Sharp and his crew have left, and the clubhouse has calmed down once more. The aggression was building mainly because of Gunner and his damn temper. He needs to get a hold of that before he has issues with his daughter.
‘Are you okay, Mia?’ I ask, placing my arm around her shoulder and bringing her into my body.
Giving me a nod, I hear Mia sniffle and look down, pushing her away from me slightly. I can see she’s crying, ‘Come on, let’s go to the office and calm down a little.’
As we walk away, I wave my arm at Target and indicate he follow us. In the office, I sit Mia in the chair behind the desk, then sit on the corner of the desk.
Looking over at Target, I nod for him to sit, and once he’s settled, I ask, ‘Would you like to stay here with us a while, Target? You don’t have to prospect if you just need a time out after looking after Zara.’
Sitting upright, Target places his ankle on his knee, claps his hands behind his knee, and looks directly at me, ‘I’ve been living on the street a few months, had a bad time when I lost most of my team. Only one other is still alive. We keep in touch. Zara walking over to me and asking for help seemed to snap me out of the shit I was stewing in.
‘She’s a sweet girl, cares a lot about you, Mia, and she cried numerous times that she hadn’t done more to clear your name. It seems to me she was ignored and had to raise herself from what she told me.
‘Her mother is a real piece of shit, and I hope they take her out. If not, I’m sure I will at some point. If she hurts Zara again, she won’t breathe long afterward.
”I hope, given time, you may be able to have a friendly relationship with Zara, I know you care about her, it’s easy to see, and it would be so sad if you both lose each other.
‘I would like to stay a while if that’s okay. See how things work here. If I like the look of it, like the brotherhood, then I may just prospect and draw my teammate in too.’
I pick up my cell and message Dice to come and collect Target, get him settled in a room, and anything he may need, be it clothes or food.
‘One of the brothers will take you to your room. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask, and we’ll get it. Just hang out, meet the brothers, talk, learn and rest, then we’ll talk again.’ I tell him, shake his hand and watch him leave the office with Dice, who I can hear talking his ear off already.
Turning to Mia, I’m a little worried as she has been so quiet, ‘Are you alright, Mia?’
Lifting her head to look at me, she gives me a weak smile, ‘Yes, I’m good, just shocked that after all this time, the truth has been told and the lies uncovered.’
Nodding in agreement, I step up to her and hold my hand out, which she looks at for a moment, then places her hand in mine, standing. She is about a foot shorter than I am, and as I look down and she looks up, I can feel some heat in her gaze, but now is not the time to push my luck.
‘Have you decided what you want to do, Mia? Do you want to stay here a while, rest, recuperate from all this shit,’ I stroke my finger down her cheek, ‘Do you want to leave straight away, move on and not look back? Or do you want to stay, be my ol’ lady, letting us build something good?’
Mia studies my face, and for the first time, I see something in her eyes, not sparkling but not dead as they have been since she arrived here.
‘Firstly, I want to thank you for wanting to know the truth. I know we can do nothing to change what happened, but it’s a relief knowing that someone cared enough to even look at what happened,’ Mia smiles a little more, ‘Can I stay for now and think about what you’re offering? Get to know you all more because I vowed I would never get mixed up with another MC.’
‘Yeah, that’s perfectly fine. You can stay in the same room, but without being locked in.’ smirking at her this time.
We spend the rest of the day talking and meeting the brothers as they are in and out of the clubhouse. I take her for a walk around the compound, and she meets Jig, who is the prospect on the gate today. We should have called him Joke as he is always upbeat and willing to play a joke on someone or be on the receiving end of one.
The club women were warned that one step out of line and they’ll be out the door fast. Buzz delivered that message, and they all know not to mess with him.
I have to smile because after Buzz had given them the ‘talk,’ they veered around Mia wherever she went, making sure they didn’t give her eye contact.
Target has taken to talking with Mia often, they have spoken of Zara and the discussions he’d had with her, and I’m pleased to know Mia has no bad feelings for her, just sadness that she never tried to do more even though she was young.
A week after Sharp and his brothers had gone home, he contacted me to tell me that Cara was dead. They had uncovered a lot of information on her being a traitor and that Snap was up to his neck in terrible shit; even trafficking was mentioned.
A few days after that conversation with Sharp, he contacted me again to tell me that the Nameless Rebels MC was no more. I’m thankful to hear that as we were going to be looking into the trafficking comment to see how much truth there was to it.
Things were settling down nicely, and my daily routine was back to normal, making sure the nightclub we owned was running smoothly, and the bar we were looking into purchasing was solid, which would give us an additional business in the next town.
Target knocks on the door and pops his head into the office, ‘Come in. How can I help you?’ I ask him as he stands in front of my desk.
‘I’ve decided I’d like to prospect depending on how long that role takes. I’m not sure I want to be at everyone’s beck and call for over a year. I did that once and don’t want to do it again.’ he tells me, and I’m pleased by his honesty.
‘Okay, I’ll tell you if you want to prospect you do no more than a year, that I can guarantee,’ I tell him as I think he most likely will only do six months.
Nodding in agreement, I give him a handshake and a slap on his back, then bellow for PT to get himself in the office and get our new prospect set up and on the schedule of gate duty and anything else needed.
After Target leaves the office, I have a smile on my face as I’m pleased that he’s going to stay and give it a chance. I think he’ll be one hell of a brother once he’s settled in. He also speaks of a team member who he thinks will prospect if he decides to, and that would mean the club gains two excellent brothers given time.
I look up when a soft tap gets my attention. I see Mia standing in the doorway, giving me a small smile, ‘Can I come in?’ she asks.
‘Of course, come in. What can I do for you?’ I say, looking her over.
Walking in, Mia comes and stands next to my chair, looking down at me with a look I’ve not seen on her face before.
‘I’ve made a decision Axel,’ she says in a soft voice, and I stand as a bit of anxiety hits me.
‘Tell me, what have you decided?’ I ask nervously.
‘I’ve decided after meeting everyone, talking with Target about Zara, and watching how you are with everyone here that I would like to stay. I’d like for us to get to know each other, Axel. I’m not saying I’m ready to jump into bed with you, but I would like us to go out, spend time together, get to know each other. I’d like to be a part of the club and be your ol’ lady, but I just need a little time for us to take that last step.’ she quickly says, as though she has to get it out before she forgets to say it all.
‘I’m happy with that, Mia, and we can take our time.’ smiling at her and relieved she had made this decision.
‘Do you think you could do something for me?’ Mia asks.’
‘Yes, just ask.’
‘Will you kiss me?’ she says, fucking right I’ll kiss her, and that is precisely what I do.
Smiling down at her, I rub my thumb along her bottom lip and whisper, ‘Between us, we’ll always have the truth. Between us, we never tell lies.’ she smiles, then reaches behind my head to draw me back down for a kiss that seals our fates.
