I ushered Emerald to the door with Deacon on the other side of her. The others followed, Blizzard still looking extremely confused.
We piled into Optimus’ office, and I sat on the large sofa with my little sister still clinging tightly to me. Deacon thankfully gave her plenty of space and sat on the arm of the chair. Optimus took his seat behind his desk as Chelsea stood beside him, while Blizzard stood leaning against the door, staring at Emerald in confusion.
“Sorry to spring this on you, Optimus… Deacon appeared at the shop with her, and I really had no idea what to do,” I tried to explain. “This is my sister, Emerald. She’s run away from my father because he was trying to force her to marry.”
Blizzard’s eyes grew wide while Optimus just shook his head. “Jesus Christ. How did she get here?”
Deacon spoke up, briefly explaining what had happened and how he’d discovered she was my sister and brought her to me.
“Well, aren’t you a knight in shining fucking armor,” Op muttered. Chelsea shoved his shoulder, and he looked up at her with an innocent boyish grin before turning back to me. “So what’s going on? Your daddy gonna come looking for her?”
I frowned. “I am not sure. Things sound a little strange. Emerald said that the man she was to marry was not a Colony member, which has always been forbidden. I am asking for her to have some kind of protection. She is still seventeen which means she could be sent back as a runaway.”
Op sighed and leaned back in his chair. “One, I don’t like how you’re suddenly talking so damn weird,” he said with a frown, and I shuddered. After six years, all it took was this for me to start reverting back to habits I’d fought so hard to eradicate. “And two, you know you’re part of this family, but the reality is there’s a way things work around here.”
My stomach twisted. I already knew the answer.
“There are rules, Sky,” he continued. I could see he was honestly sorry that this was how things were going to go. “You’re a club girl, you’re under protection because of what you do for the club. Unfortunately, that doesn’t include your sister. We can’t house her here, and we can’t offer the club’s protection.”
I cleared my throat and nodded. In my head I was going through all my stuff, how much money was in my bank account, whether it would be enough to keep us going, and whether what Sugar paid me would allow me to stay in college. “Then I’m going to have to—”
“You’re not going to do anything right now,” Deacon cut in, shaking his head. “She can stay with me.”
Emerald’s back went utterly straight, and she whipped around to look at Deacon. My mouth fell open, and I was stunned for a few moments.
I saw Chelsea’s face light up, but Op and Blizzard both rolled their eyes as I finally shook off the surprise. “You can’t… I mean, why?”
“She’s comfortable with me,” he said, looking to Emerald as if asking her to confirm his feelings.
She turned back to me and nodded once.
“The police here, they aren’t part of the Colony?”
I snorted. “No, they most definitely are not. They are good, they keep people safe.”
“I’ve got two months of leave. I was just gonna stick around town and annoy the fuck out of Optimus.” Deacon grinned over at the club president who glared back at him. “She can stay with me, and that’ll give you time to save some money and figure out a plan.”
“And why might I ask are you taking two months off?” Blizzard asked curiously.
Deacon’s body froze for a second, his eyes glazing over before he blinked away the haze. “My dad passed away, so my mom is gonna come down in a few weeks and stay with me when her sister leaves. I had holidays owing, so I figured I’d take everything at once.”
Chelsea’s hand went to her heart. “I’m so sorry, Deacon,” she said softly, and I noticed Op nod his head, but he chose not to say anything.
“It’s okay,” he responded, forcing a smile. “Seems like it was meant to be.”
“Sky?” Op said, drawing my attention. “This work for you? You know we’d hate to lose you, but I also respect that this is your family.”
Part of me wanted to say no—that I would take care of my sister, that she was my responsibility—but the smart part of my brain knew if I walked away from the club right now, it wouldn’t be long until we were struggling and probably not making enough money to live.
This would give me two months to do extra hours at work, figure out if I could suspend some papers, maybe do my degree part-time, and save some money. It would also keep Emerald safe if my father decided to send someone after her.
I grabbed my sister’s hand. “Are you okay with this?”
She leaned in closer. “Will I still be able to see you?”
“I’ll give you time to visit with your sister each day,” Op cut in, startling Emerald and making her jump.
“All right,” my sister finally agreed after her heart stopped racing and at that moment, I was so thankful for these people around me who may not be able to offer my sister everything, but would still put in an effort to help make things easier.