Lily looked up at the giant biker, tears cutting clean tracks through the raindrops on her cheeks, and squeezed her storybook tighter against her chest.
"My stepmom made me get out..." Lily wept, her voice trembling with heartbreak.
Silas froze. Behind him, nineteen bearded bikers sat atop their rumbling machines in dead, icy silence. The collective fury in the air was palpable, sharp enough to cut through the freezing gale.
Silas reached out, gently wrapping his massive, dry riding leather around the shivering girl and lifting her securely into his arms.
"You're not alone anymore, little one," Silas whispered softly, resting her head against his shoulder as the convoy formed an unbroken iron escort around them. "Nobody is ever leaving you in the dark again."