Page 34 of Tinsel & Chrome

MAMMOTH

My heart was pounding when I stepped outside the hotel room. The petite woman inside was definitely Wren Hughes, I knew it the moment I looked into her beautiful brown eyes. No more staring at her image in a photo for two years, now she stood in front of me in the flesh! That primal instinct to protect this beauty and her daughter kicked in.

I pulled the phone from my back pocket and called Zero, pacing back and forth.

“Hello,”

Zero answered.

“Your sister, Wren. She’s alive, and wants to see you.”

There was a moment of silence.

“What? How? Where is she?”

Zero asked, urgency in his tone.

“The West Virginia Chapter found her. Sampson brought her to Ocean City. It’s a long story, and we’ll get all the details soon.”

“Where is she, Mammoth? I need to see her now!”

“She’s safe, brother,”

I said and swallowed the lump in my throat.

“I’m driving her to the clubhouse. We’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

******

I carried Wren and Joy’s travel bag full of their clothes and helped Wren buckle a car seat in the cab of my truck. When Joy held her hands up to me, I picked her up and buckled her in, then placed the travel bag beside her.

“She likes you,”

Wren said.

“I’m glad she does,”

I replied.

Her brows lifted in surprise when I opened the passenger door for her. Maybe no man had ever shown a simple, nice gesture like that before? Once she climbed in, I walked around the truck, climbed into the driver’s seat and drove us toward the clubhouse.

I felt awkward with the silence as Joy sat in the backseat, humming some tune to her friend Fluffy.

“What kind of music do you like?”

I asked Wren, turning on the radio. Crazy Bitch by Buck Cherry blared through the truck speakers as I scrambled to turn down the volume.

“Sorry,”

I grumbled.

“I like classic seventies and eighties. Joy likes Disney songs.”

Scanning the channels on the satellite radio, I found the Disney Channel. Joy cheered with glee.

“Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid, Mommy!”

Wren smiled while Joy sang.

“Have you ever seen the ocean where the little mermaid lives?”

I asked, looking in the rearview mirror at the cute little girl singing the lyrics.

“No.”

“Well, we’re not far away, and I can take you and your mom to see it.”

I smiled as Joy bounced her little legs excitedly.

As we neared the clubhouse, Wren began fidgeting with her hands, her right knee bouncing.

I offered my hand and smiled.

“It’s going to be okay.”

My heart skipped a beat when she put her hand in mine.

The clubhouse parking lot was empty except for Zero’s bike. When I parked and shut the truck’s engine off, I looked at Wren staring up at the Merciless Few MC sign hanging above the entry door to the clubhouse while Joy quietly hummed in the backseat.

Wren gripped my hand tightly.

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

When she unbuckled herself, I hurried, climbed out, walked around the truck, and opened the passenger door for her.

After I took Joy out of the car seat, they followed me inside the clubhouse to find Zero pacing the floor while his ole lady, Charlie, drank coffee at the bar.

Zero froze, staring at Wren.

A long silence followed as Zero walked toward her.

“Atlas!”

she cried out as Zero scooped her into his arms.

“You’re safe, little sister,”

Zero murmured against Wren’s cheek as he held her.

“You’re home, and I’ll take care of you.”

I cleared the lump in my throat when Wren began to sob in his arms.

Charlie left the bar, approaching with tears in her eyes.

Zero and Wren began to laugh joyfully, wiping away the tears from their eyes.

Even after 10 years, there was no doubt Zero knew when he looked into Wren’s eyes that she was his long-lost sister.

Joy grabbed my fingers with her little hand and stared at her mother, crying and hugging a man she’d never seen before.

When Zero released Wren from their long embrace, she turned to me and Joy, wiping away her tears.

“Baby girl, I want to meet my brother, Atlas.”

“He’s my friend. You’ll like him,”

I reassured Joy.

She let go of my fingers and walked up to Zero. Using her most grown-up voice she could muster, “Hello, Uncle Atlas, I’m Josephine, but I prefer Joy. Are you my Uncle?”

Zero knelt, just as I did, and smiled, a tear falling down his cheek into his dark beard.

“Hello, Joy. Yes, I’m your Uncle Atlas, and I’m so thrilled to meet you.”