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Judge
I was a man who knew exactly where he was going and how he was going to get there. Then I met her and my world was rocked off its axis.
I found her bruised and almost broken and I vowed no one would ever hurt her again. But to keep that vow, I would have to take on the whole damn town of Troy.
Would we win?
I had no idea but I wasn’t going to give up on her. I needed her and refused to lose her.
Sage
I was a broken soul and never knew love until I met him.
He was everything I ever dreamed about in my lonely world. But my secrets were many and I didn’t know if he could forgive them.
Then my past comes looking for redemption.
Can we survive it when the truth finally comes to light? Or will we be swallowed up before the dust even settles?
Chapter One
As Judge pulled into the work site on his bike, he quickly scanned the parking lot and frowned. Sage wasn’t here again today. This was the second day she was missing and something didn’t feel right to him. Sage usually showed up before he did and her hot food cart was always a welcome sight.
She served breakfast and lunch to him, his employees and brothers every day. She usually never missed a day, so her not being here just didn’t sit right. He shut down the motor throbbing between his legs and stood on his feet. At 6’4 tall he was a big man, with his muscular build, he was an imposing man as well.
He took off his helmet and glanced around the area. Moore Brothers Construction was building a new house on this lot and it was a huge house. Judge was usually the first worker on site and for a few minutes a day, he exchanged words and a smile with Sage before the working chaos started. He needed that few minutes of peace and quiet to start his day. The commotion of the pounding of hammers, the buzzing of saws and the loud music that tried to cover over all the other noise did bother him at times.
For now though, the air was silent. Judge looked over at the spot Sage usually parked her cart. Her cart was more of a camper that had been redone to hold a stove and a warming oven, a small counter and a fridge/freezer. One side opened to have a counter for her to serve her food to her customers. The food was always good and hot and they always began their day on the right track. It also didn’t hurt that Sage was easy on the eyes and had a great personality.
Her food was always more than enough to fill a man’s belly during the long hours they worked. Sage herself was friendly without being slutty and Judge appreciated that. Most women around the construction site were looking for something he didn’t think should be part of a work day... there was a time and a place for pickups and it wasn’t while building a damn house.
Suddenly, the quiet surrounding him was shattered by the sounds of his brothers and their work crew arriving and for the next few minutes, disorder ruled the parking lot.
Brushing his long hair out of his face, Judge put it into a short ponytail and waited for his brothers to catch up to him.
One of the men that worked for them paused then glanced over to the spot where Sage usually parked then looked over at him with a frown.
Judge watched the man for a moment wearing his own frown.
When Gambler and Raine came up behind him Gambler asked, “What’s wrong with Brady?”
“I’m not sure but he keeps looking over to where Sage usually parks then over at me,” Judge grumbled.
“Where has Sage been anyway?” Raine wanted to know. “She’s usually here before we get here.”
Judge shrugged off his irritation. “How the hell am I supposed to know? I barely know the woman...”
Gambler stared at his older brother for a moment then glanced over at his other brother.
Raine raised his brows but didn’t make a comment.
Just then, Hound joined them. “What’s going on?” he asked and gazed around.
Judge locked gazes with Brady and couldn’t look away. The other man seemed to know something and he kept glancing back to the parking lot. Finally, he motioned for Brady to join them.
Brady hesitated then came over unwillingly. “What’s up boss?”
“You keep looking at the place where Sage usually parks?” Judge asked. “She ain’t here. She wasn’t here yesterday either. Do you know something about her not being here?” Judge paused then asked, “Has someone on the site been bothering her?”
Brady shook his head. “Oh no boss, nothing like that. Everyone here respects her. No one here would ever put her down.”
“Then what’s bothering you so bad about her not being here today?” Judge growled.
Brady took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The Moore brothers were an imposing sight when they all stood together like they were now. Any man had better be careful what they said or did if they knew what was good for them. “Did she say anything about not coming back here?” he finally asked.
Judge’s frown deepened. “Not to me.” He glanced over at his brothers and found them looking confused as each one shook their heads as well.
“What do you know that we don’t?” Raine finally asked him.
Brady shrugged. “Nothing really, I mean it never made a difference to me but maybe she might be in trouble again.”
Something in Judge’s gut twisted. “What the hell do you mean again?” He gritted his teeth.
Brady shook his head. “I’m not saying anything bad about Sage, she’s been a rock through all this her whole life. But there are certain people in this town that look at her and see nothing good that’s for sure.”
Judge narrowed his eyes at him. “What exactly does that mean?”
Brady held up his hands as he tried to step back then changed his mind and stood his ground. Looking Judge in the eyes he continued, “That poor girl hasn’t had an easy life here in Troy. Her mother was a single mom but she was also a stripper long before Deke took over the strip club. In her mother’s case though, she took the stripping to the limit. She was the town whore and that’s being nice about it. Back then, things weren’t always black and white. Her mom liked the men a little too much sometimes. That was the first strike against her. Then Sage was born and her mom never named her father so that was strike two against her.” Holding up his hands he explained, “I never held anything against her myself, but some people in this town did. None of this was Sage’s fault. For some strange reason, there was always someone in school that gave Sage problems. The girls teased her because she was didn’t have nice clothes or a dad or because her hair wasn’t as nice as theirs, the boys ignored her until she filled out a bit, if you know what I mean, then they thought she’d take after her mother and be easy but that wasn’t Sage. I don’t know what her home life was like but I know it wasn’t easy for her. Rumor in town was that her mom had a drug problem. Nobody bothered her and rumors were that she was protected by someone powerful but nobody knew who.”
Judge stared at him as he clenched his fists. Sage was a nice girl, he already knew this. “Is there more?”
Brady exhaled hard. “It all came to head when Sage was fifteen and her mom overdosed one night. She rushed her to the hospital and stayed there with her until her mom was ok but the whole time her mom was screaming at her like she did the worst thing possible by saving her life. She told Sage that she never wanted her and that she was sorry she’d ever been born. She told her that the only reason her mom got pregnant was because she wanted a big payday but that never happened.”
“How do you know all this?” Raine asked.
Brady turned to look at the man and snorted his disgust. “Because Brandi Billingsly shouted it out for everyone to hear. Everyone in the ER that night heard every word her mother said. Brandi was kept there under protest by a court order until she recovered. Sage even brought her home and took care of her for another year until her mom somehow got her hands on another batch of drugs. Sage was gone for the day trying to earn enough money to pay the rent and came home to find her mom was already dead. The doctor told her that her mom had enough drugs in her system to kill an elephant. They even thought for a while that she didn’t take them willingly. But that was just a rumor.” He paused and looked up at the group.
Judge nodded for him to continue with what he knew.
“By this time, Sage had pretty much quit going to school and was working full time to pay the rent. This is what she told me a few weeks back when we were talking. I’ve helped her clean up the cart and put stuff away some days and she had confided in me. I suppose her being alone in the world and all? Well, people still talked about her and her mom way after this but there was one group that wouldn’t leave her alone. Luke Nichols and his tight group of friends were more than just mean to Sage, they bordered on running her into the ground. Luke hated her for some unknown reason. She did everything she could to avoid him and his friends but they would search the entire town every couple of months or so, until they found her. The first time she got away from them easily enough, the second time Luke was ready for her and she took a beating before they walked away. They completely trashed her food cart though. It took her a few weeks to get it fixed up again. I know you guys don’t want to hear this any more than I want to say it, but this is so unlike Sage, I mean not showing up for two days. She never takes a day off. She doesn’t know how to slow down and this... this could mean she’s in trouble again. That Luke tracked her down again and this time, if he caught her alone...”
Judge felt something inside him twist again. He ran his fingers through his hair. The ponytail he just put up came down and his hair flew all over. “Where the fuck does she live? Does anyone know?” he growled.
Brady shook his head. “Sage never gives out her address. She wouldn’t want Luke or his friends to find her that easy. But I might know someone who knows where she lives. My aunt said something the other day about seeing her cart parked on the street.”
“Call your aunt and find out for sure,” Raine told him. “We need to find her and at least check out why she’s not here.”
Brady turned and walked away while getting out his cell.
Judge turned to face his brothers.
“What’s going on here, Judge?” Gambler asked. “Since when do you stick your nose into other people’s comings and goings?”
“I usually don’t but like its been pointed out Sage never misses work. This is nothing more than that. Just checking in on her to make sure she’s ok.” He glared at him.
“This woman has enough to deal with brother,” Hound assured him. “She doesn’t need you sticking your nose into her business right now.”
“Not sticking anything in her business.” Judge shook his head. “Just making sure she’s all right.”
“And what happens if she’s not?” Raine asked what everyone else was thinking.
“Then I’ll stick my nose in her fucking business,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “It’s for her own damn good.”
Raine and Gambler snickered while Hound just shook his head.
Brady came back over and gave them the address where Sage lived. Judge grabbed it, got on his bike and sped out of the parking lot followed shortly by Gambler and Hound.
Raine charged out driving his truck a moment later.
Brady shook his head, praying the Moore brothers would end this drama for Sage. She didn’t deserve the wrath of Luke Nichols and his friends.
~*~
Judge pulled up in front of the small bungalow and shut off his bike while searching the residence for trouble. The front door had been kicked in and several of the windows were busted out. He glanced what he thought was trash piled up in front of the garage but when he looked again, he realized it was bits and pieces of her food cart. Her cart’s back door had been ripped off its hinges and thrown to the side, while her pots and pans were scattered all over the place. Her microwave was ripped off the wall and the glass shattered.
Judge growled as he yanked his leg off the bike.
His brothers Hound and Gambler rolled up and parked next to him.
“What the fuck?” Gambler swore as he stared around the dooryard.
“Well, somebody sure had fun, didn’t they?” Hound grumbled as he shut down his bike.
Judge had already started toward the door as Raine pulled up. He came up to the front door and pushed it opened completely as he looked around. The entire room was destroyed. Whatever could be broken was and a layer of shattered glass covered the floor.
The glass crunched under his boots as he came further into the small bungalow. He searched the area carefully, but it wasn’t until he got close enough to the couch that he saw what he was looking for.
Sage.
She’d been thrown behind the couch. When he knelt down beside her, he pushed the couch out into the room to give himself more room.
Reaching out, he touched her skin and found it cold to the touch. Her face looked swollen and bruised but what concerned him was the fact she was unconscious. He wondered how long she’d been out. Then he noticed her beautiful long dark hair had been chopped off in an uneven fashion. Almost as if the person who cut it was punishing her. He noted the dark locks of her hair strewn all around her on the floor and rage almost overwhelmed him. But concern for the state she was in made him focus. Running his hand around her head, he frowned when he found fresh blood on his hand when he pulled it free.
He lifted her shirt just high enough to see her abdomen was bruised as well. Her arms had fingerprints where someone had held her a little too tight. He yelled for Raine.
When his brother came over to them, Judge stood and took a step back.
Raine knelt beside her and began examining her. He lifted her off the floor and carried her over to the couch where he carefully laid her down on the cushions.
Sage groaned and tried to open her eyes. Her hands went to her head and she moaned louder when the pain hit her. “Oh, my god...” she murmured.
“What the hell happened here?’ Judge finally asked with a growl in his voice.
Sage opened her eyes again and stared at them. It took her a moment to focus. All four brothers were staring at her demanding answers, answers she didn’t have for them. Her gaze swung back to stare at Judge. “Am I late for breakfast? Is it Monday already?”
Judge knelt beside her. Taking her hand in his he informed her, “Sage, its Tuesday today and you missed Monday altogether.”
“Ugg,” Sage groaned as she closed her eyes against the flash of pain she felt just trying to speak. Taking shallow breaths, she tried to breathe the best she could, then she began to shiver. Opening her eyes, she turned toward the window and grimaced. She knew from past experiences if one was broken most likely all of them were.
“When did all this happen?” Judge demanded.
Sage turned her bewildered gaze back to him then took a moment to search his face. Taking a deep breath, she regretted it almost immediately. Shaking her head to clear the fog in her brain, she spoke, “Ummm, Sunday morning? I think?”
“Were you unconscious the whole time?” Raine asked as he watched her eyes focus on him.
“Well... I’ve been in and out since the attack, so I really don’t know.” She grimaced and lifted her hand toward the back of her head.
Judge grabbed it before she could touch her wound. “We need to get you to the hospital and have a doctor clean you up. You’re bleeding.”
Sage began shaking her head then hissed in pain. She took a moment before she could speak again, “No, I don’t want to go to the hospital.”
“You’re hurt and need to see a doctor,” Judge calmly told her.
“No, I just need to get cleaned up a bit that’s all. I’ll be alright.” Closing her eyes she whispered, “I have to clean up the mess too. I can’t let Mike find the place a mess, he’ll kick me out and I’ve got nowhere else to go.”
“You can’t stay here tonight. This Mike person can just fucking deal with it,” Judge informed her. “Your front door is kicked in and all your windows are busted out. Anyone could come in here and hurt you. I’m not leaving you here alone.”
Sage scoffed then groaned as her ribs exploded in pain. “I’m pretty sure whatever there was to steal is already gone or busted up then huh?”
Raine knelt beside his brother. “Sweetie, your cart is in pieces in the front yard too.”
Sage closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I imagine it is.”
“Okay, we’re going to get you out of here and take you somewhere safe until we can get this under control,” Judge assured her.
Sage turned to stare at him with sad eyes. “You can’t fix this or get it under control. This isn’t your thing to deal with, it’s mine.”
“Wrong again, sweetheart,” Judge told her with a glare. “It became my thing when someone hurt you. We Moore men don’t like it when an innocent gets hurt.”
She looked up and saw all of them nod. Looking back at Judge, she felt another tear roll down her cheek. “Why? I mean why me?”
He leaned in closer and whispered for her ears only, “You’ve been flirting with me for a while now and don’t think I didn’t notice. I also won’t allow you to just stay here alone. You need help and you’re going to get it.”
~*~
Sage was startled for a moment. She hadn’t known he’d even noticed her. She’d been admiring him from a distance for a while now and she may have dreamed of him late into the night but she never hoped to get him to notice her. And this wasn’t the way she would have chosen. All busted up and bleeding.
All the guys had been nice to her, even the ones she grew up with but Judge, he was someone she’d really wanted to know better. She thought maybe she had a chance to find out but after this, she wasn’t so sure anymore. Luke told her, her time in this town was running out. Either she left or he would run her out, or make her disappear forever. She shivered again at the threat but didn’t let her fear show. She was good at that. She might be afraid but the world she lived in never knew it. That was one thing she had learned to hide over the years.
His statement just now made her think it was possible, but not likely. Luke would never allow her to be happy and he’d made that very clear over the years since he’d found out her secret. It hadn’t been her fault but he was making her pay the price.
She took a deep breath and her ribs protested, wincing she groaned in pain again.
Immediately, Judge was right there for her. He sat down and gathered her into his arms.
She curled into the contour of his body and felt safe at least.
“Come on let’s get you out of here and somewhere safe.”
Gambler disappeared then came back with a blanket from her bed and carefully wrapped it around her as Judge lifted her easily off the couch. Curling up with her head on his shoulder, she breathed in his scent as deeply as she could without hurting her ribs.
Then she raised her head with a worried look in her eyes. Biting her bottom lip, she looked up at Judge.
“What is it?” he grumbled.
“Well, if they didn’t find it already, I have a backpack in my bedroom. I’d like to get that before I go anywhere. It has everything I own inside it.”
“Where is it?” Gambler asked.
“It’s tucked in behind the mirror on my dresser. If it’s there at all.”
Gambler disappeared again and returned a few minutes later with the familiar black bag in his hands. He smiled as he handed it to her.
Sage smiled back and Judge growled a bit.
Gambler stepped back.
Sage glanced up at him in surprise.
Judge didn’t say anything, instead he carried her out the broken door and over to his brothers’ truck. He opened the door carefully and placed her tenderly inside the vehicle. He turned to Raine and threw his keys at the other man.
Raine caught them and raised his eyebrow at his brother’s move but didn’t say anything. Instead, he reached inside his pocket, dug out his own keys and handed them over.
Judge turned back to Sage then carefully pulled the seatbelt across her body and made sure it locked in place before he stepped back and closed the door.
“Where are you taking her?” Raine asked quietly. “She really needs to be seen by a doctor. She might have broken ribs. She’s probably got a concussion too.”
“You can take care of her. She doesn’t want to go to the hospital and quite frankly, I don’t blame her. They wouldn’t do anything for broken ribs anyway. You can tell me what she needs and I’ll see that she gets it. Meet me at my house and you can take care of her there.”
Raine shook his head. “Mom is gonna have a fit, you realize that don’t you?”
Judge scoffed. “She’ll get over it soon enough.” He glanced up at his brother and grinned. “I’m more concerned about how Runt is going to adjust to a woman in the house.”
Raine closed his eyes and shook his head. Runt was Judge’s dog. When he found him along the highway, the pup had been abandoned. He was a Tibetan mastiff pup but somehow the owner of the puppies must have thought he was a runt and threw him out. Judge picked him up in Maine and of course, brought him along to New York. He grew to be one of the largest dogs any of them had ever seen
Now Runt ruled the roost at Judge’s house and the dog just did not like change. Having Sage in the house would be a change. He was also very protective of Judge and his family but mostly Judge.
No one was allowed in Judge’s house without Runt being very aware of it and he’d proven in the past that he would protect Judge. Not that Judge needed protecting but Runt had his back. It would be interesting to see what Runt did with Sage in the house.
The Moore brothers all looked at each other for a minute when Judge pulled out and headed down the street like a man on a mission.
Gambler chuckled.
“What’s so funny?’ Hound asked.
Raine shook his head. “Maybe one day, Hound, you will get the humor in this. When it happens to you, I hope I’m there to watch.”
Chapter Two
When Judge pulled into the compound and made his way to the house he and his brothers built for him, he felt a sense of pride. His house wasn’t the most elaborate in the compound but it wasn’t just four walls and a roof either.
He’d had the perfect house for him in the back of his head since he was twenty and now he owned it. Glancing at the medium size two-story place he called home, his eyes filled with pride in the simple designed exterior. The front door was set back in the wrap around porch. It was double wide with a set of windows that highlighted the carved mastery of the wooded portal. A huge buck on one door with its mate on the other, the deer looked as if they were running through the woods. The different layers of wood used in the construction of the door gave it depth.
Just inside the door was a foyer that was big enough to turn around in and for him that said a lot. Judge was a big man. Standing 6’4 and close to three hundred pounds of pure muscle, he was fit and very strong. He’d built up his body by working with timber and steel rather than in a gym lifting weights. He always worked hard and played harder.
He enjoyed women but for the past two years or so he’d felt detached. He felt something was missing from his life and began pulling back from the hunt. He could still get laid anytime he wanted but now, he was looking for something special and until recently, he never thought he would find that special woman. He knew it might be Sage but he never knew if she was attached to someone or what. He turned his head and looked at his passenger. His tense body suddenly relaxed as he gazed at her.
Judge had been watching her for months now and he’d liked what he saw in her. When she began looking back, he thought about making his move but the timing had never been right before now. Looking at her now, he took note of how small she really was. He’d only seen her from a distance before now, but at this moment, he took note of just how petite she really was.
Her long dark hair was gone now, chopped off with what looked like a knife and the shaggy, misshapen lengths were breaking his heart.
Sage slowly opened her eyes and her silver gray orbs stared into his green eyes with a question in them. Turing her head, she looked around and didn’t seem to recognize where she was. She turned back to where he sat there staring at her. “What is this place?” she whispered.
“We’re in the Sin’s Bastard’s compound and this is my home. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here, as safe as your mother’s arms.”
Sage raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. “And you brought me here for...?”
Judge shrugged. “Well, you wouldn’t go to the hospital so I’m having my brother check you out here.”
Sage frowned. “Your brother is a doctor?”
Judge stared at her. “Well no, but he was a medic and he keeps us all in good health.”
Sage slowly shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I don’t think any bones are broken this time and I have a headache but it will go away.”
Judge frowned and glared at her. “This time? This has happened before?” His voice sounded calm, low and even.
~*~
Sage stared at his fierce expression and it gave her the idea that he wasn’t nearly as calm as he sounded.
She knew she had to move carefully right now, so she reached over and touched his hand. She motioned at herself. “My bruises will fade and the pain will go away. No matter what, time doesn’t stop for anyone or anything, not even death.” Shrugging she smiled slowly. “I’m not dead yet, so this too shall pass. This isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to me and it isn’t the first time but you know what? I’m a survivor, life has taught me that much. Every day when I open my eyes and see the new day, I know I can and will survive.”
He reached out and brushed a tuft of hair out of her face and smiled. “But life shouldn’t be that hard, don’t you think?”
“Life is never easy is it?” she asked. “And you get out of it whatever you put in. I’ve learned that the hard way. If you always take the easy way out, you’ll always be disappointed in what’s happening in your life. You’ll always wonder what could have been, should have been. Me? I knew no one was going to hold me back, that I could go just as far as I wanted with hard work and never giving up or giving in.” She looked down at her fingers gripping the edge of the blanket around her. “People look at me and see nothing but a piece of trailer trash. I look in the mirror and see a woman that has never given up. I see a woman that could make a difference if I want it bad enough. I am more than a piece of trash, I have something my mother never had. I have pride and that’s something no one will ever take away from me.”
“There’s more to life than pride, girl.” Judge scowled at her. “There could be joy and good times. You sound as if you’ve never known that. And that is just so wrong.
Sage smiled and reached out her hand to cup his bearded cheek. “I know that. But for now it’s all I got. Pride and survival.”
Judge exhaled loudly. He noticed Raine coming up behind him and Judge sighed and opened his door. Coming around to the passenger side of the truck, he opened the door and unclasped her seat belt. Scooping Sage up in his arms, he carried her to the front door and opened it.
Something big and hairy came bounding around the corner and stopped right in front of Judge. Dark eyes stared at him.
Sage met those eyes without any fear. “You have a dog?” she murmured. “Or is that it a small pony?” Without hesitation, she gently lowered her hand for the animal to sniff.
The dog slowly took a step forward and sniffed her hand, then to Judge’s shock—his tail began to wag. He stepped to one side and allowed Judge to bring her inside.
Judge carried her all the way to his room.
Sage looked around the room and liked what she saw. The walls were painted a gray slate color and the carpet was a darker gray color. The furniture was neither dark or light in but a shade in between. The windows had shades but they also had drapes in a rich burgundy color. The huge bed was decked out in more shades of burgundy and a stark white.
The room looked peaceful and masculine and before he could get more than one step into the room, she looked up at him. “If this is your room I can’t stay here,” she told him gently.
Judge looked down at her and smiled easily. “I want you in here but I don’t have the share it with you. I can sleep in the guest room, but I want you in here.”
She stared at him for a moment and asked, “Why?”
“Because here in my bed is where you belong,” Judge said simply as he carried her over to the bad and sat down with her in his lap.
Sage again felt shocked at his words but found she didn’t mind being this close to a man as much as she thought. For the first time in forever, she felt safe and protected. Then she happened to find herself looking back at her own reflection in the mirror.
She was appalled at her own appearance. Her face was covered in bruises and dry blood and her hair... she finally noticed her long hair was gone. She hadn’t even noticed her hair had been cut off. Tears welled in her eyes and rolled down her checks. She couldn’t even speak.
“Don’t you worry about your hair, it’ll grow back and he’ll never do this to you again.” He growled in her ear.
Sage quickly looked up to his eyes and the reflection in the mirror told her what she needed to know. It told her that to her shame, he knew everything. She swallowed hard and realized how dry her throat was.
Just then, Raine came to the bedroom doorway and glanced at them both. He cleared his throat and motioned behind him. “Ma’s here. She thought Sage could use a shower and wanted to make sure she was all right.”
Just then, Molly Moore pushed her younger son out of the way and barged her way into the room.
Sage stared at her wondering why she looked so determined and then the older woman looked straight at her. Sage had seen her a few times at the building site but had never met her formally.
Molly gasped as she took one look at Sage. “Oh, you poor dear...” Taking a deep breath, she exhaled and motioned for her to get up. “Come along young lady, this isn’t going to get done unless we do it, so let’s find out how bad it really is.”
Sage groaned as she got up off Judge’s lap and on her feet, shuffling over to the ensuite bathroom.
Molly closed the door behind them and began peeling the blanket from her shoulders.
Sage stared at her face in the mirror and shuddered at the bruises she saw. She had a bruise on her jaw that was already turning black and another on her cheek. There was a trickle of dried blood coming from her ear and another from a cut on her neck.
She also had finger marks on either side of her throat, almost as if someone had tried to strangle her. Then she remembered the look in Luke’s eyes as he held her pushed up against the wall in her living room. There was nothing in his eyes but pure hate as he squeezed her throat until she almost passed out from lack of oxygen. I thought I was dead this time. I knew I was going to die.
