Annihilation Road (37 page)

“You have every right to have your nasty temper exploding right now, Seychelle. I fucked up. I should have listened to my instincts regarding you. I know your personality. You like to hear about things, even a little bit at a time, and then think it over. I was happy in that cottage with you and I didn’t want to leave. We were laughing every day. All night. The last thing I wanted to do was bring this mess up,
especially when I didn’t know what we were walking into, but I should have.”

She turned to face him and he pulled her in close again, sliding one hand down her back to the curve of her bottom. “You’ve gotten so you like my hand or even occasionally the leather decorating your ass. And you’ve let me clamp your nipples a couple of times, and you enjoyed it. I was so wrapped up in you and me that I didn’t want anything else to interfere. I didn’t want to bring the outside into our world. What I did was wrong, and I’m fully aware of it.”

Seychelle pressed her forehead against his chest. When he did that, just simply and succinctly owned his mistakes, it turned her heart over. Savage never beat around the bush, he just simply told her outright what he thought was his part in what went wrong.

“Not the leather. I’m not sure about that leather strap thing yet. Clamps I love. Your hand too. Leather, um . . . not so much.”

“Your body always tells me something else.”

“I know, but I think I’m going to have a serious talk with my body. Okay. I’m not angry anymore, but please, when something big is up, let me know ahead of time. I really do have to think things through. I’m not good at this caught-off-guard thing.”

He tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes. His eyes had gone from ice-cold blue to flames, ones that licked over her body and turned her to pure fire. “You’re good at everything, Seychelle. I love you. Just remember that and you’ll be fine. Stay with the band. Don’t step into the crowd for any reason. When we go in, you search that crowd for anyone with illnesses who could distract you or force you to help them. That’s the first thing.”

He framed her face with his hands and brushed kisses over her lips. “You can do this, baby. More than anything, you stay safe for me. Tell me you understand that’s the most
important thing. You’ll sweep that room, and we’ll clear it of anyone with an illness.”

She nodded. “I can do that.”

That earned her a kiss. His kisses robbed her of all ability to think. If he wanted a thinking person in the bar, he couldn’t kiss her. Not only did her brain turn to mush, but her body went into meltdown. One hand slipped into her hair, crushing it into his fist at the nape of her neck, holding her head in place while fire flared between them.

He lifted his head when she gripped his jacket hard and fought for control. “We’ve got this, baby. You and me. We can do this. You’ll be safe as long as you do just what I tell you.”

Seychelle realized he
really
didn’t want her there. Whatever this was, for some reason, the club felt they needed her. That settled her when nothing else could have. She wanted to be important to him—a partner, not a burden. She wasn’t just a distraction. The club was counting on her.

“What do you want me to do when I’m singing, Savage?” She searched his eyes. The blue flames had quickly faded back to that flat, cold, deadly look he sometimes got that made her shiver. His features had settled into his expressionless mask.

“I’ll go into the back room. Czar and some of the others will already be in there. I want you to sit at the bar and talk to Anya right before you take the stage. I’ll step out of the room, and you give me a sign whether or not you can read us and how tense we are, the mood in the room. I think you’ll be able to. If you can’t, we’ll try to find a way to make it work so you will. When the Diamondbacks come in, zero in on the ones coming into the back. Keep tuned to them. This is very important, Seychelle. If they start to get upset, try to counter it. Signal the band and let them know. Work out something to play ahead of time, various songs to counter whatever emotions you might meet.”

She nodded.

“There will be Diamondbacks scattered around the bar as well. You’ll have to keep a read on them. I know it’s a lot to ask, baby, but it’s damned important.”

“I can do it. I do it all the time,” she assured him.

He brushed her lips with his again and wrapped his arm around her waist possessively, walking her across the parking lot. Savage stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading to the bar to introduce her to a club member.

“Seychelle, this is Fatei. He’s a good man, a good brother. If there’s trouble, he’ll get to you. He’ll be inside the bar as well, looking out for you.”

Seychelle smiled at him. “Good to know. I’ll be the one singing with the band.”

