Blood and Honor (14 page)

Dax narrowed his eyes. “What are you trying to say?”

“I didn’t know what to make of it. But then that chick, you know, Alanna—the one who—”

“I know who she is,” Dax cut in sharply. “What the hell does that slut have to do with Hawk?”

“He’s been fucking her pretty regular.”

“That don’t mean nothing,” Dax commented, leaning back in his chair.

“The slut says we got a rat at the table, man.”

“Jesus. Does she know the punishment for that kind of lie?” Dax wondered aloud.

“Dax…there’s more to it,” Wince said slowly. “We never followed up on why Alanna was on the island in the first place. She—um, she told me she had information for you. She wouldn’t tell me shit. That’s why she was with Slade and me…in the car. I stuffed her in the backseat with Slade and we went to Rhee’s place looking for you.”

Slade looked from Dax to Wince trying to predict how this was going to play out. Wince sounded anxious—like he had committed a major taboo. Dax said nothing for several moments. The seconds ticked by, turning into minutes. Slade realized he was tapping his boot and stopped.

Finally, Dax spoke. “So, here’s the recap: Slade thinks Hawk is up to something. A few months back, Alanna tracked me to the island to tell me we got a rat. That it?”

Slade exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Wince. “That’s it.”

“So the obvious conclusion is?”

Wince swallowed several times before voicing what they were all thinking. “Hawk is ratting on the club? Why would he do that?”

“I have no fucking idea. This could all be bullshit. I know I sure as hell don’t trust that little groupie for shit.”

Dax turned his intense gaze on Slade. “Jury is still out on you, kid.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Dax was going to be pissed right off. Rhee knew it, and she would bet a million bucks that Trish knew it too. But that didn’t stop them. No, they loaded a drowsy, milk-stuffed Sirena into her pink car seat and the three of them got into the suburban.

Wow, this was definitely a stupid idea. Heading to the clubhouse without an explicit invitation was asking for trouble. Bringing Trish with her was begging for punishment. Dragging Sirena along…well she wasn’t quite sure how Dax was going to react to that. Rhee suspected it wasn’t going to be pretty. But…what could she do? She felt she owed Trish—who had been surprisingly complacent about the whole baby debacle—once she got over her initial shock.

“I can drive. If you want. It would keep me focused on something other than what’s going to go down.” Trish held out her hand.

Rhee relinquished the keys without hesitation. “Thanks.”

“Listen, Rhiannon.” Trish grasped Rhee’s cold hand tightly. “I meant what I said in there. There was a time when I would have wanted to kill you over this. But…what I’ve learned is that things happen for a reason. Your life wasn’t easy either. You deserve happiness. So does Dax. And especially, so does she.”

Trish gestured to Sirena, whose eyes were already glazing over in the back seat.

“We all do.” Rhee agreed.

“We all deserve to be happy,” Trish repeated. “Some of us learn that truth too late. We make decisions based on what we
should
do. We become what someone else thinks we
should
be. I’ll be fine, Rhiannon. I just need to get this off of my chest. Then, I can go back to my guy and tell him yes.”

“Your guy?” Trish hadn’t mentioned that in the house.

“Yeah,” she smiled shyly. “He really loves me. I just need to put the club, and everything that came with it behind me, you know? Then, I can move on.”

“I get it.”

Telling the truth was hard. Some people would do just about anything to avoid reality. But, as Rhee knew intimately, everybody had reasons for how they behaved. At some point, it always became impossible to hide from your own lies. There was honor in the simple—or complicated—truth.

Rhee twisted in her seat to confirm that Sirena was sleeping. The short nap and a lot of chasing and running around with their unexpected visitor wore the active little girl out. It was now past her bedtime and she had nodded off with no complaints.

Of course, Trish had been shocked when Sirena ran out of her room to greet them. Rhee had fixed her daughter a snack and then, while Sirena was occupied with her “sammich and cawwot stix,” she unloaded her own truth.

After a few tense moments had passed, Trish seemed almost…relieved. Maybe learning that Dax cheated on her assuaged some of the guilt she felt at her own behavior. Trish cheated first, but it didn’t make it right. The talk of cheating was still on Rhee’s brain when Trish suggested heading to the compound.

Dax wouldn’t fucking dare.
Not to me.
To us.
Would he?

