Mine to Take by Lila Fox

Chapter Fourteen

Zoe opened her eyes the following day and smiled at the arm and leg that had her pinned to the bed.

“Good morning,” he said.

The sound of his husky morning voice sent a shiver down her back.

“Good morning.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “I’ve got to get ready for work.”

“All right. I’ll make coffee while you’re dressing.”

“That would be great.”

Zoe felt like they’d been together for years instead of days. Everything was relaxed, and they worked well together getting breakfast ready.

Outside her back door, he kissed her softly. “I’ll be here tonight with dinner.”

“All right. That would be great.”

“Have a good day, babe.”

“You, too.”

That was the way it went on for the next few months. They slept together every night and woke to have breakfast together. They’d even splurged on a new king-size mattress that he could be comfortable in.

They’d spent a few nights at the club, usually after one of the parties. She got close to the ladies and felt like the club was a second home to her. And she found that she was truly happy for the first time in her life. She couldn’t wait for the next day and the time she could spend with Savage.

One day, she walked out the front of the library and was grabbed, then thrown against the side of the building behind a column, hitting her temple on the sharp brick.

She pressed her hand to her head and glared. “What the hell are you doing, Freddy?”

“I’ve come with a warning.”

“You know Savage will kill you if he knows you’re messing with me.”

“Fuck him. Now listen. You need to stop seeing that son of a bitch.”

“No.”

He tapped her on the side of the face hard enough that she knew he’d left a red mark behind. “Listen, you stupid cunt. If you don’t stop seeing him, my dad is ready and very willing to bring the club down.”

“He can’t do that.”

“Oh, fuck yeah, he can, and he’s wanted to for a long time.”

“This is ridiculous, Freddy. Even if I break up with Savage, I’d still never date you.”

“I don’t give a fuck anymore. I don’t want to fuck the same cunt that fucker has. It just pissed me off that you’re lying down for that piece of shit. You wouldn’t do it for me, so now I’m going to make your life miserable in any way I can until you stop.”

“For God’s sake, why?”

“Because I hate that club and especially him with a passion.”

“Your dad doesn’t have the power to mess with the club.”

“No, but he’s getting more and more backing every day.”

She raised her chin. “I won’t do it.”

Freddy grinned. “I told my dad you’d fight me, so we’ll take the next step.”

“Which is?” she asked.

“Did you know my dad was a sniper in the Army?”

Dread filled her stomach. “No.”

“Oh, yeah, and he was damn good. He filled up one kill book and started on another one before he was discharged.”

“What’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Every sniper writes down everything when he kills someone. From the date and time to the person, how long the shot was, and other things.”

“That’s horrible.”

“No, it’s a part of life, you stupid bitch.”

“What does that have to do with now?” she asked, but she thought she knew, and it was going to make her sick.

“Because all it would take is one shot, and your little boyfriend will be in Hell where he belongs.”

“No, there’s no way. Your dad’s a cop, for God’s sake. That’s first-degree murder.”

He grinned. “The thing is, no one would ever find out, and if you try to say anything, you’d end up the same way.”

Zoe swallowed the tears that stung her eyelids.

“So, you’ll do it as soon as possible,” he said.

She just nodded. She’d think about it more after she got home because there had to be another way.

He slapped her face a few times, then turned and walked off.

She inhaled several breaths before she pushed herself away from the wall and started home.

Who could she talk to that could help her? The thought of never seeing Savage again was so excruciating it almost doubled her over. But the thought of him being killed was ten times worse.

When she got home, she changed quickly and drove to the club. She tried to smile as people called out to her, but she continued on until she got to the kitchen.

“Hey,” she said.

Tara and Amelia turned around and instantly looked concerned.

“What happened?” Amelia asked as she came around the corner and pulled her into her arms.

“Nothing really. Do you know where Savage is?”

“He’s not here right now. Tell us what’s going on,” Tara demanded.

“I can’t.”

Both women studied her for a moment.

“What are you going to say to Savage?” Tara asked.

“It’s not working. I feel it’s best if we break up.”

Amelia narrowed her eyes. “I say bullshit. You’re so in love with that man, it’s so obvious. Just like I am with Fury, and the only thing that would keep me from him as if he were threatened.”

How the hell did she figure that out?

Zoe shook her head. “No—”

“No, what?” someone said behind them.

The women turned to see Fury, Savage, and Traeger standing there.

Savage took a step forward, and she held out a hand and stepped back. “No, stop.”

“What the hell happened?” he asked.

“It’s… I came to tell you I can’t see you anymore.”

She hated the shock and hurt that crossed his face but better that than him dying.

“What the fuck?”

“Wait,” Amelia said. “Fury, can we take this into the office?”

Fury nodded. “Everyone, go on in. I want to talk to Amelia for a moment.”

Zoe followed Tara into the office. She looked around because she’d never been in the room before. She kept her gaze away from Savage the best she could, but she could feel his intense anger from where she stood across the room.

He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and something that looked close to hatred in his eyes. It brought tears to her eyes, and she looked away.

The door opened, and Fury and Amelia walked in. Fury sat down behind the desk while Amelia stood by his side.

“Listen, I don’t have time for this…” she said.

“You’ll sit your ass down now,” Fury said in a tone she’d never be able to disobey. She sat in the closest chair and waited. “Amelia just told me what you said, but I want to hear it from you.”

She looked at all the eyes on her and felt herself start to shake inside. “I … I came here to talk to Savage.”

“About what?” Fury asked when she paused too long.

“I don’t feel like this relationship is working. We’re just too different.”

