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“You need to get her talking,” he says, echoing Greer’s earlier words. “The Las Vegas tourist shirt and ruining her supplies makes it pretty damn obvious that it was a message for her, that she’s being targeted.”
“I know,” I agree.
“Watch your back and hers and get her talking so we know what we’re up against. Make sure she knows that we’re not blaming her, we just need to prepare ourselves.”
“I will,” I tell him. “Sorry this is affecting everyone...”
“Every man at the table knew when they joined the Savage Kings to anticipate that we would have to have each other’s back and there may be bloodshed. Let’s just make sure it’s not any of us who bleeds.”
3
Maddie
Jordan offers to take me home as soon as the Kings meeting is over. While most of the bikers are going to Hugo’s house to do some drinking because Greer’s bar is still a crime scene, I know that Jordan figured I wouldn’t want to be social this afternoon.
And he probably thinks I’ll be more open to talking to him if we’re alone.
Instead of talking, though, as soon as we get to the apartment, I grab one of his biggest duffle bags from the closet, toss it on the bed, and start packing.
“You’re not leaving,” Jordan says as he watches from the doorway, his shoulder leaning against the frame, arms crossed over his chest.
“If I just go ahead and leave now, nobody else will get hurt,” I tell him.
“And you think I’m just going to let you walk out the door without me?”
“You…you need to stay away from me,” I warn him.
“You’re my wife.” I wince at his remark, the reminder of my lie. “I go wherever you go, no matter what, so please just talk to me, Maddie. I’ve given you your space, your privacy for more than a year. Now though, a man is dead, brutally murdered, so I need you to talk to me.”
“Please just let me go alone. Let me keep Rockland and the Kings safe,” I beg before heading back to the closet for more clothes.
“Safe fromwho?” Jordan shouts, making me freeze. I think it’s the first time he’s ever raised his voice at me. We don’t ever argue or fight. That should’ve been enough to tell me our relationship was too good to be true.
Part of me thought that Jordan never lost his temper because he doesn’t think he deserves me and didn’t want to give me a reason to leave him. He doesn’t understand that I’m the lucky one. I thank god every day that I met him in that bar, that he was my key to freedom, the first I’ve ever had.
Jordan taught me how to drive and how to shop for groceries and clothes when I came to Rockland with nothing but stacks of cash and a gun. I didn’t even know how to wash dishes until he showed me how. I owe him everything, and yet he thinks he’s not worthy of me. And the only thing I can do for him is to leave, so he doesn’t get hurt or killed, even if it’ll be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Even harder than leaving Vegas, going off on my own for the first time.
“Who is it that’s sending you a message, Maddie?” Jordan asks again, his deep voice softer.
I pause in my packing, bracing my palms on either side of the nearly full duffle bag. I hang my head and tell him, “I think it’s someone...someone who worked for my father, who hurt people for him, killed for him. I-I don’t think he would hurt me, but he’ll drag me back to Vegas, back to that prison... I can’t go back. I don’t want to leave you, but I can’t let him hurt you either.”
“Why did he kill that man, Earnest Ingram?”
“I honestly have no idea. Maybe he was an enemy of my father, or maybe he just felt like it. He’s a sadist. He enjoys inflicting pain on others, whether they deserve it or not. Maybe...maybe I’m wrong, but I only have two choices—run or go back. Please don’t let him take me back.”
“Come here,” Jordan says as he stalks over and pulls me into his arms. His lips kiss the top of my head as he holds me tight. “I promise I won’t let him touch you or even come near you, okay?”
“You can’t promise that. You don’t know what he’s like. He will hurt you to convince me to leave.” Pulling free from Jordan, I slump onto the foot of our bed. “Everything is ruined. Us. The bar. My business. I’m going to have to cancel all the pending orders and block new ones.”
“I’m sorry, baby. Sorry that your business is on hold, and you had to see that gruesome shit today at the bar,” Jordan says as he comes and drops to his knees between my legs. “But you’re wrong about us. You and I are not ruined. Nothing can ruin us. You know why?”
“Why?” I ask him softly as his palms grip my sides, his golden-brown eyes locked on mine.
“Because you’re mine and I’m yours. We’ll get through this together. For better or for worse, right?”
I nod since I can’t stand to speak the lie. Grabbing his shoulders, I beg him, “Come with me then.”
“Running won’t solve anything. And our family is here. There’s nothing the Savage Kings can’t handle,” he replies as his hands lift my shirt and bra over my head in one go. “Trust me, okay?”
