Page 56 of Talon (Road Rebels MC 2)
The women comprised of Brooklyn, Kylie, Noelle, Casey and a few others from the Bad Disciples’ warehouse. I was as shocked to see them there in our kitchen, as they were happy to see me.
“Sage!” Casey squealed with joy and rushed over to give me a tight hug. She looked much healthier this morning, just after one night’s sleep. She had a fresh set of clothes on, none of that garish makeup and looked suddenly well-fed. It was amazing what one night, in a safe, happy place could do to a tortured soul.
“Hi guys,” I said, gushing. I could feel my cheeks burning up, in confusion and joy.
“We were just telling your mom, what an inspiration you are to us,” Brooklyn said and smiled at my mother, who set the last of the coffee mugs on the kitchen table and dusted her hands.
“I know she is, she is an amazing daughter,” mom said, beaming at me. “I’m going to leave you girls to it, call me if you need more coffee or anything,” mom said in a happy cheery voice and then she left the room.
The women were all waiting for my mom to leave the kitchen before they pounced on me.
They were hugging me, shaking my hand and eventually, made me sit at the table.
“We just wanted to stop by and personally thank you for what you did last night for Casey,” one of the girls, called Martha, said.
“Oh, you didn’t have to. I did what anyone of you would have done,” I replied, still feeling a little overwhelmed by this shower of attention and praises.
“No, Sage, you went out there by yourself and put your life at risk for one of us,” Noelle said, and rubbed my back affectionately. Casey was gazing starry-eyed at me like I was her savior.
“If anyone needs to be thanked, it is Glock and the others. They are the ones who rescued both of us and killed the Dragon Knights’ leader,” I said, and the women looked at each other and smiled.
“Oh, they’ve been thanked enough, but you, Sage, are an outsider. You didn’t think twice before going out there. Anything could have happened, and it was a huge risk,” Kylie said, beaming at me and I could feel myself blushing.
“Well, you’re very welcome, and I would do it again if it has to be done,” I said, and Casey crouched down in front of me, placing her hands on my knees.
“I know you will, Sage, which is why I trust you to handle my case. The girls have been saying that you’re a lawyer and you want to help us build a case against the Dragon Knights,” Casey said, and I could feel my heart beating fast. This was the last thing I expected—for the women to come to my house, to thank me and then ask me to take them on as clients!
“I don’t know if I can do that without permission from Axel and the others,” I said and looked up at the faces of Brooklyn, Kylie, and Noelle who were all smiling.
“We’ve spoken to Axel already, he wants to speak with you personally, but we’ve convinced him that this is the right thing to do,” Noelle told me, and I was shocked again. It was just one surprise after another!
“You’ve spoken to Axel already?” I asked, and Brooklyn crinkled her brows.
“Yeah, didn’t Glock tell you? He wants to see you to discuss it,” she said, and I licked my lips. Glock had told me the exact opposite, and I knew exactly why he had done that. He was desperate to keep me safe, even if it meant losing me. How did he not know that I wasn’t safe anywhere else other than with him?
“Sage, please say that you’ll help us?” Casey urged me, and I looked at her with a smile on my face.
“Well, I guess I should go and talk to Axel then,” I said, and she jumped up to hug me, and so did the others. I had never felt needed like this before, and I was happy.
Chapter 23
Glock
Tank had just made a joke, which surprised us all because he was the kind of guy who rarely said anything, let alone an actual joke. We were laughing our asses off, more because we couldn’t believe he had said it rather than that it was funny.
Everyone was in a good mood after the defeat of the Dragon Knights. Some of the guys had been partying since the previous night, even after I left to go to Sage’s place. We were in good spirit, and everyone seemed to be convinced that we had eliminated the Dragon Knights once and for all. With Brick dead, it would take them too much discipline, resources and brains to get themselves back up together; none of which they had.
Axel was sitting with us too when Sage walked into the Rusty Pelican. All heads turned to look at her, and I crashed my bottle of beer down on the table, ready to run to her and drag her out of the place if I had to.
But Axel had beat me to it. He stood up and welcomed Sage with open arms, and she walked right up to him, completely ignoring my presence beside him.
“Hi Axel, I heard that you wanted to see me,” she said, and I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of my lungs. I had definitely not passed on that bit of information to her, and I figured that it had to be one of the girls who did.
I clenched my jaw as I glared at her, trying to force her into looking at me but Sage didn’t budge. She continued to stare at Axel without batting an eyelid. Apart from the fact that I was fucking furious at her, Sage looked devastatingly gorgeous at the same time. With her flowing red hair, her eyes changing colors, the plaid shirt she was wearing that stretched over her ample breasts.
“Yes, Sage, the women have had nothing but praises for you and I thought it was time that the two of us sat down and had a chat,” Axel said, and I clenched my fists. Things were not going according to plan.
“Have you decided what you want to do with me?” Sage asked, and Axel laughed and then threw me a look.
“What I want to do with you? Yes, that’s a good question. Given that you managed to get my men involved in a bloodbath without being asked to,” Axel said, and I watched him narrow his eyes at her. Sage should have been intimidated by that look, but I had come to expect her not to be. She just stared back at him like she had nothing to hide.
“Okay, I’ll bite. You really want to help the women file a case against the motherfuckers, be my guest,” Axel said, and Sage’s mouth fell open. She was the one who looked like she had the wind knocked out of her now.
“I will keep you out of it, I promise. The whole MC. I will make sure that the testimonies don’t include your involvement in any way,” Sage said, and Axel nodded his head.
“You better do, because otherwise, it’s off,” Axel said, and she nodded her head excitedly.
“Thank you, Axel, you won’t regret it,” she said with a wide smile on her face, and I ran a hand through my hair dejectedly. I couldn’t change it now; the decision had been made. Once again, Sage got exactly what she wanted. I could have broken all the bottles in this place. I was seething with rage as I stood beside Axel.
“But Glock told me that you were planning on taking up a job in San Francisco. How is that going to work? I told you that if you get involved with us once, there’s no way out of this,” Axel continued, peering into Sage’s face. She licked her lips nervously and threw me a look.
“Glock was wrong. I don’t have a job in San Francisco, and I don’t want to go back there. I want to stay here and work with the women, work for people in my neighborhood,” Sage said, and I shook my head lightly and looked away from her. I couldn’t believe this shit. I couldn’t believe what she was saying, and yet a part of me was forcing me to smile. I tried hard to control it, to not smile openly. I didn’t want to get my hopes up at the prospect of Sage staying here. What could that mean for us?
“Good. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. You stay here, work with the women and if I ever need legal help, you’ll be the first person I’ll call,” Axel said, and Sage nodded her head and smiled.
“I’ll be happy to help,” she replied, and Axel stretched his hand out towards her. Sage shook his hand, but he kept holding it.
“And Sage, I hope you’re aware what this involves. What you’re getting yourself into,” Axel said, and I saw how her hazel eyes twinkled as she looked at him.
“I
do, and I know I can rely on you guys to have my back,” she said, and Axel broke into a laugh.
“She’s a full-fledged lawyer, this one, eh?” Axel said through his laughter and looked at me. I could barely force myself to smile.
“Yes, my girl, you have our full protection, as long as you keep doing good work for us,” Axel said, and he finally let her hand go.
Sage looked pleased, she was all smiles and then gave me one look, she nodded her head and turned and started walking towards the door.
Where the fuck did she think she was she going?
***
