“Alright, you two, back to your corners,” Tracker barks, gaining both of our attention.
Gently, I place Rachel on the bed and step away. I need to put as much space between the two of us as possible yet still be in here to hear what she has to say. Well, that and this is my fuckin’ room.
“Now, if you two can get along for a couple minutes, we can get to the bottom of this,” Tracker says, irritable as he glances between the two of us before focusing on Rachel. “Rach, I know you rarely got to spend time around the club growing up; however, you need to show respect.”
“Okay, Tracker, I’m sorry. I just need to make sure Corinne and Luca are okay,” she says softly.
“That’s their names?” Tracker asks as he sits next to her.
“Yes, Corinne Ann and Luca James.” The smile that crosses her face is one that only a mother who adores her children would have.
Pulling out my phone, I send Bear a text to bring the babies up here.
“You gave your son my name?” Tracker says quietly.
“Of course, I did,” Rachel whispers. “I need your help. Well, more like I need you to take care of the twins. I screwed up.”
“Back up and start from the beginning. You can explain to me how you got involved with the VP of Lucifer’s Heretics,” Tracker demands.
4
Rachel
Tracker’s demand for me to explain how I got involved with Lucien makes me feel like a traitor to my family. I mean, I didn’t realize what I was doing until it was too late.
“I’m waiting,” Tracker says.
Sighing, I close my eyes, might as well start from the very beginning. “I met Lucien after my sophomore year at ECU. Several of the girls from the softball team wanted to go out and have some fun. Normally, I didn’t go with them, preferring to stay in and study. I was taking a summer course to get ahead of the game. Anyway, they dragged me along with them. I didn’t know we were going to a motorcycle club until it was too late.
“Worse was they all ditched me when they found someone to either dance with or to go somewhere to fuck them. I was getting ready to leave when Lucien came up to me. He played all his cards right. Made me fall for him before I realized it. I thought everything about our relationship was normal. I mean, he took me out on dates, came to my softball games. He even supported me when I graduated with honors. I’d already moved in with him, and I was a fool for thinking a guy like him would be faithful to someone like me.
“I mean, who wants plain Jane when you can have a sea of women at your beck and call. The day I found out I was pregnant with the twins, I was so excited. It was the day I found out he was never faithful to me. Goes to show how naïve I’ve been considering it was the day he first hit me.” I go on to explain the rest of it to my cousin, all while trying to ignore the fact that he’s not the only one in the room.
Stoney’s in here as well. What is it about him that causes me to not think before speaking? I’m so used to watching my words with Lucien that I should know better, especially since this man is the President. Yet I can’t stop myself from snapping at him.
As I finish telling them everything, including what happened right before I ran with the twins, I can almost taste the tension in the room. Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and meet Tracker’s. “This is why I need you to take Corinne and Luca. You can keep them safe, and I can clean up the mess I made by being foolish and getting involved with the wrong man,” I say before lowering my voice, “I’m not my mother, and I refuse to be like her.”
“Why would you be like her? You are two totally different people,” Stoney demands.
Glancing in his direction, I take a brief second to let my gaze wander up and down his body before meeting his gaze. “Because my mother was a lowlife bitch who would have sold me to the highest bidder if it weren’t for my uncle. Yet when he offered to take me off her hands, she refused because I was her meal ticket. I don’t want my children to have that life, being a pawn in someone’s game. I won’t allow Lucien to use them against me. I’ll die first,” I say.
“You’re not gonna die, Rachel,” Momma B states as she strolls into the room, carrying Luca in her arms with her husband Bear right behind her. I’d know her voice anywhere, even if I haven’t heard it in so long. I used to think of her as my fairy godmother growing up.
“That’s not what I’m planning to do, but all the same,” I say, shrugging before holding my hands out to take my baby as she comes closer.
“Rach, why didn’t you tell me about any of this before?” Tracker asks as he grabs my daughter out of Bear’s arms.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I suppose I feared rejection. Shit, I still do, but I’m not asking for protection for me I’m asking for these two. They’re innocent in all this,” I whisper.
“Rachel, I wouldn’t ever reject you. You’re family. But I gotta say, you’ve put us in a bind with this shit. And I’m not talkin’ something that can be fixed easily. This will start a war. ‘Cause I’m not gonna let you handle this on your own. We’ll have to figure something out,” Tracker says.
“The club will have to vote on this, but I know my brothers are gonna want to
