Page 62 of Sniper

My dad steps forward and asks, “Who, sweetheart?”

She swallows hard, making eye contact with me, and admits, “Axe, a brother in the Huntsmen MC.”

Pitbull climbs into the ring, sensing something bad is about to go down, and he’s right. He stands by me as Aurora tells her story, all while I struggle to fucking stand with each word she whispers.

She wrings her fingers together over her bump where our twins lie comfortably, and says, “I grew up around the Huntsmen. My grandfather, who I never met, was a brother before he was gunned down. Mom loved the brothers; they were her uncles in every way except blood, and when she died, my dad continued to be around them. Steel is his best friend and an uncle to me.” She looks around the room, her tears falling. “Every time my dad was deployed with the Navy, Steel would watch me, or I’d stay with Piston or Acid….”

I inquire, “Acid…as in their Road Captain?”

She nods with a small smile. “He was like a brother to me, they both were. I was ten when we all met, and they both had my back growing up, or at least I thought they did.” She furrows her brows. “Axe is their cousin, and I thought he was a friend,” she looks around the room again, “he never showed any interest in me, never gave me any of the signs I was taught to look for, heck, he even had an old lady, Hannah, though he only made her an old lady because she fell pregnant….”

Breaker adds, “She had an abortion, she just wanted his patch, or that’s what he was spewing when I was there. Apparently, she stole all his money and ran.”

Aurora nods. “She did have an abortion, but not because she just wanted his patch and got pregnant on purpose for it. He forced her to be his old lady, and she didn’t like what she saw in him. She knew bringing a baby into his world would be bad, so she got rid of it. The money she stole, she gave to me. She’s the one who helped me escape.”

Snake steps forward and asks gently, “Escape what, Rory?”

Her tears fall hard, her eyes coming my way, and I brace myself, knowing what she’s about to say is going to destroy me.

20

Aurora

I lock eyes with the man I love. Blood covers him, pain clear as day in his eyes, and I sob, hating I’m about to do this to him.

Sobbing, I admit, “I had to escape him… Axe.”

All the brothers stand up straight, anger radiating off them, already coming to part of the conclusion. I angrily wipe away my tears, fed up with crying over him and the hell he put me through.

Through gritted teeth, I state, “When I was seventeen, my father was deployed.” I look at my love. “He promised me no more until after I started college. Growing up having your father away for years at a time with the Navy was hard, and it was only three years beforehand that I lost my mother.” I shake my head. “He left me alone with that club, with brothers I thought I could trust.”

I wipe away my tears and notice Theo gripping the ropes of the ring, struggling to stay away. My love for him grows even if my anger at him lying to me and bringing me here is still there.

“Honey…” Bull, Theo’s dad, rasps.

I sniffle, giving him a small smile, and whisper, “Acid came round to check on me, my dad had only been gone for about a week, and I was struggling with this math question.” I chuckle a little. “Acid sucks at math, maybe worse than me, so he called up Piston because he’s the whizz and all.” I sob, putting the back of my hand to my mouth. “He said he was on his way over, and Acid had to leave to sort out club business.”

“Brother…” Theo chokes and Snake steps forward, placing his arm around my shoulders, giving me the strength my husband can’t because he’s about to lose it. I can sense it.

I take a deep breath and tell everyone, “Piston couldn’t come, so Axe did. Everything was fine; he helped me with my homework, he asked me about school, and as soon as I mentioned the quarterback had asked me out, and that I accepted….” Theo growls, and I roll my eyes as the brothers snort. Shaking my head, I continue, “He changed instantly.” Everyone freezes. “He told me I was his, right before he threw me over the counter and raped me, taking my virginity in the process.” More tears fall hard. “I-I tried to fight back, I-I tried….”

Theo roars in anguish as Pitbull restrains him, keeping his arms behind his back, and Snake squeezes me to him, encouraging me to continue, even though I feel like dying at seeing my husband’s pain.

Sniffling, I whisper, “That night, after I washed myself so many times that I bled, he showed up and dragged me out of my father’s home to his apartment a few towns over, bound and gagged. Every day, he raped me, claiming he only had so much longer before he could take back his property patch from Hannah, a patch she never wanted, and give it to me.” Taking a deep breath, I hold up my wrists, the brothers sucking in a breath, anger shining from Theo because I told him I slipped on barbed wire. I admit, “I tried to kill myself. I didn’t want to live anymore. It was at the hospital that I learned I was pregnant….”

“Fuck,” Smokey breathes, and I nod.

“Autumn was conceived through rape, and despite finding out I was pregnant, he still raped me every day, and after I gave birth, he raped me anally.” I sob. “I-I thought I wouldn’t love her….”

Doc sighs, and offers, “This is why you wanted an abortion.”

I nod, “I love Theo so much, but he lied to me, he ensured I’d get pregnant, and I got flashbacks….”

The brothers all nod as Theo cuts in and growls, “fuck….”

My tears fall, and I look his way. "It wasn’t the same, it just felt….”

Crow, Doc’s dad, steps forward. “You were thrown back into your past, finding out he fucked with the pills. Your trauma took over.”

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