I should have never left California,” I thought. Maybe I should run home. I can try to make it right with my dad, and if I can’t, at least Caleb would never find me there. That’s what I’ll do. I will leave while he is at work. ~I just have to make it home, and I will be free.
Driving home, I looked over to see my princess asleep.
She’d been gone five years, and now she was back with me, but not how I’d hoped. I had sworn to myself I would never let anything hurt her, yet here she was, battered and wounded, broken and in pain.
Once I found the sick fuck that did this to her, he was going to wish he’d never touched her.
I’d failed her once. I would never fail her again, not if I had to hunt him until the end of my days.
After Angel had been killed, I’d been too caught up in my own grief. I’d pushed Mia away, ignoring her when she talked about her art or going away to school. I’d thrown myself into the club and let my princess down. I regretted it every day.
I’d never forget how I felt five years ago, the day I’d come home from the run and found out she was gone. It was like the earth had opened up and tossed me into a hole that went straight down to Hell—and even as one of its Riders, I’d hit the bottom of that hole hard enough to break me.
“Oh, Angel, I wish you were here, darlin’. Mia really could use her mama right about now,” I whispered.
“You know you’re going to give yourself wrinkles if you keep making that face,” Mia croaked.
“I’m fine, princess. How are you? You doing all right?” I asked, glad to see her awake and hoping she hadn’t overheard me.
“Daddy, I know you. You’re blaming yourself for not being there to protect me.” She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
“You get that from your mom. She always knew how to read people so easily.” I sighed.
“Daddy, please don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.” She gave my hand a small squeeze.
“Hard not to, princess.” I brought her hand up to my mouth and placed a kiss on it.
We drove for another thirty minutes while Mia was awfully quiet. I looked over at her to see that she was looking out the window.
“You okay, princess?” I asked, wondering what she was thinking about.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Daddy.” She paused. “I think about her every day. I can’t help but think how she would handle all of this right now.” She sighed.
“She’d be searching to the end of this world, trying to find who did this. One thing’s for sure. I do know she’d be so proud of you,” I told her.
“Yeah, she was always sweet, but once you pissed her off, she became tough as nails. She’s the reason why I didn’t give up my art, even when I wanted to. She’s my strength.” She whispered the last part and sighed again.
I pulled off to the side of the road, reached over for her, and just held her. “I love you, Mia. I’m sorry I haven’t been the greatest dad to you.”
“I love you too, Daddy. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have run away from home the way I did and never called you for five years.” Mia lifted her head to look at me as tears came rushing down.
“You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” I let out a few tears as well.
For ten minutes, we held on to each other and set our emotions free.
“Okay, no more tears. Let’s go home before it gets too dark. We can talk more when we get there.” I wiped away her tears, then mine.
“I’d really like that, Daddy.” Mia gave me a soft smile.
This had to be the first time I’d seen my princess actually smile at me since Angel had died. Once the air was somewhat cleared between us, I started to drive again.
It began to get dark, so I reached into the pocket of my cut for my driving glasses. We still had another hour before we got to the clubhouse.
“All right, old man, pull over and let me take over. You hate night driving.” Mia sat up in her seat, looking at me.
I had to chuckle at her stern tone. “I’m good. I have my driving glasses now. You get some sleep. I’m fine.”
“Okay, Daddy,” she whispered.
Finally, she closed her eyes once more. After everything she’d been through, she needed all the rest she could get.
We got to the clubhouse at nine o’clock. Mia was still out, snoring lightly. I didn’t want to wake her up, so I got out of the truck quietly and went to the passenger side to pick her up. I carried her inside.
“Goodnight, princess. I’m so happy to have you home,” I whispered as I gently put her down on her bed. I’d kept her room exactly as it was when she left. I placed a kiss on her forehead and walked out quietly.
She was back with me. I vowed I’d never let anything bad happen to her again—and woe to anyone who got between us.
