Wolf was at Chrome waiting to hear back from Lacy and Demon when his phone rang. He hoped it was one of the two rogue bikers calling to tell him what happened with the Aces.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Wolf?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm terribly sorry to bother you sir, we have a little girl down here and she gave us your number."
"What? I don't have a little girl, you have the wrong number."
He hung up the phone without another word. He turned back to the paper work on his desk, the new recruits needed to update all their information before they could be given assignments. His phone rang again and he answered.
"Hello?"
"Sir, I'm sorry but the little girl insists she knows you."
"I don't have a little girl."
"Her name is Iris, she's.....almost six."
"Iris? Her mother works for me, I'm sorry I don't understand what's going on."
"Well, miss Iris was caught shoplifting."
"Shoplifting? Where's her mother?"
"She won't say."
"Okay, I'm coming to get her."
He found out the location of the mall and borrowing a car from one of the younger men wasted no time in hurrying to the store. He inquired about the girl and was directed to the back room. He found Iris sitting in a cheap plastic chair, her little face was red and she looked as if she'd been crying. A stern looking woman greeted him.
"Hello Mr Wolf, I'm terribly sorry but this little girl would only let us call you."
"Yes, I know her mother."
"We caught her stealing a bracelet."
He looked at the girl who wiped her nose on her sleeve. With a heavy sigh he knelt down to her level, not at all sure what he should say.
"Iris, is that true?"
"No, I paid for it, I gave them two whole dollars for it."
"Two dollars is.....a lot of money," He agreed gently.
"The bracelet was two hundred" The woman said from behind him.
"I put my money on the counter like mommy does at the store and I tooked it," Iris said.
"Why did you need it and where's your mommy at?" He asked.
"Mommy is at home, she was taking a nap so I snuck out. I wanted to buy her something for her birthday, that mean lady took it away from me."
He glanced at the woman, she didn't look friendly and to a frightened five year old anything would be terrifying.
"Okay, sit tight and I'll take you home."
He turned back to the lady and with a heavy sigh pulled out his wallet.
"How much for the damn bracelet?"
"Two hundred even."
"I'll take it."
The woman gave him a look of disgust, probably the tattoos, leather jacket or general appearance but he didn't care. He handed her the money and took the tiny blue box she offered him, tucking it in one of his jacket pockets.
"Come on, Iris."
He turned and the little girl reached for him, he hesitated. He'd only held her once in her entire life and she'd only been an infant. She looked so distraught however that he lifted her gently into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, burying her face in his coat as he carried her out of the room.
He was walking through the mall, aware of the stares he was getting. A large, tattooed, weapon carrying, leather clad biker wasn't often seen carrying a small child.
"Mr. Wolf?"
"What?"
"I gotta go potty."
"Uh, okay."
"I gotta go real bad."
"Okay," He turned towards the bathroom about the time she started to wiggle.
He found the bathrooms and carefully set her on her feet. He watched her shift around uncomfortably and gaze up at him.
"Go ahead," He said.
"I'm not allowed to go alone."
He glanced at the door and then back at the squirming child who had resorted to holding herself.
"I'll just wait here by the door."
"NO! You gotta come in."
As if to make her point she grabbed two of his fingers in her tiny hand and made a valiant effort at trying to pull him into the bathroom. He had to admit the tiny little mite was stronger than she looked and finally he relented, allowing her to pull him into the bathroom.
She let go as soon as they were in the bathroom and hurried to a stall, she didn't close the door and he pulled it closed. She had been in there all of three seconds when she began to hum softly to herself. An older lady came into the bathroom and stared at him for a minute, when she heard the soft humming she seemed to accept him and went into her own stall.
"I'm done," Iris called out.
He opened the door and she exited the stall, he was preparing to leave when she called out to him.
"Wait, I gotta wash my hands."
"Okay, hurry up."
"Yeah, okay, only I can't reach."
With a heavy sigh he lifted her to the sink and she took her time washing her hands. She sang the happy birthday song as she used the soap and rinsed her hands. When he set her back on her feet she once again took two of his fingers in her tiny hand.
"I have to hold someones hand in public," She said.
"Okay."
They walked through the mall, he tried to hurry to his car, anxious to be rid of her but he had to slow his steps in order for her small legs to keep up. He didn't know anything about kids and she made him uncomfortable.
She didn't seem to notice his discomfort as she skipped along beside him, gripping his fingers in her small hand. She didn't even reach his hips in height and he wasn't sure if she was small for her age or if he was that big.
They reached the car he borrowed and he opened the passenger door for her, she froze and firmly planted her feet, crossing her arms.
