Mine to Take by Lila Fox
Chapter Twenty-Two
When Zoe woke up the next day, she saw Savage up on his elbow with his head in his hand staring at her.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi, babe.”
She reached out and traced his face with her fingertip. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m trying to decide if I should ask you or just tell you.”
She would have become nervous if it weren’t for the wicked humor she saw in his eyes. “Oh, I usually find that with women, it’s always better to ask.”
He snorted. “All right, I’ll just tell you then.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’m ready for it.”
“You’re my old lady, babe.”
Both Amelia and Tara had explained being an old lady was the equivalent of being married. Since she wanted that, too, she nodded. “Okay.”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“Well, yes. I’m not going to fight you on something I want myself.”
“Good. You’re also going to marry me.”
“Wait, what?”
He grinned. “Yeah. We’ll go get the license and then go to a justice of the peace and get hitched unless you want to go to Vegas and have Elvis do it?”
She laughed. “No, here is fine. Why both?”
“Because I want you tied to me in every way possible.”
She studied his face. “Does that mean kids?”
It was something she’d always dreamed of but didn’t know if the life they were living was safe enough for children.
“I’ve been thinking about that. I’ve never thought I’d like children because I have no idea what type of dad I’d be, but with you by my side showing me, I think I’d do pretty good.”
“I know you would. Is it safe enough to have children?”
“We’ll make it safe. Fury and Traeger are talking about having them, too. We’ll make sure the compound is even more secure, and we’ve talked about expanding so we can each build a house for our families here. The club owns several acres in the back we haven’t done anything with. That way, the whole club can be here to protect you all.”
“I wouldn’t mind that as long as the guys didn’t just drop in whenever they wanted all the time.”
“Oh, we’d definitely have an understanding.”
She nodded. “Then I’d like that. I feel the safest when I’m with you and the club.”
“Good. Because every one of us would lay down our lives for you guys.”
“I hope it never comes to that.”
There was a knock at their door. “Hey, the prez wants to see you two.”
“We’ll be right down.” Savage pressed a kiss to her mouth and pulled her out of bed. “Go take a shower while I get dressed. I showered last night.”
She started getting nervous when they walked down the stairs. Some of the club stopped and stared at them.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Savage barked at them.
One of the guys raised his hands. “Nothing, we just don’t want to be close to her if she gets pissed again. Fuck, we heard the man would never be able to have kids because of her.”
He laughed at the horror on her face.
“Do you think that’s true?” she asked Savage as they made their way to the office.
“I don’t give a fuck. The guy deserves everything he gets.”
“Hey,” Savage said from the doorway with his arm around her shoulder.
“Come on in, you two, and shut the door.”
Zoe looked around the room at the different men. She knew all but one, and he stood out. He was wearing jeans and a button-down shirt, but his look of authority was stamped all over his face. It was very close to the look she’d seen on Fury a few times.
“Zoe, I’d like you to meet a friend, Ben Taggert. He works at the police department.”
“Hi.”
The guy smiled. “I’d shake your hand, but I’m terrified to get close to you.”
She snorted. “You wimps.”
Everyone laughed.
Savage sat on the sofa and pulled her down next to him.
Ben looked at Savage. “I never thought I’d see the day when you fall for a woman. I didn’t think you were human half the time.”
Savage snorted.
“Hey!” she snarled.
Savage laughed and hugged her tightly. “He was only teasing. You can’t beat up everyone that insults me. The whole club would be in ruin.”
The guys in the room laughed.
She jabbed her elbow into his side, making him grunt. “Not funny.”
“We wanted you in here to tell you what happened last night,” Fury said. “We got your phone to Ben, and his department had all three Clarke men arrested. You got enough evidence to put them all away for life. I’m betting they’ll plead out to get a better deal, but bottom line, we won’t have to worry about them again.”
“You did a great job, Zoe,” Ben said. “We’ve been after them for a long time but could never find enough evidence. We suspected Clarke of killing the sheriff but had no idea about his wife. We’re searching his yard to see if he buried her there.”
“That’s awful.”
Ben nodded. “As far as Brant goes. After he recovers…”
Everyone but her laughed.
“He is moving to another state. As much as several of you would like to kill him, there’s nothing I can do to keep you out of jail. It would be even worse since he’s a cop. We can’t find evidence that he’s done anything illegal for the Clarkes, so we’re letting him go. He’ll never be in law enforcement again, but he’ll still be able to live.”
“I’m glad he’s gone,” she said. Several people nodded their heads in agreement.
“Do you have any questions, Zoe?” Fury asked her.
“No, I don’t think so as long as I know the club is safe.”
Fury smiled. “Because of you, we are at the moment.”
She nodded.
“We have some more things to discuss, and the girls are waiting to talk to you. Go on out to the kitchen. We won’t be long.”
“Okay.” She turned to Savage and got his nod and a quick kiss before she headed out of the room, closing the door behind her.
The last thing she heard was the cop saying, “How in the hell do you guys find these amazing women, and where can I get my own?”
Zoe grinned and found the women making pancakes when she walked into the room. They both smiled and ran to her, then hugged her tightly.
“I’m so glad you’re back, and I’m happy about everything you’ve done for the family,” Amelia said.
“Traeger told me how you protected everyone. Thank you.”
“I’m just glad I was able to help.”
“We also heard that you’re one of us?”
“What?” Zoe asked, confused.
“An old lady,” Tara said and laughed.
Amelia grinned. “Yeah, we’re planning a party to celebrate tonight and make it official.”
She felt tears sting her eyes. “I’m so happy.”
“We’re happy for you.”
“Well, not only have I found a man that I love with my whole heart, but I’ve also found two best friends and a family I love.”
“We feel the same way,” Amelia said.
“Do I smell something burning?” Tara asked. They all shouted and ran to the grill where a few of the pancakes were definitely burnt.
“That’s okay,” Amelia said. “We have plenty of batter.”
As the men and women came through the kitchen for breakfast, most had something to say to her. Most of it made her laugh, but a few made her feel blessed to have fallen into this club.
When she saw Savage walk into the kitchen and head her way with a heated look in his eyes, the other two women chuckled.
“I guess we’ll be seeing you later,” Tara said and snickered.
Zoe sighed as she was thrown over his shoulder. “You know you could just ask me to come with you.”
“Naw.” Savage chuckled. “I like my way better.”
She smiled against his back. Yeah, she liked it better, too, but wasn’t going to tell him that.
The End
