Page 54 of Sophia, Property of Tracker

Watching Daisy and Jasmine converse, I can see mutual respect there, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

“Sophia, you happy with that?”

“Oh, yes, thank you. Sounds great to me.”

“Where are the kids?” I ask Jasmine looking around.

“They’re at my mom’s. I dropped them there last night after the barbecue.”

“Oh right,” Luisa interrupts while standing between Jasmine and me. “Hey, Sophia, I wanted to ask if you’re okay?”

Frowning, I ask, “What do you mean?”

“I saw Tash last night. When I was outside, Tracker was yelling at her, and I assumed she was here to cause trouble?”

Shit! Shit! Shit!I don’t know if I should mention anything about the reason why she was here last night, so I decide it’s not my place to say anything about the situation. I’ll leave that to Ryan.

“Oh yeah, her,” I say waving it off. “She had to talk to Ryan.”

“What the hell! Tash was here last night? Why am I always the last person to know?” Jasmine says, looking between us.

“Calm down, Jazz,” Luisa places her hand on Jasmine’s shoulder. “She wasn’t here for long, that I know.” She looks back at me. “So Tracker didn’t tell you anything about what she wanted?”

Shaking my head and feeling guilty that I must lie to these ladies, I reply, “Nope. I guess she just popped in to say hello. I mean Ryan explained to me who she was to the club.”

“You gotta be shitting me,” Tess adds. “There’s no way in hell she was just here to say hello. She’s been away for a while, and what? She decides to turn up out of the blue to say hello? I don’t think so. She would have an ultimatum.”

Faking calmness, I ask, “What’s she like?” Then, trying everything to not show how jealous I am, I act innocent.

“Sophia, please, she has nothing on you. She’s just a club whore like all the others. They’re all pissed that our men chose us as their ol’ ladies,” Luisa explains, looking quite irritated.

“Something tells me you have been through this before.”

She smirks. “You could say that. We’ve all pretty much been through this. We’ve all dealt with an ex or a fuck buddy. We have faced our own battles. But I don’t blame women for loving our men. I mean, come on, they’re a catch.”

I look around at the ladies, noticing they’re all nodding. Lexi is quietly standing beside Charity, not really saying much, and I don’t blame her. She’s been through a lot. Well, from what Tracker told me, anyway. Apparently, she was kidnapped by the cartel and sold to the highest bidder. I can only imagine what he had her do. Tracker doesn’t tell me much, but I know she has scars beneath her skin that will never leave. But when I see the adoration on Rhyder’s face when he’s with her and how gentle he is with her, it lets me know she’s in good hands. Actually, all these women are.

One thing I notice about them is they are all wearing the cuts their men have given them. Regret fills me, and I wonder,did I make a mistake by saying no to Tracker?No, I don’t think so. We need to figure things out first and work out if he has a child and where to go from there.

“Here you go, ladies. Breakfast is served.”

Daisy places a couple of plates onto the counter, and we all fall silent eating our breakfast.

TRACKER

Present

Prez eyes Gunner and then me, and without realizing it, I’m rubbing the knuckles on the hand I used to punch Gunner last night. By the look of the color of Gunner’s cheek, I’d say Prez knows exactly who hit Gunner.

“You gonna let me know what happened last night, Gunner, and explain why your face looks like it’s seen better days.”

Gunner looks up at Prez. “Nothing, Prez. I was drunk and walked into my bedroom door. Didn’t see it in front of me.”

“Hmm… something tells me there’s more to that story, but I won’t push you to spit it out right now. But believe me, you are telling me the truth about what happened.”

Prez’s eyes move to me, and I sit back in my chair with coffee in my hand.

“Rhyder, any word on Fabien Lawrence?”

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