She heard Savage growl but didn’t look his way.

She cleared her throat. “It’s not like this was going to be long-term anyway.”

“Fuck,” Savage whispered. He stood and headed for the door.

“Sit your ass down,” Fury said.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now? I don’t have to sit and listen to this cunt talk. She’s right. It was never going to be long-term. In fact, I was thinking of cutting out already.”

“Sit your fucking ass down. If you took a good look at Zoe and the situation, you’d know something else was going on.”

Savage sat and glowered at her.

“What happened to your head?” Fury asked her.

The change of topic threw her for a moment, and then her hand shot to her temple. She’d forgotten all about it in her mad rush to get to the club.

“Oh … well … I hit it on a shelf.”

Amelia smiled when Fury snorted.

“You are one of the worst liars I’ve ever seen,” he told her.

“Wait, I’m not—”

“If I were you, I’d stop before you dig yourself deeper because I can see a punishment in your future.”

“I’m not fucking touching her,” Savage said.

She blinked several times. God, this was what she came for, but the pain was unimaginable.

“Zoe, you’re not leaving this room until I get the answers I want.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Savage is already done with me. Just let me go, and I’ll never come back.”

“That’s not likely to happen,” Traeger said.

She couldn’t prevent the tear from sliding down her cheek.

“Tell us right now.”

She stared at Fury, and then her shoulder drooped in defeat. “After work, Freddy stopped by.”

“He’s the one who gave you the bruise?” Amelia asked.

She nodded. “He told me that I needed to stay away from Savage and that his father was trying to figure out a way to bring down your club.”

She cleared her throat. “I was planning on sending you a note after I got home telling you to watch for him. At first, I told him no. B … but he said his father was a sniper, and it was either I stay away from Savage, or he would be shot.” She wiped the tears from her cheek. “I can’t take the chance—”

“Shut up for a second,” Fury said.

Her mouth snapped shut, and she looked down at her hands.

“Who is this guy and his father?”

“The boys are Freddy and Robert, and their dad is a cop on the force in town. His name is Joe Clarke.”

“I know that fucker,” Traeger said. “We’ve had problems with him before. He’s got a major hard-on for us and has tried to cause trouble a few times. Our contacts are keeping him in check for now, but I don’t know how long that will last.”

Fury rested his elbow on the desk and rubbed his thumb over his lips as he seemed to contemplate the situation. But it didn’t matter at the moment. Savage was going to break up with her anyway.

“Can I go now?”

“No.” Fury looked at Savage. “Do you have anything to say?”

She looked up to see Savage staring at her with a blank face, and she was scared to hear what he had to say. She couldn’t understand how a man she’d just made love to last night could act as he’d never met her.

He pinned her with his gaze. “So, you came here to break up with me to protect me?” he asked sarcastically.

She bit her lip and nodded.

“Why the hell would you do that?”

“Why?” she asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I lo … care about you, and I don’t want you hurt.”

He seemed to contemplate her for a moment. “It just seems like you’re using this as an excuse to break up, and all you’ve got to do is tell me to fuck off.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” she said.

“You just did.”

“To protect you.”

He stood. “Well, I, for one, am not going to fucking believe it.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Hey, it was going to end anyway, right?” he asked.

Her gaze went to her hands in her lap, and she nodded. “Yes. You told me a few times that it was temporary.”

He grunted. “Yeah, I did. Take care.” He turned to Fury. “Can I go? I’m done here.”

“You’re really going to be this stupid?” Fury asked.

“I actually think I’m smart right now. Smarter than I have been in a while.”

“Then get the fuck out. We’ll deal with the problem.”

Without another word, Savage turned and walked out, and it felt like he’d taken most of her heart with him.

The quiet room finally grabbed her attention. She cleared her throat and stood. She needed to get away from them before breaking down because it would take a while for her to put herself back together.

“Is it okay if I leave?”

“We’ve got things to discuss,” Fury told her.

“Nothing that pertains to me. I need to go.”

Amelia put her hand on Fury’s shoulder, leaned down, and whispered something.

Fury looked toward Zoe. “You may go, but this isn’t over. You’ll be seeing us again.”

“No, I don’t think so. I think it’s time for me to move on. I don’t have anything here holding me anymore.”

“What about Amelia and me?” Tara asked her.

“I’d really like to keep in touch. You’ve both been good friends. I’ll call when I get settled. Okay?”

Tara nodded.

“Thank you.” Zoe turned and walked out the door. She didn’t acknowledge anyone because she was afraid she’d start crying. She made it out the door.

“Good riddance.”

Zoe turned to see Clara, one of the sluts who had taken an instant dislike to her, leaning against the side of the house, smoking.

“What?”

“I said good riddance. I always knew we’d get Savage back. There’s no way in hell someone like you could keep his attention for long.”

Zoe pressed on her stomach, where a ball of misery was building. “You’re right. He’s better off without me.”

Without another word, she got in her car and drove off.

When she got home, she shed her clothes and jumped in the shower. Tears slid down her face and mixed with the water as she tipped her face up to it.

She dried off, stopping every other minute to wipe the tears from her eyes and blowing her nose.

After dressing in her nightgown, she crawled into bed and pulled the blanket up to her throat before the sobs tore out of her. She cried until her eyes were swollen, her nose was clogged, and her throat hurt.

She wiped her eyes and blew her nose before she collapsed back in bed and stared up at the ceiling. God, she would miss him so much, and she didn’t know if she’d ever recover, but it was what her life had come to. Now she had to deal with it.