“I want to hear what he has to say,” Seychelle said.
She reached over the arm of the chair and put her palm on Savage’s thigh. He didn’t know if she was looking for comfort, but he covered her hand with his, because even if she didn’t need the comfort, he did.
“Belonging to Savage is belonging to Torpedo Ink, Seychelle. They aren’t separate. It isn’t just his club, it’s his family. It’s who he is. It’s who we are. All of us. Blythe. The children. What happens to one of us, happens to all of us. We take care of each other first. It’s always family first. What happens in our family stays in it. It’s never taken outside of it. Never. You have a problem, you come to me with it. You go to Steele. Or Reaper. You put your trust in us. No matter how bad it is, or how scared you are, you never go outside the family. We watch each other’s backs at all times. You need anything, you say so.”
Seychelle hadn’t taken her gaze from Czar’s face, but her palm pressed hard into the muscle of Savage’s thigh. “What you’re saying to me is that Torpedo Ink sometimes does things that are illegal, and I might not agree with them. I might inadvertently find out about them, and you don’t want me to go to the police.”
“We take back children from pedophiles, Seychelle. We find them using illegal means, and we track them and then we take them back. We do things law enforcement can’t do. These people are trafficking in children, and they have a pyramid, a hierarchy. There is someone or a group of people at the top, running the operation. We’re trying to find them. Rescuing a child and getting rid of the one that is raping and beating him or her is satisfying, but it isn’t going to stop it from happening over and over. We’re working our way to the top slowly. It takes time, and it isn’t always nice or easy. We don’t ask for names nicely, is what I’m saying.”
Seychelle’s blue eyes stayed on Czar. Her palm felt hot, a brand burning her name into Savage’s thigh. “If you get caught, you’ll go to prison.”
“Without a doubt.”
“And doing this, any of you could get killed.”
“We’re very good at what we do.”
“There are other things. Like the other night, in the bar. With that club. That wasn’t about pedophiles.”
Savage sat very still, unblinking. Blythe was in the room, calmly drinking tea and eating a pastry, looking serene. She wasn’t involved in that kind of club business. She knew about the hunt for children. Sometimes she knew when Torpedo Ink was hired to try to retrieve a woman taken by the notorious Ghosts, who targeted other clubs by kidnapping the wife of a president of the targeted club and demanding compliance or they would torture and kill her. Blythe didn’t know when the Diamondbacks asked Torpedo Ink to do them favors as a support club.
“There are other things we do, yes,” Czar admitted but went no further. He didn’t look away from her, his voice as gentle and as low as always, but there was no doubt his tone carried absolute weight.
“You’re telling me I have to accept what you do, and trust that no matter what happens, no matter what I hear or how afraid I am, that if Savage does something I feel is wrong, you will hear me out and treat me fairly in spite of the fact that he has been with you since he was a child and you just met me.”
“Yes.”
“That’s a pretty big leap of faith, Czar.”
“I know it is, Seychelle. I know what is happening in your life right now has to feel enormous and frightening. I can only tell you that all of us are here for you. Every single member of Torpedo Ink. If you accept Savage, and that ring on your finger says that you do, then you’re taking us on as well. When you take us on, you’re swearing with your word of honor, on your life, that you will hold to the laws of the family.”
For the first time, Seychelle’s long lashes lowered, veiling her expression, and Savage’s heart sank. She was too intelligent not to catch the meaning of what Czar was saying to her. He flicked his gaze to Czar.
“Is it club business or partner business if someone takes a contract out on my fiancé? Or on me, for that matter?” Seychelle asked. “Do we discuss that? Or do only the club members discuss it?” There was a distinct challenge in her voice. “Because, as far as I’m concerned, that is a matter between partners and is my business.”
Savage tightened his fingers around her hand when she would have pulled it out from under his.