But now I have to face Rider and see the look on his face when he finds out he has a son… and that I’ve been lying to him this whole time.
Chapter 15 - Rider
Despite that Fiona and I have formed a deeper bond, I’m still not comfortable giving her full freedom. When we sleep together, we are close but not always intimate, and during the day, she seems happy in her interactions with me. It truly warms my heart to see her with the other women. It helps me believe she really wants to stay.
Sometimes, though, I catch her looking at the far-off mountains as if she’s thinking about running away. She also has bad dreams when she tosses and turns violently, waking with an agonized whisper on her lips.
Like last night. As we make coffee in the kitchen, I can’t stop looking at her, desperate to ask her about her dreams. She smiles at me and gives me a little hug as she walks past me to get a cup, but her eyes are dark and troubled.
“Fiona, what did you dream about last night?”
“Huh?” she asks, pouring boiling water into her cup. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Last night. You had a bad dream. I woke you up because you were very upset.”
“Oh, I don’t remember,” she says, smiling as she takes a sip of coffee. “I guess it wasn’t that important.”
Our morning routine has become very comfortable, and I enjoy it, but at times like this, there is tension in the air I can’t ignore.
She’s lying to me. I can feel it.
And it triggers my abandonment issues a lot more than I’d like to admit. I want to slam the door, nail slats down on the windows, and never let her out again.
Can’t do that, though. It would go against our bond of trust, and the other women expect to see her every day.
I can’t lock her away with the excuse it’s for her own safety, either. Tobias has kept his head down low since the last meeting and hasn’t come to my end of town, let alone looked at Fiona. From what I hear, he’s behaving like a model citizen.
Why? What’s his game? I don’t understand why he’s pandering to me like this. There must be a reason.
“You look like you’re having some pretty intense thoughts yourself,” she points out, putting an arm around my waist.
“Thinking about pack stuff. There is still a lot going down with the biker faction. I want it settled as soon as possible.”
I feel tension running through her, and there is a hint of fear in her eyes.
“Tobias?”
“He hasn’t made any noise personally, but it’s as if we have two packs here. I don’t have any faith that Tobias and his boys can be reformed, so I have to kick them out. At the moment, though, they have a lot of support, thanks to the supplies they brought in.”
“I don’t believe for a second that they did it all with donations from charities!”
“Nor do I,” I whisper, shaking my head. “But as yet, we have no evidence. I know Ryan is working with Frank and Scotty in town. I think the guys running the bar are dirty as fuck.”
“Is there any way to take over their supply chain and get rid of the crime involved?”
“That’s a good idea,” I say, smiling at her. “We need the resources, that’s for sure. I just have no clue where they aregetting the goods from, or if it’s legal. We’re working on it, though.”
“Well, I better get going,” she says, putting her cup down by the sink. “The other girls are waiting for me. I’ve been teaching them all about baking, and they have been teaching me their skills like sewing and gardening. Even if we can’t take over Tobias’s supply chain, we will have a good stock of necessities right here that are handmade.”
“Okay,” I reply, nodding. “I’ll see you later.”
As she turns away from me, I see a tense expression on her face. I remember her nightmare from last night, the way she cried out, and the tear that ran down her cheek.
“Fiona?”
“Yes, Rider?” She turns back to look at me, and her smile is warm and loving.
I study her for a moment. “Nothing.”