’s house and took his first deep breath of the night. They had only just chased away the Jacks and tended their wounded when the prospect called to tell him about the break-in at Dawn’s place.

So here he was, his body thrumming with adrenaline, his brain still wired for action, and his trigger finger itching for another workout.

All of which were going to be a problem if Benson didn’t get his f*cking paws off his girl.

Cade gritted his teeth as he slid off his bike. He needed to calm down. Still primed and in full-on fight mode, he was inclined to stalk down the sidewalk, rip Dawn away, shove his fist in Benson’s face, and then take Dawn someplace safe where he could strip off her clothes and make sure she hadn’t been injured. Then he would mobilize the brothers and hunt down Mad Dog. At least he’d done Cade the favor of letting him know just who had trashed Dawn’s house.

MD. Mad Dog. Bastard clearly wasn’t afraid of the police, or the Sinners.

Or did he know the Sinners would be busy fighting off the Jacks? The timing of the break-in couldn’t be a coincidence. But if that was the case, how did he know? And what the f*ck did he want?

“There are two cops out back.” The prospect stepped out of the darkness. “Looks like he got in through the window. The house is totally destroyed. I heard them saying he was looking for something. Dawn and that cop have been sitting there for about ten minutes. She seems pretty rattled.”

“You did good, prospect. Go back to the clubhouse. Tell Jagger I’ll be at the meeting tomorrow.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face after the prospect walked away. Okay. He could do this. Walk in. Get the girl. Find out what the f*ck was going on. Walk out. Solve the problem. Keep his hands to himself.

He crossed the street and headed down the walk.

And that’s when it all went wrong.

Dawn looked up and the despair on her face sent his heart crashing into his gut. Not only that, she was shivering, and wrapped in an overly intimate cop who had timed his comfort for the exact moment Cade arrived.

“It’s okay … Cade.” Benson held up a warning hand. “I’ve got this. Dawn’s coming home with me tonight where she’ll be safe, and we’ve got a forensics team on their way. We’ll find the perpetrator and put him behind bars. Guaranteed.”

Jesus Christ. Is the cop purposely winding me up? He’d managed to restrain himself at Banks Bar, but he was way past restraint now. A night in jail would be worth the pleasure of wiping that smug smile off Benson’s face.

Cade pulled up short, the chain on his belt swinging violently against his thigh. “We both know Mad Dog did this. We also both know you won’t be able to touch him, just like you can’t keep Dawn safe. But I can.” He held out his hand to Dawn. “Come.”

Of course, she didn’t come. Damn woman had a problem following orders. That had become abundantly clear when she’d stayed to help fight the fire, risking her life in the process. He had to respect a woman who knew her own mind, but not if she put herself in danger. Right now, he needed to assure himself she was safe and protected. And if she didn’t get off the step, and let him hold her, he didn’t know what he would do.

As if she sensed his inner struggle, Dawn slid out of Benson’s grip. “Could you give us a minute, Doug?”

Benson gave her a curt nod, then headed around the back of the house. Dawn made her way over to Cade. Her bare feet slapped softly on the pavement, bright in the darkness, white from the cold.

“Thank you for coming. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Beyond speech, overwhelmed with the need to hold her, Cade grunted and reached out, but Dawn stepped away. “I didn’t appreciate how you spoke to me at the clubhouse,” she said softly. “I didn’t like feeling like a liability. I was with the Brethren for seven years, and they treated me like I was worthless, but I survived and I learned a lot. And in the three years since I left, I learned even more. And one of those things is that I have value. I get that you want to protect me, but you need to get that I can look after myself, and sometimes I can even help.”

He knew what she wanted to hear, but he couldn’t say it. And if they faced the same situation again, he would make the same decision. “I can’t give you what you want, sweetheart. I can’t put you in danger. My dad beat on my mom for as long as I could remember, and until I turned fourteen there was nothing I could do to protect her. Even when I was strong enough to stop him, she wouldn’t leave. When she finally did leave, she went back. I could never understand why. And in the end she died by his hand. So now I got a need to protect you that is part of my soul. Whether you want it or not, I’m gonna keep you safe.”

He tagged her around the waist, drew her close, bent down and rested his forehead against hers, grounding himself in the moment, savoring the feel of her soft body in his arms.

“I’m sorry about your mom.” She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. “I understand why she didn’t leave. It’s a cycle, Cade, and you can’t see your way out. For the longest time, I believed the horrible things Jimmy said about me. I believed I was worthless and every day I stayed made me feel even more humiliated about the fact I hadn’t run away the day before. It was only when he turned on the girls that I broke free. I survived and found my worth and made a life for myself. That’s why it was important to me that you didn’t think I was a liability. I will never be that woman again.”

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