Page 38 of Broken Skulls

Dan stands. “I’ll handle it,” he says, following Tank out of the room.

Petey cracks his knuckles. “I can get someone on the inside to take out the good doctor, and I’m assuming you want to bring in this Baxter fuck?”

“She’s already taken care of the doctor, but yeah, I want the teacher.”

His eyebrows rise, and he chuckles and claps. “Well then, she should fit in just fine with the women of this club.”

“I hope so,” I say, rubbing my hand over my face. “Because I can’t let her go.”

Dan comes back into the room and sits down, giving us a nod to let us know Tank is good.

Elijah pats my back. “I get it, dude, but you still need to explain the room to us. You can’t be locking women in your basement.”

“It wasn’t locked,” I grumble.

Jackson sits forward. “It might not have been locked, but I could clearly see that it used to be.”

I stand up and walk around the table, stopping to look at the photos on the wall. My hand reaches out to straighten a picture of Billie Rose sitting on Bill’s bike. He’s the only one who knew my story, and now he’s gone. I miss him more than I’ll ever admit. I focus on another photo, one where he’s smiling wide with one arm around me, the other around Jesse. He was more of a father to me than my own.

“It’s my reset room.”

Everyone behind me remains quiet.

“Goddammit, Bill. I wish you were here,” I whisper to the wall.

Raffe walks up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “JD, come on, man. Sit down and trust your club. We’ve got you.”

He guides me back to my chair, and I fall into it heavily. Dirk leans over, placing his hand on the back of my head. “You got this, brother.” He grips my hair roughly, shaking my head before letting go.

“My dad rode with the Devils.” When no one reacts, I glance up at the group. Everyone is quiet, waiting for me to continue. I thought they would hate me. That’s a lie. I knew the club wouldn’t hate me. They are the best brothers anyone could ask for. It’s me … I’m the only one who hates me.

“He used to beat the shit out of my mother when I was a kid.” My voice cracks, and I have to stop for a minute. I rest my arms on my knees, hanging my head. “He killed her.”

I sit back abruptly, suddenly overcome with emotion, my voice cracking. “She was the coolest fucking mom anyone could ask for.”

“Damn, brother. I’m sorry,” Jackson says.

“We didn’t have a lot, so she collected people’s broken shit and fixed it up. That was the only way she was able to furnish our house when she left him.” I laugh lightly, remembering the first time I met Lily and how much she had reminded me of mymother. I thought the woman might be my mom reincarnated. We became fast friends. “Anyway, I guess I get my collecting things from her.”

Dan chuckles. “Well, that explains a lot.”

“Yeah,” I sigh, giving him a small smile. “Lily reminds me a lot of her.”

I sit up a little straighter, suddenly feeling a bit lighter. “Sometimes everything gets to be too much, you know?” My face falls and I stare at the floor, ashamed of what I’m about to admit. I rub my hand over the back of my head. “Bill read about this method, and he thought it might help me …” I pause, shaking my head. “He helped me build the room, and then when things got to be too much, he locked me in.”

“Did it work?” Elijah asks.

“Yeah, actually it did. Bill fucking saved my life.”

Dan sighs quietly from across the table. “When he died, Lily took over, didn’t she? That’s why some nights she would run supper to you. She told me you were sick, but she really had you locked in that fucking room, didn’t she?”

I bury my face in my hands, nodding. “She took over after Bill passed, but I was sick. She wasn’t lying. Without her help, I would’ve ended up in the psych ward.”

“Well, that explains the creepy little door.” Jackson shivers dramatically.

This makes me laugh. “I’m fucked up, brother, but I can assure you nothing sinister has ever happened down there.”

“What’s it like?” Dirk asks.

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