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The waitress returned with a coffee pot and filled cups before heading off again. Joaquin waited for her to be out of earshot before he continued,
“Daniela is a very special female. One we’re extremely lucky to have on our side.”
Cujo took a mouthful of his coffee before he cleared his throat. “She a witch?”
Joaquin shrugged. “Of a sort. We found her on a raid and rescued her.”
Illusion laughed. “Nearly left her behind thinkin’ she was part of the wildlife.”
Another round of chuckles had me frowning again. Clearly, Cujo was getting as frustrated as I was.
“Just fucking tell me who or what she is. I don’t fucking do games.”
Joaquin sighed. “Relax, Cujo. You have no patience. Daniela is a Brazilian Rainbow Boa shifter. She comes from a long line of powerful magic users.”
I shook my head. “If she’s a powerful magic user, why did she need rescuing?”
I’d wished so many times I’d been born a witch. That would have meant being able to break free of the bracelets.
Joaquin turned his focus to me. “No magic is limitless, Lily-Rose. Daniela was caught in her animal form and brought to the States to be sold as an exotic pet. While she’s bigger than a normal Rainbow Boa, her animal form is still a lot smaller than her human half. Her captors kept her in a cage too small for her to shift. In her snake form, her magic is limited. She was unable to escape on her own.”
I was still confused. “So, the ones that took her didn’t know she was a shifter? Why take a snake if they didn’t know what she was?”
Illusion spoke up again, “The Rainbow Boa is a stunning animal. Its scales are iridescent. The species was nearly wiped due to being captured and sold as pets. We assume that’s how Daniela was caught, but she don’t talk about it much so we don’t know for sure. If you want to know more about her, you’ll have to ask her yourself. Although, like I said, she don’t talk much so I doubt you’ll get many answers.”
Joaquin took back over. “I’m sure you’ll meet her soon after we roll into town. She was very worked up over us needing to come to San Fran to wait for a call. As Illusion said, she’s never fucking been wrong yet. She’s a big help with our raids.”
These men were as bad as Cujo. Half answers that gave me more questions. “Raids?”
He grinned. “Several of us who took over the Iron Hammers MC descend from Vikings. We like to honor our ancestors and keep doing what they started. We go raiding to save those caught up in human or shifter trafficking. Since Daniela’s been helping us, we’ve been more successful, but we weren’t doing half bad before either.”
The waitress came out and started delivering all the food, so I sat back and processed everything I’d learned. I couldn’t wait to meet Daniela. She sounded like an extremely interesting woman. Learning about the raiding the club now did, I was beginning to believe Joaquin that the club had changed from who they used to be when my mother was taken and held by them.
Chapter Eight
Lily-Rose
Itwasearlyeveningthe following day when we finally rolled into Galveston. I’d been a toddler when Kevin fled this place and I had no memories of anything here. That didn’t stop me from being nervous the closer we got to the Iron Hammers clubhouse. For all of Joaquin’s verbal reassurances, I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure he was speaking the truth. I wanted to believe he was. Wanted to believe this was the start of a new, happier life for me.
Cujo reached over and rested his palm on my thigh, his heat soaking in and soothing me a little. “You doing okay, sweetheart?”
I pulled my fingers away from my mouth. I really needed to stop chewing my nails. Not only did it make my hands look like crap, but it was like a neon sign to the world that my mind was a mess.
“Just nervous about what we’re going to find at the clubhouse.”
He nodded. “Can understand that. After Kevin took your mom from the club, did they stay here? Is this where you were born?”
I turned to face him. He really was a gorgeous man. His short beard did nothing to hide the strong line of his jaw or his completely kissable lips. When he flicked a quick glance my way, my cheeks heated at being busted ogling him.
“Yes, I was born here. I was a toddler when we moved, so I don’t have any memories of Galveston. I have a few from our time in New Mexico.” A shudder ran through me.
He glanced my way again, frowning. “What happened?”
Would telling him have him losing his temper again? I sighed. He’d want to know eventually, so I might as well just get it all out now.
“From what I’ve heard the other women say over the years, I think I’ve pieced together most of what happened in those early years. Kevin drove a taxi here in town. Somehow, that led him to getting in with an Iron Hammer. The club gave Kevin my mom in payment for him bringing others to them, which he was obviously more than happy about. Then, in 2002, a group formed that was saving girls from the club. Kevin managed to join up with this group and he then would grab some of the girls they saved to sell himself.”
He growled. “Bet the club was happy about that. Fucker.”
