He took my bag from me and led me to his rental car. I climbed in, but my stomach roiled, and I just wanted to get eyes on my man.
“Is Ori okay?” I whispered.
“Yeah, sissy, he’s good.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Have you seen him to confirm ‘he’s good’?”
“No.”
“Oh, my god!” I squeaked. “What the hell is going on?”
“Jenae.”
“What about my mom?”
“Well, she’s here.”
“What?” I asked on a gasp. “Here, where?”
“The cabin.”
“No. Huh-uh. No way in hell.”
“Way,” my brother retorted.
“Why?”
“Because she went to the townhouse, where she was met by Scooby and Scrappy, and she demanded one of them take her to you.”
I groaned. “My mother is not really at the cabin, surrounded by bikers…is she?”
He grinned. “’Fraid so, sissy.”
“Jesus Christ. Did she remove her jewelry and hide her Birkin in the trunk?”
He glanced at me and nodded, his grin widening.
“Has she seen you yet?”
He couldn’t stop his laughter as he shook his head and I smacked his arm.
“You did not really leave her there alone without at least reassuring her she was going to be okay, did you?”
He grimaced.
I couldn’t blame him too much. My mother was a snob. With a capital S and had not always been kind to Tristan. He was the person who stood between her and our dad. He never did, but she always saw him as a threat.
Even twenty-eight years later, she was convinced my dad would leave her for a younger woman and that Tristan would help facilitate that. She was fifteen years my dad’s junior, she had been a flight attendant, and since he was a pilot, she saw the bevy of offers he received on a daily basis, so I suppose it was a natural insecurity when she started to get older, but my mother was beautiful. Cindy Crawford beautiful.
“Oh, my god.” I dropped my face into my hands. “You are such a dick.”
“Guilty.”
“Who’s entertaining her?”
He leaned away from me. “Wrath.”
“Holy shit, Tristan, drive!”
We were seconds from the gates of the compound, and I jumped out of the car almost before it had come to a complete stop, running into the cabin and almost slipping on the hardwood as I tried to stop myself from running into the wall.
“Mom?” I called as I walked in.
“Over here, honey.”
I glanced around the room full of bikers and found her sitting in the corner with Sierra, a cup of tea in front of her and I bit my lip and smiled at my best friend who was the greatest human being on the planet.
I made my way over to them, and my mom stood, pulling me in for a hug. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
“My baby girl nearly dies in a fire and then doesn’t tell me about it for days? You don’t think I wouldn’t rush my booty to her side to make sure she’s okay?”
I blushed, dropping my head in contrition. “Sorry, Mama.”
She sighed. “Now, what’s this about the townhouse being fumigated?”
“Oh, uh, right.”
“Termites,” I said at the same time as Sierra said, “Roaches.”
“Termites and roaches,” I corrected. “It’s sort of an infestation.”
“Totally Biblical,” Sierra interjected, and I gave her a look of warning. We did not need to go into any further detail to push my mother off the rails more than she was fixing to be.
“Oh, my word,” Mom breathed out. “We paid prime money for that home. I’m going to need to call the insurance company.”
“No,” I rushed to say, maybe a bit aggressively. “Um, Orion’s club is helping us out, so we don’t need to get the insurance company involved.”
“Why are you staying here?” she whispered. “I’d feel much better if you girls were in a hotel. I’ll make a call and book you a room.”
“No, Mama, it’s okay.”
All of a sudden, my mother’s face twisted into both disgust and fear, and I turned to see Orion walking in, soaking wet and covered in blood.
“What the hell happened?” I cried, rushing to him, my mother quickly forgotten.
Orion frowned in my mother’s direction and looked to Wrath for answers.
“It’s my mom,” I whispered, annoyed he’d ignored my question.
“Fuck,” he hissed.
“Why are you covered in blood?” I demanded, running my hands over his chest.
“It’s not my blood, Frazzle,” he whispered. “Give me a minute.”
“No. I want answers, Adam,” I growled.
He grabbed my wrists and bent down to get eye-to-eye with me. “I need to go get cleaned up so I can meet your mom without totally freaking her the fuck out. Wanna give me a few minutes to do that, or do you want to stand here and bust my balls with her continuing to watch?”
Tristan made his way to my mom and hugged her awkwardly. “Hey Jenae. Good to see you.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Where’s Olivia?”
“She’s home with the babies. I needed to do some continuing education, and there’s a great course close by, so I figured I’d come and look in on Raquel.” He nodded toward Orion. “Orion was helping me patch up one of the men who took a nasty spill on his bike.”
I bit my lip to keep from squeaking. Lordy, I could kiss my brother right now.
“Mrs. Brooks, I’m just going to clean up so I can make a better first impression,” Orion said, and I let him go, making my way back to my mom.
My mother appeared to be a bit flabbergasted as she focused back on Tristan. “You left your wife alone with twins?”
“No,” he said, calmly. “She’s surrounded by our family, including Dad, so she’s covered.”
“I bet she’d rather have you there.”
“Oh, I know she would. But she also appreciates that I have a career and that career requires I keep up with my license requirements.” He raised an eyebrow. “I also wanted to make sure Raquel was okay, so I’m here.”
