I might be still recovering from a traumatic experience, as Scar called it. I may have beengroomedby those sons of bitches, like Scar just told Cowboy, but I wasn’t deaf. I heard my brother and Cowboy arguing outside. Scar saying all kinds of shit about me not being able to ever have a normal relationship.
“Who’s baby?”
“You’ll have to ask her.”
I respected Cowboy not telling my business.
“I know Scar, to you she’s still a child you need to protect, but Halley is a woman now.
Scar laughed at that. “If you care so much, why aren’t you running down Snakebite? That’s what you should be doing since he followed you here.”
“Who’s to say he followed us? It’s not like he doesn’t know you killed his father and where you’d be. Why didn’t I join the chase? Someone has to take care of her and her baby.”
“To hell you will. You’ll keep your hands off her. You hear?”
After that there was a rumble. I looked out the window to see a brawl, my brother and Cowboy fighting. Then shots fired, and I ducked down. I had to look out again to make sure Cowboy hadn’t been shot. He was running off, and Scar was holstering his weapon.
This was not the reunion I expected with my brother. When he came in I let him know. “Goddamn you. Cowboy rescued me, and you try to kill ‘em?”
“I have to know. Does the baby belong to Snakebite?”
Was that all he thought about? “No, could be anyone’s but his… I think.”
“You don’t remember?”
Shaking my head, I actually didn’t remember if Snakebite had been with me before a couple weeks ago. There was so much I blocked out. “It could’ve been any of them.”
“Anyone in the SOS?”
I crossed my arms. Boy, Serpentine had him pegged right. Me having this baby did fuck with him. “Yes, most of the members had their way with me. You happy?”
He slammed his fist down on the table, scaring me half to death. The baby started crying, and I went to comfort him. Clearly, me birthing a child from his rival club didn’t sit well with Scar. His reaction pissed me off, so I decided to turn the knife as I rocked the baby. “Any non-member, too. And it’s not the first time they knocked me up. Just the first time the baby survived.” Because hell, it wasn’t like any of this was my fault. I’d never had been bothered if it wasn’t for his botched rescue.
Scar looked plum put out. He didn’t know how to react.
“Don’t worry. They waited until I was grown enough. Until then, I lived as one of them. I was Star. I had a fucking fab life, too. Until you got too close.”
“I’ll kill every last Sons of Satan son of a bitch.” At least he was keeping his voice down now.
“Y’all aren’t any better than them,” I said under my breath, remembering for the first time in a long time, they shot Serpentine’s little granddaughter dead the very day I was thrown into the basement.
“Here. These were mom’s,” he laid a bunch of jewelry on the table. “The Ghosts brought them to lay on your grave.”
“Sorry, I’m not dead.”
“Halley, I’m happier than hell to see you. It’s been my life’s mission to get you back.”
“How’d that turn out?” I couldn’t help it. More than him acting like me having this baby was the worst thing ever, Snakebite had followed us from California. The baby and I were in danger, and I didn’t trust Scar to protect us. He was fretting over some woman. The only man I trusted, Scar had just run off. “If it weren’t for Cowboy, I’d be dead.”
“Cowboy’s not the man for you.”
“Give him a chance.”
“You’re not ready…”
“I’m not a child anymore, Edmond.”
Then Scar cut my heart out. “Okay, you’re right. You’re not a child. You can hear the truth. You might think Cowboy rescuing you means something, but there’s only been one woman for him as long as I’ve known him. And I’ve known him a long damned time. That’s Anarchy. You need to steer clear of her. If he doesn’t end up in her bed tonight, I’ll think about giving him a chance.”