~*~
Molly winced as she saw the back of the poor girl’s shirt. She noticed a well-defined boot print on the lighter material of her shirt. Almost like someone with a big boot stomped on her back. Molly shook her head at the sight and she prayed her boys would set this injustice right. She didn’t know this girl but unless she was mistaken, her oldest son would not allow this to happen again. And if he did, she would do some damn stomping of her own.
Molly went over and started the shower to warm up the water and watched as Sage shed her clothes. With every garment that came off, she noticed more bruises and Molly had to bite her tongue and steady herself. This was a pitiful sight indeed.
~*~
When Sage slid into the shower, she let the water rush over her and closing her eyes she groaned. The warm water felt great as she stood there letting it ease her tight muscles. It also began warming her from the inside out. Until now, she didn’t realize just how cold she’d gotten in the past two days lying on the floor, unable to even get herself up and onto the couch.
Ducking under the spray, Sage hissed silently as the warm water washed the dried blood away from her wounds. Knowing Molly was just outside the stall, she didn’t dare make any noise. Relying on her past, she knew she couldn’t be loud or the game would be lost.
When she pulled clumps of her hair out of her head, she felt the tears falling and mixing with the shower spray. Which one of the four men that broke down my door and pushed me around had chopped off my hair? She wondered bitterly.
She almost felt sorry for them if Judge did what he promised. But she couldn’t ask that of him or anyone else. One of the first lessons she’d learned as a kid, was to fight her own battles because no one else would. Or should. What was between Luke and her was just that—between the two of them.
People often knocked her around, thinking it was funny when she hit the dirt, but she would just pick herself up, dust her pants off and move on. She never let any of the hurt or unkind words bother her for very long. She couldn’t help the fact that her mother was a whore or that she preferred to be drugged out rather than spend time with her daughter. Even her own mother didn’t want her and she often told her that, usually in a screaming fit when things didn’t go her own way.
The one thing she never told her daughter was who her father was. Oh, Sage had her own ideas on that score and Luke despite his hatred had given her the one thing her mother never did, he told her the name of the man who donated his sperm to help create her. Then he told her why he wasn’t happy about the fact. When she heard his name, Sage wasn’t happy either but that was beside the point. She hadn’t asked to be born and she hadn’t asked either of them to be her parents.
She hadn’t asked for anything from the man and she’d be damned if she would start now. One day, she knew karma would bitch slap the hell out of him and his house of cards would fold and she could only hope Luke’s would too.
When she shut off the water, she saw Molly hand her a towel through the curtain. Sage took it, dried off then wrapped it around herself and drew the curtain back. Molly pointed to the toilet and Sage sat down while
Molly took another towel and finished drying her shoulders. Then grabbing a pair of scissors, she began trimming the jagged edges of the hair on her head.
Molly tisked and continued to cut until she had a reasonable attempt at making it look good. Grabbing the robe from the back of the door, she held it up for Sage to put on. Then she gathered the discarded clothing from the floor. She opened the bedroom door and walked out leaving Sage standing there.
Sage took a deep breath and stepped back into the bedroom. She expected only to find Molly and Judge there but his brothers and his father were all there as well. Sage froze and looked around in a panic. Wrapping the ends of the robe together, she at least made sure she was covered.
Judge patted the bed next to him.
Warily, Sage joined him keeping her eyes to the floor. It was embarrassing to have so many eyes on her and especially, with the way she looked right now.
Black Jack cleared his throat and when she looked up, he inquired gently, “Can you tell us what happened? Who did this to you and why?”
Sage stared at him for a moment then shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s over. Whatever happened can’t be undone.”
“So what does this Luke guy have against you?” Gambler asked in the uneasy silence.
Sage sighed and her ribs protested. Hissing in pain, she pressed her hand against her side. “That’s something you’ll have to ask him,” she finally stated.
“How many?” Judge asked.
Sage glanced at him with a frown. “Excuse me?” she asked quietly.
“How many guys were there when this happened?” he repeated his question. He met her eyes and his gaze was intense.
She knew he wouldn’t leave this alone until she told them what they wanted to hear. Sage swallowed hard. Tension grew as she refused to answer. Finally, after a few minutes she whispered, “It doesn’t matter. It’s over.”
“Has this happened before?” Black Jack asked.
Sage nodded but didn’t add to it.
“How are you feeling?” Raine suddenly asked.
Sage shrugged. “Better I suppose. I still have a headache but its easing some.”
“And your ribs?”
“They’ll heal in time.” Was all she said.
“And your back?” Molly suddenly asked.
Judge frowned. “Her back?” he asked his mother.
Molly tucked the clothing under her arm and held up Sage’s top. They could all see the boot print on the pale cloth and the whole room erupted with growls of rage.
Sage just hung her head as hot tears rolled down her face. They dropped onto the robe and soaked into the cloth. She didn’t know what to do, no one had ever cared about what happened to her before. She didn’t know how to handle this. It was one thing to face it herself but people caring about her was a foreign thing.
Judge met his father’s eyes and motioned toward the door. Jack motioned for the boys to follow his lead and soon Judge and Sage were alone.
Judge reached out his hand and covered hers, entwining his fingers with hers he didn’t speak for a moment.
Sage felt the heat from his body and for a minute, she reveled in the warmth of his touch. She tried to disengage his fingers but Judge wouldn’t let her. Instead he said, “I want to see your back.”
Sage hesitated. “Why?”
“I want to see what those bastards did to you.” He seethed.
Sage raised her eyes to look at him. This giant of a man was worried about her? Surely that couldn’t be... But he held her eyes in a steady glare and she slowly got to her feet. Turning her back to him, she dropped the robe to her waist.
Chapter Three
Judge let out a low growl of rage as he noted each and every bruise.
He grasped her hips then slowly turned her around and pulled her hands down to her waist. Sage blushed and felt very exposed as he stared at her bare chest. He tried to keep his gaze professional but failed, as he had to lick his suddenly dry lips.
His eyes fastened on her breasts and he couldn’t look at anything else. He’d always admired her from a distance but this...this was unbearable. So very close but yet so far away. She looked incredible. Her skin was flawless where it wasn’t bruised and her neckline was graceful and very lickable. Her breasts were larger than he imagined, and yes, he had imagined what they would look like. Her nipples were a dark brown and her skin was a creamy color. He bet they would fit into his huge hands with ease and his fingers curled with anticipation. The real thing was better than he could have ever imagined and his mouth was watering at the sight of them.
Her belly was flat and smooth. His cock grew hard in a flash and he tried to ignore the sensation as he continued to stare at her. Finally, he raised his eyes to hers and noted her stare. He could read fear there and so much more than that in her silver orbs. He could see her own interest in her eyes and he almost reached for her to pull her into his embrace. Then he cleared his throat and gently lifted the robe to cover her again. He couldn’t—no, he shouldn’t be having these thoughts about her when she was hurt. It wasn’t right and his mother would skin him alive if he hurt her more than she was already.
He hadn’t let his interest show before now and he feared it might be too late. From the moment she’d first shown up in his neck of the woods, he’d been interested. He often found himself watching her as she served her food to his workers. He remembered all too well the times he had to force himself to stay away from her. The blood had rushed to his lower half on more than one occasion when he found himself watching her from a distance.
Her laugh one day had snapped his head around so hard he thought for a moment he’d broken his own dammed neck. The red wash of rage had almost blinded him that day until he got a good look at what caused her to laugh like that in the first place.
A mutt had wandered into the parking lot and was begging for food. She’d noticed the dog and had come out of her cart to offer the pup a treat. The dog was dancing around her and licking her face in his appreciation of the tidbit of food and Sage was laughing her ass off.
He stood there watching for along moment then got distracted when his foreman Jody walked up with a clipboard in his hands.
He remembered shaking his head at the thought of hurting someone because they had been able made her laugh. He’d felt a jealous rage over a damn dog. Her laugh had been so carefree and warm and Judge wanted her to laugh again like that, but he wanted her to laugh for him and him alone.
The men on his crew were grateful and always welcomed her, one or two even seemed to know her well. Brady wasn’t the only worker who engaged her in conversation but they were very careful around her as well. She kept a barrier between herself and other people, friendly but not personal with anyone.
Until today, he never knew that much about her and now he wanted to beat the men who hurt her. He could feel fury growing inside him at the thought of anyone hurting a woman. You were supposed to treat a woman with gentleness, not rage.
His hands clenched the robe she was wearing until Sage tried to take a step back. His gaze flew to hers and he saw the growing fear in her silver eyes. He exhaled and gently pulled her toward him. “I’m sorry Angel, I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”
~*~
Sage took a deep breath and let the air in her lungs go slowly. “Ok,” she whispered. She felt a little nervous around this big man. She knew he could snap her in half with very little effort but she also knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She believed him when he told her that. She didn’t know why or how but for the first time in maybe her whole life, she trusted someone.
“So what happens now?” she asked him quietly.
Judge looked at her steadily and informed her, “I want Raine to look at your wounds. He’s our medic and he’ll know more what you need and don’t need after he has a look.”
“I would rather he didn’t,” she told him with a hard look.
“Look, while he may not be a doctor, he knows his shit.”
Sage lifted her hand and gently covered his mouth with her finger. A spark of electricity arched between them and she felt shocked as she pulled her fingers back.
Judge looked equally shocked and his frown deepened.
She cleared her throat and shook her head. “I’m sorry but I don’t really need a doctor. I know I’m a hot mess right now but I’m alive and I will heal all on my own. That’s the way it’s always been.”
“Angel, you were unconscious when we found you and covered in blood, you’d been laying there alone for almost two days.”
Sage put her fingers over his mouth again and the same spark shot through them but this time she ignored it. “I may not be whole just yet, but I will be. The shower helped a lot. I just need to rest and heal. I’ll be fine in a few days.”
Judge’s eyes narrowed. “Why won’t you let us help you?”
She shrugged and tried to move away from him but Judge wouldn’t allow that. He grasped her hips gently and pulled her toward him. “Talk to me.” He pulled her into an embrace. Resting his forehead against her chest, he inhaled her scent.
Sage wanted to curl up in his arms and let it all go. Her fear, her past, her future. She wanted so badly to forget for a moment and just feel but she knew she couldn’t do that. Her past was very present in her future and she could never forget that. If she did, he would be able to destroy her and that she would never allow. “I can’t,” she whimpered even as she wanted to wrap her arms around him and just hang on.
~*~
Judge raised his head and stared at her. He could see the war she was going through. He could force her to talk to him but that wasn’t how he wanted this to go. He wanted her to trust him enough to open up to him. He exhaled loudly and leaned back enough to run his fingers through his long shaggy beard. He turned her around and pulled her onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her gently. “Why can’t you talk to me?” he asked quietly. “I’m not here to judge you but I would like to know about you. I know we haven’t spoke a lot over the time we’ve known each other but I hope we can change all that now.”
“Why do you want to know about me? I’m not all that interesting.”
“You felt that spark when you touched me, didn’t you?” he whispered in her ear. His lips began nibbling on her delicate skin. “I’ve never felt that before with any other woman, only you. When I first saw you, you woke something up inside me, something that I never knew was even there. Then when you touched me just now, I felt pure electricity. I can guarantee you that I want to find out where this is going.”
She turned to glance at him and he saw tears rolling down her cheeks. “I’m nobody—special,” she whispered brokenly. “I was born a bastard to a woman who used my existence to blackmail the man who she claimed fathered me. I was supposed to be her meal ticket and when that didn’t happen, she hated my very existence. She didn’t even tell me his name. I lived my life mostly alone. Even my own mother didn’t want me around, especially when she entertained the many men that came and went through her door. She’d go days without even looking at me, let alone feeding me or making sure I was all right.”
“Did that ever get better?” he asked quietly.
She shook her head and bit down on her trembling bottom lip. “No it never did, in fact it got worse. Someone reported her to social services when I was around four for neglect. I was taken away for a few days but she cleaned up her act enough to get me back. She knew she couldn’t get the money from my dad if she didn’t keep me.” She shrugged. “For a while, it was better but still not great. Then she went back to ignoring me again. We lived in the trailer court off Baylord Street and I would see everyone going to the bus to go to school everyday and I wanted to go too. So I would get myself ready, walk down the road and go to school, then I would come home again... my mom never even knew I was gone all day.”
Judge hugged her a little closer at her admissions. His heart was sore for her. No little kid should have to live like that. His own childhood had been so different. His mother had loved him and his brothers almost to the point it was stifling them. She made sure they were clean and well fed, she and their dad had to know all their friends, and where they hung out.
He looked down at her and realized she had never known that kind of caring. He knew there was more of her story to tell but he didn’t know if he could bear to hear it right now. He might just lose it and that would scare her. He hated that this small woman had known nothing but misery. How could this happen to someone so sweet? “Did something change when you were older in school?”
She hung her head, for a moment then raised her eyes and looked at him. “You could say that.” Swallowing hard she went on, “The older I got the less we had. Mom just gave up at some point. She didn’t care if I was there or not. I worked hard to earn a little money for food and rent and still go to school. I kept us in the trailer but she just didn’t care. My clothes were thrift store clothes but at least they were clean. I tried but it was never good enough for the other kids.” She shook her head. “You know that saying kids can be cruel? Well that’s true. They can be and were the whole time I was growing up. They never failed to let me know I was never good enough for them. I didn’t fit in with their groups and I never would.”
“What happened to your mom?” He’d heard from Brody but he wanted to hear her side of this.
Sage looked troubled. “When I was fifteen, she overdosed. I was there that time and got her to the hospital in time to save her life.” She shook her head. “Boy, was she ever mad about that. She hated the fact that the nurses ruined her high and sobered her up. And wow, did she let me and everyone else know about it too. She caused such a fuss that night the police put her under a three days confinement. The doctors wanted to put her in rehab but dear old mom wouldn’t go. Finally, the courts told her to remain clean and sober and if she didn’t she would go to jail. I think that finally got through to her and she remained clean for a while but then something happened, I never knew what, but suddenly, she was using again. Then one night I came home from work and found her. She had overdosed again and this time I didn’t find her soon enough. She was already cold when I got home.”
His arms tightened around her as he listened with a heavy heart.
Taking a deep breath she went on, “I was barely sixteen at the time but I knew I didn’t want to go into foster care at that age, so I applied to the courts to be on my own. As much as I hated that damn trailer court, I needed to stay there. I also needed to earn a living. Funny enough, the landlord told me as soon as my mom died that the rent had doubled. He said she had made a deal with him but if I wanted the same deal, the rent could stay the same.” Sage trembled at the memory.
Judge’s fingers curled into fists and he hugged her too tight now, as he knew what she was alluding to.
Sage gasped as his huge arms tightened around her.
When Judge heard her gasp, he loosened his hold but didn’t let her go.
“Don’t worry I didn’t take him up on his more than generous offer. My mother may have been a whore but I wasn’t. I packed what little I had and left that same night. After I left the trailer, I found a place to settle in for the night and was sleeping in the adjacent park when fire sirens woke me up. There was a fire somewhere close by and I went along with everyone else to see what was going on.”
“What happened?”
“Someone had set fire to the trailer I’d grown up in.” She trembled. “The firefighters put out the fire and the cops were there asking for information. One of my neighbors suggested it was set on fire deliberately and rumors were flying that because Lenny had kicked me out, I set the damn thing on fire but I knew I didn’t do it. I hung back in the shadows and watched the ordeal but no one was looking for me. Then I noticed I wasn’t the only one there hanging back.”
Judge frowned. “Who else was there watching your trailer burn?”
She glanced at him quickly then just as quickly looked away. “Someone I had grown to dread over the past few years, back then.”
“Grown to dread?” Judge asked.
She nodded. “Luke Nichols and his friends Jason Miller, Kyle Brecker, and Harry James. I didn’t see him there but there’s always a fourth guy hanging with Nichols, and that would be Milo Peters. I think I was about ten when Luke discovered I existed. He tormented me every day in school and sometimes he would follow me home.”
“Why?” Judge frowned.
“I have no clue. He just wouldn’t leave me alone. Always had to make things more difficult than they needed to be. It was hard enough to go to school every day when I knew the kids there thought I didn’t belong but Luke made it that much harder. He just wouldn’t leave me alone and he managed to turn everyone against me. He would look at me like he hated me at times but he never would tell me why. I tried to ignore him and his friends but he went out of his way to harass me. He enjoyed trying to make me cry but I never would.”
“Good for you.” Judge nodded his pride at her resistance.
She shrugged and continued with her story, “After the fire, I went into hiding for a while. I didn’t know what happened that night or why but I knew it wasn’t safe for me to be out and about. I found an abandoned cabin out in the boonies and I stayed there for a few days. Then I knew I had to find a job. I knew not everyone would hire me but that didn’t mean I didn’t try. I washed dishes and cleaned tables in a diner for a while, then Luke saw me working and harassed me so much I lost that job. I moved on to become a stock person in the supermarket and I had that job for a few months before Luke found me again. He spoke to the manager and I lost that job as well. After that, no one in town would hire me. That’s when I met Danny.”
“Who’s Danny?’ he asked in a low voice.
Sage smiled as she remembered the older man who had taught her so much. “Danny Westin. He had the food cart off Benton street. He’d been watching me for a while and told me he’d heard the threats Luke had been spreading to the businesses about how bad a risk I was to hire.” She chuckled a bit. “Danny had a hatred for Luke and his father.”
“His father?” Judge frowned.
Sage nodded. “Luke is the son of Nelson Nichols, our illustrious Mayor. This town’s biggest liar and cheat in history.”
Judge just raised an eyebrow at her statement. Nelson Nichols ran this town. Nothing happened here that he didn’t have his fingers into. When Raine had suggested they go into construction business, the boys had gotten to know the true facts of the behind the scenes boy’s club Nelson ran. They had to run the gambit of overpaying taxes and set up costs, costs that they considered bribes to Nelson’s friends and the city council. With a wink, wink and nod, nod... they had gotten their permits and licenses to do their jobs but this situation could put all that into jeopardy.
“Anyway, Danny took me under his wing, he taught me how to cook and how to avoid the trouble spots in town. He made sure I was safe on the streets. Working under him, I was able to save enough money to get my own food cart. He made sure I got the permits and licenses I needed and that I passed inspection. When I began working on my own, Danny retired. He told me he was tired but he didn’t feel he could retire until he had someone to take over for him.” Sage shook her head. “He was so full of shit sometimes you didn’t know if you could take his word for truth or not.” She chuckled. “After he retired, he bought a small hobby farm just outside of Troy and began raising miniature goats. That was three years ago. I took over his business and have been doing ok since then.”
“What happened this time?” he asked.
Sage shrugged. “From time to time, Luke and his friends come looking for me, I don’t know why. Maybe they get bored? I try to stay out of their way but he just can’t leave well enough alone. He thinks he has reason to hate me and just when I think things are getting better, then he comes looking for me and usually finds me.”
“Why does he have a reason to hate you?”
Sage turned her head slowly to stare at him.
He saw her eyes turn cold.
“You’ll have to ask him that question,” she muttered.
Judge didn’t say anything for a long time. He just sat there, holding her, digesting the information she told him. Glancing at the back of her head, he noted the haircut his mom had given her. It was better than the ragged edges she’d had before but it wasn’t how he remembered her to be.
He’d loved her long hair. It was always pulled back revealing the clean angles of her face and neck. This shorter version didn’t look too bad but it wasn’t her. It was then he noticed the wound on her neck. The edges of the cut were jagged and red but at least the wound was clean now. That cut must have been what caused the bleeding he’d seen before.
The cut was scabbing over and the bleeding had stopped but the cut still marred her pale skin.
“You’ve told me this isn’t the first time this has happened, but I can guarantee it will be the last time,” Judge vowed. Leaning closer to her ear he whispered, “You belong to me now and nobody messes with what’s mine.”
Sage shivered as she felt his hot breath on her neck. Belong to him? She paused. Confused at the certainty in his voice. Why did he say this? She’d never had someone that cared for her. Old Danny did but he was like a father. A father she never had. This, though...This was different.
Chapter Four
A tear rolled down Sage’s cheek but she wouldn’t brush it away. For a moment, she felt frozen when she heard him lay claim to her. All her life, no one had wanted her and now it was too late to even have something like that. Closing her eyes, she hated to burst his bubble but the reality of her situation was she couldn’t belong to anyone, least of all this man. Trouble could come to his whole family. It had been bad enough for her, let alone have other people hurt. That was why she had been relieved when Danny retired and moved. But that didn’t do him any good either.
“Please don’t lay claim to me,” she whispered. “I’m simply not worth the effort.”
Judge tightened his hold on her. “The fuck you say,” he whispered in her ear. Then he twisted her around and before she could do more than straddle his hips, his mouth was on hers. This kiss wasn’t gentle or kind, instead it was hard and wild.
His tongue pushed its way inside her mouth and the heat from the kiss melted her heart. She groaned as the blood rushed through her veins. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she brought her body closer to his, almost as if she wanted to melt right into him.
Judge groaned and deepened the kiss, his tongue thrusting deeper into her mouth as his hands roamed her back all the way down to her ass. Then they slipped under the lace of her panties and they both groaned as he felt the smooth roundness of her globes, his fingers seeking out the heat of her core.
Before he could reach it, he had to break the kiss and laying his forehead on hers he whispered, “You do belong to me and I’m claiming you. Never doubt that for a moment.”
Sage tried to slow her breathing and her heartbeat as she studied his eyes. When she saw he was serious, she gulped hard. “Ok,” she whispered back, not knowing what else to say.
He wrapped her in a hug and when she grunted in pain, he let her go. Looking into her eyes, he noted the pain registered there. He closed his eyes briefly then opened them to find her staring back at him. “I’m sorry baby, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She smiled shyly. “That’s ok.” She licked her bottom lip. “Can we kiss again?” She had loved the kiss. She never thought a kiss could be like that.
Judge smiled. “Oh, yeah.” He leaned closer and ravished her mouth again. Before he could get carried away, he broke the kiss and sighed. “Woman, you’re too tempting. Before this gets out of hand, we have to talk to my family about protecting you.”
It was Sage’s turn to groan. “I don’t want to talk to anyone else. They can’t stop this and if they butt in, they will only get hurt.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
Frowning, Judge leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Who else has gotten hurt?”
Sage opened her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt sick at having to voice her fears and tell someone the truth. “I have a feeling it was Luke who gave my mom enough drugs to kill her and one day, I went out to check on Danny and found his barn burned to the ground. The fire department found a body inside. What they couldn’t tell me is if it was Danny or not. That was six months ago.” Hanging her head she blurted out, “The coroner told me he thought whoever this guy was had been beaten to death and that the fire covered a lot of sins. But with no witnesses to either the beating or the fire, no one can say what really happened.” She grasped his arms and shook them. “That’s why I don’t want you to get involved in my problems! You or your family. Your company runs a business and if Luke finds a connection between you and me, he’ll ruin you.”
Judge shook his head. “He can’t touch us.”
Sage stared into his eyes. “You don’t know how low he will go. His father is the mayor and he isn’t above corruption either. In fact, I don’t doubt that Nelson Nichols is ruining this city, him and his network of good old boys. Not much happens around this town without someone getting kickbacks or under the table payments. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in that family.” She bit her lip again. “I just don’t want to cause any trouble.”
Judge got to his feet and set her down on her own feet. “Baby, my daddy taught me and my brothers three rules, he taught me to be true to my word because that was the measure of a man. He also taught us to always protect your woman and your family. Put them in front of everyone else and lastly, to stand your ground and if you believe in something never back down or people will run all over you.”
Sage pursed her own lips. “Yeah well, my daddy never taught me anything. But to be fair, neither did my mother.”
“Speaking of mothers, mine is waiting for you.” Judge ushered her toward the door. Before they reached it, he paused then looked at her. “My family needs to hear your story, all of your story. You can’t keep secrets from us, secrets have a way of coming back at you but know one thing... None of us will judge you, not even a little. No one is perfect and we all have problems from time to time. No one deserves the life you’ve had and know no one will ever hurt you again.”
“I’ll try, I really will try but there are some things that I have no clue about.” She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I hate gossip and I hate liars even more. Whatever Luke believes is no concern of mine. I’ve gotten by all my life without knowing who fathered me but he was never in my life and I don’t want him in it now.”
Judge studied her demeaner but didn’t ask the question burning in his mind. He wanted her to trust him enough to tell him on her own. She might not know it yet but that kiss they shared sealed her fate and his. He knew when their lips met that this was the woman for him. It was crazy, yes. But he just knew this. He would protect her and keep her with him.
When they went out into the living room it was filled with more than just the Moore family. Judge stiffened when he saw Deke and Sam sitting at his table. Looking around, he also saw Mountain, Bowie and Iceman sitting on his sofa. All the big men were here. The men who could rage a war and win it.
Deke got slowly to his feet and studied Sage for a moment, noting the bruises and her limping then he nodded at the others before he turned to Judge and asked, “What happened to her?”
Judge raised an eyebrow at his question. “Ask her yourself. She can speak for herself you know.”
