Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons MC #4)(41)

I give him the directions. Tracker fills the car with casual conversation and playful jokes that put me at ease, forgetting about the scene with Rake.

*

“No, you hang up,” Tracker says into the phone, as I stare at him in disgust. I pluck the phone out of his hand and press END.

“Are you kidding me?” I laugh, putting my hand behind my back so he can’t grab the phone. “You’re a big, scary biker. Act like it!”

“Your stereotypes hurt, you know that?” he says with mock pain in his tone, placing his palm over his heart. “We’re just misunderstood.”

Tia laughs, looking away from the TV to see the commotion. “I might need to get some advice from Lana. Seems that girl knows exactly what she’s doing.”

Tracker nods and smirks. “Yeah, she does. She does this thing with her tongue—”

I put my hand up, laughing harder. “Okay, that’s enough.”

“Can I ask you something?” Tia asks Tracker, leaning forward and bracing her elbows on her knees.

“Possibly.”

“Is Talon single? What’s his deal?” she asks, watching him and waiting for his answer.

I know Tia thinks Talon is a babe, and I mean, he is, but I don’t know if she wants to take it further. I know that look on her face. She’s interested, or at least intrigued.

Tracker scowls and scoots forward on the couch. “What? None of the Wind Dragons good enough for you? You know Talon’s MC is full of f*ckheads, right?”

I hide my smile. “Who would you suggest for her?”

Tracker purses his lips in thought. “What about Vinnie? He’s a great guy. There, it’s settled. Vinnie is your man. Fuck those Wild Men.” He jabs a finger in Tia’s direction. “Not literally.”

“Did you just pimp out one of your brothers?” I deadpan. “I’m sure that has to break some sort of manly code.”

“It breaks the code if the woman is ugly,” he says casually. “But Tia’s a MILF, so he’d be thanking me.”

“What’s a MILF?” Rhett asks as he comes into the room with Cara next to him.

I try not to laugh, I really do, but I can’t help it.

“Yeah, Tracker. Please explain what that word means,” I say, trying to keep a straight face.

“MILF,” Tracker starts slowly, “isn’t what I said at all. I said MILK. It stands for mother I’d like to kiss.”

Rhett blinks, then looks between Tracker and his mom. “I don’t think I’d like you kissing my mom.”

I bite my lip and stare wide-eyed as Tracker agrees. “Just on the cheek, bud. Like friends do, yeah?”

Rhett smiles. “Yeah, that’s cool.”

Awkward situation averted.

Rhett heads into the kitchen, but Cara stands there, staring at Tracker curiously.

“You didn’t say MILK,” she announces. “But it’s okay, I won’t tell.”

She then follows Rhett to the kitchen.

And we all burst out laughing.

*

It’s been three days since Rake and I had our blowup, and I haven’t seen him since. Tracker has been staying here, only swapping with Arrow when he goes to the clubhouse to see Lana. Lana, Anna, Faye, and Clover have all moved back into the clubhouse until we know everything is safe.

As for Rake . . . no one has mentioned him to me, so I have no idea where he is or what he’s doing. I know he calls Tracker to check up on us. I see Tracker watching me curiously after he hangs up the phone, maybe wondering what’s going on between us. The truth is, I know about as much as he does, which is a big fat nothing at all.

“Any news on whoever threatened Bailey?” Tia asks Tracker in a hushed tone.

“I see everyone is keeping that a secret,” he replies in a dry tone, then sighs. “The only thing I can say is that it’s being handled, all right? You don’t worry your pretty head.”

Tia throws a pillow at him. “So how come you’re here instead of Rake?”

My body stills as I wait for his reply.

“I think only Bailey here can tell us what happened,” Tracker says, looking out the window. “But I’ll tell you one thing, when he called me to meet him here so he could leave, I’ve never seen him look so . . . shattered.”

I look down at my hands.

“Rake generally keeps his emotions in check—you don’t really know what he’s thinking until he says it,” he continues. “I’ve never seen him like that before. His emotions were written across his face for the world to see. He’d hate that. I know he would.”

“We had an argument,” I say as explanation. “Some things from the past came up. Some things he didn’t know before.”

“He cares for you,” Tracker states. “I’ve never seen him care about a woman besides Anna and the old ladies in the clubhouse. Other women, he enjoys them, f*cks them, then bails. No commitment whatsoever. Nothing permanent. One woman is as good as the next.”

Pain slices through me hearing him being described like that.

“I’m telling you this only because I want him to be happy,” he says quietly, but I don’t miss the steel underlying his tone. The threat. “He’s a good man. Always has everyone’s backs. Good heart. He deserves to be happy. And if for whatever reason you don’t have it in you to give happiness to him, I think you need to sort that out now, Bailey.”