“Guess you two finally met,” I say when I see Hannah and Madison sitting together at the table. Madison is as flawless as ever in her light gray pantsuit, her hair pulled back so tight I bet it gives her headaches. Her makeup is perfect and not even her lipstick is smudged from drinking coffee from one of our mugs. Hannah, on the other hand, looks like she couldn’t care less what she looks like, wearing one of Conrad’s old rock tees and a pair of jogging pants. Her blonde ponytail is messy and falling, strands of hair nearly in front of her face, but she doesn’t care. Both women are equally beautiful, but only one of them looks relaxed and carefree.
“Madison caught me with my hand in the pickle jar this morning,” Hannah says when she looks over at me with a grin. “And aren’t you up bright and early?” she teases.
“I didn’t want to keep her waiting,” I say with a nod of my chin at Madison, who finally turns her face to look at me full on. “Good morning. How did you sleep?”
“Not great,” she answers.
“Yeah, me either,” I reply.
“At least I have my coffee,” she says, raising her mug in a salute to me with a small smile on her face.
“No pickles to go with it I hope,” I joke with my nose wrinkled.
“I wish I didn’t like them. I swear I do,” Hannah says. “But the baby wants what the baby wants.”
I grab the container of orange juice from the fridge and pour myself a glass. “I’m surprised Conrad has left you down here alone for this long.”
“He was finally sleeping, so I left him alone. He’s been tossing and turning the last few nights,” Hannah replies.
“Good.” I know my brother is worried about everything from the baby to getting arrested and whether or not the MC will be earning the much-needed revenue that all the Kings need, especially us to help support our parents. Hell, I’ve been overwhelmed, and I’m not the one about to be a daddy.
“I better go slip back in bed before he notices I’m gone and gets up,” she says when she gets out of her seat and starts toward the stairs. “Nice meeting you, Madison.”
“You too,” Madison calls back, and it sounds genuine. So, I guess it is possible for her to be nice to some people and not act like she’s better than them.
“So, what’s the plan for the day?” I ask when I take my seat in front of Madison and drink my juice. I’ve never been much of a big breakfast person.
“I’ve been thinking…” she starts, her dark eyes lowered to her mug on the table. I brace myself, afraid that she’s about to say that all this bullshit isn’t worth it. Instead, the corners of her lips lift and she says, “What do you think Bailey will say when I call a press conference today and accuse him of sending those men to threaten me?”
“Holy shit,” I mutter since I wasn’t expecting that at all. “That would be savage as shit.”
“So, you think I should do it?” she asks as if she honestly wants my opinion, for whatever reason.
“Hell yes. Calling him out, telling everyone in the city that he tried to hurt you, not only will it put the spotlight on you for the campaign, costing him some voters, especially female ones, but it’ll also keep you safe. He can’t afford to come after you again because it’ll be out in the open. He’ll be the number one suspect if a hair on your head is hurt.” For a second, I realize that this also means that Madison probably won’t need me or the prospects on twenty-four-seven security detail, which I don’t like the thought of. Pushing that aside, I shake my head, and tell her, “It’s a great plan, and you’re a genius to think of it. I just want to be able to see his face when it all goes down.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, I do. And I was planning on having words with Bailey today anyway, to let him know that the Savage Kings are backing you and know about those men.”
“I don’t know if you should confront him…” Madison trails off.
“No violence. Just a few of the Kings, standing outside of his house looking threatening. What he did to you will still be much worse than us warning him to back off.”
“Then it’s a plan. I’ll get the media list from Harlen and start setting it up,” Madison says confidently. “And screw waiting on a permit for a gathering. I’ll have it right outside of the police station, making sure to put some of the blame on them for not showing up when I needed help.”
“What’s the worst that can happen? They’re not going to arrest you in front of news cameras.”
“Exactly,” she agrees.
“I guess you’re ready to get to the office?”
“I am if you are.”
“Me too,” comes a voice from the dark living room, making my heart stop as I jump up from the chair before I remember that one of the prospects was in here sleeping.
“Jesus,” Madison says when she gets to her feet, clutching her chest. “How long has he been there?”
“Since about midnight,” Lucas says as he stretches his arms over his head.
“Jake’s still outside?” I ask.
“Yep.”
“In the freezing cold?” Madison exclaims.
“He was going to hang out in his car with the heat on. It beats the tent we lived in for over a week,” Lucas says, leaning his arms over the arm of the sofa.
“Tents?” she repeats when she turns to me in confusion.
“This isn’t their first time on guard detail,” I assure her. “And alternating between our sofa and the car every other night has to be
