Craving Constellations (7 page)

Well, that was a surprise. Even though he was angrier than I’d ever seen him, he was still watching out for us—sort of. I understood about the clubhouse though. I was so grateful that I almost missed his last words.

“You’ll let Dragon stay with you if that’s what he chooses. I don’t know what the fuck he’s gonna do when he gets back. He’s got his old lady living with him though, so I can’t move your ass in there.”

Even after all the turmoil of the past hour, his words were still enough of a surprise that I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. Dragon had an old lady. Well, fuck, that hurt. Bad. I guessed I shouldn’t be surprised. I’d left him. I’d been gone five years. I had absolutely no hold on him. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like a bitch though. Thoughts of his old lady raced through my head. What did she look like? When did they get together? Was she a bitch? Was she nice? What was their relationship like? How did he treat her? Where did they meet? How long after I left did they hook up? Was he with her when I was here before? What would she think about Trix? Would she even want to meet her? Would Trix have to visit them at their place? Fuck, would she want to be a stepmom to Trix? In all the scenarios I had imagined before I got here, Dragon having an old lady never factored into them. As I was trying to process this information, Pop walked back into the room and sat next to me.

“Brenna, you need to tell Slider what you told me. Everything. Don’t leave anything out. We need to decide what to do.”

I really didn’t want to do it. The Slider I knew before, the uncle, I would have had no problem pouring my heart out to. He was a confidant and a protector. This Slider? Well, I didn’t know what he was. I didn’t know how he would react. Would he think I deserved everything I got for what I’d done to the club? I didn’t think I could handle that. I decided to give him an abridged version of my story. I didn’t omit anything, but I also didn’t let myself feel any emotion. I told the story as if it had happened on some Lifetime Movie-of-the-Week, not to me and not to my daughter. Halfway through my story, Slider stood up and started to pace. He didn’t say a word, just walked back and forth in front of Pop and me until I finished. Once he knew I was done, he sat back down.

“Who is this fucker? We’ll take care of it,” he said firmly.

That was all he said, and I was brought back into the fold. I held back my tears of relief and finally told him the name that I had refused to say since I left our house in Portland. I had some sort of weird belief that if I said his name, he would appear…sort of like Beetlejuice. I knew it was stupid, but I held on to that belief.

“His name is Anthony Richards.”

“Is he gonna cause you problems? Follow you?” Slider asked me, seemingly unconcerned.

“Probably. He’s going to be pissed I took off. He’s going to be livid when he figures out where we are.
If
he figures out where we are…”

“He don’t know where you came from, Brenna?” Pop asked incredulously.

“Uh, no. He didn’t. I didn’t bring it up, and he didn’t ask.” My face blushed with shame.

I never wanted them to feel like I was ashamed of them, but the truth was that I used to be embarrassed by our life when compared to Tony’s. His family was wealthy and very clean-cut, and so different from ours. I hadn’t wanted to bring him back here in his preppy clothes to see my family covered in tattoos and leather jackets. Not to mention, half of the boys on the property had outstanding warrants in more than a few states.

Looking back, I wished I had brought him here. Maybe someone would have noticed what I hadn’t. Maybe seeing me surrounded by men that most people would cross the street to stay away from would have given him enough incentive to keep his hands off me. Maybe he would have dumped me and never looked back. Maybe the last five years would never have happened.

The day Dragon got back started out normally or as normal as it could when I was sleeping with my four-year-old daughter in my pop’s bed at a biker compound. Slider refused to give us our own room because he didn’t want to set precedence, so Pop took one of the empty rooms while Trix and I stayed in his room. This seemed a little ridiculous to me, but I guess I could see his point. He wanted to make it very clear to the members and their bitches that this was a temporary situation. Bitches could stay the night in the guys’ rooms; however, they were not moving in. Ever. He didn’t want the drama of old ladies and club skanks fighting it out over living arrangements. What a clusterfuck that would be.

By noon, Trix and I were sitting at a picnic table eating sandwiches in the sunshine. It was mostly quiet around the club these days with so many of the boys gone with Dragon and Grease. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so calm. Not at peace as there were too many unknowns for that, but I felt safe. Trix and I hadn’t left the compound once since that first day. Vera had offered to go to a local Walmart to get us some clothes and toys for Trix, so we didn’t have to leave. Thank God because I wasn’t sure that I could have made myself go outside the gate.

When I heard the roar of pipes coming up the driveway, I was instantly alert. There were far too many for it to be just one of the boys who had left on some errand. It was at least six or seven. Dragon was home, and it was time to face the music. I didn’t want to freak Trix out, but I really wanted to get inside before they reached us. It was too open out here, and most everyone was inside at this time of day. I was really hoping that Pop would take Trix while Dragon and I had our little conversation. I quickly picked up our garbage and swung Trix down from her seat, but I wasn’t quick enough. The boys rolled into the forecourt followed by a dark gray sedan with tinted windows. Dragon was parked closest to us, and we immediately made eye contact as he climbed off his bike. His face was completely emotionless as he started in our direction. He didn’t make it far before I heard a voice behind him and felt Trix’s body push hard against the side of my leg.

“Ah, Brenna, my wayward wife. Come give me a kiss, love, and then it’s time to go.”

