Page 10 of Saber's Claim
And when someone pointed a gun at him, I cracked that someone in the skull.
I don’t know what that makes me. Brave or stupid or falling for the most dangerous man in a town full of dangerous men.
Probably all three.
He comes to the door at eleven p.m.
I’m in bed with the lamp on, staring at the ceiling, when I hear the knock. Two knocks. Low. Not demanding. Not tentative. Like he’s letting me know he’s there, not asking me to open.
I open anyway.
Saber fills the doorframe. He’s wearing a t-shirt and his vest, like he always does.
His blue eyes trail down my body and back up.
He’s checking me for damage, but not looking at me the way I want him to.
He doesn’t step inside. His boots stay on the hallway side of the threshold like there’s a line drawn there that only he can see.
“You need anything?”
I need my job back. I need my car. I need to not owe my survival to a man I’ve never had a conversation with that lasted more than four sentences.
“No.”
He nods. His eyes drop to the doorframe, then back to mine.
“Saber.”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you. For the clothes. For the room. For—” I don’t know how to finish that sentence. For making Kyle disappear. For not being what I’m afraid you are.
One corner of his mouth rises. “Get some sleep, Shelby.”
He turns and walks down the hallway. I close and lock the door. Not to keep him out. More than anything, I wanted to invite him in, but he’s keeping his distance. I’ll respect that.
I turn, press my back against the door, and slide to the floor.
He said my name. He’s never said my name before.
I pull my knees to my chest and sit there in the dark, listening to his boots fade down the hall, and I don’t know if I’m safe or if I’m falling, and I don’t know which one scares me more.
CHAPTER 4
SABER
Four days.Four fucking days she’s been in my clubhouse, and I haven’t slept at my ranch once.
I tell myself it’s tactical. The Crimson Warriors have her name, her face, and a dead brother to avenge. Somebody needs to be here. Somebody needs to be close.
Doesn’t have to be me. Duke is here every night. Razor has got prospects on rotation at the front gate. There’s no shortage of men who can stand between her and whatever Nitro sends next.
But I’m the one in the room next to hers. I’m the one who hears her lock turn every night before she goes to bed. I’m the one lying in the dark, staring at the ceiling, listening for it.
Click. Locked. Safe.
Fuck. I need to get my head right.
