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The commotion seems to die down as footsteps retreat, and when the doors swing closed behind them, Ryker addresses the room, “If you’re not a Ruthless Brother, get the fuck out. If you are, get your ass to the Church. Now.”
What the hell is going on? Why is Emmett being arrested? I don’t understand, but I also can’t bring myself to stand up and find out.
Closing my eyes, I try to inhale deeply through my nose before exhaling from my mouth. It works a little as I continue to repeat the motion, but my anxiety and fear are sky-high right now. It’s going to take more than this to bring it back down to a livable level.
“Gray, get Shift on the line, we’re going to need our lawyer at the station before Emmett and Euro fucking get there. Eric and Becker, follow after them, we want as many eyes as possible,” Ryker orders.
When I blink my eyes open, I can at least see a little clearer now compared to before, my vision more than just blurred shapes and colors. But I instantly regret it when a guy crouches in front of me, a sneer on his lips.
“Why the fuck were you hiding like that?” Axel glares at me, his hands fisted as he waits for an answer, but my tongue is like lead in my mouth.
I have nothing to offer him, no defense, no reason, nothing. I sure as shit am not giving him the truth. He doesn’t deserve it. None of them do.
“I. Said. Why. Did. You. Hide. Like. That?”
My heart is in my throat as I take short, strangled breaths.
“Back off, Axel. She’s panicked and in shock and you’re not helping.” Maggie’s voice is like heaven to my ears, but as she inches closer and places her hand on my shoulder, I flinch at the touch. She moves back without another word, and Emily calls my name from a distance.
My eyes slam shut again, and I hate that I feel the trickle of a lone tear tracking down my face. But most of all, I hate that Axel is witnessing it.
“Take Emily to her brother’s room for now. Scarlett will be there soon, she just needs a minute,” Maggie murmurs, and I’m beyond thankful. I don’t have the mental capacity to handle anything more than my own worries and fears, and if I see Emily, I’ll want to take all her worries away.
Fingers push at my chin, tilting my head up, but I don’t blink open my eyes until I hear Gray’s voice. “Scar?”
My name, a soothing breath on his lips, pisses Axel off even more as he slams his fist into the unit behind him and the sound of shattering glass follows.
“Fuck off, Axel. You’re not helping,” Maggie shouts, louder this time, but he shakes his head in disbelief at her.
“Our brothers have been taken by the cops, and you’re all here worrying about the woman that likely has something to do with it,” he bites, and I scoff despite barely being able to breathe. “Do you know something?”
Although the panic and anxiousness within me is in full motion, the fear slowly starts to spiral into anger at his incessant pushing. “No,” I bite, my breathing coming in bigger gulps now as my chest heaves with each breath.
This isn’t who I am. I’ve worked so hard to be better, be stronger, be anything but helpless, yet here I sit, on the floor of another MC with my life under someone else's control.
“Then why hide?” Axel’s feet shift apart as he folds his arms over his chest, refusing to follow everyone else into the Church without an answer from me.
“Because that’s what I’ve always been told to do, you fucking fool,” I grit out, hands clenching into fists as my emotions make my blood boil. When his eyebrows furrow in confusion, it’s my turn to sneer at him. “Childhood trauma doesn’t just disappear.” I almost add that it’s not just him that has it, but I manage to refrain as he twists his lips in thought.
“Let her fucking be, Axel. We need to get everything under control for Emmett and Euro.” Ryker appears in my peripheral vision, not glancing at me as he addresses his friend. It feels like an eternity passes before he rolls his shoulders back and then leaves with Ryker.
I sag with relief, hating the fact that he gets under my skin like that.
“Do you need anything?” Gray asks, moving to reach his hand out to me, but Maggie stops him before he can touch me.
“No. I need to be left alone or be given the chance to actually fucking leave.” The words are through clenched teeth and it’s Axel’s voice from a small distance away that responds.
“You’re not going anywhere when I know there’s shit you’re not telling us.”
I feel like I’m going to explode. Every part of me is ready to detonate at this moment. “Space it is, sweet cheeks,” Gray breathes, looking at me solemnly once more before rising to his feet and following the others.
A sense of relief coats my skin, but I still feel clammy and drained.
Maybe the sheriff should have taken me in, maybe the darkness should. This pain was meant for me to feel, for me to survive, for me to be stronger, but holy fucking shit, that doesn’t make it any easier to handle.
TWENTY-FIVE
Emmett
