“Aww, fuck.” Blitz shakes his head. “Bikers are meant to have two wheels underneath them, not,” he indicates Token, “thirty-seven thousand feet of fuckin’ air.”
Bullseye slaps him on the shoulder. “I feel you, Brother.”
Bronwyn, who’s appeared and who has curled into my side, addresses the flight-wary King. “If you don’t fancy a nearly two-thousand-mile ride, I can get something for you that will help your anxiety.” She reads his expression. “Just a suggestion.”
“Or,” Rhino says. “We can just feed you gummies again.”
“Prez?” our prospect shouts. “Incoming. I tried to stop her…”
But he failed. The broken gate didn’t help, and while he’d have used force against a man, he probably felt he couldn’t against the woman who’s barging her way in. As we all swingaround to face the newcomer, it’s my old lady who recognises her first.
“Mom,” Bronwyn gasps.
Fucking hell.Over the past week, Bronwyn’s come into herself. She’s shown me and my brothers the strength she’d always hidden before. While it was her dad who physically abused her, her mother had been complicit, and fear can be deep-rooted. I don’t want anything to set her back.
I hug her to me, trying to imbibe some of my strength into her. First, I feel her shrink against me, then experience her tightening muscles as if preparing for a fight.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” she demands, her voice steady and strong.
“Where’s your father?” she asks. “He’s disappeared. He hasn’t come home.”
“How the fuck would I know?” Bronwyn replies.
“Language,” her mom snaps, then sneers. “Should have guessed you’d be here with these reprobate bikers.”
Bronwyn cuts her off. “I’ve no idea where Dad went, and what’s more, I don’t want to know. I’m free of both you and him.” She pauses, then adds, “He’s probably off fucking little girls who aren’t allowed to say no.”
Her mom’s eyes grow wide, and it’s then she seems to realise she’s got an audience. “Your father doesn’t touch little girls or women. Those stories about him were all made up.”
“Give it a rest, Mom.” Bron rolls her eyes. “Whatever whitewash you’re applying won’t stick.” She waves her hand to indicate the crowd standing around. “The truth has come out.”
“Dada!”
I groan. This is the worst fucking moment for Trip to come running in, Freak behind him, stopping short when he spies the confrontation between Bron and her mom.
Bronwyn’s mom’s eyes open wide. “You’ve got Trip?” she snarls at her daughter. Then she cries out, “Trip, come here.”
Seeing her, Trip stops moving toward me and backs up into Freak. The enforcer crouches down and puts his protective arms around my son.
“He’s not going anywhere with you,” I snarl.
“No?” She gives me a menacing smile. “Well, I’m his mother, and I’m going to take him. If you try to stop me, I’m calling the police.” And fuck me, she’s pulling her phone out of her purse.
“Yeah?” My old lady steps forward. “Why? He’s nothing to you. He’s not even yours. And there’s always DNA testing that will prove I’ve got the rights to him.” Even though the men surrounding her include brothers from three other chapters, she’s come so far that she’s brave enough to let strangers hear her story to protect her son. “Trip’s my child, the result of my own father raping and impregnating me. You’re never going to get your hands on my son.”
An audible gasp has gone around. I notice Lunatic stepping forward, Blitz, too, though still a little wobbly. Our Texas brothers are murmuring,what the actual fuck?
Her mom just stands there, all her ammunition gone. Then she holds out her hands in supplication. “Bronwyn, you don’t understand. The Mojave Devils have come to me. Your Dad promised them Trip, and he owes them money if he doesn’t deliver. With him gone, his debt falls to me. I need Trip. Just give him to me.” The room has gone silent, but she continues, “Come on, Bronwyn. It doesn’t matter. Trip doesn’t understand anything. He’s worth nothing.”
“What the actual hell am I hearing?” The voice is LoneStar’s.
Bronwyn walks forward and slaps her mother hard. “Trip’s mine,” she snarls. “You’re never going to get your hands on him again. And as for Dad, I hope he’s dead and burning in hell. I won’t shed a tear if you go to join him.” She indicates aroundher. “Trip and I have a new family, one that will never give him up.” She walks over to the conjoined duo of Freak and her son, and sinks to her knees beside them. “Trip’s mine.” Leaning over, she places a kiss on his head and slides her arm between Freak’s to hug Trip to her. “He’ll have love, support, and the affection you never gave him.”
“He’s an imbecile. He’ll bring you down.”
Trip takes that moment to pull free of Freak’s hold and to clasp his hands around his birth mother. “Mom…ma.”
Bronwyn spins around, her eyes wide in astonishment, before saying first to him, “I love you, my son.” Then, turning to her mother, she hisses, “And I hate you for all you’ve done. Get out. There’s nothing for you here.”
