Page 27 of Crow’s Haven (Savage Legion MC #15)

Sharon

I can’t believe Cassie turned me in, or that Crow came for me.

Neither of those things reconcile with the world as I know it.

But here I am, on the back of Crow’s bike as he pulls into the Savage Legion clubhouse.

I can’t help but wonder why he didn’t turn me over to the police for that outstanding warrant that he was so upset about.

It’s too much to hope that he’s had a change of heart.

I hold onto Crow as he rides into the front parking lot. Memories of our last conversation race through my mind. I can still recall his furious eyes and the coldness in his voice when he discovered the truth I’d been hiding.

He was as harsh as anyone might expect when betrayed by their old lady.

In the biker world, old ladies are supposed to be the smartest, most loyal women in the club.

It’s clear I didn’t measure up to that standard.

That’s why I ran in the first place—I was terrified of being caught, but more than that, I was ashamed for lying to the man I loved.

I also thought running would protect him and his boys.

Crow slows the bike and kills the engine. He glances over his shoulder without a word, dismounts, and offers me his hand. I can’t tell from his blank expression whether he’s still mad, but I’ll be surprised if he isn’t.

For a moment, I hesitate, then place my trembling hand in his and let him help me down.

Behind us, his club brothers dismount, their eyes flickering towards us with wary interest. Some nod, others watch in silence, weighing the danger of harboring a fugitive no doubt. I can feel their unspoken questions and silent judgments bearing down on me.

Crow guides me to the clubhouse door, his grip firm but gentle. Each step brings me closer to the moment when I’ll be asked to explain how I became a fugitive. I’m both relieved to set the record straight and terrified he won’t believe me.

Crow leads me through the main room, ignoring the curious stares. The club brother’s eyes track us, but the club girls almost smirk as we pass. Me? I feel vulnerable—any one of these men or women could turn me in. I keep my head down, body stiff with anxiety, uncertain what to say or feel.

When we reach the small room he’s claimed upstairs, he opens the door for me to enter first. Of course he wouldn’t want to take me home.

I lied to him and have a warrant for a heinous crime.

If it were up to him, I’d never see his boys again.

I can’t blame him. What I can’t understand is why he came for me at all.

Crow closes the door softly behind us, shutting out the noise, the dead-eyed stares, and unspoken questions. His expression is scrupulously blank.

I stand frozen for a second, then step back to create some distance between us. Anxiety surges in my chest. Just when I want to speak most, words fail me.

Crow finally breaks the silence. “Do you want something to drink?” His voice is low and not as harsh as I expect, but I’m too tense to trust that he won’t start yelling at me again. He moves to a small table, picks up a bottle of water, and offers it to me without a word.

When I reach out and take it, he gestures towards the sofa, “Have a seat. I’m not going to get angry and yell at you this time. I’ve had plenty of time to think.”

I’m not sure I believe him, so I cautiously sit on the edge of the sofa, ready to bolt if he gets out of control again.

He drops down into a squat several feet away and just stares at me for a few seconds.

When he speaks, his voice isn’t angry. “I want to start off by apologizing for the way I reacted back at the house that day. It was a shock to find out that not only had you been lying to me about who you were but that you were wanted for murder. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t handle that very well. ”

I just stare at him because it’s inconceivable to me that he’s apologizing to me when I’m the one who lied and betrayed him.

“I don’t think I would have been such an asshole if you had just told me what was going on. You let me hire you to work with my boys while being accused of killing a little boy. I fucking broke my brain there for a minute.”

I nod, slowly understanding that he’s probably still going to turn me in, only he needs some kind of closure first. “I should have told you. I wanted to and was trying to find the right words and the right moment. I kept chickening out at the last minute.”

“I’ve been thinking about the little you did tell me, and it sounds like there were extenuating circumstances. If you wanna explain a little more about it, I’d like to hear what you have to say.”

I suck in a deep breath. This is a second chance to tell my side of the story.