Mom huffed, then pulled me aside. “I want you in a hotel.”
“No, Mom, really,” I said. “We won’t be here for long.”
She tugged me further into the corner. “Where are you sleeping?”
“There’s a bunkroom here,” Tristan said, and I gave him a look of total besotted appreciation for my big brother. I could never lie to my parents, even by omission. He had no problem doing it, even though, this wasn’t technically a lie. There was a bunkroom here. He just didn’t mention I wasn’t sleeping in there.
“Does it have a lock on it?” Mom asked.
“Yes. Several,” I said. “Big ones. But even if there weren’t, there’s nothing to worry about. No one here would ever lay a hand on me. I know it’s hard to explain, but it’s kind of like having a bunch of big brothers around.”
“If you’re into incest,” Sierra retorted, albeit quietly.
I glared at her, hoping to god my mother didn’t hear that.
“Mom, why don’t we go to dinner? Somewhere nice,” I suggested, just as Orion made his way to us, his clothing changed, but he couldn’t hide his scraped-up knuckles, and I wished my mother wasn’t here so I could find out exactly what the fuck happened.
“Probably best to stay here,” Orion countered, and smiled his panty-dropping smile at my mother. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to greet you properly. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
My mom gave him a weary smile. “You too.”
“Please feel free to make yourself at home,” Orion said.
“I’d rather go somewhere…else. No offense.”
“Some taken,” Orion grumbled.
“Dinner sounds like a great plan,” Mom continued.
“We actually have a club dinner planned today,” Orion lied.
; “Oh, well, that’s perfect. I’ll take Raquel and y’all can enjoy your club time.”
“Raquel needs to be here,” Orion insisted.
“I’m sure you can live without her for one dinner.”
I faced Orion. “Surely, the Bistro’s an option?”
He shook his head. “I’d rather we—”
“The Bistro sounds like a lovely place,” my mother interrupted. “Shall we?”
“Actually, Mom, would you mind if I cleaned up a little?” I asked. “I have been in class all day and I’d really like to freshen up.”
“Jenae, I’m dying to hear your story about the middle eastern sheik,” Sierra said. “Maybe you can tell it while Raquel changes.”
“Of course,” Mom said, and I grinned at Sierra. I’m pretty sure I owed her a kidney.
“I won’t be long,” I promised, and headed up to Orion’s room.
He followed, closing us in as I started pulling my shirt off.
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded in a whisper.
“Why are you whispering?” he asked with a smirk.
“Because my mother has the hearing of a bat.” I grabbed one of his hands and ran my thumb gently over the knuckles. “What happened?”
“I don’t want you leaving the compound, Razzle,” Orion said, ignoring my question.
I dropped his hand and rummaged through the dresser drawer for a clean shirt. “Looks like we don’t have much of a choice. My mom always gets what she wants, and what she wants is to take me to dinner.”
He dragged his hands down his face. “Baby, it’s church night. I can’t come with you.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re not invited.”
“Jesus,” he hissed.
“Why are your hands all scraped up, Orion?”
“Babe—”
“Adam,” I ground out.
“You know, I’m starting to fuckin’ hate my name,” he ground out.
I frowned. “Why?”
He crossed his arms. “Because you only use it when you’re pissed at me.”
I sighed. “I’ll try to use it when I’m super happy and in love with you, then.”
“In other words, you’re not super happy and in love with me now?”
“Who did you fight with?” I asked.
“Wasn’t so much of a fight as a lesson.”
“For whom?”
He studied me for a few tense seconds before he made the correct choice to tell me. “Orca.”
I gasped. “Did you beat the shit out of Orca, or were you defending yourself?”
“That’s all you’re gettin’, Raquel.”
“And what kind of a mess is that going to cause?” I challenged.
“I made my bed and I’m gonna lay in it,” he retorted.
“Did you change the sheets first?”
“Baby, no blowback.” He dragged his hands through his hair. “He tried to fuckin’ kill you. That shit cannot go unchallenged.”
“Okay, fine. I get that, like Tristan, you’re a biker, so you have a code. But why does this mean Mom and I can’t drive the three miles to the Bistro and eat dinner together?”
“Because I can’t be there.”
“Then, Tris can come.”
“He can’t be there either.”
“Right, church.” I wrinkled my nose. “Okay, then who can come?”
“The only person available, who I trust, is Aero, but—”
“Great, we’ll go with Aero,” I said, pulling a T-shirt over my head. “He’ll just have to make himself scarce.”
“No.” I faced him, and he shook his head. “It’s not happening, Razzle.”
I crossed my arms. “Do you really think Orca’s club will come after me and Mom at the Bistro?”
“I’m not taking any chances.”
I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around him, kissing the base of this throat. “Smoky, we’ll be fine. The restaurant’s less than five miles away.”
“That’s not really the point.”
“Please let me have a dinner away from the compound with my mom.” I ran my tongue over his pulse. “I need out.”
He sighed, sliding his hands into my hair. “Let me see if I can send Grimace for backup.”
I grinned up at him. “Thanks, honey.”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
“I promise I will not let either of us get hurt.”
