Page 19 of Azrael

“Is that what you want?”I asked, keeping my voice neutral.“To be mine?”

She didn’t answer immediately, which I respected.This wasn’t a decision to be made lightly.

“I came to you for help,” she said finally.“When I heard about you, about what you do for women in trouble, I knew I had to find you.And now you’re offering to help find my mother, to protect me.If the choice is between belonging to you or leaving the compound, then yes, I choose you.”

“If it’s because you want to be close and can’t afford a motel…” I trailed off, not really sure what I was offering.Money?Or just making sure this was what she really wanted.

“While it’s true I don’t want to go home and wish to remain close, it’s more than that.I wasn’t in your town long before I was attacked.If you hadn’t happened by at the right moment, I might very well be dead right now.Or wishing I was.”

“Plenty of people walk around this place without getting into trouble.But if someone really did snatch your mom, and they know about you, it’s possible they could be waiting to grab you as well.Just speculation since there’s shit we don’t know about the situation yet.”

“I feel safe when I’m with you,” she said softly.

I studied her face, looking for any sign of hesitation or fear.I saw uncertainty, yes, but also determination.She’d made her decision with eyes open.

“You understand what it means?”I pressed.“In the eyes of the club, you’d be my woman.My responsibility.The outside world would see you as my property.And it wouldn’t be a temporary thing.Like I said, it’s similar to a marriage.There’s no backing out once it’s done.”

“I understand.”She lifted her chin slightly.“Would I have to… share your bed?”

Another complicated question.The relationship usually included physical intimacy.But there were exceptions -- arrangements of convenience or protection that didn’t involve sex.Maybe not in my club, but I’d heard of others doing something similar.Although, most ended up falling in love at some point.

“Not if you don’t want to,” I said honestly.“We can take our time, get to know one another better.But let me just put this out there.The men in this club don’t cheat on their women.So, if you never come to my bed, be prepared for a grumpy-ass old man because I’ll have blue balls.”

Something flickered in her eyes -- relief, perhaps, or maybe something else entirely.“And if I stay with you, I’ll be safe while you look for my mother?”

“As safe as I can make you,” I promised.“Which is safer than anywhere else you could be right now.”

She nodded slowly, seeming to come to a final decision.“Then I want to be yours, Azrael.”

I felt something shift inside me at her words -- a door opening that I’d kept firmly closed for years.It was unsettling, but not entirely unwelcome.

“If that’s what you want,” I said, giving her a slow smile, “then yeah, I can make that happen.”

Zara returned my smile, tentative but genuine.“What happens now?”

“Now, I talk to Charming, make it official.You’ll get a property cut -- something that shows you’re under my protection.”I leaned back in my chair.“And tomorrow, we start looking for your mother.”

A shadow crossed her face at the mention of Mazida.“Do you really think we’ll find her?”

“Yes,” I said, with more certainty than I perhaps felt.“The club has resources most people can’t imagine.If your mother is out there, we’ll find her.”

I didn’t add the darker possibility -- that we might find her too late.Zara didn’t need to hear that, not when hope was the only thing keeping her going.

She reached across the table, her hand hesitantly covering mine.“Thank you.For everything.”

I turned my hand over, clasping hers briefly before releasing it.Public displays of affection weren’t my style, especially in the clubhouse where every interaction was noted and discussed later.

“Don’t thank me yet,” I said, rising from my chair.“This is just the beginning.Wait here.I need to speak with Charming, make our arrangement official.”

Zara Colton was now my responsibility -- my woman, in the eyes of the club.I’d sworn I wouldn’t let anyone get that close again, wouldn’t risk another innocent life because of my lifestyle, my enemies.

But sometimes life didn’t give you the choices you wanted.Sometimes it only offered the least bad option, and you had to take it.

I glanced back at Zara, sitting alone at the table, her posture straight despite the exhaustion I knew she must be feeling.She’d come to me because she believed I could help her, believed in the stories she’d heard about the avenging angel who protected women in trouble.

Now I had to live up to that reputation -- had to find her mother and keep Zara safe in the process.

And I had to do it all without letting her get too close, without letting her become the kind of weakness my enemies could exploit.

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