Page 70 of Truths

Swallowing another bit of food, Dani sets down her fork. “What happened to cause the dark period?”

“He lost a guy during a fight with the Savage Slashers. He sacrificed himself for Colt, and he was a year younger than Colt's brother would have been. Really fucked with his head, but he never let me in. At least, not until it was too late.”

“Oh, man.”

“Yeah, he missed birthdays and anniversaries. But the real kicker was a twat from Black Valley telling me she was going to take him from me. That she was sleeping with him. When I got the worst care package in the world, complete with pictures of an ultrasound and him lying on a bed naked, I knew it was time to leave.”

Her jaw drops, fork midway to her mouth. “Colt knocked up a club bunny?”

“No, it was a fake ultrasound. No, wait, it wasn't fake. It just wasn't hers. They never slept together, even though she tried, but the fact is, he put himself in a position for me to doubt him. Worse than that, he made me doubt us. And I was losing my fucking mind. I think it's hard for women, especially after we've given birth once or twice, not to blame ourselves when shit happens. I thought about getting plastic surgery. That’s when I knew I was bordering on needing some type of intervention.”

“Trust me, you don't need surgery.”

Laughing, Lex cups her chest. “Thanks, but I wouldn't mind doing a little something to the girls, though. A lift, maybe. Breastfeeding was hell on these puppies.”

Setting her fork down, Dani leans back. “Dax and I used to talk about kids.”

“If you ever want a kid fix, I got you.”

She nods and forces a smile. “What's the deal with the patch over? I know you kind of explained it before, but the basement time was all a blur.”

“Uh, the Drifters had an issue with the Slashers, and the Hellraisers came to offer support and assistance. It started as a connection for business because they worked their way out of their other business. You know, car parts instead of pharmaceuticals,” Lex says, and Dani laughs. “Mac and Finnegan approached Griffin's Beach with the patch-over idea if things went well with the ‘helping’ or whatever.”

“Mac and Finnegan went over Dax's head?”

“Well... Dax wasn't really Dax anymore. At least, from what they say. I think they were trying to save their lives by having him accountable to other people equal to or above him, depending on how you look at everything. His grief took over, and he got reckless.”

“How'd he handle that?”

Lex shrugs. “From what I understand, he didn't really care. Went with it because the rest of the Hellraisers wanted it. He even offered to step down if that's what they wanted, but they didn't.”

She lets out a shaky breath. “I saw my headstone. It's so weird seeing it.”

“I can imagine. I have a friend in Griffin's Beach who had one, too.”

“Did they bury someone else instead of her, too?”

“Nope, hers was empty. Thought she was lost when she was driven over the bluffs on fire. Showed up a year later, surprising us all. But, you also have a hell of a memorial tattoo on Dax's back. Daphne did a hell of a job.”

Dani looks out the window. “It's so surreal to know there's a headstone out there with my name on it. And a death date. I'm also memorialized on Dax's back, but I'm not dead. I'm not alive, but I'm not dead.” She pauses, and Lex waits for her to say something else. “Your friend who came back from the dead. How's she doing now?”

“She's good. Struggled a little at first, but it's partially because her husband, Tripp, didn't really know how to handle her. She hated feeling like she was made of glass about to break. Plus, he kind of had a kid with a club bunny we all fucking hated, so that didn't really help, either.”

“But she's good now?”

Nodding, Lex smiles. “Three kids. The one Tripp had with Melody. Fucking bitch. She helped try to kill Avery. Then they adopted Theo, who's the sweetest boy, and they adopted a redheaded little girl named Bonnie.”

“She got through it by talking about what happened to her?”

“Yeah.”

“I don't think I can ever talk about what happened to me,” she whispers, her eyes locking on Lex. “I don't want to relive it with anyone.”

Reaching a hand out, Lex takes Dani's and squeezes it. “I think you are reliving it. In your mind, alone. I won't force you to talk about anything you don't want to, but I think you should think about what holding it in means. How it keeps you a prisoner, mentally, because you're stuck in your own head. Honestly, being stuck there mentally instead of physically might be worse.”

“I suppose, but I'm just not... I'm not ready.”

“That's okay. You have a whole group of people ready whenever you are.”

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