Savage didn’t look at Alena. He couldn’t. The betrayal ran too deep. He slid out of the vent and back onto the roof, where they waited until the Diamondbacks disappeared down the road before they headed back to their own clubhouse. Because everything had gone to shit, he went with Alena rather than going back to Sea Haven and his woman. He wanted to find Pierce and extract Torpedo Ink justice for hurting one of their own, but he knew only Czar could make that call.
The moment they swept into the parking lot, Alena was off her bike and inside. Savage reported the conversation to his president and the rest of the club.
Czar immediately signaled to Lana. “I want you with her, you understand me? She leaves, I don’t care if she doesn’t want you to go, you do it. This was another violation. A huge break in trust again for her.”
“I’m with her,” Lana agreed readily.
“I’ll follow in the distance,” Storm said.
“I’ll go too,” Mechanic said.
Czar nodded. “Fuck the Diamondbacks. We’ll get Pierce. Play it cool for now. Ice, you understand me? They’ll be looking for retaliation. We’re not giving it to them. Not yet.”
Ice nodded. He was off the bar stool and heading inside to his sister. Alena was already walking out of the back room, a small bag hastily thrown together. He caught her arm. She stopped when the others filled the common room.
“I don’t want any of you to touch him,” she hissed. “This was my mistake. Mine. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have. It wasn’t like I couldn’t see all the signs of trouble. I did this to myself.”
“Alena,” Czar said. “You weren’t the only one he took in. We all liked him. Every single one of us. If I thought for one minute he was playing you, or playing all of us, I would have ordered you to stop. I didn’t. That’s on me. I didn’t see it coming, and I should have. His loyalty is to his club.”
“I’ve got to get out of here for a couple of days,” Alena said. “I texted Delia and she said she’d look after the restaurant for me. Just promise me no one is going to hurt him.” Delia Swanson had owned her own diner for years, was retired and often helped Alena when needed.
“You did great, letting that bitch come at you,” Czar continued, as if she hadn’t spoken. “I was proud of you. You could have killed her, and you let her put her fuckin’ hands on you.”
Alena’s chin lifted. “I’m Torpedo Ink. We were there for a purpose. I wasn’t about to blow the deal because some trashy bitch wanted to rub my face into the fact that I was stupid. Yes, a video exists, but I don’t want any of you to act like it’s a big deal, because there’s probably a million videos of me—of all of us. You all know that. Let it go. He isn’t worth it.”
“However you want to play it, honey,” Ice agreed immediately, lying through his teeth. “Where are you heading?”
“I don’t know, up north, I think, the Rogue River. I’ve always wanted to see it.”
“Lana’s going with you,” Czar said. He gestured with his chin toward the back room.
Lana immediately headed back to pack a few things. Storm and Mechanic did the same.
Alena shook her head. “No. I just need to be alone for a little while, Czar. I’m not going to do anything crazy because someone distributed a sex video I was stupid enough to make for him. I’ve got all of you and my dream restaurant. I just need a little time to get myself together.”
“I fuckin’ hate that I couldn’t put a bullet in his head right there for you,” Czar said. “His president was less than happy with him.”
“He wasn’t happy,” Reaper confirmed. “At. All.”
Savage remained silent, his gaze on Alena’s face. He detested that someone had hurt her—worse, someone she’d given her trust to. He had to walk a fine line with his woman. He’d seen that look of devastation already on Seychelle’s face twice now. Once when he’d carried her into her home and she’d shared the memory of what she considered his betrayal of her. And tonight, before she’d gotten drunk. In the bar, when she’d been so happy singing—all that changed in one brief moment. He never wanted to see it again.
Alena was good at masking, but she didn’t bother, not with them. Pierce had stabbed her through the heart. He’d done that. It didn’t take a man hitting a woman. It took breaking trust. Physical or emotional, it was all bad if you broke trust. Savage had learned that lesson.