Deke nodded. “I know that but as your dad said you’ve claimed her, so I didn’t want to show you disrespect.”
“I appreciate that man, but she can speak for herself.” Judge stood close beside her.
Deke swung his eyes to Sage. Taking a moment to look her over carefully he asked, “I’m Deke and this is Sam. Who did this to you and why?”
“Who did this and why is my business isn’t it?” Sage met his gaze head on.
“Darlin,” Sam drawled. He didn’t give Judge’s glare a thought as he looked at the girl in front of him. “We aren’t looking for trouble, but trouble always seems to find you doesn’t it?” Holding up his hand, he quieted down the growls coming from the group as a whole. “Now that’s not a bad thing but it is a thing. The whole town knows your story or their version of the story around you. We need to know the truth if we’re going to protect you.”
~*~
Shaking inside, Sage never looked down. She’d been bullied her whole life and she was sick of backing down. These men could tear her apart if she gave into them and she’d be damned if she would.
Sage turned her head and studied Sam sitting at the table who’d just called her darlin’. He was older than the rest of them but he looked much more dangerous. The man had a certain look in his eyes that seemed to show he took no shit. His arms looked strong enough and he certainly had the ink on his arms but there was a look that was so much more. He was not a man she’d want to cross, but then none of them were.
Inhaling deeply, her ribs screaming in protest she faced him. “If you know my story then you know you can’t protect me. This...” She motioned up and down her own bruised and battered body. “This is my cross to bear and if you try to stop it, the powers that be in Troy will run you out of town or make you wish you’d never gotten involved with me.”
“Why is that?” Sam asked.
“Because Luke Nichols thinks he’s got a reason to hate everything I am.”
“Did you do something to the prick?” Deke asked.
Sage rolled her yes. “I exist and for him that’s enough of a reason.”
“Why is that?” one of the men, a very large man grumbled.
Sage turned slowly and studied the man in question. He was bigger than most and older than everyone in the room. At least his white hair claimed age but his eyes were twinkling and he looked ready to accept the challenge of her.
He nodded his head at her. “Name’s Mountain.”
Yes, she could see why he went by that name. “You’ll have to ask him that yourself, Mountain,” she replied.
“I’m asking you.” He growled.
She shrugged but didn’t say anything.
“Does this sort of thing happen often?” Deke wanted to know and break the tension that was growing in the room.
“It’s happened before,” Sage admitted nervously. “Luke never liked me in school and now he’s taking it to the next level.”
“When did it escalate into something like this?” Deke asked.
“Luke thinks he’s entitled to do whatever he wants in this town because his father is the mayor. He skated by in school, pushing people around, knowing no one would report him or make him behave and he hasn’t changed now that he’s an adult. He’s a bully.” She shrugged. “I don’t go looking for him, in fact I try to go out of my way to avoid him and his friends but every once in a while he finds me.”
“Not what I asked, little girl.” Deke glared at her.
Sage swung her gaze to him. Staring into his eyes, she informed him and everyone else in the room, “When did he start beating on me, is that what you want to know? Well, the first time it happened was just after I buried my mother. He would have been seventeen back then. I was sixteen. He broke into the trailer and I knew he was gonna be trouble. He was drunk and loud and I had no clue what was going on. He and his friends began ransacking the place. They broke what could break and one of them held me down while the rest did it. I never had very much but after that visit what I did have, was gone.” She glared at Deke for a moment then a tear ran down her face. “My neighbors all knew what was going on, they could hear his yelling and screaming and you know what? Not one of those bastards came to my door to help me or even to find out what was going on. My landlord came over the next day and doubled my rent then handed me a bill for the damage Luke and his buddies did the night before. He told me I could offset the damages with the same deal he had with my mom. Instead, I packed what little I had left and I left.”
“What happened after that?” Mountain asked.
“They came back the next night and burned the trailer down to the ground. I was sleeping in the nearby park when the sirens woke me up. I saw the smoke and heard the commotion, so I went to see what was going on. Luke and his friends were standing in the shadows and I knew what they’d done. They came back looking for more trouble and I wasn’t there, so they burned me out.”
“Did the police ever do anything to them?” Deke asked.
Sage let out a cold laugh. “Really? You have to ask me that question? How long have you guys lived here anyway?”
Judge wrapped his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Don’t get rude baby. Deke and Sam can’t stand rude.”
She turned her head and stared at Deke. “You’re that MC President, right? So you’ve been here a while now, you know how this town works. Nelson Nichols has been mayor for the last fifteen years. He’s got his good ole boys network all set up and he works the angles doesn’t he? He’s got everyone and I mean everyone under his thumb. I don’t know how you guys haven’t been run out of town yet but I hear the rumors. I know he’s tried to push you out and you just won’t go. People on the street look to you to balance the books so Nichols won’t own everything, but his network is in place and the police protect Luke and his friends.”
“Did you at least finish school?” Sam asked.
“No, I didn’t even try,” Sage admitted. “I had to find a place to live and get a job that would support me. Mom left nothing but bills behind and I couldn’t pay them. Somewhere out there is a dealer still looking for his pay. I lived under the radar for about a year then Luke found me again.” Brushing back a strand of her hair she went on, “I’d found Danny by then and he was teaching me how to survive on my own.”
“Who’s Danny?” Deke frowned.
“Danny Westin,” Judge answered. “He ran a food cart around town. She took over when he retired.”
Deke glanced over at his dad and Sam nodded. “We know Danny’s story. I was sorry when he died. The cops never did find out what happened that night. They said he must have been overcome by smoke trying to get his goats out of the barn as it burned.”
Sage shook her head. “If you think that, then you don’t know a lot.”
Deke stared at her. “What’s that supposed to mean? Do you know something different?”
Sage nodded. “I asked the coroner and he told me Danny had been beaten to death and the fire was set to cover his death. It wasn’t that much of a stretch to figure out what happened.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?” Sam demanded.
“Why would I do that?” she asked. “They had already declared his death an accident, no one to blame. They would never investigate the fire as arson and they sure as hell wouldn’t accuse Luke of murder, no matter what he left behind.”
“He left something behind?” Deke glared.
Sage just stared at him but didn’t say a word.
“Tell us what you know.” Mountain growled. He, like the others knew she was holding back and he wanted to know why.
Sage sighed as she explained, “Luke and his friends had been harassing Danny for a couple of years before then. They knew he helped me out and let’s just say they didn’t like it. Luke wanted to run me out of town but I was being a stubborn shit and wouldn’t leave. Danny put up cameras when someone started messing with his goats. The fight that took place that night and the fire was caught on tape.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t destroy the tape,” Sam stated.
“They didn’t know it was there,” Sage admitted. “No one did. Otherwise, they would have destroyed it.”
“Do you still have it?” Mountain asked.
“Yes, I still have it. I got it when I was last out there at his place”
“Good.” Deke grinned.
Sam looked at his son and had to ask, even though he knew the answer. “What do you have on your mind, boy?”
“I’m thinking our mayor is due for a shakeup. I think our city council needs to be reelected. It might even be time to replace the powers that be in this town.”
“That might get dangerous really quick,” Sage warned. “Nichols isn’t going to go away quietly and neither are his friends. They’ve lived the good life for too long. They all like those under the table cash payments they’ve been living on for the last decade or so.”
Deke nodded. “I agree with you there. I’ve seen this city falling further and further in the stink of corruption and like everyone else, I just let it slide, but I’m not going to do that anymore. No one should have to live the life you’ve had. Life isn’t fair at times, we all know that and bad things happen to good people, but this is something we can change this and those changes will make this town a better place to live.”
“You know that isn’t going to go over very well, don’t you?” Sage asked. “They’re going to make your lives a living hell.”
“They can try.” Mountain smiled. “But we have our ways too, little girl. All we have to do is get everything set up before we act.”
Sage turned to glance at Judge. “What does he mean, get everything set up?”
Deke answered this, “We need to find out how Nichols has the city council set up, where the money is going and to whom. I have a man who can hack into computers but it would help if we knew where to go to get the information we need to bring him down. That’s going to take the time.”
Sage licked her dry lips. She had the info they needed but did she dare give it to them? Could she trust them to follow through with the plan? Could she do it? Betray her mother and get back at Luke and his father?
She glanced up at Judge and found he was looking back at her with a knowledge in his eyes. “Can I trust them?” she whispered to Judge.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“Yes,” she told him. “I trust you.”
“Then you can trust them,” he said simply. “They are my brothers, each and every one of them. We’re an extended family.”
She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his, then she turned to face Deke and the others. “I can help you with that.” She saw her black bag on the table beside the door and she walked over to it. Picking it up, she opened the bag, took several items out, walked over to Deke and held out her hand.
Deke took the items and looked at them. One was a flash drive, another was a tape of camera feed and the last was a notebook. The notebook was small but it had papers and stuff tucked inside the cover.
Then she hesitated and went back to the bag and took out one more item. It was a sealed envelope. Handing that over she told him, “My mother never told me the name of the man that fathered me. But she knew who he was, she just never told me his name. She told me once that I was supposed to be her meal ticket out of this town. He may have paid her to keep her mouth shut about my existence, I don’t know nor do I care but the money was never enough for her. She hated me all my life and now I don’t care who knows it.”
“But you had your suspicions who your father was didn’t you?” Sam stated.
Sage nodded. “There was only one reason Luke kept coming back, why he hated me so much. I never asked but he made his feelings well known to me.”
Another large biker in the room whistled as the implications became clear. “He’s your brother? And he did this to you? Your own brother?”
Sage turned her head and glared at the man.
Judge motioned his head at him. “This is Iceman.”
“Well, Iceman, he is no brother of mine. The only family I knew died six years ago from a drug overdose. A drug overdose I found out that she didn’t administer herself, I might add.”
“So the boy in question might have at least two murders to his name.” Sam looked angry.
Sage shrugged. “Both have no evidence to point the finger at him. Nothing that would stand up in court, you can be assured of that.”
Iceman grinned. “Then we’ll just have to find some, won’t we?” He glanced over at Deke. “Your man Zipper can look at that but I have a man in the Sinners that can find the secrets people want to keep hidden too. Do you mind if I call in some help?”
Deke smiled. “Feel free to call in whoever you want, brother. The more the dammed merrier we all are. That should keep the natives busy while we dig into the background and uncover all the secrets this town may have.”
“If that’s the case, I can call in a few favors and get more bodies here too,” Sam stated. “And I’m sure Calico can too.”
Deke nodded. “Calico might even know the right people to take over after we present the info we find.”
“I’m sure Pappy’s Trudy can dig faster and deeper than we can. That way, we won’t even have to get our hands dirty,” Sam suggested.
Deke grinned. “That might even throw them off their game a bit, if an outsider starts asking questions.” He looked down at the items in his hands. “I’ll get Zipper to check this out while Trudy finds out the secret ways Nichols runs this town.”
“I’ll make some calls to Boston.” Iceman smiled. “The more men we can get here the more chaos they’ll bring and the less time Nichols will have to even get wind of what we’re doing.”
“I can make a call to Maine and get some more bodies on their way from there too,” Sam agreed. “I can all Pappy too. He might know someone on the straight and narrow to come in and clean up the mess Nichols is going to leave in his wake.”
Sage simply stared at them all. Astounded at what resources they seemed to have. They were all MC but they sure had more power than a regular club would. Hope bloomed in her for the first time in her whole life. Yet, that fear still prodded her. They could get hurt. God, please don’t let anyone get hurt or killed. Please?
~*~
An hour later, the house was empty of everyone but the Moore family. The group of imposing and large bikers had left. Yet here were still many large men present, Sage noted. Judge, Raine, Hound, Gambler and Black Jack sat at the kitchen table while Molly was puttering in the kitchen.
Sage sat on Judge’s lap only because he wouldn’t let her out of his sight.
“So this Luke character thinks you could be his sister I take it?” Black Jack stated as Molly put a cup of coffee in front of him.
Sage shrugged. “I don’t know and I don’t care what he thinks. I never knew who my father was and my mother isn’t around to confirm or deny it, so it really doesn’t matter now does it?”
“Then why does he hunt you down and hurt you all the time?” Gambler asked.
“Because it matters to him,” Sage admitted. “Even though his father didn’t abide by his marriage vows and slept around, Luke blames me for even existing. I am the evidence of his father’s sins and he doesn’t like it. He couldn’t touch my mother while she was alive but now that she’s dead, he feels he can harass me, hurt me and make my life a hell I can’t escape from.”
“Why?” Black Jack asked. “Didn’t the protection your mother had spill over to you?”
Sage shrugged. “It might have if she’d given a damn but she never did.”
Molly shook her head. “I can’t imagine any mother not caring about her own child.”
Sage looked away. “The only thing my mother cared about was her next fix, whether it was drugs, or booze or a man. She barely knew or cared that I was there at all. She was never mother of the year material.”
Judge heard the hurt and the pain in her voice and he wanted to make it all better for her. There was no way he could but he wanted to. He couldn’t change her past but he could protect her in the future.
“So you think he’ll come back for you?” Gambler asked.
“He will until he gets what he wants from me,” she concluded.
“And what might that be?” Raine wanted to know.
She turned to look at him. “He wants me to be nothing more than a faint memory, nothing more than a hiccup of his nightmare. He wants things to go back to when he was an only child and things that disturbed him to be swept under the rug as always.”
Black Jack snorted. “Well, we ain’t gonna let that happen, you know that right?”
“You may not be able to stop it,” she warned them. “You could be bringing down a lot of heat on your lives and business’s that doesn’t need to be. Nichols can cut you off from your supplies, hold up your jobs and cause people to pull out just by making a few calls. His cohorts will help even if they don’t want the trouble he’ll stir up. They may not like doing it but they will do it, just to keep him happy.”
Black Jack just chuckled. “You don’t know us very well if you think that will bother us. We eat men like him for breakfast little girl.”
“He might just give you a fatal dose of indigestion,” Sage grumbled still feeling that all this might be too risky despite the many people they seemed to get involved. It was dangerous as all hell. She was too used to hiding and surviving while these men were starting a war.
“What else do you know that might help us?” Raine asked. “If the club is going to take out the city council, we need to know everything.”
Sage hesitated then shook her head. She didn’t know for sure and she wasn’t going to speculate or pass on street gossip.
“Spill it, little girl. We need to know everything,” Black Jack ordered as he narrowed his eyes.
She sighed. “Word on the street is that Luke and his friends are running drugs through this town. He wasn’t my mom’s dealer but he was there the night she died. The coroner told me there was enough drugs in my mom’s system to kill three people and that she probably didn’t take them willingly. He found evidence that she was held down while the fatal dose was given to her. He told me there were signs of a struggle but whoever held her, held her tight enough to get the drugs into her system. The bruises on her arms were clear enough to confirm who held her. There were enough swirls and whorls on her arms to get a match. It was Luke. Fingerprints on the syringe were Harry’s but of course, no one did anything about it. She was just another junkie that overdosed. No one cared.”
“Do you know where they deal from?” Gambler asked.
She nodded. “They run a distribution point from and old warehouse down by the river. They have seven drivers that travel with the drugs to other cities.”
“How do you know this?” Gambler asked as he looked at his brothers then back to her.
“If you listen to the people, you’ll find out a lot of gossip but there’s always just enough truth to be heard, if you listen,” Sage insisted. “Living in the shadows you learn what you can believe and what you can’t.”
“How long has he been dealing?” Raine asked.
“Luke likes living large and his dad gives him more money than I can earn in a year but to Luke it was never enough. He started dealing in high school and never quit. Now he makes a living doing it and one thing about Luke, he likes living large. He knows no one can or will touch him.”
“Did Nelson Nichols ever give your mother money for your upkeep?” Black Jack wanted to know.
Sage shrugged. “If he did I never saw it. If he didn’t well... like I said I never saw it. Mom wasn’t the sort who liked to share anything, with anybody, least of all me. She might share her body with anyone that asked, but money? Not bloody likely.” She looked around the table and saw their faces and the sympathy in their eyes and she blanked out her expression. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I survived and grew stronger. I don’t want your pity. I may not have had much growing up but I had enough. I learned to take care of myself and that’s gotten me through the hard times. I’m good to go.”
She got off Judge’s lap, went to his bedroom and closed the door gently behind her.
Black Jack exhaled and looked over at his oldest son. “You’d better be serious about that girl boy. She doesn’t need any more heartbreak.”
“I wasn’t planning on giving her anymore Dad,” Judge told him as he stared at the closed door of his bedroom.
Chapter Five
Sage laid down on the bed and let the tears fall. As usual, she only cried like this when she was alone. She only let the loneliness show then or the rage she’d been born with. No one saw her like this ever and no one ever would.
A short time later, the door opened and Sage closed her eyes quickly. She could hear his footsteps as he neared the bed but she didn’t open her eyes to watch him coming toward her. She felt him kneel on the bed behind her and then draw her into his arms. Her eyes flew open and Judge could see the wetness of her tears on her eye lashes.
Instead of speaking, he drew her close and kissed her. Long, hard and deep, his mouth ravishing hers. Sage moaned as she opened her mouth and immediately, his tongue pushed inside. Their tongues dueled and they both forgot to breathe for a moment.
When they broke apart, Judge pulled her on top of him. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her as his hands roamed her back and cupped her ass. He lifted his hips and ground them against her core.
Sage felt a gush of wetness soaking her panties as she rubbed her hips into his groin. She moaned as he tilted her head to his and ravished her mouth again. Gripping her hair, he pulled her head back and she forgot her pain for a little while.
“I want you,” he whispered into her mouth.
“I want you too.” She whimpered as she nibbled on his lower lip. His beard tickled her chin as she claimed his lips again and again.
“If you don’t want me inside you right now, you have to stop,” he warned her.
Sage paused then looked at him. “I. Want. You...” she whispered. Swallowing hard she added, “But I’ve never done this before, I’m not sure how to do it.”
Judge froze then stared at her with confusion. “You’ve never done this before?” he repeated her statement. “At all?”
Sage dropped her eyes and blushed. “No I’ve never done this before ok? Is that a crime?”
He reached down and tilted her face back to his so she could see his smile and the tender look in his eyes. “No baby that’s not a crime. In fact, I find it incredible that no one has found you yet.” His hands slid under her panties and gripped her ass. “You have the most lushest ass I think I’ve ever had the pleasure of touching.” He gripped the robe she was wearing and pulled it open. Hissing, he groaned at the sight of her bruises. He’d forgotten she was hurt.
Sage rested her forehead on his and closed her eyes. “Please don’t stop.”
“But you’re hurt.”
“You can make me forget the pain,” she whispered. “Please make me forget.”
Judge pulled the robe off her shoulders and gazed at her body. Overlooking the bruised skin, he took note of the rise and fall of her chest as her excitement grew. Leaning forward, his lips brushed the crest of her breast and he grinned when he saw her shiver. Sticking out his tongue, he licked her hard nipple and when she groaned, he sucked the whole nipple into his mouth and rolled his tongue around it. Grinding his hardening cock against her damp panties, he felt the heat rise and he had the urge to rip his own clothes off and bury himself deep inside her.
Instead, he switched from one breast to the other and his hand found its way down her back, under her panties again. This time, his fingers sought her core and he was surprised at how wet she was already and he hadn’t even touched her yet.
Tearing her panties off, his fingers sought the prize and he sank two deep inside her. He groaned at how tight she was and she moaned at his intrusion but she didn’t stop him. Instead, she ground down on his fingers.
Judge couldn’t stop now if he wanted to and he really didn’t want to, he wanted inside her.
Sage’s hands went to his belt and she fumbled with the buckle for a moment before she ripped his zipper down and pushed her hand inside his boxers.
Judge hissed when her fingers touched his hard as hell cock. He groaned and thrust his hips up into her hand and she generously ran her hand down its length. It was so thick she couldn’t get her fingers around it and she pushed his pants and boxers down his hips.
Judge helped her by lifting his hips just enough to get his pants down far enough to free himself. “Fuck,” he growled. “You feel so good... I can’t wait to be inside you.”
Sage threw her head back and gasped. He was rubbing his cock along her core coating it in her juices and she couldn’t take it anymore. When he hit the right spot she pushed down, impaling herself onto him.
Judge froze as he felt himself slip inside her heat. He knew she wasn’t ready for him and he knew she was hurting. He was a bigger man and his equipment was bigger than most. She was so tight she had to have hurt herself. “Angel, are you all right?” He never thought she would take matters into her own hands, so to speak.
“Oh, god yes...” she moaned breathlessly. His intrusion did hurt some and a tear ran down her face but her body was ready for so much more. Wiggling her hips, Judge growled again. His hands held her hips still and he tried to give her time to adjust to him but Sage wanted him to move.
Judge was barely holding onto his control when she rolled her hips and he went deeper. He felt her barrier tear and saw the brief pain on her face, then something happened and all he could see on her face was pleasure. Her body created enough moisture of its own to lubricate his intrusion and he had no problem slipping deeper inside her.
He tightened the hold on her hips so she couldn’t move but that wasn’t what she wanted. “Please...please don’t stop. I need you to move.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Lord, I’ve never felt this kind of feeling before.”
Judge smiled slightly and slammed inside her deep. She gasped then groaned and ground her core down on his pelvic area. He was deep inside her now and she was loving it.
Judge groaned and pulled out only to slam inside her again. Over and over again and again until he felt her body begin to tighten. He growled and tried to hang on but when her walls tightened around him he couldn’t hold one anymore. He roared out her name and erupted inside her. He could feel his hot cum filling her up and that was want he wanted. His cum inside her. He had claimed her fully now and she would belong to him until time stood still for both of them. It might have been over all too quickly but for a first time with a woman, it was the best he’d ever had.
She flew over the edge into ecstasy so hard she almost lost consciousness. After she caught her breath, she came to a rest on his wide chest. Breathing heavy, she tried to catch her breath again. Her ribs protested the deep breaths, but she pushed through it, ignoring the pain as she always had in the past.
Judge held her close but not too tightly. He had to wonder what he did right while he was holding her. He’d never felt that way about sex before, never achieved the highs he had with her, with any other woman. He’d never lost control before either. He had with her. Before, he’d always paced himself and controlled it all. Sweat was drying on his forehead and he brushed her shoulders with kisses.
~*~
Sage opened her eyes and pressed a kiss on his chest. He was still wearing his t shirt but she didn’t care. He’d given her the ultimate gift just now and she wouldn’t have missed that for anything. Even if this didn’t last, she would have her memories to hold onto. This experience might even take the place of some of her other not so nice memories, at least she hoped it would.
She cupped her chin and rested her arms on his chest. Looking him in the eyes, she smiled. “That was beautiful.”
Judge groaned. “It was awesome but over way too soon. I couldn’t hang on. You make me lose control woman and that’s never happened before.” Then he looked down at her with a frown. “Are you all right? I’m not usually so brutal.”
Sage’s smile widened. “I’m great and the pain was over before it began. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
“That was me claiming you, I hope you know that,” he reminded her as he brushed her mouth with a gentle kiss.
She gazed steadily at him and asked, “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He frowned.
“I have enemies that would tear your world apart just to get to me and Luke has a golden pass. With his dad’s position, he’ll never get arrested and he knows it.”
“Don’t be so sure about that sweet girl. Nelson Nichols may not always be in control and if he falls, Luke falls. And never fear, Luke will fall a hell of a lot farther down than his dad.”
“Well, don’t worry about saving either one of them for me.” She growled. “Both of them have earned a place in hell.”
“And if it turns out Nelson is your father?” Judge studied her expression carefully when he asked his question.
“If he was, he should have stepped up a little more. Not one time did he come to see me or stop me on the street. My mom died before she could tell me his name but he was and is no father to me. A sperm donor only, and not even a good one at that.” She shook her head. “I don’t think he lived up to what my mother expected. When she was drunk, she used to tell me she knew my father was married and had other kids but she expected him to leave his wife to take care of her and when he didn’t, I think it broke her, just a little bit. For some reason, she wanted the little worm.” Dropping her head to his chest she added, “I will never understand that. I know she didn’t love him, the only person my mother ever loved was herself. I’ve known that since I was a little kid. A lifetime of being ignored has taught me not to trust anyone but myself. The only one I can count on is me.”
“You can count on me now too baby,” Judge assured her. “I’m in your corner now and me and the brothers will have your back. You aren’t alone anymore.”
“See?” She shook her head. “That’s what I mean. How can you say that? I mean until today we hadn’t hardly said a word to each other in the months since I’ve been serving you guys food.”
“I’ve been watching you the same as you’ve been watching me.” Judge nodded at her. “Sort of got used to having you around the site. The guys who work for us are protective of you too. Brady was awful worried about where you were. He told us a little about your life and how hard it was for you growing up. He even helped us find your place today.”
“Brady McCall?” she exclaimed. “He’s a good man.”
“Yes he is,” Judge agreed. “I also think he regrets not stepping up to help you before today too.”
Sage shook her head. “There was nothing he could have done before now. Luke would have seen to that. He saved himself from getting beaten up on a daily basis when we were in school by staying as far away from it as he did.”
