Page 72 of Truths

“Wait, what?”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Summerville

Dax

Not having Dani at his house, to have her staying with essentially people who are strangers, drives Dax insane. He feels like he's lost his wife all over again so soon after getting her back. Deep down, he understands she needs space, but he can't take it much longer. All he's wanted for years is to have her back, and she isn't staying in his house with him. She won't even let him touch her.

Colt sits in the clubhouse watching Dax, and it annoys the President he basically has a babysitter. Nothing matters anymore but Dani, and he hasn't seen her in days.

“Dude, relax,” Colt says, standing and placing his hands on Dax's shoulders. “She's fine. She's going to be fine.”

“Relax? How the fuck do you expect me to relax? My wife, the one I thought was fucking dead for years, wants to live with a stranger over me. How would you feel if you were in my position?” he shouts. “Huh? I don't think you'd be all relaxed and shit.”

Instead of a response, Colt pulls him into the Chapel while the other members in the main room stare at them, and he forces Dax to sit. “Lex isn't a stranger. She's an old lady, and on top of that, well, I think it goes without saying that she's a woman. We have no idea what Dani went through, but it's clear she doesn't trust men. Even you.”

“How can I believe this will make anything better? Lex doesn't know me. She doesn't know Dani. What if, after Dani opens up, she decides to leave?”

“Nothing Lex says will keep her or push her away from you. That's going to be Dani's decision, but you have the best chance of keeping her if you give her space and let her feel comfortable. It's clear she still feels trapped in those fucking basements.”

“You realize how hard it is to believe all that, right? No offense to you or your wife... I'm sure you're great people, but how can you expect me to blindly trust people I don't really know that well?”

Nodding, he pulls out his phone. “Fair enough.”

“What are you doing?”

Putting the phone on speaker, it rings until a voice answers, “Hey, Colt.”

“Hey, Tripp. I've got Dax with me. I need a favor. Do you have somewhere quiet you can go?”

“Yeah, you caught me at the clubhouse. Need me to grab Dad?”

“Might not be a bad idea,” he says.

Dax watches him with suspicion. He called to tell on him to the President and his son? “What's this about?”

He holds up a finger, and Tripp says, “Okay, we're both here. What's up? Everything okay?”

“You know we got Dani out of that fucking basement, right?” Colt asks.

“Yeah, we vaguely remember,” Jennings jokes.

Colt cracks a smile, but Dax finds nothing funny about the situation. “She's having a hard time adjusting outside the fucked-up prison she was held in. She's staying at our house with Lex.”

“That's a good idea,” Tripp says.

“Yeah, but Dax doesn't know Lex like we do. I was hoping you could give him a little insight. Help him feel a little more comfortable with Lex spending time with Dani.”

“Well, yeah. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'd have Avery if it wasn't for Lex. Not all Lex, but she played a part. When we thought she died, and then she came back, she was a shell of herself. Being kidnapped, set on fire by a club bunny from our own club, and plummeting to your death will probably do that to anyone. Lex was there for her. She acted as a sort of protector and made it safe for Avery to come back into her own again.”

Narrowing his eyes, Dax shakes his head. “You attribute all of that to Lex?”

“Not all of it, no, but she helped set the groundwork for my wife. I really don't know if Avery would still be here or not without having that anchor who could understand a little about what she was going through. And I'll die defending Lex. I owe her more than anyone.”

He shakes his head. “She helped just by being there?”

“Man, I wish I could explain it, but she has this uncanny combination of tough love and fierce protectiveness. She kicked Avery's ass, figuratively, when it was needed. To get her out of her own mental hell she was in because she lost a lot more than a year when we thought she was dead. But there was never a doubtthat Lex wouldn't jump in and kill anyone who tried to hurt her. The best way I think I can describe it is like a big sister.”

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