“We’re all pissed at ourselves and for a damn good reason. We didn’t treat Seychelle right on that fucking run,” Czar said. “None of us were thinking straight then, but we’d better be now. She’s one of ours, and she’s taking a lot of hits all at once. Anything we can do, Savage, let us know.”
“Her cottage is a fucking mess. Thought maybe we can get a couple of dumpsters. Get the word out that the brothers are doing a remodel so if any of her lady friends see the mess they won’t be wondering what happened. The entire place needs to be cleaned out. You’ll have to shovel that shit out of there. Shari did a hell of a job on the place. Anything of Seychelle’s that can be salvaged, do, but I don’t think there’s much. I’m heading over to Casimir and Lissa’s. Sent Lissa a picture of a sculpture Seychelle had that held her parents’ ashes. It was smashed. We gathered the pieces. Lissa is going to see if she can do anything with it.”
Czar swore under his breath. “She smashed the sculpture with her parents’ ashes?”
Savage nodded and glanced into the back window of the truck. Seychelle wasn’t looking back at him, and she hadn’t texted him. Her head was on the backrest, and she stared straight ahead. He fucking hated that.
“We’ll start on it, as soon as we can get organized,” Maestro promised.
“She looks so damn lost, Czar,” Savage said.
“I’m sorry, Savage. I know this has been a nightmare for her.” He studied Savage’s face. His eyes. “With more to come. You want someone with you?”
Savage understood what Czar was referring to. His president knew Savage was close to the end of his cycle. This was going to tip him over the edge. The last thing his woman needed was his monster coming at her on top of everything else and him losing all control. “I do. She doesn’t. She says she can handle it if it’s just the two of us. Not if someone is a witness.”
“I get that,” Czar said. “Can you handle it?”
“Yes. We’re strong together. But then it scares the shit out of me. If I make a mistake, just one, I know I couldn’t live with it. She says it won’t happen. She believes in me that much.”
“Do you believe in you?” Czar asked.
Savage was silent for a long time, weighing his answer. “I believe in the two of us. I love her more than I ever knew it was possible to love someone. If she says stop, I will hear her and stop.”
Czar nodded. “There’s your answer. Plank wants an informal meet, was hoping to drop by the bar tomorrow night. Given what’s going on here, you can skip this one if your woman needs you home with her.”
Savage didn’t want to skip it. “We’ll see how things go. If it’s informal, she may want a night out. She likes singing with the band. I’ll let her know what’s going on and ask her what she wants to do.” He was firm about that. There was no reason not to let Seychelle know Plank would show up with a few other Diamondbacks. She would know it was to talk.
Czar nodded. “Get out of here. The brothers will fix the door and lock it up tight until we can get the rebuilding underway.”
“Thanks.”
Savage slid behind the wheel of the truck, once more grateful that he hadn’t yet retrieved his Harley. He’d asked Mechanic to go through it for him since it was already at the shop and make certain it was in perfect running condition. Once he was on the highway and moving in the direction of the large farm Czar and Blythe shared with several others, including Casimir and Lissa, he reached over and took Seychelle’s hand.
“I’m sorry about the cottage, baby.” He kissed her fingertips. “The boys promised they’ll fix it up as good as new. I know you love your house. I do too, as it turns out. We talk better there. I have a good memory for the exact position you like the bed so the moon can come through the window perfectly. I swear I’ll have it ready for you fast.”
She turned her head to look at him, her blue eyes moving over his face. He couldn’t look at her when he was driving on the road, not when it was right along the oceanfront, but he felt that intense scrutiny. Her fingers curled in his.
“I know you will, Savage.” Her voice was soft. Loving. “Thank you for being with me. It was really nice that some of the brothers showed up.”
“They’re all going to help, Seychelle. They’ll get your house put back together, although I’m going to practice saying our house. We do need to get married.”