Chapter 9
Cole
One Week Later
Zeke’s gone into hiding, which means he could be anywhere. Until we know where he is and what he’s up to, I can’t risk letting Lena go home. I ignore the small voice inside my head that tells me I just don’t want her to leave, that I want to spend more time getting to know her.
I can see now why Rex has been pining after this woman for three years. She’s something special, just as he said. Of course, as soon as we got back from our trip, he told us all about her and how he thought he’d found the perfect woman for him, possibly for all of us, but that she’d up and left without a word, and he had no way of contacting her. I figured he’d move on pretty quickly, find a club bunny, maybe give in to Mary Beth’s persistent advances, but no one caught his eye.
I had my suspicions when our source told us about Zeke’s plan to kidnap a woman named Lena. After all, what are the odds that two Lenas had pissed Zeke off enough to want to kidnap them? But I didn’t want to risk getting Rex’s hopes up, so I kept quiet. The moment she said his name, I knew it had to be her. He hadn’t been exaggerating her beauty.
What I hadn’t been expecting was a lightning bolt moment, to feel that kind of immediate obsession with a woman you don’t know. Love at first sight only exists in the movies.Doesn’t it? So why do I feel this way?
I’m torturing myself with thoughts of Lena, knowing I can never have her. It seems like she hates Rex, though the poor bastard still has no idea what he did or why she feels so much animosity toward him, and she refuses to talk about it. I could never make a move on her. Not when my best friend is in love with her, even if he won’t admit that he is. The only way I could ever be with Lena is if Rex were too, and it doesn’t seem like that’s about to happen any time soon. Maybe not ever.
Although Lena mostly ignores Rex, she happily chats away to the rest of us. Well, mostly Doc and me to a lesser extent, Judge isn’t much of a conversationalist. Doc’s easy, joking nature seems to have won Lena over, especially as he’s so good with Mia. If any of us has a shot with her, my money is on him. Though of course, I know he’ll feel the same way I do; if we can’t share her, we can’t have her.
It’s fucking torture, is what it is.
Despite telling myself I need to stay away from Lena, that I shouldn’t be chasing a woman I can’t have, I keep finding excuses to spend time with her or to try to impress her. It’s clear that she’s a fantastic mom who loves her daughter more than anything, and the way to her heart is through Mia. So, of course, we’ve all been shamelessly bonding with Mia to impress Lena. However, the kid is super cute, so she’s easy to love.
I wonder if Rex sees what I see, and if he suspects that Mia is his. She’s the spitting image of him. Though Lena hasn’t said Rex is the father, I think he must be. Maybe that’s why Rex has struggled to bond with her, unlike the rest of us, because he’s wrestling with the notion she could be his daughter.
I find Lena and Mia in their room. Doc is with them, playing with Mia while Lena watches from the window nook.Several bears and are laid out on the floor, and they’re carefully wrapping bandages around their limbs.
“Hey, what are you guys up to?” I ask, leaning against the door jam.
“Playing doctors,” Mia responds, as though it should be obvious.
“Ah, well, if your mom and Doc don’t mind me stealing you away, I’ve got a present downstairs for you.”
Mia’s eyes light up as she springs up and starts bouncing around with excitement. “Present!”
“More presents? You’re spoiling her,” Lena chastises. But she’s smiling and doesn’t seem to be genuinely bothered. “Shall we go downstairs and see what Cole has got you?” she asks Mia.
“Yes!” she replies, nodding vigorously. She places her little hand in mine and drags me toward the door. We go slowly down the stairs, her toddler’s balance still struggling with the challenge of them, but she refuses to let one of us carry her. Eventually, she resorts to going down on her backside.
We go outside, and I present Mia with the trike I found for her. It’s pink and has tassels on the handles. “I thought I could teach you how to ride it,” I tell her.
Mia happily agrees and fearlessly climbs on the bike. After a few misfires and a narrowly avoided tantrum, Mia is happily cycling around with a big grin on her face. She shouts for Lena to watch every now and again, and Lena makes the appropriate noises of praise.
“You’re good with her,” Lena says to me, an unreadable expression on her face as she studies me.
“Did you think I wouldn’t be?”
“In all honesty, yes. No offense, but you don’t tend to picture motorcycle club bikers as the most nurturing of men.”
I chuckle. “No offense taken. Although I hope we’ve now proven to you that not all motorcycle clubs are gangs of thugs like the Iron Vultures.”
“You have.”
“Seems like Rex doesn’t fall into that category for you. If you don’t mind my asking, what happened between you two?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. But I would have thought it would be obvious, given the timings.”
“I did wonder, with Mia’s age…”
“Mia has nothing to do with Rex and me. I’m her mom, who her father is doesn’t matter,” she replies cagily.
