PROLOGUE
SAVAGE
Savage sat in the holding cell, waiting for the officers to bring Cillian in to see him. He knew his old friend would call him for help sooner or later. Cillian James was the one he failed and Savage lived with that disappointment in himself every damn day. Savage was good friends with Cillian’s dad and had been since they arrived from Ireland when Cillian was just a kid. He promised to keep an eye on him after his parents went back to Ireland and Cillian stayed in the U.S., but somewhere along the line, Savage failed him.
When Cillian tried to join Savage’s MC, he refused him. Patching in the kid would have been the wrong call. He didn’t belong in that group of military misfits and one-percenters who made up his motley crew. To Savage, they were family but to Cillian, they would mean the end of what he wanted—a chance at a normal life. So, he told the kid that he didn’t want him and even made up some excuse about him being too hot-tempered for their club, just to throw him off the scent. It had the opposite effect though and Cillian became even more determined to find his way in. Even if that meant joining Savage Hell’s rival club—the Dragons. They were bad news and before Savage could step in and save Cillian, he had stolen a car to try to prove his worth to the Dragons. The problem was—they didn’t want Cillian and when it came down to it, they let him rot in prison over a gang prank that went wrong.
Their leader thought it would be funny to set Cillian up to take the fall for grand theft auto and he took the bait and was now serving his time for the crime he committed. It pissed Savage off knowing that he could have prevented all of Cillian’s problems if he had just let him into Savage Hell. But, it was too late to go back and change all of that. All Savage could do now was help his friend and he was hoping that was why he was summoned to the prison so early on a Monday morning.
The steel door creaked open and Cillian walked in wearing handcuffs and a smile. The officer instructed them that they were not allowed any physical contact, they only had ten minutes for their visit, and asked Savage if he wanted Cillian’s cuffs on or off.
“Off,” Savage growled. As soon as the handcuffs were removed, Cillian sat down on the other side of the table from Savage and nodded.
“Thanks for coming, man,” Cillian said.
“No problem, Cillian. It’s been a damn long time,” Savage said. “I’ve been here a few times, but you refused to see me—what was up with that, man?”
Cillian chuckled and Savage sat back to cross his arms over his chest, finding the whole thing less funny than his friend.
“You haven’t changed a bit,” Cillian said and Savage just shrugged. “It’s been a long time since I heard anyone call me by my real name. I was starting to forget who I was in here.”
“Yeah, I heard about all of that,” Savage said. “You got into some trouble. I heard you killed a man.” Cillian eyed the guard who stood in the corner of the room, watching and listening to every word they were saying.
“Nope,” he said. “But, I got the credit in the yard for it and that’s how I got my nickname—Kill.” Cillian flashed Savage a grin and he shook his head.
“It doesn’t suit you,” Savage growled. “I think I’ll stick with your real name, Cillian.” His friend didn’t seem at all put off by him refusing to use his new nickname, even shrugging it off.
“Suit yourself,” he said, his Irish accent sounded in full. Savage didn’t realize just how much he had missed his friend until just now.
“It’s good to see you,” Savage whispered. “So much has happened since you’ve been in here.”
“Yeah well, ten years is a damn long time. And, I’m sorry about turning you away when you came to visit but I just couldn’t see you. Knowing you were here for me was enough but seeing you would have pained me. I would have longed for a life that I could never have.” Cillian’s expression was bitter and Savage realized that the boy he used to know wasn’t sitting across the table from him. Cillian had become the man that prison had made him. He truly was ‘Kill’ now but Savage refused to believe he couldn’t have the life he wanted, once he got out of that awful place.
“Why am I here now?” Savage asked, cutting straight to the chase. The guard was watching the clock and he knew that their ten minutes were just about up. It was time to find out why Cillian wanted to see him now after so much time had passed.
“I’m getting out,” Cillian breathed.
“That’s great, man,” Savage said. “When?”
“Probably sometime next week. The date hasn’t been set yet but my lawyer said it’s a done deal. I need an advocate on the outside,” Cillian all but whispered. “I was hoping it would be you.”
“Of course, anything you need, man,” Savage offered and he meant it too.
“I can’t be around any felons, as part of my parole conditions,” Cillian said. Savage nodded his understanding.
“So, no Savage Hell party at the clubhouse to welcome you home then?” Cillian smiled.
“No,” he agreed. “I appreciate the club taking me under its wing after I did what I did with the Dragons. Savage Hell and you have had my back through all of this, but I can’t be around most of the guys while I’m on parole.”
Savage laughed, “Yeah, they aren’t the upstanding citizens your parole officer will want you hanging around with, I’m afraid,” he said. “But, you have my help—whatever you need.”
“Can you pick me up and help me find a place to live and maybe a job, once I get sprung?” Cillian asked. He fidgeted with his own hands on the metal desk and for just a minute, Savage caught a glimpse of the shy boy who came from Ireland and didn’t quite fit in anywhere.
“Of course,” Savage said. “Consider it done.”
“How’s the family? I got your letters about Bowie and Dallas—I’m so happy for you, man,” Cillian said. Savage wasn’t sure if he believed him or not. He could hear the undertones of sadness in Cillian’s voice.
“You’ll get there too, Cillian. Someday—”
“Don’t,” Cillian barked. “Don’t give me hope for someday, Savage. It hurts too much to think about not having that happiness in my life—a wife, kids—a family. It’s not for me now so don’t feed me some bullshit about someday,” he growled. Savage nodded, knowing that now wasn’t the time to argue with his friend. Not when their precious time was ticking down to mere seconds.
“That’s time,” the guard called. “Let’s go, Kill.” Cillian stood as ordered and nodded to Savage.
“I’ll be here when you get out, Cillian,” Savage promised.
“Thanks, man,” Cillian said. The guard put the cuffs back on him and he turned to leave the room. “I knew I could count on you, Savage.”