Claiming Crusher (Savage Brothers MC #4)(65)

“I’m out of here!” I yell out to everyone, not bothering to turn around, and doing my best not to sprint to the damn door, to get free. When I make it outside, I breathe deep. My eyes are closed and I keep picturing Zander with Nikki and Lips, giving them the smile that should be mine. I know I’m not being logical. I know whatever he did with them was before we slept together, but it doesn’t f*cking matter right now.

“Hold up, Dani!” Nicole calls out and I turn to watch her come out of the shop. I stop, but only because it’s Nicole. I really want to take off running. She’s insisting on going with me, even when I try to discourage her by lying and saying I’m going to a bar. There’s no way I can afford to get drunk right now. I finally give in when she threatens to order chocolate milk at a bar. She’d do it too, it’s one of the reasons I love her. So, we head off to Weaver’s a local restaurant in town that’s supposed to have been here since the town was first created or some shit like that. I don’t know, I just know the food is good.

“Any more notes?”

I knew this was a mistake, she just confirms it with her first question. “No,” I answer praying that will be the end of it. It’s not. We go back and forth over me telling Dragon and I know that I’m putting her in a hard spot. I absolutely am, but I can’t. Dragon and his men go head long to protect the ones they care about. This means Zander would jump in with both feet and take off running. I believe that, because I know he loves me. Dragon might not care that much for me, but he does Nicole and if he thought for one second that someone was threatening his woman or his child, he’d go in, guns blazing. Michael operates outside the law, much like the Savage MC, but (and this is a very big but) he owns the police. When I say he owns them, I’m not talking about the cops in a local town or surrounding areas, I’m talking, judges, senators, representatives and every office in between. Hell, he’s even been invited to dinners at the freaking White House. I’ve tried fighting this and I know. I’m going to do everything in my power to deflect Michael away from the ones that I love and if that fails I’ve left a packet of detailed information that goes to Dragon if I die. In it is every crooked politician and the information Michael holds on them all, along with detailed information on Michael. I’ve held it to myself all this time, thinking that I might could use it to bargain with those on a higher food chain, if Michael ever found me again. Me surviving is no longer my goal, I’m going to die and truthfully if Michael gets his hands on me again I’d rather die. My goal is only making sure that those I love are kept out of this. I can’t give the info to Zander. If something happens to me, he won’t control himself. He’ll act first and then think. Dragon will be more methodical. Doing this, giving Dragon the one card I have against the devil…it’s all I can do.

The arguing with Nic and I continues back and forth and my guilt from the whole shooting with Tiny gets involved and I’m glad I haven’t ate. I feel like I want to hurl. Nicole will never understand how much I regret that day. She can’t. She doesn’t know what happened with Ms. Martens. She doesn’t have my memories. She doesn’t have visions of someone she likes being tortured. Not to mention, that she was tortured in much the same manner as Dragon was doing to one of his on. Sure I understand why, now—maybe I did even then. Still…the past and the present meshed together and I just reacted, wanting to keep my best friend safe.

“Afternoon, ladies,” a voice says from my side.

A voice, I never wanted to hear again in my life. A voice that haunts me almost as much as Michael’s does. I count backwards in my head and steady my breathing, deliberately lowering it. I can’t show fear, I can’t let him see weakness. I slowly lower my hands to my lap and turn to face Michael’s lapdog. I hate the son of a bitch and it would make me the happiest woman in the world to do nothing more than kill him slowly. I guess Dragon and I aren’t so unalike after all.

I do my best to appear like I barely give him a second notice. I try extra hard to make it appear I don’t even know who he is. I give what I hope is a tiring sigh, then respond. “Not interested buddy, move along.”

“Really, Mrs. Kavanagh, I assumed you would be most interested in what I have to say.”

“Sorry, you have the wrong person, buddy,” Nic answers, reaching under the table to grab my hand. I am pretty sure I cut off her circulation, squeezing it in answer. She and Donald go back and forth and it’s enough to let me know that Michael has indeed been checking out the Savage MC. The reality of that settles into my stomach. The only bright spot is that by sending Donald here first to give me a warning, means Michael is unsure of how to proceed around the Savage crew. I will have to use that to my advantage. Maybe I will be able to stay around a little longer.

“…I have a message for you, Melinda. It’s from your husband,” Donald says dragging me back to the conversation at hand. Hearing Michael being referred to as my husband throws me for a loop. It causes my facade to slip.

“I…I don’t….”

“Save it, we both know that you would be lying. Mr. Kavanagh will be in town next week. He will expect you at this address on the day and time listed. Do not disappoint him,” he says putting a piece of paper on the table.

Next week. I have one more week here. Well no, not really. If I want to try and get away I need to leave soon. So really, I have mere days to say my goodbyes. Days to memorize everything about Zander and try to take a lifetime of memories with me to wherever I end up or into the next life, because I know that’s the only outcomes available to me. The thought that I have to leave Zander, that I won’t be allowed to love him and take care of him, grow old with him….the fact that I can’t even give him the daughters and sons he deserves all flood me at once. So when I turn back to Donald, it is not fear I feel. It is anger. It is rage. It is hate.