“Instead, you got the beatings.” Judge growled.
She shook her head. “No, those didn’t come until after my mom died. For some strange reason, everything went to hell after she died. I don’t know if it was because Nelson was finally free of her threat or what. After that, Luke just couldn’t let it go. Every time he catches me, it’s that much worse but this time, I think he was using his own product.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Judge frowned.
“He was high when he got to my place, Miles and Harry were too. Kyle had been drinking but he didn’t do much to hurt me. He just stood back and glared at me. He looked as if he hated me and I don’t know why. I mean I never did anything to him either.”
“Which one of them stomped on your back?”
Sage looked into his eyes and didn’t say anything for a moment then she leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers. “Does it really matter?”
“It does to me,” he told her simply.
“It was Kyle,” she whispered after a moment.
Judge didn’t say a word but he nodded his head. He knew it was hard for her to trust him but she took that first step and that was the biggest one of all. “Thank you, angel.” He gently kissed her lips.
“You realize don’t you, that you can’t keep Luke from coming after me, even here I’m not safe. If you try and stop him, he’ll bring the heat down on your MC and your businesses. He can make your lives a living hell. He will find a way to get to me and the next time, he might just kill me.” She felt a rumble begin in his chest.
“Baby, you don’t know us very well if you think we’re gonna roll over and play nice with this prick. He may not know it yet but we’re going to destroy him and his father. By the time we get done with them, they are going to wish we never got started.”
Sage frowned. “But how can you do that?”
Judge smiled. “We got Zipper looking at the flash drive your mom had and we’ve got Trudy looking for anything she can find that would bring Nelson Nichols down. If he’s as dirty as we all know he is, she’ll find something we can use. We have many people in our extended family and most of them fight injustice. You’ll see what I mean when it all goes down.”
Sage sighed, as she still didn’t dare hope that all that would happen to the powers that be in Troy. “You know this town used to be a pretty good place to live. I’ve learned so much just by listening to the stories people tell me. Then Nelson got into office and slowly but surely, he’s ruining the people and places here. I’ve heard the locals talk about it and it breaks my heart to see them struggle. They’re afraid not to vote him into office after all this time. It isn’t that he’s done so much for this town that they want him there anymore but he’s got his boys all over town watching everyone.” She gazed down at his chest and bit her lip.
Judge studied her for a moment then asked, “What aren’t you telling me?”
She looked up at him. “I don’t know if its true or not and I hate to spread gossip but three weeks ago, Mr. Chen at the bakery was mad about some new tax or something and he complained about it to the wrong person. Two days later, his bakery burned to the ground. The Fire Chief claimed it was a short in the wiring but Mr. Chen told him he just had an upgrade and the wiring was updated according to code.”
Judge’s frown grew. “You think Nichols had it burned down?”
She nodded. “That’s what Mr. Chen believes and a whole lot more people believe it too. They’re just afraid to speak up.”
“He’s taking the game to another level if that’s what’s happening.”
Sage shook her head. “You’ll never prove it, even if you try. He’s got ways of keeping things a secret here. He’s got an entire police force willing to do his bidding whether they want to do it or not.”
Judge settled in and smiled at her. “In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t exactly afraid of the cops. We’ve got brothers willing to join us to make our numbers bigger than they can handle. We also have resources that we cannot even talk about. They’ll have our backs, so nobody makes trouble for us. The brothers will watch over our businesses in case Nichols starts something he can’t finish. If he brings a war to the streets of this town, we’ll give him a war.”
“But that’s just it, nobody wants a war. People can get hurt and while that wouldn’t bother Nelson or Luke, it would bother me. He’s ignored me all my life, why can’t he continue to ignore me? Why can’t Luke just leave me the hell alone?”
“Because he’s a pig.” Judge reached down and tipped her face up to his. “But I promise you, he’ll never hurt you again. You will never suffer like that again. I will treat you like the precious angel you are.”
Sage smiled slightly at his sweet words. “I believe you.” Laying her forehead on his chest she whispered, “I don’t know why or how but I believe you.”
“Good, because from now on, we’ll protect you. The whole family and the whole MC.”
“Ok.”
Judge pulled her into a kiss that melted her insides. He felt his cock growing hard again and that surprised him. He’d never gotten hard this fast before, especially right after having sex. But he was getting hard again. Her scent was driving him wild and his hands began roaming her body again.
He spread kisses all over her face and when he brushed against her neck she hissed. He opened his eyes and saw her wince in pain and his lust cleared as he noticed her bruises again. For a moment, he’d forgotten about them. He would bet that all the wonderful things he just did with her hadn’t helped her body either. He felt a pang at this. He needed to be more patient. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them again, he found her looking back at him. “I’m sorry baby. I forgot myself.”
Sage looked sad for a moment. “So did I. You make me feel so good I almost missed the fact that I don’t look so good.”
“You look beautiful,” he insisted.
Sage raised an eyebrow as she stared at him for a moment. “You like a body covered in bruises then?”
“Not usually.” He stared into her eyes. “And never when that body belongs to you. It’s just that you make me feel things I’ve never felt before. When I look at you and see how someone hurt you, I feel a rage inside me that I can’t control. I want to hunt down those four men and beat the shit out of them just like they beat you.”
Shhh...” She raised her fingers to cover his mouth. “My bruises will heal and the pain will go away. It always does. You promised to protect me and I think I’ll hold you to that. I’m tired of being someone else’s punching bag. The fury inside Luke is growing and one day, I think he’ll kill me. Already, he’s tipping toward insanity to where he can’t tell the difference between right and wrong anymore. I mean he’s always been a bully but that’s fading and now, he’s working toward something else altogether. He is a monster now. I don’t doubt for a moment he’ll kill someone someday. He really wants me dead for some reason and I don’t think it has anything to do with my being his sister.”
“He’ll never get the chance to come near you again.” Judge growled. “He’ll have to go through me and my brothers first.”
Just then, his phone pinged. Judge groaned and began searching for the offending phone. He found it underneath him, lost in the messy covers. Reading the message that was left, he sighed hard. Tapping his reply in, he looked up at Sage. “Deke wants us at the clubhouse. Apparently, they found out something already and he needs to talk to you.”
Sage turned toward the windows and was surprised to see how late in the day it was. She swung her gaze back over and grabbed at his phone to check the time. “Oh wow, its late afternoon already. How the hell did that happen?”
Judge smiled. “We got busy getting it on.”
Sage blushed deep red. She moaned in embarrassment as she tipped her forehead down to his chest.
Judge studied her for a moment then reached down to lift her chin. “Do you regret what just happened between us?”
Sage closed her eyes and shook her head. “Good lord no. How can I regret visiting heaven? How can I regret sharing that with you? No, regret is not what I was feeling at all.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
Sage closed her eyes and blushed again. “I can’t help it, I want to forget everything else and do it again,” she whispered with a sigh.
Judge smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “Angel, that’s a no brainer. We will do that again and again for a long time to come. And we when we do I will try to make it last a lot longer.” Then he sighed. “But right now, we have to get to the clubhouse. Deke has more questions. We need to shower first.”
Sage sighed but started getting up. Then she remembered she had nothing to wear. She looked over at him and bit her lower lip.
Judge glanced her way and frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Am I supposed to go in your bathrobe?” she wondered. “Because I believe your mother took my clothes home with her and I didn’t exactly have time to pack a bag when I left.”
Judge looked upward to the ceiling. “Fuck a duck,” he grumbled under his breath. “I’m sorry baby. We should have gotten you some clothes.” Walking over to his dresser, he found her a shirt and a pair of shorts. They would be too big for her but it was all he had. “I’ll have to get you some clothes later.” He laid them on the bed and grabbed her hand.
Taking her into the bathroom, he turned it on and slipped his t-shirt off.
Sage just stared at him in awe. “Wow...” She barely blinked. The man in front of her was a wall of muscle, yes she’d felt him against her but seeing him without any clothes? She then blinked. And he wants me?
Judge just stared back at her. “Ready for the shower?”
She nodded and stepped in.
Judge immediately soaped up a loofah and washed her body.
Sage felt tingles all over and her thoughts were less than pure. How would it be to have him... in the shower?
He grinned at her. “Later, I will show you a few things we can do in here.”
Her mouth popped open. How did he know?
He laughed. “Your nipples are hard and you had this beautiful dazed look on your face. Believe me it was my thought exactly.” He washed her hair and rinsed her off.
Grabbing the loofah, she wanted to return the favor and get to touch all that beautiful skin of his.
Judge grasped her hands. “Nope. If you touch me, we will never leave this damn stall. Just go dry off. You’re too tempting.”
Sage smiled shyly and got out.
After drying off, she slipped on the outfit he’d given to her. At least she would be covered. Looking down, she revised her thought... well, mostly covered. She stared down at her bare feet. She wasn’t going to say anything though, she didn’t like to point out her lack when she didn’t have to.
Judge came out and grabbed his clothes from the dresser.
Sage just watched as he dressed and what a show it was. He had these powerful looking thighs and the rest of him was the same ...all power. He had a beautiful tat on his back that she admired it was a huge gavel with an eagle behind it. Well, his name was Judge, so maybe that explained the tat. She shivered with need. She never felt this heat between her thighs before, nor all these tingles and yearning. It was heady and scary too. Was this love? Why hadn’t she heard about these feelings before? She sighed. No, she never would have heard about something a glorious as this...not in her world.
Chapter Six
––––––––
They left his house a few minutes later and when Judge swung his leg over his bike, she got on behind him. Grabbing his waist, she held on when he took off. The ride wasn’t a long one but she felt it was long enough. The roar of the bike didn’t scare her but instead it gave her a thrill she’d never felt before. The wind in her hair, the free feeling of it and she got an understanding of why these guys rode bikes. It offered a freedom she never had before and she loved it. She couldn’t wait to take a longer ride with him sometime.
When they stopped she opened her eyes. It had made her forget reality. She now had to face it all again. Swinging her leg off the bike, she missed seeing the gravel and stumbled a bit.
Judge grabbed her arm then looked down and saw her bare feet. Lifting his head, he glared at her.
She gulped and tried to look away but he wouldn’t let her. Cupping her cheek, he pulled her around to look at him. “Baby, after we’re done here, we’ll get you some new clothes and shoes, okay?”
Sage swallowed hard and nodded. She was pathetic with nothing of her own, but she needed to just get over the pride thing. Right now, she should just feel glad she was with this man. She pushed away the doubt that she was too lucky. Then she stepped back and let him lead her into the clubhouse where everyone else was waiting on them.
To her, just seeing the dozens of people staring at her made her nervous. These men were huge, imposing and they were all glaring in her direction.
She slipped behind Judge’s body and she so wanted to reach out her hand and take his. Judge reached back, drew her to his side, and marched her up to the main table where every chair was filled. She knew Deke, Sam, Black Jack, Iceman and Mountain but the rest of the men were strangers to her.
Looking around the room, she did take note of the fact there were no other women present. That made her gulp a bit but she didn’t let on that she was nervous.
Judge crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Deke. “What’s this all about Deke? There hasn’t been time enough for you to find that much yet.”
Deke smiled at the couple in front of him. “Well now, that depends of what you’re looking for doesn’t it?” Glancing over at Sage, he noted her clothes and had to raise his eyebrow. “Do you have any idea what was on that flash drive you gave us?”
Sage glanced at Judge then back at Deke. “I have no clue. It was my mother’s business not mine. Why, what did you find?”
“We found out something I very much doubt Nelson wants the world to know.” He grinned.
“And what’s that got to do with me?”
“Don’t you want to know what she had on him?” Sam asked with a snicker. “Zipper here, our techman found a whole lot.”
Sage paused to glance at this Zipper and shrugged. “I don’t really care one way or the other. Whatever she had on him must have been worth something but it has nothing to do with me. She told me time and time again, never to mess with her business.”
Deke stared at her for a moment and he had to ask, “You really don’t care do you?”
Sage rolled her eyes. “Am I supposed to care? I would have to have feelings for one or both of them to actually care what happened between them. They never gave a damn about me and I learned a long time ago not to care about the woman who gave me birth. Let’s just say, she never appreciated having me around and leave it at that.”
“His blood is part of you, don’t you care about that?” Mountain asked.
“No I don’t. He never gave a rat’s ass about me and I got along just fine without him. He was never there for me my whole life and about the only good thing my mother did for me was she gave me some protection against Luke. It wasn’t until she died that he became more aggressive toward me. The fact that he deals the drugs she overdosed on is no real surprise to me.”
“Did he have anything to do with her death?” Sam wanted to know.
Sage glanced over at Black Jack and she saw him nod. “My mom overdosed but not willingly. Someone held her down and administered a lethal dose. There were fingerprint on her arms and fingerprints on the syringe that didn’t belong to her. I had to ask the coroner and he didn’t want to give me the info but he finally did. He did tell me it would make no difference whether I knew or not because nothing would come of it anyway. But I knew that already. He also told me he wouldn’t testify against Luke or Harry. He knew if he did, he would never work again and he had a family to support.”
“So what did you find that’s so important?” Judge asked his president.
“Seems ole Nelson has a mean streak in him,” Sam informed them. “When he drinks too much just about anything can happen and one night a long time ago, anything did happen. He was with a stripper having a little more fun than what’s legal and when he woke up the stripper, Star, I believe her name was, was dead and he was covered in her blood.” He paused and looked at Sage. “The club’s manager Simon Grant found them early the next morning. He got rid of the body and Nelson paid him hush money. But your mother saw them carrying the body out of the club then she and Nelson hooked up and he’d been paying her ever since, right up to the day she died.”
Sage started when she heard the stripper’s name. She’d heard that name before. She had seen the man they called Simon Grant too. He had been to visit her mother off and on when she was a kid. She never liked Simon Grant. He always had secrets and she didn’t trust him. She knew from experience that he liked to hurt people too.
Deke noted her uneasy manner and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Sage started to shake her head but Deke wasn’t going to let this slide. “What’s wrong?” he asked again. “If you know something, you need to tell us. We have to know all the facts here, not just the ones you think we need to hear.”
“Simon Grant is not a very good man,” Sage finally told him. “He likes to hurt people and he’s a real nasty sort of guy. Not one I care to meet in a dark alley, if you know what I mean. I’d seen him with my mom a few times while growing up and he scared even her.” Shrugging she went on to tell them, “I’ve seen Nelson Nichols and I’ve seen Simon Grant. Out of the two of them, I’d be more afraid of Simon when he’s drinking than I ever would be of Nelson.”
Deke thought for a moment then looked around the room. Everyone there had the same look in his eyes as he did. He looked over at Zipper and nodded slightly.
Zipper got up and went over to the corner where he had his computers set up. Sitting down, he began to type.
“We found a money trail from Nelson to you mother,” Deke informed her. “He was paying her three grand a month in blackmail.”
Sage’s eyes widened and she stumbled against Judge. He caught her in his arms and held her up. She stared at Deke like he was a two horned monster. For a moment, she couldn’t even speak.
Then she cleared her throat and asked, “H-he was paying her three grand a-a month?”
Deke nodded. “From right after Star’s murder up until the day she died.”
She turned in Judge’s arms and placed her face in his chest. She was stunned. Her mom had money coming in the whole time she’d been growing up. She remembered growing up with nothing, not even food in the house some days. No clothing, shoes or anything new. But her mom was getting money the whole time? What little feelings she had for the woman who gave her life evaporated in that instant. She realized her mother never really loved her at all. She’d just been a means to an end all her life. What she thought she knew was nothing more than a lie.
Wiping away the single tear that rolled down her cheek she turned again to face Deke. She had to know everything. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “What else did you find?”
“Your mother was into some other shady stuff,” Deke told her with a glare in his eyes. “We found a ledger of sorts in that notebook dealing in shipments coming and going. These shipments started about ten years ago and suddenly, stopped six years ago. Ten years ago, there were three shipments in and out of town but gradually the shipments increased to ten a year or more. The last recording was April 6th six years ago.”
“She died a few days after April 6th, six years ago,” Sage informed them.
“Any idea what these shipments were?” Sam asked.
Sage began to tremble as her darkest fears began to rise. This was her nightmare coming to light in the middle of the day. This particular nightmare only came in the middle of the night, usually when she was awakened by shouting and screams of pain. Her mother’s screams were only part of the nightmare, there were others screaming. She never had the courage to look, instead her small body always crawled under her covers, and she covered her eyes until the shouting stopped. She would stay trapped under her blankets huddling in the corner until the sun came up and the nightmares were gone.
She looked at the men sitting there, her eyes were blank with fear. No, she couldn’t tell them about this part of her life. She couldn’t tell them because she never had the strength to look out her door and see for herself what was happening, except that one time. One time, she’d looked out her door and her mind went blank at what she witnessed.
She licked her dry lips and shivered in Judge’s arms but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words they wanted to hear. A chill was growing inside her and it was one she could stop. Instead, she shook her head in denial. “I don’t know and I don’t want to know.”
Then the fears rose to another level inside her. She could feel the truth clawing at her insides waiting to come out and she felt lightheaded. Memories of this surfaced and showed their ugly face. The chill was now a frozen feeling from deep down in her soul. Her nightmare was trying to consume her and she couldn’t let it out. She whimpered and tried to stay focused but she couldn’t stop the images of what she saw that night. It was too much and she fainted dead away in Judge’s arms, as she let the nightmare take her.
~*~
Out cold, Sage missed the alarm on everyone’s faces. Chairs were pushed back as they all scrambled to figure out what happened.
Judge swore when he felt her suddenly slump against him and he almost let her slide to the floor before he caught hold of her and gathered her in his arms then carried her over to the sofa. He called out for Raine and everyone rushed over to her.
“What the hell happened?” Deke yelled as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Raine was kneeling beside her checking out her vitals. He turned to Deke. “She fainted. Whether from the beating she took or something else, I don’t know yet. We’ll have to wait until she comes to, then find out but her pulse is racing way to fast. Her body couldn’t take it and it just shut her down.”
“What the fuck is she so afraid of?” Black Jack asked no one in particular.
“Whatever it is, I think we should find out don’t you?” Sam asked quietly.
Judge glared at him.
Sam sighed and shook his head at Judge.
Deke also stared at Judge who looked furious. “I hate to agree with my old man, but we do have to find out.
~*~
A few minutes later, Sage gasped and opened her eyes. She was laying on the sofa and all the bikers were standing around her. She tried to sink deeper into the cushions.
Judge leaned down and gathered her up in his arms again. Then he sat down and pulled her snuggly onto his lap. “I got you baby,” he whispered in her ear. “I got you and I’m never letting you go. Whatever you need I got your back.”
Sage turned her confused gaze to his. She could read the truth in his eyes and she nodded slowly. “Ok.”
Deke knelt in front of her and she turned to look at him. She saw concern in his eyes and he knew he was going to ask. She just didn’t know if she could put it all into words. She shuddered.
“What happened?”
Licking her dry lips, she tried to focus and push down the fear inside her. After a long moment, she began telling them some of her story, “When I was little we moved around a lot. Someone had turned my mom into social services when I was four, for not taking care of me, but she fought to get me back and after that, she made sure she took care of me at least until she didn’t anymore, but at least for a while, things were good for us. Anyway, one dump was just that, a dump. I hated that old house. It smelled bad and there were rooms I wasn’t allowed to go into. They were always locked. I had my own room but it wasn’t really a room at all, more of a closet at the top of the stairs. I didn’t even have a real bed while we were there, instead I had a pile of blankets I slept on.”
“Where was this house?’ Sam asked gently.
“It was just outside of town. We never had neighbors, but we had a lot of company, they usually came late at night and when they did, I knew I had to stay in my room. Sometimes if my mom knew they were coming, she would lock me in my room. I knew I couldn’t ask about what was going on, she would scream at me and tell me it was her business and I shouldn’t know her business.”
She paused long enough to lick her dry lips again and someone handed her a glass of water. She drank it down then cupped the glass in her trembling hands. “I think I was six when something happened. Mom forgot to lock my door and three men came into the house. Mom wasn’t happy with them and one of the men smacked her. Then they brought in three young girls. The girls were scared and one had a black eye. Mom started screaming at the men asking what the hell were they doing. She kept saying the girls couldn’t stay there with her. One of them backhanded her again, telling her they needed the girls to stay here for a couple of days. When Mom protested, the men told her she had no choice. But they told her not to worry that one of them would stay with the girls as they were worth more to them than her.”
When Sage finished she was trembling again and Judge wrapped his arms around her tighter. “I didn’t see anymore than that because I went back to my room and I stayed there. I was so scared I couldn’t sleep but at some point, I must have. When I woke up, I tried to get ready for school but my door was locked. I couldn’t get out. I knew I couldn’t let anyone know I was there, so I was trapped until my mom unlocked my door. I found some food and water next to my bed and I was there for two days before I was let out. My mom told me I had to shut my mouth and never tell anyone what happened. She made me swear I wouldn’t tell her secret and rather than take another beating, I swore.” She shrugged. “I didn’t know what was going, I just hoped those three girls were ok.”
Deke got to his feet, his eyes were troubled at what she’d told him. Looking down at her he asked, “How old are you? How long ago did this happen?”
Sage frowned. “I was six so it happened about sixteen years ago as I’m twenty two now.”
Deke tightened his lips. He was remembering something that happened a long time ago. He looked over at Gator and saw the same look in the other man’s eyes. All they ever had was speculation before now about what was going on in their town but now they both knew the speculation was right on the money.
Sam noted the look in his son’s eyes. “What’s going on here boy?” He motioned at Sage. “What is she remembering?”
Deke sighed hard. Looking down at Sage, he told his story, “A few years after I took over the club, another club tried to move into Troy. They called themselves Lords of the Devil. They were true 1 percenters and thought they could just push us out, take over our businesses and run this town. They were really mean bastards and they didn’t care who got hurt. Well, we weren’t going to let them come her and tear us down so we fought back. We heard rumors they were into some really bad shit and when we found their drugs and guns on the street, we destroyed them. There were also rumors of a human trafficking route coming down from Canada through Troy on its way to Boston. We looked for possible places but never found anything. Then we thought it would come down to an all out war. The whole town was living in fear, until Nelson Nichols put his foot down. He called in the state police and drove the other MC out of town. That’s what got him into the office of Mayor and he’s been there ever since.”
Sage shivered in Judge’s arms. She tried to sink deeper in his embrace. “They didn’t leave though did they?” she whispered.
Deke snapped his head around to stare at her. “They left for parts unknown. We never saw them in town anymore.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “You might not have seen them but I did. They came and went from my mom’s place for the next five years or so. They would bring in whatever they were transporting and they used her house as a stopover point. They would bring shit in and other people would come and get it. I saw Simon with them more than once. I even saw Nelson once or twice. He knew they were using his town as a stopping point. He didn’t like it but he didn’t stop it either.”
Deke looked over at his dad and then to the other men standing there. Then he looked back at Sage. “When was the last time you saw any of them here in town?”
Sage wrinkled her forehead. “Maybe a year ago? The man was younger than the usual and he didn’t want to be seen but he was with Luke and Luke told him not to worry, his dad had everyone in town under his thumb.”
“How the hell do you know what Luke told him?” Gator asked.
“I got really good at hiding from Luke when he was looking for me. One day, I saw him coming before he saw me and ducked behind some dumpsters and the two of them walked right past me without seeing me. Luke told the other guy he was looking for someone he wanted the other guy to take with him when he left town. He was even willing to pay for him to take me. He laughed with the other guy saying he’d make a bundle off the deal.” She paused then added, “They stopped almost in front of where I was hiding and talked openly about who they were looking for. Luke described me to a T. The other guy laughed and said he would enjoy breaking me. He said the club always liked breaking in the new girls and that if I were good enough, I’d find a good home with them.” Tears ran down her face. “Luke just laughed at the thought of them using me. I didn’t know who the other guy was because he wasn’t wearing a vest at the time but he did have a tattoo on his arm. It claimed he was a Lords of the Devil.”
Deke dropped down to his knee. Reaching out, he brushed her tears away. Judge glared at him but Deke ignored him. “You’re safe here with us. You did the right thing hiding from him but you won’t have to hide anymore when this is done. If, and I stress the if he makes it to prison, he’ll find his arrogance won’t do him any good in there. He’ll learn to feel the same fear you’ve lived with your whole life.” Deke got back to his feet and glared at the brothers. “Looks like we have a club to find. I want to know where the Lords are operating out of and I want to be able to link them to our Mayor. I want to destroy them once and for all, along with the Nichols’ son. I want both of them broken and bloody before they go to prison for the rest of their lives. We are going to crush them both.”
“You’ll need to take out most of the city council as well, you realize that don’t you?” Sam asked his son.
Zipper got up and walked over to where they were all standing and handed Deke a piece of paper. He looked a bit grim as Deke read the paper in his hand. It was the research he found on Simon Grant.