Her thoughts were jumbled as the gates were opened to admit them. From the looks of things, the Phantoms were throwing one hell of a party. Rhee felt her eyes narrow as she collected her daughter from the backseat. So…Dax was partying it up was he? Why was he so vague about when she could visit the clubhouse? It wasn’t as if she didn’t know everyone there.

As they approached the door, both women hesitated. Then, Trish pulled the door open for Rhee, since her arms were full of sleeping toddler. The wave of noise hit Rhee like a slap in the face. Rhee was grateful that Sirena didn’t wake. She planned to leave Sirena snoozing safely in Dax’s locked bunk—she assumed he still had one. She walked in first, ignoring the many eyes that stared at her. Thankfully, Wince came to her rescue.

“Rhee! What the fuck—-”

He stopped cold when he caught sight of the woman who stood behind them, her spine straight with quiet grace.

“Trish?”

Wince stared at Rhee. “What the hell is going on? Are you okay?”

His words were slurred. Wow, Wincey was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. Rhee hadn’t seen him like this in a long time.

“I’m fine, Wince. Where’s Dax?”

He shifted uncomfortably, causing warning bells to sound in her mind. “In a meeting.”

Trish stepped forward. “Is he here, Winston? I’m not here to cause any trouble. I need to talk to Dax. It’s important but it will be resolved quickly. Rhee’s got my back. Don’t you, Rhee?”

“Absolutely,” she agreed. Why not jump into the fire with both feet?

Wince’s eyes lit on Sirena as she slumbered on Rhee’s shoulder. “Shit. You should put her down. I have the key to Dax’s bunk.”

Rhee shifted Sirena in her arms. “Yeah, this kid has gained some weight.”

“Won’t she wake up? It’s loud in here.” Trish asked.

“She sleeps like a log once she’s down,” Rhee replied.

Wince started off down the corridor. Rhee glanced at Trish, who shrugged. Rhee followed Wince back to a familiar door. A tingle ran down her spine as he unlocked it.

My old room
, Rhee thought.
God, I used to live here.

It was the scene of the crime and she hoped Trish wouldn’t pick up on that. It was in this very room that Rhee lost her virginity to Dax in an explosion of uncontrollable passion. Rhee made her way to Dax’s bed—her old bed—and placed Sirena’s sleeping form carefully within the cozy flannel sheets. The room smelled clean and earthy. Rhee began to draw the thick comforter over her daughter and was surprised when Trish bent to pull the other corner of the fabric taut.

“Kids this age are extremely susceptible to illness.”

Her voice was clinical. But Rhee knew that her sterile tone was meant to disguise Trish’s pain.

“Thanks.”

Rhee was grateful for Trish’s medical expertise and her willingness to help her when she was a total perfect stranger—nearly four years ago. She was also impressed by Trish’s degree of maturity and her ability to be helpful now. Before they had embarked on their harebrained mission to the compound tonight, Trish seemed to have found genuine joy playing Sirena’s tea party game.

Only a moment had passed since they placed Sirena in Dax’s clubhouse bunk. Then, the toilet flushed, alerting Rhee, Trish, and Wince to another person’s presence. The three of them swiveled their heads to the origin of the sound. The bathroom door slowly swung open and they came face to face with a female who bore a look of pure malice on her face before she wiped it away to form a sweet smile.

“Dax wasn’t expecting anyone else tonight.”

Rhee bristled at finding some chick in Dax’s private quarters—and a chick with an attitude no less. Then, she took a closer look at the pretty brunette and recognized the girl who had risked her life to save Sirena from Vidal some months before. Alanna had been a downright bitch to Rhee when she first came across her at Dax’s island hotel. The girl had implied Dax had invited her. Rhee remembered how hurt she had been at first and how angry she had become once she had time to think about what Alanna’s presence at the hotel might mean. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered the rest of that confrontation.

He practically fucked me right on the front porch.
In broad daylight.

Warmth infused her core as she remembered how badly she had ached for the man that afternoon. She burned almost as hot right now, as a matter of fact. Rhee looked long and hard at Alanna. As infuriated as she was, she couldn’t bring herself to hate the other girl. Who could blame her for wanting the tall, blond sex god? It wasn’t as if Alanna was the only groupie who wanted to get under Dax.

