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Finn believed him. The man didn’t have his finger along the trigger guard. Fuck no. He had it on the trigger itself.
One twitch of that finger and Finn would be on the ground, bleeding out. A combination of common sense and street smarts had him lifting his hands in surrender and taking a few steps away from Mel so she wouldn’t be caught in any crossfire.
He didn’t trust Saint not to shoot him.
Hell, he didn’t trust Saint. Period.
But he did hold his ground when the biker took another step toward him. “Hey, man, fists are one thing, bullets another. If someone knocked around your ol’ lady, you’d be straightening that asshole out, too.”
“See your lips flappin’ but don’t give a shit what’s comin’ outta them. You got no say here.”
Finn’s breath seized when Saint jabbed the gun’s muzzle in Mel’s direction. That was enough to fan the embers burning in his gut.
“She don’t, either. I’m the fuckin’ boss here. She needs to get that through her thick head or get the fuck out.”
Finn’s lungs began to pump again when the pistol was turned on him once more. If someone was going to take a bullet today, he’d rather it be him than Mel. He’d never forgive himself if that happened. She was an innocent in all of this mess.
Taking another step closer to Finn, Saint’s gaze dropped briefly to T-Bone when the prospect groaned and began to resurface from the dark space where Finn sent him.
Saint raised his eyes back to Finn. “You’re banned from this club. Get the fuck off this property.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Crew was going to be pissed about Finn losing access to the club. Worse, he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on Mel. “Or what?”
Saint cocked an eyebrow at him. “You really wanna find out?”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Mel rush toward him. “Fi— Danny, please… just go. For now.”
“I’m not leaving you here.”
“Then take her with you,” Saint told him. “I’ll get the dark-haired piece to take her place.”
“He’s leaving right now,” Mel quickly assured Saint, tugging on Finn’s arm. “Come on. I made this mess, let me clean it up.”
Finn reluctantly let her lead him to the other side of his Toyota Tacoma. But mostly to get her out of the line of fire. They stopped where the truck could be used for cover and no one could overhear them talking.
“Listen, just go for now and come back at seven to pick me up. In the meantime, I’ll try to smooth things over with Taint.” She dropped her voice to barely a whisper. “Plus, I have to grab my phone. It fell when T-Bone slammed me against the van. I took as many pictures as I could while he was inside it.”
His brow pinched together. “Pictures of what?”
She shook her head. “I have no idea. Sorry. I had to hide what I was doing so I took random shots. They might show something,” she sighed, “or they might be garbage.”
He ground his teeth together, tucked a thumb under her chin and tipped her face up. He dropped his and held her gaze. “I don’t like you putting yourself at risk.”
While he was impressed by her bravery, her safety came first.
She planted a hand on his chest. “Didn’t I agree to that risk when I said I’d work with you?”
Finn pulled a long breath in through his nose and covered her hand with his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Tell me… And I want the truth, Mel. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
She rubbed the back of her head but nodded. “I’m fine. No blood or loss of limbs. I cracked my head against the van and my back is a bit sore, but I’ll take some aspirin or something. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
Every time she insisted that she’d be fine, it had the opposite effect on him. It didn’t reassure him, it made him more worried. “How the fuck won’t I worry when I can see the bruises already forming on your neck?”
Her fingers fluttered over her throat. “Listen, just let me deal with this. I’ll cover the bruises with makeup once I go back inside and once Taint’s cooled off, I’ll try to smooth things over with him.”
“I’m going to say this again, Mel… I don’t want to leave you here. You could walk away.”
She dropped her voice even lower. “Do you really want me to walk away and leave you without anyone on the inside? It’s bad enough he just banned you from the club.”
He pinned his lips together. He’d have to have a meeting with Crew so they could figure out another angle.
His silence was answer enough for Mel. “Of course you don’t. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
That wasn’t a promise she could give. Her safety was conditional on more than only herself. She had to deal with an outlaw MC with everything to lose. And that made them dangerous.
