“Tell me what’s happening. You’re scaring me.”
He squatted down low and came up as he slid a razor-sharp blade along her dress, creating a slit right up to her hip. “Think I can’t take care of my girl? We’re going home. This whole thing never should have happened, but it’s over now.”
“You have enough evidence? Are you sure we pulled it off?”
He grabbed her upper arm, leading her out of the pool area toward the street. The roar of bikes was still echoing in the rural landscape.
“The bikes…”
“Forge is going to show Grass exactly who owns this fucking town.”
Relief flooded her veins. The club equaled safety. This was all going to be resolved tonight.
“So, everything’s okay? Forge approved this?”
“Forge listens to his old lady. She knew you were in trouble, and after tonight, we have more than enough to bury Grass.”
“What about you, Dog? You sure you want to be here?”
He stopped dead, when all she wanted was to be far from the country club and on the safety of his bike. Dog tilted her chin up. “If you’re talking about what happened to you at the diner, that was the hardest day of my life. I had to stand there and watch when all I wanted to do was take care of you.” He ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek and she leaned into his touch. “Now the game is over. Now you’re mine.”
Chapter Eight
“You good?” Dog asked, looking at Forge, who sat in his office at the clubhouse.
He’d taken Sable and got her to the club, only to come back in time to see everything go down with Grass. Dog had taken all the evidence he needed, blending into the party like a sore thumb, but along with it, he’d gotten the whole conversation with the cop recorded, not to mention the evidence leading to the weapons, the girls, even a couple of men and women talking about drugs and the hope of expanding distribution. Everything they needed had fallen right into their laps and it wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for Sable. That woman needed to be rewarded.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“What’s the problem then?” Dog folded his arms, seeing the concern on Forge’s face. “We got everything we wanted.”
“And to do it, you went behind my back getting Beth involved. I don’t like that. Sure, we’ve put Grass in his place and he’s already made the call to step down. His career in politics is over. It won’t stop him, though. We swiped his position of power right out from under him. He’s going to come back harder.”
Dog laughed. “I think you’re overthinking that kind of shit. He hasn’t got anything to come back to. Honestly. We’ve got this.”
Forge stared at him. “You think I wanted to put Sable in danger? Do you think I enjoyed any part of this?”
“Forge,” he said.
“Don’t even fucking start with me. This shit is bigger than even I imagined. You weren’t smart tonight. The kind of game Grass was in, it was way over his head and we’re the ones in the firing line. Think about that.” Forge picked up his shot of whiskey and slugged it back, then poured himself out a fresh shot.
“Don’t take this out on Beth.”
Beth had gone over Forge’s head, not him. But, as VP, he still should have let Forge know every detail of their conversation before he acted.
“I don’t plan to. I’m not angry with her. I knew from the moment she came into my life that she was special. She doesn’t understand our politics the way we do. She was only doing what she could for her friend. After what went down at the damn diner, I can’t blame her.”
He paced back and forth. The past couldn’t be undone. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were.
“Sable’s out. Her cover’s blown.”
“And she can’t leave club grounds for the next few weeks, maybe even months until I know all of this fucking bullshit is resolved. Her life is in danger. Hank knows she played him.” Forge shook his head, blowing out a breath.
“I got what you wanted.”
“No, Sable got what I needed. You just sped along the process because you were too fucking impatient. Aren’t you the same man who refused to claim her because you assumed she was club pussy?” Forge gritted his teeth, his hand clenched. “I get that we won today, but that’s only today.”
“I’ll protect her. I’d give my life for this club, you know that.” He took a cleansing breath. “You going to tell the club what happened with Sable?”