Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
TINY
I wake up with Lucy’s head on my chest. Her breathing is slow and even.
The room is still dark but I can see the first hints of morning light around the edges of the blinds.
I don’t move right away. I just lie there feeling the weight of her against me.
Her leg is thrown over mine. One of her hands rests on my stomach.
I run my fingers slowly up and down her back.
She makes a small sound in her sleep and presses closer.
These mornings have become my favorite part of the day. Knowing she’s here. Knowing she chose to stay the night. Knowing she trusts me enough to let her guard down completely. I kiss the top of her head and she stirs.
“Morning,” she mumbles against my skin.
“Morning, sweetheart.” My voice is rough from sleep. “You sleep okay?”
She nods. “Best sleep I’ve had in weeks.”
We stay like that for a while. No rush to get up. No pressure. Just us. When she finally lifts her head I kiss her properly. Slow at first. Then deeper. She shifts until she’s straddling me. I slide my hands up her thighs. She’s only wearing one of my shirts. It rides up when she moves.
We take our time. I sit up so I can kiss her neck.
She grinds against me and I groan. My hands find her hips.
I guide her movements. She’s already wet.
I can feel it through my boxers. I pull the shirt over her head and toss it aside.
Her hands push my boxers down. We don’t talk much.
Just soft sounds and the way our bodies move together.
Afterward we lie tangled up again. She traces patterns on my chest with her finger. I rub her back. These quiet moments feel bigger than anything else in my life right now.
“I have church today,” I tell her. “Club stuff. Shouldn’t be too long.”
She nods. “I’m just home studying.”
“Good, I like knowing you’re here.”
We get up eventually and I make coffee while she showers. When she comes out in leggings and one of my shirts, I pull her in for another kiss before I leave. She smiles against my mouth. “Have a good day,” she says.
“You too. I love you, buttercup.”
She blushes but the look on her face is everything. “I love you too, Tiny.”
I head to the clubhouse. The lot is already filling up.
I park my bike and walk inside. The mood in the room feels heavier than usual.
Pres is at the head of the table when we all sit down.
He doesn’t waste time. “Southside Kings hit another one of our contacts last night,” he says.
“Small load but it’s the third time this month.
They’re testing us. We need to start doubling up on everything.
No solo runs. No one rides alone. Eyes open at all times. ”
I listen while the brothers talk. Wyatt suggests increasing patrols near the border of our territory. Steele wants to reach out to a couple of our allies. I add a few thoughts about the prospects who’ve been reporting cars following them. The meeting runs long.
Church wraps up and I’m itching to get moving. I catch Wyatt, Weston, and Steele in the lot. “You guys still good to head to the site?” I ask, already shrugging off my cut and tossing it in my saddlebag. “We need to finish framing that back addition today if we’re gonna stay on schedule.”
Wyatt nods, cracking his neck. “Yeah, I’m in. Clients are breathing down our necks.”
Weston grins. “Let’s go. I need to swing a hammer and turn my brain off for a while.”
Steele grabs his tool belt. “Lead the way. Erica’s expecting me home for dinner, so let’s make it count.”
I text Lucy on the way out.
Me: Done with church. On my way to the construction site. I should be home around seven.
Buttercup: Good. Dinner will be ready when you get here.
We roll out to the new build on the east side of town. The afternoon sun beats down hard as we get to work. Hammers ring out, saws scream, and sweat pours down our backs.
“Pass me that two-by-six,” I call.
Steele tosses it over. “You’ve been quiet today. Everything good with Lucy?”
I line up the board and drive in a nail. A slow grin spreads across my face.
“Yeah. Real good. She told me she loves me last night.”
The guys whistle and catcall like a pack of hyenas.
“About damn time,” Wyatt laughs. “Hadley told us about the tattoo. Buttercup with your initials on the petals? That’s some wife shit right there.”
Weston leans on the frame, smirking. “So… is she claiming you back? She your Old Lady now or what?”
