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He pulled his phone out from the pocket of his cut and put it to his ear.

“We’ve got your girl, Henny. She’s fine,” he said quickly, before hanging up and taking off down the street, weaving in and out of the traffic that stood still.

* * *

I didn’t know when I became so comfortable around these men. But when we eventually pulled up at the clubhouse, I wandered inside and took a stool at the bar without a second thought.

There was no more lingering fear or suspicion. The knowledge that these guys were technically my enemies was a far off memory that didn’t feel so real anymore.

Instead, I felt that tension that had been rising and ever-present all morning had faded, knowing that I was surrounded by them.

I felt safe.

I felt protected.

And most of all, I felt at ease and comfortable.

When Freddie pulled up a stool next to me and silently scrolled through his phone, I started to feel that familiar stinging in my eyes. The casual familiarity of it felt a lot like what my own family gatherings used to be like. But they felt so distant now.

Now I had this.

Prince rounded the bar, retrieving a few cans of drink from the fridges and passing them out with what I was starting to worry was a semi-permanent worried frown. He handed me a lemonade, and sipped at one himself.

“I’m sorry, you know,” I sighed eventually. “That you guys had to come out all that way and get me. I feel a little silly.”

“Zarina,” Prince scolded in a fatherly tone. “This is what we do for each other. You could’ve called any of us, and we would’ve come.”

Freddie didn’t say anything, but nodded his agreement.

“I guess I knew that.” I offered a half-hearted smile, because it was true.

A melody of different sounding engines rumbled in, the gravel crunching and popping under the tyres as the others screamed into the lot.

I spun around in the stool just as Ashe burst through the heavy wooden door, shoulders drawn up and face a heated shade of red.

Fuck, he was beautiful.

His eyes scattered about the room before softening as they landed on me, and I wished that I could’ve replayed that moment over and over again. I had never felt like this before, I had never felt like I was someone’s peace.

Usually, I was a cyclone, a chaotic storm that came in and wreaked havoc before disappearing into the ether again. And here I was, expecting him to run, to hide and take shelter. But there he was, looking at me like I was sunshine instead of a storm.

Ashe crossed the space between us in a few long strides, flanked by Charmer and Bull whose presence I barely noticed. He took my face in his big hands and pulled me to him, kissing me hard on the lips without a second thought or any concern for his friends who surrounded us and openly watched the public display of affection.

I let my eyes flutter shut, letting him envelop me and letting myself soften. I was never in any real danger. I wasn’t hurt. But the relief in his eyes told me that he wasn’t so sure of that until he saw me.

The rest of the men let us have a few sweet moments before the chatter began.

“Jesus, Henny. Get a fucking room.” Charmer elbowed Ashe in the ribs.

Ashe pulled away, still smiling down at me and ignoring his friend.

“Good to see you here, Captain,” Bull smiled down at me, ruffling my hair in that brotherly fashion a little as he walked past.

We spent a quiet afternoon together.

Me and all these bikers that I had somehow befriended. Freddie brooded, but remained close by at all times. Bull was sweet and attentive, acting as if I were injured or badly bruised, fetching drinks and snacks for me without having to request them. Charmer cracked jokes, and I caught on pretty quickly that he was uncomfortable with any type of seriousness or bleakness. Prince listened to everything I had to say, with that kind of look in his eyes that told me he was paying attention.

This quirk of his was almost unsettling in a way, but I could tell that everyone else seemed to react the same way to his heavy gaze. He made everyone at the table feel heard, and if he didn’t understand, he would ask questions instead of glazing over a topic.