“Leave,” Preacher said.
“She’s my daughter. I can stay here. Whatever she has to say, I have a right to know.”
“And I’m your president. You want to take me on, bring it on. This is personal and private. You no longer get the chance to be here when you put all the blame on her and called her a whore.”
Bear laughed. “Am I the only one seeing the problem is her? This isn’t a hard choice to make. You take Preacher. You take what you want and you don’t allow her to cloud your fucking mind.”
“Get out,” Preacher said and this time Reaper stood.
“You think you can take me on?” Bear asked.
Without another word, Robin got to her feet. “And this is why I have to leave. Bear has every right to be here, not me. I’m the problem and I’m tired of being in the middle. I know this should be an easy decision, but it’s not. As much as I hate to admit it, I love you both. I can’t pick and I won’t. Bethany needs a father and I … I can’t. I, I’m leaving. She will just have to cope with having a mother.”
She left the table and he heard her pick up the phone.
Looking at Bear and then Reaper, he didn’t like what was happening, but he knew she was making the right decision for her. He had to deal with each little problem element. First, this situation with Reaper and his club, Bear, his own club, and then his feelings for Robin.
She didn’t come back into the room and he heard her move upstairs.
“You’re just going to let her go?” Reaper asked.
“There’s no letting going on right now,” Preacher said.
“It’s not safe for her.”
“You should have thought about that before you brought your child here to deal with all of this.” Preacher left the room. “Try not to kill each other,” he said as a parting shot.
After walking upstairs, he went to her bedroom where she had a single case open with some clothes put inside.
She turned toward him and he saw the tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
He couldn’t have her crying. He went straight to her and pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head and knowing he’d never let her go. His love for her was absolute. “I know you need to go and I even understand the reason. But I don’t want you to go. Last night, I fucked up, I wasn’t ready for that little fact.”
She sniffled. “I never wanted this to happen. Any of this. For so long, I waited for you, hoping you’d find me. I begged and prayed you would.”
He closed his eyes, breathing her in. “I failed.”
“No, I failed. I stopped fighting. I no longer believed and I gave in, and in doing so, I gave you up. I should choose Reaper. I’ve already caused you so much pain.”
“Don’t.”
“But.” She licked her lips. “You gave yourself to me. You shared details of your life with me, and I can’t stop caring about you. I can’t walk away from the way you make me feel. I don’t want to.”
He reached out to stroke her cheek. “You don’t have to. I’m not giving up on you.”
“You can’t stand to look at Bethany.”
“I don’t know her. This is a lot to take in. Give me time.” He pulled her close, kissing her head. “I love you, Robin.”
She started to sob against him. “I love you too. I’m so sorry but I’ve got to put Bethany first in all of this. She doesn’t deserve any of this.”
“Don’t be sorry. If you ever need anything, you’ll come to me.” He thought about Dog. “You also need to come to dinner Sunday.”
She sniffled as she pulled back. Her eyes swollen and bloodshot. “Why?”
“I’ve got a deal with a guy. He helped me when I needed it most and as part of his agreement to help me, he wanted to have a dinner with you there.”
“Oh.”