“That little boy’s name was Joshua,” I whisper, my voice trembling.

“He was only five years old and very sick. I was his nurse in the pediatric ward. He had a congenital heart defect and was recovering from surgery. Everything seemed to be going fine. But one night, when I came back from my break, his monitors just started going crazy. He crashed before we even understood why.”

I pause, squeezing my eyes shut as the memories rush back. They’re vivid, overwhelming, and painful. Crow crawls closer and gently squeezes my hand, grounding me enough to keep going.

“I did everything I could to save him. I called for help, started CPR, and did every single thing I was trained to do. The whole team showed up within seconds, including the doctor. We worked tirelessly, but we lost him anyway.”

My voice breaks as tears spill down my cheeks.

“The hospital immediately put me on administrative leave pending an official investigation. I knew I’d acted according to protocol.

Before they suspended my computer privileges, I checked the hospital system, and someone had scanned my name against some treatments.

I was on my break then so it couldn’t have been me.

It didn’t take them long to fire me and turn over whatever information they had to the police.

I got notice of the warrant through a co-worker and then I heard nothing for almost a month.

I was too scared to turn myself in, even though I knew it was the right thing to do.

Something bad happened, and it looked like someone was trying to get me blamed for it. ”

Crow draws his hand back, looking at me intently. “We were confused why they did nothing for a month. Rigs thinks it might be because they were waiting for an autopsy, or it took them that long to find incriminating evidence.”

I glance up, meeting Crow’s steady gaze. “I was terrified. My professional reputation and everything I’d worked for was destroyed. They had evidence, it was my ID scanned in against the treatments. I was the last person to see him before he crashed. Except I don’t think I was.”

“So, you decided to stay on the run?”

“What else could I do? I had to change my name, stay off the grid, and keep moving to make it more difficult for them to find me. I thought I was willing to do whatever it took not to end up behind bars for something I didn’t do.

Or at least lay low until the real culprit was found.

But then I met you and your boys. It was tempting to just stay with you forever, but I worried about blowing up your lives if they caught me at your place.

They might think you knew I harbored a fugitive. ”

For the first time, Crow smiles. Though it’s a tired smile, like he hasn’t slept in a week. “I wish you’d come clean about your legal troubles when we first met. I’d have helped you, but maybe I just would have handled things with my boys a little differently.”

“I was afraid to trust anyone, especially you, because by that time everyone in my life but my cousin had turned against me. I fell in love with you and your boys, and I was terrified that if you knew the truth, you’d turn me into the police.”

My shoulders slump as I finally say the words I’ve been holding back. “I’m so sorry, Crow. Sorry that I hid things you had a right to know. After you took me in and made me feel like family, I was just so scared of losing you that I put off telling you until you found out on your own.”

The silence stretches painfully, but his strong hand remains gently wrapped around mine. I wait for his response.

Crow has been listening, taking in every word. When he finally speaks, his voice is filled with conviction, “I get it now, Ladybug. I understand why you ran, why you hid who you really were. You did what you thought you had to.”

“I missed you,” I tell him tearfully. “I loved you and didn’t think you’d ever give me a chance to explain what happened.”

He comes closer, picks me up and sits on the sofa with me in his lap. Rubbing my back, he tucks my head under his chin. “I fucking love you to the moon and back, darlin’.”

I ask, “Really?”

“Yeah, of course I do,” he whispers. “It didn’t take me very long to realize you weren’t the kind of woman who could do what they accused you of. You’re too kindhearted and sweet. By the time I got my head screwed on straight, you were gone. I felt like shit for scaring you off.”

I pull back just enough to look into his eyes. My pulse flutters as his fingers lace through my hair. The warmth of his gaze takes me by surprise, and I feel my breath catch as all the old feelings of attraction come flooding back. He tilts his head, and his thumb tenderly brushes my cheek.

I see him swallow hard, his Adam’s apple moving up and down. “I want to kiss you one more time. If you don’t want it, tell me to fuck off.”

