Zahirah

I knew I needed to snap out of this funk or whatever it was that I was in. It had been two days since I found out what Faheem had done not only to Zafir and Nova but also to his own sweet father. How could he have been such a monster, and I hadn't known it? As annoying as he had been, I would've never thought he would kill someone, especially over something so stupid. Money. And there was nowhere close to the amount he thought we had. The truth was, I'd give it all to him if it would bring back those I loved.

Twisted was amazing to me. He didn't tell the kids what I did, of course, but he did say I had gotten bad news and needed time to process it. They were all quietly going about their days, letting me have alone time. It was Monday now, so they were at school. Twisted was home with me. I tried to get him to go to work or the clubhouse, but he was stubborn and refused. I was determined to snap out of this today so he could resume his normal routine. Besides, I had work of my own to do.

I didn't just sit and think. I kept busy by unpacking. Twisted told me to put anything anywhere that I thought looked best. Since he had next to no decor or personal items displayed, it was easy to do. He helped as much as I allowed. Putting things away up high or hanging the drapes, I let him do it.

Now, standing in the middle of the living room, I took a final perusal. It looked a lot like our living room at the old house, but his architecture shone through. I thought it complimented my stuff better than the old house. The fact he'd been thoughtful enough to have it painted in the colors we liked was so sweet, along with him sitting down at the computer with the kids and shopping with them for other things they might need or want for their rooms. I'd cautioned them to go easy, but he wasn't having that. Everything about him was sweet in some way, even his overprotectiveness, which sometimes made me want to scream. Who would ever imagine a tough biker was so soft inside? Of course, I would keep that a secret. No ruining his badass image. That thought made me giggle.

"What's so funny, baby?" Twisted said from behind me. I jumped. I hadn't seen or heard him enter the room. For such a large man, he sure was sneaky. I'd have to remember that. His arms came around me before I was able to turn. He kissed my neck. Right below my ear, which he knew drove me crazy, but in a good way. I couldn't hold in my shiver, which made him chuckle.

"You're terrible," I told him.

"You love it. Now, what was the giggle for? Don't you like how the room looks?"

I heard concern underneath his words. I shook my head. "I love the room. Actually, I was thinking about how our stuff looks better in this house. What I was giggling about, if you must know, is how sweet you are and how I have to keep that quiet so I won't ruin your badass image."

He growled, which made me shiver again, and then he nipped my ear. "Storm, you keep that shit tightly under wraps. Do you want me to be laughed at in town? Run out of the club? Having to hide for the rest of my life?" The way he said it, I knew he was teasing, so I went along with it.

"Oh my, does that mean we'll have to move to another state, change our names and enter Witness Protection?"

"Damn right, it does. I'm a tough, ass whipping-fuck-you-up-rather-than-look-at-you biker. I'm one hundred percent badass. There's no sweet in there."

"Forgive me. I'll have to remember that and not expect it."

I felt his lips on my ear again, only this time it was to nibble and then kiss it. "My love, you can always expect it. We just won't tell anyone. I have only those soft feelings for you, the kids, and my club family. I guess we might let the club see a tiny bit, but the rest is only for you and the kids. I'm glad to see a smile on your gorgeous face. You've been worrying me."

I sighed. "I know I have, and I'm sorry."

"Do you wanna talk about it? Doing what you did is a lot to process. It fucks with your head, I know." He guided me to the couch and then sat down, bringing me down to sit next to him. He was holding my hands and staring deeply into my eyes.

"I've been thinking, but not about what you think. I honestly have felt zero regret about ending Faheem's worthless life. What's been preying on my mind is how he took my family away and his father. You never got to meet Mihran. You would've liked him. He was like a second father to us. The way he helped us when we got here was amazing. When he died, I cried as much as I did when I lost Ab , Zafir, and Nova. Why didn't I know Faheem was evil?"

"Babe, I've learned after all these years you rarely see those who're evil. They're usually very good at hiding it, which allows them to get away with what they do. I know the old ladies told you what club business means. Well, it's true. I won't tell you about it unless it's best you know to keep you safe, but I will say that lots of times, our club business deals with eliminating evil people like him. We do it in the best manner to achieve them never being able to do it again."

"So you kill people."

"What happened to Faheem isn't the only way to handle things. Sometimes, it's better to find a way to send them to prison, let others deal with them, or ruin them somehow."

The way he phrased it, he didn't admit they killed, but I read between the lines. "You said you do it to evil people. I assume they're the only ones you do stuff like that and worse to?"

"Only them. We never do anything to harm innocent people. Our goal is to protect the innocent."

"Your club is pretty amazing then. It seems I gained way more than I thought when I found you."

"Baby, you got me, my whole club, and several others you haven't even met yet. We're not the only ones who do this kind of work. We'll have a party soon and invite the other clubs and our friends so you can meet them. You'll find them a lot like us. Now, back to what has been eating at you. The best way to grieve, I think, is to talk about the ones you lost. Why don't we curl up here, and you tell me about them? Do you think they would've liked me and my club? Or would your dad and brother have tried to run me off?"

His questions led us into an hours-long talk about my memories of them and what they would've thought of my life with him. I knew they would've been taken aback initially that I was involved with a biker, but once they got to know him and his club, they would've heartily approved of them. As we talked, my heart became less heavy. He made me laugh at some memories and cry at others, but by the time we were done. I was exhausted, but in a good way.

He gave me a gentle, though thorough kiss. My body was waking up to it when a chime started. I broke it and gave him a puzzled look. He grimaced. "Sorry, that was my alarm so we wouldn't forget to go pick up the kids. I thought I should set one for weekdays, just in case we get busy and forget."

"Good idea, but you're not that mesmerizing. I won't forget again. That was a fluke," I teased him.

"Oh, really. Well, we'll just have to see if I can make you forget everything else. Tonight, I'll accept your challenge. Prepare to eat those words," he said with a smirk.

Even knowing I lied, I'd keep up the pretense just to experience what he had in store. I knew I'd never not enjoy immensely whatever he did. "Challenge accepted," I murmured before standing. He was right. We did need to get going to pick them up. His growl followed me out of the room.