Hitting the highway early with Bull and Lynx, I made some membership excuses and kicked off the hunt for the proper ring for Brat. It felt essential to nail this, to point out her the depth of what she meant to me. I used to be aiming for perfection once I’d pop the query, all lined up along with her outdated man Scar’s okay.

However the clean journey I envisioned bought bumpy. Rolling again to the Roost, geared as much as hash issues out with Scar and possibly drop to 1 knee along with his go-ahead, Brat was MIA. Scar, cool as ever, laid it on me that she’d break up this morning after some heated phrases that they had final evening, whereas I used to be gone.

That information had me on excessive alert, itching to trace her down, be sure she was alright. However Scar was regular, saying she wanted some area, that she’d be fantastic. With my intestine tousled, I sat down with him in Rage’s workplace, the meet feeling extra essential than ever.

Dealing with Scar, I sized him up, attempting to get a learn on the man who’d raised the badass girl I used to be falling for. He was a tower of a person, age solely including to his intense vibe. His Native roots confirmed in his weathered however dignified options, these deep eyes seeming to hold a saga of hard-earned respect and battle scars. And I knew concerning the instances he’d thrown Slayers for a loop, making us battle tooth and nail for our satisfaction.

His hair, threaded with grey, was pulled again, showcasing the strict set of his face and the sharp reduce of his gaze. The dude had a presence, no denying, however it wasn’t about getting intimidated. I felt a surge of respect for him. Right here was a biker who’d dominated the scene for years, introduced up children like Brat and the infamous Arizona, packing them with the identical robust grit he was product of.

Scar wore his years and heritage like a warrior’s medals, his presence dominating the area as a lot as any membership chief I’d confronted off with. The robust pores and skin and life traces on his face informed tales of battles and residing on the sting, a path I’d carved out myself since main the Slayers.

Dealing with him, able to ask for Brat’s hand, I felt this robust tie to him, to the legacy he carried. He was extra than simply Brat’s dad. This man was a chunk of the biker world’s historical past, threaded into our life-style’s very core.

“I’m right here to ask for Star’s hand,” I reduce to the chase, the ring field in my pocket, feeling like a ton.

Aid washed over Scar’s options. “We simply had a spat about that,” he let on, telling me he’d bought it twisted, pondering I used to be dragging my ft on committing.

“Star’s at nighttime about this,” I owned up. “Was gonna ask her after we squared issues right here.”

Scar’s temper lifted, the air between us clearing. Our chat shifted to our golf equipment’ paths forward. I laid it out. We revered the truce with the Asphalt Gods, however the Slayers wanted to maintain our stand-alone streak.

Scar bought it, hinting that we’d iron out the finer factors after tying the knot, nearly as if he was pushing for us to get hitched whereas he was nonetheless on the town.

Sitting there, hashing out phrases and picturing a future that Brat and I hadn’t totally vetted felt off. Brat’s a girl who prides herself on her autonomy, and I knew she’d need her voice heard in any selections affecting her membership and us. Deciding stuff with out her, even with the very best of intentions, wasn’t the way in which I wished to kick off our joint future.

However Scar urgent for a fast marriage ceremony threw in a wrench. I nodded, agreeing to speak over the dates, however inside, I used to be twisting up, frightened about how Brat would take this information.

Ending the meet with a truce within the works and the foundations of an alliance laid out, this nagging unease wouldn’t give up. Brat’s absence was a silent echo in the price of these talks.

I needed to monitor her down, to clear the air and, extra crucially, to listen to her out, to make rattling certain our ahead march was in sync, not dictated in her absence. Standing there, able to agency up the cope with Scar, my ideas have been already on overdrive, determining methods to sq. issues with Brat. I’d mapped out a proposal that revered her hearth and our bond. However she hadn’t given her ‘sure’ but.

All of the sudden, all of it clicked, and I pulled again, not sealing the cope with a handshake. The course we have been heading felt all fallacious, not totally aligned with what Star and I had agreed upon, nor did it respect her independence.

“Wait a sec,” I reduce in, the conclusion hitting me onerous. “I’m all for a truce, primarily to be with Star. However she ain’t agreed to marry me but. I can’t log off on this with out her say-so.”

Scar’s demeanor shifted, his eyes tightening, the pleasant vibe disappearing quick. “You bailing on me?” he spat, the heat in his voice gone chilly.

I stood my floor, the stress thick. “If that’s how it’s, then yeah, deal’s off,” I admitted, feeling the burden of the choice. “I’ll determine one thing else out. I’m in it for Star, even when it means stepping away from my membership. I need her, with or with out your go-ahead.”

Scar sneered, his persistence worn skinny. “You suppose you’ll be able to take my daughter with out my phrase? Not taking place.”

Our calm chat become a standoff I hadn’t seen coming. Pushed by my cussed love for Star, I shot again, “To hell with it, Scar. I don’t want your okay to be along with her.”

That’s when issues bought bodily, our our bodies crashing collectively in a conflict of feelings and hard-headedness. Regardless of my measurement and youth, Scar was a formidable pressure. His biker years had honed him into a troublesome outdated bastard, shortly placing me in a good chokehold, proving he wasn’t some outdated timer to underestimate.

Struggling for air, the chokehold tightening round my neck, I used to be gearing up for a nasty flip. Then Scar’s gravelly voice reduce in, “Handed the take a look at, child,” he growled, easing the stress. “Wasn’t about to let Star get caught with some man who’d boss her round. She wants a associate, not a dictator.”

The battle drained out of us each as fast because it flared up, leaving me catching my breath, seeing Scar in a brand new gentle. He stepped off, giving me area.

I rubbed at my neck, wanting again at him, respect mingling with the shock in my eyes. “I’m all about Star. Wouldn’t dream of attempting to manage her.”

Scar’s nod carried a hard-earned respect. “We’ll discover out, Riptide. If you happen to’re the proper man for my woman, we’ll speak. Let’s await her reply.”

“Maintain up,” I pressed, needing to make clear. “You’re nonetheless tying the truce to me marrying her?”

Scar’s face was set in stone. “Rattling straight. She’s my blood. I received’t have her devalued or left uncovered. If marriage isn’t in your playing cards, again the hell off from my daughter.”

Scar’s robust love take a look at threw a harsh gentle on the truth. My bond with Star was constructed on mutual respect and partnership. I used to be hell-bent on proving that, to her, to Scar, to everybody who questioned the true deal behind my emotions for her.

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