Savy

I’ve been on lock down since Tyler tried to break into my house. The farthest I’ve gone away from the club is the garage and the field we had our picnic in. Caleb doesn’t want to take any chances that Tyler or my father catch up with Ena or me. My previous assumption about Tyler’s demise was wrong. Tyler is still alive and still avoiding Havoc.

Needless to say, I’ve been climbing the walls with boredom and I’m sure I’m getting on Caleb’s nerves, too. If he won’t let me go to work, I’m going to annoy him until he gives in. Hopefully my plan works. So far, it hasn’t.

Sitting in the main room of the Compound, I’m reading a romance novel Joker brought me. Poor guy. He’s been on Savy duty for weeks and I haven’t made it easy on him. I hate being cooped up inside knowing that Paul and Tyler are out there somewhere planning my demise.

Things inside the club aren’t too terrible though. I’ve been eating regular meals and my curves have started to show. It’s the first time in a long time I haven’t had hunger pains. Caleb likes my new body, too. He can’t keep his hands off me. Something I love.

Caleb has been trying to make my forced seclusion better. He surprised me with painting supplies. I asked for a note pad and pencils, but he went all out, having the prospects make me a small art studio in one of the empty bedrooms. I’m thankful for his sweet generosity. Taking on a psychopath for me hasn’t been easy. I love getting to escape my worries and paint.

Ena and I have also been spending time with Preacher. He’s the Chaplin and serves as the psychologist for the club. Preacher is an old sweet man that immediately accepted Ena and I into his family. Not just Havoc, but his actual family. His wife Milly is the mother Ena never had and Preacher is the father I’ve always dreamt of having. They both have introduced us as their daughters. The first time Milly called me her daughter, I broke down, something I’m much more comfortable doing. Preacher has helped me understand that emotions are normal, and that I shouldn’t be embarrassed to express them. It’s a piece of my existence I never realized I missed. I missed being a daughter and I’m thankful that Preacher and Milly have accepted us.

I’m normally in control of my actions, but it felt nice to have someone claim me as their child. To actually care about my wellbeing, other than Ena. Preacher has been giving me techniques I can use to get over my past.

“I’m bored,” Ena says. Entering the main room with a book in her hand.

“Looks like you’re about to get lost in a book,” I say, “Sounds like a day well spent to me.”

“It normally is, but I’ve already read this book, and I’m going to lose my damn mind.”

“I know how you feel, but Caleb wants us to stay safe,” I say. These are the words I know I should say, but I don’t believe them myself.

“Oh bullshit, Sav,” Ena says, “I know you’re losing it too.”

“Watch your damn mouth!” I say. Normally I let her get away with a little cussing, but right now I'm annoyed and taking it out on Ena. I’m tired of hiding. I need to live my fucking life. “Sorry,” I say on a sigh. “You’re right. I gotta get out of here, too.”

Running my fingers through my hair. I need to think of a way to convince Caleb to let me go back to work and Ena to hang with her friends.

“Oh shit!” Ena says. She jumps off the chair she was sitting on.

“What did I just say?” I look toward Ena, and I see a real fear in her eyes. I stand.

“Don’t move!” she says in a half whisper half scream. And I halt my ascent.

“There is a huge fucking snake right next to your head on the back of the couch.”

“What!” I squeal.

Turning slowly, I come face to scale covered face with a huge, ugly black and green fucking snake. It slithers further along the back of the couch and it touches my neck. At that moment, I lose it. Screaming my head off, I knock the snake off the couch with my movement and Ena and I jump up on the chair together, both of us screaming bloody murder.

Several of the men come running at the sound of our screams.

“What the fuck is going on?” Caleb asks. His gun is drawn, and I’m pointing between the couch and the ground, where the snake was last seen. I don’t answer him, I just keep screaming and pointing.

“Baby, what the fuck is it?” he asks again. Lowering his pistol now that he sees there is no immediate danger.

“A snake!” I yell. At my words, the rest of the men lower their guns. “It touched me!”

“Snake!” Caleb bellows for the biker with same name as the beast that just touched me. “Come find Basil so Ena and Savy can stop screaming.”

“Basil? He named his fucking snake Basil? What kind of sick shit is that?”

