Page 17 of A Biker's Tiny Present

Pulling her into a hug, and resting my forehead on hers, I force her to keep her attention on me. “This thing? You, me, and Nicky, I’m all in. You’re comin’ to the clubhouse one way or another.”

“Well well, aren’t you a bossy one when you want your way?” She teases me with that cheeky smile before pressing a quick kiss to my lips.

“You have no idea.” I nip her lower lip and give it a sharp tug with my teeth.

Riley can’t hide her blush from me. “After last night, I think I might.”

“That’s okay. You’ll sort it all out the more time you spend with us.” I emphasize my seriousness with a slap to her ass.

“Us?” We pull apart and start getting ready to head out. “Who all is going to be there?”

“Majority of the club lives on the compound. Alot of the club members have private rooms in the clubhouse, including myself. My Prez, VP, Sergeant-at-Arms, and a few others have cabins out back for their families. A handful of others live nearby, all but one lives in Tellison I believe. It just depends on what works best for them, and if they have families.”

“Kids and families live in a motorcycle clubhouse?” Of course that's what catches her attention. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

“We don’t do crazy shit around the kids.” Lacing up my boots, I watch her tuck a blanket around Nicky before I pick up thecar seat. “Any club business is handled either in Church, which is a locked room where only Brothers are allowed, in Whiskey’s office, or when the kids and women ain’t around. Club business is for the men only.”

“So you’ll never tell me what you do all day?” She zips up her coat then grabs the bags of Nicky’s things. “How are we supposed to build a real relationship when everything about you is a secret?”

“Not everythin’ will be a secret, babe.” I use my free hand to tip up her chin to drop a kiss on her lips. “I know it’s a lot, and I definitely am not explainin’ this the right way, but I promise to tell you everythin’ I can, when I can.”

“When will that be?”

“When we get to the clubhouse, how about I introduce you to some of the women and have them give you the rundown? A bunch of my Brothers have Old Ladies, that’s what we call wives and committed girlfriends, and I know they’ll do a helluva better job at answerin’ your questions and tellin’ you the way things go day to day. Anything you still have questions about when we get back here tonight, I’ll answer the best I can, if I can.”

“Sounds like I’m about to jump into the shark filled deep end with no floaties.”

“It’s not that bad.” I chuckle quietly so I don’t wake the baby. “I got you, Vixen.”

CHAPTER NINE

RILEY

Tiny insisted we ride to the clubhouse in his truck. This is the second day in a row where I offered to take my car, but he’s shot me down both times. Chivalry is one thing, but his insistence in driving everywhere is starting to wear on my nerves.

When I suggested taking my car because of Nicky’s car seat, Tiny reminded me about the base that is still buckled into his backseat. I may be growing angrier at her by the hour, but at least Taylor did a few things right when she left Nicky behind and took off. This morning as I was packing bags for our trip, I realized just how long she must have been preparing for this to happen. I wonder how long she had the bag packed becausethere was more than a few days’ worth of clothes, diapers, and formula in the diaper bag. I found an envelope full of money tucked into one of the inside pockets—seven thousand dollars.

If she had this kind of money tucked away for a rainy day, why didn’t she use it to pay off her debts and find a new job? Why didn’t she take it with her? It's more questions to add to the list of things I will be asking her when we find her.

How did I not see this all coming? Was I really that blind to her being in so much trouble? How could I not see she was hurting? I’d like to think I’m a better sister than that, but if Taylor didn’t feel comfortable coming to me with her problems, she must not have trusted me. Hell, she even left her baby with a practical stranger.

“What’s wrong?”

I miss the second half of the drive and don’t notice the truck has stopped until Tiny’s question snaps me out of my self-induced downward spiral.

Unbuckling, I turn in my seat to face him. “I’ve taken care of Taylor since she was seventeen years old. I was twenty-four, living with a roommate, when I found out that our mom’s boyfriend was sexually abusing Taylor.”

“Fuck,” Tiny growls so deep I can feel it in my bones. He flips up the center console between us and drags me across the bench seat and into his arms.

Needing to get this off my chest, and so he knows what kind of messy family he’s getting involved with, I unload everything to him. “Our parents were so in love. They’d been together since they were fifteen and my mom was crushed when dad died. He was hit head-on by a drunk driver on his way home from work one night. The other guy was speeding, swerved across the center line as they both crested a hill, and our dad Scott died instantly. I was ten and Taylor was two.”

“What about the drunk driver?”

“He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.”

“Good.”

All I can do is nod. I came to terms with losing my dad a long time ago and want to leave that sadness in the past. He was a great man, and an even better father, but I like to remember the years I had with him as good memories. This isn’t a good memories time.

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