Sever savage falls sinne.., p.1
Sever: SAVAGE FALLS SINNERS MC #4, page 1
SEVER
SAVAGE FALLS SINNERS MC #4
CAITLYN DARE
Copyright © 2021 by Caitlyn Dare
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Edited by Pinpoint Editing
Proofread by Proofreading by Sisters Get Lit(erary) Author Services
CONTENTS
1. Sadie
2. Rhett
3. Sadie
4. Dane
5. Sadie
6. Wes
7. Sadie
8. Dane
9. Sadie
10. Wes
11. Sadie
12. Dane
13. Sadie
14. Wes
15. Sadie
16. Wes
17. Sadie
18. Dane
19. Sadie
20. Wes
21. Sadie
22. Rhett
23. Sadie
24. Wes
25. Sadie
26. Dane
27. Sadie
28. Rhett
29. Sadie
30. Dane
31. Sadie
32. Wes
33. Sadie
34. Wes
35. Sadie
36. Dane
37. Sadie
38. Dane
39. Sadie
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Caitlyn Dare
Taunt Her
1
SADIE
“Here you go, sweetie.” Victoria hands me a mug of hot cocoa as I sit on a stack of tires, staring at the compound gates.
Everyone else is inside, trying to clear up the mess left behind from the raid. There isn’t a corner of the clubhouse left unturned. Chairs and tables are strewn everywhere, drawers and closets emptied out onto the floor. It hurt my heart seeing the place in such a mess, so I came out here to get some air. But it still feels like I’m inside, the walls closing in around me.
“Thanks.” I inhale a shuddering breath.
“How are you holding up?” she asks, sitting on the bench in front of me.
“How do you think?” I snap, instantly regretting it when she flinches. “Sorry, I’m just…”
“I know, sweetie. I know.” Victoria offers me a warm smile. “But Ray and the guys will be okay. The police officers didn’t find anything.”
“Yeah…”
She’s right. Their search came up empty, but it doesn’t ease the giant knot in my stomach. They were arrested. My dad, Rhett, Dane, and Pike. Hauled away in handcuffs for some serious charges.
Nothing about this is okay.
Not a damn thing.
My foot taps furiously against the tires as I take a sip of cocoa. “I need to do something.”
Sitting here, I feel useless. Powerless. Everything I love most in the world is slipping through my fingers.
“Sadie Ray, the best thing you can do is sit tight and wait for the club attorney to do his thing. He’ll bring them home, you’ll see.”
“How can you be so calm about all of this?” I stare at her incredulously.
“Because I know Ray, sweetheart, and he wouldn’t do anything to risk leaving you.”
Or you. The words pop into my head, but I don’t say them.
“He’s careful. He covers his tracks. This is all just one big misunderstanding. I’m sure they’ll be back before we know it.”
I want to believe her, but how can I when I watched them cart my dad and the guys away?
“Hey.” Wes appears, wearing a solemn expression. “Any word?”
“Nothing.” I glance down at my cell phone beside me as if it might ring at any second.
Deep down, I know it won’t. They’ll have been stripped of their personal belongings and thrown in a cell with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
My chest tightens as I replay that moment over and over in my head.
“Come here.” Wes comes to stand between my legs, taking the mug from my hands and placing it down to the side. “They’ll be okay, princess.” His eyes search mine, but I can’t find it in myself to smile.
“And if they’re not?”
“You can’t think like that,” he says, dropping his head to mine.
“I’ll give you two some space,” Victoria says, standing.
“You don’t have to leave, Mom.” Wes releases a soft sigh, and I realize how difficult this must be for him.
For both of them.
They haven’t even had time to adjust to everything and the world around us is imploding again.
“It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll go see if Dee and Rosita need any more help.”
My aunt came the second she heard. Micky is down at the station trying to reason with Chief Statham, but something tells me it’s out of his hands.
We watch Victoria leave. The second she disappears inside the clubhouse, Wes wraps me into his arms.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” My words are muffled by his t-shirt.
Everything had been so perfect on our mini-vacay. We’d talked and laughed and loved. Coming back to Savage Falls, I felt like nothing could come between us.
Darren Creed is dead. Gone. He can’t hurt us anymore. Yet here we are, ripped apart again.
“Shh, baby. I got you.” Wes hugs me tighter, and I take some measure of comfort in his arms.
At least he’s here.
If he’d been taken too, I don’t know what I would have done.
“I can’t lose them, Wes.” My voice cracks, the tears I’ve been fighting so desperately to keep inside finally spilling free.
“Don’t cry, princess.” He wipes them away with the pad of his thumb. “They’ll be back before you know it.”
But as I look into his hazel eyes, I see a glimmer of uncertainty.
And my heart breaks all over again.
