Page 9

“Pyro, you haven’t claimed Saige, even if you did, she doesn’t want to be with you. You need to pack your shit up. Locke, Rubble, I want you two to follow him, makesure that he leaves, get him to up Morriston. Then you can head back this way. Have Tonks watch over him.”

“Lynch, you can’t do this to me! You need me here! I won’t touch her again, so long as Cotton doesn’t touch her either.” They all look at me, but I keep my gaze on Pyro.

“Who are you to dictate who my daughter can or can’t be near? You heard Lynch. Go pack and leave, before I do something that you will regret!’’ Stone states in a quiet menacing tone.

Pyro looks at me, “She’ll never be yours. She is mine!” Locke grabs Pyro by the arm, dragging him from the room, Rubble following him.

“Pres, did you see the look in his eyes? He is doing something heavy. It has to be some hardcore drugs, because I know that look all too well.”

Stone looks at me and nods, “Yeah I saw. Still doesn’t give him the right to touch my daughter. I’ll talk to Lynch, see if they can find out what he is doing. Maybe we can get him into rehab. Now what is he talking about you touching her?” I look and see he is grinning.

“It was nothing. We were talking and I gave her a little kiss. He took it way out of proportion.”

He nods, “Okay. Well keep an eye out for her tonight. I have to take Leilani to go get a few of her things that she needs from her place. Cruz is riding with us.”

“You got it. Stay safe, call if you need anything.” With that Stone turns to Lynch and they head out talking, Cruz meets up with them in the hall. I look at Tires, and notice that he is staring at me, grinning.

“Don’t say a word, Tires! It was just a little kiss, that’s all. You know where I stand.” He just grins bigger and looks behind me.

“Alivia, two beers please.” She grins at him as she sets the beers on the bar. He looks at me. “Saige has a building to look at tomorrow. I have to go get some parts, the garage is closed. You mind going with her, look it over? You know more about that shit than I do anyways.”

“Yeah, I’ll get Loki or someone to ride with us. Who is going with you to get the parts?”

Tires laughs, “I have Ryker and Skip going. Ryker is wanting to look at some bike the old man is selling at the parts store.”

I grin, I know why Ryker is really wanting to go. He has a thing for the blonde that works at the counter. I get up, “Brother, I’m going to go find out what time she has to be there, then I’m calling it a night.” He raises his beer at me, then starts to flirt with Alivia. I take off. I knock on Saige’s door, when she opens it a crack, I almost lose my cool. I’m ready to go hunt Pyro down and give him another beating. “Hey, Butterfly. Tires said that you have to go look at a building tomorrow, what time do you have to be there?” I ask as I walk into her room. She looks up at me.

“I have to meet the realtor there at eleven. If this building doesn’t work out, she has one more for me to look at. Both have massive kitchens and are on Main Street, so that is a huge bonus. Who’s going with me?”

I just grin, “You have me and Loki.” She smiles.

“Okay. I’ll be ready to go by ten. I know it’s only fifteen minutes away, but we have to get Sloane. She’s going to be the one to work the front of the business. I want her there with us.” I nod as I reach out and touch her cheek lightly.

“If Pyro comes near you again, it’ll be the last time that he does. I’m so sorry that he did this to you.” Saige leans into my hand.

“It’s okay. If I wasn’t so shocked when he grabbed my arm, wrenched the other behind my back, and went off the way he did, I could have gotten away with just abruised arm.” Smiling at her, because I know she can handle herself, I head for the door.

“Be ready to go about nine, we’ll go get breakfast at the diner.”

“Okay, goodnight.” I head out and go to my room. I need a cold shower for more than one reason.

Eight

Saige

I tryto sleep after Cotton leaves my room, and I had texted Sloane and Loki to let them know the time we are leaving in the morning. I toss and turn for a bit, but I am wide awake. I need to bake. Some people turn to music, cleaning, drinking, whatever to calm them down, I bake. I get up, change into a pair of shorts and a tank top. I pull my hair back, then head for the kitchen. I have to go through the bar to get to it, and I am hoping that I don’t run into Pyro. Tires spots me as soon as I start through and comes over to me. “Pyro is gone. Lynch sent him away. Had a couple of guys follow him and deliver him to Tonks. What’re you up to?”

“Thank God he’s gone. I was dreading running into him. I can’t sleep. My mind is all jumbled up, so I’m going to bake.”

He just smiles, gives me a tight hug. “Make us something good.”

I laugh as I walk into the kitchen. I get all the things out that I need to make a lemon blueberry pound cake. It’s one of Dad’s favorites and I know several of the other guys like it. It’s simple to make, and it gives me the peace I need to get my hands covered in flour. I think about what happened with Pyro. What happened to him to make him act that way? He’s always flirted and joked around, but he’s never said anything about wanting to date, or anything like that, until Club Myst. Have I just missed the signs because I don’t think of him in that light? He knew how I felt about Cotton. Loki told him. He had a weird look in his eyes that I’d noticed. He had the same look in his eyes at the birthday party, at Myst too.

I mix everything together then gently fold in my blueberries. After pouring it in the bundt pan, I place it in the oven. Still needing something else to do, I make Bethany and the other kids some cupcakes. Then I start on a pecan turtle ice cream cake. I cover the pecans with caramel for an extra burst of flavor. I get that in the freezer and clean up the mess I’ve made. The pound cake and cupcakes are done, so I make icing for them both. Just a light blueberry glaze for the pound cake, and a vanilla icing for the cupcakes. I add a few drops offood coloring and swirl it to make it look tye dyed. It’s now a cute pink and blue. I set everything in the fridge, then finish cleaning up my mess. I’m still not sleepy. Maybe I should go back to my room and read some. I’ve several MC books on my kindle. I love them, they’re my guilty pleasure. I one-clicked so many books, by what are called indie authors. I turn the light off to the kitchen and head back to my room. The bar is empty now. Seems that the guys have finally drank all they wanted, I know a few of them were with a club girl.

I try to be quiet as I head back to my room. I turn down the hallway and see Beth at my door with Bethany. “Hey girl, what’s wrong?” I ask her.

“Oh, Saige, I’ve to go. My mom called, my aunt is in the hospital. They don’t think she’s going to make it. I was wondering if you would mind keeping Bethany for a couple of days? I really don’t want to drag her into the hospital and be around all that. She’s only two, I know she’ll want to run around and play.” Beth has tears pouring down her face.