He kissed me again and then led me back downstairs, where he promptly pressed me against the wall and gave me a brief make-out session away from prying eyes.
“Ew, isn’t he like your ‘big brother’?”
Well, so much for that. I broke our kiss and raised an eyebrow at my best friend.
She glanced around. “Last I checked, we were in Colorado, not Kentucky. Did you beam me up?”
I rolled my eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be babysitting my mom?”
“She invited me to go with you, so I’m going to put on a little makeup.”
I smiled. “Awesome.”
“I’ll be quick.”
Orion and I walked into the great room where Tristan was now entertaining my mom. Well, until Wrath totally lost his shit.
“No fucking way,” he bellowed. “Goddammit! This is bullshit!”
He stalked through the room and stormed up the stairs.
I glanced up at Orion and he leaned down and whispered, “Looks like Wrath found out Sierra was going with you.”
I raised my eyebrows in shock. “That was for Sierra?”
He nodded. “Like I said, baby, he’s all about keeping her safe.”
A few minutes later, Sierra came bounding down the stairs, looking like she was primed for murder. “You need to curb your dog,” she snapped at Orion, jabbing a finger at him.
“Not really in my job description, sweetheart.”
“Is this what it’s like here every night?” my mother demanded, her nose in the air and her lips pursed in disapproval.
“No,” I said emphatically.
“I think we should go,” Mom continued. “Now.”
I sighed, leaning on my tiptoes to kiss Orion quickly, then following my mother and Sierra out to Mom’s rental car. The roar of pipes sounded behind us and I glanced back, seeing Wrath and Aero following, instead of Grimace and Aero.
“Is he serious?” Sierra hissed.
“Why are those motorcycles following us?” Mom asked.
“Orion wants to ensure we make it to the restaurant safely.”
“Why wouldn’t we be safe?”
“No reason, Mama,” I assured. “It’s their way of looking out for us.”
“Or stalking us,” Sierra muttered.
“What was that honey?” Mom asked.
“Oh, nothing, Jenae. It’s all good,” Sierra said.
We drove to the restaurant without incident, and I noticed that Wrath and Aero stuck around. In fact, they walked into the restaurant and got a table.
Next to us.
“Are they really going to eat with us?” Mom asked.
“They’re not technically eating with us, Mom. It’s fine, just ignore them.”
I made sure she took the chair with her back to them, while I sat across from her with Sierra in between. It wasn’t lost on me that Wrath changed his seat so he could be closer to Sierra, and I don’t think it was lost on her either, with the glare she was aiming his way.
“What’s good here?” Mom asked, perusing her menu.
“Everything,” I said, kicking Sierra under the table who was still glaring daggers at Wrath.
Wrath grinned wide and Sierra reluctantly focused back on her menu.
Raquel
WE SURVIVED DINNER, sort of. Sierra went to the restroom, a lot. So much so, Mom began to worry she had dysentery. What made it even more awkward was that Wrath followed her. Every time.
“I’d really like you to come back with me,” Mom said as we headed back to her car.
Wrath had insisted Sierra go
with him, so Mom and I were alone.
“I can’t, Mama. I have to study.”
“I came all this way to spend some time with my girl, surely you can take some time off,” she said as we parked in front of the cabin.
I stuffed down my frustration as I faced her before getting out of the car. “I love you. To the moon and back, you know that. But I’m struggling a little with the curriculum this semester and I need to pass these two classes, or I might not graduate.”
She sighed. “Daddy mentioned that.”
I gave her arm a squeeze. “Are you okay? If you know I’m knee-deep in this crap, what possessed you to come all the way here when I can’t spend time with you?”
She dropped her head.
“Mama, what’s wrong?” I whispered.
She took a deep breath and met my eyes. “I’m being extorted.”
“What?” I squeaked as we made our way up to the cabin porch.
Her face flushed and she looked at the ground again. “A sex tape. Taken before your father and I got involved.”
Okay, I was gonna need a few more hours and a lot of tequila to process that.
Moving on.
“You need Tristan’s help, don’t you? So you used me being here as an excuse to talk to him.” I sighed. “Mom, you could have just called him. He’ll help you.”
She shook her head. “I can’t call him. My phone’s been cloned or hacked or something. He’s listening to everything.”
“He. So you know who he is?”
She nodded.
“Who?”
She blinked back tears. “Gary.”
I gasped. “Uncle Gary?”
She blushed even redder and my stomach roiled. Gary was my dad’s older brother and he’d always been a creep, which was why I had only met him a handful of times.
“Oh, my god, you slept with Uncle Gary?”
“He forced me.”
“He raped you?”
“Well, no, technically it wasn’t rape. I agreed.” She met my eyes again. “Baby, I do not want to go into detail with you on this. It was a bad time, and I will not be able to live with myself if your opinion of me changes.”
I pulled her in for a hug. “Mama, nothing you do will change my love for you. Well, unless you cheat on Daddy, of course.” I leaned back and met her eyes. “Oh, my god, did you cheat on Daddy?”
“I would never,” she hissed out. “He and you kids are my world.”
Primal Howl (Primal Howlers MC Book 1) Page 15