Fatei sent her a faint answering grin that didn’t quite light up his face. He didn’t seem quite as intimidating to her as the other club members, but he looked like a man who could handle himself.

Music poured out of the building, as if it were impossible for the walls to contain the sound. Already, Seychelle was caught by the rhythm and perfect notes as the instruments welded together into a musical phenomenon that sent her spirits soaring. She loved this band and the way they played. Fatei opened the door and Savage walked her in, keeping her body clamped to his side. Fatei took her other side, so that when they moved through the crowd—and there was a huge, packed crowd—no one so much as brushed up against her.

Anya worked one side of the bar and Preacher worked the other. Seychelle did her best to block out everything but the crowd and the way each person felt to her. It was difficult with the way her body responded to the music and the level of excitement emanating from the various occupants who had come to have a good time.

There were several parties of women. She recognized the two women fixated on Savage. Clearly, they hadn’t given up. They were with three other women, one of whom
looked a little older, and the moment Savage had entered the room, all of them had riveted their attention on him. Shari’s eyes were hot with greed and her emotions were by turns lustful, filled with hatred toward Seychelle, and needy and determined. She danced and swayed seductively on the edge of the dance floor, making a path to intercept Savage so she could brush against his body.

“How the fuck did she get in here? I had her banned,” Savage snarled in a low voice to Fatei.

“I’ll look into it, Savage,” Fatei promised. “Do you want me to throw her out?”

“Don’t,” Seychelle said. “Just let it go tonight, Savage.” She knew there were too many other things riding on her singing tonight. Savage couldn’t be distracted because of past issues she’d had. She didn’t have them so much anymore.

“You sure, baby?”

“Absolutely.”

Seychelle did her best to ignore Shari while sliding her healing gift over the other women with her, trying to find any actual illnesses that would suddenly pull her attention from her assignment. The women were emotionally fixated on Savage or the bikers, but other than one of them having a UTI, they seemed fine.

“Your harem is back, and it keeps expanding.” She tried to tease him to get him to smile. When he didn’t, she turned her attention to the rest of the crowd.

Savage bit her earlobe and then licked at it to take away the sting. “You’re going to pay for that.” He whispered it against her ear, his lips brushing against her skin with every word so that little goose bumps rose all over her body.

“Don’t distract me.” She pushed at him with one hand, although half-heartedly, as they neared the band and the end of the bar, where Bannister, one of the regulars, had been sitting, holding the bar stool for her.

Shari slid her body up against Savage’s, or tried to, but at the last second, as she tried to make contact, he suddenly stepped sideways, taking Seychelle with him, his mouth on her neck, moving her back into the crowd and swinging them around so Fatei was between the woman and them. Shari glared at Seychelle as if she were to blame.

The band swung into another song and immediately the crowd was dancing to the beat. That made it easier for Seychelle to get a clearer take on those in the room. Most everyone was healthy. There were a few with unhealthy livers who insisted on drinking, but she knew she couldn’t help them.

“Nothing big in here. We’re good so far, Savage. You can head to the back room.”

He escorted her to the bar stool. “Don’t forget to give Fatei or the band the signal if you’re in trouble. You need to be clear with them what that is ahead of time.” He pushed her hair out of her face and tipped up her chin. “You understand? It gets too much and you have to bail, that’s all right.”

She cupped the side of his face. “I’m going to be fine. Go to your meeting. I’ve got this.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door to the club open and, to her dismay, Brandon Campbell sauntered in. He didn’t have his girlfriend with him, the one now living in the house Sahara had vacated, but that didn’t surprise Seychelle. The girl was underage.

Why in the world would Brandon come to a biker bar? It wasn’t his scene. That was a definite red flag. With everything going on, she hoped that Savage wouldn’t notice, but she should have known better. He leaned down and kissed her. “Stay close to the band and Fatei at all times. You need me, text or send Fatei. If that fails, look straight at the camera and say my name.”

“I’m going to be fine. Go, so we can test the distance.” She already knew she could read those in the back room. She knew Reaper was back there with Code, Czar, Ice, Storm and Mechanic. This meeting was big. Really big. Savage was
joining them in the back room. Transporter was on the monitors, watching everything happening via cameras.