Snake enters and pulls back the couch cushions, looking for his slithery friend. “You named your snake Basil?” I ask.

“Yep.” I want to punch his stupid face. That’s a cute fucking name for an ugly beast.

“You’re twisted,” I say.

“Yep,” he says smiling.

Pulling the snake by the tail, he removes Basil from the couch. The couch I had been sitting on. The couch I will never sit on again.

“Come on, girl,” Snake says. “I’ve been looking for you all morning.”

Lifting the snake to his shoulders, he turns to face me. “Sorry, Savy.”

“I hate snakes.”

“She’s actually sweet. Here pet her.” He raises the snake like an offering.

“Are you crazy? I’m not touching that thing.”

“Aww, come on. You’re hurting her feelings.”

“She hurt mine when she tried to kill me on the couch,” I reply deadpan.

Chuckles sound around us and I notice that Ena and I are still standing on the chair. “Get that thing away from me so I can get down.”

“Fine,” he grumbles. “I’ll take her to her enclosure, but you two will be friends one day.”

“In your dreams.”

Snake takes his nasty beast out of the room, and Caleb extends his hand toward me so I can get down off the chair. Hopping down, I look at him and he knows, like I know, that Basil and I will never be friends.

Ever.

Shivering again, I look at Ena as Caleb turns to help her off the couch.

“Take my hand, kid,” he says, “I’ve got you.”

“Thanks, Diablo.”

“You’re welcome, kiddo.” The light in Ena’s eyes clenches my heart. She’s not used to affection from men. I’m glad she’s been able to connect with Caleb. She often looks at him with stars in her eyes, like the big brother she’s never had.

“Caleb, we need to talk,” I say. My hands crossed over my chest. As soon as the words leave my mouth, the men disperse. They know I’m about to grill their president and they don’t want to stick around for the blow out.

Smart men.

“Baby, I can’t stay locked away forever. I want to get back to my life.”

“No.” After giving his answer, he turns to walk away, leaving me standing in the chair. My neck tenses and my anger rises.

“No?” I ask and lower myself to the ground. The steel in my voice surprises me.

He turns toward me, our eyes connect, and surprise registers in the black orbs I normally get lost in. Not today though. If my pissed off eyes didn’t tell him I’m ready to argue him into submission, my hands on my hips and my tense body should. And Caleb is a smart man. He knows I’m pissed.

Let’s just say weeks spent locked in the Havoc Compound has brought me out of my shell. Ena and I have been training with Joker, Skull, and Caleb in self-defense and I’ve been practicing shooting regularly. This has done wonders for my confidence because I have started speaking my mind more, much to Caleb’s dismay.

“Not here, Savy,” he says.

“Diablo, do not handle me right now. I’m losing my mind. I need to work. I have bills that need to be paid and my rent is due. I’ve depleted my savings, and I need to make sure I keep my house since we are staying in Sage.”

“Savannah,” he says.

“Don’t Savannah me. God damn it, Diablo!” I say. “I have to get out of this place. I’m about to murder all the bitches in here.”

“Stop.” Staring at my face with his black eyes. The eyes I’ve seen compassion and adoration from are now soulless. Much like the eyes I saw when I first met him.

“You can let me out freely or I’m ramping up the crazy!” He doesn’t budge. “I’m fucking serious, Diablo. Ena’s miserable, I’m miserable, YOU are miserable!” I end on a yell.

When he lets out a heavy sigh, I know I’m right. I’ve made Diablo miserable by being here and the vice in my chest tightens. It’s the first time I’ve felt this way in a while.

I hate it.

“Baby, you have to let us out or he wins.”

“We’ll talk about it tonight, Savy. I gotta get to church.”

“You are always in church, Diablo. I know the drill,” I say. “No questions. I get it, but I’m not a prisoner here. Don’t make me take drastic measures. You know I will.”

Grabbing my arm quicker than I could pull away he says, “Don’t go making threats, girl.”

The change in Diablo scares me, but I’ve been practicing my self-defense and instinctively, I raise the arm Diablo is holding and grab his hand with my free hand, rotating his wrist, and thrusting my hips toward him, I knock him off balance enough that he loses his grip on my arm.

I’m so stunned by my actions that I stare into his black orbs, mouth hanging open, unable to speak. I actually used the move he had been trying to teach me that I could never get quite right, and it worked.

