“Thank you for coming. I’m glad you’re okay.”
Beyond speech, overwhelmed with the need to hold her, Cade grunted and reached out, but Dawn stepped away. “I didn’t appreciate how you spoke to me at the clubhouse,” she said softly. “I didn’t like feeling like a liability. I was with the Brethren for seven years, and they treated me like I was worthless, but I survived and I learned a lot. And in the three years since I left, I learned even more. And one of those things is that I have value. I get that you want to protect me, but you need to get that I can look after myself, and sometimes I can even help.”
He knew what she wanted to hear, but he couldn’t say it. And if they faced the same situation again, he would make the same decision. “I can’t give you what you want, sweetheart. I can’t put you in danger. My dad beat on my mom for as long as I could remember, and until I turned fourteen there was nothing I could do to protect her. Even when I was strong enough to stop him, she wouldn’t leave. When she finally did leave, she went back. I could never understand why. And in the end she died by his hand. So now I got a need to protect you that is part of my soul. Whether you want it or not, I’m gonna keep you safe.”
He tagged her around the waist, drew her close, bent down and rested his forehead against hers, grounding himself in the moment, savoring the feel of her soft body in his arms.
“I’m sorry about your mom.” She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. “I understand why she didn’t leave. It’s a cycle, Cade, and you can’t see your way out. For the longest time, I believed the horrible things Jimmy said about me. I believed I was worthless and every day I stayed made me feel even more humiliated about the fact I hadn’t run away the day before. It was only when he turned on the girls that I broke free. I survived and found my worth and made a life for myself. That’s why it was important to me that you didn’t think I was a liability. I will never be that woman again.”
“Never thought you were a liability.” He pulled her against his chest. “Just wanted you to be safe.” And then, because he wanted to see her smile, he said. “But you can’t shoot for shit.”
“I’ll learn.”
“How ‘bout I take you somewhere we can warm you up first. Then you can tell me what happened in there, ’cause I’ve got a feeling Benson’s not gonna be too keen to let me inside. After that, we can do some shooting.”
She looked up at him and licked her lips. “Is there some hot sex in a bed involved?”
Cade rumbled his satisfaction. “Sweetheart, I don’t need a bed.”
“Dawn?” Benson came around the corner, his shiny deputy badge glinting under the streetlight. “Are you ready to go?”
Dawn turned to face him and Cade clamped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against his chest, pleased when Benson’s smile faded.
Mine.
“Actually, um … I’m going with Cade. But thank you for the offer, and for coming out here tonight. You’ve been such a good friend to me.”
Benson’s lips thinned. “Friendship doesn’t seem to matter when there are bikers around who make a mockery of our laws and lure women into a violent world with promises they’ll never keep. Think about what you’re doing, Dawn.” His voice took on a sharp edge, and the hair on the back of Cade’s neck stood on end. “I’m certain Jimmy came here tonight because of your involvement with the Sinners. You tried so hard to get away from that world and make a good, stable life for you and your girls. Don’t throw it all away.”
“I appreciate your concern,” she said sharply. “But I can make my own choices.”
Cade drew in a deep breath and his hands clenched into fists. Only Dawn’s quiet “hush” stopped him from shoving his fist down Benson’s throat. Yes, the dude wanted her. But he was also trying to do his job and protect her. He just needed to understand that protecting Dawn was Cade’s job.
*
“A biker’s word is his bond.” Jagger folded his arms and leaned back in his chair in the boardroom. “I’m not about to go back on my word because Mad Dog broke into Dawn’s house.”
“He’s taking advantage of the fact he’s untouchable.” Cade could barely contain his ire. The early-morning meeting wasn’t going the way he’d hoped. In other words, Jagger wouldn’t back down.
“If we can’t keep him out of town, she’s in danger. He attacked her outside the bar, showed up at the police station … He thinks she belongs to him and he just won’t quit. By making him untouchable, we’ve taken away the only safety she had.”