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“Hey, Tonya, it’s good to see you. I’m Jake, remember me? What brings you here tonight? Is everything okay?” I asked softly. Sure, I was a prospect and a member should be asking the questions, but the cop in me couldn’t keep still. She blinked a few times, as if trying to decide what to say.
Finally, she answered me.
“Hi, Jake. It’s good to see you too. Yeah, I remember you. Soleil told me you joined as a prospect. Congratulations. Listen, I hate to barge in like this, but I was wondering if you know where Falcon and Soleil are? They’re not at their house.”
I recalled they had gone away for a few days and Lara was staying with Tiger, Thorn, and Neriah. They thought it would be good practice for when their son came in just over two months.
“Honey, they went away to Nashville for a few days, remember?” Sniper reminded her gently.
Her face fell and she sighed. “Damn, you’re right. I forgot. Sorry. No wonder they didn’t answer their phones, and the house was dark. Thanks for reminding me. I don’t know where my head is. Thanks again. I think I should be going. See you all later. Have a good night.”
She turned to head for the door. I don’t know what came over me, but I couldn’t let her walk out. She was in need and I couldn’t let her leave without finding out what she needed and getting it for her. I gently grabbed her arm, right above her elbow. She flinched and jerked away from my touch. Alarms began to go off in my head. I’d seen women react like that too many times and it was never good.
“Tonya, tell us why you needed Falcon and Soleil. And tell me why you’re flinching from my touch. What happened to your arm?” I asked, trying to keep the growl I felt out of my voice.
“A-ah, it’s nothing. It can wait until they get back. I didn’t mean to flinch. You took me by surprise, that’s all,” she quickly said.
I noticed she was wearing long sleeves. Yeah, it was early May and still a bit chilly out, but she looked like she was bundled up for winter. The fact she didn’t have the kids with her was a big warning sign too.
“Tonya, where are the kids? Did you leave them in your car? They shouldn’t be out there alone, honey. Bring them inside and let’s talk. We’ll help you,” I told her.
She started to tremble when I mentioned the kids. As we stared intently at her and she gazed around at each of us, I saw her resolve start to crack. Tears gathered in her pretty blue eyes.
“They’re asleep in the car. I didn’t want to wake them. I need to go and get them to bed.”
This time, I didn’t touch her to try and stop her. Instead, I walked around her and stood between her and the door with my arms crossed. There was no way she was leaving without us finding out what the hell was wrong. I saw the determined look on the others’ faces. Gunner had his phone out and was texting. I wondered who he was messaging. It wasn’t super late, so all the guys should still be awake.
“Jake, please move,” she pleaded.
“His name is Law,” Bandit popped in to say.
He was right. Even though I hadn’t been patched in, due to my law enforcement job, the guys had already given me a road name. Law made sense. It was simple but I liked it.
“Law? I didn’t know you could get a name when you’re still a prospect,” she said in surprise.
“Most don’t, but he’s special,” Coyote said with a grin.
“Okay, Law, please move. The kids will be waking up and they’ll be afraid in the dark car by themselves.”
I looked at Lance. He nodded and went out the door. I knew he’d be back in a couple of minutes with her kids.
“Darlin’, we’re not going to let you go until you spill, so sit down and have a drink. Tell us what’s going on. You’re nervous and, dare I say it, afraid,” Gunner added.
He pointed to one of the tables near her. It took her almost a minute to decide she wasn’t going to win against all of us and take a seat. That’s after she scanned all of our faces intently. As soon as she sat, Gunner went behind the bar and got her a bottle of cold water out of the fridge. He came back and slid it across the table to her after opening it. She gave him a grateful smile.
Seeing that made my stomach do a funny flip. He was only being nice, but her smiling at him didn’t sit well with me.What the hell? Since when did I care about a woman I barely knew smiling at another man?Sure, she was a friend to an old lady and, as such, we’d always watch out for her, especially with her being alone and having kids. However, being upset that she smiled at a brother made no damn sense. I took a seat across from her, ignoring my crazy thoughts.
She was prevented from answering our questions by the door opening and Lance coming in. He had two sleepy larger kids hanging on to his belt loop. In his arms, he was carrying a toddler. I thought back to what I heard to recall their ages. The twins were four-and-a-half or so, I think, and the little guy was just over a year old.
She held out her arms. Lance placed the baby in her arms and the other two climbed up on chairs next to their mom. They didn’t say anything but looked around the room curiously and sleepily. I didn’t want to say anything wrong in front of her kids, but she needed to tell us what was going on. What could we do to occupy the kids while we talked to her?
The door opened again and in came Terror. Close on his heels was Harlow. I didn’t see their kids. Someone must be watching them. They came immediately to the table we were at.
Harlow greeted Tonya with a smile and a hug. I watched as she did and noted another tiny flinch when Tonya was touched. Terror stared down at her after he said hello. He was an intimidating guy and his stare could get almost anyone to talk.
“Tonya, why don’t you let Harlow take the kids to our house? They can play with Hunter, Emmie, and Justice. We need to talk,” he said gruffly.
Staring at Terror, Tonya slowly and wordlessly nodded her head and whispered to the kids. They easily went to Harlow, who happily took them, after reassuring Tonya they’d be safe with her. As soon as they disappeared out the door, Terror jumped right into the thick of it.
