Craving Constellations (8 page)

When I got outside, I glanced at my surroundings. Tony was still by the car, Dragon was still facing him with no expression on his face, Pop was standing closest to me by the doorway, and Slider was a few feet in front of Pop. He sounded like he was trying to diffuse the situation without freaking the fuck out. I couldn’t quite hear what he was saying. My ears seemed to be buzzing, but I had a pretty good idea. The fact that Tony had come onto Aces’ property uninvited was huge.

This fucking mess was getting worse by the minute. It wasn’t like the boys could just take Tony and his henchmen out. The Richards family had a lot of connections, probably not as many as the Aces, but definitely enough to cause them more trouble than the boys wanted to deal with. Police and FBI could be swarming all over the compound by the time the sun went down if Tony made one phone call. Slider was livid that Tony had come onto the property, but he was also in the very awkward position of harboring a Richards…even if it was just a wife.

While I tried to figure out what exactly Pop was expecting me to do, I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye and realized that another car was racing up the driveway. Who the hell was that? I was pretty sure that it was a woman. I couldn’t imagine one of the boys driving a little silver convertible. Why the hell was she driving so fast? I could see brown long hair flying around her face, but that was pretty much it. I was curious, but I needed to focus.

Pop glanced over at me, and I figured it was now or never. I slowly walked toward Dragon, trying to remain unnoticed, making no sudden movements. There were a lot of guns pointed at the little piece of ground I was walking to. The tension was so thick, I felt like I was going to choke on it. Both Dragon and Tony turned their eyes to me as I walked between them. I was keeping my back more toward Dragon because I was close enough to them now that I couldn’t face them both at once. As pissed as Dragon was at me, I would rather have my back to him. Tony was unpredictable. Dragon was solid. I also wanted to make clear that my alliance was with the Aces. I could still hear Slider droning on behind me, trying to smooth things over…well, sort of. He was telling Tony to get the fuck off of his property before he buried him. Well, that was not what I was expecting to hear.

I had barely reached Dragon when the driver of the little silver convertible bounced up between us. She was gorgeous. Her hair hung to her ass and was silky, like one of those shampoo commercials. And the ass her hair was swishing across was fantastic. She was wearing leggings and a snug, little T-shirt, and I could tell that her tits were fake—very fake and very perky. She was a freaking goddess.

“Baby! What’s going on?”

And she was obviously stupid. All of these thoughts rushed through my head in a matter of seconds before I realized I was standing next to Dragon’s old lady. His beautiful, built, idiot old lady. Fuck me. Was I in a comedy of errors for fuck’s sake? Seriously? She shows up now? Yeah, I really should not have been surprised. This was how my life went. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. She wrapped her arms around his waist, oblivious to the fact that his hands were still hanging down at his sides, and his face was like stone. Every single person had gone completely silent. Was this bitch insane or just completely self-absorbed? I couldn’t tell.

Tony began to laugh. “Ah shit, Brenna. God, and here I thought you were fucking the spic again. Shit. No way in hell is he leaving her for you. There is no comparison. Damn.” His eyes darted between her and me and then settled on me. “You don’t want to leave yet. Okay. You won’t be here long. You thought you’d just come back here and have your little family? Run back to this guy and start up all over again? That bitch has got a ring on her finger. There isn’t shit here for you. You’ll come back, baby. You’ll pay for it, but you’ll come back.” With a nod to his goons, he climbed back into the car.

I didn’t say anything back. I didn’t refute it. I just stood there, completely still. If I moved, I knew my body would shatter into a million pieces, and I’d never find them all. All these boys knew me. Even the ones I hadn’t grown up with, I’d met in the past two weeks. They knew I had left my husband. They knew he was crazy, and Pop and Slider were giving me sanctuary. They knew Dragon was Trix’s father. However, as I stood there, I also realized that they knew how hot Dragon’s old lady was, that he was married. They knew that I never stood a chance with him, which shouldn’t have even mattered because I’d told myself over and over that I didn’t want him.

But I did. I did want him, and now, I felt hollow. Tony insinuated that I’d come back to find Dragon, and he was right. I’d told myself I was running to my Pop, but I wasn’t. I was running to Dragon the same way I had always run to him in my mind when I needed him. Every time Tony beat me and every time he raped me, I’d closed my eyes, and I was with Dragon. I didn’t see anything, but his face close to mine, whispering like the night we met. And now, all of these men knew that my own husband looked at me and realized I wasn’t even in the same league as Dragon’s wife.

I didn’t know how long I was there before someone grabbed my arm, and I realized I had just been standing, eyes closed, in the middle of the forecourt, slowly falling apart while Tony left and the boys dispersed. It was Pop.

“Let’s get you inside, lass. You’re shaking like a leaf.”

I let Pop drag me toward the clubhouse even though I really didn’t want to go in there. The silver convertible was still parked in the yard, and I knew she was still around here somewhere. I also didn’t want to face everyone after that parting gift from Tony. What a fuck. He knew just what to say to inflict the most damage, and as usual, he had perfect aim. God, I was humiliated. I must have looked so pathetic, standing there in my own world while everyone left. Fuck.

The clubhouse was noisy when we walked in, and thankfully, no one seemed to notice us arrive. I glanced around to find Trix, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. She was supposed to be with Vera, but Vera was on Slider’s lap near the bar. No Trix. Pop had gotten a few steps ahead of me, but he stopped when he noticed I wasn’t moving. I was twisting from side to side, frantically searching for my girl in this room filled with bikers, and I couldn’t see her anywhere.