Before she could decide whether to force herself to craft a semi-polite response to Alanna’s less than warm reception, the other girl directed her calculating gaze to Trish.

“And who are you, sweetheart? I’m sure Dax wasn’t expecting you either.”

Trish smiled casually. Rhee was amazed at her decorum. That is, until Trish’s hand shot out and gripped Alanna by the throat. The other girl gave out a startled squeak. Rhee took a step back. Wince smiled and shot Rhee a look as he opened the door, allowing Trish to propel Alanna into the hall and then pulled the door softly shut behind him. That look communicated very clearly that she was not to interfere.

Holy shit.

Bracing herself for an explosion, Rhee glanced at the bed. Sirena hadn’t moved a muscle. The little girl would likely sleep until dawn. That was the good thing about having an active kid who refused to nap for very long. She went down early and she knocked out hard. Rhee tiptoed to the door, half-expecting it to fly open. She pulled it ajar and looked down the hallway.

Trish had Alanna by the neck and was whispering something in her ear. Alanna was visibly pale as Trish jerked her head back at Dax’s doorway, punctuating the gesture with another furious whisper. Then, she removed her hand. Alanna fell back, her hand going to her throat. She squeaked out some sort of reply, and then muttered something to Wince, who stood about three feet away, watching the encounter with an amused smile on his face.

He shrugged and pointed to the door at the opposite end of the hall. That door exited into the yard. Alanna stomped down the corridor, yanked the door open, and slammed out of the hall with a loud bang. Rhee looked questioningly at Trish.

Wince approached with a serious look on his face; all traces of inebriation had vanished. “Wait here with Sirena. I’ll take Trish to see Dax then I’ll send him to you. Are you okay?”

The concern in his eyes was almost enough to undo her carefully constructed mask of collected calm. This had been one of the most bizarre days Rhee had ever had, and she was fucking exhausted.

“I’m fine, Wince. A little tired. What the hell just happened?”

He grinned. “That was awesome. I’d say that Trish has your back. Never seen that before.”

“What did she say to—to Alanna?”

“Told her to back the fuck off and stay outta Dax’s shit or she’d get her hooked on the needle in her sleep. It was classic.”

“Wow. Thank her for me.”

Wince nodded and bent to give Rhee a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll be back. I’ll let him know you’re both here.”

Uh oh. “He’s not going to be happy. We weren’t exactly invited.”

“Well, what else could you do?”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought,” Rhee sighed.

He turned back to Trish, who leaned against the wall in a casual posture, but Rhee knew that the other woman was anything but relaxed. She was about to drop a bomb on a man who definitely did not like surprises. No, Dax liked control. This shit was gonna shake him up.

“Wince!” Rhee hissed, grabbing his arm.

He stopped to stare at her. “Yeah?”

“Don’t let him go too crazy on her. And…I’m her ride. Just knock on the door when they’re done.”

He nodded, surprised. “I have no fucking idea what you ladies have been up to this afternoon, but promise me that someday, you’ll let me in on it.”

She looked away. Yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen.
Sorry, buddy, but no way.

Trish gave her a little half wave and a wan smile as she pulled the door shut and locked it. There was no way Dax would give Alanna a key to his room—she had no idea how the girl got in here but the groupie wasn’t coming back. She was safe to relax in his bunk as she had done so many times before. She glanced at Sirena’s slumbering form, envying her ability to drop into sleep and escape.

There were enough memories in this small room to occupy her mind for days.

Rhee pulled off her boots and slipped under the covers with Sirena, intending to close her eyes and force herself to rest.

Then, her eyes flew back open, remembering the last time she had been in this particular bed. Her cheeks heated at the vivid images. God, her first time was…explosive. Dax, shirtless, dragging her into his bed like a fucking caveman…

Rhee gulped. This was not the appropriate time to entertain these memories. She rolled onto her side; certain that sleep would elude her for hours. She surprised herself by knocking out hard into a dreamless kind of sleep that only came from exhaustion.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mickey chose the lone set of seats at the rear of the bus and stuck her leg through the strap on her backpack to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere. Anyone who looked into the frayed old bag wouldn’t see anything that looked important, but inside was the symbol of Mickey’s shame—and of her potential salvation. She guarded her backpack with what was left of her pathetic life, hoping that someday, she might figure out what to do with the contents.