Page 71 of Truths

“I like you,” Dani says and smiles. “You don't expect anything from me. You don't look at me like I'm a ghost and causing you pain. Plus, no one stands up to Dax like you did. When he got in your face, it was kind of scary.”

Waving her free hand in the air, Lex laughs. “That was nothing. Seriously. I knew he wouldn't hit me, but if he did, I have a mean right hook. Just ask our six-foot-something member, Ky Short. He fell backwards when I put my weight behind it.”

“You hit a member?”

“I've hit more than one,” she says and laughs again. “And many club bunnies. Can I just say, though, I fucking love the bunnies here. They're so respectful and not trashy. Do you think they'd be willing to come and teach the other bunnies?”

Her eyebrows lift. “You like the bunnies here?”

“Wait until you see the bunnies in the other two charters. Trust me, these women are saints compared to them.”

“Wow,” Dani says, leaning back and pulling her hand from Lex. “These are words I never thought I'd hear from an old lady. Tell me more about you hitting a member. Why'd you hit Ky?”

“He got pissed and threw my difficult relationship with my father in my face. Then he kept getting too close, and I just socked him. Knocked him on his ass, and everyone stared. No one moved. I seem to scare people sometimes. It's, you know, a gift.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “I heard you were a badass years ago, but I need to hear more.”

“What kind of story are you looking for? How I got myself kidnapped by a rival club that was coming after my girl, Lacey? I also took on a car to save Colt's sister from my ex-fiancé. Well, his goon, but same thing. That one fucking hurt, though. Oh,there was a time I shot a Devil’s Advocates member and helped dismember him in the bathtub. That was really gross. Gross but necessary.”

“You've killed for the club?”

“A few of us have,” Lex says with a shrug. To her, it's no big deal, but knowing how Hannah got time for running a rival over, it might be just her experience. “At least in Griffin's Beach. You don't wanna mess with some of the old ladies there.”

“Really?”

She nods. For the first time since she saw Dani in the basement, she didn’t look scared and ghostly. “There was also the time I got kidnapped with two kids of the club, and we had to get out. I killed the guy who took us, who happened to be the illegitimate child of the club member my now-mother-in-law cheated with. But it was him or me, so I chose him.”

“Wow.”

“Trust me, you're safe here with me. Besides, at the end of the day, I'm a pretty sweet target for others to take. I mean, I'm the daughter of the mother charter's VP, daughter-in-law of the Sergeant at Arms, an old lady, and a mother of the club. If we were in a lineup, Lily Hankinson and I are the ones most likely to be picked by an enemy.”

“So... why'd you move to Summerville?”

Leaning back, she looks up at the ceiling. “Because of my relationship with the officers of the club, I guess? My father and I have always had a difficult relationship thanks to the fact that I'm a product of cheating while his wife was dying of cancer. My half-brother, Zane, hates my guts, although he tries to hide it now that I'm back. He's the reason I hate my birthday.”

“Your brother sounds like an ass.”

“You'll get no arguments from me. We had a short-lived decent relationship when I kept his girl from bolting, and then took her place in the whole kidnapping thing because she waspregnant. But he's back to hating me for the most part. Granted, he'd probably come to my rescue if I was in danger. Okay, mortal danger, but it would have to be extreme.”

“But you like Summerville?”

She nods and smiles at Dani. “I do. There are a few reasons why I left my hometown, and I don't have the same issues here. It's kind of been freeing and really healing.”

“I'm personally glad you came here,” she says, and to both of their surprise, she laughs.

“I bet you are,” Lex jokes. “But seriously, I'm glad you're free. At least physically. I do think you should talk to Dax, though. The poor guy's grasping at straws, trying to know what you're feeling as well as trying to communicate how he feels. He feels helpless, and you know as well as I do that the last thing any of those guys can handle is feeling helpless.”

“Coming here was a good start at getting what I need,” she says. “It got so difficult because I know how much he hurts. How he wants to just hold me and know I'm there, but I'm not... I don't think I'm really Dani anymore. Not the version he wants and remembers. Nothing seems to register with him to see that. I'm not sure he can love the new me.”

Shaking her head, she smirks. “Trust me, babe, you don't have to worry about that. He loves you. He will always love you. The question is, is that love enough to get you through this?”

“I don't know,” she answers honestly. “That's part of what I have to figure out.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“You can start by telling me what you did to that club bunny who tried to take your man. I can't imagine you let her get away with it.”

Laughing, Lex looks at the ceiling. “I didn't, but you'll never believe the turn of events. She's an old lady now.”

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