Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club) (10 page)

In high school, the rumors of his cheating followed us around and I’d get angry with each one, not knowing in my youth and inexperience how to handle the situation or my emotions. Looking back, I know I added a lot of unnecessary drama to our relationship. I had trust issues, and Adam had a huge ego. Apparently that hasn’t changed, plus
Rake
’s life is like a free-for-all, smorgasbord of pussy. And this is the man I once thought I’d marry? I can’t help but feel disappointed.

Focus on the issue at hand, Bailey.

I can actually feel all the Wind Dragons look in Adam’s direction.

“I haven’t fucked anyone who mentioned being an old lady,” Adam replies, looking the man in the eye. “If you can’t control your bitch, pretty sure that’s not my fuckin’ problem.”

I cringe, then look at Anna and Lana, who are wearing similar expressions on their faces. The men are outnumbered, but they don’t seem scared in the least. I, on the other hand, want to run back into Rift and hide. From the corner of my eye, I see Arrow saying something to Anna under his breath and her slight nod in response. I’m too busy watching them to see the man from the other MC step forward and throw the first punch at Tracker. Adam pushes me backward, and then Anna grabs my arm and pulls me back into the club, Lana by our sides. She yells for the bouncers, telling them to lock the club doors so no one can get in and out. Her demands are met instantly.

“What do we do now?” I ask, unable to hide the panic in my voice. “Just watch them get beaten up?”

I look outside to see Adam punch a man in the face and then in the stomach.

“They’ll be fine,” Anna replies confidently. “It’s only two against each of them. They can handle it.”

Lana nods her head, not looking as confident as Anna but still standing strong. “They’ll be fine. And now they don’t have to worry about us being safe, so they can concentrate on kicking those dickheads’ asses. Knock him on his ass, Tracker!”

Christ.

What happened to the innocent little Lana I knew in high school?

I take a few steps away from the glass door and wrap my arms around myself.

I really just want to be at home with Cara right now. I didn’t sign up for this.

T
HE
cops eventually show up and everyone is taken in. With the camera footage from the club, Anna tells me it will show who started the fight, so “our” men will be fine. Sin rocks up with his wife, Faye, who heads to the police station to sort the men out. Sin takes the rest of us home, fuming the whole way about how he wasn’t there when “shit” went down. To me, it sounds like he’s just angry he missed out on a fight.

“They’re lucky none of you got hurt,” he rumbles, fingers clenching on the steering wheel. “All this because Rake fucked someone’s old lady? I guess it was only a matter of time before his dick got us all into trouble.”

I ignore Anna’s and Lana’s pitying glances.

Adam can fuck the whole world if he wants to; it has nothing to do with me anymore.

It doesn’t hurt.

Nope.

Not. One. Little. Bit.

Let him man-whore around town.

Bastard.

“What’s going to happen now?” Anna asks, looking in Sin’s direction. “You guys going to fight with the other MC every time you see each other because of some unfaithful woman and my slutty brother?”

Sin chuckles darkly. “We’ll see how it goes. Them coming into our space is asking for trouble and lacks some damn fuckin’ respect, although the men already taught them a lesson, even being outnumbered. I heard their president is in the hospital.”

He sounds proud.

Yeah, they’re all batshit crazy.

“Did you see the guy with tattoos all over this face?” Anna asks, making a face. “He looked scary as shit.”

“I saw Tracker punch him in the nose,” Lana says, smirking. “That was probably the only reason why. Otherwise I was too busy checking out my man to even notice the opposition.”

Sin snorts with amusement from the front.

Anna puts up her hand. “Hey, I checked out my man too. I also sussed out everyone else. I even picked out a few weaknesses in their fighting technique.”

We look at Anna with different expressions on our faces. Lana looks impressed, and me? I think my expression must hold a mixture of both shock and wonder.

“All the men should marry nerds,” Sin says, chuckling. “The women are becoming a force to be reckoned with.”

“Damn straight,” Anna calls out, resting her head back against the seat.

Lana glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “Strength comes in different forms. All of them are valuable.”

I don’t know why, but I suddenly avoid her gaze.

I get dropped off first. “Thanks for the ride, Sin.”

“No problem, Bailey,” he says, turning his head to me and giving me a look I can’t interpret.

“I’ll walk you to your door,” Anna says, getting out of the car. Silently we make it to my front step. I pull my keys out of my handbag and unlock my door.

“Well, this has been . . . fun.” I cringe, then flash Anna a sheepish look. “I hope the men don’t get into any trouble.”

Anna sighs and rubs the back of her neck. “They’ll be fine. Listen, I’m sorry you had to be there tonight. Just know that no matter what, you would have been safe, all right? The men would have had your back just as they would have had ours. You’re family.”

I smile and wrap my arms around her. “Thank you, Anna. It was definitely a night I won’t be forgetting soon.”

“I couldn’t help noticing who Adam’s first instinct was to protect tonight,” she murmurs, looking contemplative. “Interesting, don’t you think? It sure as hell wasn’t his own sister.”

I roll my eyes at that. “Probably because he knew Arrow would have it covered. And Tracker would protect Lana. That leaves only me.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Bailey,” Anna calls out as she walks back to Sin’s car. My smile drops as I step inside and close the door.

If he really cared about me, he wouldn’t have fucked those two women tonight, not that I care. Nope. Not at all.

