Viv nodded, completely unbothered by my anger. “Okay then, let’s just focus on that. TJ seems to like you.”
My arms tightened instinctively around my son’s small body. His breath was soft against my neck as he slept peacefully in my arms.
“You guys will take care of each other,” she said in a small voice that was filled with all the emotions she usually held back. A small smile touched her lips as if she really thought we’d be some kind of postcard family.
I wondered where her certainty came from. “You seem sure.”
“I am.” Her words came out in a clipped tone, and those walls were back in place. Her spine was stiff as steel when she spoke again. “This test is to ease your mind so that you feel comfortable taking TJ. I already have the paperwork to add you to his birth certificate. It’s in my bag and I’ve already signed it so you can file it once I’m gone.”
“You never would’ve told me.” It wasn’t a question. I knew the answer as surely as I knew my own fucking name.
“I wanted to, but there were reasons I couldn’t. Reasons that I didn’t reach out.” She held my gaze for a long moment before she looked away. “And it doesn’t matter anyway because you thought I went back to James.”
I wanted to ask her what the fuck that meant but she already had that cold, blank look on her face. She was shutting down again and the only thing I could think about was her plan to leave.
She was already halfway gone, and I still didn’t have any answers. Just too many fucking questions.
Chapter Six
Vivian
Iwoke up early the next morning after a fitful night of sleep where my mind replayed all the ways yesterday could’ve gone badly. Or worse than it had already been. That bomb had been a warning. I knew how the Russians did things, if they wanted to, they could have blown up the entire clubhouse killing everyone. I hated that I knew this, that I spent every day expecting death to come looking for me. It was a terrible way to live, but since Alexei’s death it was the way my mind had rewired itself. Unable to sleep, I laid awake and listened to the sound of TJ’s slow, even breathing before I finally got up and got dressed again.
I took one look at my boy, still sleeping and grabbed the baby monitor I’d kept around long after we left his crib behind, before I slipped from the room and went in search of the one man in charge of this chaos. It was early and I wasn’t sure if bikers even woke up this early, but I went anyway, surprised to find nearly a dozen people eating eggs, bacon, and toast from a sideboard set up between the tables and the bar. They’d worked hard to get the place back to some semblance of order after yesterday’s drama.
I’d wondered how they were going to explain it to the police, because you can’t really hide an explosion. But from what I’d gathered, they were saying it was an accident with a propane tank at the repair shop.
No one had spotted me yet, so I turned left down the hall towards the office where I found the man I’d patched up yesterday bent over a bank of computer screens. “Slate, right?”
He looked up with a hesitant grin. “Yeah, that’s me. How can I help you, Doc?”
“Vivian, please. Is Diesel around, he’s in charge here, right?”
He nodded. “Yep, Diesel’s our Prez.”
“Is there any way I could get a minute with him?” I wasn’t sure the rules for meeting with the president of a motorcycle club, but I hoped he wasn’t too busy for a short conversation.
“After what you did for my brothers, you can have two minutes.” A voice came from the shadows in the corner of the room.
“Um, okay. I just need to know if it’s okay to have a rideshare come here? After yesterday I figured I’d check with you on any unauthorized vehicles.”
A low grunt sounded and then he unfolded his big body from the sofa. The tall man with blond hair watched me but said nothing for so long that I started to feel uncomfortable. Unwanted.
I also felt the need to fill the silence. “I just need to grab more clothes and other items from my car.”
His brows shot up. “Why would you think your car is still there after so many days?” He shook his head. “The Russians probably searched it and torched it after you left with Falcon.”
“Because I parked my car in a public garage and took a rideshare to the gas station where I met Falcon. I had to make sure I wasn’t followed.”
Slate whistled. “Smart.”
I shrugged.
“I’ll take you,” he offered.
I appreciated the offer, but I kept my gaze on Diesel, knowing that this all still required his stamp of approval.
“Why didn’t you ask Falcon to take you?”
