Page 8

LOU

Ajax didn't bother finding his shirt, just put his vest back on. Mace, Diezel, and Ajax climbed on their bikes, and I followed them toward the bus station, a few miles from my house. We hoped to catch Mick before she bought a ticket to God knew where.

We rounded the corner, just a block from the bus station, and I saw Mick running down the street. Two men were chasing her as she turned and ran into an alleyway. Ajax, Diezel, and Mace reacted quickly, speeding ahead and turning their bikes down the alleyway after the two men.

I pulled my car over to the curb, parked under the no-parking sign, and climbed out. I limped half-jogged toward the alley, and when I rounded the corner, the men had already kicked their bike stands down and climbed off. Diezel and Mace pulled the two men off Mick and began beating the shit out of them.

Mick sat on the asphalt in a puddle, crying. Her shirt ripped as she covered her chest. I couldn't reach Mick fast enough. Ajax kneeled, pulling Mick into his arms as she sobbed, then pulled her up up to stand while I hobbled as quickly as I could.

"Mick!" I cried out, colliding with her and Ajax, wrapping my arms around them.

There was a moment of silence, only the sounds of grunts, cries of pain, and fists hitting flesh lingered.

"It's Andrew," Ajax said.

"Wha…What?" Mick asked, cheeks stained with tears and dirt as she stared wide-eyed at Ajax.

"Andrew is my real name. Andrew Remar."

Mick smiled when Ajax placed his hands on her cheeks, then his brows furrowed when he saw her bottom lip was cut and bleeding.

"It's okay, baby girl. I'm going to kill them both," he seethed, venom in his voice.

Ajax stepped away from Mick, and I pulled her into my arms. I held her tight, trying to calm her down, and shield her from the violence.

My father cursing and whipping me with a leather belt and my brothers teasing me flashed through my mind.

They blamed me for my mother’s death.

Ajax pulled a revolver from inside his vest and walked toward the men lying on the ground, moaning in pain, and Mick rushed to him.

"No, Dad! Don't kill them!"

"Step back, Mick," Ajax warned, and I wrapped her back in my arms.

He knelt in front of the man whose face was covered in blood as he held his arm swaying at a weird angle. Ajax raised the gun and shoved the barrel into the crying man's mouth. "That's my daughter you just tried to steal from, rape, and then kill. I should blow your fucking brains out the back of your stupid skull!"

"We just wanted her money, man! Please don't kill us!” the other begged, lying on the ground, then whimpered, his left eye swollen shut.

"Let’s go, Ajax,” Diezel said, leaning over with his hands on his thighs, catching his breath. His knuckles were bloody. "You shoot that pistol, and someone will call the pigs."

Ajax pulled the gun out of the man's mouth, and I jumped when he bashed it against the side of his head, knocking him out.

Mick fetched her backpack from the puddle and followed me back to my car. Ajax and his club followed behind as I drove and wiped my tears. Mick stared out the window, sniffling, then wiped the blood off her lip with her forearm, which only smeared it across her cheek.

"Why, Mick?" I asked. So many questions were running through my mind.

"Why what?" she whispered, not even looking at me.

“Why did you steal the cash from my wallet and run away again? And why were those men after you?”

"Ajax… Or Andrew dumped me at the diner like I’m a nuisance or some helpless puppy dog!”

I jerked the steering wheel, and the car swerved as I pulled off onto the side of the road.

"What the fuck?" Mick shouted, her eyes wide.

Ajax and his men pulled up behind me.

I turned and pointed my finger at her. "Listen here, young lady, it's wrong to steal, especially from someone who wants to help you! Trust is broken with those who care about you, and it hurts! You're disrespectful and need to be taught some goddamn manners,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “How do you think Ajax feels after learning just a few hours ago that you're his daughter? It's a complete shock to him. Even though I've only known your father for a few weeks, I know he cares about you! He asked me to take you in for a few days because he doesn't want you sleeping at the clubhouse. And would a man who doesn’t care about you track you down and kill the men who were chasing you?” I made sure to lock with her. “You don't want to make a man like him angry."

"Why? Will he beat the shit out of me if I make him mad?"

"No! If someone hurts people he cares about, he's the kind of man who will kill to protect them. He almost killed those two men who attacked you, Mick! Don't you get it?"

She sat there silent for a moment, looking down at her lap.

"You're right, Lou. I'm sorry for stealing your money. I promise I won't do it again," she said sheepishly. Then she pulled fifty dollars from her jeans pocket and handed it to me.

I shoved the cash in my purse beside me when Ajax appeared by my side window with a look of concern in his eyes.

He leaned in when I rolled down the window. “What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”

I smiled. “Everything is okay. We were just having some girl talk.”

He looked at Mick, then back at me. “My brothers are heading to the clubhouse, and I’ll follow you back to your house.”

When we returned to my house, Ajax sat at my kitchen table while Mick went to her room, removed her dirty, ripped shirt, and put on a clean one. Then we went into the bathroom together. I felt so bad for her as she winced in pain when I gently pressed a clean, wet cloth to her bleeding lip.

“It hurts like a son of bitch, getting hit in the mouth,” she mumbled.

“Tell me about it.”

Her brows lifted. “You’ve been hit before?”

“Yes. Many times. The pain goes away, and the scars fade, but only on the outside,” I said, placing a hand on my chest.

Mick turned around and looked at her swollen lip and puffy eyes. She ran her hands through her dark hair. “So, I guess I better go out there and deal with my punishment.”

We left the bathroom to find Ajax leaning back in his chair with his bare, muscular arms folded over his chest.

God, he looks so hot when he’s angry.

