Chapter 14
Rex
It’s amazing how life can change so fast. One minute, I was pining after Lena, wondering what had gone wrong and why she seemed to hate me, and feeling jealous of her growing relationship with Cole. The next, the mystery had been solved, and she was finally in my arms again. I was on cloud nine after our reconciliation, having had some of the best sex of my life and knowing that Lena was willing to try our unconventional proposal. I should have known that happiness wouldn’t last long, that Mary Beth would betray us the moment she got the chance to. When the gunfire started, my heart stopped, and I moved purely on instinct. My only concern was to protect Lena.
Lena is terrified, and it breaks my heart. I wish I could make her understand that she’s safe with us, that I will protect her with my life, that Cole and the others will too. The moment the gunfire started, I saw the terror on her face, and despite our reassurances that we’ll protect her, I could tell she didn’t believe it. Lena has spent so long being independent and alone that she can’t trust herself not to have to fight alone anymore.
It’s been three days since the attack on the clubhouse, and Lena has barely left her room, other than to care for Mia and keep the little girl entertained. My hopes of us getting back on track with our relationship have been dashed, as she has pushed me away. She’s told me she just needs some space to process everything, and we’re all respecting that, but I can’t help feeling as if I’m losing her again. I keep agonizing over it, worrying that one day I’ll wake up and she’ll be gone.
She was quiet again at dinner, immediately leaving after we finished saying she had to put Mia to bed. If tonight is like the other nights, she won’t come out of her room again.
“We can’t let this go on, can we? It’s not healthy for her to withdraw like this,” I say to the guys after she’s out of earshot.
“We need to give her time, she’s been through a lot of trauma, it’s perfectly normal,” Doc responds.
“Fuck that,” I grumble, getting up from my seat and heading upstairs.
Mia looks pale and exhausted when she opens the door and sees me standing there. It makes me wonder if I imagined the other night, how she kissed me and screamed my name while Cole and I fucked her.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, holding the door close to her, as if worried I might barge in.
“Yes, everything’s fine. I’m just worried about you.” I reach out for her, and she withdraws. “Talk to me, Lena, what’s going on? I thought that we’d moved past everything that happened between us. That we were going to giveusa try again. Did I do something wrong?”
She shakes her head, looking forlorn. “No, no, it’s nothing you did. I just need time to process everything. I have to think of Mia, of her well-being and what is best for her, not what I want. Being involved with you all, with the Soaring Eagles, means danger. You’re at war, there’s no denying that.”
“We’ll protect you.”
She holds up a hand, cutting me off. “I know that, but you can’t watch us twenty-four-seven. I also don’t want to be responsible for escalating the conflict between you and the Iron Vultures. I can’t help feeling that it would be best for everyoneif Mia and I just left. If we went far away from here, to another state, somewhere Zeke would never find us.”
I feel sick at the thought of losing her and Mia, of them disappearing and never coming back. “You want to run again?”
“No. Of course I don’t. But what I want doesn’t matter. I need to do what’s right by my child.”
“What’s right for Mia is that her mom is happy and safe. Living on the run isn’t a life for a child, constantly worrying he’ll find you, looking over your shoulder. That’s no life for a child. Stay here with me, with a man who loves you, will protect you, and will be a father to Mia. I promise to love her and raise her as if she were my own. Just stay, Lena.”
Lena’s stricken expression tells me I’ve said the wrong thing. Perhaps I’ve scared her off by admitting my feelings so soon. I know it’s early to be proclaiming my love.
“I’ll think about it. Please, Rex, just give me a little more time. I’m sorry,” she says, her eyes pleading.
I nod, trying and failing to hide my hurt. ‘Alright. I’m here when you’re ready, always. The others are too.” I don’t bother waiting for her to reply before turning and heading downstairs. The soft click of the door closing behind me feels final.
I bump into Doc in the living room. “How’d it go?” he asks.
“Not great.” I head over to the liquor cabinet and pour myself a large glass of whiskey.
“That bad, huh. Look, maybe now isn’t the time to tell you this, but Cole and I did something you’re not going to be happy about.” Doc looks at me earnestly, waiting to see if I want to hear his confession.
I pour him a decently sized measure of whiskey and hand it over before sitting down beside him. “What did you do?”
“We’ve made no secrets about our suspicions that Mia is yours,” he begins carefully.
“And I’ve told you that Lena has said she isn’t. She wouldn’t lie about that, especially not after we laid our cards on the table about the lies Mary Beth told and the reason she left. She’d have told me.”
Doc grimaces. “Right, well… before that, Cole asked me to do something.”
“Quit hedging and spit it out.”
“I ran a paternity test.”
