Page 44

She leans back into me, wiggling a little to get comfortable, making my dick start to harden. If she notices, she doesn’t let it show. I focus on her words and the faces of those watching her. Even Probe looks curious, which is just as well. I’m about ready to rip off the man’s head for his fucking attitude problem.

“I followed her around for a while, trying to figure out the best place to approach her, while keeping a low profile, but she was always around someone else. And then I saw her purely by chance, heading off in her car somewhere alone, so I followed her. We ended up in the hospital parking lot. I don’t know why, but it felt like she was pouring salt in my wounds. I confronted her before she went inside, worried I wouldn’t get another chance. She went so pale, I thought she was going to pass out.

“I don’t remember everything that was said. My anger and fear were riding me too hard. But she said she needed a chance to talk to you—well, Blade—and explain her case before anyone saw me and connected the dots. She said they didn’t know she was running from her ex. She told me that she hadn’t told you guys anything about her past other than that she was training to be a nurse. Like me, she ran before she could finish her degree.”

“If she were training at the local hospital, wouldn’t her name have popped up in the system? James would have easily found her,” Dice asks.

“She wasn’t using her married surname. She was using Brown, her maiden name, which is why I now use it—or did while I was here.

“She asked me to give her a couple of weeks to get her shit in order in case you asked her to leave. But she was hoping you’d hear her out and help us both. I’d seen you guys around. You seemed terrifying, and the thought of having you at my back was the first feeling of relief I’d had in months.”

I smooth my hands up and down her back when her voice cracks. “I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I stayed at a shelter and did what I do best—researched the hell out of the town and the club. I made sure to wear a wig and glasses when I went out so nobody would confuse me with Lil—her idea—and we met up frequently. I told her all the shit that had happened to me, and she told me about her life here and all of you guys. I felt like I knew you all before I met you.” Her voice fades into a whisper.

“Hey, look at me, baby. Stay with me. You’re not there anymore. Whatever it is that’s haunting you has already happened, and you survived it.”

She blinks, coming out of it a little before she nods. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. You sure you're up for this? It can wait.”

“No, it can’t,” she whispers sadly. I see her draw on an inner strength that somehow makes her even more attractive.

“She told me to meet her here at the clubhouse. Told me to come without the wig and glasses. She actually gave me an outfit to wear and told me the more we looked the same, the easier it would be for Blade to accept her story. He was apparently still on the fence, and who could blame him, right? It all seemed so farcical.”

She swallows and pushes back into me, seeking comfort or warmth—I don’t know—but I’m happy to give her whatever she needs. I wrap my arms tightly around her and rest my jaw on top of her head. The next parts of her story are going to kill me.

“When I got here, it was like a ghost town, and I don’t mean that as a pun. The gates were open and unattended, which I thought was odd at the time. But my only real references to MCs were what I’d seen on TV or read about. I headed up this way. I could hear laughter and yelling, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I almost turned back. I think I knew something wasn’t right, but I was worried about Lil by this point and carried on.”

She turns her head to Havoc. “That’s when someone grabbed me. I didn’t recognize him from any of the descriptions Lil gave me, but he was wearing a cut. I tried to explain I was here to meet Blade, but then he covered my mouth and dragged me to the barn. When we got there, he shoved me inside, and I landed on my knees. I was in so much pain that it took me a second to realize that the room was filled with terrified women. Some were sobbing loudly, some were silently crying. All of them were cowering away from the men up front.

“I knew then that something had gone horribly wrong. I couldn’t see Lil in the crowd of faces, but I did see a couple of kids. The girl couldn’t have been any older than twelve, and when her terror-filled eyes locked on mine, it was like going back in time again. I was twelve and scared, knowing something really fucking bad was going to happen to me, but nobody was coming to save me. I didn’t know who she was, but I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. Not if I could help it. I was already broken. What difference would a few more cracks make to me anyway?”

I feel myself shaking at her admission. My beautiful, brave woman, sacrificing herself for a girl she never met.

“When Snake grabbed my hair, I didn’t even try to fight him. I didn’t explain that I wasn’t the Lil he thought I was. I didn’t think of anything but that girl. Even when he forced himself down my throat, I let my mind drift away to that field of flowers I used to hide in as a child. You know what happened next—Sunshine and Blade killed Snake, and the rest of the women were spared. Some of them took off, some of them were too scared to move. I should have run then. I should have snuck out the way I snuck in. Instead, I stood there in a daze. I wandered out of the barn sometime later, as the final showdown took place.

“I stood by the door and watched as a man I knew as Bear—from Lil’s description—forced Sunshine to her knees.”

“Bitch, please. All women are the same. They’re only good for two things: sucking and fucking. Isn’t that right, Lil?” she says in a deep, mocking voice, making Kruger jolt.

“See, Bear thought I was Lil, too. Everyone seemed to. His words ignited my anger. I couldn’t believe that this shit was happening again, and all because of men and their jealousy and envy of others. I told him men don’t take what women would give them freely if they were real men to begin with.”

I stroke my fingers down her face. “You are absolutely fucking right,” I tell her vehemently.

“He said, if I didn’t want to see Sunshine die, I needed to round up my little pussy brigade and get them back in the barn along with the brats. He said all this while pressing a gun to Sunshine’s head. I had no idea who she was at the time, and she didn’t seem to know me either. But in that moment, we were the same woman. We were all women. And we had had enough. You know how it all played out in the end. Blade killed Bear, Sunshine survived unscathed, and everyone celebrated the win.”

“Not Delphi,” Kruger grunts.

Lil nods. “I didn’t know Delphi, though, remember. And even if I had, I didn’t know any of that went down. I would have assumed she jumped ship with the rest of the women.”

Circus leans forward. “And the other Lil? What happened to her? You said she set you up, but it sounds to me like she got caught up in the crosshairs herself and⁠—”

Lil shakes her head, cutting Circus off. “I went looking for her. Searched her room, which seemed untouched, but of course, I knew that meant nothing. She’d faked her death before. There was nothing stopping her from doing it again.

“Eventually, I went to the hospital. It was the last place I could think of. I went in a wig and wore contacts, making myself look just different enough that I could pass as her sister. Most people wouldn’t tell me anything, but there was one woman there who was pissed about being left in the lurch. She said Lil had quit two weeks ago, without an explanation, leaving them short-staffed.”

“The day you confronted her in the parking lot,” I guess.

She nods. “I gave her an excuse about a family emergency, and she gave me permission to clean out her locker and belongings, which I did. She’d left her keys behind, so why not?”