Page 39 of Broken Skulls

My head darts up. “What’s what like?”

“The room. The nothingness. The dark.” He shrugs like he doesn’t really care, but his wheels are turning. He’s genuinely curious.

“It sucks at first, but after you get over the fear, it’s cool. It allows me to clear my head and just fucking be.” I drum myfingers over the table. “But man, when you come out …” I close my eyes, reminiscing about the first time Bill took me outside after being locked in the basement for three days.

I sigh loudly. “That first look in the light of day is … well, it’s almost unreal it’s so beautiful.”

“Interesting,” Dirk says, seemingly satisfied with my explanation.

I’m assuming I don’t have to explain my reason for bringing Elizabeth to my room now that they know its purpose.

“I’ve got another question for you, brother,” Jackson asks from his seat at the head of the table. “Why the fuck was she calling you Jacob? Is that your real fucking name?”

“It is, but I’d prefer if she’s the only one who called me that.”

Everyone nods. My brothers don’t ask me why, they just respect my answer.

The room is quiet for a few minutes. Petey breaks the silence, and I can see in his eyes that he’s itching for a hunt. “Does she want Mr. Baxter brought in?”

“I want him brought in. Is that enough?”

Everyone looks at each other.

Jackson bangs his gavel before speaking. “We’ll vote on it.” He points it at me before continuing, “But you’re going to tell her if we agree to bring him in. I think you’ve kept her in the dark long enough. Time to show her who you are.”

I nod in agreement, but he isn’t finished.

“Your dad … is he on the inside for what he did to your mom?”

“Was,” I answer quietly, again dropping my head. “He got out a couple of months ago.”

“You going after him?”

“Naw, he’s back with the Devils. He joined up with a chapter down in Arizona last I heard. We’ve had enough trouble with them over the years. I don’t want to stir the pot.”

“But that aside?” Jackson asks.

“I’d love to put him in my crusher, but the club comes first … always,” I vow.

I listen quietly as the vote begins … and I place my trust in my brothers.

They never fail me.

Chapter Seventeen

Elizabeth

Istare up at the trees. The branches blow in tandem above me, each allowing space for the other to sway. If only people worked together so effortlessly.

An old dog waddles over and plops down in the grass beside me, laying his head on my stomach. He looks tired, but his eyes are clear. I run my fingers down his floppy ears, and he sighs loudly before letting his eyes fall closed.

When I got here, Willow asked me if I was hungry, tired, or if I wanted to talk. When I said no to all of those things, she took me outside. I thought it was a little weird at first, but she made me hug a tree. Then she walked away, leaving me to it.

Maybe she’s on to something, because holding on to that huge tree so deeply rooted in the ground changed me. I felt connected to the earth. A gust of wind whispered through the branches, sending dry leaves swirling all around me. It was as if nature had been waiting for me to notice it again. I lowered myself to the ground, spreading my arms and legs wide.

My gaze catches on the big dragonfly painted on the barn. Guilt bubbles to the surface as I remember the look on Lily’s face when I told her about the necklace.

I don’t understand it really. The dragonfly, that is. What it means to her… to all of them. Or how it suddenly showed up in my life. First outside my window in the flower garden at the nursing home, then on the necklace Kelsie gave me. The most emotional appearance was my daughter’s painting.

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