“I don’t think so, but we’ll go home, get you both cleaned up, then take you to the hospital to make sure.” I go back to the bedroom to get Alicia’s clothes, then take Mia from her so she can get herself dressed. I can’t explain the relief I feel from knowing they're both okay, and I stroke Mia’s tiny cheek with my thumb, making her a silent promise to never let her be in danger again.
“I should have never let you leave the club by yourself; never let me allow you to persuade me you're right again. Fuck, Alicia, I can’t lose you, neither of you.” Just the thought of it makes me wanna go back into the bedroom and put a hundred bullets in Greaser’s skull myself.
“You're never gonna lose us; you came, and you saved us.” Alicia smiles, taking our little girl back when she’s finished, and holding her tight as she smells the top of her head.
“I did nothin’, I was trapped on the other side of a fuckin’ door. You saved yourself,” I remind her. “Now, let’s get ya home.”
“What about Iris and Greaser? We can’t just leave them here. The neighbours would have heard the gunshots, and the police are gonna want to talk to me.”
“Ya see any police?” I tell her as we step outside onto Iris’s porch. “Take a look around ya, darlin’. What do you see?” I watch as she looks around the quiet, dead street in front of us.
“I see houses, but no cars or people.” She looks back at me, puzzled.
“This whole street is being demolished next week.” I point up at the huge development sign a few hundred yards up the road.
“Wait, the date on that sign says... the development was supposed to be completed years ago.” Alicia looks even more confused.
“I don’t know what happened; if funds ran out or shit went wrong, but Iris would have been there, living in that house by herself for some time. Greaser had her right where he wanted her?—
“No,” she interrupts me as we start walking toward the car. “Iris was the abuser; Greaser was scared of her, I saw it...She knew exactly how to trigger him. I know you hate him, but deep down, Greaser was just a scared little boy. I said that in the bedroom. I trusted my instincts, I let him know that I saw him for who he was, and it saved my life.”
“Come on, darlin’, I wanna get ya both home. This place is givin’ me the creeps.” I’m too mad at the man to feel sorry for him, so I strap Mia into the car before opening Alicia's door for her, then, getting behind the wheel, I get ready to drive my family home.
“Vike. We can’t just leave him there on his own; who knows when someone will find him? He deserves a funeral, a Soul send-off. Please.”
“Alicia, the man was gonna rape you. He kidnapped you and your kid, and you're worrying about his fuckin’ funeral?” I don’t know why I’m questioning her when I’d expect nothing less. Alicia has a kind heart and feels no malice
“He was ill; they both were....things could have been so different if they had gotten the right help.”
“You're too good for this world, Alicia Peterson.” I lean over the console to kiss her. She kisses me back then, as she rests back in her seat, the contented sigh she makes brings my heart rate back down to what it should be. An image of my family flashes in my brain as I focus back on the road, only this time it’s different. They ain’t pale, they ain’t lifeless; they’re smiling just like in that photograph I keep in my wallet. I grip the steering wheel and let the tears fill my eyes as I take in the message I think they’re trying to give me.
“You okay?” Alicia asks, reaching over and taking my hand.
“I’m fine,” I assure her with a smile.
“You look like you're gonna cry.” She frowns
“What's the matter? Never seen a man cry happy tears before?” I look back at her and smirk, trying to regain my composure.
“I don’t think I have.” She reaches over to press her lips to my cheek and laughs.
“What's so funny?” I question her
“I’m just thinking of some ways I can make you cry more of ’em.” She giggles sassily, and I feel my chest warm with love. Love that I’m gonna rain over this woman until the day I fuckin’ die.
“Ican’t believe it.” Peyton nurses Mia in her arms and shakes her head in shock. I’m sure my explaining what happened with Greaser will be triggering for her; it wasn’t long ago she was lying on a bed expecting to be raped herself. Lucky for her, Raze saved her. I can’t imagine how she must feel, knowing he’s not there anymore.
“I can; the pair of them were insane.” Freya drapes her arm around me and pulls me closer. “You did so well. You must have been terrified.” She tries to make me feel better, but explaining it all to them has made me relive it and caused it to feel more real.
“I just can’t think about what might have happened.” I look at my tiny, innocent girl and hate myself for not protecting her better.
“Don’t do that to yourself. Look at her; she’s fine, you had her checked over at the hospital before you came here, and as for you, you're gonna be fine too. We’ve all experienced shit that shouldn’t have happened to us, and we’re all here for you,” Freya reminds me.
“Maybe you could speak to my councilor?” Millie suggests, with a brave smile on her face. She’s an inspiration to everyone. The way she’s managed after what she went through is incredible.
“And we all have our own strong, handsome biker to get us through, too,” Eden reminds us as the door to the meeting room opens, and one by one, our men start making their way over.
“Is everything okay?” I ask Vike, knowing they will have been discussing what happened to Greaser and his mom.
