Chapter Four

Dominic

I left the little pixie alone to eat, gently closing the door behind me as I shut her in Elena’s office. Elena came to me the second I poked my head out from the back into the main diner.

“You be good to that girl, Dom. She’s got a lot going on.”

I raised my hands, taking a step backward. “Whoa there, Elena. I’ll be nice to her, but if you’re thinking there’s more going on, there ain’t.”

“Well, there should be.” Elena stepped closer to me and wagged a finger in my face. “She could certainly do better than you, but you could never do better than her. That girl needs a strong man to protect her and show her she’s worthy. When Venus brought her to me, I was thinking more about someone from Black Reign -- those boys are all good to their families -- but Grim Road might be a better fit with her… situation.”

“And what’s her situation?”

“That’s not my story to tell. Just be gentle with her.” Elena’s expression softened, and she looked over my shoulder toward the back where Annie was, hopefully, finishing up her meal. Girl was so thin she could definitely use the calories. “She’s extremely intelligent but a little… simple. She’s lived her whole life in a completely different world, and she’s only just broken free. At least physically.” Elena gave me a sad smile. “She needs your protection.”

I frowned. “And who’s protecting her now?”

“That’d be me and Venus.”

I turned at the sound of the declaration to find Piston sitting in a booth in the corner, away from the window and in full view of the room and every entrance and exit.

Piston had been a member of Grim Road a long fucking time. I thought he might have been a member longer than anyone alive. At least, in our region. Like the Iron Tzars, Grim Road MC had more than one club in more than one area of the country. Since most of the members had been some form of Black Ops at one time or another, they tended to want their privacy. We kept our club relatively small compared to other clubs, but with the addition of our women and children, we were growing out of our hidden compound. Piston and his woman, Venus, were newly appointed in a role resembling ambassadors for the club. They acted as liaisons for Grim Road, Black Reign, and Salvation’s Bane MCs. The overall favorability of our clubs within the community and with each other had improved nicely.

“She in trouble?” I lingered by the entrance to the back, keeping myself between Annie and anyone in the diner. I’m not really sure why I felt the need, but there was no denying it. Fuck. This wasn’t good.

“Eh, maybe. She left… an encampment. Call it a commune.” He shrugged before continuing. “Venus thinks they’ll leave her alone. She’s eighteen and has been there since she was four. Her mother’s fully involved with the commune . It’s likely she’d come for Annie if their leader tells her, but not on her own.”

“What about her father? He in the picture at all?”

“Nope. Me and Venus are tryin’ to see if we can locate him, but Annie’s mother won’t talk to us.”

“Like that’ll stop your woman.” I couldn’t help but grin. Venus could be insistent. Until she got fed up being insistent. Then she did what she deemed the path of least resistance, no matter who she had to run through. Considering she’d been trained as an assassin, she could generally run through anyone if she needed to.

Piston chuckled. “Not at fuckin’ all.”

As he spoke, the swinging door to the back opened and Annie emerged, tying an apron around her tiny waist. She gave me a small smile before moving to a customer who’d just sat down.

I loved the way she moved around. There was a quiet grace that seemed to wrap her in a cloak. She’d struck me as clumsy at the bikini contest, but that must have been due to an unfamiliar environment because Annie was efficient and deft in her movements. Kind of like a dancer.

“Yep. I can see you’re the right one.” There was amusement in Piston’s voice that was gonna get him a beat down.

“What’s that mean?” I barked out the question sharper than I intended, but instead of being intimidated or, God forbid, even more amused, Piston met my gaze steadily with only a raised eyebrow.

“It means, if you tell me you’re not interested in that girl, I’ll go fuck myself.”

“Fuck you, Piston,” I hissed. “Even I’m not that much of a dick. She ain’t ready for a man like me. Probably never will be and I ain’t the settlin’ down type. Lost that desire a long fuckin’ time ago,” I muttered.

“You might be surprised. She’s not had an easy time of it, but she’s resilient. She’s learning Spanish from Elena. Venus has been teaching her Russian. Also, I talked to Chief the other day. He helped us get her out. Took a likin’ to that girl.”

That surprised me. “Chief? I mean, the guy’s pretty amiable and never refuses to help when he’s needed, but doesn’t he pretty much keep to himself?”

“Yep. But he’s been coming to see Annie. To watch out for her. I think he comes here to talk to her when the diner isn’t busy.” He leaned back in the booth, one leg stretched out away from the table and one arm laid over the back of the booth. “He’s teaching her his language. Says she’s a fast learner.”