I slowly turned my head in the direction of the voice and felt my heart begin to race. Standing beside the sedan was my husband, flanked by two massive boogeymen with no necks. Tony looked the same as ever—expensive suit, loafers, and not a hair out of place. However, I could tell by the look on his face that he was livid.

How the FUCK did he get in here? Was Slider giving me back? Thoughts raced through my head, and for a moment, it was as if I had tunnel vision. All I could see was Tony, and all I could hear was his voice over and over
. Come give me a kiss, love. Come give me a kiss, love.
This couldn’t be happening. I snapped back into reality when I heard Trix’s whimper. I glanced down to see her watching the scene unfolding before us with unblinking eyes.

Dragon was striding toward Tony. His back was to us, but by the set of his shoulders, I knew he was pissed. Just then, Slider and Pop came out of the clubhouse followed by a group of the boys. This was not going to end well for anyone. Tony was outnumbered, but by the look on his face, he knew he was safe. I wasn’t sure if he thought I would just willingly leave with him or if Slider would hand me over, but I knew he thought this was going to end in his favor.

When Dragon was about five feet from Tony, Slider finally spoke up.

“Dragon, stop! Grease, grab him!”

By now, the goons had pulled weapons, but so had the brothers. It was a standoff between them with Trix and me in the thick of it. Dragon didn’t act like he’d heard Slider as he strode toward Tony. He was moving at the same steady speed as before, completely ignoring the guns pointed him. Before Grease could grab him, Trix called out from beside me.

“Papa!”

I was pretty sure my jaw dropped. What the fuck? I knew she wasn’t talking to Tony. She only ever called him Daddy. She never made noise around Tony, especially when he was in a mood. She called my Pop Gramps. This was fucking weird, and even with everything going on around us, I was completely focused on her as she called out again.

“PAPA!”

Dragon finally pulled himself to a stop about two feet from Tony. Only his head turned when he glanced back at us. As soon as he made eye contact with Trix, she took off running. I tried to catch her, but she slipped past me and weaved her way through the bikers like they were obstacles on a jungle gym. The kid was fast, and I was practically chasing her through the bikes. Once Dragon saw what she was doing, he quickly turned and started toward her. Within seconds, he swung her up on his arm, and she buried her face in his neck. You couldn’t even see it behind his beard. I slowed to a stop a few feet from them, out of breath and freaking the fuck out. What the hell was that? All of a sudden I realized that Tony had seen the whole thing, and my head slowly turned to catch his reaction.

He was laughing, but it wasn’t genuine. It was sinister and mean, and I thought for a second my sandwich was going to force its way past my throat.

“Ah, so you finally told her who her daddy was. Interesting timing although I guess you really couldn’t help it, could you? The little spic looks just like him.”

I was shaking so badly I thought my knees were going to give out. Dragon strode over to stand next to me as I faced Tony, and he lightly rested his hand at the small of my back. I could feel his body thrumming with energy, and I knew that if he weren’t holding Trix, Tony would already be a dead man—goons or no goons. I wasn’t sure where to look, what to do, or if I should say something. Tony was here in my safe place, and I just wanted him gone. Why couldn’t he leave us the hell alone? He stood there with that arrogant grin on his face and called my daughter a spic. I couldn’t even wrap my head around it, not to mention the fact that she wasn’t even Hispanic. Dragon was Native American.

“Look at that, a perfect little family. You fucking him yet, Brenna?” His eyes turned to Dragon. “She’s really good once you’ve knocked her around a bit. All that moaning and groaning. She hardly ever makes noise otherwise. Boring as hell, really. I guess you already knew that though. It was so satisfying, you know? Fucking her after I knew she went slumming here. Knowing that I had her, and some white trash piece of garbage was waiting around for her. I didn’t know who she slept with when she came back here, and I really didn’t care. But the kid looks just like you, so you must have been the one. Unfortunately.”

Dragon slid Trix off his arm and handed her to me, never taking his eyes off Tony. “Take her inside, Brenna.”

“Dragon, don’t—“

“NOW, Brenna. Go now.” He gave me a little shove.

I wasn’t about to watch what Dragon was going to do, and I really didn’t want Trix to see it, so I did as he told me.

As I passed Pop, he grabbed my arm lightly. “Bring her to Vera and come back out here, lass. I don’t think we’ll be able to control the situation otherwise.”

Vera was right inside the door as I rushed in, and I almost didn’t see her. She stood at an angle facing Tony and the goons with a shotgun propped in a little notch in the doorframe. You couldn’t see her from outside, but I was surprised I didn’t remember where she would be standing. This was her place during anything that went down in the forecourt. She could easily shut and bolt the door from this position, but she would still be able to protect Slider’s back. Slider hated it, but eventually, he came to accept it. He was the one to notch the doorway, so she wouldn’t have to support the shotgun for long periods of time.

“Vera! Can you take Trix?”

“You goin’ back out there?”

“Yeah, Pop told me to come back out.”

“Sure. Come here, Trix. Let’s let your mama go bust some heads.”

I handed Trix off to Vera and took a deep breath before going outside. I wasn’t sure what Pop was expecting me to do once I got there. I had no control over either of the men in my life—obviously or I wouldn’t be in this damn position in the first place.