Deke threw his leg over his bike and waited for Cassie to climb on the back. Where she belongs. Deke fought the grin that threatened to show Gator grinned at her and revved his motor. “Glad to see you Spitfire.” Gator nodded.

Cassie looked over at him. The name was something that surprised her. She then gave him a dazzling smile. She leaned forward and whispered in Dekes ear, “Can we stop somewhere for the night? I need some sleep. I’m wiped out.”

Deke turned to look her over. “Are you all right?”

“It’s just been some hellacious days I don’t want to repeat.” Cassie shook her head. “I’m just tired of all the bullshit.” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “And I’m going to miss that girl.”

Deke patted her hand and started his engine. She held on while he moved down the street. Almost at the outskirts of town, he pulled into the parking lot of a motel. Deke and most of the guys disappeared into the office. Gator and the others waited with her. A few minutes later, Deke came back and grabbed her hand. Leading the group, he found the door that matched his key card. He motioned to the next several doors for his guys to go to. Then he and Cassie went inside.

Cassie followed and flopped down on the bed. Groaning, she rolled over and closed her eyes.

Deke flicked the keycard with his finger then sat down beside her. “I need to ask you something.”

Cassie opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Why did you go with Sullivan so easy this morning?”

Cassie stared at him for a moment. “He promised he would find Peaches’ family. I had to give him one chance to keep his word. When he told me he had to put us both in witness protection after we testified, I knew he wouldn’t keep his word. We were getting ready to leave when you guys showed up.”

“Did you know who she belonged to?”

She shook her head. “No, but I knew where to find the evidence I needed to find out.”

“Where was the evidence?”

“In the secret room in the Pierce house.”

“How did you know that for sure?”

“I’ve been in that room,” Cassie explained. “I was too young to realize it the first time I was there. But I know more now.”

“And if old lady Pierce caught you?” Deke growled. “What would happen then?”

Cassie shrugged. “She would have killed me, I suppose. Or she would have tried, but I’m not the scared little girl she once knew. I’ve learned to take care of myself.”

“Why did you tell Leon where the room is?”

“I wanted someone to find it. I hadn’t gotten the chance to tell Sullivan yet, but I wanted someone to know.”

Deke reached out, grasped her face with his hands, and gazed into her eyes. He leaned over her and pressed his lips to hers. Cassie opened her mouth and groaned as his tongue slipped in. Deke’s hands slipped under her shirt and he passed his fingers over her breasts. Squeezing them, he pushed her shirt up and uncovered her. Pulling the cups of her bra down, Deke moved his mouth down to suck on her nipple. “I missed you and this,” he whispered close to her skin.

Cassie arched her back as his hand slipped down to her pants. He unbuttoned her jeans and his hand disappeared inside them.

She felt his fingers bury themselves deep inside her body. Cassie gasped and moaned.” And—I missed this…” her words were breathless.

Deke buried his finger deep then added another and another. When he was thrusting three fingers deep inside her, he could feel her respond. His cock throbbed against his zipper. He pulled away and whispered, “I need to be inside you now.”

Cassie pulled away and tugged her clothes off.

Deke joined her and settled himself between her legs. Without a word, he thrust his cock deep into her.

Cassie closed her eyes and moaned as thrust after thrust had her ready to explode. “I’m so close.”

Deke ramped up the speed and hardness of his hips. He felt the zing of his climax approaching and he thrust even faster. He felt her body tighten and he pulsed in her deep.

Cassie wrapped her legs around his waist and held on, as Deke sank into her.

Deke finally rolled to her side. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her close. “I could get used to that,” he whispered as he kissed her temple.

Cassie sighed. “I don’t know how long we can be together. Sullivan and the Feds won’t just let me go. Peaches will have her father to protect her, so they will more than likely come after me.”

Deke leaned over her and gazed into her eyes. “They’d have to get through the entire club to get to you. We will protect you from them.”

Cassie sighed. “I know you’ll try but I don’t want anyone dying for me. You guys mean the world to me and I don’t want anyone hurt. At best, you all could go to jail.”

“What are you going to do?” Deke felt his heart slow, then race up again.

“I don’t know…I don’t want to run again. I’m just tired of it all.”

“Let’s not worry about it tonight,” Deke suggested. Reaching over, he clicked off the lamp throwing the room into darkness. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Cassie snuggled in close to his warm, hard chest and closed her eyes. Drifting off to sleep, she felt safe again.

