Chapter 29
The riders came back, and the clubhouse erupted into chaos all over again. Lydia stood inside the doorway with her mom, trying to make sense of everything. Baddy had called a half hour ago, letting her know he had her mom and was bringing her back to the clubhouse.
That should've been enough to calm her.
It wasn't.
Her mom, instead of being happy to see her, hovered behind her, half-hidden in the shadow of a support beam, flinching every time a Royalla member walked past. She kept her head down, hair falling like a curtain over her face.
"Mom," Lydia whispered, touching her arm. "It's okay. Nobody here is going to hurt you. You're safe."
Her mom kept glancing toward the exit, as if she wanted to bolt. After all the trouble Baddy had gone through to save her mom, she better not run away. Sonny was no good. There was no reason for her mom to want to go back to Cusclan Motorcycle Club.
Before Lydia could ask what was wrong, her mother gasped. She followed her mom's gaze to the kitchen door, swinging back and forth.
Baker stepped into view, wiping his hands on a towel, muttering about people leaving dishes in the sink. He looked around the room, stopping on Lydia, then moving his gaze behind her to her mom.
The towel slipped from Baker's hand and hit the floor. "Maureen?"
Lydia blinked. Maureen? Her mom's name was Maureen.
Her mom took a step back, shaking her head. "No. No, Baker."
Baker moved toward her slowly, like he was afraid of startling her. "It's you."
Her mom's voice cracked. "Please... don't."
The room went silent. Every Royalla member turned. Baddy stepped closer to Lydia, his hand brushing her back, steadying her.
Lydia looked back and forth between them, confusion twisting her stomach. "Mom? What's going on?"
Her mom shook her head, refusing to answer her. She grabbed Baddy's hand. Something was wrong.
"Maureen?" Baker cleared his rough voice. "You came back."
Her mom covered her mouth with both hands, tears spilling over. "I didn't know how to come back. I didn't know how to face you."
Baker's jaw clenched, emotion flickering across his aged eyes. "You... vanished."
"You sent me away," her mom whispered.
"Not forever." Baker's brows lowered in pain. "I sent you money. I still send you money."
"Cusclan took it." Her mom lowered her head. "After..." She glanced at Lydia and then back at Baker. "I never received it."
"You never came back." Baker frowned, pulling on his beard.
Her mom covered her mouth, tears spilling over. "I didn't know how to come back."
Lydia stared at them both, feeling as if she was standing in the middle of someone else's dream she didn't understand. "Mom, what is he talking about?"
Her mom looked at her then, really looked at her. Lydia grabbed her mom's arm in panic. She'd never seen her mom look so scared.
Not when she lived with Sonny. Nor with any of the other Cusclan members she hooked up with over the years.
At that moment, she didn't even recognize her mom and became scared herself.
"Jesus Christ." Baker swallowed hard, gaze flickering between Lydia and her mom. "Why didn't you tell her?"
"What?" Lydia's pulse hammered. "Tell me what?"
Her mom shook her head, tears falling faster. "I couldn't. I wanted her away from this lifestyle, just like you did. I couldn't tell her."
"Know what?" Lydia demanded, voice rising.
Baddy stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, forcing her back against his chest as if to protect her. Her heart raced, and she gasped for air.
Her mom opened her mouth, but no sound came out. What was going on?
"I should've known." Baker stepped forward, coming straight to Lydia. "She didn't tell you because I scared her enough to keep her away. But over the years, I..." Baker shook his head. "I regretted my decision my whole life. You deserved to know."
Lydia's heart pounded so hard it hurt. "Know what?"
He looked at Lydia as if he was trying to memorize every detail of her face, afraid she might vanish if he blinked.
His breath hitched. "My God..."
Lydia's heart pounded. "What?"
"Baker, don't." Her mom sobbed. "She'll never forgive us."
He stepped closer, voice trembling. "I married Maureen. When your mom left...when I sent her away, I wanted to give you a better life than what you could get if you stayed here with me."
Lydia's pulse roared in her ears. She glanced at her mom. What was Baker saying? Was he one of the many bikers her mom hooked up with?
Baker swallowed hard, emotion choking him. "Lydia... you look just like my mother. I should've seen it the second you walked into this clubhouse. I should've—"
He stopped, chest heaving, eyes locked on hers. Her pulse roared in her ears.
"I'm your father," he whispered brokenly.
The world tilted. She pressed against Baddy to escape what Baker was telling her.
Lydia stared at him—at Baker, the man who fed her when she wouldn't eat, who watched her with quiet concern, who always seemed to know what she needed to make her more comfortable at the club.
Her father?
She grabbed Baddy's hands, and he held her tighter. This couldn't be true.
Her mom cried. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. I thought keeping you away from his life was the only way to protect you, and then I couldn't escape Cusclan—"
"Fucking hell." Baker turned, grabbing his head. "I'm going to kill them."
"I tried to escape, hoping I could come back and get you when Sonny was on a ride, but you'd left, and he caught me again." Her mom reached for her.
"No." She shook her head.
It was all lies. They were trying to confuse her. Her dad was dead.
"It's true." Baker returned to her, tears slipping down his weathered cheeks. "I missed your whole life."
Lydia's throat closed. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
She could only stare at the man whose voice had always been strangely comforting, whose presence had always made her feel safe without her understanding why.
Her father?
Her mom stretched out her arms toward her, but Lydia stepped back, shaking her head, her world spinning out of control.
Nothing made sense.
Nothing was real.
Baker's eyes softened in a way she'd never seen before. "You're my daughter."
"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry." Her mom sobbed. "We'll talk. We'll answer your questions. Just, please, say something."
Lydia tuned them out. She didn't know who she was anymore.