Hurricane

A sking Tina to meet him at her favorite diner was a fluke. He took a stab in the dark and chose that one, but he had an alternative motive for meeting her there—he knew that Chasity would still be sleeping in the club, and taking Tina there would only piss off the teen and make her run. He was sure that was the last thing that Tina wanted. Hell, he had only just met the mouthy teen, and he didn't want her running off and getting hurt, or worse.

He almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her pull into the parking lot and walk into the diner. He didn't really expect her to show up. From what Chasity told him about Tina, she was a total witch, with a capital "B," but he was sure that the teen's view of her aunt was skewed.

"Hey," he said as she walked through the front door. "I'm over here, Tina." He had garnered the interest of the whole diner, and he was sure that the blush that covered Tina's cheeks was due to him embarrassing her.

She walked over to the booth where he stood and glared at him. "Do you have to get everyone's attention in here?" she asked. Tina didn't seem very happy with him, and that had him thinking that maybe her niece did know her.

"Sorry, I was just trying to let you know where to find me," he admitted.

"Um, I'm pretty sure that I'd be able to find you in a crowd of people, . You're not a little guy," she said, looking him over.

"Thanks for noticing," he teased, flashing his wolfish grin at her. He didn't seem to have any effect on her whatsoever. In fact, she seemed quite bored with him.

"I think that we should talk about Chasity and how I can get her to come home with me," she insisted, sitting in the booth opposite him.

"Okay," he agreed, sitting back down, "you want to stick to the topic at hand. I get it." He was lying. He didn't get any of this. Tina seemed cold and uncaring. Did she really want Chasity back or did she have an ulterior motive?

"Did she spend the night at your club last night?" she asked, cutting to the chase.

"She did," he admitted.

"Good, I'll go there and talk some sense into her. Chasity belongs at home with me," Tina insisted.

"Yesterday, you said that you were fine with her sleeping at the club. Why do you want her back now?" asked. "I mean, she seems to give you a whole lot of trouble and you seem a bit irritated by the whole situation. Do you really want her living with you?" He knew that she could tell him that it was none of her business, but he had to ask. He was starting to like the kid and sending her back to an unhappy situation would break his heart.

"I want her back because she's the only family that I have left in the world. I want her back because I made a promise to my brother, James, that if anything happened to him and my sister-in-law, I'd take care of Chasity and keep her safe. I'm not doing a very good job of keeping my promise, am I?" she asked. shrugged, not really knowing how to answer her question.

"That's not for me to say, really," he said. "All I know is that your niece has been sleeping at my club every night for a while now and I'd like to get to the bottom of why she's doing it. She seems like a pretty good kid," said. "Mouthy, but a good kid. Why does she keep running?"

Tina sighed and sunk into the seat across from him. She looked so sad and tired, that he almost felt bad for asking his question. "I'm not sure, really. I mean, it hasn't been that long since my brother and sister-in-law passed, and Chasity doesn't adapt to change well. But the biggest factor is that we seem to clash at every turn. I ask her to take out the garbage and she tells me that I'm not her mom. I already know that I'm not her mother, but she likes to point that out every other minute."

"That has to be rough," admitted. He felt bad for the woman, he did, but teens weren't easy, from what he had heard, and taking care of one must feel like a full-time job.

"Thanks for saying that," Tina breathed. "Listen, I will never claim to be a fantastic mom, or even aunt, for that matter, but I'm trying here—really trying. I'm just not sure what my next move should be. I don't want to screw this all up," she said. Her voice cracked and knew that if he didn't do something soon, she'd start crying and he knew close to nothing about soothing a crying woman.

He reached across the table and covered her hand with his, not sure if that would garner him a hateful scowl or a smile. When Tina gifted him a smile, he felt a sense of relief that was probably premature, but he would take it as a win.

"How about if you let me help you, Tina?" he asked.

"Help me how?" she croaked. "I don't even know you—why would you want to help me?"

"Because I think Chasity is a good kid and you two just need a little bit of time to figure this all out. You just said that it hadn't been long since your brother died. Maybe some time will help Chasity come around," he insisted.

"And how exactly will you give us time?" she asked. Yeah, that was a pretty crappy thing to promise Tina—time, but he had a crazy idea that just might work.

"Let her stay with me," he said.

"In a biker bar?" she asked. "No." Tina didn't even consider his proposal, nor had she heard him completely out.

