A tiny tug on my leather vest made me turn\u2014ready for trouble.<\/p>\n
Instead, a little girl with trembling blue eyes asked me to save a kitten stuck in a tree. People watched, waiting to see what the \u201cmonster\u201d would do. I could\u2019ve ridden off.<\/p>\n
But her small hand trusted me.<\/p>\n
So I climbed. Brought the kitten down. Felt its tiny heartbeat in my palm.<\/p>\n
I thought that was the end. It wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
I saw her again in a small town diner\u2014Lily and her mother, Sarah. They were hiding from men on bikes. Men I used to ride with. The Serpents. Led by Silas\u2014my former brother.<\/p>\n
Her ex owed them money. They wanted payment.<\/p>\n
I stayed.<\/p>\n
I fixed their broken porch, their fence, their roof. Tried fixing myself, too. When Silas came, I faced him down with nothing but a bluff and a promise. I told him to walk away\u2014and he did.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I didn\u2019t run.<\/p>\n
Weeks turned into months. The house stood strong. So did we.<\/p>\n
My life had been scrap metal\u2014rusted and ruined. But sometimes broken pieces can be welded into something new.<\/p>\n
All it took was a kitten, a little trust, and the choice to stay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"