Had Tony somehow gotten ahold of her? No, he couldn’t have. She was with Vera; there was no way he took Trix. But where the hell was she? I’d only been outside for fifteen minutes tops. What the fuck was Vera doing with Slider? Where the
hell
was my child? My heart was thumping in my ears, and I was breathing so fast I could see black spots dancing in my vision. Oh god. Where was she?

I felt Pop come up behind me, and his arm stretched out over the top of my shoulder, his finger pointing to the corner of the room where a few leather chairs sat. He didn’t say a word, but I instantly saw what he was pointing at—Trix. Thank God.

My relief was short-lived when I realized Trix was on Dragon’s lap, and his bitch was seated beside them. She had a confused look on her face as she was watching Dragon talking to my girl. After a few seconds, her eyes turned cold and mean.

Oh, hell no. He was out of his fucking mind bringing that bitch around Trix, and she was out of hers if she thought she could glare at my girl that way. I made my way slowly and calmly through the clubhouse, trying in vain to get by unnoticed. I really didn’t need every member of the club seeing our little family drama unfold like a daytime soap opera. I should have known that they would be watching though, especially after the show outside.

As I reached where they were sitting, I could hear her voice. It was annoying, a little high-pitched and babyish, which was more than a little disturbing, but the words coming out of her mouth stopped me cold.

“Baby, she’s just precious. Look how beautiful she is! I can’t believe you have a daughter! Well, I guess
we
have a daughter, huh?” She glanced up through her eyelashes.

Was she fucking serious? I ignored her for the moment and walked directly to Dragon and Trix.

“Mama!”

Trix launched herself at me, and I caught her up in my arms, sniffing her hair that smelled like a mix of baby shampoo and Dragon, and feeling grateful after the scare I’d had when I first walked inside. I really shouldn’t have worried. I knew Vera would guard her like a lioness, but after all of that shit outside, I was feeling a little jumpy. I couldn’t imagine something happening to Trix. What would I do without her? She was my everything.

I set her down and pointed her in the direction of Pop on the other side of the room. “Go see Gramps, yeah? I’ll be over in a minute.” I gave her a little shove, and she went skipping happily over to Pops, completely unaware of the undercurrent flowing between the three adults she was leaving.

Once I saw her off, I didn’t even hesitate. I turned around, swung my left arm up, and caught Dragon’s old lady under her chin. Then, I swung with my right and busted my knuckles across her teeth. She went down easily. Obviously, the bitch wasn’t from around here. Dragon stood up as if to stop me, but he didn’t move when he saw the look on my face. He just tilted his head as if wondering what I would do next.

I stood above her, and she was lying on the ground with her mouth bleeding and a dazed look on her face. I crouched down close to her head, grabbed her hair, and told her in a low voice, “My daughter has a mother. She is not and never will be yours. You stay the fuck away from her. And if I ever see you look at her again the way you were earlier, I’ll fucking cut your eyes out with a dull spoon.” I dropped her head and stood up, looking around the room.

Everyone was watching. Most were looking at me with respect, some in surprise, and Vera had a big-ass grin on her face. I didn’t care. I just wanted to get the fuck out of there. I walked to Pop and grabbed Trix.

“Come on, baby girl, it’s nap time. Want Mama to lay with you for a bit?”

I walked toward Pop’s room, nodding along to Trix’s chatter, but I didn’t hear a thing. The whole time I thought,
Shit—right back where I started
.

I was the princess of the Aces MC, and I had the bloody knuckles to prove it.

The trip to Boise went pretty well. Thank God we didn’t have any problems because my head just wasn’t in it. I didn’t want to leave the compound, but I had a job to do. There wasn’t a whole lot that would stop Slider from sending me where I was needed, and having Brenna show up with my kid sure as fuck didn’t rate a day off. I understood it even if I didn’t like it.

It took us close to two weeks to get the shit loaded and moved—longer than usual, but not enough to cause any problems. The buyers would pick it up at the new warehouse after a sit down with Slider, but I didn’t deal with that shit. I just moved things and dealt with other problems as they came up. We didn’t shit where we lived, so I was always moving stuff from one place to another. Buyers never showed at our warehouses; we always found a neutral zone to make the drop. Slider had called a couple of times to get an update, and each time, I could tell there was something on his mind. At one point, I’d asked about it, but he’d made it clear that we would talk about it when I got back, so I dropped it. He’d tell me if it were important.

By the time I got back to the compound, I was sweaty, tired, and hungry. I wasn’t looking forward to talking to Brenna. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that she’d kept my kid from me. Who the fuck did that? I also wasn’t looking forward to the retaliation from Poet. It was going to fuckin’ hurt. I knew he wouldn’t kill me, but I’d probably wish he had by the time he was done. Fuck. I couldn’t wait to see my girl though. I hadn’t planned on having kids. I just didn’t see the point. Sure, with Brenna, I’d thought about it—during that one night we’d had. But since her? No way. I didn’t need that shit complicating my life.

Kendra, the bitch I’d been with for the last year, sure as hell wasn’t mother material. The chick could barely tie her fuckin’ shoes. She worked though. She had a banging body. She let me do whatever the fuck I wanted to her, never complained, and seemed completely ignorant to anything outside her little bubble. Plus, she was a freak in bed. Fuckin’ crazy.

About two months ago, she’d started bitching about a ring, so I’d bought her one. She’d wanted to think that meant I was going to marry her, but I wouldn’t. Only one woman ever had the chance of that, and she had taken off for parts unknown for five years.

As I pulled up to the gate, a guy in a dark gray sedan pulled up behind us and rolled down his window. He looked like some kind of businessman, but he had some heavy-duty guards with him.