Deke read the information and swore, then crumbled the paper in his hands. He glared at Sage then looked at his men. “We found our connection between Simon Grant and the Lords of the Devils.”
“And what would that be?” Sam wanted to know.
“Simon and the President of the Lords are brothers. Their president’s name is Aiden Grant.”
“Do we know where the Lords call home?” Gator asked.
“Their base camp is Glen Falls,” Zipper informed them.
“That’s only about forty-five minutes from here. An easy enough ride.” Sam ran his hands through his hair. “But now, we have to prove it somehow. All this shit went down a long time ago.”
“The house is still there,” Sage told them quietly.
“Well, that’s just fine but a house can’t talk, little girl.” Sam raised a brow at her.
Sage sighed heavily. “Maybe these walls can.”
Chapter Seven
––––––––
“What the fuck does that mean?” Deke demanded as he snapped his head around to glare at her.
“My mother was nobody’s fool. She kept a record of the times the Lords came around. She hid the records from everyone and when we left we left in a hurry in the middle of the night, I don’t think she had time to get her records though. They might still be there.”
“Why did you leave in the middle of the night?” Gator asked.
“A couple of months before we ran, something happened. Somehow, the Lords suspected her of stealing from them and that was trouble for her and she knew it.” She shrugged. “We stayed hidden for a couple of months then Simon found her. He beat her bad before she convinced him she didn’t steal from the club. He went after the real thief and found him and the stuff he took from the club. He literally beat the man and took him for judgement to the club. No one has seen him since.”
“And who was this guy?” Deke asked. “And just what was it he took from the Lords?”
“Kyle’s dad, Jason Brecker.” Her eyes got huge in her face. “He must have known who turned his dad in to Simon, no wonder he hates me!” She swallowed hard. “He took a small box of guns and a couple kilos of heroin. My mom didn’t know it was even taken until she remembered Luke and his friends had been there around the time the things went missing. That was the only time Jason had come along with them and then she remembered Luke distracted her long enough for the stuff to go missing. When she confronted Luke about the stuff, he told her he didn’t take it but that Jason might have. That’s when Luke got pissed off because Jason turned around and sold it to Luke and got a hell of a lot of money for it.” Shaking her head, she turned her face into Judge’s chest and tried very hard not to cry.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, baby,” Judge reminded her.
“Again, I am being judged for her sin’s.” Sage shook her head. “Is this ever going to stop?”
“It stops here and now,” Judge assured her.
“Is that why you guys ran out in the middle of the night?” Deke asked.
She shook her head. She couldn’t tell them the real reason they left that night. She had never spoken of the incident before, the nightmare and it was hard for her to even bring it up now.
“So, if your mom didn’t get to take her records where would she have hidden them?” Sam finally asked.
Sage turned her head and stared at him. “I’d have to show you, it’s kind of hard to explain.”
“We need to see if that stuff is still there,” Sam insisted.
“I know you do,” Sage whispered. “But I don’t want to go back there. That house gives me nothing but nightmares.”
“We’ll be there with you Angel,” Judge whispered in her ear.
“Promise?” she begged.
“I promise.”
“Ok, I’ll go,” Sage reluctantly agreed.
She went to get up off his lap but Judge held her back. He looked over at Deke. “Give us some time to get her some new clothes. She can’t wear my clothes forever and she needs some new things, like shoes.”
Gambler nodded. “Yeah, they really trashed her house and left her with nothing. They dumped bleach on her clothing and tore everything else up.”
“But she shouldn’t be seen in town, not just yet anyway,” Black Jack insisted.
Sam nodded. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean somebody else can’t get her some clothes and shoes.”
“I can go,” a woman piped up from the kitchen. “I just got here but I can go get her some clothes and stuff.”
Gator looked at Sage. “My wife, Reva.” He walked over to his wife and wrapped her in his arms. “Are you sure baby?”
Reva smiled and patted his arm. “Yeah, I’m sure. Nobody will bother me.”
“Well, I’m going with you to make sure.” He nodded.
Reva knew enough not to argue with her man when he had his mind made up so she got a slip of paper and handed it to Sage. “Hey, um Sage. I’m Reva by the way. I’m married to Gator. Just write down your sizes and what you need.”
Judge reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Handing her some cash, Sage blushed red. When he noticed her face, he whispered, “I take care of my own and you belong with me. That’s just the way it is now, so get used to it.”
Sage stared at him and read the truth in his eyes. “But no one has ever taken care of me before. It might take a while to get used to it.” With shaky hands, she quickly wrote down a few things and handed the list back to Reva.
“Ok, we’ll be back soon.” Reva and Gator left.
Deke motioned for everyone to come back to the table.
When everyone was seated Deke told her, “You know we’re going after Nichols and everyone associated with him. We need to know whatever you can tell us about his affairs. What he was doing and what your mother was involved in. We can’t have any secrets here. Secrets could get one of us killed and I’m not going to let that happen.”
“You’ve said that before.” Sage nodded. “But I really don’t know anything more than what I’ve told you. I was ten years old. I never knew my mom was getting money from Nelson at all. She lied about that my entire life.” Shrugging she said, “You hear shit on the street all the time but every time you hear it, the story changes just enough you don’t know what’s true or not.”
“We know that sweetheart,” Sam said. “But each rumor has at least a kernel of truth in it. We just need to weed out what the truth really is.”
Sage rested against Judge’s chest. “Well, all I can tell you is the people on the street are getting nervous about something.”
“About what?” Deke frowned as he looked around the room. No one else seemed to know about this either.
“Well, that’s the thing isn’t it?” She suggested. “Over the past week, I’ve heard rumors about our Mayor bringing in new jobs but the company that wants to come in might be associated with the mob. Then I heard that he was opening up a new shipping route, for what I have no idea but the people are afraid of what he wants to run through here.”
“We should get Amos to see what he can find out,” Deke suggested.
Sage bit her bottom lip.
Sam noticed it. “What else have you heard girl?”
“I’ve seen some new people hanging around town. Others have noticed them too.” She looked over at Deke. “People are getting scared. That is never a good thing. Mistakes are made when people are afraid.”
“What kind of people?” Deke wanted to know. “What are they doing?”
“That’s just it, nobody knows who they are or what they want but they are watching the whole town.”
Deke got up and walked away to make a phone call. He was calling Amos to find out if what she said was true. He returned and sat down staring at Sage the whole time. “I just spoke to someone in town and he confirmed what you just told us. He has a finger on the pulse of Troy. He’s going to have his men check out the newcomers and see what they can find out. Meantime, we have to solidify our position and get more bodies here. We’ll need protection for our businesses and around here. We all have families to protect and if war is coming to Troy, we need to get our numbers up.”
Sage bit her lips again and was wondering if she should tell them what else she knew.
Deke looked at her and sighed. “More bad news?”
She shook her head. “Not really. I might have a friend who knows more about the strangers. His name is Angus Neil and he hangs out at the southside gym. He’s a janitor there.”
Deke grabbed his phone and relayed the message to Amos. When he hung up, he nodded at Sage. “Amos knows who Angus is and he said he would check with him right away. Maybe between the two of them, we’ll have some answers soon.”
Just then, Deke’s phone rang and when he answered it, he frowned as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the call. When he hung up, he looked over at Judge and Sage. “That was Cody down at the police station. Your landlord Mike just called in a disturbance in which he said you just tore up your place. He said when he got there you ran off, so he went inside and saw all the damage. He said he wants you arrested for destroying his rental.”
“Fuck him and the horse he rode in on. She hasn’t been there all damn day.” Judge growled. “We found her unconscious on the floor early this morning.”
Deke nodded. “I know but the warrant is being written out at the courthouse as we speak. Nelson made a call and got Judge Helcourt back to the courthouse to sign the warrant.”
“Well then, we’ll just have to make sure the cops can’t find her until this is over,” Sam concluded. “The cops won’t come here looking for her and no one else has any right to cross our lines. So all we have to do is just keep her here under wraps until this blows over.”
“Who is this Mike guy?” Mountain asked.
“His name is Mike Benson.” Sage sighed as she told them. “He’s friends with Luke and he’s been a bastard to me and the other neighbors around my place for years. Because he hangs with Luke, he thinks he’s protected and can pretty much do what he wants to. I think Luke is using him to keep an eye on me. Of course, I can’t prove it but how else would he know where I lived? It’s not like I advertise my address or anything. Most people can’t find me because I don’t want to be found. Yet, he finds me every time I move.”
“What kind of stuff has this Mike tried to pull?” Deke asked. “What’s he done to you?”
“He doubled my rent in less than a month,” she explained. “He comes and goes from my place when I’m not there. He claims someone told him I was having loud parties and wanted to see for himself. I found him there on several occasions looking through my things. I think he was looking for something in particular. I always know when he’s been there because he isn’t a tidy searcher and he always leaves my place a mess.” She looked away and added, “I’m sure he told the police how I went on a rampage and broke all my windows and bashed in my own door. Then went out and wrecked my own food cart and just walked away.”
“That’s exactly what he said!” Deke exclaimed. “How did you know?”
“This isn’t the first time he’s done this.” She sighed in disgust.
“Have you been arrested before because of him?” Judge growled.
Sage nodded. “Twice so far. The first time the courts charged me a cleanup fee. It took every penny I had to pay it. The second time, it happened I got 40 hours of community service. I was told if it happened again, the judge said I would go to jail. Mike just smirked at the hearing and walked out of the courtroom thinking he was hot shit.”
Judge and Black Jack both looked furious at her news.
“You let us worry about Mike Benson.” Black Jack growled. “We’ll set him right.”
“But we can’t do anything yet,” Gambler stated.
“He’s right, dammit,” Black Jack agreed reluctantly. “We have to wait and lower the boom on the whole fucking bunch of them, all at the same time. Otherwise, Mike will have a chance to let Luke and his dad know and then we’ll lose the element of surprise, and right now that’s all we got.”
Deke nodded. “Yeah and we still have to verify the reports Sage’s mother left behind for us.”
“Don’t forget we need to find out who these strangers are and what they want in Troy,” Sam added. “And why our Mayor is letting them come here. You can bet they aren’t here to spread good around town. Not when the people are getting nervous.”
“Ok,” Deke nodded. “I’ll have one of the brothers keep an eye on Mike while the rest of us collect more information to use against them all. I called Pappy earlier today and Trudy said she would get back to us as soon as she got anything.”
Sage turned and looked at Judge. “You really need my mom’s records don’t you?”
“Yeah baby, they would help fill in the holes so we don’t miss anything.”
She planted her forehead against his chest. “I really hate this, you know that right?”
“Angel, we all hate this,” he assured her. “Sometimes we don’t have a choice in what life tosses our way though and this is one of those times. We have to see this through. Win or lose, we have to protect this town and our families, not necessarily in that order.”
She looked at the window and noted the lateness of the day. Soon it would be dark outside and she knew that old house would be waiting for her. She really hated that house and if those old walls could talk, she knew they would spill her secrets too. Along with her worst nightmare. She didn’t know if she could face that in the dark but she knew these guys wouldn’t or couldn’t wait for daybreak.
She glanced at Judge and nervously licked her bottom lip. “Maybe I should just tell you guys where mom hid her record book. I mean if the cops are looking for me, I maybe shouldn’t be going anywhere they can find me.”
Judge just looked at her for a long moment. He could see she was upset but he didn’t think it had anything to do with the cops looking for her, or Mike or Luke. No, this went deeper than that. He had to find out what was going on in her head. “What’s wrong baby?”
Sage shook her head but didn’t say anything.
Judge pulled her into his arms and asked again, “What’s wrong?”
Sage just soaked in his heat for a moment then shook her head. “That house has bad juju. Nothing good ever happened there.”
“What does that mean?”
“Bad things happened there,” she repeated as her body shook.
“What bad things?”
“I can’t talk about it,” she whispered. “It’s a bad secret. One I’m not allowed to talk about.”
Judge looked at her and saw nothing but fear in her eyes. “Angel, are you all right?”
Sage began to tremble. “No I don’t think I am.” She tried to distance herself but Judge wouldn’t let her go. “I can’t go back there. I can’t go into that house again. He’s waiting there for me in the dark place.” She was becoming hysterical now and everyone was gathering around her. The fear she’d lived with for sixteen years had finally broken out of her subconscious and as hard as she tried—it wasn’t going back in.
Her heart was racing as she flipped back in time to when she was a little girl. Her breathing increased and sweat beaded on her forehead. “Nooo...” she whimpered as her eyes glazed over as more memories burst from her subconscious. She wrapped her arms around her belly and began rocking back and forth.
Judge was concerned about her and held her tighter.
Raine knelt down on the floor in front of them and reached out to check her pulse but she reared back from him in fear. “I didn’t want to do it! I didn’t want to do it.” She whimpered, so lost in her memories she couldn’t think straight.
“What didn’t you want to do?” Judge whispered in her ear, hoping to get through to her. “It’s ok Angel, we know you didn’t want to do it.”
Sage turned her head and snuggled her face into his neck. This was now the point where she needed to get it out. The nightmare. The night she knew what death looked like. “That bad man was hurting that girl, she was screaming and he was laughing and I couldn’t stand it anymore. Mom just stood there and let it happen, she wouldn’t even try to help but I couldn’t let him hurt her anymore. When... he threw down the knife to hurt her some more I picked it up... then there was so much blood. Mom was screaming at me.” Sage pulled her hair down almost to the point of pulling it out of her head.
Judge grabbed her wrists to stop her from hurting herself.
Sage was so lost in her own nightmare she didn’t realize it, instead the words kept coming and memories spilled out, “... the girl was screaming and crying, all covered in blood and the man— he just stared up at the ceiling. Mom began slapping me and when I hit the wall, she dragged me to my room and locked me in. A few hours later, she unlocked the door and made me help her drag his body to the basement where we—dumped him in a hole and then she made me watch her shovel dirt on him. She was screaming at me the whole time. She kept telling me I did this, so I should be the one who buried him. W-when she was done, she made me promise to never speak of him again ever.”
The men in the room all looked troubled as they listened.
“The whole house was so quiet. And dark. I hated the darkness. Nothing good ever happened in the dark. She told me I did a bad thing and if they caught me, they would kill me. That she wasn’t gonna die because of something I did. She slapped me again and told me she would hand me over to them if they came looking for him. She said this was my fault and she wouldn’t hide my sin, not from those men. T-then we had to leave our house and find a place to hide and how much she hated me for making her do—that.” Her words were broken and barley loud enough for everyone to hear but they got the general idea of what happened that night sixteen years ago.
“Where did she take you?” Sam asked her quietly.
“We moved to Albany for a while. She found us a place to stay but she told me I couldn’t be seen because if those men found us, she would hand me over to them and they would really enjoy hurting me before they killed me.”
Deke’s fingers curled into fists and his frown deepened as he listened to her story. He studied her body language and saw she was terrified at reliving her own personal hell. How her mother could do what she did to her child was criminal.
“How long did you live in Albany?” Judge whispered.
“We lived there for a long time. I missed and entire school year, but we finally moved back to Troy. She barely spoke to me, she never really cared whether I was there or not. But when we finally came back, she liked me even less. I learned to stay out of her way after that.” She stopped talking and looked at Judge. “Please don’t hate me. I don’t think I could bear it if you hated me.” She hung her head and everyone watched as tears dripped down on her clothing.
Judge’s heart broke as she wept. Gathering her in his arms, he just held her close to him. “Oh baby, how could I hate you? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She looked up and his heart broke at the expression in her eyes.
“But I killed that man. I committed a moral sin.” She began to scratch at her arms. “I felt so dirty. She wouldn’t even let me wash the blood off my skin for two whole days.”
Then men all looked horrified as this part even got to most of them.
“Honey, you did what you had to do,” Sam assured her. “That man deserved to die. No man should ever hurt a woman and the fact that he liked hurting that girl just showed the world he was a bastard.”
She turned her head to stare at Judge. “And you? How do you feel about what I did?”
“I think he deserved what he got.” Judge growled. “You stood your ground and you did what you had to do. You tried to save a young woman, Sage. No one here will blame you for that.”
Chapter Eight
––––––––
Sage looked deep into his eyes and read the truth there. Then she looked at the others and the same truth could be seen in their eyes as well. She nodded slowly. “I can’t go back to that house but I will try and tell you where to find what you need to find.”
“That’s all we can ask,” Deke agreed as he could see what might happen to her mind if she went with them.
Sage told them what they needed to hear then Deke, Sam and Mountain left to find her mom’s record book.
Sage suddenly felt drained. She leaned against Judge and slowly closed her eyes.
Black Jack noticed and motioned at his son. “She needs some rest.”
Judge gathered her in his arms and got to his feet. When she didn’t stir, he walked down the hall and went into one of the bedrooms in the clubhouse. He laid her on the bed and was going to walk away from her but she opened her eyes just long enough to grab his hand.
“Please don’t leave me,” she whispered sleepily.
He smiled slightly and crawled in the bed behind her. Wrapping his arms around her, he gathered her close to him. “I’ll never leave you baby.”
She snuggled into his embrace and as she was falling into a deeper sleep she whispered, “I think I could love you but I don’t know what love is. I’ve never known love before.”
Judge felt his heart breaking. He held her in his arms and stared at the ceiling for a long time. Thoughts were racing around his head and he was getting a headache. He knew everyone had a story but he never would have thought that the horrible things he found out today could happen to someone he knew.
After hearing just a little of what her story was, he knew he would have a long road to go. She knew nothing of the real world, only her own. She told them she’d grown up under her own steam while no one else had been there for her. Her own mother had given her life but never cared for her. Her own father never acknowledged her existence and the guy who might be her brother had tried to kill her several times.
Could she fit in with his family? Could she learn how to accept them or would her own life experiences interfere with that? He hoped she could learn to live with him because he wasn’t giving her up. Now that he had her... he wasn’t letting her go.
He looked down at the top of her head and remembered her words. I don’t know love. Well, she could learn and he would teach her all about it. He wasn’t sure if he loved her yet but he knew he couldn’t let her go and maybe that’s what love was for him.
A light knock on the door alerted him that something was going on. He detangled himself from her and when she didn’t wake up, he tucked the covers around her, then he got up and went to the door. When he opened it, he saw Reva there with some shopping bags.
Handing them to him, she whispered, “Deke wants you to come out. He said he got more information you need to know.”
Judge set the bags down just inside the door and nodded. He closed the door gently behind him and followed her down the hall. Once there, he saw Deke and the others sitting at the main table.
They were looking over some stuff on the table and one of those items was what looked like an account ledger. “Is this what you found at the house Sage told you about?” He nodded at the stuff.
“Yeah.” Deke looked up at Judge and shook his head. “That girl didn’t know half this shit. She had no fucking clue what her mother was doing did she?”
“You have to remember something here, Deke,” Judge stated. “She was a kid when this all went down. A kid.”
Deke agreed. “Yeah, I know but her mother was into some bad shit at the time. She had a reason to hide from the Lords, from the police and from Nelson Nichols.”
Judge sat down hard at the table. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know but not knowing could hurt Sage and he wasn’t going to let that happen. “What kind of bad shit was she doing?”
“Her house was more than just a stopping point like Sage said it was. It was a distribution point. The Lords weren’t merely using her, she was one of them. She was Aiden’s old lady for a while, then when he got tired of her, he let his men use and abuse her.” Deke pushed the record book his way.
Judge glanced down at the offending book. Inside, were dates and numbers. He felt sick and wouldn’t look at what was there. “What else did you find?” he growled.
“A number of bank accounts with a hell of a lot of money in those accounts. All that money has been sitting in those accounts for six years now. Zipper is hacking into the banks right now to check on the balances. That money belongs to Sage now, as her mother’s next of kin.”
Judge reached over and picked up a key on the table. He turned the key first one way then the other. “What does this belong to?”
Deke shrugged. “We’re hoping Sage will know.” He hesitated then told him, “She was correct about the body in the basement. We found his remains right where she said he would be. What she failed to mention to us was the fact that he wasn’t the only body in that house.”
“What the hell?” Judge stilled.
Deke nodded. “We found three other skeletons hidden there. The remains were stuffed into the walls of a locked bedroom upstairs. We think it’s what’s left of those three girls she told us about. Apparently, Brandi didn’t want anyone left alive to tell what had happened, and I don’t think it was to protect her daughter from retaliation. I think it was to protect herself in case the Lords came looking for their guy.”
“Holy Fuck.” Judge swore as he ran his hands over his head. “Whoever this guy was, she knew they’d come looking for him, didn’t she?”
Sam scoffed. “Yeah, they would have, his cut claimed he was their VP. He had the street name of Nitro. If that was true, they would have come looking for him.” He shrugged. “Maybe they even did but when they didn’t find him, the girls or Brandi, they would have been looking for her to find out what happened to him.”
Judge just stared at Deke for a moment. “She took out the VP of the Lords and they never caught up with her? How the hell did that happen?”
“It wouldn’t have happened here, but I have no clue how other MCs do their business.”
“Did you find anything about the strangers in town yet?” Judge hated to ask but he needed to know.
Deke nodded. “Yeah, Amos called after he talked to Angus. Angus was very helpful with information. The three guys are Russian. Or at least from that area of the world. He said he wasn’t sure what the men were here for but he didn’t think they weren’t here for their health.”
“What the hell are Russians doing in Troy, New York?” Black Jack asked with a grumble.
“That’s what we’d like to know.” Deke nodded. “I put a call into Leon to ask if he’d help us find out. If they are Russian mob, we need to go through channels. Leon said he would find out and get back to us. Apparently, he has connections in New York City that he can call.”
“Do we know what Nichols has in mind yet?” Sam asked.
“Not quite,” Deke admitted. “Trudy called us though and she said she was finding a trail she wanted to follow and double check on. She wouldn’t tell me what she found until after she verified her findings. What Sage told us about Luke was verified though. He is running a drug deal out of the warehouse and we’ve been able to find his drivers. When we questioned them, they admitted what they did and who they worked for. They never even tried to hide what they were doing and they told us we couldn’t touch them if we wanted to be able to stay here. They thought we were afraid of Nichols and what he would do to us if we took any action against them.” Deke barked out a laugh. “They are all being held somewhere and they can’t be found for the moment. They were still bitching about being held when we left. So, time right now, is of the essence and we have to move on this quickly or as someone said, we will lose the element of surprise.”
Black Jack just shook his head. “We can’t make our move until we have the evidence in our hands. If we bring only speculation, all he has to do is deny everything and we’ll be left looking the fools.”
“We have a little more digging to do that’s all,” Deke told them. “We’re tracking the money trail and as soon as we get that, then we’ll move in.”
“We might run into some trouble over this,” Gator spoke up.
“What do you mean?” Deke frowned.
“I have a feeling Reva and I were watched while we were in town. It was more of a feeling and when I looked around, I did find someone looking at me, but he didn’t try to stop me or Reva. He followed us when we came home but drove right past us when we turned off and drove into the compound.”
Deke sat back in his chair and thought about what Gator told them. If anyone suspected Sage was here then that could cause problems, they didn’t need just yet. He looked over at Judge and his brothers. “Did anyone see you guys at Sage’s place this morning?”
“Hell man, I don’t know,” Gambler shrugged. “Brady McCall had to call his aunt to even find out where she lived. We had no idea what we would find when we got there.”
Iceman sat forward and informed everyone, “I got some of the Sinner’s coming over from Boston to add to our numbers. They’ll get here in a few hours. It may not be enough but it will be something.”
Sam nodded. “And I got some more guys coming down from Maine to help out too. They should be here tomorrow.”
“We got Amos and the guys watching over the town,” Deke added. “They can watch the women until they get back but I don’t think I want them going back out until this is over.”
Sam nodded. “No sense in giving them a reason to come after us.” He sat forward. “Melora, Andrea and T-Bone can stay with me in one of the cabins.”
“My brothers can watch over our place,” Mountain suggested. “Until I get home anyway. I’d like to stay there once I get home to protect my family and our business.”
Deke nodded. “Keep your family close until this is settled one way or another.”
“What are you going to do if they flat out ask us if she’s here?” Judge asked.
Deke turned his head and stared at Judge for a moment before he said, “If the police come here looking for her, they better have a warrant with probable cause to come through those gates, or they aren’t getting in. We protect our own and if you claimed her, she’s is now one of us.” He paused then asked, “Have you claimed her?”
“Yes, I have.” Judge glared at the other man.
“Then we don’t have a problem do we?” Deke raised a brow at him.
Judge exhaled loudly. “I’m sorry man. All this is getting to me, I guess.”
“Don’t worry we’ll protect her.” Sam grinned.
“I just think she needs us right now,” Judge explained. “She’s never had anyone in her corner before and I want her to feel protected. She needs to know we got her back.”
“We will have her back. They won’t get to her to hurt her ever again,” Deke vowed.
Judge ran his hands over his head and growled, “Who knew this sort of thing was happening here of all places. This seemed like a good place.”
