Page 66 of Sniper

I make my way through the common room toward church, a lump forming in my throat as Momma rushes past me to my room.

A big part of me believes that Steel and them didn’t know. Momma expressed how emotional Rory’s dad was when she called him, and I heard the emotions in Steel’s voice, but fuck, it’s difficult because she was raped by one of their own, right underneath their noses.

It brings back the horror of fucking Hairy and what he did.

I walk into church with my head held high. Every eye comes my way. All the brothers are here, and with the addition of four men, it’s a tight squeeze.

“Brother?” Snake questions, and I look his way. Concern flows off him, but I ignore the look and look toward Steel, his silver hair short, his icy blue eyes assessing me.

He knows I’m the laid-back brother, who likes to party and have fun, but what he’s not aware of is how much I’ve changed she I met my girl, and how that brother doesn’t exist anymore.

I look beside him to see a man who looks like my girl, bags lining his eyes, before I notice two brothers, with blond hair and green eyes.

Acid and Piston.

I stand straight and cross my arms over my chest to control my anger.

“Where’s my daughter?” Bill asks with anger, and I look at him.

I keep my voice cold and state, “She’s with my momma and Brook.”

His nostrils flare. “You can’t keep her from me; I’m her father!” He takes a step forward. "You will go back and get her now!”

Some brothers tense at his tone. Steel sighs as Pitbull and Tats flank me.

Steel, along with my brothers, can see I’m a ticking time bomb, something Bill hasn’t noticed, and if he’s not careful, I may take my anger out on him, since it seems he is the one who left my girl when he hadn’t needed to.

Calmly, I state, “And she is my wif,e and is currently fourteen and a half weeks pregnant with twins.” The eyes of the new men in this room widen, and I continue, “What we need to talk about, she does not need to relive again.” I look at Steel. “My wife will be brought here after we have spoken. She’s going to be emotional as it is, and I will not put her through this again.”

He nods with respect when my dad speaks up and asks, “Where’s Autumn?”

I give him a small smile and state, “She’s with Sarah.”

Dad nods, and Acid asks, “Who’s Autumn?”

I look at him and state, “Mine and Rory’s daughter.”

The men suck in a breath while the brothers look at me with pride, and I look at my big brother more out of respect because, right now, we’re not blood-related; right now, he’s my Prez. He nods to continue, and I take a deep breath, looking at the men.

“My daughter is three years old.” They look at me in confusion before shock overrides their features when I admit, “When Rory was seventeen, she was raped and held captive for a year. I adopted Autumn on our wedding day.”

Acid shakes his head and denies, “No, no, that didn’t happen….”

I cut him off and state loudly, “Not only did it happen, but for a year, she was raped and abused by someone you all know, someone you trusted.”

Steel steps forward with anger and demands, all respect gone, “Spit it the fuck out, Sniper.”

My brother winces while the brothers all tense, expecting me to throw hands with his tone, but all I do is tilt my head and chuckle darkly.

“I respect you, Steel, I always have, and I get it, finding out you have a traitor is hard, but right now you’re in my fucking clubhouse, called here by us. We didn’t have to go down this route; I could have snatched your traitor up and killed the fucker without even telling you.” I take a step forward, and his eyes take in my face, taking in all the cuts and bruises my wife has scolded me for the past two days. and I nod. “Yeah, you four looking at us like we’ve known what my wife went through for years. Well, guess what, you’re wrong. We’ve been together for over just a year and a half. She, not once mentioned her past, only that her father,” I look at Bill, “had chosen to go on tour after promising not to,” he flinches, “and that her mother had died. She refused to tell me anything else.”

I shake my head and sigh. “I lied to her.”

Piston steps forward, his brows furrowed, and asks, “How?”

I give him a half smile. “She expressed her disdain for MCs.” His eyes widen in shock, and I nod. “Yeah. For about a month into the relationship, I didn’t tell her who I was, and when I was going to, she told me she’d never date a brother.”

Acid smirks despite the pain and confirms, "Let me guess, you made sure she fell for you and married her before telling her.”

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