Ashes

I laid a quick rap on Micaela's hotel door. I was anxious to tell her about our meeting, and I knew V and Dragon were equally anxious. When there was no response, I repeated the rap and called out her name. Had she decided to get a cab or have one of the prospects take her to do something? I was about to take out my phone and call to see when I heard a hesitant "Coming" from inside her room.

When the door eased open, I went on alert. It was clear she'd been crying. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen, and tear stains were still on her cheeks. Rushing to her, I wrapped her in my arms as I backed her to the bed. My brothers came in behind us and secured the door. I sat down with her on my lap. I rocked her. She was crying again. Vicious and Dragon were standing close by, looking worried.

"Shh, it's alright. Please tell us what's wrong?"

"Daredevil. Came. Same shit." she got out between hiccups.

"Baby, take a deep breath and hold it. I can barely understand you," I told her.

She inhaled deeply and held it for several seconds before letting it out. She did it many times before there were no more hiccups. Her tears seemed to have dried up as well.

"Say all that again," Dragon told her as he sat on the end of the bed. Vicious was crouched in front of us.

"My brother showed up here not long ago. I thought it was you, so I opened the door, only to find it was him. I let him in so people in the hall wouldn't hear us talking. It was a mistake. He was going on about us and how it was a mistake and wouldn't work. He told me you won't stay with me or remain faithful. That you're manwhores. And he's going to go to the club and get them to vote against you claiming me."

Outrage poured into me. Who the fuck did Daredevil think he was? "What the fuck?"

"Is he trying to get us to beat the shit out of him?" Dragon asked.

I was prepared for Vicious to explode, but he stunned me by keeping his cool. "Angel Lips, I don't know what bug your brother has up his ass, but he's full of it. We are committing to you, and we will remain faithful and with you. As for the club, we talked to the officers, and they weren't against it. Daredevil is grasping for whatever reason. I have no clue why he's so determined to put obstacles in the way of us."

"I don't get where he gets off saying we're manwhores and won't be faithful. He was no monk before he met Shain. I don't get why he's having such a problem, but Sin plans to talk to him tonight when he gets home. As soon as Sin does, we'll have church with everyone to ask them to vote you in as ours. Once they do, there's nothing he can do about it," I updated her.

"So, it sounds like it went well or at least okay. I asked Daredevil why we were different from him with Shain or even Phalanx and Bullet with Raine, but he never answered me. I hate being at odds with him, but he's not in charge of my life."

"We don't want you to be at odds with him either. Micaela, we can only control how we react and what we do." I said.

"I know, Scott, but it's still hard. I love him, and it hurts so much to disappoint him. I feel like I'm in limbo. I tried to be productive today and did nothing."

"You look tired. Did you sleep last night or today?" Vicious asked her as he rose. He grabbed a seat in the chair.

Now that he mentioned it, she had dark circles under her eyes, and her face appeared drawn. I smoothed my thumb over the line between her eyebrows. She was frowning. "You didn't, did you?" I guessed.

"I got a little. I was so worked up. And it's hard for me to sleep in a hotel for some reason. It always has been."

"That's why you need to get your stuff and come back to the compound with us. It's much more comfortable. You'll be safe," Dragon immediately chimed in.

"I can't, Jett. It'll only give Daredevil more access to harass me."

"No, he won't. If he tries it, we'll go to Sin. It was the officers' idea for you to come back. They offered one of the trailers to you unless you want to stay in one of ours," I explained, praying it would help to change her mind.

"They did?" she asked in surprise.

"They did. I gotta tell you. I didn't sleep worth a damn last night worrying about you here alone. For one, you have no idea what kind of weirdos are lurking around. Second, I hated having you so far away. Please, I need you to think about it," Vicious actually pleaded. Christ, had his PTSD episode rattled his brain or something? He was usually more abrasive.

"Axel, I'm safe. The door has that latch thingy, and I have a gun."

"You do?" I asked in surprise.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "I do. Come on, think of who my brothers and dad are. There's no way they'd let me not know how to shoot."

We laughed. She was right. Daredevil might be playing the overbearing brother right now, but her other brothers had been almost as protective, and her dad watched everything she did. We saw it while they were here, which reminded me of something else we needed to discuss—when to tell the rest of her family about us.

She wiggled, so I let her slide off my lap onto the mattress. My arms felt so empty. First, we had to get her to return to the compound.

"V is right. Sleep was crap for me too. You being here makes it harder," I told her.

"Jett, did you sleep badly, too?" she asked Dragon.

"I did. Hey, we get it. You want to avoid your brother. The compound is big enough. As long as you avoid the clubhouse when you're alone, there's no reason to see him. And there's another reason for you to come back. Having you here and us there makes it harder to spend time together and get to know each other. If we want to be in sync, we must practice communication and learn all about each other. I'd say the three of us know each other pretty well, but you don't know us or vice versa."

She remained quiet, but I knew she was thinking about what we'd said, especially the last thing Dragon mentioned. We waited. It was a good five minutes, at least, before she said something. When she did, I wanted to yell in happiness.

"You make a good point. I know coming here will be stressful. You have your jobs and probably things you need to do at the compound. I don't have any obligations. If the club votes in our favor, I'll have to get used to being around my brother, so I might as well start now. You talked me into it. I'll go back."

"Yeah," Dragon whooped. Vicious smiled and nodded. I squeezed her hand. "Then, let's get you packed and back home," I told her.