“Dalton. He was my best friend.”
“The big guy?”
“Yeah.” She started to smile. “He wasn’t always that big. I mean, he was tall, like really tall but never filled out. For a long time he looked like a good gust of wind would push him over.” She stopped talking as the pain hit her hard. “He’s dead.”
Whizz didn’t say anything. She saw his jaw tense at her words.
“He was the one who found me after it happened. After Gonzalez happened. I was a mess. He wouldn’t leave me behind. Dalton never left me behind even when I begged him to.”
“Was he in love with you?” Whizz asked.
She shook her head. “I think there was a time when he thought he was, but I never loved him like that. He was my brother and my best friend.”
Lacey knew Dalton had wanted more from her at one stage. She’d not long turned twenty-one, and his attention had become more intimate. He’d wanted to become hers, but she’d kept away from him. Lacey hadn’t wanted anything from him but friendship.
“He’s dead.”
“No one was left alive, Lacey.”
“It’s all my fault because I came back to you.”
“What?”
She stayed still as she stared at him. “I was selfish. I needed to see you one more time. If I’d not come to you, he’d still be alive.”
“No, he wouldn’t have been alive. The club was full of fucking idiots, Lacey. They were going to die if you came to me or not. It just so happened I got you out of there alive. Their deaths were not your fault.”
She didn’t believe him, but his words helped for some strange reason.
Rolling onto her front, she pressed her palm to the tile and started to get up. Whizz stood up with her. He was taller than she was, so she only came to his chest.
“I hate you,” she said.
“I know.”
She stared at his chest recalling the way he felt against her, not just that morning but the other times they’d been together. Not once had she thought about the club or Dalton. She’d been a woman.
“I need to get out of this room otherwise I’m going to lose my mind.”
“I can’t let you out. No one trusts you.”
“I’ve been locked up in this room. You need to take me to that house.” She stopped talking to grit her teeth. She looked away from him to glance past his shoulder. “I need to see what has happened to it. I need to have closure, Whizz. I need this to suddenly become real.”
“Why?”
“Because right now I keep expecting him to walk through that door and it’s never going to happen. He’s never going to come home.”
“Dalton?”
“Yes. He’s dead, and I need to know it’s over.” She fisted her hands at her sides. This was only going to upset her. There was no way anything good could come from her seeing the evidence of their death or the emptiness of what happened.
“There are no bodies, Lacey.”
She nodded. “Please, let me go and see. I’ll stay handcuffed to you if it’ll make you feel better. I need to see.”
Whizz stared at her for several seconds. Neither of them spoke or moved. Lacey didn’t know what else to say to make him see her point of view.
“I’ll go and talk to Tiny. Eat something or I swear I won’t take you anywhere.”
“I’ll eat,” she said.
He left, locking the door behind him. Whizz didn’t trust her, and she couldn’t blame him. She wouldn’t trust herself either. This club wasn’t just a place for men to get their rocks off.
The Skulls was a family to the core. Tiny united them all within Fort Wills. Would she ever become part of their dynamic? The whole setup seemed too good to be true.
Walking into the bedroom she saw the plate waiting for her.
She picked up the knife and fork. The pancakes were no longer warm. She didn’t mind. Lacey ate through the stack while watching the door.
Time passed. She didn’t know how much time had passed before Whizz opened the door.
“Tiny has agreed, but we’re taking Lash with us.”
“Why?”
“Tiny doesn’t trust you, and he doesn’t want anything to happen to me.” He carried a pile of clothing. “Angel gave me this.”
Finishing off the last pancake she took the clothes from Whizz, heading into the bedroom.
“Be warned, Lacey, you try anything and Lash has been ordered to kill.”
“That’s why Lash is coming? You couldn’t shoot me?”
“I’m not interested in killing you. I’ve never wanted to kill you. It’s why you’re alive today.”
She stared at the clothing in her hand then up at Whizz. “If it was left to the other men in the club, they’d have killed me?”
“You risked the club, Lacey. You’re a Savage Brother, and you should have died with the rest.”
Closing the door, Lacey knew it was because of Whizz that she was still living. Would the other brothers kill her?
Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she quickly stripped down. She needed to get out of the clubhouse and see the reality of her situation.
****
Angel tucked some hair behind her ear as she made her way toward the secluded warehouse where Gash had told her to meet him. She hated doing this behind Lash’s back, but this was the only way she could protect herself. He was going into town with Whizz and Lacey. She wished she could go with him, but he’d told her no. Lash didn’t want her anywhere near Lacey while she was so unpredictable.
Angel loved him with her whole heart, and the only reason she was doing this was for him. If she’d not married him, fallen for him, she wouldn’t need to worry about the future. She wanted more children and to be a real part of the club. There was no way she could do that while being at the mercy of every crazed enemy that rolled through town. She was tired of being afraid of the unknown.
Rubbing her hands together she stood waiting.
“You came?” Gash asked, rounding the corner. He was smoking as he moved toward her.
“I was serious about this. I want to be able to fight and look after myself. The only way I can do that is by getting someone to teach me. Prison wouldn’t have been a comfort.”
He tilted his head to the side, staring at her.
“What happened this morning bothered you. Raven is nothing but a whore to be used, and you couldn’t stand for the bitch to be put in her place.”