“It is a good place to live,” Deke assured the other man. “We knew there was something very wrong going on but we just didn’t look deep enough. That’s how Nichols got away with it for so long. Everything was running smooth on the surface but its very rotten underneath. We just couldn’t see the underneath until now.”
Sam snorted. “We didn’t want to see what was right there in front of us. What that girl lived with was criminal and if her mother was still alive, I’d fuckin’ kill her myself.”
“Ok everybody, its time to go home and protect your families,” Deke announced to the group as a whole. “Stay alert for any kind of trouble and call in if you need help, otherwise just stay alert. Don’t start anything. We’ll be closing the gates tonight and posting guards to watch over the compound.”
Sam got to his feet. “I’ll be back with Melora, Andrea and T-bone in a little while. We need to keep our movements low key, so we don’t attract attention to the club.”
“Just make sure you’re armed in case the bastards come at you,” Deke warned them all. “We won’t start this fight but I don’t want any causalities either. Amos is already watching the house tonight and he has spread his men to watch over the city.”
“I think Sage has been through enough for one night,” Judge declared. “I’m going to take her home and let her get some rest. We’ll come back tomorrow if you need her to but for now, I think she’ll rest better at my house. We’ll have Runt to let us know if anybody tries to get in.”
Deke nodded. “Yeah, Cassie and the kids have Devil too. Hopefully by tomorrow, Trudy will let us know what she tracking down and as soon as we know that, we can make our move. Leon said he would get back to us as soon as he knows anything about the Russian’s and what they want here.”
Judge got to his feet, turned and walked down the hall. When he got to the bedroom, he opened the door to find Sage sitting on the edge of the bed. He’ thought she would be sleeping, but he supposed after today, she couldn’t sleep. He walked over to her and bent down to kiss her. “Are you ready to go back home with me?”
She looked at him and smiled. “Yes please. Are we all done here then? Did the guys get back?”
Judge nodded. “Yeah baby, they found what they were looking for.” He hesitated and then went on, “Actually, they found more than they were looking for but they’re still going through it and tracking everything down to verify it.”
Sage nodded. “Do I want to know?”
Judge shook his head. “No, I don’t think you do.”
Sage just stared at him for a moment then looked away. “Ok. I don’t think I can take anymore right now anyway. The woman I called my mother wasn’t a good person. Sometimes, I wonder why she ever even had me.”
“We may never know why she did, but I’m glad she did. You turned out to be quite a woman.”
Sage just shook her head. “I just did what I had to do to survive. That’s all.”
Judge held out his hand. “Come on baby, let’s go home.”
“Home?” She smiled. “That sounds so nice. Yeah, let’s go home.”
Judge helped her to her feet and grabbing the shopping bags on the way out, he escorted her from the clubhouse out to his bike. He put the stuff into the saddlebags then turned lifting her up and set her on the bike. Gazing down at her feet, he saw the cute black boots. He raised his eyes up and grinned. “Life is already getting better, see?”
Sage smiled. “I am hoping.”
Judge got on and started his bike with a roar...You dammed right, it’s going to be better. I intend to spend the rest of my days making sure of it.
They rode the short distance to his house. When he got off his bike and escorted her into his house, Runt was there to greet them.
Chapter Nine
Across town in his own house, Luke Nichols was pacing the floors. He lived in what most people would call a hidden cul-de-sac. His house was set back from the street and surrounded by trees that hid the property from prying eyes. He thought by now he would have gotten a phone call from his informant at the cop shop that Sage was already a guest there. But he hadn’t and that bothered him.
Looking over at the other four men staying with him, he found only one looking back at him. The other three were passed out from too much booze and too many drugs. Kyle was staring at him. He was glaring at Luke and nursing the beer in his hand. “What the fuck you looking at fool?” Luke growled.
“Not a fuckin thing man.” Kyle held up his hands. “Just wondering why you’re so nervous? You know she’ll get picked up. Cops just haven’t found her yet, that’s all.” Shrugging he said, “She can’t hide forever. This town ain’t that big.”
“Yeah I know, but I made a deal with the Lords and if I can’t deliver her to them soon, they’ll come after me.” Luke growled.
Kyle rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that was some deal, what the fuck do they want with her anyway?”
Luke shrugged. “Damned if I know. They didn’t even know she existed until about a year ago when Rowdy was here. They’ve been looking for Brandi this whole time and when they found out she was dead, they were pissed. Apparently, she had something that belonged to them and they wanted it back. When she died, they thought it was lost forever. Then I told Rowdy about Sage and they’ve been looking for her since then. The little bitch has been well hidden from me until the other day. Simon and I have been looking for her for a while now.”
“Yeah well, I think she figured that out with the beating you gave her,” Kyle commented as he lifted his beer to his lips.
Luke frowned. “I wonder where she went?”
Kyle shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time she’s disappeared on you.”
“Yeah, but this time isn’t the best time for her to disappear. Aiden wants to get his hands on her and if I can’t deliver her to him, he’s not going to be happy.”
“Sucks to be you man doesn’t it?” Kyle smirked.
“Shit rolls downhill fucker.” Luke swore.
“So what does Aiden want with Sage anyway?” Kyle asked.
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know and I don’t fucking care. Although Rowdy told me once that years back, the VP disappeared with a key. Supposedly, the key was to a very special vault. Aiden had a matching key and together these two keys opened a vault that held the club’s retirement. Aiden and some of the others think they’ve waited long enough. They want that key and the last time anyone saw it was around the time their VP disappeared with three woman they were going to sell on the black market. That sale never happened and they couldn’t find Brandi to ask her why.” Luke paused to take a swallow of his own beer and wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand.
Kyle sipped at his beer and watched him.
Luke was getting lit up from a combination of beer and meth and his mouth was running about shit he should have kept to himself, like the Lords’ business. Kyle finally asked, “So now what, sixteen years later they want to get their hands on Sage to find out from her what her mother did sixteen years ago?”
Luke snickered. “Something like that.”
Kyle looked at the other man and with a frown asked, “How would they even connect the two women? Sage was only six at the time.”
Luke smiled. “I may have mentioned the fact that Brandi had a kid and she was living in the same house as her mother. She might have overheard something that went down that night.”
Kyle shouldn’t have been surprised by Luke’s actions, he really shouldn’t have been. He’d know the other man for a number of years, in fact they grew up together, but this? This was taking it to a whole other level. Kyle knew what it was like to hate someone so much you wanted them dead and that’s what he felt for Sage even though she had nothing to do with the death of his father. That was on Brandi.
Brandi was the one who gave up his dad to the Lords but Brandi was gone and Sage was all he had left to blame, but this obsession Luke had with Sage was going to get him killed one day. So his dad slept around when he was younger, who gives a fuck about that anymore. It happened and now Luke had a sister he really wants gone.
He stopped to think about things that happened over the last ten years or so and suddenly realized that Luke’s obsession with Sage was more than just what was on the surface. There was something about her that went deeper. Luke really hated this girl.
Kyle looked into Luke’s eyes and for the first time he couldn’t read his friend. Although friend was a loose term, he couldn’t read the other man’s intentions. He knew exactly what Luke was capable of and every time he did something illegal, it was because of her.
A sudden pounding on the door made both men jump.
Luke swore under his breath and walked over to his door. He didn’t bother looking through the peephole he already knew who was standing on the other side.
Kyle watched as Luke wiped his hands on his jeans before he opened the door.
Simon Grant and Rowdy along with two other men were standing there. Simon looked unfriendly at the very least. Pushing Luke out of the way, Simon and the others came inside. Looking around the place, Simon turned to Luke and asked, “Where is the girl you promised my brother?” He sneered at Luke. “We stopped by the jail to pick her up and guess what? She wasn’t there.” He cracked his knuckles and glared at him. “You don’t make a promise to my brother and not keep it. That’s just not wise, little man.”
“She should have been there waiting for you but the cops haven’t found her yet.” Luke wiped the sweat from his upper lip. “I’ll have her for you in twenty-four hours.”
Simon’s sneer grew until it transformed his face into something evil. “You’ll have her in twelve hours. Aiden paid you good money to secure her for the Lords and he doesn’t like failure of any kind.” He looked around the house and noticed the other three bodies in the room. Shaking his head, he turned back to Luke. “I think if you want to survive in the future, you should maybe think about trading these little boys for some real men. Men that can protect you instead of hinder your growth.”
Luke frowned. “Hinder my growth?”
Simon snorted. “Ones that won’t use the products you run for us. You’re supposed to be a dealer not a user.” Simon stepped over to Luke and looked into his eyes then growled at what he saw. “You better get clean son and stay that way. Aiden doesn’t want no junkies for dealers.” Simon stepped away from Luke and shook his head. “You got twelve hours to find and secure the woman. If you can’t, then your daddy can expect a visit from the Lords and they won’t care if they have to tear up this fucking town to find her. Then when they do, they’ll come looking for you and your daddy.” Simon threw back his head and laughed.
The sound of his laughter made Kyle shiver. There was no glee in it, only the sounds of retribution and how much he wanted to fulfill it.
Kyle watched as Simon turned and walked out the door along with the other three men that had accompanied him. When the door slammed behind them, Kyle slowly turned his head and stared at Luke.
Luke ran his hands over the top of his head. He had completely sobered up by this time. The buzz he had earlier was gone as soon as Simon walked through his door. If he failed to find Sage, Aiden would bring the hell of the Lords of the Devil down on him and his father.
Kyle now knew the real threat to their lives was at hand. Not that Luke gave a damn about his father but Luke had a good thing going in Troy and he didn’t want to lose it. He liked the money and the power he had and with the backing of the Lords, he knew he would only go up, unless he failed them.
They had to find Sage and get her ready for whatever Aiden had in mind for her. Or they were all doomed.
~*~
When Simon stopped next to his bike, he took a deep breath. Luke’s house had stunk of booze and smoke. He knew the scent of smoked meth and he’d seen the results with his own eyes. Luke was a junkie as were his friends. The ones that were passed out anyway. The other man there tonight wasn’t a user, but he was still a putz. He’d have to be to hang around with Luke.
He couldn’t wait for phase two of Aiden plans for Troy. Now that he had ties established in this town, the Lords would be coming back here and setting up residence. This town was better for them to get the drugs in and out of town because of the river access than Glen Falls had ever been. It had taken time to set the whole operation up and they had certainly set up the city council by greasing their pockets with the payoffs they seemed to enjoy over the years.
But now they had to have that damn key in order to move into Troy properly. The money in that vault had been just sitting there for the last sixteen years while the club had continued to grow and spread out.
Whatever had happened to the VP of the Lords all those years ago, was still a mystery. Had he just run off with the three women they were going to sell to a dealer? That’s what Brandi had tried to tell him. He’d had his doubts about her story then and over the years, he began to doubt it even more. Aiden hadn’t been happy when he told him about what Brandi had said. Then when she disappeared without a trace, he’d been even more doubtful but when she surfaced again, he had watched over her carefully.
Swinging his leg over his bike, he got a flash of an idea. Looking over to where the others were sitting on their machines, he told them, “Follow me.” He took off down the road and took a route he hadn’t been down for a very long time.
When he pulled up to an abandoned house, the other three men with him just stared in confusion at the rambling old building.
“What the fuck are we doing here?” Fish asked.
“This old dump used to belong to us a long time ago,” Simon told them. “I haven’t been here in sixteen years but Aiden’s whore lived here once upon a time. We used this place as a distribution point for drugs and weapons. We’d bring the product in and other clubs would come and get it.” He paused and nodded at the house. “In fact, this is the last place any of us saw Nitro.”
“You thinking maybe he never left here?” Hammer asked.
Simon shrugged and looked back at the house. The broken windows and rotted wood didn’t bode well for finding anything inside but he wanted one more look for the missing man. He should have looked harder sixteen years ago but back then, he took her word for what went down. “Come on let’s have a good look and see what secrets this old house really holds. But be careful, it might not be that safe to search.”
Each man opened his saddle bags and grabbed a flashlight then one by one, they entered the house.
The scent of rotting wood and mold hit Simon’s nose as soon as he entered. He put one hand over his nose and looked around what was once a living room. Dust covered everything in a thick layer.
Moving his flashlight around the room, he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.
Just when he was going to move further into the room, Rowdy raised his hand to stop him.
Simon snapped his head over to the other man and glared. Rowdy was looking at the lighted area on the floor. Simon looked down and saw what Rowdy had seen. Footprints. They all turned their lights on the footprints in the dust. It looked like three separate sets. All of them were huge footprints. Simon knelt down and studied them for a moment.
“What the fuck?” Hammer growled.
“Somebody else has been here in the not too distant past,” Simon announced.
“Have to wonder why and who they were,” Fish grumbled. His lights followed the footprints to the stairway. “Well, they went upstairs first anyway.”
Simon got to his feet and was furious. “Well then, let’s find out where they went and see if we can find what they found.”
They all followed the footprints and when they were on the second floor, they all noticed they lead to only one room. Simon walked to the doorway and found himself in what used to be Brandi’s bedroom. He looked around the room carefully. At first, he didn’t think anything had been disturbed but on second look, he did notice the dust had been disturbed. The closet door had been forced open. He could see the arc the door made in the dust as someone had forced it across the uneven floor. He followed the footprints to the open door.
Standing there, he caught the faint scent of death. Flashing his light around the small closet, he found one of its secrets. Someone had moved part of the wall and he could see the bones laying inside the wall. “What the fuck?” he swore under his breath.
Moving closer he and the others could see the pile of human bones on display. Whoever had moved the wall boards had revealed a grisly secret. He looked closer and found three separate skeletons inside the wall. Simon remembered the three missing girls from sixteen years ago and had a feeling he just found them.
Then he noted another piece of the wall missing. It was eye level and it seemed to be a hiding place. He flashed his light inside the small opening, but it was empty. He could see the area once held something, but he wasn’t sure what that something was. Whatever it was it was gone now.
He stepped back into the bedroom and turned his light on the floor again. He saw the footsteps leading out of the room and followed them.
All four men followed the footprints in the dust back down the stairs and over to another doorway.
Simon opened the door and found himself at the top of a set of steps leading to the basement. He stepped carefully on the rickety steps and went lower into the underground cavern. Flashing his light around the dirt floor, he frowned when he found the dirt disturbed in the corner of the room.
He went over to the disturbed ground and just about dropped his flashlight. Whoever had been here earlier had uncovered another body buried in the basement. Simon knelt down and studied the bones in the dirt. The smell was overpowering but he didn’t cover his nose. Instead, he noticed someone had brushed away the dirt and uncovered a leather cut the body had once wore.
Simon ground his teeth together as he searched the cut. He reached out and brushed more of the dirt away.
Fish gasped out loud as Simon uncovered the logo on the back.
It was the same one they all wore. A skull with a crown smoking a cigar with crossed bones underneath and the words Lords of the Devil on either side of the skull. The difference in this cut and theirs was the VP patch underneath the crossed bones. They could barely make out the logo as it was covered in a thick layer of something that stained the leather dark brown.
Simon grunted in disgust as he knew who the bones belonged to. He rubbed his hands over his jaw and mouth. “Well, son of a bitch.” He growled. He looked up at the others. “Well, we finally know Nitro didn’t run off sixteen years ago, don’t we?”
Hammer snorted and shook his head. “Not with that hole in his back he didn’t.”
Simon turned back and carefully touched the ragged cut in the leather. It appeared to be a knife cut rather than a bullet hole. If he remembered right, Nitro always carried a big knife. He always claimed a knife was a quieter kill. Well, he was quietly dead and so he’d been right after all.
He took out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures. They wouldn’t be the greatest as the house had no light but this was the proof Aiden would need to see. He began rifling through the pockets of his jeans looking for the key Nitro carried. If they could at least find that, they would have something to show Aiden but his pockets were empty and probably had been this whole time. Whoever murdered him had taken the time to take whatever he had.
Simon got up and motioned for the others to go.
Once outside, they gathered around their rides and Simon reached for his phone.
When Aiden answered his call, Simon gave his brother the bad news.
“You got that little bitch yet?” Aiden growled.
“Not yet. That little bastard Luke isn’t holding up his end of the bargain you made.” Simon smiled. He’d been after Luke for years and now his luck may have just run out. “But that isn’t what I called about.”
“What the fuck you want then?”
Simon cleared his throat. “I found Nitro.”
There was silence on the other end of the call. “The fuck you say.” Aiden growled at the thought of his missing VP. He disappeared sixteen years ago with three women they were selling. No one had heard or seen him since then and now Simon told him they found him. “Drag his sorry ass back with you. I want to look that fucker in the eyes when I kill him.”
“That’s not going to happen brother.” Simon told him. “He hasn’t been missing in action, he’s been dead all these years. Looks like he took a knife to his back sixteen years ago.”
Aiden was silent for a few minutes, long enough for Simon to ask, “You still there?”
“Yeah, I’m still here.” He growled. “Where did you find his carcass?”
“In Brandi’s old house. He was buried face down in the basement.”
Simon listened to his brother growl for a moment then gave him the rest of the bad news, “But we weren’t the only ones that found him.”
“What the everlovin’ fuck you talkin’ about?”
“We came here on a whim. An idea I had,” Simon told him. “When we got here, we found the dust disturbed so we followed their footprints and we found three other skeletons upstairs. We also found a hidden compartment that could have held anything but the dust settled around it, made it look like it held a small notebook or box of some kind. Whatever it was, is missing so it’s possible we’ll never know. We followed the tracks down to the basement and found the dirt has been disturbed. That’s where we found what was left of Nitro. He was still wearing his cut but it was covered in what I assume is blood. It also had a slice in the middle of the back.” Simon waited for Aiden’s reaction
A couple minutes later Aiden’s voice came over the phone. “So the bitch murdered him huh? Never thought Brandi had the guts to do something like that. Did he still have the key on him?”
“No, his pockets were empty of everything.”
“Fuck!” Aiden roared. “That means the bitch has had the key all this time.”
“That fucking key could be anywhere by this time,” Simon informed his brother. “Brandi has been dead for six years remember?”
“I fuckin remember. That little bastard Luke bragged about killing her. Do you remember that brother?”
“I remember,” Simon told him quietly. “Do you think he has the key?”
“Find out,” Aiden ordered. “I want that fucking key back. I’ll send some of the brothers down to collect Nitro in the morning. Tell Fish to stay there until the boys get there. Nitro was his cousin.”
“Ok,” Simon agreed. “I’ll go back and have a chat with Luke. Maybe he can clear this up for us.”
“Find that little bitch and bring her to me. She might know more than Luke and I want answers.”
Simon didn’t need to hear the hang up, he knew his brother was pissed. He looked over at the three men waiting for instructions and nodded at Fish. “Aiden wants you to stay here with Nitro until he can get some of the brothers to collect his remains. He’ll get a proper burial.”
Fish nodded.
Then Simon looked at Hammer and Rowdy. “We get to go back and find out what Luke knows about this.”
Rowdy smiled. “That should be fun. That prick has been cocky for far too long.”
Chapter Ten
Sage came to with a start. Her heart was pounding in her chest with her nightmare still fresh in her mind. She was warm enough that sweat rolled down her neck. She felt a wet tongue lick her face. She shrieked and pulled back. Then someone stirred next to her and she shrieked again as she bolted up in bed.
She didn’t know where she was at first. Then she felt huge arms wrap around her and his scent hit her like a wakeup call.
“Are you okay?” Judge asked from behind her.
Sage sighed and sank back on the bed. Runt who’d been sleeping on the end of their bed crawled closer to lay next to her. Judge laid on the other side and caught between the pair of them she felt smothered for a moment, then realized what she was feeling was protected. “I’m sorry. I forgot where I was for a moment,” she offered an explanation.
“That’s ok Angel,” Judge replied. “I imagine this is all so strange for you and you did go through a lot in the last few days.”
“Do I want to know if Deke found my mom’s record book?” she whispered in the dark.
“Yeah baby, he found it.”
“And the body in the basement? Did he find that too?”
“Yeah, he found that too.”
Sage waited for him to continue and when he didn’t she had a feeling there was something he wasn’t telling her. “What else did he find?”
Judge didn’t want to tell her but he knew he had to. “He found the remains of three other bodies. They were stuffed inside a wall in one of the bedrooms upstairs.”
Sage sucked in her gasp of surprise. “Oh, my god!” she whispered as the implications hit her. “The three women... she murdered them.”
“That’s what we think.” Judge agreed with her suspicions.
“How could she do that?” Sage felt tears roll down her face. “They didn’t do anything to deserve that. They were the victims!”
Judge wrapped his arms around her tighter. Runt whined a bit and snuggled closer. His dog’s action made Judge frown a bit. Runt didn’t like too many people but for some reason he took to Sage right off the bat. He didn’t even tolerate his family this well. “Sage, maybe you should look at the situation like this, your mom saved them a world of pain. They might have been kidnapped but we know they were going to be sold to the highest bidder for god only knows what. Her actions saved them from that much anyway.”
Sage swiped at the tears. “But she could have just let them go. She didn’t have to kill them. God, my mom murdered three innocent people?”
Judge shook his head. “I don’t think your mom would have thought about that. She couldn’t take the chance the girls would tell the authorities what happened. She wasn’t just protecting herself she was also protecting the Lords of the Devil’s MC.”
Sage turned her head to look at him. “But why would she protect them?”
“We found evidence that she was a member. She was Aiden’s ole lady at one point.”
Sage gasped but no sound left her throat. Then she was remembering another man, much like Simon who used to visit her mother from time to time. He’d scared her more than Simon did and Simon was not one she’d want to piss off. “Who is this Aiden anyway?”
“He’s the president of the Lords of Devil MC.”
Sage trembled in his arms.
Judge felt her shiver and wondered why. “What do you remember baby?”
“I remember he was big and mean and I don’t think he liked my mom too much. He was like Simon and he hurt her all the time.” She paused then added, “I knew enough to stay away and hide whenever he came to visit. I used to lock myself in my closet whenever any of them came over in case he broke into my room.”
“Did he come to your mom’s house often?”
“Lord, I don’t remember. I was a kid back then. Once would have been too often for me but he always brought boxes he left behind then a few days later he would come back and collect money from my mom.”
“Did he ever see you there?” Judge hated to ask but he needed to know.
“Yeah, he saw me there. A couple of times but not by my choice. He’d come at all hours of the day and night. When I heard their bikes coming up the driveway that was when I went to my room but I couldn’t always hear them when they got there. Sometimes they drove trucks and then I couldn’t get to my room so I hid the best I could.”
“Did he or his men ever hurt you?”
“No,” she whispered softly. “There were so many places to hide in that old house that half the time they never knew I was even there.”
She was silent for a long while, so long in fact that Judge thought she went back to sleep. Just as he was about to go back to sleep himself, she whispered in the dark, “What’s going to happen next? Do you have any idea?”
Rather than answer her question, he pulled her on top of him and kissed her long and hard. Hoping to distract her, he continued his amorous assault. His hand slipped into her underwear and cupped her ass while he rubbed her core against his hardening cock. He could feel her getting wet and he loved it. She fit him so well.
He tore her t-shirt over her head and began licking and nibbling on her full breasts. She moaned and rubbed herself against his pelvis and then it was his turn to groan. Catching one nipple in his mouth, he bit down gently on it.
She seemed to still suddenly.
Judge felt she wanted more and didn’t know how to ask. “What do you want baby? Tell me...”
“I want...” she hesitated then said, “I want more, I want to feel you inside me, but I also want to feel you prepare me. L-like you did before?” She leaned her forehead on his. “Oh god is that wrong?”
Judge grinned. “No baby that’s not wrong, its very right. Let me show you how to feel...” With that, he rolled her over onto her back and then his lips latched on to her breasts and using his teeth, his lips and his mouth he assaulted her senses making her feel everything he wanted her to feel. He loved her neck, her shoulders, her chest and he forged a path down her belly to her core. When he got there, she was soaked and she wanted more.
Her scent drove him to the prize and he tasted her essence. Growling with anticipation, he lapped at her opening and licked her clean then started over as his fingers sought her core.
“Oh wow. I never knew...”She bucked her hips and opened her legs to him. “Please,” she begged. “I need you inside me.”
Judge growled and surged deep inside her. She hissed when she felt him and then she moaned as her pleasure took over. His cock was hard and so ready for this coupling. He rammed inside her over and over again and again.
So lost in the pleasure, they both missed the fact that Runt had crawled off the bed and was standing at alert at the bedroom door. He laid across the doorway and kept watch. His eyes kept going from the doorway to the window and back again.
Judge could feel her body respond to his demands and he couldn’t think of anything else but completion. His body was ready to fill her. But he loved this feeling too much and tried to hold himself back and he could feel her body tightening as well. He slipped his hand between them and as soon as he touched her button, she flew over the edge. He roared as he joined her in oblivion and they both came down hard.
Judge could barely roll off her and to her side but Sage couldn’t move at all. She was out of breath and her heart was racing for a good few minutes or so before it slowed down.
A few minutes later she closed her eyes and groaned. “Is sex supposed to feel that way? Every single time?”
