Page 50

Rachel

After I left Officer Bradley, I hurried back to Bee’s room, grinning widely as I saw her sat on the edge of the bed waiting for me. Dante shot me a questioning glance, and I mouthed the word “later” to him, nodding my head in Bee’s direction.

He nodded but pulled me to the side when Bee went to use the bathroom, his lips tightening when I told him about my conversation with our favourite member of the law.

“I’ll deal with it,” he promised, his eyes burning. I just nodded, because I didn’t have the energy to deal with that and let it spoil our day.

Dante scooped Bee up into his arms and carried her out of the building, taking her over to my car and hopped on his bike, racing back to the new clubhouse before us.

“Are you okay?” I asked, twisting my head so I could look at Bee. She was clutching her small teddy in her hands, unable to stay still as she strained to leave her seat. “You’ve been really quiet the entire journey.”

She nodded up at me, never taking her eyes off the road as she waited for the familiar house to come into view.

Some of the belongings from the clubhouse had been moved into the townhouse – the ones that hadn’t been damaged by the fire, that is.

I left Vienna with strict instructions to make sure Bee’s room was spotless, and all her toys were exactly as she had left them in the old clubhouse before disaster struck.

It now had a pool table, a dartboard, and a bunch of tables and chairs. And since the prospects had finally finished clearing up the mess of the dining room, and Vienna had spent all day on the decorations, the place was finally ready for the party.

“Daddy talked to me,” she said, still looking out of the window.

“Did he? What about?”

“He asked why I called you mummy. ”

“Oh.”

“He wasn’t mad.”

“I didn’t think he would be sweetheart. We both just want you to be comfortable.”

“I told him I like you being my mummy.”

I smiled softly. “That’s good.”

“That’s what he said.”

I didn’t push the conversation any further. She knew my thoughts on the topic, and now we were just going to take things at the speed she set. If she wanted to call me mummy from now on, that was fine by me. If she flipped between Rachel and mummy, that was also fine by me.

I pulled up at the side of the house, slowly travelling down the length of the driveway, laughing out loud at how impatient Bee was growing.

“You’re going slow on purpose!”

“I am not!” I said innocently. “You’re supposed to slow down when you reach your destination. You don’t want me to crash us into the wall, do you?”

“Rachel!” she whined.

“Okay, okay,” I chuckled to myself, bringing the car to a complete stop. “Go on, Princess. Your audience awaits.”

I jumped out of the car, just in time to see Bee throw open her door and go tearing down the garden path as though her life depended on it.

I picked up my speed, running after her so I could see the moment she made her big entrance.

She threw open the door and immediately burst into happy squeals at the sounds of the party poppers being released and the endless cheers of her family.

Dante came towards her and scooped her into his arms, lifting her high into the air. “She’s home!” he yelled above the noise of the crowd, which only succeeded in making them even louder.

He brought Bee back down and cradled her against his chest, rubbing her nose with his own.

“Gimme,” Vienna demanded, pulling Bee away from her dad and giving her the biggest hug. “My God, I’ve missed the shit out of you, my little biker,” he said, his voice gruff .

“Language!” I snapped, slapping him around the back of his head. He grinned at me, lifting Bee until she was sitting on his shoulders, her legs around his neck.

“Come on, Mini B, let’s take a gallop around your party,” he gave her legs a pat before he took off like a horse, galloping around the room.

Mama tried to reach for Bee, but he reared back, neighing loudly in her face, and took off galloping again.

Mama gave chase, and I heard a distinct “oh, shit,” before he gripped Bee’s legs even tighter and took off faster.

Dante pulled me close to his side, and I snuggled in, wrapping my arm around his back and rested my head against his chest, watching as Mama threatened to behead Vienna if he didn’t hand over her granddaughter.

He eventually passed Bee on, but it wasn’t to Mama.

He reared his hands as though he were a horse on two legs and then bent down low, allowing Shark to scoop Bee into his arms. Mama shook her head and went to reason with Shark, but he did the exact same thing as Vienna, except he pretended he was a literal shark and spat his water at Mama.

I laughed out loud at that, noticing the fuming look on her face as she rubbed the water away with both hands.

