up, and there won't be a damn thing Rachel can say. Marla's going to do what she wants."
He gritted his teeth. Now, that was the Skull he knew. "She's a little girl. Keep the men away from her."
"I plan to, and I can keep the men away from her." His gaze hardened. "But, you don't know Marla very well if you believe a threat from me will keep the men away from her. As soon as she realizes all she has to do is offer herself to them, she'll go her own way."
A growl rumbled inside of him. He walked out of the house before he did something he'd regret.
Marla Marie was thirteen years old. Men shouldn't even be looking at her. There were plenty of women at the clubhouse for them to entertain.
Halfway across the yard, he caught the moment Marla Marie found out he was at the house. She rewarded him with a smile, running toward him. He caught her before she could cause him any damage.
"You came back." She held on to him and craned her head to look at him. "I just knew you'd spend the night here. Rachel told me she bet you'd stay at the clubhouse."
"I'm not staying here."
Her lower lip pouted. "Why not?"
"I have things to do."
"But don't you want to spend more time with me?"
"You're a kid." He motioned toward the fence and walked to the back of the yard. "You don't want to hang around me."
"I do, too." She climbed up onto the top rail and sat down. "I always want to be with you. I want to live with you."
"Don't talk about shit like that. I live on the road. You know that."
She scooted up until her hip settled against his arm and looped her arm around his shoulders. "I wouldn't get in your way. I'd be quiet."
"You don't know how to be quiet."
"Do, too."
He gazed at the house, feeling the warmth of her arm around him. "Yeah, I suppose you do, Marla Marie," he mumbled.
The first time he'd met her, she'd refused to talk to him. And all he'd wanted her to do was tell him how to help her.
Now, he had no fucking clue on how to help her. He only knew he felt better with her living with his sister and Skull.
Hell, he felt more at peace arguing back and forth with her and standing under the sun with her slim arm around him than he had in the last three weeks riding the roads. He couldn't explain how a young girl could bring him peace, but he found himself looking forward to coming back to Bellevue when he was running between clubhouses.
"I don't want you to leave." She laid her head on his shoulder. "Can't you stay?"
He couldn't stay in one place too long. In the last six months, the cops had dogged him over hundreds of miles in an attempt to get him alone. He'd talked to several federal agents, been held as long as the law would allow, trying to weaken him into spilling the activities of WAKOM.
They knew he was a patched-in member, even though he rode solo. He had no chapter watching his back most of the time, and they waited for moments to get him alone.
But they had no idea his reasons for traveling between the chapters were more important than claiming a house and staying in one area. They had no idea the mother chapter allowed him to ride without the backing of his MC brothers surrounding him every fucking second of the day because he'd shown them loyalty in the highest form.
"Dutch?" Marla Marie straddled the fence, leaned over, and looped her arms around his neck. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything." He closed his eyes, preparing himself for what he knew would come from her.
"Can you take me back to Moses Lake and help me find my mom?"
"No."
"But why?"
He unclasped her hands and stepped away from her. "It's not time. I want you to stay here."
She jumped off the fence and followed him across the yard. "That's not fair. I want to go home."
"This is your home."
"Stop lying." She grabbed his arm and stopped him. "You know I have a mom and a home in Moses Lake."
Having grown angry faster than usual, she shook her head to emphasize her point. He stepped away. She grabbed him. He shook off her hand. She pulled on the back of his vest, dragging her feet.
He walked several yards, pulling her with him