She was warm, strong, broken. But as I gathered Ariel in my arms and her sweet breath kissed my ear, I knew she was going to be all right.

“You got this?” I looked at Bear as I pulled Ariel from the trunk. She was woozy, her eyes not quite focused, but she was coming around.

Bear tossed the keys to me. I caught them one-handed. “Get her help. I’ll call a clean-up crew.”

Ariel pushed against me. “Shh. Baby, I got you.”

I put her on the ground and grabbed the pocket knife from my vest. Two quick jerks and the zip ties fell to the ground. She put a hand to her head. The bleeding had stopped but the cut looked ugly. She looked over at Marco’s lifeless body and a sob tore from her throat.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I’m going to get you to the hospital. You might have a concussion but you’re going to be all right. I promise, you’re going to be all right.”

“He killed your mother,” she said, her voice quiet and hoarse. “Oh Chase. He killed Rochelle. I didn’t know who he was. He came to the house just before I closed.”

“He came to the house?” My back went stiff. My fists clenched and my vision wavered. Marco had walked through the house again. For what? To gloat?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I turned to her. She was safe. I would make sure of it. But the thread by which her life had hung shattered me. “Ariel. Why didn’t you tell me about what you found?”

“I wanted to be sure,” she said. “I told Jenny not to tell anyone else about it. She was going to run it for DNA.”

Bear had been on his cell ever since I took Ariel out of that trunk. Her words struck him and he clicked off. “Jenny?” he said. “You took that evidence to Jenny? Who else knew about it?”

Ariel shook her head. I didn’t like her color one damn bit. “Later, Bear,” I said. “She needs a doctor.”

“No!” Ariel’s voice rang out strong and true. She struggled to her feet. I looped an arm under hers and helped her.

“Chase, hold up,” Bear said. “This is important. I need to make sure no more of our people are in harm’s way over this. Somebody tipped Rivas off to the results of that DNA test. It sure as shit wasn’t Jenny Guffy. I need to get Benz in on this, fast.”

“God,” Ariel said. “You don’t think this creep went after her too?”

“No. At least I hope not,” Bear said. He came forward and put a hand on Ariel’s shoulder. “I think maybe we’ve got loose lips in the PAPD. Jenny needs to know that. But honey, right now, you need to let Chase look after you.”

“What about him?” she said, drawing away from Marco’s body. She wasn’t scared. She didn’t freak out. Instead, Ariel’s eyes turned to cold steel.

Bear still had a hand on her arm. “Honey, what happened here tonight. It’s gonna raise some questions.”

“Bear,” I said, trying to pull Ariel away from him. She kept her feet planted firmly.

Bear met my eyes. No. Not this. I couldn’t let this shit touch Ariel anymore. But as she stood beside me, her back straightened and she lifted her chin.

“Nothing happened here tonight,” she said. Then she turned to me. “I don’t need to go to the hospital. I just need you to take me home.”

“Ariel …”

“I’m not getting in that car,” she said. “I can ride if you don’t go too fast.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My baby was strong as steel. Something in her eyes and her posture reminded me of Josie Bullock. I think Bear saw it too. His mouth twitched as he held back a smile.

“You let Josie look at you at least,” he said. “Will you do that for me, darlin’? She was an army medic back in the day. If she thinks you’re okay, then you’re okay.”

Ariel let out a hard breath. “Okay. Josie. I’ll see Josie.” Then she turned to me. “Will you please get me the fuck out of here, Chase?”

With my hand on her back, I led her away. With shaky legs, Ariel climbed on the back of my bike. She waved off the helmet. Though it killed me to take even that much of a risk with her, the side of her face had swollen and I knew wearing the thing would cause her agony.

Ariel’s grip was strong as I climbed on and started my engine. As we pulled out of the old parking lot, headlights came toward us. I waved a hand as Dom, Deacon, and E.Z. rushed by followed by two trucks. The cleanup crew had arrived.

I took the highway. With each mile, I worried about Ariel. But her grip around my waist stayed strong. God, she was made of iron, this woman. It killed me that my darkness had touched her tonight. She belonged in the light.

Mama Bear was already waiting outside the clubhouse, pacing and smoking a cigarette. She flicked it to the ground and stomped on it as she saw us approach. She ran to Ariel. Ariel slid off the bike and went with her, not even giving me so much as a glance backward as she let Mama Bear lead her into the clubhouse.

