“There, that should do it,” Smiler said and backed away.

Mae breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up at Styx, following his gaze to Lilah.

Tears filled Mae’s eyes and she held out her hand. “Sister…” she whispered. Lilah let go of my waist and rushed to Mae, carefully wrapping her arms around her waist.

“I am so sorry. I should not have spoken to you in that way,” Lilah spoke quietly. “When I held you, unmoving, in my arms, I feared I would never speak to you again and I could not breathe at the thought.”

“Hush, everything is fine. I am fine.” Mae guided Lilah back and held her face in her palms. “We will all be fine. We will find a way for you join this strange world.”

Lilah nodded and whispered, “I suppose I must finally accept that The Order has gone. I just… I just do not know how to do it…”

Mae nodded and winced at the movement but replied, “Yes, you must. It will be hard, but I struggle too, sister. I am trying to find my way too. We can do this together. I promise you.”

A light knock to the door sounded behind me and Beauty walked though, her blond ponytail bouncing. Styx, Mae, and Lilah looked toward her.

“I’ve checked on Maddie. She’s doing just fine. There’s little damage to the apartment from bullets. I asked Maddie to come down like you asked, Mae, but she said no. She said she wanted to be left alone in the bedroom. Flame’s outside the door. She’s safe.”

Mae dropped her head and Styx got up from the bed and looked at me. “I wanna be alone with Mae. Take Lilah to get cleaned up, and no one disturb me until we’re to meet at church.”

“Sweet cheeks?” I said, and Lilah turned to me. “Let’s get you cleaned up and rested.”

She nodded and turned to Mae. “I am truly happy for you and Styx, for your engagement. I can see that Styx makes you very happy. I was wrong to put our fate on your shoulders.”

Mae kissed Lilah’s cheek and then held her hand out for Styx, who was watching silently at the side of the bed. He took her hand and crawled beside her, kissing her face and pulling her into his chest.

Everyone filtered out of the room, but I noticed Lilah watching the couple through the small slit in the doorway, a strange look on her face. Envy? Jealousy? I didn’t know. Taking her hand, I tugged her to me, and she bowed her head in embarrassment.

“Let’s go,” I ordered.

Lilah frowned. “My apartment this way.” She pointed up the stairs.

I pulled her toward me until she fell into my chest. “You ain’t going to the apartment. You’re coming to my room.”

Her head snapped back in surprise and her mouth dropped open. “I—”

Walking forward, I pressed my forehead to hers, my hands in her hair, and reiterated, “You’re coming with me, to my room, where I can protect you, where I know you’re safe. You don’t get a choice.”

“O-okay,” she whispered, and I finally let myself relax. I took her hand and pulled her into my room a few doors down, shutting us in and bolting the lock. Bolting both locks.

Lilah stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, head down, staring at her feet. She was one stunning bitch… my pilgrim blonde.

“Go shower, Li,” I said, pointing at the door to the bathroom. “You need to get cleaned up, get all that dirt, grease, and blood off your skin.”

“Okay. Thank you,” Lilah said and proceeded to the bathroom, casting me a small smile over her shoulder before locking herself in. Placing my hands on the back of my head, I blew out a long breath and slumped to the side of the bed.

As I thought of the moment I saw Lilah trapped under that gate, then that Nazi fucker aiming a slug at her head and what if I hadn’t jumped in the way and she’d been hit, I felt fuckin’ sick to my stomach.

Falling back on the mattress, I stared at the ceiling and squeezed my eyes shut as I heard the water turned on. My old man had always told me to fuck as much pussy as I could handle, but never settle down. Fuck sluts, plant them with a couple’a kids to carry on the Willis name, but never give them my patch, never make them mine.

But thinking of that bitch in the shower right now had me twisted up in knots. I didn’t wanna fuck any sluts when she was around. Hell, when she wasn’t! I only wanted one pussy… hers, even if the bitch it belonged to was some kind of other-level crazy. She stirred things in me that I didn’t even know existed, made me think things about property patches and putting my club colors on her back.

My eyes snapped open at these thoughts, and I knew one thing. I fuckin’ loved the bitch. I was fuckin’ in love with the bat shit-crazy pilgrim blonde taking a shower in my bathroom right now… naked.

Fuck! Blood traveled to my dick and I almost came at the vision of taking her. I’d never had to work for a bitch, always clicked my fingers and sluts would come running. Forget looking as good as I do. Just being in the club would get me laid. Hell, I could be the ugliest motherfucker to grace the planet and I’d still get a slut sucking on my cock. But Lilah was more; she didn’t cave to my pussy-trapping smile, didn’t fall on my bed and spread her legs, wasn’t impressed by the club. Shit, the opposite was true. Maybe that’s why she was different.

Sitting up, I began stripping off my cut, my shirt, and my jeans and pulled on some boxers. I usually went commando, but I didn’t wanna scare Lilah, naked and sporting a boner from hell. I needed to grab a shower too, needed to wash the stench of fuckin’ Nazi scum from my skin. As I looked at the clock on my wall, I realized Lilah had been in the shower for a damn age. Twenty minutes had passed, the water was still running, but I couldn’t hear shit from Lilah.

Walking to the door, I pressed my ear against the wood, but nothing, just falling water. Knocking, I asked, “Lilah, you good?”

No answer came, and my heart started racing. “Lilah? Say something.”

Again, sweet fuck all, so I tried the doorknob; it was locked. “Lilah, say something now or I’m coming in,” I warned.

When there was still nothing from the other side, I moved back, then using all my strength, smashed my shoulder against the door, splintering wood as the door burst open.

Steam from the shower clouded the room and I could hardly see my hand before me. “Lilah? Where the fuck are you, baby?”

I caught a sniffling from the shower and followed the sound, the steam clearing some through the open door, allowing me to see Lilah huddled naked on the floor, her arms wrapped around her legs.