Chapter 13 #3
“Fiona is an incredible young woman. You really found a good one there,” she eventually said as a small smile appeared on her face.
She looked across the room to where Fiona was seated.
I smiled, too, enjoying the sight of her in the middle of the guys and her easy rapport with everyone she had met so far.
“It’s nice to see you settling down. You have an aura of peace around you now. Always knew it would take a special type of woman to hook you. Couldn’t have picked a better girl, even if I tried,” Seph continued, and I couldn’t help feeling both embarrassed and proud under her scrutiny.
“You’re going to have your work cut out with that one. She’s feisty. She’s going to keep you on your toes for sure,” Reaper said, his face one of pure amusement at my expense.
“When I met your mother, she put me through hell and back just to get her to say yes to a date. Hardest I ever worked to get a woman to go out with me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Dad said, stars in his eyes.
The conversation was mildly annoying, but I made sure to pay attention, soaking up any advice that might help me lock Fiona down.
For good. Reaper, Seph, and Guard continued their trip down memory lane, and I felt like I was seeing everything in a new light.
It was corny, and maybe too soon, but everything they were describing matched my feelings for Fiona.
Speaking of, I turned around to check on my girl.
I was starting to feel itchy the longer I was away from her.
Eyeing Fee’s table, I saw her step away from Match and Bull and make her way toward the bar.
Halfway across the room, she was stopped by Atlas, her eyes finding me almost instantly and screaming for me to get to her.
As he reached for Fiona, everything inside of me froze.
Her face was lined with pure rage. I had no idea what he did or said to her, but I knew I had to get to her.
By the time I did, a small crowd had formed around them. Grateful to see she had Bull and Match at her back, there was a collective gasp of shock as she hauled off and punched Atlas.
In a tone filled with so much venom, Fee addressed Atlas as brother, and I froze. Catching Charlie’s gaze, I saw as fury transformed her features. I didn’t know much about Fiona’s childhood, wanting her to tell me when she was ready, but I knew there was a brother she hadn’t seen in years.
I stood frozen, watching as the horrible scene unfolded, only snapping out of it at Fiona’s parting jab before she fled the clubhouse at lightning speed. At another time, I might have felt bad. Atlas looked completely gutted, but right then, all I knew was that he was the cause of my girl’s pain.
“Don’t let him leave. Bring him downstairs if you need to. Don’t give a fuck, but he’s not going anywhere,” I said to Bull, who looked all too happy to follow my instructions.
Knowing Atlas would still be there when I got back, I went after Fee, desperate to get my hands on her to make sure she was alright. To make sure she didn’t run. When I finally caught up with her, she was muttering to herself as she clenched her hands into fists.
Fiona was so caught up in her own head she almost struck out when I touched her. I pulled her to me, both to trap her arms by her sides and to try to calm her shaking. I had never seen her like that, but I knew she needed to get away.
“Think you’re up for the bike?” I asked, knowing she didn’t fully understand the statement that would make.
No one rode in the back of your bike but your Old Lady or family.
It wasn’t something taken lightly. None of it mattered right then.
She wanted to run. I felt her need to escape, and would provide her with that.
She nodded, her body slowly regulating. Stopping next to my bike, I shrugged my jacket off before gently putting it on Fee.
I zipped it up, but it still swamped her small frame.
“Come here. Let me just get those sleeves for you, sweetheart,” I said, keeping my voice low so as to not spook her further.
I adjusted my jacket, rolling the sleeves up far enough so her hands were out.
I took the helmet and secured it on her head, then gave her a thorough once-over.
Satisfied that she had enough gear on, I mounted the bike, then helped her climb on behind me.
Her posture was rigid and withdrawn, so I yanked her closer to my body until she was fully pressed against me.
Her arms were wrapped around my waist, and we slowly took off.
Once we got onto the open road, I was pleased to notice her body had relaxed against mine.
Making an executive decision, I decided to head toward the farm. It was a longer ride, and no one could disturb us there. I had done minimal work on the house except to clean out all of the rooms so they were move-in ready.
After I had taken Fiona there, I knew I wanted more. I went out and bought a brand-new bed and mattress, tossing in bedding and some towels as well. I had the master bedroom and bath set up, and had started stocking the kitchen.
It wasn’t fancy, but it was enough to get us through the night.
Sometime during the ride, Fiona scooted closer, her grip tightening.
I loved having her on my bike, loved the idea that it was providing some sense of calm at that moment.
When we pulled off the road that led to the house, I slowed down and parked.
I held the bike upright so Fee could hop off without any issues, and I followed her shortly after. Once I was sure she was steady on the ground, I undid her helmet and pulled it off. She had a wide-eyed expression and a small smile on her face
“That was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like that. Thank you, and thank you for bringing me back here.”
“Of course. I hope you’ll be back here a lot more soon. Since it’s still warm out, I thought you might want to take a walk by the water?” I offered, studying Fiona’s posture.
Despite her smile, Fee was still strung tight as a board, her body and mind warring with whatever information she was processing. She nodded, and I grabbed her hand, leading her around the house toward the back of the property.
She looked adorable, wrapped in my jacket. It swallowed her whole, with the sleeves back to hanging far past her wrists. We made it to the edge of the water and stopped for a moment so Fee could look around. She started walking along the creek, picking rocks and tossing them into the clear water.
After a few minutes of silence, Fiona finally spoke.
