“Just makin’ sure you know, now and for the rest of your life.”

I grip his jaw, and pull his face to mine, crushing our lips together. He kisses me with ferocity, and I return it, groaning and tangling my fingers in his shirt. We stay like that for a long while, just kissing, loving and showing each other everything we’ve so desperately wanted to show for years. When we pull apart, we’re both smiling, both happy, both content. We made a promise to each other, here and now, but this time...

This time we’re going to keep it.

~*~*~*~*

After we get over kissing and enjoying each other, Spike and I finally turn and leave the bar. We walk into the yard to find everyone else, and that’s when I see Addison, on her knees, arms around...is that a girl? Spike and I glance at each other, and rush over. Addi is soothing a pretty, dark haired girl, who is sobbing like a small, broken child. When she looks up, I gasp. Her face is busted up, and she’s got blood running down her face. Some of it has dried, other parts are still fresh. Her eyes, I think they are brown, are bloodshot and frantic.

“Can you tell me your name?” Addi asks the girl.

I hear boots crunching, and look up to see Jackson and Cade rushing out. “What’s goin’ on?” Jackson asks, kneeling down. “Who is this Addi?”

Addi looks at him. “I don’t know, she just walked in.”

The girl looks up, and she begins to cry again. “Please,” she croaks. “Please don’t send me back out there. He’s looking for me.”

“Who?” Jackson asks.

“M-m-my father. He’ll kill me. Please. I have nowhere to go. He tried to kill me, and I ran away. I can’t go back.”

“How did she stumble in here?” I ask Addi quietly.

“She just walked in, I don’t know, she just kind of...appeared.”

Odd. Why would anyone walk into a biker’s lot? Maybe she’s out of it.

“What do we do?” I ask, looking at Jackson.

“What’s your name?” he asks the girl, his eyes travelling over her body looking for more injury. They seem to soften a touch. Jackson has a soft spot for people in need of help.

“I...I...It’s Serenity.”

“Where are you from, darlin’?” he asks her gently.

“I don’t know,” she croaks, tears welling in her eyes. “I just ran away...”

“All right, all right,” he soothes. “It’s fine. We’re gonna get you all cleaned up, yeah? My daughter here is goin’ to take good care of you.”

Addi helps the girl to her feet, and I see she’s tiny. I mean, like a pixie. That’s kind of what she reminds me of. We watch as Addi takes her inside the compound, then we turn to Jackson.

“How do you think she got in here?” Cade asks, still watching Addi.

“Not sure, looks like she’s beaten pretty bad,” Jackson says.

“She looks like she hasn’t seen food in weeks,” Spike adds.

“No, whatever she’s runnin’ from, it’s fucked up. She could be more trouble than she’s worth.”

“You can’t send her back out onto the street,” I say, watching as Addi disappears into the house. “She looks like she’s got nobody.”

“Can’t keep her here,” Jackson says. “Don’t know her, and we’re an MC club.”

“You kept me here,” I protest.

He gives me a look. “You knew Cade, you were like family. That girl is a stranger.”

“She looks like she’s got no one else. Can’t we help her out, at least until she finds somewhere to go?”

Jackson sighs, but I know he’s given in to me. He is too soft. “You fuckin’ women. Fine, she can stay with one of you until you find out more about her, but she ain’t stayin’ here.”

I beam at him, then spin to Spike. “I’m going to see if Addi needs help.”

He grins down at me.

“What?” I say.

“You, you’re fuckin’ sweet, you know that?”

I flush, and lean up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. “I love you, Danny.”

He grunts, and then flashes me a grin. “Back at ya, Tom Cat.”

I smile at the group once more, and then I spin around and rush inside. When I get in, Addi is at the sink in the kitchen, washing some cloths for the mystery girls face. I walk over to the girl sitting at the table. She looks tiny in the seat, and she looks beat up, but she’s showing absolutely no fear. I know it’s strange that I would notice this, but it sparks something inside me. No one, especially not women, should be able to walk into a bikers lot and not feel any fear at all. I just can’t understand it. I tilt my head to the side, and watch her scan the room. She’s taking everything in, her eyes narrowing. She turns and looks at me, and instantly puts her broken expression back in place.

I can’t put my finger on it.

But there’s just something not quite right here.

This girl has a story, and whatever that story is...

It ain’t pretty.

~*THE END*~