Judge grinned. Knowing that it didn’t feel like that for most. “Baby, if that was as good for you as it was for me... then yeah, that’s how it’s supposed to feel every single time.”
“Wow.” Was all she said as she snuggled into his embrace.
They were silent for the longest time before Sage reminded him, “You never did answer my question, what happens next?”
Judge sighed. “Because I don’t have any answers for you yet,” he admitted. “We’re trying to line our ducks up, all in a row but we need to know more about who and what we’re dealing with before we can do that. That shit your mom was into with the Lords? That was some bad shit. That could take a while to get straight. The bodies at the old house you lived in? That needs explaining but not to the police around here. As you pointed out, they work for Nelson Nichols, not the state of New York. Those strangers in town? We have to find out who and where they belong before we can move on them. Which one of the situations is going to break first, we have no idea. Then there’s your situation with Luke to consider as well. You were right in assuming he’s out to possibly kill you. What we don’t know is why. We also don’t know why Nelson Nichols is still in office and what he plans to do with Troy. We don’t think whatever it is, is going to be good for the people who live here.” Judge paused then ran his fingers through his long hair and beard. “There are too many questions and not near enough answers yet. As hard as it is to wait, we have to find out shit first, then we make our plans.”
“Ok,” she replied after taking a moment or two to grasp what he was telling her.
Judge felt there was something else she wanted to say but didn’t. “What else is on your mind, Angel?”
Sage shrugged and was silent for a few minutes.
Judge waited then asked her again, “What?”
She looked at him and quickly looked away. Taking a deep breath she asked, “I was just wondering what’s going to happen to me? What’s going to happen to me when this is over? Will I be able to live in Troy or will everyone hate me for bringing Nelson Nichols down?”
Judge was stunned by her questions. Apparently, she didn’t understand what his claiming her meant. “Angel, you’ll live here with me, you’ll be part of my family.”
Sage turned her head slowly and stared at him. “Really? Do you really mean that? I wasn’t sure if that was true or not. I mean no one has ever wanted me before. I just wasn’t sure you would keep me when this was over.”
“Aww baby,” Judge groaned. “Of course, I’m keeping you after this is over. I’ve got no reason not to. I told you that you belong with me now. I want you with me.”
“Please don’t be mad at me,” she whispered. “It’s just that I thought I would live alone for the rest of my days, then you came along and said I was yours and while I was happy about it, I never know what is true anymore....I mean I have nothing to compare this to. I didn’t have people around me who were together for a long time, you know? I just didn’t know how long it would last.”
“It will last forever and a day,” Judge whispered in her ear. “That’s how long I want it to last.” He hoped she would believe this. If not, he would just have to keep showing her.
Chapter Eleven
With a cold grin on his face, Simon lifted his boot and kicked in the door to Luke’s house. As the door flew open, he stepped through and found Luke and his friends staring at him in confusion.
“What the fuck are you doing back here?” Luke asked with a frown. “I thought our business was concluded for now. You gave me twelve hours to find Sage and it’s not up yet.”
“Oh, I think you and I have much more to talk about than where Sage Billingsly is residing right now.”
“And what would that be?” Luke snapped.
Simon growled and stalked closer to him. His fingers curled into fists, as he got right up in Luke’s face. He wasn’t afraid of this whiny pissant or his father and Luke was about to find that out, the hard way. “You don’t scare me little boy.”
“I’m a man full grown and you can’t touch me,” Luke taunted him.
Simon just smiled and swung at him. His fist landed solidly and Luke went flying.
The other four men scrambled to get out of the way but Rowdy and Hammer weren’t letting them off the hook.
Pure chaos, spurts of blood, groans of pain and broken bones reigned for a long twenty minutes.
Then finally, Simon took a breath and leaned over the downed body of Luke. He looked pitiful lying on the floor. His nose was broken and swelled to double its normal size, both eyes were swollen and bruised while his face was bleeding from several places. He was breathing hard and groaning in pain from banged up ribs.
Simon knelt down beside the broken man and asked, “How does it feel to be on that side of the beatings, huh?” Simon sneered. “You’ve given enough of them to Sage over the years haven’t you? Beating women is all you know. Taking on real men just isn’t your forte is it?”
Luke tried to spit at the other man but the saliva didn’t clear his lips, instead it dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. “Fuck you, you bastard.”
Simon shook his head. “I’m not the one all busted up, you damn dummy.”
Luke groaned. “What the fucking hell do you want with me? You told me twelve hours to find her and you only gave me two. I’ve got men out on the street looking for her but she knows how to hide. I just need more time.”
Simon sneered as he pushed on Luke’s fractured ribs. He enjoyed the whimpers of pain from the other man and he wanted to make a point. “Actually, I didn’t come here about Sage. I came her to find out if you might have taken a key off her mother the night you killed her.”
Luke frowned at the Simon’s question. He got a look in his eye that meant he was scheming.
Simon had no clue what he might be up to but right now, he didn’t give a shit.
“I didn’t take no fucking key from Brandi.” He gasped as he took a deep breath. Glaring at the other man, Luke snarled, “My dad is going to have your hide for this. No one beats the hell out of me without getting the same done to him.”
Simon just scoffed at his threat. “You’re daddy ain’t gonna touch me or my brothers. He’s more afraid of us than you are.”
Luke snorted, “Maybe not so much anymore.”
Simon frowned and glared at Luke. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Fuck off, bastard!” Luke spit out.
Simon got to his feet and kicked the downed man in the side.
Luke groaned and curled up into a ball of pain.
Simon walked over to Kyle and glared at him. “What the fuck did funny boy mean by that?”
Kyle looked up through red eyes. He had bruises all over his body from the beating he’d received from Rowdy and Hammer. He didn’t want to answer the question but when Simon reared back his foot, Kyle whispered, “His dad invited some Russians here to set up a shipping route to transport their drugs and weapons. He’s hoping they’ll run the Lords out of the state.”
Simon growled at the news. He turned and snarled at Luke. “That is an unwise decision on your old man’s part, junior.”
Luke didn’t say anything, just glared at the other man.
Simon turned back to Kyle. “Do you boys know anything about a key?”
Kyle and Harry shook their heads. Milo was passed out cold from the beating so he couldn’t answer anyway.
“Do any of you know where we can find Sage?”
The boys shook their heads again.
Simon got up and walked back over to Luke. “By the time you wake up, you’ll have even less time to find her, so I don’t suggest you sleep too long boy.” Simon reared his boot back and kicked Luke in the head, knocking him out completely. Then he looked over at Kyle and Harry. “You boys best try and wake him up real soon. You tell him to bring the girl to the south side gym, but she better be alive and in one piece or I’ll hunt all you bastards down and make you really hurt, you get what I’m saying?”
Kyle and Harry nodded slowly.
Simon headed out the door. Rowdy and Hammer followed him.
~*~
Only when they heard the bikes roar to life did Kyle and Harry try to move.
“Fucking hell!” Kyle swore as his whole body protested his movements.
“I hear you man,” Harry grumbled as he hauled himself up onto the sofa then wipe the blood from his nose. “What are we gonna do man?”
Kyle took a moment to catch his breath and he checked to find he had a loose tooth now. “Well, first off we’re gonna wake Luke up, then we’re gonna find Sage and get the pair of them over to the gym then I don’t know about you but I’m leaving this fucking city and never coming back. The Lords killed my dad, I’m not going to put myself in a position to let them do the same to me.”
Milo groaned and opened his eyes. For a moment, he couldn’t focus on what just happened. Then he turned his head and saw them sitting on the sofa. “What the fuck just happened?”
“Simon Grant that’s what,” Kyle told him with a grimace.
Milo groaned as he rolled over to his side and sat up. When he looked around the room and saw Luke beaten to hell and unconscious, he turned to stare at Kyle and Harry. “What the hell did Luke do to warrant this kind of attack?”
Kyle scoffed then spit out some blood onto the floor. “He couldn’t keep his fucking mouth shut, that’s what. He’s always got to act the spoiled fucking brat. Well, Simon showed him he wasn’t immune tonight.” He shook his head and glared at Luke. “Immune isn’t the word that should be used here, entitled is a better word. Yeah, Luke is always acting like a big shot, thinking he has protection from his dad. Well, his protection failed miserably tonight didn’t it?” Kyle looked down at the other man on the floor. “Do you know anything about a key? From the night Brandi died? Simon was asking about a key and Luke couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.”
Milo seemed confused but shook his head anyway. “Never heard of any key. What are we supposed to do about him?”
“We’re supposed to wake him up and find Sage,” Harry informed him.
“Oh, ok.” Milo shrugged. “Any idea where she might be?”
“My cousin Tommy lives on her block,” Kyle suggested. “I’ll call him and see if he saw anything this morning.”
While Kyle made his call, Milo joined Harry on the sofa. “What are we going to do now?” Milo asked.
“I have no fucking clue but I think it might be time to take a long vacation.” Harry looked over at Kyle who was glaring back. “Simon knows about the Russians now. If the Lords come to do battle, I don’t want to know which side wins. All I want to know if how far away from here I can get before the bloodshed begins.”
When Kyle finished his call, he looked grim.
Milo looked between him and Harry then burst out, “Well what did you find out? Did Tommy see something this morning or what?”
“Actually he did, ” Kyle told them unhappily. “I have a good idea where she might be.”
“Where?” Harry all but shouted.
“The Sin’s Bastards compound,” Kyle informed them.
Harry gasped then began to choke on his saliva. “Tell me you’re joking?”
Kyle sighed in disgust. “Have you ever known me to joke about something like this? Fucking hell... this just went from bad to worse!”
“What did your cousin see this morning anyway?” Milo asked.
“Tommy was just leaving for work when he saw three bikers pull up on their bikes then he saw another one arrive in a truck. All four went into Sage’s house and few minutes later, they came out again. The biggest one of them was carrying her all wrapped up in a blanket. He drove away in the truck and the other three rode away on the bikes. He didn’t think anything about it until I called him. He said Mike has been in and out of the house all day, cops too stopped by a time or two, just looking around.”
Harry got to his feet and groaned. “The Sin’s aren’t any MC we want to mess with man. They have taken kicking ass to a whole new level in this town. You don’t cross them either. I don’t want to even go up against that group.”
Kyle nodded his head as he more than agreed. “I know and things just got too real for me with this news. Man, between the Lords and the Sin’s?” He did feel fear at the thought. “We’d better wake him the hell up and find out what he wants to do. He’s running out of time.” He walked into Luke’s kitchen. Opening a cupboard, he reached for a large pitcher and filled it with water, cold water. Then he walked into the living room and stood over Luke.
Pouring the water on him suddenly brought the other man out of his unconsciousness in a hurry. The shock of the cold water had Luke gasping for air.
“Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty,” Kyle called out.
Luke glared up at the other man. “Fuck you!”
“No thanks, you aren’t my type,” Kyle retorted.
Fuck off.” Luke growled and wiped the excess water off his face and neck. He turned to Kyle. “What else did the bastard have to say after I was out for the count?”
“He wants you to find and bring Sage to the south side gym and she better be a live and well or he’s gonna hunt us down and make us dead too.”
“Great, that’s just fucking great!” Luke grumbled. “Do we have any idea where the fuck she even is?”
“Well, we might have an idea on that.” Harry nodded.
“We do?” Luke snapped his head around. “Where the fuck is she?”
“The Sin’s Bastards compound!” Milo blurted out.
“What the hell?” Luke swore. “How did she get over there?”
“No clue but Kyle’s cousin saw them carry her out of the house this morning.” Harry nodded.
Luke thought about this for a moment then grinned. “This might just work to our advantage boys.”
Harry and Milo gaped at him.
Kyle shook his head. Advantage? They had no advantage unless it was a ticket out of this sinking hole they were in. He watched as Luke got an evil look in his eyes. He didn’t trust that look and he realized he no longer trusted Luke at all. He knew Luke was cold at times but what he’d done to Sage over the years was criminal. He knew deep down in his heart Luke couldn’t be trusted.
What happened with his father lent a reason for Kyle to want to hurt her but the more he thought about it the more he had a feeling Luke had something more to do with that than Sage ever did. In fact, it had been Sage’s mother that turned his father over to the Lords but as she was already dead, Luke had been the one to point out the fact that Kyle should transfer that hatred over to Sage.
Maybe she should stay with the Sins. Maybe Luke should lose this time around. Kyle might not make it either with this kind of war brewing but suddenly, he just didn’t care.
Kyle took a deep breath and exhaled. When this was over, he had a lot to think about. He sighed... When this was over, he could be dead. He couldn’t stop what was going to happen anymore than he could stop time but he could and would try to give Sage a break. He wasn’t going to touch her ever again.
~*~
Luke, Kyle, Harry and Milo were waiting in the shadows, watching the compound.
Jason Miller hadn’t been with them earlier when Simon showed up but he arrived shortly after Luke called him.
Kyle’s cousin Tommy was there as well. He was nervous and shaking as they all looked over the compound. Luke thought Tommy could point out which bike belonged to the one who carried Sage out.
They all knew Luke was just crazy enough to snatch her from the biker’s own house.
The other men all looked nervous, they sure as hell didn’t want to be here.
Luke figured he had nothing left to lose. Either way things went, he knew it would never go back to the way things were before. The Lords knew about the Russians now they would face the Lords or the Russians and Luke felt neither side would be happy. He knew his father hadn’t told the Russians about the Lords yet. He wanted a deal in place first. Well, he wouldn’t get that now.
Luke watched the compound with the others but his mind was elsewhere. He turned to Tommy. “Well, which bike was the one you saw this morning? We need to find this bitch and grab her before Simon comes looking for me.”
Tommy looked around the yard and finally spotted the bike from this morning. He pointed it out. “That’s the one. But the guy who rides it is huge and he looks like he don’t take shit from anybody. The others with him this morning looked pissed when they came out of the house. I wouldn’t mess with these guys, Luke.”
“I don’t give a shit.” Luke growled. “We go in, snatch her up and get out again. Two of you guys cause a distraction and I’ll go and grab her. We’ll all meet up at the parking lot and then we go to the gym.”
“Why are we all going to the gym again?” Jason asked.
“Because Simon told us if we didn’t all show up tonight, he’d hunt us all down and give us something to remember,” Kyle told him.
“Well, as I wasn’t there earlier that might not apply to me,” Jason offered desperately.
“No chance in hell buddy,” Luke said. “He knows we run together, so he’d be after you too. Right along with the rest of us. If he doesn’t find you, one of the Lords will and they won’t hesitate to cut your throat.”
“At least he doesn’t know about the Russians yet,” Jason commented.
“Wanna bet?” Luke growled. He turned to glare at Harry and Kyle. “He knows now and he’s not happy.”
“Oh fuck!” Jason exclaimed. “Your dad is not gonna be happy about that.”
“That’s his problem not mine.” Luke shrugged. “I got other fish to fry.”
They were all quiet for a moment.
“Well hell,” Luke swore. “Brandi has been dead for six years. How are we supposed to find that fucking key from a dead woman?”
“The location of this key may be gone forever now that she’s gone,” Harry commented. “If the key exists in the first place.”
“It did. We’ll have to be sure and ask Sage when we get her won’t we?” Luke remarked.
“You mean if we get her,” Kyle muttered under his breath. Turning his head, he glared at Luke. “Are you absolutely sure you want to take her from this compound? I mean that could be suicide. These guys don’t like to have anything taken from them, especially a woman. I heard the stories man, and a few men have ended up dead for doing that very thing.”
Luke scoffed, not taking his warnings seriously. “Maybe we can set the two MC’s against each other and when the smoke clears, we’ll back the one that’s left standing.”
“Yeah and maybe the Russians will kick both their asses,” Harry suggested.
“Huh,” Luke snorted. “That’s what my dad is hoping for anyway. The Lords are getting too demanding and the Sin’s Bastards are standing in his way. He wants to run this whole county and they have enough pull that he can’t expand the way he wants too.”
“Isn’t your dad rich enough already?” Jason asked wryly.
“You’d think so wouldn’t you?” Luke scoffed. “At least he’s not paying his whore anymore. We took care of that six years ago.”
“Yeah, but that’s only part of what’s going on isn’t it?” Harry suggested. “I mean Brandi and your dad haven’t been together in years. When things didn’t work out the way she wanted, she moved on from your dad pretty fast. She was Aiden’s whore too for a while before she became the Lords’ property. After that, she slept with just about anybody who wanted her. I don’t know why you get so hot and bothered about Sage.”
“I’ve got my reasons and that’s all you need to know about me and Sage,” Luke grumbled. He turned to study the layout of the compound. It was quiet at the moment and he felt now was as good a time as any to strike. He turned to his guys, “Harry and Jason you go to create a distraction. Draw everyone away from this area if you can. Kyle and I will go in after her and we’ll all meet in the parking lot of that Chinese place on Elm street in an hour. Make sure you get away before they catch you.”
The men all looked at each other, feeling like if they even could get away, big angry bikers would be tracking them down in a damn heartbeat.
“What do you suggest we use as a distraction?” Harry asked with fear in his voice.
Jason looked over the compound and noticed a small playhouse at the edge of the playground next to the clubhouse. He got a wicked look on his face. “How about a small fire?” He pointed toward the playhouse. “That would draw everyone to that end of the compound and Sage will be left alone in the house. It should be easy peasy to get in and out again, without drawing attention to ourselves.”
Kyle rolled his eyes. None of this would be easy and Jason must be dumber that he thought.
Milo and Harry were looking scared now.
“Sounds good to me,” Luke agreed.
“What do you want me to do?” Milo asked nervously.
“You stay with the car. As soon as we grab her, we need to get the fuck out of Dodge, so you might have to drive while Kyle and I hang on to her. She won’t go quietly we know that much and I don’t want her to get anyone’s attention.”
“Ok, I can do that,” Milo assured them with relief on his face.
“Then let’s get over through this fucking fence and get this done,” Luke ordered.
Kyle shook his head as he took some wire cutters and began cutting through the chain link. When they had an opening big enough to get through, they quietly slipped through, one man at a time.
Harry and Jason slipped away in the darkness while Luke and Kyle went toward the house. They circled around back to try and find a way inside.
~*~
They came around to the bedrooms in the back and Luke caught sight of his prey.
Sage was laying in the arms of the biggest bike he’d ever seen. The moonlight cast its shadows but lent enough light to see her clearly. He could see the bruises on her face and he felt the rage inside him growing again.
He glared at her and wondered why she’d ever been born. She was more than just his father’s bastard and her very existence shouldn’t be possible but there she was in all her glory. He’d seen her of course in school but hadn’t been aware of their connection yet. While they were growing up, he hadn’t known about her until he was twelve. That’s when his perfect world had fallen apart. He hadn’t known his father was unhappy in his marriage or that his mother was looking for more than his father was willing to give her. But his mother ended up with breast cancer and while she battled that, he found his father began pulling away from his wife and son. Then he heard his mother mention Sage and he couldn’t believe it when his father admitted she was his daughter. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t known about her before but he overheard his parents arguing about her that night. He was supposed to be asleep but their voices had woken him up.
His mother had begun to change after that night and what he considered a normal childhood disappeared. His mother became a bitter, hateful woman and it was all because her husband had a child that wasn’t hers. Two years later after the cancer had taken her looks and was about to take her life she called him into her room and told him flat out about his sister. She knew she was dying and she wanted him to take care of her once and for all. She didn’t care how he did it and even though she’d never met Sage, she wanted everything her husband had to go to her son, his legitimate heir not a girl who never carried his name. Then she told him she had some money saved and as soon as she was gone that money would be his.
Then two years after his mother died, he found something out about Sage’s mother. He found out about her blackmail scheme involving his father. Little things about his father began to make sense then. The fact the his father had distanced himself from Luke’s life, the business trips he always took with left his mother so angry before she died, the forgotten birthdays and holidays. He thought it was all because of her and Luke began to hate Sage. When he confronted his father about it, his dad had told him to leave it alone but Luke hadn’t been able to do that.
Instead of confronting Sage herself, he went round about and got to know her mother. The woman who took Nelson away from his proper family. He could see that she was nothing but a whore right off the bat, his mother had been right about that score, but over time he realized something else about the woman. She had no love for Sage either and that made her an ally of sorts with him didn’t it?
He also learned something about his father he didn’t know before either. His father really didn’t love anybody except himself. He also hadn’t been faithful to his wife from day one of their marriage. Brandi hadn’t been his first lover nor had she been his last.
Nelson Nichols was little more than a thief and a liar but he knew he would never be caught. He had schemed for power and through threats and intimidation he got exactly what he wanted. He used fear and blackmail to lock people’s votes in and then rose through the ranks to get to the top of whatever cesspool he desired.
He’d been mayor of Troy now for fifteen years and he was beginning to lose the control he needed to make it big. When he first started out, he had used the Lords of Devils to establish himself, then he lost them to the Sins Bastards when the Sin’s ran them out of town for running drugs and guns through Troy. Nelson took an easy out and began rerouting their shipments but still demanding his cut of the action.
Never satisfied, he was looking to expand his bank account so he reached out and was bringing new money with the Russians. He was secretly hoping the Russians would break the last tie with the Lords and neutralize the Sin’s Bastards as well.
Then Sage had to go and ruin his plans by taking up with one of the Sins Bastards. Luke had been so close to getting rid of her forever. So close to honoring his mother’s last wish and now this. He really did hate her.
Kyle came up behind him and startled Luke for a moment. “I wish those two idiots would hurry up and get this party started. I really hate being here. If these guys catch us we are so dead.”
“Stop being such a baby.” Luke growled low. He looked through the window again and noted a movement in the shadows. “Holy shit,” he swore under his breath.
“What?” Kyle gritted.
“This biker has a dog and he’s huge.” Luke growled.
“What the everloving fuck are we going to do now?” Kyle swore. “I ain’t getting bit by no damn dog. I am out of here.”
Luke grabbed Kyle and pulled him in closer. “You ain’t going nowhere. We stick to the plan. The fire will distract the bikers, we just have to distract the dog and grab Sage.”
“And how the fuck do we distract the dog?” Kyle asked snidely. “You got a steak on you?” He rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, very funny.” Luke slipped a knife into the other man’s hands. “Use this if you have to, but as soon as the biker goes to help put out the fire, I’m going in to grab Sage.”
Suddenly, the silence around them was shattered by a loud noise and the shadows were disturbed by the crackling of a fire. The reds and orange colors blinding in its intensity. The dog inside the biker’s house began to bark.
Luke stepped back and watched as the biker got half dressed before he rushed to the door.
They watched and waited as chaos erupted around and the bikers rushed to the distance to fight the fire. Luke broke the window and slipped inside the bedroom. Sage was already dressed as he snuck up behind her and put her in a choke hold. One arm around her neck covering her mouth and the other he used to lift her off the floor and drag her back through the window.
Chapter Twelve
Sage struggled against his hold and tried to scream but his hand over her mouth wouldn’t allow any sound through. She knew who held her from the scent of his aftershave. Luke had grabbed her and was dragging her off.
She heard a deep growl and she knew Runt had found them. She could only pray Runt would bite him but that wasn’t the case. She could see a second shadow moving around closer by and she knew Luke had at least one of his minions with him.
About the time Runt would have lunged and taken whoever was with Luke, she heard the dog yelp and she knew he’d been hurt. She didn’t hear a gunshot so Sage knew the dog had been sliced open with a knife. Tears rolled down her cheeks and for a moment, she didn’t fight back. This was Jude’s dog and she may have just cost the animal his life.
Luke dragged her over to the fence and it wasn’t until he almost reached it, that Sage came back and began struggling against his hold. The arm around her throat tightened and she couldn’t breathe with his hand over her mouth and nose.
Someone picked up her feet and they got her through the fence. Sage’s last thoughts were of Judge and how he made her feel for at least a little while. She discovered she really did love him. At least she had that much before she died.
One look into Luke’s eyes before she passed out told her that he was going to kill her this time. She closed her eyes and felt a tear roll down her cheek as she gave in. Judge and the others were too far away and too busy to notice she was being carted off. They wouldn’t get to her in time. They couldn’t stop what was going to happen any more than she could. She tried to tell them all this and they didn’t listen.
She went lax in his arms and he pushed her into the car.
When only two more bodies, instead of three piled in the vehicle, Luke ordered Milo to take off. Milo wanted to wait but Luke ordered him to go so he gunned the motor and took off in a hurry. Luke glanced back over his shoulder and checked their progress.
He knew he was leaving a man behind but he didn’t care. He got his prize and this was war.
He could no longer see any flames but he knew their time was short. It wouldn’t take them long to find Sage missing and they knew exactly who’d taken her.
~*~
Judge and his brother and the others dumped the last of the water over the hot coals and watched as the burning wood sizzled then went out. He looked over at Deke and asked loudly, “What the fuck was that all about?”
“I have no fucking clue do I?” Deke responded as he kicked a burnt piece of wood out of the pile of charred lumber.
