Page 62 of Charger

Chloe tugs at my jeans. “Mommy, I want to ride the Ferris wheel.”

“Okay, honey. One sec.” All three of us walk over to the booth. Tank is the first to introduce himself.

“What’s up, squirt?” He kneels down and Chloe gives a big tug to his hair.

“You have long hair like mine. Can I braid it?” Everyone laughs.

Tank pretends like he’s thinking. “Sure thing, squirt. But no pink hair ties. Not my color, deal?” She nods her head violently and giggles. We introduce Chloe to everyone around the booth. Each member spends a couple of minutes with her, telling her how pretty she is and how they like her outfit. It’s comforting, knowing how different it is with them versus the Skulls. The club never hurt Chloe, neither did Venom, but the vibe was different. Maggie has that motherly touch, even if she is dripping in leather and chains. I look over at Zach, who’s watching me. He knows when I lose myself in thought. He knows me better than anyone. I know it’s going to come up eventually. I just want to avoid the subject of Venom for as long as I can. Or even better, maybe he won’t find out.

“Hey, pretty girl. You good?” Zach rubs my arm with a smile.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Can we go on the Ferris wheel now?” Chloe begs. Zach scoops her up in a cradle.

“I bet you’d rather go on the scrambler. Now that…” He taps her nose. “Sounds like more fun.”

Chloe gives him a questionable look. “Daddy, are you scared of the Ferris wheel?”

I try to hold in a laugh. “Yeah, Zach, are you scared?”

“Me, scared? Fu… I mean, heck no, I’m not scared.”

The guy takes our tickets and we climb into the bucket seat of the Ferris wheel. Zach stiffens immediately, grabbing onto the sides. Chloe and I share a look, then smile.

“So, you’re scared of heights? How come I never knew this?” His biceps bulge with each grasp. The ride starts and Zach takes a deep breath in.

“Guess we never went on a Ferris wheel together. For good reason, I might add. We weren’t meant to be in the air. That’s the reason for gravity.” He chokes out the words as he swallows.

I laugh, and Chloe giggles before taunting Zach, “Ooo, look how high up we are!”

“Yeah, kid, I’d rather not.”

Chloe climbs over and sits down next to him, rocking the car along the way. “Just breathe, daddy. In and out.” She pats his shoulder.

“Big bad biker is afraid of heights,” I joke but Chloe scolds me.

“Mommy, that’s not nice.”

Zach smirks and so do I. “You are so right. That was not nice at all.” I place a hand on my chest playfully and smile.

After the second go around, he relaxes a bit. He picks Chloe up by her waist and sets her on his lap. Without moving toward the edge, he points to the ground, people, and buildings. He whispers something and then he tickles her. I have waited so long for these moments. To see her with him. To have him in our lives again. So long, that it doesn’t seem real, but I’m thrilled. If only her uncle could be here… could share moments like these… He would have loved Chloe. To watch her grow up. It breaks my heart every day, not having Garrett around, not just for me, but for everyone. I will never stop missing him.

The ride stops at the bottom. With Chloe still in Zach’s arms, we walk in the direction of the booth, pausing at the cotton candy stand along the way. Chloe twirls a bit in her fingers and Zach takes a chunk out in one big bite. This tattooed man that I used to know so long ago is holding our child like he’s spent her whole life knowing her. It’s absolutely amazing.

The line at the booth is long—mostly women, each one flirting like school girls when they approach Tank and Throttle. It’s amusing to watch. If Zach were standing there, he would definitely be drawing in his own admirers and adding to the crowd of flirtatious women.

The sound of motorcycle engines rumbling fills the background and Zach and I look in that direction. The bikes roar in and park, before two big men walk our way. My heart drops when I see who they are. They swagger in our direction, with the crowd parting like the Red Sea. As they pass, glares are shot their way. They look meaner, scarier, and just overall like pure evil in comparison to The Chains. My stomach is doing summersaults.

I go to grab Chloe out of protective instinct, but Zach has already handed her over to Mags. Maggie guides Chloe away and Zach comes back over to me. “Go with Mags, Jules.” Before I can escape, I am trapped by the chains of their boots and the crunching of the stones beneath their heels. The line for the booth disappears as if the crowd is too scared to stick around. Tank and Throttle step up next to us. Zach is already in front of me, shielding nearly my whole body.

“Well, shit. Look at all you wonderful Samaritans doin’ your good deeds for the day. You think that’ll get you outta the pits of hell, fellas?”

“I don’t know, man, but maybe save us a seat, just in case?” Tank crosses his muscled arms over his chest. The President of the Skulls, Scorpion, laughs then pulls out a cigarette. I don’t want to, but I take a quick glance over at Venom. He doesn’t pay any attention to me yet, but there’s no way to avoid this. My heartbeat picks up, and I feel like such a coward behind Zach.

“What the fuck you guys doing here?” Zach’s voice is low, gruff, and demanding.

“Just wanted to see for ourselves what kind of business our comrades were doing on our turf.”

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