"Where's the booster seat?"She asked.
"The what now?"
"Booster seat."
"I don't have one, get in."
"I can't ride up front, I'm not big enough."
"Just get in."
"No."
"Come on, just get in." He begged.
"No, mommy said I have to ride in the back."
He felt a migraine creeping on and had to rub his eyes, taking a minute to try and calm down. She was just a baby after all.
"Are you getting a head ache?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"My grammy had headaches, she died."
"I'm not dying, just please...get in the car."
"But there's no backseat."
"I promise to drive slow," He said.
She hesitated a minute or two before climbing into the passenger seat with a heavy sigh. Her feet dangled above the floor and she couldn't see over the dash. He leaned over and buckled the seat-belt across her tiny frame before getting in his own side and starting the car.
"I love the mall," She said.
"That's nice."
"Mommy bought me these shoes there, see?" She clicked her feet together and the pink shoes lit up purple.
"That's great, kid."
"You don't like me do you?" She asked.
"I didn't say that. I'm just not used to kids, there's a time and a place for children...my life isn't one of them."
"Do you like my mommy?"
"Your mommy is a very nice lady and very skilled at her job. I'm sure she's worried sick about you right now, why didn't you call her?"
"It was a surprise."
"I see, how did you know my number?"
"Mommy told it to me, for emergencies."
"Well, I suppose that's okay but no more shoplifting or running off."
"Okay."
He waited until they were a few blocks from her apartment before pulling the bracelet from his pocket and lightly placing it on her lap.
"Oh, for mommy?"
"From you, looks like the clerk was wrong two dollars was more than enough."
She smiled happily and popped the lid open on the blue velvet box, touching the dainty gold chain carefully. He parked in front of the complex where she lived and saw Demons car a few feet away, a large dog looking out the window. He shook his head and helped Iris climb from the car, hand in hand they walked to the elevator.
When they reached her apartment the door was open and he could hear sobs coming from inside, Demon was talking softly and so was Lacy. Iris wasted no time in breaking free and running ahead of him. She shoved open the door and rushed into the kitchen where Morgan sat at the table in tears Lacy sitting beside her.
"Mommy!"
"Iris!"
Morgan caught her daughter in her arms, hugging her close and showering her with kisses. Lacy who was sitting beside Morgan breathed a sigh of relief and Demon hung up his phone.
"Where on earth were you?" Morgan asked.
"I buyed you something."
"Oh, you did?"
Morgan wiped her eyes and lifted Iris onto her lap as Iris proudly presented her gift. Lacy smiled and dropped a kiss on top of the childs head before turning to Demon and Wolf who were standing in the door way.
"I'm going to call the guys, a lot of them are out looking for her." Lacy said.
"I'll help," Demon agreed.
"You two meet me at the clubhouse, we gotta talk."
They each gave him a nod before heading down the hall. He walked a littler further into the apartment where Morgan was still clinging to Iris.
"Please, don't ever do that again."
"I won't mommy."
"Go to your room now."
Morgan sat Iris on her feet and gave her a gentle push towards the hall way. Iris obeyed and scurried off without another glance at her mother. Morgan wiped her eyes and finally, forced her gaze to Wolf.
"Thank you for bringing her home."
"You're welcome."
"I'm sorry about all the trouble and I'll pay you back for the bracelet."
"No, don't worry about it."
"Sir, I'm quitting," She said with a heavy sigh.
"Can I at least ask why?"
"This lifestyle....I'm afraid it's rubbing off on Iris. She ran off today for the first time, I can't stay in a place like this."
"Hey, don't you dare blame me or my club for your parenting."
"My parenting? What do you know about being a parent?"
"I know not to fall asleep when I'm supposed to be watching my child, I know enough to teach my child not to shoplift!"
"She obviously learned how to shoplift from the club."
"My club has never stolen anything, maybe the fact that she has no male role model is finally wearing on her. Where the hell is her father?"
"That has nothing to do with it!"
"It has everything to do with it! I take care of you both, give you money to live in a nice place and this is how you repay me! By blaming me for trying to help!"
"Help! If you wanted to help you should have called me when you found her! I was worried sick!"
He took a step closer to her and out of instinct she flinched and backed away. He froze, realizing she was afraid of him. He stopped where he was and ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh.
"Fine, quit. I don't give a shit."
"Fine!"
He threw up his hands, completely done with the entire thing. He turned on his heel and stormed from the small apartment. Damned woman was ungrateful and he was glad to be rid of her and that trouble making kid. He had a club to run, he didn't have time to fix their poor excuse of a family.