I dropped my head. My heart finally started beating again. With it, my fingers began to tremble. I felt the heavy weight of my gun where I’d pulled the trigger and sent Marco Rivas back to hell.

I walked to the edge of the woods. It was quieter here. I couldn’t hear the cars rushing down the highway. Rufus joined me, nuzzling his nose against my leg. It was like he knew something big had happened tonight. I reached down and scratched his ear.

“I got him, Mama,” I shouted up to the stars. “It’s over. You can dance now. He won’t ever hurt anyone again.” Rufus let out a howl, punctuating my prayer. Then a chill ran through me as the wind picked up and the trees rustled. She was here. I could feel it. I swear I could hear my mother’s lilting laughter carried on the wind.

I turned back to the clubhouse. Darkness had reached out with its poisonous tentacles and dragged my mother away one night. It had almost done the same thing to Ariel. I would not let another woman I loved suffer because of me. I knew what I had to do. Steeling myself against it, I walked back into the clubhouse.

Mama Bear was already finished with Ariel. She sat at the bar with a bandage wrapped around her head and a bag of ice pressed to her temple. There was blood on her blouse and my heart seized when I saw it.

No more darkness for her, I thought. Only the light she belonged in.

Mama caught my eye. She put her roll of gauze back on the bar and cleared her throat. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk. You’re gonna be okay, honey. You start feeling dizzy or nauseous, you let me know.”

“Thank you,” Ariel said, grabbing Mama Bear’s hand against her shoulder before she turned and went back toward the apartments. Ariel straightened her back and swiveled her bar stool so she faced me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, going to her. “I gotta say a thing, then I’ll take you home.”

“Chase,” she started. I put up a hand.

“I’m only gonna have the strength to say this once so let me get it out. What you did tonight ... what you went through ... it’s my fault. I never should have set foot in that fucking house on Hutchins Street. I should have left the past behind. Even if it meant I never found out who killed my mother, it would have kept you from being touched by all of this. That would have been worth it. You’re worth it. I’ve been selfish long enough. That ends tonight.”

“Chase.”

“I’m sorry. But I can fix this now. You asked me if there would ever come a day where the club took me away. The answer is yes. Probably, yes. And you don’t deserve that. You deserve something good and light. Not ... not ... this. Not death and darkness. So let me fix it. At least I can set things right.”

She considered my words. Tilting her head, she bit her lip. A beat passed, then she finally slid off the bar stool and came to me. Her jacket lay on the bar. She grabbed it and slid it around her shoulders. She was ready to go.

Ariel came to me. She stood inches from me, craning her neck to meet my eyes. “Chase?” she asked. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, baby.”

“Do I look like a fixer-upper to you?”

I reared back, the question taking me off guard. “What?”

“Do I look like someone who needs to be fixed? I mean, gash to the head aside and all that.”

“I don’t ... what?”

She slid her hands over my chest and laced them behind my neck. “I love you,” she said. “It’s probably a bad idea. Hell, I know it’s a bad idea. The things that happened in your past, baby, they don’t make you cursed. They aren’t your fault. Marco Rivas was going to get away with what he did. He told me that. I believe him. He wanted me gone so I couldn’t testify about finding your mother’s murder weapon. Without me, there’d be no chain of custody. No way to prove where it came from. And Bear’s right, he’s got to have some connection to the PAPD. You came for me. You’ll always come for me, won’t you?”

“What?”

“You’ve already asked me that, baby. Marco Rivas can’t hurt you or me or anyone you love again. I’ll be damned if I’m going to have any kind of hand in letting the world know what happened tonight. It’s over. It’s finished. And I know what I want.”

She went up on her tiptoes and kissed me. I sank into it, lifting her off the ground. I couldn’t believe my ears so I listened with my heart.

“You’re not getting rid of me,” she whispered between kisses. “I love you. Do you hear me? I love you and that’s just all there is to it.”

Finally, we both came up for air. I marveled at this incredible, strong, beautiful woman in front of me. I smoothed the hair away from her face and smiled.

“What,” she said. “You don’t have anything to say?”

I kissed her one more time. “I think I love you. I think you’re crazy. And I think maybe you hit your head harder than you think.”