It was still dark outside when Deke heard footsteps coming toward his door. Slipping out of bed, he pulled on his pants and reached for his weapon. He heard the footsteps stop and a light tapping on his door. He crept close and listened. He heard his own name being whispered.

“Deke, its Iceman. I need to talk to you.”

Deke reached out and turned the knob. Very slowly, he opened the door a crack and saw Iceman standing there. Iceman motioned for him to come out and Deke slipped out of the room.

Closing the door behind him, he walked down the hall a couple of steps. “What can I do for you?” he asked the other man.

“Your girl’s information was dead on.”

“Meaning?”

“Before we left tonight, Leon asked me to check out the house. He wanted me to bring the bitch back to him. Her and any evidence I could find.” Iceman shook his head. “We hit the mother lode. I’m guessing he’s going to use the information he found and either do the right thing and shut down this baby ring or take it over. If he takes it over, he’s going to lose a lot of credibility. Nobody likes baby porn. I’d rather deal with legal women than kids. I also think if he doesn’t shut it down, your girl will come back after him.”

Deke grinned. “She just might.”

Iceman shook his head. “I ain’t never seen anyone like her before. I can see why Gator calls her the Spitfire. You tell her if she don’t want you anymore, she should come find me. I’ll treat her like a queen.”

“Not fucking likely.” Deke growled.

Iceman held up his hands. “No offence man.” He grinned as he shifted his feet and leaned against the wall. “On another note, thanks for including me in this rescue. I made another contact tonight and it never hurts to have that family behind you. I can still cut you in for a percentage.”

Deke shook his head. “I don’t want it. I told you that earlier. All I wanted was to get my girl back. You keep all the glory.” He hesitated then asked, “I will ask for something you could give me.”

“And what would that be?”

“Safe passage through your city when Cassie comes back to see Peaches.”

“That’s a no brainer man.” Iceman grinned. “If anything happens to her, I think old man Vincinti would crucify the person responsible.”

“He just might,” Deke agreed. “I haven’t heard the whole story yet, but the girls have more secrets they need to tell.”

Iceman shook his head. “Man, when you started telling their tale, I got sick to my stomach. I know some people are cruel but what those two girls went through, man.”

“I’m worried about the badges and the Feds and what they’ll do when they realize the girls are missing.”

Iceman shrugged. “They can look all they want but if old man Vincinti doesn’t want them to find Peaches, they won’t find her.

“What about old lady Pierce?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that bitch either,” Iceman hinted with a gleam in his cold blue eyes. “She took his baby girl and mistreated her. That won’t go unnoticed in his world. In fact, I’d hate to be in her shoes right now. With the cops, she may have gotten a deal but with him?” He shrugged. “I don’t think so. She’ll be lucky to save her own skin.”

“We’ll be going back to New York tomorrow,” Deke informed the other man.

Iceman held out his hand.

Deke grasped it.

“Safe travels man. Keep the home fires burning and watch over that woman of yours, she’s something special.”

Deke nodded. “I will. Take care friend and if you need our help don’t hesitate to call.” He watched as Iceman walked down the hall. Slipping back into his room he noticed Cassie was still sleeping. Taking off his pants, he slipped back into bed.

“Did Iceman get the bitch?” Cassie whispered.

Deke felt his heart jerk. “I thought you were sleeping. Yeah, he got her and he took her to the Vincinti’s.”

“Let’s hope he does the right thing.” Cassie closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

A few hours later, a knock rattled on the door. Deke jumped up and looked around. At first, he didn’t know where he was. The knock sounded again. He pulled his pants on and answered the door.

It was Gator and he looked pissed.

“What the hell?” Deke growled.

“She’s gone boss.”

“Who? Who is gone?” Deke ran his fingers through his hair and glanced toward the bed. It was empty. His Cassie was gone. She’d left him during the night. He looked back at Gator. “How did you know?”

Gator pushed a letter into his hands. “She left this under my door.”

Deke wandered back to the bed and sat down. He sighed as he gazed at the letter in his hand.

Gator, I’m sorry but I can’t stay. I can’t and won’t put anyone’s life in danger. Life is too precious to throw it away for someone else. I know Deke won’t understand my decision, so please tell him I love him. And to give him up is killing me but I have to do this. I’ll stay here for a while until I know Peaches is taken care of and maybe someday, I’ll come back to him. Someday, when I know no one is looking for me. When no one remembers the name Josette Rearden. I hope he can forgive me.