I pause mid-swing, hammer frozen in the air. Oh shit. I completely forgot that part. “Goddammit,” I mutter, then bark out a loud laugh. “I was so busy being a lovesick idiot last night that I didn’t even ask her properly. Fuck!”
Steele Laughs. “Smooth, brother.”
I drive the nail in with extra force, grinning like a maniac.
“Listen, I’m gonna fix that shit tonight.
I’m dragging her ass to the courthouse, throwing my patch on her, and planting my baby in her belly before the month is out.
She’s getting my last name, my ink, and my kids.
I’m locking that girl down so hard she won’t know what hit her.
My buttercup is gonna be Tiny’s Old Lady whether she’s ready or not! ”
Wyatt and Weston are dying laughing. “Jesus Christ, Tiny,” Weston wheezes. “Dial it back, psycho.”
“Nah, fuck that!” I shout, hammering away with pure chaotic energy. “I’ve been gone for that girl since the day I met her. She put my fucking initials on her body? That’s a claim. I’m claiming her right the fuck back. Loud and proud, baby!”
Steele just shakes his head, smiling. “You’re insane.”
“Insane and in love, motherfucker!” I yell back, laughing my ass off as I keep working.
The house keeps going up around us, but all I can think about is getting home to my girl. Tonight, I’m making it official. Lucy’s about to find out just how crazy I am about her.
I roll up to the house filthy, covered in sweat and sawdust, but I make one quick stop on the way, grabbing a big bouquet of bright yellow and white flowers. Buttercups mixed with some other shit the lady at the shop said looked nice. I feel like a total sap, but I don’t even care.
When I walk through the door, Lucy’s in the kitchen. She turns around and her eyes go wide at the sight of me holding flowers like a damn idiot.
“Tiny…?”
I kick the door shut behind me and stalk straight toward her, shoving the bouquet into her hands before she can say anything.
“Got these for you,” I rumble, voice still rough from the long day. “Saw the yellow ones and thought of that pretty little buttercup on your hip.”
She blushes hard, burying her nose in the flowers for a second. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
I don’t give her time to overthink it. I grab her by the waist, careful of the fresh tattoo, and pull her against me.
“Got something else to say too,” I tell her, staring down into those big eyes. “The guys asked me today if you’re my Old Lady. And I realized… I never actually asked you. I was too busy being a lovesick fool last night.”
I watch her breath catch.
“So here it is, baby. I love you. I’m fucking crazy about you. I want you wearing my patch, riding on the back of my bike as my Old Lady, and one day taking my last name. I want all of it with you. You in?”
Lucy’s eyes fill with tears, but she’s smiling so big it makes my chest ache.
“Yes,” she whispers, then louder, “Yes, Tiny. I want that. I want all of it with you too.”
“Fuck yes!” I roar, lifting her up and spinning her around once before setting her carefully back down. I kiss her hard, deep, and filthy, pouring everything I feel into it.
When I finally pull back, I’m grinning like a madman.
“Good. Because I already told the guys I’m locking your ass down. Patch, ring, babies, the whole damn thing. You’re mine now, buttercup. Officially.”
She laughs, still holding the flowers between us, looking happier than I’ve ever seen her.
I rest my forehead against hers, voice dropping low.
“Now… you gonna show me that tattoo again so I can properly worship my Old Lady?”
Lucy’s blush deepens, but she nods, biting her lip with that shy, sexy little smile I love so much.
Yeah, I’m never letting this girl go.
Frank Parker
I sit at my desk long after everyone else has gone home.
The office is quiet. Too quiet. My computer screen has gone dark.
I haven’t touched the reports I was supposed to finish.
All I can think about is Lucy. She hasn’t come home.
She’s been staying with that woman Sophie for weeks now.
Still working at the clinic. Still seeing that biker.
All my rules. All my warnings. None of it worked.
I feel powerless for the first time in my life.
The feeling sits heavy in my gut. I stand up and grab my keys.
I don’t want to go home. Not yet. Not to that empty house where Lucy’s room sits untouched.
