When the shooting stops, he shifts me from his lap and climbs out from beneath the table, there are men shouting all around us, but I can only see him as he crouches down in front of me, his arm extended, his palm up and waiting.
“C’mon, babe,” he grunts.
Reaching out, I slip my palm in his and stand. Other men rush around the room. He takes his cut and tosses it onto the floor as if it’s burning his skin. I’ve never seen someone treat their cut so poorly before and my eyes widen in surprise. Then he tugs his T-shirt off and slips it over my head.
“Let me get you somewhere safe,” he murmurs.
“My father?” I ask.
“Don’t gotta worry about him, babe. Not ever again.”
Licking my lips, I tilt my head back a little more and I watch him for just a moment before I speak. “Thank God,” I breathe.
He smirks. “Not God, Pammy. Thank the Beasts.”
Inhaling a deep breath, my lips curve up into a small smile. “Thank the Beasts.”
“Fuck, yeah.”
Chapter Two
JAGUAR
There is no welcoming party for me.
There is nothing except angry glares and sneers.
I don’t blame any of them at all. Looking back behind my shoulder, I watch as Pammy is escorted in the opposite direction of me and I let out a sigh of relief. It’s been a long hard ride from California to Eagar, but it’s all worth it if she’s safe.
Silver drags me into the room where we hold church and shoves me forward. Before we reached the county line, my hands were tied behind my back with rope and I allowed it. I’ll allow just about anything in order to show them just how much I regret what I did.
Stumbling, I catch myself before I hit the floor. A sound of a throat clearing has me lifting my head. I blink at the sight of Dragon at the head of the table, then I cringe at the sight of Eagle sitting next to him. His gaze is focused on me and nowhere else.
I expect to see disgust and hate in Eagle’s gaze, but it’s not there. Instead, he looks almost indifferent as he watches me. A foot is pressed against the center of the back of my knees and I’m forced down.
Unable to control my body, I fall down to my knees, then my face. Someone reaches for my hair and pulls me up to my knees. My head is screaming in pain, but I don’t make a single noise. There is no point.
I have earned this.
Nothing that the Savage Beasts could do to me is undeserving at this point.
Whatever they dish out, I’ll eat it happily and eagerly just to be back. I am under no illusions that everything will ever be the way that it was again, however, I just want my family back. I want my brothers back. I want my life back.
I fucked it up and although cunt was a factor, I can’t blame women for my own actions. I did what I did and I alone have to atone for that.
“You got anything to say for yourself?” Dragon asks.
I press my lips together and shift my gaze from Dragon to Eagle. It’s no secret me and Eagle never really got along, even before Della. Him going behind my back and claiming her, marrying her, it pissed me off. But I couldn’t see that she loved him, that he loved her. I couldn’t see that they are actually a much better fit than we ever could be.
I couldn’t see any of it because I was lost in my selfishness. Lost in my anger, in my own pain. I was just plain fucking lost.
My hair falls in front of my face, a new addition to the man that I am now, long hair. I never really let it get too long, but now it’s to my shoulders and I find that I like it.. My longer hair is just me now. It hides my face, and it allows me to hide, all at the same time.
“You look beat the fuck down,” Dragon announces.
Lifting my head, I look up at my president, at least I hope he’s still that. My gaze connects with his and I jerk my chin. This isn’t the time to be proud, to be anything but myself. Clearing my throat, I shake my head once and find his gaze again.
“Just feel like a pile of shit, not necessarily beat down,” I say.
Someone chuckles behind me. I don’t blame them. I’m a laughingstock. I am a pile of shit, I know it and everyone else in this room knows it too. Shifting my gaze from Dragon to Eagle, I watch him for a moment, but his expression hasn’t changed, I can’t tell what he’s thinking at all.
Then, Eagle doesn’t make me continue to guess at his thoughts, he decides to break his silent stare and speak.
“I could kill you, hombre,” he announces.
Nodding my head once, I decide to stay quiet. Eagle is leaning back in his chair, his gaze still focused on mine, unmoving.
“Della would hate that. She still holds guilt about what happened, even after you did what you did. She thinks she is somehow to blame for all this shit. She would be pissed and hurt if I killed you. I should do it anyway, I’m well within my rights,” he says, reminding me of my place and also reminding me that Della is his.
I still choose to stay silent. This isn’t the time for me to speak, to plead my case. This is Eagle’s time to say his piece. I blink and watch him, waiting to see what he decides to say next. If he said kill me, Dragon would approve it. No vote needed.
“You
