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.