“Wait… What about Bee? Does she go to church?” I asked.
“She’s meant to, aye. But if you would feel more comfortable with her here…”
“No. I’ll tell my mother to go with the other ladies to church and take Bee with her. Do you think Imogen will show her the way?” I asked, referring to the old lady of his son, Trent.
“I’ll make sure of it. We love that little girl like she was our own, Rachel. You don’t need to worry. We’ll protect her and your mother.”
“She’s not going to like staying here.”
“Your mother? She’s got no choice. The Riders—”
“Oh, you don’t need to explain to me. She won’t like it, but I’m not arguing. Hogtie her to a chair, if that’s what it takes to keep her there.”
He grinned at me. “Nowthere’sthe Rachel we’ve come to know and love.”
“Thanks, Zach,” I breathed, my heart clenching at his words.
“It’s what the brothers are here for.” He pulled me into a quick hug, and then I turned to follow my mother and Jenna upstairs.
Chapter 2
Rachel
I found my mother wandering the hallway, a confused look on her face. I took mercy on her and showed her the way to Bee’s room.
After waking Bee and introducing her to my mother, I instructed them both to go downstairs and find Imogen and Zach. Bee knew who they were, so I didn't bother explaining to my mother. I promised Bee that everything was okay, and that I would come find her as soon as possible.
My mother tried to ask questions, but I silenced her every time with a sharp look. This was Bee’s life, and she had already been exposed to so much. I wasn’t going to let her find out about her dad until we knew exactly what we were dealing with.
“Everything is fine. It’s just a practice lockdown, and everyone needs to meet the target time for getting into church. Isn’t that right, Mother?”
I glared at her, and after a moment’s hesitation, she nodded and beamed a beautiful grin at Bee. “Can you show me what to do, honey? We don’t want to be the last ones there! Maybe along the way, I can tell you some stories about Rachel when she was your age. You wouldn’t believe the trouble she used to get into!”
Bee grinned her approval, and I sighed in relief as one battle of the night was won.
This wasn't Bee’s first club lockdown, so despite being blurry eyed and still half asleep, she clasped my mothers hand in hers and went to find Zach like I told her to.We had spent enough time together that she trusted me, just as she would her Dad, and knew I would never let any harm come to her.
Bee was shooting a dozen questions at my mother, oblivious to the tension in the air. It rolled off her like water off a duck’s back. The poor girl just couldn’t comprehend the level of chaos that had taken place here tonight.
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
It baffled me that no one was concerned about how much shit a child of five was being exposed to. Her main concern in life should be brushing her Barbie’s hair or annoying her dad into buying her another Bluey teddy. She shouldn’t be woken in the middle of the night to go and hide from enemies that had kidnapped the only parent she had left. Bee should be playing with kids her age, getting muddy, being a little terror in all the best ways.
Children only get one shot at childhood, and I hated the thought of her spending her one chance at a normal life in the club’s circle.
Sure, it offered her protection, but it also came with danger and robbed so much from her.
The fact that we were already teaching Bee the correct way to hold a gun, and how to hide in case of an ambush… it was fucking wrong.
The world is a dangerous place… surely it doesn’t hurt to know how to defend yourself?
No! I shoved away that thought. At her age, self-defence should be knowing how to defuse bullies or learning about stranger danger. It should not be target practice and teaching how to duck and cover.
She deserved so much better than all of this.
I watched them down the hallway, my heart heavy and my thoughts miserable. As they descended the stairs, Doc came flying up them, grumbling as he did so.I straightened my back and schooled my features into a neutral expression.
“What the fuck has happened now?” He all but yelled at me, causing a wry grin to split my lips.