Savage leaned over and spoke in Fatei’s ear. Her bodyguard for the night nodded once and glanced across the crowd at Brandon. It was just a quick sweep of his eyes, but Seychelle shivered. Why she thought Fatei seemed so much sweeter and less lethal than the others was anyone’s guess. In that moment, he seemed just as likely as Savage to take Brandon outside and cut his throat.

Joseph Arnold slipped in so fast, not approaching the bar or her, but Seychelle’s radar went off, so she caught sight of him before he managed to disappear into the crowd. She caught Fatei looking at her face and then doing another slow sweep of the bar as if looking for what or who had caught her attention.

“Hey, girl.” Anya handed her a water bottle. “Big night tonight with you singing. The band’s excited. Maestro’s been bragging for days. He was annoyed when Savage was keeping you all to himself.” She deftly served drinks to three customers leaning against the bar in between the stools.

Seychelle was grateful for the distraction. “I thought none of the other women were coming tonight, but I was wrong. Quite a few are here besides the two of us. I haven’t met everyone, but I recognize them from Savage’s descriptions. At least I think I do. The woman sitting at the table up close to the band with Alena—that’s Scarlet, Absinthe’s wife, right? She’s got that red, red hair. And the table just inside the door, that’s Lana, but is that Lissa? The famous glassblower? She’s married to Casimir, Czar’s birth brother, right? I’ve seen pictures of her. She’s gorgeous. It’s funny that she’s got red hair as well, although not that same red as Scarlet’s,” Seychelle continued.

She knew she was chattering because she was nervous. It was silly. Now that the others were in place, the tension had eased in them. In fact, it was so low, she wouldn’t have realized they expected trouble at all. She spotted Ink moving
through the crowd, asking a girl to dance, taking her to the dance floor, but his attention wasn’t really on her, no matter how hard the woman tried to rub her body all over his.

The number ended, and Seychelle slid from the bar stool to make her way to the platform where the band was. It was really only a couple of feet from where she’d been sitting, but Shari and her friend Melinda were obviously waiting to ambush her. Fatei stepped easily between them, and somehow, that smoothly, Alena and Scarlet were there as well, creating a wall, blocking the two women before they could reach her.

Seychelle expected to feel Shari’s emotion at her loss of Savage, but instead, it was an intense hatred for Seychelle. The emotion was raw and passionate. Seychelle glanced down to see the woman’s hands curled into claws, her long nails like talons, ready to rip at her eyes. That was how visceral her feelings were against Seychelle.

No one had ever hated Seychelle before, and it shook her to think this woman, a total stranger, did so now. She kept her head up, ignoring the woman, smiling at Alena and Scarlet, murmuring hello to Scarlet as Alena introduced her.

“You okay?” Alena whispered. “I don’t know why she won’t leave him alone. I can throw her out.”

“She’s no threat to me. I actually feel sorry for her,” Seychelle said. “I’m good.” She was. Savage loved her, and she was secure in that knowledge. She nodded to Fatei, not wanting him to think she hadn’t noticed that he’d put his face on the line. Shari was capable of ripping his eyes out if she got angry enough. Seychelle did think the anger at her was strange. Especially as it was so strong. It didn’t make sense. Seychelle was all about puzzles, and she wanted a little time to figure out why Shari was so focused on her, even more so than she was on Savage.

Maestro and Player greeted her. Keys and Master flashed grins at her. She took the microphone and faced them for a brief moment. Maestro indicated she had better signal them if anything went wrong. She nodded and they immediately
swung into a fast, upbeat song that had the crowd going instantly.

She poured her magic into it, sending golden notes climbing up the walls and building webs across the ceiling. She spread those golden notes throughout the bar, beyond Preacher and Anya, so they moved along the ceiling down the long hallway behind the bar as well as the one beside it. It didn’t matter that the door was closed; the notes found their way inside, climbing the walls and moving up the ceiling, an invisible golden net that was everywhere throughout the entire building by the time the last note of the song faded away.