“Why me? You must know at least a dozen guys who’d be good for her. I’m way too fuckin’ old for her.”

“Yep. I could think of at least eight off the top of my head. Unfortunately for you, Venus thinks you’re the one she needs.” When I opened my mouth to question why, Piston held up his hand to wave me off. “I have no idea why, so don’t ask. I just do what she tells me to do. Go where she tells me to go.”

“You do hear how pathetic you sound, right?”

“Fuck you too.” He grinned just as Annie stepped up to our table, her little order pad in hand.

“Hi, Piston.” She gave the older man a warm, genuine smile. “Is Venus coming?”

“Not today, sweetheart. But she said to give you her love.”

That seemed to please Annie more than it should have. Her smile got impossibly wider and she looked so happy it was almost painful. “Tell her thank you. And she has my love too. I can never thank you guys enough.” She ducked her head, tucking a long, silky-looking lock behind her ear.

“Honey, you never have to thank us. Though if you really wanted to do something for us, I have a suggestion.”

“Anything, Piston.” She actually looked excited.

“You see this guy?” When her gaze flitted to mine with an uncertain look, Piston continued, “He’s in charge of security for our club.”

“Grim Road. Right?”

“That’s right. I think you met him earlier today?”

“Yes.” She gave me a shy smile. “Dominic.”

“Annie and I are old friends now,” I said, pretending we hadn’t just been talking about her. “Piston tells me you’re learning a few different languages.”

“Oh, yes!” Sweet God, the girl actually bounced on her toes in excitement. There was this strange combination of child and woman about her. Like everything was brand-new and fun, and she was eager to partake. “I’m learning Spanish from Elena, Russian from Venus, and Chief is teaching me Navajo. That one’s hard, but so much fun! Chief said I’m picking it up pretty well since I’ve only been learning a couple of weeks.”

“Look, Annie,” Piston continued. “I haven’t told Dom everything. But, given your situation, me and Venus would feel better if you went to stay at the Grim Road compound instead of at the motel. Marge has done a fantastic job since she bought it, but you’re still alone, even with all the extra security she had installed. Would you be willing to go back with Dom? He’s got an extra bedroom in his home inside the compound.”

She gave me a hesitant look before answering Piston. “Do you really think it’s necessary? I don’t want to be more of a bother.”

“Necessary? Probably not. I’d just rather be safe than sorry. Give Crush and Byte time to look into that camp and make sure they don’t decide to come after you.”

“I don’t think they will,” she whispered. She’d grown pale as Piston talked. I’d noticed it and was pretty sure Piston noticed it too. “Not after what I did.”

Piston raised a hand. “Honey, anything you did was deserved by whomever you did it to. What do you say? It will make me worry less.”

I raised an eyebrow at Piston, who might as well have said, “Take pity on an old man, will you?” Yeah. I couldn’t wait to tell Venus about this.

“You promise you have room, Dom? I don’t want to take up space you need or be in your way.”

“Just me in a two-bed, two-bath house. We can see as little or as much of each other as we like and have as much privacy as each of us needs. You’d be doing me a favor, actually. I’ve got a dog and a cat. They both like being inside, but I’m not leaving them in the house when I’m not there. If I get tied up and can’t get home, I don’t want ‘em stuck in there. If you stay there, you can let them in and out as they want.”

Annie’s eyes got wide and round, her mouth forming an “O” of surprise. “You have a cat?”

“And a dog.”

“Is it a big dog or a little dog?”

I had to fight a grin. This girl was living life and enjoying the moment. “Medium-size dog. Squirrel dog. She hates the cat.”

“And they’re both in the house at the same time?”

“Oh yeah. Cat’s too smart for the dog. She waits until Peaches is asleep, then curls up on top of him.”

That got a giggle out of Annie. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure, honey. We can get your things after your shift and I’ll take you home.”

Annie flashed a big smile, then readied her pen to take our order. I had the sinking feeling I’d just sealed my own fate. I’d never been attracted to young and innocent, but how could a man resist this woman? I certainly couldn’t. I mean, I was gonna resist. At least, on a physical level I was gonna resist. I foresaw a lot of sleepless nights and cold showers in my future. And I didn’t see me going far from my new charge. My only prayer was that Annie was as innocent as she appeared. It might be the only thing that kept me from throwing caution -- and my self-respect -- to the wind and making her mine. Age difference be damned.

Yeah. I was so fucking fucked.