Cassie

Deke crumbled the letter in his hand. He felt a burning in his eyes and a hole in his soul.

“What are you going to do?” Gator finally asked.

“I’m gonna find her,” Deke vowed.

Gator sucked in a deep breath. When he exhaled, he asked, “Are you sure you want to do that?”

Deke looked up at his second in command. “I can’t do anything less. I need her.”

Gator grinned. “I was hoping you would say that.” He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s find your spitfire woman and get the hell out of Dodge. I miss my Reva.”

Deke threw on his shirt and checked his phone for messages. He didn’t find any, so he called Iceman.

“Hello?” Iceman answered.

“Iceman, do you have the number for Calderone or Leon?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Cassie left in the night. We stopped at a motel and she slipped away. She left a note saying she was going to stay here and watch over Peaches. I need to know where she might go. I need to find her.”

Iceman sighed. “Damn…that girl is a bold one. Do you need some help looking for her?”

“No I just need a number to call, so I can talk to Peaches.”

Iceman gave him the number and when he called Leon answered. He explained that he needed to talk to Peaches and that it was urgent. When Peaches got on the phone, Deke told her what happened.

She began to cry. “You have to find her.”

“I will baby girl but I need your help,” Deke insisted. “Where would she go? She said she wanted to watch over you until she knew you were going to be okay.”

He could hear Peaches weeping on the phone. “Okay, I know of a couple of places she might go. One place is a cave down by the water. Under the old McFlint’s Fishery warehouse. We stayed there for a while. If she isn’t there, she might be on the ridge above the city. There’s a cave up there by a cell tower. Either place is isolated and she will be able to see you coming. Please let me know if you find her. I need to know she’s safe.”

“Peaches, I think you need to know something,” Deke spoke quietly. “I love her and I think she loves me too. She left because she doesn’t want anyone to get hurt on her behalf.”

“I thought that might be her reason.” Peaches sighed. “Sullivan and the Feds won’t drop this thing. But my grandfather told me this morning he would take care of the police. They won’t be coming after either of us, but Cassie doesn’t know that.”

“When I find her I’ll tell her that.”

“I hope you can love her enough to get past her scars,” Peaches told him. “Some of them you won’t be able to see and they run deep.”

“I can do that,” Deke whispered. “All I ask is that she gives me a chance.”

“When you find her, make her believe that. She needs someone who cares about her. She needs someone who will show her what love is all about. I think she needs you.”

“I need her too,” Deke admitted.

“Then you find her and never let her go,” Peaches whispered.

“That’s the plan, baby girl.”

“Good luck,” Peaches said before she hung up.

Deke ended the call and looked over at his second in command. “Take half the men and search the ridge above the city. There’s a cave by the cell tower.”

“Uh, Deke,” Gator paused. “Iceman and his boys are waiting outside. I think they want to look for her too.”

Deke got to his feet and went outside.

Iceman and twenty of his men were mounted on their bikes waiting for him.

“This is not your business man,” Deke stated.

“But it is my city,” Iceman reminded him.

“All I want to do is find her and take her home. We won’t be here longer than necessary.”

Iceman shrugged. “I understand that man. I just want to know she’s okay.”

Deke stared at the other man for a few minutes. His spitfire really drew people in. He knew this all too well. She was an amazing, courageous woman and he couldn’t really hold it against the Prez of The Sinners. Finally, he nodded. “I have half my men under Gator, searching one area and I’m taking the rest with me to search another area. “

“My men can split up and go with you.”

“Tell your men no one touches her,” Deke insisted. “She doesn’t like to be touched.”

Iceman chuckled. “I remember very well. They all are too smart to wanna beat down from her.” His cool eyes twinkled with amusement. He turned to his men and announced, “Half of you go with his second in command, Gator. The other half come with Deke and me. No one touches the girl. Just try to talk her into letting you bring her back here. If you guys find her, she can ride with Gator.”

Their engines roared to life and bike after bike tore out of the parking lot. There were a lot bikers in these two clubs who were willing to do whatever they could to bring the Spawn’s Spitfire back safely. They all knew her story and she had their solemn admiration

Deke and Iceman were the last to leave. They took the lead and circled around the city to the water’s edge. Parking their bikes in the warehouse parking lot, the men made their way to the water’s edge and began searching for the cave Peaches spoke about.

“She worth all of this to you?” Iceman asked.

“Yeah she is,” Deke told him. “She’s come to mean a lot to me. My life would be pretty empty without her.”