*   *   *

After a few hours’ sleep, I get up and take Cara for her dance class, followed by some grocery shopping and a few other errands.
When we get home I’m tired and in no mood to cook, and Tia and Rhett have gone to visit her family, so I decide to take Cara out for dinner.

“Can we eat at the same place we did last time?” my daughter asks, pushing her dark hair out of her face.

“Why?” I ask, not so sure about going to the place we ran into Adam last time.

“Because the food I had was so yummy!” she says, beaming. “And the milk shake. And the nice man was there.”

Great.

Cara getting attached to Adam is the last thing I need right now.

“Why don’t we try a new restaurant?” I suggest, adding, “There’s a pizza place down the road we haven’t tried. I’m sure you can try all their different pizzas.”

“Okay!” she cheers, and I exhale in relief. I don’t want to have to face Adam after everything that happened last night. I wonder if he felt bad about sleeping with another man’s woman. Probably not. Though if you look at it from his point of view, he doesn’t owe the man loyalty, the woman does, and he said he didn’t know she was his.

Great, now I’m defending him.

Cara and I decide to walk to the pizza place, since it’s so close by. When we get there, I find it has a welcoming, family feeling to it, and am so glad we didn’t go back to the diner Adam frequents. I wonder how long they spent in jail last night, or if Faye was able to get them out quickly. It’s clear that hanging around the MC isn’t the best idea. I love the girls, and even the men are growing on me, but I need to think of Cara.

What if something had happened to me last night? Cara would have become an orphan. I know it’s pretty morbid to
think of things like that, but I do. I don’t want Cara to have no one. With her father not in the picture, that leaves only my side of the family. My own father is dead, and my mother moved away with her new husband. Cara, Tia, and Rhett are all I have.

I push the thought aside as we enter, and concentrate on the more cheerful subject of pizza. The place is as inviting as it seemed from the outside, and soon Cara and I are gorging on delicious slices of cheesy goodness.

“Have you had enough to eat, Cara?” I ask her as she sits back in her chair. It looks to me like she’s in a food coma.

She nods eagerly and touches her belly. “I’m full. It was so yummy!”

“So no room for dessert then?” I tease, grabbing my bag and sliding it over my shoulder.

She pouts. “I always have room for dessert.”

I grin.

We order ice cream.

T
IA
and I intertwine our arms as we leave the bathroom and re-take our seats. Tonight isn’t something that happens very often for us, but Tia’s mother is visiting for the week and offered to stay at home with the kids so we could enjoy a kid-free night together. After drinking a bottle of red wine and watching movies, we decided we might as well make the most of it, so we got dressed up and jumped in a cab. When the driver asked us where we wanted to go, I realized that I only know two places, Rift and Knox’s Tavern. There was no way in hell I was going to the former, so here we are at the latter, enjoying a drink and enjoying the view.

“Why haven’t I been here before?” Tia asks for the fifth time, flicking her blond hair over her shoulder and giving Ryan Knox her “sex eyes.”

“They’re all taken, Tia,” I tell her, scanning the bar, just people-watching.

“All the good ones are,” she grumbles, wrapping her arm around me. “I’m glad we’re out of the house though. It feels good to let loose a bit, doesn’t it?”

“Since getting back in touch with Anna and Lana, I’ve been going out more than I have in the last few years put together.”

“That’s true.” Tia giggles. “It’s great though. You can be a good mother and still get to have some fun. The happier you are, the best you give to your child.”

I look at her with a raised brow. “I think you need another drink.”

“I think you’re right,” she agrees, standing up. “I’ll order them.”

“He’s taken!” I say, trying not to laugh.

“I can still look,” she huffs, picking up her purse. “Nothing wrong with enjoying the view.”

I roll my eyes as she walks to the bar, hips swaying.

“Looks like tonight is my lucky night,” comes a sexy deep voice, making me jump slightly.

“Talon!” I say in surprise as he takes a seat, looking particularly happy with himself for some reason. I take in his extremely light hair, crystal-green eyes, and all black clothing, his shirt rolled up at the sleeves. Why did that instantly make men more attractive?

I like Talon, I do, but I know that hanging out with him isn’t a good idea. I really don’t need any more drama, and adding more bikers into my life is going to bring nothing but that. Still . . . It’s not in me to be rude to someone who has been nothing but nice to me thus far.

“I’m surprised you’re not at Rift,” he says, nodding his head at a passing man.

“New stomping grounds,” I joke, glancing around. “Where’s your partner in crime?”

“Slice? He’s around here somewhere,” he replies, smirking. “Where are yours?”

“Anna and Lana? They’re not here; I’m with another friend. My neighbor, actually. She’s at the bar,” I say, nodding my head in that direction. When I think about it, Talon is just Tia’s type, another reason why I wish we hadn’t run into him tonight.

He doesn’t look in Tia’s direction, keeping his green gaze locked on me. “Rake know you’re here?”

My eyes narrow. Deciding to deflect, I ask, “What’s the deal with you two, anyway?”

I had felt the tension between them. Adam didn’t seem to like Talon, but I had no idea how Talon felt about him. To me, it seems like there’s mutual respect between them, but something else simmering underneath.

Talon stretches his neck to the side. “No deal. Just seems to me that Rake thinks he has some kind of claim on you, and I don’t want to cause unnecessary shit.”

“He was my boyfriend in high school,” I say drolly. “And it didn’t end well. So I don’t know how that can transform into him having a claim on me. No one has a claim on me.”