He didn't say anything when we sat at the table across from him, and just stared at Mick.

Ajax’s jaw clenched when I broke the long silence and spoke first. “Mick has apologized for stealing the money and promised never again.”

He reached and lifted Mick’s cheek with his thumb. “If a boy or a man ever puts a hand on you like that again, I’ll kill them. Got that?”

Mick nodded, looking down at the kitchen table.

“No more bullshit.”

“Yes, Dad. Is it okay if I call you that?”

“Well, there’s no denying you’re my daughter with that stunt you pulled. So, I guess you can call me Dad.”

Mick’s smile lit up her face, showing how beautiful she was.

“No more lying,” Ajax continued. “Tell me the truth about your mother and why you left Baltimore?”

Mick squeezed her eyes shut to fight back tears. “My mother sold me.”

“Sold you?”

“Mommy dearest got mixed up with different motorcycle clubs a few years ago and she was passed around. Treated like trash. She’s also hooked on meth and owes money to the men she buys her drugs from. She stole from them too.” Mick snapped her fingers. “And just like that, she sold me to them like a piece of fucking furniture. Who knows what would have happened to me. I’d probably be dead by now. I knew where she hides her secret stash of cash, it wasn't much, but I stole it and bought a bus ticket here.”

“Well, you're safe here with us." Ajax sighed. "Why the hell did you try to leave town again? Where were you gonna go?”

A tear spilled down Mick’s right cheek and she wiped it away with the palm of her hand. “I just appear out of nowhere and tell you I’m your daughter, then you hand me off to Lou. I was afraid you didn't want me around, that I was a nuisance, like my mom always told me.”

Ajax reached over, placing his hand over hers. “I believed you when you told me. I’m a dangerous man Mick, I’ve done bad things. I’m not a good role model, and don't want you mixed up in bad shit. You should be doing what teens your age do, go to school, hang out with friends, and do something good in your life when you grow up. Don't be like me. I want you to have all the good things, not experience the shit life I had.”

Mick reached out and wrapped her arms around Ajax. “Thanks Dad. I’m sorry for the shit I pulled today.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat, fighting back tears as Ajax held her. “No need to say you're sorry. Me, Lou and my club will keep you safe.”

“Ok,” she replied, then excused herself and returned to the bathroom.

Ajax pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes and leaned his head back. “It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since I found out I have a daughter who is on the run and could’ve been raped or killed!”

“God works in mysterious ways.”

“There is no God,” he grumbled, then reached and grasped my arm. “Come over here.”

I smiled and left my chair to sit on his lap. His arms wrapped around my waist, and I gasped when he nuzzled my earlobe.

“You smell good,” he said, his voice husky, giving me goosebumps, making my nipples hard.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him. It felt like fireworks when Ajax slid his tongue into my mouth, and soon the kiss turned heated.

I moaned, then pulled away, knowing if I didn't, Mick would walk in and see us having sex on the kitchen table.

But Ajax wasn’t going to stop, so when we both stood, he scooped me up into his arms, carried me into my bedroom, and closed the door. We heard Mick turn on the shower when I started to strip out of my clothes. I knelt in front of Ajax and fumbled with the button and zipper on his jeans. He started to breathe heavily as I pulled down his boxers and jeans. His large, hard cock sprung free, and I grasped it with both hands.

“Fuck,” Ajax growled when I looked into his eyes and licked along his length.

He leaned his head back and gritted his teeth while my hands and mouth stroked, licked, and sucked on his engorged shaft. My head bobbed while my lips were wrapped around his cock and I moaned, needing him to fill me up.

I let go and stood, my heart pounding in my chest. Ajax grabbed my hand, and I followed him to the bed. When I sat down, he began to pull off his vest, but I stopped him.

“No, don't take it off. Leave it on while you fuck me.”

He arched a brow and smiled as he climbed on me.

With one swift stroke, Ajax was deep inside me, and I cried out. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment of pure bliss as I dug my nails into his broad back. His hands came underneath to grab my ass while he moved his hips to meet mine. I moaned and called out his name when his thumb rubbed gently against my sensitive clit.

“We’re gonna come together, babe,” he whispered, his breath warm against my cheek.

He moved his thumb in rapid circles, and his hips moved faster, deeper, harder. I screamed when we orgasmed together, the walls of my pussy pulsating tightly around Ajax as he shot a load of cum inside me.

I was breathless as Ajax planted light kisses across my shoulder. Then, as he stood from the bed and began to pull up his jeans, I blurted, “You should move in.”

He zipped his jeans and ran his hands through his dark, wavey hair. “Nothing good can come out of shacking up at your place. I’ve heard plenty of nightmare stories from my Berzerker brothers and their Ole Ladies. Things are good in the beginning, but then it turns to shit or worse. I’m a bad man, Lou.”

“You’ve been good to me and Mick. Move in to keep us safe.”

He climbed back into bed and in between my thighs. We still had a sheen of sweat on our bodies and smelled of sex.

Ajax placed his calloused hands on my face, smoothing back my damp hair with a look of apprehension. “I’ve never met a woman like you. Most women I’ve known want something — drugs or money.”

I laughed. “Well, I don't want drugs, but I do wish I had lots of money and could quit my job at the diner and live as a wealthy socialite someday.”

“That’s not what I mean,” he interrupted. “You’re a good person, Lou. Pure. A kind soul. If someone hurt you or hurt Mick, I’d go berserk and kill them.”

His thumb wiped away a tear from my right cheek when I asked, “So you’ll stay here with us?”

“Sure. I’ll check out of the motel and bring my things here tonight.”