I press my hand against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his pulse beneath my palm. “I want it,” I reassure him.

No sooner do I get the words out than Crow’s hand slides around to cradle the back of my neck, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us.

My arousal soars as he leans in. I brace my arms around his shoulders.

His breath mingles with mine for a brief moment, and then his mouth covers mine in a kiss so charged with relief and desire that I can’t think about anything except Crow.

I don’t know how long we kiss, but before he pulls back, my body is awash with arousal. Just the scent of him is enough to make my clit throb like it has a heartbeat of its own. But the touching and kissing put me over the top.

“It has been too fucking long since I held you close,” he murmurs, voice husky. “I’ve dreamt about having you in my arms again.”

I slide my arms up and around his neck, pulling him down for another long, lazy kiss.

His hands roam my back, fingertips pressing through my shirt as if mapping every curve he’s missed. A shiver runs up my spine.

“Let me show you how much I missed you, baby,” he says, voice thick with need.

His lips trail down my neck. He’s gentle at first, then more insistent, trailing kisses down the valley between my breasts, pulling my shirt open as he goes.

I turn in his lap until I’m facing him with my legs wrapping around his thighs, and he steadies me, one powerful arm under my ass, the other cradling my back.

He pulls me closer, kissing me again, as he unbuttons my shirt.

I slip my shirt back off my shoulders and shove it away. He watches, his eyes dark with hunger. One hand slides up my back and I feel my bra go loose as he unhooks it with that hand. He tugs it away.

Then he leans back, takes a slow breath, and murmurs, “Damn, you’re beautiful.” His hands skim beneath the curve of my jeans, his palms warm against my skin.

I fight back a warm blush as I pull his jeans open. Sliding my hand inside, I feel the press of his thick cock against my palm. I trace the outline with my fingers. The thickness eagerly swells up to meet me.

“Glad to have you back,” he rasps.

“I’m grateful to be back where I belong,” I murmur.

Crow quickly fists my hair in one hand and gives me a rough kiss. We tangle tongues as I stroke him until he’s hard and throbbing in my hand. We stop long enough for me to pull his cut and t-shirt off.

He lowers his head and kisses me almost immediately, his lips hungry and sure. While our lips are engaged, we somehow get the rest of our clothes off. Then it’s just skin sliding against skin.

We’re both too eager and caught up in the moment to take it to the bedroom. Instead, he lies back and lifts me onto his cock. His hands go to my hips to steady me, and I bear down, slowly taking every single inch of him.

I grip the side of the sofa to keep my balance, telling him, “I really missed this, missed everything about you.”

“I can tell. You’re wetter than ever.”

I look down into his eyes as we set a steady rhythm, slowly at first. The more I have of Crow, the more I want. It’s always been this way.

He brings his torso up to tangle tongues with me as I ride his glorious cock. It’s too mind-numbingly pleasurable to make words. We move together for what seems like hours, enjoying the intense pleasure we always find in each other’s arms.

I can tell he’s close when his growl vibrates in my ear as he picks up the pace, hands braced on my hips, pulling me onto him harder.

I wrap my arms tighter around his neck, matching his thrusts, matching his intensity.

Sweat beads along my hairline, our breaths come ragged.

I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes I feel like our hearts beat in unison.

When I come, it’s so intense that I clamp down on his cock hard.

Crow comes a few seconds later, his body movements becoming jerky and intense.

He buries his face in my neck as he releases his seed deep inside me.

We collapse together, him onto his back on the sofa and me on top of him.

I can feel him still twitching inside me and I lay my cheek on his heaving chest. The outside world seems far away.

When we’re together like this, I don’t think about being a fugitive or anything else.

I just concentrate on the emotions flowing back and forth between the two of us.

We’re reunited at last and nothing else matters at the moment.

He strokes my back with one large hand, his voice thick with emotion. “Now that I have you back, I’m never letting you go again, Ladybug.”

I press my lips to his chest and whisper against his skin, “I’m not going to fly away again. I promise.”