* * *
It’s been twelve hours.
Twelve hours, and I’ve barely had a wink of sleep.
Wes tried to encourage me to get some rest, but I just lay there, unable to close my eyes long enough to drift off. All I keep thinking about is Dane in a holding cell, lost and alone. After everything he’s been through, it’s the last place he needs to be.
“Sadie?” There’s a knock at the door, and I push up onto my elbows, Wes rousing beside me.
“Come in,” I call out.
The door opens slightly and Victoria peeks inside. “Attorney Johnson is here. I thought you might want to hear what—”
“Yes.” I bolt out of bed. “Thank you.”
She closes the door, and I start pulling on my shorts.
“Hey,” Wes says, his voice thick with sleep.
At least one of us managed to get some.
“What’s going on?” Concern glitters in his eyes as I whirl around the room, trying to get ready.
“Johnson is here.”
“The attorney?” I nod, and he throws back the covers. “Shit, let me get dressed.”
We work in silence until I’m presentable and Wes is clothed. He pulls me into his arms, gazing down at me. “Did you manage to get any sleep?” I shake my head, and he lets out a sigh. “You’ve got to look after yourself.”
“I can’t, not while they’re locked up…” Wriggling out of his hold, I take a step back, folding my arms around myself, but Wes isn’t deterred by my sudden coolness.
“Sadie Ray, look at me.” His fingers glide under my jaw, tilting my face back. “I’m here. You need space, you need to get angry and vent, you need to punch something… I’m here.” He lowers his face, touching his head to mine. “I’m worried too, okay? I am. But they’re going to be fine. This is club life. It happens. It’s—”
“Listen to you, prospect,” I snicker, running my hands down his cut. “One night wearing this thing and you think you know all about the life.”
His lip curves in a playful smile. “I’m willing to learn, princess. Surely that’s worth something.”
“Yeah, it’s worth something.”
It’s worth everything.
“But you don’t have to give up your dreams for this… for me, Wes.”
“I know, and I’m not. But this is your life, your family. And I want that. I want a family, Sadie.”
“I love you.” The words tumble from my lips as I press closer. “And I love how good you look in this thing.”
Wes chuckles, and it’s so deep and playful that the knot in my stomach loosens slightly. He runs the back of his knuckles down my cheek. “I’m here, okay? Whatever you need, whatever the club needs, I’m here.”
I nod, swallowing thickly. I don’t know what I did to deserve this, to deserve him, but I’m grateful. And I’ll spend every day trying to show him. But first, I really need Rhett and Dane to come home to me.
To come home to us.
“Come on, let’s go see what Johnson has to say.”
Wes leads me from Dane’s room, and we head for my dad’s office. Dee, Micky, and Victoria are already inside. Part of me is surprised to see Victoria here, but I guess it’s a testament to how deep her feelings run for my dad. Not to mention that this is the life Wes has chosen now.
“Sweetheart.” Dee beckons me over and I fall down beside her, burrowing into her side. “It’s okay, S
Not anymore.
“So, what’s the deal?” Uncle Micky says, drumming his fingers against his jean-clad thigh.
“Savage Falls PD doesn’t have a case. The raids on the club, Dalton’s home, and the warehouse came up empty. I suspect the charges are a ruse for something bigger.”
“Like the business with the Reapers?” Micky says.
Johnson nods. “It made local news. Speculation is flying around Savage Falls and Red Ridge about a new alliance. It’s no secret the club has enemies high up. Statham and Mayor Nixon might be on payroll, but this goes higher.”
“Can you get them off?” I ask.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. Without substantial evidence, I’ll have them out by the end of the day.”
Relief floods me. “Thank God.” But my spine stiffens when I see something pass between Uncle Micky and Johnson.
“What?” I sit forward. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“They can hold Ray and the others for up to forty-eight hours without charging them.”
“But you just said—”
“Sadie Ray, breathe,” Aunt Dee soothes, squeezing my trembling hand. “They’ll be home before you know it.”
Johnson smooths a hand over his salt and pepper hair. “I have every confidence I’ll bring them home by tonight. But Micky’s right, the PD are known for using the time they have to their advantage, particularly in the case of a person of interest.”
“You think they could cause problems?”
“I’m not ruling it out. But as far as the possession charges go, they don’t have a leg to stand on.”
Well, that’s something. Doesn’t stop my stomach from churning at the thought of the cop who arrested them playing games and trying to pin something else on them, though.
“I’m going to head straight over there.” Johnson stands, straightening his lopsided tie. “The best advice I have for you and your guys right now is to sit tight. And don’t rock the boat.”
I let out a small huff. More sitting around, waiting. Just what I don’t need.
But he’s right—I don’t want anyone to do anything to jeopardize bringing them all home.