“Does this have anything to do with your woman?” Sam asked coming over to the group.
“It could.” Judge frowned.
Deke looked around but didn’t see Sage standing there. “Where is your woman?”
“I left her at the house with Runt,” Judge replied.
“Ummm, Judge, Runt is coming here and Sage isn’t with him.” Chance pointed out as everyone turned and looked as Runt charged over to them.
Judge watched as his dog ran full bore right up to him. He stood on two legs and crashed into him. Judge took a couple steps back and grabbed at the dog but his hands slipped off Runt’s body. Judge frowned and looked down at his hands. They were covered in blood. “What the fuck?”
“What’s the matter?’ Black Jack asked.
“Runt is bleeding!” Judge all but shouted. He pushed the dog down off him but Runt wouldn’t cooperate. He kept barking and prancing just out of reach. Judge looked up at his father and his brothers. “Something’s wrong.” Then he glanced back at his house in the distance. “Sage!” he shouted her name as he took off running toward his house.
Runt was by his side all the way.
Judge threw open the door and ran to his bedroom snapping on the lights, he saw the room was empty. The window had been shattered and he could see signs of a struggle. Looking down at the floor, he saw droplets of blood but whose blood it was, he didn’t know.
Judge turned and saw his family standing there in the doorway with a look of shock in their eyes. “They got her. They fucking just came right in and snatched her out of my home!” he yelled. He turned to watch as Raine examined Runt.
They could all see the blood on his coat and he was fighting Raine’s touch, as he wanted to be up and moving. Judge had to give him a command to settle down before Raine could find out where the blood was coming from.
“Son, you don’t know that,” Black Jack tried to reason with his oldest son.
“The fuck I don’t Dad. No one else has any reason to come after her. Luke Nichols is a dead man.” He went over to his closet and opened it. Reaching up to the top shelf, he pulled down a huge duffel bag. Plopping it down on the bed, he didn’t notice more of his MC brothers coming into the room.
Opening the bag, Deke could see a collection of handguns and knives. They all watched as Judge began loading his body with weapons. He didn’t even bother putting on a shirt as he strapped a double holster to his chest and another around his waist.
“You can’t go after her, not yet,” Deke ordered.
Judge looked up at the other man with a glint of something hard in his eyes. “The hell you say.”
Deke frowned. “We aren’t ready yet. We still need to know how to take Nichols down for good.”
Judge took a step closer to Deke. “Are you, any of you going to tell me you wouldn’t do exactly what I’m fixing to do if someone snatched your woman out from under your nose? You would wait? Are you telling me you wouldn’t follow them right into the pits of hell to try and get her back? Is that what you’re telling me right now!”
Deke snapped his head back and glared at the man. “Of course, I would do exactly what you’re getting ready to do. If someone snatched Cassie, I would go nuts, but if you do this, we’ll lose the bigger picture here. Nelson Nichols will win.”
“I don’t give a fuck about Nelson Nichols.” Judge growled. “I’m after Luke. He’s the only bastard that would dare to do this. He’s the fucker that that has tormented her over the years and she told me one day he would kill her. Well, I think that day is today and I’ll be damned if that’s gonna happen on my watch. I made her a promise he would never hurt her again and I aim to keep that promise.”
“You don’t even know where they are taking her,” Deke argued. “If you go off half cocked, you’ll not only lose her but probably your own life as well.”
“What do you suggest I do then?” Judge snarled. “Wait until they call me with a ransom demand? Wait till they find her body?”
“No you don’t wait for a fucking ransom demand,” Sam stated as he pushed his way into Judge’s bedroom. He had his hands on another person. He pushed the kid into the room.
When the kid fell to the floor and began looking round, Judge frowned. “What the fuck is this?”
“This is one of the little bastards who started the fire,” Sam announced. “His friend got away but I caught this little fucker trying to get over the fence. I figure you can ask him what Luke Nichols is doing with your woman.”
Judge’s hands curled into fists when he took note of the bruises the kid was wearing. Stepping closer to him, the kid tried to back away but was stopped as the MC brothers gathered around him. “What’s your name boy?” Judge growled.
The kid didn’t want to tell him but he knew he really didn’t have a choice, “Harry.”
“Harry, you must be the Kames kid then.” Judge nodded. “The one who murdered Sage’s mother with the drugs.”
Harry’s eyes got huge in his face. “She overdosed. I had nothing to do with that!”
“Your fingerprints were on the syringe that gave her the fatal dose of poison.” Judge took another step closer to him. “Did you know even what was in that syringe when you stuck it in her arm? Did you even care?”
Harry didn’t want to have this conversation, not now, not ever. “It was just meth. Luke told me it was meth.”
Judge shook his head. “I saw the coroners report. It wasn’t meth you fucking dummy. There was meth in there but the main ingredient was drain cleaner. Enough drain killer to kill her almost immediately. Which it did didn’t it? Right after you injected her, she was dead wasn’t she?”
Harry began to sweat. “How did you know that?”
“We’ve been looking into Nelson Nichols’ activities,” Deke answered. “We know how he works and how Luke works. We saw the original death certificate. Not even Nelson can hide that forever.”
“But I didn’t know there was drain cleaner in that syringe. I swear!” he cried out.
“Did you know Luke had given her a dose of meth about a half hour before you got there? She was already higher than a kite then.” Judge snarled. “Then you came along and he had to hold her down and you gave her the shot that killed her. He set you up for murder and you fell for it, hook, line and sinker. He had your prints right on that syringe.”
Judge kneeled down so he could look Harry in the eyes. “Where did Luke take Sage tonight? What are his plans for her? And you better tell me the truth or I’ll kill you where you lay.”
“Maybe before you kill him, you should find out who gave him the bruises?” Sam suggested. “They look pretty fresh.”
Judge glared at Harry and finally noticed the bruises Sam had asked about. “Who fucking messed you up kid?”
Harry swallowed hard before he answered, “Simon Grant. He came looking for Luke to find out if he had some stupid key. When Luke wouldn’t give it up, he and his friends beat us up.”
Deke stepped over to Harry and asked, “What’s this about a key?”
Harry shrugged. “I have no clue. Simon just asked if Brandi had a key on her when she died? None of us knew anything about any key. Then Simon said we better get our hands on Sage and bring her to the south side gym before a deadline or he and the Lords were going to hunt us down like vermin and take us out.”
“How did you know she was here with us?” Black Jack asked.
Harry gazed up at the older man. “One of Kyle’s cousin’s lives on Sage’s block and he saw him.” He nodded at Judge. “And the others when they got there. He saw them carry her out and we thought she might be here.”
~*~
Deke looked around the room at the faces of the brothers and made up his mind. Judge wasn’t far off when he asked if they wouldn’t go after their own women same as he was willing to do for Sage. He knew deep down, he would move heaven or hell to get Cassie back if she had been the one taken. In fact, he tried to go get her once with a bullet in his chest. “Are the Lords going to be there, wherever this meeting is going to take place?”
“Probably...” Harry looked around the room. “At least Simon and Aiden will be there. More than likely there will be some of the others. I think Aiden is going to make a new peace settlement with Luke’s dad. I’ve heard talk around town that Nelson is looking into getting rid of the Lords. He thinks he found replacements and doesn’t need the MC anymore.”
Deke’s lips tightened as he listened to Harry. So that’s what the Russians were doing here. Replacing the Lords. That wouldn’t be a better deal for anyone. Leon had called him a few hours ago and their conversation they had was enlightening. The Russians were Bratva but not strictly Russian. They were from Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan was a harsher place and not nearly as easy to work with. He also told them that these three men might have gone rogue and if that was the case here, they might not be willing to listen to reason.
Leon told them they were on their way but would they get here in time? Deke wasn’t so sure.
“Where did they take her?” Judge demanded.
Harry shook his head but Judge wasn’t having any of it. He grabbed the kid by the throat and got to him to his feet. Backing the kid against the wall he began tightening his hold. “Where. Did. He. Take. Her.”
“I told you, the south side gym.” Harry’s eyes were bugging in his face. “Aiden owns it, so they hold their meeting there.”
“I thought Grant Williams owed it,” Sam stated.
“Grant stands for Aiden and Williams in his woman’s last name,” Harry explained.
“We need eyes on the gym,” Sam suggested. “He looked over at Harry. “Somebody lock this fool up, so he can’t warn his friends.” He snorted and added, “You do know they left you behind don’t you? They didn’t even wait for you to catch up before they took off.”
Harry lowered his head with a sigh.
Iceman joined them while holding his phone in his hand. “My men just arrived. They want to know where we want them.
“How many came?” Deke asked.
“About two dozen.”
Deke looked over at Sam. “How many came from Maine?”
Sam shrugged. “About the same number why? What you got in mind boy?”
Deke grinned. “I have a feeling Aiden is showing his strength tonight. He’ll have his whole crew with him and if he doesn’t get exactly what he wants from Nelson, he’ll tear this town apart. Hell, maybe he’ll do it anyway. He needs his numbers to do that. As Nelson controls the police in this town, he will order them to stand down and he’ll let Aiden wreck half the town. I’m not going to let that happen.” He looked over at Iceman. “I want your men to spread out and look for any of the Lords. Don’t take them down yet but look for them and keep them under watch. When we get Sam’s men in place, we’ll take out his crew. When it comes down to them or us, we’ll be ready to take them down. I want to leave Aiden and Simon with no backup.” The men had arrived about half an hour ago and were waiting for word from him before they moved in. He explained the situation to them and got things set up.
Sam nodded and made a call.
Judge stared hard at Deke as he put more ammunition on his belt and clipped it. “I’m going after my woman.”
Deke nodded. “I know you are but you aren’t going alone. I need to make a call to the state police and we’ll have to go with what we’ve got. Amos and his guys are watching over the town right now. We can’t run off half cocked here. For now, your girl is all right, but we need to do this right or none of us are going to survive.”
“You need to listen to him son,” Black Jack stated.
“Hell, I know that Dad.” He turned around and clenched his fists. “Dammit! Fucking shit!” He punched a hole in the wall. “I fucking hate this!” he roared. “I hate it, but I know what’s at stake,” Judge agreed with steel in his voice as he looked over at Deke. “I’ll give you exactly thirty minutes then I’m going, even if I have to go alone, I’m fucking gone. You hear what I’m saying?”
“I hear you.” Deke nodded. He understood what the man was going through. It was hell wondering what was happening to your woman. A hell he’d walked through himself.
Chapter Thirteen
Forty five minutes later, Judge peeked in the window of the gym office. He could see three people moving around but the white paint that covered the window wouldn’t allow him to see who the three figures were.
He turned and held up three fingers. He looked back into the office but the figures were gone. Judge moved down to the next window and this one he could see better through. There was Sage. He could see her and his heart stilled at the sight of her. Now at least he knew she was okay and still alive at this point.
Looking around the room, he saw Luke sitting there across from Sage. The look in his eyes didn’t bode well for her and Judge knew he had her death in his eyes. He saw Kyle and Jason there as well. They seemed to be waiting for someone to show up. Judge knew they were waiting for Simon and Aiden to come.
The MC all heard a vehicle stop in front of the building. Two of the brothers were watching the front and when his phone vibrated, Judge looked down at the message. Nelson and three others had just arrived. Must be the Russians Nelson had been recruiting.
His phone vibrated again and reading the message, he raised his fist to let everyone waiting in the shadows know they were finally here.
Deke, Judge, and the others were waiting until Aiden Simon and the two men he brought with him were inside.
Deke left a few brothers waiting at the back door while the majority of them went to the front door. After a few minutes, Deke opened the door and the whole lot of them filed in.
Aiden, Simon, Nelson and Luke seemed surprised they were here.
Nelson swore and looked toward the Russians for protection.
Just then, one of the men got a ping on his phone and when he looked down, he paled and held out his phone for his two friends to see what had just come over. They took a step back and watched what was going to play out here tonight.
Nelson looked worried now.
Aiden didn’t, he scowled at the men who’d just barged into his office..
Deke’s men lined the walls but didn’t do or say anything.
Deke, Gator, Sam and Judge came forward to confront the rest of the bunch.
“No one here invited you, so why don’t you turn around and leave?” Aiden challenged them.
Deke crossed his arms over his chest and just glared at the other man. “It seems we have a problem here and as a concerned citizen, I think I have a say here.”
Nelson scoffed. “You got no fucking say in anything here, so why don’t you do all of us a favor and get the hell out of here.”
Deke turned his head and sneered at him. “You know something, you bother me, you bother me a lot.”
“Like I fucking care.” Nelson shook his head.
“Oh, I know you don’t care, not about me, not about your own kids and you never did care about this town, but this town is about to throw your dumb ass in prison.”
Nelson just smiled. Tilting his head, he gazed at Deke. “You think so? This town is mine to control, so I think you’re talking out of your ass.”
Deke nodded. “Maybe, but the state police are waiting outside for you to come out and as soon as you do, they are going to arrest you for attempted murder, corruption and fraud.”
Nelson raised an eyebrow. “And just who died by my hands?”
“I believe she called herself Star?”
Nelson’s expression changed to shock.
“Yeah, that was her name. You see, about 24 years ago, you killed her in the back of a strip club. Simon found you and has been blackmailing you ever since. But don’t worry, your son, Luke can kept you company in the cell next to yours, he’s going down for two murders, Brandi Billingsly and Daniel Weston.”
“That’s a fucking lie!” Luke called out. “I never touched either one and you can’t prove a damn thing.”
“Oh, but I can and the police have enough evidence on both of you, they won’t even need a trial,” Deke assured him.
Simon grinned and looked at Nelson. “Sucks to be you man.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t get too cocky there, buckwheat,” Sam called out. “They’re waiting on you and your brother too. Seems to me, I heard that there’s no limitations on murder, no mater how much time has passed.”
Simon snorted. “I never killed anyone and there is no proof I did.”
“Really?” Sam smiled. He had to chuckle. “Now there’s where you would be wrong. You see, Brandi was a clever woman who would beg borrow or steal to get the kind of life she wanted for herself. She knew Nelson over here couldn’t keep it in his pants, so she set Star up. She knew he was a kinky bastard as well so she hid a camera in Star’s room and she got on film what really happened that night.” He looked over at Sage sitting close to Luke. Holding out his hand, he urged her to join them.
Sage started to get up but Luke grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. Sage struggled but Luke wouldn’t let her go. Instead, he wrapped his hand around her throat. “One fucking move and I will snap her neck!” he warned them. “Way I figure it, I got nothing left to lose and I can go down for three murders as well as two. The state can only kill me for one anyway.”
Judge growled and would have charged at him but Sage whispered, “Please don’t. This was meant to be.”
“Fucking right it was meant to be.” Luke snarled in her ear. “You are one bitch that should never have been born!”
“Why not?” Nelson scoffed.
“I should be your only kid!” Luke cried out. “She’s alive today because as everyone in the fucking free world has pointed out, you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants. I lost half of your empire because you couldn’t be faithful to me mother.”
“Is that what you think boy?” Nelson chuckled out loud. “I doubt there’s a man on this earth that could be faithful to that heartless woman. As soon as you were born, she lost interest in anything sexual. Her whole world revolved around you and you alone. She had no more use for me so yeah, I looked for comfort elsewhere.”
Judge clenched his fists and went to step forward.
Deke grabbed his arm and shook his head.
Luke sneered at his father. “Makes no difference, you still should have been faithful. You gave her what should have been mine and mine alone.”
Sage sat up a bit and turned to look at her brother. “What exactly did he give me? Huh? I’ll tell you what he gave me, absolutely nothing. Not one fucking thought. He never supported me as far as I knew, then I find out that he’s been paying my mother blackmail for my whole life, blackmail, not child support. She never spent one red dime on me that she didn’t have to. I have no clue what she did with the money but since I’ve been ten years old, I’ve been working to support us. I worked after school and nights to pay the rent and put food on the table. Don’t you tell me he gave me something he should have given you, you lousy bastard. He never gave me a damn thing! My own mother never told me his name. The first time I had a clue as to who he was... was when you told me and then I didn’t believe you.” She turned her head and glared at Nelson. “As far as I’m concerned, you don’t exist for me.”
She took note of the fact that Luke’s fingers had loosened a bit and his hold on her throat was lax enough she could make a break to get away from him. Curling her fingers into claws, she turned and went for his eyes. When she dug into his skin, Luke screamed and pushed her away. Sage hit the floor with a thud.
Judge rushed forward and snatched her out of Luke’s reach. He gazed at her for a second and searched her neck to see bruising from his hold. Growling, he gently moved her to Deke. He stepped forward and punched Luke in the jaw.
Luke’s head hit the wall with such force he bounced back and hit the floor. Holding his jaw, he cried.” I...think you...broke my jaw!” Blood spilled out of his mouth.
Judge stared down at him. “You’re lucky you’re going to prison you fuck! Cause I want to break every damn bone in that pathetic body of yours.”
“Maybe he isn’t so lucky though, Judge,” Deke spoke up. “There are many in the joint that I know of personally that don’t like wimpy, women beating pigs like him. I wonder how he will feel when he is someone’s bitch?”
Luke spat out blood and stared up at the huge man above him. He finally seemed to realize that this was all over for him. He started to cry.
Sage shook off Deke’s hold and stepped closer. She grasped Judge’s steel like arm. “He isn’t worth your time.” She glared down at the man who’d bullied her for almost her entire life. “He ain’t worth it at all.”
Aiden began laughing at the spectacle but didn’t make his move. So far, no one had suggested anything that would hurt him. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Now all that was truly entertaining, but I ain’t got all night here.” Looking over at Deke, he spoke, “So since you have all the answers Mr. Spawn what did really happen the night Star died?”
“Nelson messed her up but he’d been roofied that night and passed out before he got very far into it. Your brother came in when he saw Nelson was down and he argued with Star then killed her. He kept quiet all these years because Nelson was paying him hush money.”
Aiden turned his head and glared at his brother. “You fucking killed her? She was my woman not his and you killed her? I’ve hated that man for close to twenty-four years because you lied to me! I ought to kill you myself.”
“What the fuck did you expect?” Simon shrugged. “When you were with her, you lost the focus you once had for the Lords. We could have been great and we were well on our way to be the best of the best. Then you met her and you lost it. I had to get you back on track man. I had to do something, even if it meant killing her.”
Aiden glared at his brother then turned to Deke, “So how does this play out now? We all go to jail and you pick up the slack? How is that fair?”
Deke shrugged. “Who said life was fair? I sure as hell know you never said that.” He looked over at the three Russian men who hadn’t said a word to anyone yet.
The leader shook his head. “We have nothing to do with this situation and will be leaving here soon. We want no trouble here.”
Deke nodded and glared at Aiden. “You’re done here too. When I took over the Satan’s Spawn MC, I vowed then that this town would be drug free. I hated the drug trade and told the men then that if they were caught in this town dealing, they would pay the price. They could deal in the next town over but not here in Troy. Then you and your MC showed up, bringing that shit with you. We almost went to war once over this and we’re about to again, only I don’t think it will come to that.”
“You know my men are all over this town and if they don’t hear from me at some point, they will tear this town apart until they find me don’t you?” Aiden asked.
“Well now, here’s the thing...” Deke began. “Your men are being gathered up by the State police on charges of drug trafficking.” Shaking his head, he smiled at Aiden. “That Brandi, she was a clever girl she was. She recorded every transaction you ever did with her in a nice little book. Then she hid that book so no one would find it.” He looked over at Sage. “But she never bothered to look at her daughter. Sage told us exactly where the book was, along with several bodies. We’ve already spoken to the State police and the FBI about what we found at her old house.”
“Was it Brandi who knifed my VP in the back then?” Aiden wanted to know.
“No,” Sage spoke up. “I did that.”
All eyes swung over to her.
She was standing in the safety of Judge’s arms but as she spoke, she stepped to one side. “He was hurting one of the girls you guys kidnapped and were going to sell. He was cutting her and he was about to rape her again. He threw down his knife and I couldn’t stand the screaming anymore. I picked up the knife and pushed it into his back. I was just a kid and that man was a monster.”
Aiden nodded. “Did your mom ever find a key on his body?”
Sage shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Deke reached into his pocket and produced an old key. “Is this what you’re looking for?”
Aiden turned his head and stared at the long lost key. “That’s the one.”
“Well, I don’t figure you’ll need whatever this is to while being behind bars.” Deke slipped the key back into his pocket.
“This isn’t going to go down the way you think it will.” Nelson growled. “I won’t go down alone or quietly and I’ll make this town pay for what they’re doing to me.” He turned his glare to Sage. “And she will be going to jail with us as well. She killed a man. Let’s not forget that.”
“Oh, stuff it Nelson,” Sam snapped. “The man she killed was in self-defense and you fucking know it. Keeping him from raping a girl. You are so damn stupid it ain’t even real. You and your cohorts all are going down for what you did to this town. All of them will be ruined socially and all of them will spend at least some time behind bars. They’re going to regret ever working with your sorry ass.”
“We’re taking back this town from the likes of you Mayor,” Deke informed him. “This is going to be our town now. And nobody messes with the Sin’s Bastards.”
Sam walked to the door, opened it then stepped back. The room was suddenly filled with police wearing State uniforms and men wearing business suits. They stood behind Nelson, Luke, Kyle Milo and Jason. As each man was handcuffed, they began reading them their Miranda rights. The two men in suits did the same to Aiden and Simon.
The only ones who weren’t handcuffed were Deke and his mean along with the three Russians.
When the others were led out, Deke turned to the Russians. “I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing here but you’re not wanted here if it is your intention of opening up a route to bring guns and drugs to this town. Don’t do it or you could become one of them.” He motioned his head at the door.
One of the men stepped forward and held out his hand. “Actually, my name is Viktor Slavic and I represent a man name Timor Maxim. Although Nelson Nichols believed we were willing to break the laws of this land, Timor Maxim sent us over here to search for new business opportunities. He wants to come and live in the United States as he has two sons that live here. He is the leader of the Bratva back in our homeland of Kazakhstan but wants to be closer to his children and grandchildren.”
“We never would have gone along with Nelson’s plans of snuggling in drugs or guns,” another one of the three told them.
“What was it you saw on your phone that stopped you before?” Sage asked.
Viktor smiled and held out his phone. One the phone was a short simple message from Timor. Three small words that said, ‘Don’t get involved.’
Deke tipped his head to one side. “What kind of business is your boss interested in?”
“Only legitimate ones,” Viktor told him. “We did not know this was a deal for drugs or weapons. We would have left as soon as they brought it up. So, we just want to have something to start with.”
“Oh, I think we can work with that.” Deke grinned. “Tell me something, does your boss like speed? On two wheels or four? We are looking to expand our custom built cycles and hot rod vehicles...”
~*~
Judge pulled up in front of his house.
Sage got off from behind him and stood there searching the house. She turned to Judge and found him watching her. “Where is Runt?” she whispered as fear gripped her.
“Raine was examining him when we left,” Judge told her. “They stabbed him to get you away without alerting us.”
Sage hung her head. She’d caused this. “Is he still alive?”
“I don’t know but I hope so.”
She raised her head and looked at him. “So do I. He protected me the best he could. He was rushing Luke when he got stabbed. I will never forget that. You promised me you would always be there and you were.”
Judge frowned. “But he still got to you. He would have killed you tonight, you know that right?”
Sage smiled. “I know he would have tried but he’s like everyone else, he underestimated me the whole time. He didn’t realize I’m tougher than he will ever be because I’ve had to be.”
Judge shook his head. “We are a pair aren’t we?”
“Is that what we are? A pair?” she whispered.
“Damn right we are.” He growled. “You are more like me than you realize, babe. You stood your ground tonight and I’m damn proud of you for that.”
“And you came after me, just like I hoped you would.” She pointed out. “That’s love isn’t it? You stood up for me too.”
Judge pulled her into his arms. “Yeah Angel, that’s love.”
“Will you teach me all there is to know about love?” she asked him softly. “I think I’d like to learn about that.”
Judge smashed his lips down on hers and took her breath away. When he broke the kiss, he promised, “I’ll gladly teach you whatever you want.”
Then his front door opened and Runt came bounding out. He had a bandage wrapped around his belly but he seemed none the worse for wear. He jumped up on Sage and began licking her face.
Sage laughed out loud and knelt to hug the dog back.
“Damn, I’ve never seen him do that with anyone except me.” Judge chuckled.
She looked up at Judge. “Does that mean I get to keep you and him too?”
“Hey, accept me, accept him, we’re a package deal.” Judge grinned.
She looked down at the dog. “Well Runt, I suppose I will have to keep the man that comes with the dog.”
Runt yelped as if he got the joke.
Sage laughed loudly.
Judge felt happier than he ever remembered while hearing her beautiful laugh. “You are a clever woman, Sage Billingsly. I cannot wait to find out just how clever you really are.” His gaze grew heated as he looked into her silver-gray eyes.
“Yeah...I think that might be fun for me.” Sage smiled as she stood and kissed him soundly.
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