Since we are standing in the middle of the main room, there are several people around and they just saw me essentially assault the president of their club. It doesn’t matter that I have been sleeping with him for weeks. I’ve committed a crime against the club and I’m afraid of what the consequences of my actions will be.

I’m surprised to see the wide grin spread across Diablo’s stony face. Shocked that I’m not being locked up and punished, I don’t say a word.

“You did it, baby!” he laughs.

I still don’t respond.

“Savy, baby you finally got it!” he says again. “I told you that you would get it. You kept practicing, and you got free. I’m so proud of you.”

Realizing that Caleb isn’t pissed that I used an escape move on him in front of all his brothers, I break out into a fit of excited giggles, and do a happy dance. I can’t believe I was able to get myself free.

“You know I’d never hurt you, baby. I was just holding you to get your attention,” he says.

Deep down, I know what he is saying is true. But with my experience with men, any action toward me that I can interpret as threatening, I usually do.

“I know, honey.”

“I need to head to church, but we will talk about you going back to work when I get back, okay?” he says.

“Okay.”

He leans down and captures my mouth. Searing me with a kiss so hot that I forget a beast named Basil attacked me.

“I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

And I will. I will always wait for Caleb to return.

* * *

Savy

Caleb has been in church for the better part of two hours. I haven’t seen Ena for a while. She was heading to her room to take a nap a while ago.

Teenagers.

She is constantly complaining that she’s bored. I know Caleb and Nate want us both to be comfortable and safe, but Caleb has a soft spot for Ena, the little sister he’s never had. I’m hoping when we talk, he will let us get back to life and stop hiding from Paul.

“He should have beat the shit out of you, bitch! What makes you think you can come in here and disrespect Diablo like that?” Kris asks.

“What?” My venom is crystal clear. I’ve been sitting at the bar, reading my book and minding my business. Of course someone has to fuck with me.

“You heard me,” she says. You would think she had enough the first time we had a run in.

“You stole what’s mine, and I always get what I want.” She skitters away on her super high, clear stripper heels. Who the hell wears stripper shoes outside of a strip club?

Crazy people, that’s who.

When I’m working at The Jungle, ignoring crazy girls usually works, but I know with Kris, I will have to face her head on. For now, it seems she just wants to get in my head. Something she has been trying to do more and more frequently. I hope she will find another brother to get under, so she can get over Caleb.

Wishful thinking.

Closing my book, I let out an audible sigh.

“What’s wrong, Savy?”

“I’m tired of sitting around. I need to do something,” I tell Lexa.

She’s been avoiding me ever since the bonfire. I’m pretty sure she thinks I planned on throwing Joss and Wolf’s relationship in her face. Instead of avoiding the situation, like I would have in the past, I need to make it right. Besides Ena and Milly, Lexa is the only other friend I have inside Havoc.

“Look, Lexa,” I begin.

“Savy, you don’t have to–”

“Yes I do.” I hope my sincerity is written all over my face because I didn’t mean for her to be hurt by Joss visiting the club. Hell, I know Joss didn’t mean to hurt her either. She held information from me and it caused Lexa to suffer. I need to make it right. “I knew nothing about Wolf and Joss’ past. She’s my best friend, but she’s also running from a past that she hasn’t shared with me. Hell, I haven’t shared my past with her either.”

“I know,” she says. Tears pool in her bright blue eyes. They look bluer from the tears she’s trying to keep from spilling. “I know you didn’t know, but I knew. As soon as you told me your best friend, Joss, was coming to the bonfire, I knew that it was Wolf’s Joss.”

Standing and walking behind the bar, I engulf Lexa in a tight hug. Something I would have never done before finding Caleb and Havoc.

“I’m sorry. I want us to be all right. It’s been weird as hell since the bonfire.”

“We’re good, Savy. Promise.”

Smiling at the beautiful blonde, I know my friend and I are good, but she’s still hurting. I wish I could help her get through this, but it is something she will have to discuss with Wolf and probably Joss too.

“Okay,” I say.

I’m letting it go for now, but I’m still worried about Lexa. She has a haunted look in her eyes. It’s like a small part of her has died. For her sanity and healing, I hope she’ll be able to let Wolf go.