“Thanks, Johnson.” Micky holds out a hand. “Call me when you know anything.”
“Will do. In the meantime, lay low and keep your guys in line.”
“You got it.” My uncle salutes, following him out of Dad’s office in his wheelchair.
“Should we be worried?” Wes asks no one in particular.
“Ray doesn’t keep Johnson on retainer for his good looks.” Dee snorts. “He’s good at his job, one of the best. He’ll get them out of there, you’ll see.”
“I hope so,” I breathe.
Because anything else is not an option.
2
RHETT
My fists ache, my head pounds, and my eyes burn as I continue to sit in the fucking holding cell with Dane and Pike.
We haven’t seen Ray since we were first thrown in here and he was dragged off for questioning. We assumed he’d join us at some point, but he hasn’t. They’re holding him separately, and that does nothing for the dread sitting heavy in my stomach.
Pike doesn’t seem to give to a fuck about the situation as he snores on the other side of the cell, his long-ass body taking up the entire bench. How the hell he hasn’t rolled off, I have no idea. Even less of a clue how he’s chilled out enough to get some sleep.
It might not be his first time in here, like it is for Dane and me, but still. Our compound got fucking raided. How is he not worried?
“Everything’s going to be okay.” Dane’s voice startles me. “They wouldn’t have found anything.”
Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees and hang my head. If Ray hadn’t called, if he didn’t get a tip-off that this was coming, how different could this have gone?
My fists curl once more as I think about the phone call I received from him the day before we left our vacation.
“We’re clearing out the compound. We’re gonna get hit Friday night.”
Even sitting here now after the event, chills still run down my spine. Fear that we were imminently about to be ripped away from Sadie only hours after our time together. Dread, knowing that we were lying to her. But that lie wasn’t on us. Ray told us how it was going to play out, and we had no choice but to toe the line.
Sadie isn’t going to like it, but she knows how the club works. She’s going to understand.
Although she’s still going to fucking castrate us the second she learns the truth.
“Why the fuck haven’t they brought Ray back? Something’s not right.”
We’ve been questioned, asked about our knowledge of the club possessing and dealing firearms. Obviously, we have no clue what they’re talking about. We’re all mechanics. The only guns we own are the ones we’ve got licenses for.
A smirk curls at my lips.
They didn’t believe a word of it.
But that doesn’t matter. They found no evidence to back up the bullshit charges they were hoping to throw at us. They’d never find our stock. We just needed to play the game for a few hours and we’d be free men again.
Unless we’re missing something.
“They’ve probably just got more questions for him. Or they’re trying to freak us out. Make us squeal. Fuck knows how those cunts’ minds work.”
“She’s gonna kill us, man.”
Dane’s amused chuckle forces my head up, and when I look at him his eyes are crinkled with laughter.
“What?”
“It’s so fucking weird seeing you care, bro.”
“Fuck you,” I grumble.
“It’s great. I like it. Big bad Rhett Savage pussy-whipped by the princess.”
“With a pussy that good, it’s hard not to become addicted.”
“Amen to that, brother.”
“Huh, funny… I thought you were all about the ass these days.” My brow lifts and Dane shakes his head, scrubbing his hand down his face.
“You still on that?”
“Bro, you…” I glance over at Pike, checking if he’s still out of it. “You kissed another guy. You…”
“Touched his cock?” Dane adds. He shrugs as I continue to stare at him, not understanding his thought process. “It felt good. You know I’m all about the fun.”
“Yeah, I know, but—”
“I don’t wanna touch yours. Is that what you’re worried about? Ten hours in a cell and I’m not about to jump your bones the next time we’re alone.”
“I’m not… that’s not…” I let out a heavy sigh. “I’m just… shocked still, I guess. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Oh, come off it, you knew the second she asked it of me that it would happen.”
“If she…” Dane’s brow lifts when I trail off.
“Go on?”
“What if she asked it of you and me?”
“You propositioning me, Savage?” He bats his eyelashes at me, and I can’t help but laugh.
“No, I’m really not. Just curious, I guess.”
“It’s different. I know that you wouldn’t want to go there. Pretty, though… I could read the same curiosity in his eyes as I felt. You don’t have that.”
“Thank fuck,” I mutter, scrubbing my hand over my head and wrapping it around the back of my neck.
Silence crackles between us as Pike resumes his loud snoring.
“You gonna do it again?”
“Dunno. I don’t want him like I do Sadie, if that’s what you mean. But in the heat of the moment, it’s… It’s just like I said to him. What happens between the four of us is just that. We get to make our own rules, explore things safely. Or at least, that’s how I feel when we’re all together. Nothing is off the table as long as we’re all enjoying ourselves.”
