Mine to Take by Lila Fox

Chapter One

“Come on, man, I’d like to get home. Last night fucked me up,” Bear said.

Savage snorted. “Maybe if you didn’t have to fuck everything in sight and drink until you pass out, you’d feel better.”

Bear growled. “Shut the fuck up.”

Savage rolled his eyes and kept walking. He wasn’t going to say anything to the guys about feeling the same way about wanting to get the hell out of town, but his prez, Fury, asked them to find a guy who owed the club money and might know something about it thefts from their warehouse. So far, they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the bastard, and from what he’d been told, the guy had skipped a month before but would probably come back to the area because his mom lived here.

He always got an itch between his shoulder blades when he was in town lately, like they were being watched more than normal. Sure, the majority of the people in town were terrified of them, but he didn’t care. In fact, he liked it. This way, no one fucked with them. He wasn’t going to tell them they were harmless to the average citizen, and they actually protected them without their knowledge by keeping the fuckheads who caused problems away.

“Let’s head back. We’ll try again tomorrow.” Savage turned to walk back to the bikes, ignoring the complaints from some of the guys. He stopped suddenly and raised a hand. “Shut the fuck up.”

All the men froze and waited.

A scuffling sound, and what sounded like a kitten, came from down the alley they were passing between the library and tool store. He would have planned to keep walking if he hadn’t heard the cry.

“Hold up. I’m going to check this out,” Savage told them and headed down the alleyway. His eyes narrowed when he caught two men trying to pin a woman to the ground. Fucking bastards. He didn’t put up rape.

He grabbed the first guy, lifted him with one hand, and punched him in the face, instantly knocking him out then throwing him to the side before he grabbed the second one. This one, he broke the guy’s wrist and grinned when he cried out.

“Maybe that will teach you to fuck with women.” Savage punched him in the gut and then knocked him out before throwing him down on the other guy. He glanced down at the garbage and spat on them before he looked at the woman.

He was surprised she was standing and trying to repair the damage the men did, but her hands were shaking so hard she couldn’t do it.

Fuck, he wanted to help her, but he was afraid he’d just scare her more.

“Hey, can I help, lady?”

She mumbled something and then looked up at him.

It felt like someone punched him in the stomach. Her eyes were the most beautiful ones he’d ever seen. They looked blue with green striations.

“Do you know these guys?” he asked.

She looked at the men on the ground and nodded. “One is Freddy, and the other’s his brother Robert.” She’d given up on buttoning her shirt and just held it together with one hand while she smoothed her hair back with the other.

“Why the hell were they fucking with you?”

“Because I refused to go out with Freddy again, and then I might have called him a few names.”

His mouth kicked up at the corner. He was impressed she was holding herself together as well as she was. She wasn’t sobbing or screaming as most women would.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I’ll have some bruises and maybe a headache but nothing that needs a doctor.”

Savage looked down at the men. “Did they drag you back here?”

“No, I work at the library, and I was taking out the garbage. They caught me alone.”

“And you still got mouthy?”

She shrugged. “Well, yeah, he made me angry.”

Savage snorted. “Do you want to call the cops?”

She shook her head. “It won’t help. Their dad is one of them, so they get away with everything. That’s why they thought they could get away with raping me. They’re not the smartest people I’ve ever met.”

Now, that pissed him off. When she walked over and kicked one of the men when they groaned and moved, he was stunned.

Shocked, he chuckled. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this amused.

When her eyes widened at something behind him, he turned his head around and saw his men standing there. He expected her to panic, but she only nodded and turned back to him.

“I’m guessing they’re with you since you’re all wearing the same vest thingy.”

The guys laughed, and Savage smiled. “It’s called a cut,” he told her.

“Oh, okay.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”

“About which part?”

“Everything, but mostly being alone with five men from the Devil’s Sons?”

“That’s the club in town?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. It takes a lot to scare me, I guess.” She took several steps toward him and held out her hand. “I want to thank you for helping me.”

He looked down at her hand and smirked. “Seriously?”

“I just want to thank you.”

“He at least deserves a hug,” one of the guys said, making Savage snort.

He was shocked when she did just that. She wrapped her arms around his waist and whispered her thanks. He held his arms out at his sides because he didn’t know what the fuck to do.

“Jesus Christ, Savage. Say you’re welcome and hug her back.”

Savage scowled over his shoulder at Rage. “Shut the fuck up.”

He looked down to see her smiling up at him.

“That’s really your name?”

“Yeah, you got a problem with it?”

She snorted and shook her head before she stepped back. Then she grabbed her shirt again and smiled. “I better get back in. Thank you again.”

He watched her turn, put in a code, and walk in the back door. He couldn’t understand the disappointment he felt, and he didn’t fucking like it. The last thing he needed was having some pussy fuck up his head.

Savage crouched down by the man who had come to. “Listen carefully. You ever fuck with her again, I’ll fucking kill you. I don’t give a fuck who your father is. You got it?”

The guy rubbed his jaw and scowled. “Fuck you. She’s mine, and I can do what I want.”

Savage grabbed the guy’s shirt, stood, and lifted him in the air. He shook him hard. “I don’t care who you think you are. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with you, so you’ll leave her alone.”

The guy tried to swing at him, so he punched him in the stomach and was pleased with the pain-filled wheeze that came from him.

“Jesus, he’s fucking stupid,” Bear said.

Savage didn’t answer but agreed. “If I have to pay you a visit and tell you again to leave her alone, I’m going to leave you in pieces.”

“And I’d have the whole police department come down on you, fuckhead.”

Savage grinned. “I could give a fuck, and I’m guessing your dad isn’t one of the decent ones if you think you can get away with shit. We also have some friends in the department, so if I were you, I wouldn’t depend on anything.”

“Let me go,” the guy yelled.

“Certainly.” Savage punched him in the stomach and then the chin, knocking him out again. He released his grip and let the guy fall on his brother, who was whimpering and holding his wrist.

Savage walked out of the alley, and the men fell in behind him.

“Why do you get all the fun?” Rage asked.

Savage rolled his eyes and kept walking.

He didn’t let himself think about the woman again until he was in bed that night. It pissed him off that she kept popping into his head. He hoped she’d be a distant memory when he woke up in the morning. If not, he’d do something about it.