Under his da’s rule, if Aidan Sr. found out you lied to him, he’d cut off your finger. Aidan’s already set the precedent that he’ll slice out your tongue if you try to con him.
My statement has him standing taller. A dark scowl creases his features, and he rumbles, “Savvie, go and get some work done. You don’t need to hear this.”
She huffs. “Fuck off, Aidan. I want to know what’s going on. I’m the one who recommended Davis to you. He still plays golf with my dad. The man fixed his knees and back more times than I can remember!” To me, she questions, “Aidan said that Dr. Davis believes his daughter was in a cult or something?”
“It isn’t a cult. It’s an MC,” I mutter, not surprised by how much Savannah knows about the business. “And they’re no better or worse than the Satan’s Sinners’ MC. They’re sure as fuck not a cult.”
“Okay, so she’s in no danger?”
“No. Only from Davis himself. Cindy told me that she believes he killed her mom.”
Aidan’s eyes narrow as he repeats, “He killed her mom?”
“Cindy believes so.”
“Did she see it with her own eyes?”
“What do you want me to do, Aidan? Get her to show you the crime scene?” Aidan’s brows rise at my tone, but I’m pissed. “He abused Cindy. The shit he did to her doesn’t bear repeating.”
Lucas elbows me in the side. “Repeat it. Aidan needs to know he was disrespected by Davis.”
I’m not happy about sharing this with him, but I do it anyway. “He used to make her strip in front of him so she could get weighed, and he controlled her food—he beat his wife and manipulated Isabelle by threatening to hurt her mother.
“After his wife was gone, Isabelle tried to tell people. He had her committed to a hospital where he made sure she was doped up.” I look at Aidan and then at Savannah. “She ended up escaping and living in fear until she got with the Disciples.”
Savannah’s eyes turn round with horror. “Aidan, you can’t give her to that bastard!”
He ignores her. “Where is she currently?”
“She’s staying in the family building,” Lucas answers, his tone grim.
Aidan narrows his eyes at me. “And why would she be there, Cade?”
I swallow. “I’ve got feelings for her, Aidan.”
“Feelings? What are you? A grade-school girl?I got feelings,” he mocks.
My cheeks flush with heat. “What do you want me to say?”
“Maybe claim her if you want her so goddamn much.” He heaves an impatient sigh. “Were you dating her on my time?”
Oh, fuck. “Jesus, no! I was trying to get close to her, trying to figure out how I could snatch her if need be.
“From the very start, I knew the doctor was lying because she was friends with the Disciples. They weren’t holding her hostage and making her work so they could steal her income. They were her people. Her friends. Her fucking family.” When no one speaks, I keep going. “When I saw that, I knew there’d be no getting her to leave without stirring shit, so I changed plans.
“But before I had the chance to do much of anything, she overdosed so I…” I grimace. “I guess I manipulated the situation and wormed my way into her life—”
“Gee, you’re such a gentleman, Cade,” Savannah snipes, folding her arms across her chest, beyond unimpressed with my less-than-stellar moves. Who could blame her? I’m a piece of shit. “How could you treat her like that?”
Ashamed, I mutter, “I was trying to do the right thing while also trying to not get strung up by my boss.”
“Aidan won’t hang people unnecessarily, will you?”
He just grunts.
Reassuring.
“Within a couple days of getting on her good side, we were flying back to the city. I swear, boss.”