"No, not in a biker bar. I can't have her staying there. If the cops found out, they'd shut me down, and that doesn't work for me or my guys. I have a big house that has a lot of empty rooms. How about you let her come stay with me and you can come by every day to check on her? That way, you'll know that Chasity is safe, and you won't have to fight with her every day. You can rebuild your relationship one day at a time." sat back and smiled at her, pretty pleased with himself for coming up with that idea.

"And how do I know that you're not some creep who preys on young girls?" Tina spat.

"Would a predator ask you to breakfast or give your niece a safe place to crash every night? You can ask Chasity yourself if I've tried anything," growled. He was pissed that she'd even ask him such a question, but then again, he'd be shocked if she hadn't. She was the kid's legal guardian and had every right to check up on him if she was considering taking him up on his offer.

"How about I let you do a background check on me?" he asked. "It will be back in about a week and if I'm on the up and up, she can move into my place. Until then, she can stay at the bar, and you'll at least know where she is."

"You'd do that?" she asked. Jesus, she looked like she was about to cry again, and just wanted to get back to the clubhouse to tell Chasity the plan before the kid took off for the day.

"I knew that you were sneaking behind my back. You said that you wouldn't go to my aunt and tell her where I am. You lied," Chasity shouted from the diner's front door. Everyone in the place looked between them and the kid and now, it was 's turn to feel embarrassed.

"Shit," he spat, releasing Tina's hand. He had forgotten that he was still holding hers across the table, trying to comfort her. He stood and crossed the diner, approaching the angry teen as though trying to get the jump on a feral animal.

"It's not what you think, kid," he insisted.

"Oh, no?" she spat. "Because it looks like you were getting cozy with my aunt, holding her hand, and conspiring against me," Chasity said. Yeah, she basically got it all right, except for the conspiracy part.

"We weren't plotting against you, Chasity," Tina said, joining them in the front of the diner. "We were coming up with a plan to keep you safe. I know that you don't want to be with me—you've made that very clear from the number of times that you've run. But I need to know that you're at least safe every night—no matter where you stay."

"So, I've offered to let you stay at my house," interrupted.

"Your house?" Chasity asked. "Why can't I just stay at the clubhouse?" she asked. "I like it there."

"I understand," said, "it's a pretty great place, but it's also a bar and you are underage. You'll get my place shut down, and that won't be fair to my guys. This way, you'll be safe, and your aunt will know where you are. Besides, I have a big house that I just moved into and no one to live there. Hell, I'm not there very often myself with my day job and the club, but I can make more of an effort to be home if you're there."

"Why would you do that for me?" Chasity whispered. Telling the kid that he had gotten used to having her around wasn't something that she'd accept. Maybe coming clean and telling Chasity that he thought her single aunt was hot and that he wanted to get to know her a little bit better would work, but that would also be a mistake. No, he was going to have to go with the truth, no matter how much he hated talking about his teen years.

shrugged, "Because I remember being a teenager myself. I had a pretty awesome family but that didn't stop me from acting like an ass to everyone. I know that you don't want to hear this, but you are damn lucky to have your aunt, and with some time, you two might find a way to get along better. It's worth a shot," he said.

"He's right," Tina agreed. "Just give this a chance, Chasity. We can take things at your pace. You can tell me when to come over and when to back off, and I'll respect your wishes. I just need to know that you're safe." Hearing Tina beg her niece to give their plan a try broke his heart a little. She seemed to really care for the girl, and he felt bad about doubting her intentions when she first walked into the diner.

"Do you promise that I can set the rules?" Chasity asked.

"I do," Tina agreed. That wasn't going to play with . He knew that the kid would walk all over her aunt if given the chance and he couldn't allow that.

"No, she doesn't," cut in. "If you're going to be living in my house, we're going to play things by my rules," he said. "I don't have many, but if you want to stay with me, you'll have to follow them."

"But I get to say with she comes over?" Chasity asked, nodding at her aunt. He looked over at Tina and she shrugged and nodded. The poor woman seemed even more defeated, and hated seeing her that way. His solution was supposed to help them both, but instead, it only seemed to be hurting Tina.

"I'll let you decide when I can come visit," Tina agreed. "Are we all in agreement?" she asked.

Chasity looked between the two of them and wondered if she was going to agree with their crazy scheme. She nodded and blew out a breath. "Fine," she spat, "but I'm not happy about any of this." wanted to laugh at the teen's attitude but knew better. For now, they had a plan to keep Chasity safe, and that was all that mattered.