Page 5 of Hurricane's House

“And how exactly will you give us time?” she asked. Yeah, that was a pretty crappy thing to promise Tina—time, but he had a crazy idea that just might work.

“Let her stay with me,” he said.

“In a biker bar?” she asked. “No.” Tina didn’t even consider his proposal, nor had she heard him completely out.

“No, not in a biker bar. I can’t have her staying there. If the cops found out, they’d shut me down, and that doesn’t work for me or my guys. I have a big house that has a lot of empty rooms. How about you let her come stay with me and you can come by every day to check on her? That way, you’ll know that Chasity is safe, and you won’t have to fight with her every day. You can rebuild your relationship one day at a time.” Hurricane sat back and smiled at her, pretty pleased with himself for coming up with that idea.

“And how do I know that you’re not some creep who preys on young girls?” Tina spat.

“Would a predator ask you to breakfast or give your niece a safe place to crash every night? You can ask Chasity yourself if I’ve tried anything,” Hurricane growled. He was pissed that she’d even ask him such a question, but then again, he’d be shocked if she hadn’t. She was the kid’s legal guardian and had every right to check up on him if she was considering taking him up on his offer.

“How about I let you do a background check on me?” he asked. “It will be back in about a week and if I’m on the up andup, she can move into my place. Until then, she can stay at the bar, and you’ll at least know where she is.”

“You’d do that?” she asked. Jesus, she looked like she was about to cry again, and Hurricane just wanted to get back to the clubhouse to tell Chasity the plan before the kid took off for the day.

“I knew that you were sneaking behind my back. You said that you wouldn’t go to my aunt and tell her where I am. You lied,” Chasity shouted from the diner’s front door. Everyone in the place looked between them and the kid and now, it was Hurricane’s turn to feel embarrassed.

“Shit,” he spat, releasing Tina’s hand. He had forgotten that he was still holding hers across the table, trying to comfort her. He stood and crossed the diner, approaching the angry teen as though trying to get the jump on a feral animal.

“It’s not what you think, kid,” he insisted.

“Oh, no?” she spat. “Because it looks like you were getting cozy with my aunt, holding her hand, and conspiring against me,” Chasity said. Yeah, she basically got it all right, except for the conspiracy part.

“We weren’t plotting against you, Chasity,” Tina said, joining them in the front of the diner. “We were coming up with a plan to keep you safe. I know that you don’t want to be with me—you’ve made that very clear from the number of times that you’ve run. But I need to know that you’re at least safe every night—no matter where you stay.”

“So, I’ve offered to let you stay at my house,” Hurricane interrupted.

“Your house?” Chasity asked. “Why can’t I just stay at the clubhouse?” she asked. “I like it there.”

“I understand,” Hurricane said, “it’s a pretty great place, but it’s also a bar and you are underage. You’ll get my place shut down, and that won’t be fair to my guys. This way, you’ll be safe,and your aunt will know where you are. Besides, I have a big house that I just moved into and no one to live there. Hell, I’m not there very often myself with my day job and the club, but I can make more of an effort to be home if you’re there.”

“Why would you do that for me?” Chasity whispered. Telling the kid that he had gotten used to having her around wasn’t something that she’d accept. Maybe coming clean and telling Chasity that he thought her single aunt was hot and that he wanted to get to know her a little bit better would work, but that would also be a mistake. No, he was going to have to go with the truth, no matter how much he hated talking about his teen years.

Hurricane shrugged, “Because I remember being a teenager myself. I had a pretty awesome family but that didn’t stop me from acting like an ass to everyone. I know that you don’t want to hear this, but you are damn lucky to have your aunt, and with some time, you two might find a way to get along better. It’s worth a shot,” he said.

“He’s right,” Tina agreed. “Just give this a chance, Chasity. We can take things at your pace. You can tell me when to come over and when to back off, and I’ll respect your wishes. I just need to know that you’re safe.” Hearing Tina beg her niece to give their plan a try broke his heart a little. She seemed to really care for the girl, and he felt bad about doubting her intentions when she first walked into the diner.

“Do you promise that I can set the rules?” Chasity asked.

“I do,” Tina agreed. That wasn’t going to play with Hurricane. He knew that the kid would walk all over her aunt if given the chance and he couldn’t allow that.

“No, she doesn’t,” Hurricane cut in. “If you’re going to be living in my house, we’re going to play things by my rules,” he said. “I don’t have many, but if you want to stay with me, you’ll have to follow them.”

“But I get to say with she comes over?” Chasity asked, nodding at her aunt. He looked over at Tina and she shrugged and nodded. The poor woman seemed even more defeated, and Hurricane hated seeing her that way. His solution was supposed to help them both, but instead, it only seemed to be hurting Tina.

“I’ll let you decide when I can come visit,” Tina agreed. “Are we all in agreement?” she asked.

Chasity looked between the two of them and Hurricane wondered if she was going to agree with their crazy scheme. She nodded and blew out a breath. “Fine,” she spat, “but I’m not happy about any of this.” Hurricane wanted to laugh at the teen’s attitude but knew better. For now, they had a plan to keep Chasity safe, and that was all that mattered.

Tina

Tina helped Chasity pack her belongings, still not sure that letting her go to live with a perfect stranger was a good idea. Sure, Hurricane seemed nice enough, but he was a bar owner and a biker. She hadn’t known many of them, but they all seemed to be bad news on the television shows she sometimes watched. If her brother knew that she was allowing his only child to go live with some big, gruff biker, he’d roll over in his grave.

They worked in silence as Chasity put her clothes into boxes that Hurricane had given to her from the bar. He was loading everything into his truck as they worked to pack everything up, and Tina knew that sooner than she’d like, her niece would be gone, and she’d be all alone again. That was the hardest part of all this for her—being alone. Her brother was the last person she had left who cared about her and without him, she felt kind of lost. He was the only family she had—besides Chasity, and now, she was leaving too.

“Are you sure that this is what you want?” Tina almost whispered. Her voice still sounded so loud in the room after working in silence for so long.

“I am,” Chasity said. “I can’t stay here.” Hearing her say those words felt like a slap in the face.

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