Page 8 of Ashes’ Addiction

“But, I’m not an old lady and I don’t want to be a slut. Where does that leave me? I’m not either of those.”

“There’s another kind of person who spends time around the Sons, and Winter started out that way, kind of. Winter was the princess of an allied club looking for help.”

“Princess?” Miranda straightened in her seat, clearly interested.

“The daughter of a brother, or in her case, the president. She calls herself a patchling. I’d never heard the term, but it got me thinking. Patchling isn’t a bad term, but I’m leaning toward something else for the Sons to call their kids.” He was going to keep it to himself until he had a chance to use it. That could be years, but with the way Winter and Bishop were all over each other, he didn’t think he’d have to wait that long to refer to a child as Sin Spawn.

“What?”

He shook his head. “I’m keeping it to myself for now.”

“Why?” she asked with a frown.

“Because I don’t want it leaked. I want to casually drop it in conversation and watch everyone’s reaction.” He chuckled.

“You like to stir shit, don’t you?”

“Sometimes. I don’t do it to be malicious, just to have a little fun.” He squeezed the hand he still held. “Don’t get me wrong, Tiny Warrior. I can be fierce when I need to be. I can protect you from anything that comes, but I do my best not to hurt my family, if I can help it.” He took a deep breath, bit his lip, and knew it was time to bring this up. “When we get to the clubhouse, my president is going to want to know what happened. I’m sure he’s going to ask what happened and anything you can tell us about what that fucker did to you and if he told you what his plans were. I haven’t asked because I don’t want you to have to go through it twice, but you should be prepared. He will ask for way more than what Doc wanted to know earlier. There may be several people there, I don’t know who he’ll want present.”

He glanced over and saw the apprehension on her face.

“They won’t hurt you. That shithead can never hurt you again. I promise that. But they’ll need to know everything you do, got me?” He squeezed her hand again.

She didn’t say anything but turned to stare out the window, her hand clutching his like it was a lifeline.

Chapter Eight

Miranda ignored what felt like vultures dive-bombing in her stomach as she climbed out of the pickup and followed Ashes into a huge building that looked more like a warehouse than any kind of club. But if they had bedrooms in there, she guessed it would have to be big.

“Tiny Warrior, I need to go talk to Bulldog. Take a seat. I’ll be back before long,” Ashes said a moment after they stepped inside. She stood still and watched his back disappear down a hallway.

When she could no longer see him, she scanned the room, looking for somewhere to sit like Ashes had instructed. Sofas and recliners formed a seating area near one wall, and one section of the room had tables and chairs scattered through the space, with booths and more tables along another wall. She headed in that direction, sat in one of the booths, sitting sideways and pushing her back up against the wall.

“Hey. I’m Winter. I saw you come in with Ashes. You knew Kevin, didn’t you?” A tall blonde woman with a cute pixie cut that reminded Miranda of Ruby Rose slid into the bench on the other side of the table.

Miranda stared at her for a moment, wondering why she wanted to know, then something clicked. Winter. This was Bishop’s old lady. Miranda scanned the room, looking for Bishop, but not knowing what he looked like, he could be standing next to her and if she couldn’t see the name on his patch, she wouldn’t have known it. She turned back to the woman on the other side of the table and dipped her head once.

She didn’t want to have to go through it all twice, but could she tell this woman it was none of her business or would that get her thrown out on the street? Not sure what to do or what she couldn’t do, Miranda pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them. Hoping the woman would get the hint, she lowered her head until her face was hidden and stayed that way. She didn’t care if she looked like a child, she just wanted to be left alone. For a split-second she missed the hole where she’d spent the last several months. It was quiet and she knew that as long as Kevin didn’t come around, she wouldn’t have to answer a million questions.

She couldn’t keep from hearing the voices as people around her spoke, but she did her best to block them out. She didn’t want to hear questions. She didn’t want to hear what they might say about her. All she wanted was to disappear. Failing that, she pulled herself into that quiet space in her mind. The same place she’d gone to hide when Kevin had come around with his belts and whips.

“Tiny Warrior, Miranda, can you hear me?” Ashes voice penetrated the mental cocoon she’d built herself. She blinked, then lifted her head. Faces surrounded her—Ashes, Doc, Sparrow, and more she didn’t know. Hunching her shoulders, Miranda ducked her head and tried to pull in on herself as much as she could, once more burying her face behind her knees. She’d always tried to make herself a smaller target.

“Give ‘em some space,” Doc yelled.

Feet shuffled, some of the noises of people seemed to fade.

“All right, they’re gone.” Ashes’ voice was gentle, as if he was trying not to spook her. The seat beneath her shifted. Miranda didn’t look up but assumed he must be sitting beside her. “It’s just you and me, at least right here.”

Miranda slowly lifted her head. Sure enough, there were other people in the room but they were no longer surrounding the table, watching her like some kind of bug.

“You all right?” Ashes asked, his arms folded across his chest, as if he was going to be having a word with whoever had scared her.

“Yeah.”

“Who was it?” His voice was deep and gruff. He sounded angry. Kevin had taught her an angry man was something to stay as far from as she could. She used her hands on the seat to push herself tighter against the wall as her heart hammered in her chest. He was too close. If he tried to hit her, she was stuck. She had nowhere to go. And from the size of his fists, it would hurt. A lot. “Whoa, whoa, hold up there, Tiny Warrior.” His voice had gone soft and soothing again. “I’m not going to hurt you. You don’t need to get away from me. I want to know who upset you so I can make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He set a gentle hand on top of her knee. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Miranda’s face went hot. “I don’t know.” She took a deep breath. “I think it was just too much.”