Iceman grinned. “I hope someday to meet someone like that.”

“Boss, I think I found the cave,” one of Iceman’s men called out.

They both turned and saw the man pointing to a darkened spot nearby. Deke and Iceman rushed to it and when they got there, they peered into what looked like a cavern. Deke looked around a bit and found a flashlight hidden beside the door. He leaned over, picked it up and was surprised to find that it worked. “Someone has been here.” He glanced at Iceman.

“Let’s hope it’s your girl.”

Deke shone the light and it did little to disperse the darkness of the cavern ahead of them. Making their way inside, they both saw fresh footprints in the dirt.

Coming around a corner, they saw a camping area. In the middle of the floor was the makings of a small fire. A log had been dragged inside to sit on. A backpack leaned against the opposite wall and there were several other flashlights sitting in the dirt.

“How did you find me?” Cassie’s voice asked from the darkness.

“Peaches told me about this place,” Deke admitted. “How could you leave like that?”

“I told you I didn’t want anyone to get hurt on my behalf.” She came out of the shadows.

Iceman paused then said, “I’ll meet you outside.”

After he was gone, Deke pulled her to him. “I’m never letting you go,” he whispered in her ear. “I love you girl, don’t you know that?”

Cassie sighed. “How can you love something like me?”

Deke leaned back and stared at her. “What do you mean something like you?”

Tears were rolling down her cheeks. “People in my past tried their damndest to break me. They beat me, scarred me and carved me up. They tore chucks of flesh from my body and ripped my soul apart.” Her voice was little more than a whisper. “How can anyone love that?”

“How can I not love you?” Deke asked. “You may be almost broken but you learned to mend yourself. You are the most honest person I’ve ever met. You are brave and kind hearted. Loyal to the bone. You cared for and about Peaches most of your life. You brought her home to her family when no one else would. You learned to take care of yourself and other kids like you when they would have been abused or worse. You stood up for them and took the beatings when it should have happened to someone else. Those kids didn’t see you as broken, they saw you as their hero.”

Cassie sniffed. “But I’m no hero.”

“I’m no hero either, baby. I’m just a man who loves you. I need you in my life. You complete me in a way no other woman could or ever will.”

Cassie turned and stared at him. “Really? You love me?”

Deke smiled. “I do love you.”

“But I don’t know love.”

“Then I’ll teach you,” Deke assured her. “We can learn about love together.”

Cassie trembled in his arms. “I want to learn. I want you to teach me but I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“I’m scared that I’ll never be the person you want me to be.”

Deke chuckled. “I only want you to be yourself. I’m not looking to change you. I love you for who you are right now.”

“I’ve been alone for so long,” Cassie whispered.

“So have I,” Deke admitted. “I know about being alone. I also know about finding something better. I found you and I don’t want to lose you. Baby, I can’t let you go. I can’t go back to being alone anymore. I need you.” His arms tightened around her.

“I think I need you too.” She paused then said, “I think I have to tell you something.”

“What?”

“When we make love I have a feeling you’re holding back. I’m not sure what it is, but I can feel it.”

Deke sighed and laid his head on hers. “I didn’t want to scare you. Sometimes, my loving can get a little wild.”

“Will you show me?” Cassie whispered. “I want so much to learn how to love you, but I can’t if you hold that part of you back.”

Deke kissed her temple. “Okay, I won’t hold it back anymore. Come on baby girl, let’s go home.” He turned and led the way into the sunshine. “We’ve got a lot to explore.” He squeezed her ass.

Cassie jumped a little and then she grinned at him.

Everyone was waiting for them in the parking lot.

Iceman smiled when he saw her and nodded at Deke. “Your men will meet you at the crossroads outside of town. Have a safe trip back.”

Deke held out his hand. “Thank you.”

Then Iceman shook his hand.

Cassie broke away from Deke and went over to Iceman. She leaned in close and gently kissed his cheek. “Thank you for helping my friend Peaches and me last night. I appreciate it greatly.”

Iceman smiled. “You bet little Spitfire, it was my pleasure.” Then he revved his engine and peeled out of the parking lot, followed by his men.

Cassie went over to Deke’s bike and even though she was small in stature, she managed to swing her leg over the tank. “Come on boys,” she called out. “Let’s go home.”

His men all halted and swung their startled gazes up to the petite spitfire of a woman, sitting on the Prez’s bike.

Deke shook his head and grinned as he joined her. He started his engine and rolled out of the parking lot.