Page 11 of Rough Trip

It made Mia uncomfortable; obviously, that was the point. Mia wanted to be anywhere other than where she was. She wished a sinkhole would open up under her and swallow her whole. It was the least she deserved.

“Fiona, I cannot tell you how sorry I am about the mess I have caused, truly I am so sorry for everything and although I had thought it would be best for me to leave town, Sage has convinced me to stay. I would really love to stay a Hell Kat. I've felt at home for the first time in a long time,” she pleaded.

"How can we trust you? " Fiona asked, “after everything you have done?”

"I would do anything to prove to you that you can trust me again. I've got nothing left. All I've ever wanted was to live my life but I always found my way into the wrong group. I'm done with that. I feel like the Hell Kats is where I need to be, I feel that if I belonged here again, I could do anything in life. I want to be an artist, it has been my dream for the longest time and I just want to be a loyal Hell Kat." Mia could feel a burning sensation in her chest as she spoke of finally working on her dream, she felt passion ignite inside her. She knew Sage had been right about her needing to see Fiona. She didn’t want to make it anywhere more than she wanted to make it within the Hell Kats.

"So you want to leave town and become an artist?" Fiona asked. She looked at Mia with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, my only chance of doing anything would be to start fresh, where no one would know me but I want to stay with the Hell Kats,” she said.

"Despite my best interest and possibly the interest of the Screaming Demons, I like you. You had a way when you worked as a Hell Kat, and don’t think we didn’t know about you not pleasing anybody because we’ve known the whole time but you show a lot of fire and I like that but I still don't know if I can trust you,” Fiona said.

“Please, Fiona, I'll do anything to prove my loyalty." Mia couldn't walk away from this without a fight. She felt like the Hell Kats were her family. She hadn’t known anyone knew about her not sleeping with anyone. She had thought she was getting away with it because no one had said anything to her about it before. Clearly, they weren’t that mad about it though if Fiona just complimented her.

"There is something in Florida you could help with,” Fiona said after a long time.

“Yes, anything. I’ll do anything,” Mia said as she hung on to Fiona’s every word.

“You’ll need to help clean up the mess that is the Omens. There are a few of them still trying to overrun us in the city and they need to leave,” Fiona said. “You’d need to expand our club. Everyone must know that the Screaming Demons will never back down and that we are here to stay,” Fiona said.

“I’ll do it if it can prove my loyalty is to you and the Screaming Demons, I’ll do it,” Mia said.

Fiona smiled at that. “That’s what I like to hear,” she said. “You will leave today.”

"Mia, you can leave now. I'd like to talk to Sage alone,” Fiona said.

"No problem, I'll wait for you outside,” she said to Sage.

“Alright," he said, not looking back at her as she left.

Mia turned and left the room. Once the door closed behind her, Fiona turned to Sage.

"I need you to go with her,” she said matter of factly.

"What? But my job is here,” he says. He can’t believe she is doing this to him. It wasn’t his job to play babysitter. He did not sign up for this.

“Yes, but I need you to do this for me. It is very important that nothing goes wrong with this,” Fiona said. She looked at him as a mother would look at a child, very stern and extremely powerful.

"I understand that but surely there will be people in Florida who could do that,” Sage argued. “I’m not a babysitter.”

"Please don't fight me on this, Sage. I trust you and I know you will do anything to make sure nothing turns sour. I will not send Mia without you,” Fiona said. She proceeded to stare him down. Sage had to agree, he knew there was no getting out of it.

Fiona really knew how to press his buttons. She knew Sage would want Mia to get out safely and that he would do what was needed to make it happen.

"You're doing this on purpose," he said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Sage,” she said with a smile, "I just need you to make sure Mia gets the job done."

"Hmm," Sage said with a knowing look. "Sure you do. Well, I suppose you know I can't say no."

"That's what I like to hear,” Fiona said with a clap of her hands. "Now get going, she won't wait forever, " she said while waving him out.

Sage always knew his boss had been keeping an eye on him but he had never realized that she had seen him express any of his feelings toward Mia. He may have never said anything to anyone about how he felt when he was around her but clearly people could pick up on it without him even knowing. He had clearly messed up. How could he be alone with Mia for a few days, holed up in hotel rooms together? It sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. His feelings for Mia had continued to grow the more he was around her. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself and knew what Mia was like. She had always been the flirty one out of the two of them and he could only imagine what she would be like when it was just the two of them, no one for him to turn to when she became too much.

He walked out of the building to find Mia standing, waiting patiently by his bike.

"I'll drop you off at your place so you can pack a small bag of clothes. We have limited space on the bike, and then I'll come pick you up in 20 minutes," he said while handing her the spare helmet.