Breaking the kiss, I help Rachel into the truck and close the door, securing her inside. As she begins to back the truck out of the driveway, I straddle my bike and bring her to life. In the timeframe it takes to get to the clubhouse, my mind begins to prepare for everything we need to discuss in church, from what exactly the Lucifer’s Heretics are involved in to getting Nerd on finding this Neil character and seeing where the fuck Rachel’s mom is. Those are only a small portion of the items needing to be discussed. We have our own shit to deal with after that, such as the cult still out there, taking girls and doing God knows what.
As Prez, my job is never done, and I’m not ever goin’ to complain about it. I love what I do and being there for all my brothers, their families, and I’ll do everything I can for them.
As the clubhouse comes into view, I notice the truck swerving somewhat. When we get to the clubhouse, instead of pulling into the parking spot I’d told her to park in, she ends up nicking the back of Tracker’s bike before stopping.
What the fuck?
Stopping, I drop the kickstand and hop off my bike, running to the driver’s side of the truck and pulling the door open. Rachel is sweating and her entire body is shaking.
“Doll, what the hell?” I ask as I unclip the seatbelt from around her and pull her into my arms.
“I’m sorry,” she slurs, but if I didn’t know what she was trying to say, I’d ask her again.
I don’t get why she’s acting drunk when I know for a fact she hasn’t had anything to drink. One, it’s too damn early, and two, she wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel.
“Come on, baby, let’s get you inside so I can get the twins,” I say as I turn to walk inside. Seeing Neo and Cane sitting at one of the tables, I order them to get Luca and Corinne out of the truck while I yell out Tracker’s name.
“Prez, no need to be roaring the fuckin’ place down,” Tracker says, coming out of the kitchen. He stops when he notices Rachel shaking in my arms. “Fuck happened to Rach?” he demands as he rushes over.
“I don’t fuckin’ know. She was fine when we left the house and by the time she hit your bike, she was acting like this,” I say.
“What’s going on?” Momma B asks as she makes her way over to us. Glancing at Rachel, her eyes widened. “Damnit, how could I forget,” she yells and takes off for the kitchen.
Neither Tracker nor I move from where we’re standing next to the bar. Rachel is all but pouring with sweat and shivering like it’s ten below right now.
Momma B runs back toward us with an orange juice and a Hershey bar in hand. “Why do you need that?” I ask, furrowing my brows.
“Because Rachel’s a diabetic,” she says, placing the juice down on the bar and opening the candy. Tearing a piece off, she slips it into Rachel's mouth and orders her to eat it.
“Damn, how the hell did I forget she was a diabetic?” Tracker says as he runs his fingers through his hair.
“Because this is the first time it’s happened to her since being here,” Momma B says softly.
“How come she didn’t remind any of us?” I ask.
“I’m sorry, Stoney,” Momma B murmurs as she feeds another piece to Rachel. “I need you to sit her up on the stool. She needs to drink this juice.”
“Doesn’t she have medicine she takes?” Tracker asks, glancing at me.
“I haven’t noticed her taking any meds, but she did tell me she was allergic to peanuts after I’d looked at her like she was crazy for asking if the Chinese place used peanut oil or cooked all their foods in the same pan,” I mutter.
“Yeah, I remember her being allergic to peanuts. Dad had to take her to the emergency room the first time that happened. Her entire throat closed up and she struggled to breath,” Tracker states before stiffening. “Wait a minute, did you say she hit my fuckin’ bike?”
“Yep,” I grin.
“Fuck, Rach sucks at driving. You know, when Dad took her out driving one time, she pulled into a parking spot and took the mirror off the car next to her. Another time, she backed into a ditch all because she was trying to go back the way she came to grab something she forgot. Instead of turning around, she decided to back up and backed too far to the left and landed her ass in the ditch,” Tracker chuckles, glancing at his cousin.
“Well, that’s it then. No more driving for you, Rachel,” I say, looking to my woman, who slowly takes the cup out of Momma B’s hand.
“Rachel, you eat the rest of this candy bar. I’ll take Luca and Corinne to the playroom,” Momma B says as she walks over to where Neo was gently swinging both the babies’ car seats. Strange to see the hulk of a man so gentle with my kids.
Tracker follows behind Momma B to assist her in getting them to the other room, leaving me and Rachel alone for a minute.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Doll?” I ask, brushing her hair from her face.
“I’m sorry,” she slurs slightly.
“After you’re better, we’ll be having a talk about you telling me these important details. Now, I’m goin’ to carry you to the other room so Momma B can watch over you for now,” I state as I lift her into my arms.
Walking her into the playroom, I sit Rachel down on the couch against the far wall. “You need me, just come knock on the door to church,” I say, kissing her forehead before standing.
“Need anything, Momma B?” I ask as I turn to face her just as Corinne begins to cry out. Stepping over to them, I pick my girl up in my arms and place her against my chest. This seems to be her favorite place to lay her head.
“Nope, we're good here if you want to go on ahead to church,” she says, reaching for Corinne, who begins crying once again at being lifted away from me.
Shaking my head while grinning, I take her back into my arms. “She’ll be with me for now,” I declare, placing her back on my chest and head out the room.
With Corinne laying against my chest, I walk into the room where we hold church to find everyone waiting for me. Some of them grin at seeing Corinne with me. All of them know not to make jokes when I do something. I’ll be the first one to knock a fucker out if I find it disrespectful. Besides, Corinne has these guys’ hearts melting for her as well. Besides Bear, none of the brothers here have kids.
“Alright, as you can see, we have this girl sitting in with us this morning,” I start by saying, gaining laughter throughout the room. As they all quiet down, I begin our meeting by asking Nerd what he’d found on the Lucifer’s Heretics.
“Those fuckers deserve to be eliminated. They’re into so much shit, I about threw up as I read through it. I’ve hacked into the main system and found pictures. A lot of them are little girls, barely sixteen years old, others are in their twenties. Trafficking isn't the only thing they have their hands in. They run drugs and guns as well,” he says as he goes on to tell us more of what he found. Tension fills the room with each detail Nerd gives.
“These assholes need to die,” Ranger growls.
“Agreed, they’re nothing but trash,” Coyote sneers.
Several others nod their heads in agreement.
“So what if we got rid of this charter,” I suggest, leaning back in my chair as Corinne snuggles further into my chest.