Verek (Savage Kings MC - South Carolina #3) - Lane Hart Page 0,7
send her a text message.
Call me when you’re alone.
I don’t have to wait long – maybe five minutes or so before my phone buzzes in my hand and her name flashes on the screen.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I answer.
“Hi, Verek,” Tessa replies, sounding a little out of breath. “Is everything okay? I haven’t heard from you in over a week.”
“I text you at least three times a day,” I remind her.
“Yeah, but you haven’t called or come by…” She trails off, making me smile because she’s basically saying she missed me.
“I would have, but Roman thought it would be best if I not bother you.”
“I’m not a child,” she huffs. “Roman doesn’t need to make those decisions for me.”
“I know,” I reply, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “But, um, maybe he’s right about me not being good for you.”
“That’s not true,” Tessa argues, and I wished she was right. “I’ve missed seeing you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I tell her honestly. Even if seeing her struggle with the aftermath of those men hurting her is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, I still love to see her face, to spend time with her. Which brings me to the point of my call.
“So, if you’re not worried about Roman grounding you, how would you feel about going on a road trip with me?”
“A road trip?” she repeats.
“A few days, a few hundred miles away. We could stay at a hotel. You could have your own room,” I promise. “And, um, by the end of it, we could be reading the obituaries for three men who deserve to die…”
I hear her gasp of acknowledgment and then silence before she speaks again. “You have their names? Roman said he was still trying to get them out of Joey.”
“He lied. I have them. And the addresses,” I assure her. “But you don’t have to come. I can do it alone.”
“Alone?” she repeats. “Not with the other Savage Kings?”
“No. I want to be the one who ends them,” I tell her. “Roman wants to be cautious, to wait and come up with a foolproof plan for the group to avoid getting caught. I think he’s right. There’s no reason to drag everyone into this when I can handle it myself.”
“Are you sure?” Tessa asks.
“I am,” I reply. “So that just leaves one question – are you coming with me or not?”
She told me Friday that she wanted to be there, to see Joey die because it was the only way to possibly end her nightmares. I’m no psychiatrist; I don’t know if seeing the men again will do more harm than good. What I do know is that if it were me…I would want to watch them die.
When Tessa doesn’t respond, I add, “No pressure, sweetheart. This is your decision and yours alone, okay?”
“Okay,” she replies.
I wait for her to say more, like that she needs time to think about it. Instead she says, “When do we leave?”
“Tonight if you think you can sneak out of the house? We need a head start before Roman realizes I took his phone and you’re with me.”
“You have Roman’s phone? He’s been looking for it frantically all afternoon!” she tells me.
“I disabled the Find my iPhone app,” I admit with a smile.
“He’s going to be pissed at us, isn’t he?” she whispers. “Not about the phone but what we’re going to do.”
“I’m certain he’ll put all of the blame on me,” I reply. “You’ll still be able to live with him and Charlotte. I’ll tell him I kid –” I start to say “kidnapped her” and catch myself with a wince. “I’ll tell him it was my idea and I convinced you to come with me.”
“Okay,” Tessa says again.
“I’ll wait for you at the corner of his street tonight on my bike. Come out when you can or text me if you change your mind.”
“I’m not going to change my mind,” she assures me. “And I can probably leave around eleven or so.”
“Good. I’ll see you then,” I tell her. “Pack light and leave your cell phone behind.”
“I will. See you then,” she says before ending the call.
Is what I’m about to do incredibly crazy and dangerous? Hell yes. But I’ll come up with a plan on the road, one that ensures I won’t get caught.
Chapter Three
Tessa
* * *
“So, how did your appointment go today?” Charlotte asks when we sit down to eat the steaks Roman cooked for dinner after he gave up on finding his phone.