I drive instead. No destination at first. Just driving.
Eventually I pull into the parking lot of a small bar on the edge of town.
I’ve never been here before. I don’t usually drink alone. But tonight nothing feels usual.
I walk inside and take a seat at the far end of the bar. The place is dim. A few regulars sit at tables. The bartender nods at me.
“What’ll it be?”
“Whiskey. Neat.”
He pours it and slides the glass over. I take a long sip. It burns going down and I welcome it.
A man a few stools down glances at me. He’s older with gray hair. He looks like he’s been here a while. He lifts his own glass in a small salute. “You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders,” he says.
I don’t answer right away. I take another sip. The words sit there between us for a minute. “Family trouble,” I finally say.
He nods like he understands. “Always is, isn’t it? Name’s Ray.”
“Frank.”
We sit in silence for a bit. I finish my drink and order another. Ray signals for one too.
“Wife? Kids?” he asks.
“Daughter.” The word tastes bitter. “She was a good girl. Always listened. Until one of the Iron Reapers bikers got his hooks in her.”
Ray Laughs low. “Mine did that years ago. Ran off with some motorcycle guy. Thought the world of him.”
I look at him then. Really look. “What happened?”
He takes a slow sip. “I showed her what that life was really like. She came running home after a few months. Thanked me for it later.”
I set my glass down. My hand feels unsteady. “How?”
Ray smiles. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s just say I know some people.
People who gave her a little taste of the real deal.
The drugs. The filth. The way those women get passed around.
She saw those aren’t the kind of men she wanted.
I can do the same for your girl. She’ll come home. You’ll see.”
I stare at my drink. The whiskey sits heavy in my stomach. Part of me knows this is wrong. Part of me is desperate enough not to care.
“She’s still seeing him, still defying me.” I say.
Ray nods. “They always do at first. But a good scare? That changes things. Nobody gets hurt. Just enough to open her eyes. She’ll thank you. You’ll get your daughter back.”
I hesitate. My mind flashes to Lucy’s face the night she walked out. The way she looked at me like I was the enemy. I take another long drink.
“How do I know it’ll work?” I ask.
“Because I’ve seen it work.” Ray’s voice is calm. Reassuring. “She’ll see the drugs. The chaos. The kind of women they keep around. She’ll realize she doesn’t belong there. She’ll come home. And you’ll be the one who saved her.”
I stare at the bar top. The wood is scarred and worn. My daughter is out there right now with that man. With that club. I feel the powerlessness again.
I stare down into my glass, the amber liquid swirling slowly.
“Okay,” I say finally. My voice sounds far away, like it belongs to someone else. “What do we do?”
Ray smiles again, a cold, knowing smile that always makes my skin crawl a little. But right now, it feels like the only lifeline I have left.
“I’ll make some calls,” he says easily, leaning back in his chair. “Got a few guys who owe me favors. Quiet ones. You just wait. She’ll come home. You’ll see.”
I finish my drink in one burning swallow. The whiskey settles heavy in my gut like agreement. Like desperation. Like the only fucking option I have left.
Before I leave, I slide my phone across the table. “Here. Put your number in. We’ll need to coordinate this.”
Ray takes it without hesitation, typing quickly before handing it back. His own phone buzzes a second later as I text him to confirm.
“Good,” he says, pocketing his phone. “I’ll reach out in the next day or two once I’ve got eyes on her. Stay ready.”
I nod, throat tight, and pay my tab with shaking hands. I walk out into the night. The air feels colder than it should. I sit in my car for a long time, staring at the new contact in my phone, “Ray” before I finally start the engine.
Lucy will understand one day. She has to.
I’m doing this for her. I’m saving her from that animal she’s been running around with. From that filthy biker life she thinks she wants. Even if she hates me for it right now.
I drive home with Ray’s words echoing in my head on repeat. She’ll come home. She’ll thank me. I say them out loud the whole way, gripping the wheel until my knuckles turn white.
I need to believe them. Because if I don’t… I don’t know what the hell I have left.