“What do you want?” she finally said. Should she call Old Dog now? This cop was starting to scare her. She wanted to be back in the safety of the club. Sable rarely left the protective grasp of the compound.
“You,” he said. “I know who you are and where you come from. You’re better than them, Sable. I can give you a real life in the real world. They’ve blinded you, you just have to see that.”
“I’ll pass.”
Hard pass.
How did he know her name? She didn’t like the fact he’d been stalking or spying on her every time she came into town. How much digging had he done?
“Think about your future. Hell’s Slaves are going down one way or another. We’re on to them, and it’s only a matter of time. The file is ten inches thick. If you help us out with some inside information, you’ll be well-rewarded.”
She shook her head, not looking him in the eyes.
“More than that. I knew from the first time I saw you that you’d be mine one day. I have intuition like that,” he said. “I have a real job. A respectable job. I can take care of you. I’m not a filthy murderer with no respect for women or the law. I can look beyond your past.”
Sable only wanted Dog, even if he was a hard-core killer.
But he didn’t want her.
He couldn’t look beyond her past.
The club only saw her as pussy.
She didn’t matter.
“You don’t know me at all,” she said. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Protecting criminals will get you into a shitload of trouble, young lady. Be smart. This could be the first day of the rest of your life.” He reached out to touch her face, but she backed away. “Give me a chance, beautiful.”
“My name’s not beautiful.” She looked at the food, hating the thought of leaving it behind, but she stood to leave.
“Can you put a tracker on Forge’s bike? They’ll never know who put it there. You think the prez would lose sleep if anything happened to you?”
“Leave me alone.”
She rushed from the diner and speed-walked along the mall sidewalk to get away from the cop. She knew what they were capable of. So many of them abused their power and dragged them down to the precinct with no probable cause. She didn’t want to see the inside of a jail cell. Sable pulled out her cell phone and dialed Old Dog.
“I need a pick-up,” she said.
“I just dropped you off, little miss. I ain’t coming for at least another hour.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “Please. There’s a cop tailing me. He’s pushing me to rat out the club.”
There was silence on the line.
“We’re on our way.”
The phone went dead.
What if something happened to her? Would Dog lose sleep? Would anyone in the club even notice?
Chapter Two
Dog threw down the wrench and climbed onto his bike, turning over the engine and hearing his baby purr. This was the fucking life. He loved working on this beauty. It was the only real possession he had in his life.
Leaving the engine running, he grabbed a cloth, wiping off some excess grease he’d gotten onto the body and seat.
“Fucking pricks,” Old Dog said, coming out of the clubhouse.
“What’s up?” he asked, watching a couple of the boys follow behind him. “Going to get your dick wet?”
“I’m picking up Sable. She needs the backup.”
If it was about Sable, he should just let it go, but when it came to that woman, he couldn’t seem to take his own advice.
“Backup for what?” Again, he needed to mind his own damn business but here he was, asking questions that he really shouldn’t.
“She went to the mall, doing some personal girl shit, but a cop’s been following her. He’s making her nervous and she wants backup and a lift.”
Dog rubbed the back of his head. “Fuck, I’ll come with.”
“You sure, brother? We got it here.”
“No, I’ll come.” He wanted to make sure Sable was all right. He didn’t like the thought of her being alone and exposed. She was a good kid, even though she was a full-grown woman. Sweet as well.
Climbing onto his bike, he left his bag of tools for later. Leather cut back on, he headed out of the parking lot with Old Dog and the boys hot on his tail. Revving the engine, he broke all the speeding laws until he arrived at the mall in question.
As he pulled up outside of the front, the entrance was busy with people coming and going, but he spotted Sable. She leaned against the wall, sunglasses in place, and he spotted the cop. She looked pale, scared, and so damn small compared to the man.
The instant the cop heard the bikes, he took a step back and Sable rushed toward them.
“Mine,” Dog said, pointing behind him. Old Dog was the rider she’d been going to.