There was nothing for it, although all of Torpedo Ink were seething, knowing that Plank had ordered Pierce to kill Tawny and throw the blame on Alena. Savage had Pierce in his sights and settled on the roof, wire in his ear, listening to the conversation, as several of the other Torpedo Ink members were doing as well.
Alena looked sexy as hell. She always did. There was something about her that just screamed sensual with every step she took. She looked cool and calm on the outside, but Savage could feel the inner turmoil raging in her. She had agreed to meet with Pierce the moment Czar asked her. She would never shirk club duties, no matter how tough they were, but it cost her to even look at him. Savage took the brunt of that rage and pain for her so she could face Pierce just like she was, with her cool demeanor, as if the Diamondback enforcer counted for nothing.
Unfortunately, that pain transferred to a deep well of rage that just kept adding to that force, building and building until the volcano in Savage would have no choice but to erupt. And that meant his woman would have to be ready. The time he had to prepare her was getting shorter and shorter. The need to put a bullet in Pierce’s head was stronger than he would have liked.
“Alena, I want you to just hear me out. That entire thing with Tawny, that was fucked up. I didn’t have a chance to talk to you. To explain,” Pierce said.
Alena shrugged, waved her hand as if dismissing him very casually. “It’s all right, Pierce, it was a misunderstanding. I thought our relationship was exclusive, and you didn’t. Had you been up front with me that you wanted something different, I would have known from the beginning what we were all about. But the video . . . That’s something else altogether.”
Alena shook her head, gave him a faint smile, but didn’t change her mild tone. “That makes you a fucking bastard. I didn’t want to give that to you, but you insisted. That was a pretty big deal, and you knew it. You played me, and I have to think about the why of that. Your ego?”
She shrugged. “Maybe you get off on playing women. I do hope you and Tawny had a good laugh together in bed the way she said. That one did hurt, I’ll admit, but then I let myself care about you, and that’s on me.”
“Damn it, Alena. You know I never took that bitch to my bed. Never. She was lying to you. She might have been in someone else’s bed watching the video, but it wasn’t mine.” There was a short silence while Pierce thought about what he’d just said.
He cursed while Savage thought about putting a bullet in the betrayer’s head. He wanted to pull the trigger more than he wanted to take his next breath. To keep from doing it, he forced air through his lungs and wiped his forehead on his sleeve, all the while keeping the scope aimed dead center between Pierce’s eyes.
Alena’s pain was visceral. One could take only so many betrayals. Alena and her entire club had already had their share. She’d let Pierce in. She’d known better, but somehow, she’d let him in. He didn’t deserve it, and the Diamondback enforcer knew it. He knew what he’d lost just looking at her. Savage could see it on his face. He drained off more of Alena’s pain, a little at a time, just enough to allow her to keep functioning with that same cool demeanor.
“That didn’t come out right, honey.” Pierce shoved both hands through his hair. “Marry me. Before the run. I want you to marry me, Alena. We can fix this.”
Alena stared at him for nearly thirty seconds without speaking while Savage resisted a second time, not pulling the trigger.
“I think you’ve really lost your mind. You want me to marry you? Before the run? How would that work, exactly? I’m Torpedo Ink. You’re Diamondback. Nothing has changed, Pierce. You want me riding with you on the run?”
“Yes.” He nodded. Frowned. Shook his head. “No. Not on the run. You’d stay home. Work at your restaurant. There’s no need for you to be at that run.”
She regarded him for another full thirty seconds in silence. “How would our marriage work, Pierce? You’re not the faithful kind. You go on runs and have fun with other women? I go and have fun with other men? Or I stay home, and you think I’m going to be the good little old lady? We have an open marriage? How do you envision this?”
He shoved his hands through his hair again. “I don’t know, Alena. I never thought about marrying anyone before. I can protect you.”