“What do they call him? His club name,” she asked, clearly talking about her brother.
“Atlas,” I replied, watching a variety of emotions flit across her face.
“As in, the whole world is on his shoulders? That’s rich. Good to see his martyr complex is still going strong.”
“I always assumed it was because of all the traveling he did,” I replied. “Can you tell me about him? He’s your biological brother?” I asked tentatively.
“He was my best friend. My whole world, really, until he left,” she said, the sorrow in her voice cutting at me. I kept silent, squeezing her hand and guiding her as we walked along the water.
“I always knew he was going to leave. We had a plan. As soon as he turned eighteen, he was going to join the Army. He would write to me and visit as often as possible until he was able to get housing on base I could move into. He promised me he would fight for custody, that he wasn’t leaving me, but doing something to save both of us.
“Not one single letter. Not a phone call, not a visit. I had no way to reach him. I tried calling several different Army bases, but they wouldn’t tell me where he was.
I was barely fifteen, and no one took me seriously.
After a year of trying to find him, convincing myself they shipped him off somewhere and he died, I found a letter in my parents’ room from him.
“He wrote it from his training camp, letting them know he was leaving that month to go overseas. Just a short letter to say a final goodbye to them. Oh, and let’s not forget the one sentence he spared for me.
Apparently, there was a check for $200 to cover all future expenses concerning me.
Can you believe that? $200, and he was done with me too.
As if he didn’t know I wouldn’t see a cent of that.
It’s like I was just an afterthought or a burden to him that he needed to get rid of.
Better to just cut us all out completely, I guess. ”
Fury like I had never felt before flashed through me, picturing Fiona, so young and vulnerable, betrayed by the one person she trusted the most. Before I could get too far into my own thoughts, Fee started picking up heat.
“Technology has only gotten better since then. It’s been eleven years, and he hasn’t tried to find me once.
Looks like he got as far away from his past as he could and left it in the dust once he picked out his new family.
I can’t believe he had the nerve to act like I was in the wrong, to ask ME if I forgot about HIM.
Does each charter have its own hierarchy?
Like, do they have a version of Keys in South Carolina?
” she asked, her head whipping to look at me.
I nodded, hating what that meant. At any time, once he joined the club, Atlas could have run a search for her.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. He never even tried to find me.
He was the only one who knew, who truly understood what it was like at home, and he just left me to the wolves.
I made it out. I did it on my own without any help from him.
I made this life, the life I get to live now, and he doesn’t get to be a part of it.
He doesn’t deserve to know anything about me or my life. ”
I pulled her closer to my side and kissed her head.
A breeze was picking up, and Fee’s body had started sagging, the pent-up energy from her encounter leaving her limp.
I steered us back toward the house, then hesitated.
I gently turned her so I could see her face, fully reading her expression under the porch lights.
“Do you want me to take you back to your apartment, or do you want to stay here tonight? No one knows about this place, so no one can bother you here.” She looked up at the house, then back at me.
“Yes. I want to stay here. With you,” she admitted, and it felt like a part of my heart cracked open.
“Alright, come on inside, darlin’. Let me show you around.
Just a heads up, though, there’s not much to look at as of right now.
The only work I’ve done has been cleaning out the rooms so I can start stripping paint and wallpaper.
Except for upstairs. I had a bedroom set and mattress delivered this week, brand-new. ”
I found myself muttering, wanting her to know that she was the first one to have access to any of it—the only one who had touched parts of it.
She let me lead her upstairs and sighed when she saw the bedroom.
Fee stroked a hand over the footboard before coasting it over the blanket as if testing its softness.
I had a duffle bag of clothes in the corner, and reached over to pull out a shirt for her to wear, then showed her to the bathroom, where I gave her a new toothbrush and opened the toothpaste I had purchased earlier in the week. Leaving her to her business, I checked in with Bull via text.
Bash: Keeping Fee with me. Tell Charlie to back off for a bit. You got Atlas locked down for the night?
Bull: Got him in one of the guest rooms, no one touched him but he’s not comfortable. He’s got a lot of questions about Fiona.
Bash: Don’t tell him anything, but make sure he doesn’t leave the clubhouse. I’ll take care of him tomorrow.
I looked up from my phone as Fiona came out of the bathroom.
She had on the tee I gave her. It hung almost to her knees but still left a tantalizing amount of skin bare.
I watched as she climbed onto the bed, the shirt lifted, giving me even more of a view, but I shook the lustful thoughts off, knowing they weren’t what Fee needed at that time.
I stripped down to my boxers before sliding into the bed next to her.
She was watching me the whole time. Once I was in bed next to her, she curled into my side, and I wrapped my arm around her.
She looked more vulnerable, every expression magnified that close.
A wave of possessiveness ran through me.
I didn’t want anyone but me to see her like that.
She felt so tiny against me. I stroked a hand through her hair and down her back, and she leaned into me like a kitten.
“Thank you, Bash.”
“Anything for you, Fee,” I replied, meaning it with every fiber of my being.
As her breathing evened out, I stayed awake.
My thoughts became dark and angry, thinking of her parents and Atlas, abandoning an innocent child to a world working against her.
I would make sure she didn’t have to fight for anything again, that she would have everything she deserved.
But most importantly, so Fiona knew she wasn’t on her own.
I would always have her back, and so would my entire family and the club.