Shark passed Bee to Hacksaw, who pretended he was a dragon.

Hacksaw passed her to Doc, who mimicked being an eagle and used his claws to drag chairs in Mama’s path.

Doc passed Bee on to Crash, who pretended he was a motorbike and then finally passed her onto Ant, who spun her around, pretending he was a helicopter.

Bee was squealing in happiness, kicking her little legs, demanding the horse go faster, the motorbike revved, the helicopter to be louder.

“She loves it here, Rachel,” Dante murmured to me, and I knew it was meant to alleviate my fears.

“It’s not her feelings I’m worried about. I know she loves it here. It's her safety, Dante. Happiness won’t protect her.”

“No, but love and trust will. She has no need to feel fear, because she knows we’ll keep her safe.”

“Okay,” I said, not wanting to be drawn into an argument.

Especially as he was conveniently forgetting just how easy it was to hurt her. He didn’t want to discuss the fire. He was pretending as though it had never happened .

“You little shit!” A voice came from my left. It was one of the club whores – a term I still hated. She was shouting at Rooster, who had thrown a dart and narrowly missed her head.

“Move that big ass hair out the way next time,” he slurred in her general direction, and she responded by throwing her drink in his face.

I shook my head at them, but didn’t intervene. Little spats like that were so common, they barely held my attention anymore.

Mama finally got hold of Bee, and was smothering her face in a million kisses, telling her how happy she was that she was home.

I hated myself for it, but I felt some of the coldness towards Mama melt away. She was a dick of a woman, but there was no doubting how much she loved that little girl.

It was her one redeeming quality, and the only thing stopping me from putting a knife between her eyes.

“Do you want a drink?” Dante asked me, pulling away slightly.

“Please,” I nodded, feeling a wave of sickness come over me.

It was fucking hot in here.

“Are you alright? You’ve gone incredibly pale.”

“I’m fine,” I assured him. “I’m going to go and sit with Jenna for a bit.”

“I’ll bring your drink over. Gin?”

“Please,” I said again, making my way over to where Jenna and Shark were sitting.

“Room for a little one?” I asked, nodding at the empty seat.

“Take mine,” Shark offered, getting to his feet. “I want to go see Bee again, anyway.”

“You better get in line,” I laughed as he hurried off and took a seat next to my friend.

“You’re quiet tonight,” I said to her.

“It’s been a long couple of days,” she sighed back.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about me. You have enough on your plate.”

“Don’t be silly. What’s wrong?”

She sighed heavily. “I got my period today. ”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” I knew she and Shark had been trying to get pregnant for a while. I remember Macbeth had once told me she cried every time she got her period. Back when he was still pretending to be my friend and grooming me to trust him.

“I just thought something would have happened by now, you know?”

“It will,” I said, scooting my chair closer.

“But when? We’re at it like fucking rabbits and still, nothing. Every fucking month it breaks my heart seeing one line on those stupid tests.”

“Have you…?” I said, my words trailing off awkwardly.

“Been tested? Yeah, both of us. We’re both fine. There’s no logical reason why it hasn’t happened for us yet.”

“It will happen,” I said again. “I can’t say when, but it will happen. You’re both young, you’re both healthy. And if it doesn’t happen naturally, there are treatments to help.”

“I know. And Dante has already offered to pay for IVF, but I really want to keep trying naturally.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that. And it’s so much fun to keep trying,” I said, nudging her shoulder with my own.

“Come on, if this month isn’t your month, have a drink with me.

We could both do with the pick-me-up.” I said, catching Dante’s eye and putting up two of my fingers, gesturing to me and Jenna.

He nodded his understanding and grabbed another glass from behind the bar.

“I shouldn’t…”

“Why? You’re not pregnant, yet. And you’re not ovulating. There’s no point denying yourself a night of fun. Stressing won’t help your chances either. Drink with me, have a dance, and maybe we’ll even call a meeting of Sin into attendance,” I said, smiling at her.

“Alright. You’ve twisted my arm,” she grinned back. “And Rachel?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Piss off, you old softie. Here,” I said as Dante arrived, grabbing the drink from him. “Get this down you before the waterworks start. I deal with them enough from Dante.” I grinned at him, earning myself a soft punch to the arm.