Chapter Five

Taz

Standing with Axel and voodoo, Peaches cry of dismay catches all of our attention and we quickly head over to her to see what the problem is. Hearing her side of the phone call, I feel the fingers of fear race up my spine. If this is about her baby, then she is gonna know quickly that I spilled the beans to her brother, but that also means something is wrong. I pray that her daughter is ok, because I don’t know if she can handle any other outcome.

I hear her tell Voodoo that her baby is coming home, and I wonder what could have happened. Anyone looking at Anna can see the excitement and apprehension on her face and I quickly decide I’ll do whatever it takes to erase the apprehension and increase the happiness. Anna must have a ton of emotions running through her and she’s going to hate me for telling her secret. But I’ll do whatever it takes to be by her side and help her.

Prez quickly tells Voodoo to bring her into his office so we can talk about what’s going on. Voodoo wraps his arms around Peaches and I see her shoulders shake as the tears fall from her eyes due to the rollercoaster of emotions right now. And I wanna know what is going on and what we need to do. She may not know it yet, but I will have her back every step of the way.

As we walk into the clubhouse, I see all the brothers who were sitting around having a beer or playing pool stand up at the site of Anna crying. They start to approach us ready to kill whomever made her cry but stop when Prez gives a quick shake of his head. Following Voodoo and Axel to his office we all take a seat. Axel looks at me like he just realized that I am here too. He looks over to Voodoo to see if he needs to kick me out. They had best not try because I really don’t want to have problems with my Prez and VP, but I am not leaving Peaches to deal with anything without me. When Voodoo doesn’t say anything, I can see Axel visibly relax in his chair.

Prez looks over to Anna and asks her in as calm a voice as he probably has what is going on and what did she mean when she said her baby was coming home? Voodoo breaks into Prez’s questions with his own.

“Anna why didn’t you tell me what was going on? I would have helped you no matter what!” he says, letting the hurt that he feels fill his voice.

“I know Scott.” She whispers. “I was scared, and I did not want to tell anyone I was pregnant. Let alone how I got that way.”

“Well, I know how you got that way,” Scott snickers, which makes Axel and I smirk as well.

“Anna, sweetie, you need to give us some information,” Prez states with confusion on his face. “Why didn’t you tell us? Is this why you disappeared on us? What was the phone call about?”

Anna takes a few breathes before trying to answer. She won’t look anyone in the eye like she is afraid of what is going to happen next. I reach over to take her hand and give her a smile. She looks over at me and gives me a little smile in return.

“The phone call was from DCF,” she tells us quietly. “I got pregnant about ten or eleven months ago. I was at a party and there was lots of alcohol and things got carried away. I found out I was going to have a baby. Scott, you asked me if I had the flu, so I agreed that was the problem and decided that I would go away until after the baby was born. I did not want you to hate me or to make you look bad in the eyes of the club. Anyway, I found the Quinn’s and got to know them. We made an agreement for the adoption that I could go see Cecelia, that’s her name, for two hours every two weeks. That’s where I was coming from when I met Taz,” she tells us in a flat voice, like she is afraid of what we think.

Scott leans over and takes her other hand. “Look at me baby sister!” he says gently, “I love you and will stand beside you no matter what. I have questions about the past and what happened, but I can wait a little bit. What I need to know now is what is going on. You said we need to go get her tomorrow. Where are her adoptive parents? What do we need to get so that you are ready for her? You know I can’t wait to see and hold my niece, right?”

Anna looks at Scott with amazement and shock. She really didn’t think that he would help her and be ok. After a few minutes, she looks over at Axel and then me. Once she sees the look of acceptance and love on his face and the look on mine, Anna gets a huge smile on her face. The one that lights up the whole world. She throws her arms around her brother dropping my hand in the process and hugs him with a little giggle.

“The man from DCF said that the Quinn’s home had exploded, and they did not survive. CeCe was evidently at her daycare when it happened but she has a doctor appointment tomorrow to make sure everything is ok. They are allowing me to keep her until the courts decide if I can have my parental rights again. I have no idea how to even go about that, but I wanna try,” she exclaims, not taking a breath in her excitement. “I need to get lots of baby things including a crib or playpen for her to sleep in. There is so much I need,” she says panic beginning to rise in her voice.

“Slow your roll,” Prez tells her, holding her hand up so that she stops for a minute to gather herself. “We can take an SUV and go pick up what you need. Consider it a late baby shower,” he tells her as her face begins to show the worry, she is currently letting take hold of her.

“Anna, I only get to have my first niece one time. I am going to spoil her like crazy. You know I have some time to make up for!” Voodoo says with a huge grin on his face.

“Let’s get going!” I throw out, hoping no one thinks to tell me to stay behind.

Voodoo throws open the door to Prez’s office and yells out. “Hey, you crazy motherfuckers, I am an uncle and she will be here tomorrow!”

All the brothers look over at Peaches, trying to see where she is hiding her baby bump. I start laughing and Voodoo looks at me.

“These idiots are looking to see where she is hiding her bump!” I say, letting him in on what I immediately picked up.

Voodoo cracks up and says that she is with DCF for the night, but we are getting her tomorrow. A cheer so loud it shakes the pictures on the wall is let out as the brothers celebrate the generation that is now a part of Steel Bandits. Plus, Anna is a part of their family and if she’s happy, then they’ll be happy for her.

Skid stands behind the bar passing out drinks for us to celebrate with, but the look on his face is confusing. He seems mad at this news but why would he care one way or another? I put this in the back of my mind and go to sit next to Peaches. Brothers are coming up and congratulating her, she doesn’t seem to know what to say. It’s almost as if she’s operating on autopilot. Instead of celebrating, she’s sitting at a table silent and not drinking.

“Do you wanna make a list before we head out? Or do you just wanna play it by ear when we get there?” I ask her, trying to distract her from the thoughts swirling in her mind.

“I guess I can start a list, but I don’t even know what to get for right now,” she says letting the doubt she feels out for me to hear.

“Let’s make a list of the basics we know you need. Then we can wing it for the rest of the stuff. We can always send a prospect to get anything we miss!” I tell her with a grin.

It turns into a circus as we make a list. The brothers decide we need help, so they start throwing out ideas. Everything from diapers to a swing set. Even a Barbie Power Car. This baby is only six months old and they already want her to have a car. Axel sets a bowl on the table and throws a hundred-dollar bill in it. One by one the brothers all throw in money and give her a kiss on the head. Tears pour from her as she realizes she may have misjudged the situation but that’s all water under the bridge. Now she has the future with her daughter in front of her.