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She smiled and nodded. “Well, that’s good. I’m glad you’re back.”
I was glad too, especially seeing that Savannah worried about me. That meant she cared, didn’t it? Meant I wasn’t alone in the strange feelings that had come over me recently.
“Me too.” I nodded. “I went to check in at the clubhouse and then I went for a ride. A long one, to clear my head and get some thinking done.”
“Yeah? Did you get some quality thinkin’ in?” She was coming down from her brush with death, but her hands stayed glued to my biceps, telling me she needed to get centered.
“I did. Had a lot on my mind.” Just then, a knock sounded from the door.
“Charlie? You in there?” It was Jimmy and the cleanup crew, so I went to the door and let them in.
“Hey man, thanks,” I said as they got to work cleaning up the crime scene.
“Not a problem.” Jimmy was Savior and Mandy’s son and he’d grown up in and around the club, so he knew not to ask questions. Not in front of people, anyway. And I was sure he didn’t like seeing Savannah or her father at my house. I was also sure he wouldn’t say anything to anyone.
Savannah and I walked into the kitchen while the crew cleaned up her mess. “So what’s on your mind that kept you out so long?” Savannah asked as she plopped down onto the kitchen chair.
I turned to see if anyone was close enough to hear me. They weren’t.
“The MC and the future. The Ashby family. You and me.”
Truth was I spent most of the time trying to make sense of my feelings for Savannah. Was it smart to fall for this woman? Was I even falling for her? Did she feel the same? I had far more fucking questions than answers, and I didn’t like how that made me feel.
“Yeah? What about us?”
Good fucking question. “That’s the thing, Savannah, I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting you at all, never mind that you’re a smartass bombshell with a killer sense of humor. I could have handled the Ice Princess and kept my distance. I could have continued with my plan to keep you around as long as you were useful to me and then give you a fistful of cash so you could go on about your life. That was my plan. At first.”
She nodded, her face expressionless except a small quirk of a lopsided grin. “I figured.”
“But I can’t let you go, Vannah. Not now. Somewhere along the way you started to matter to me, and not as just some hot fuck, which you totally are.” She smiled at me. “But as something more than a fuck. Something more than casual. Hell, I don’t know woman, just something more. Fuck.”
From her expression, drained of emotion, or maybe just drained of energy, maybe now wasn’t the time. But some things needed to be said.
“You do realize with Ronan and Brendan gone, you are now the head of The Crusaders, babe. You are no longer the heiress apparent; you’re the boss bitch in charge.”
She flashed an unsure smile and cast a look toward the room where her father was being carried away. “Whatever you want that to look like, it’s all yours now.” I added.
“Hey, Charlie!” Jimmy called from the other room. “We’re out of here, man.”
“Thanks a lot, man. I owe ya one.” I said as I walked into the living room and noticed the place was sparkling clean. “I appreciate it.”
“Sure thing.” Jimmy nodded toward the kitchen and said, “My lips are sealed, man. Have a good one.” Then he walked out the front door, the gun tucked in their gear for removal as well. No detail left to fuck us up later.
“Shit, shit shit!” Savannah came up behind me, pensive but talking. “I want it, Charlie. Holy shit, I want it. But I also want you.”
My shoulders relaxed at her words, and I smiled. “They aren’t mutually exclusive, you know?”
“They’re not?” I shook my head, relieved when a wide, glowing smile spread across her face. “Good, because I want it all. The business, the money, the fancy things. All of it. But mostly I want you. More than any if that other shit.” She paused to make sure I knew what she was saying and I did.
Knowing that made my fucking heart sing. Made me feel like, in that moment, I was thisclose to becoming the man I was meant to be. The leader I was meant to be. I always thought I wanted a woman like my mom, the perfectly sweet wife who didn’t involve herself in MC business because that worked well for my folks. But I was my own man, and I needed something more than that.
I needed Savannah.
“We can figure this out, Charlie.”
