Page 3 of Dusty and Dented
Chapter Three
“Why are we here?”Andyasked as the big man with honey blond hair falling loose around his shoulders, Dagger according to the patch on his vest, pulled her little Encore into the parking lot beside the Fallen Angels clubhouse and parked.This was the last place she wanted to be.“Why didn’t you just take me home?Can you please just take me home?”
“No can do.At least not yet.This is for Panther.He’d want you to at least come in and see how many people will miss him too.See that you’re not alone.”
She shook her head.She couldn’t go in there.“I saw them at the service.”
Dagger shook his head.“You saw most of the brothers.We all wanted to go but the mamas and the old ladies insisted they needed to stay here and get this ready, and we couldn’t leave them alone, so the prospects and a couple of others stayed here.They need a chance to meet you to see you and speak to you.”
“So, this is about you and your family?I have to be here for them?”She fought the urge to cross her arms and glare at him again.She was being bitchy, she knew.But she hurt.She felt like she had the right to go home and just be, to just hurt for a while if she wanted.
“No.This is about Panther.It’s also about you.The Fallen Angels all made promises to each other to take care of our families if something happened to one of us.It sucks that he died.But we are going to honor that promise we made him.We will take care of you, even if you don’t want us to.”He went quiet and watched her for a moment.
She stayed quiet, refusing to go inside, refusing to give in to him and his guilt trip.
He sighed.“Look, when was the last time you ate anything?”
She blinked at him, not sure what that had to do with anything.But it made her think about it.She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten.Lunch the day before, maybe?
“I don’t know.”
“I know you’re probably not hungry, but you have to eat.If you don’t, then eventually your body will just quit on you.There’s food in there.”He tilted his head toward the building she could barely look at.“Come inside with me.Eat something.Give it thirty minutes.If you want to go home after thirty minutes and some food, I’ll take you.”‘
She turned and stared at the building, noticing for the first time that the glass had been replaced since the last time she’d been here, the evening Travis had died.Then, they’d cleaned up but there had been light shining through the walls in too many places to count and the glass had been missing from all the windows.Granted, the windows were too high to look in and see anyone, but they’d still been shot out.Now, seeing that the glass had been replaced, she took in the entire front of the building for the first time since they’d pulled up.There was no longer any sign of what happened only a week before.No sign of the bullets that had penetrated the wall and killed her brother.
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Why not?”He sounded interested, like he wanted to know, but he wasn’t impatient or demanding.
“I don’t know if I can go back in there.If I can look at where he was killed without breaking down again.”Her throat was tight and it was hard to get the words out, but she managed.
He turned and stared at the building for a moment then turned to look at her.“It’s not going to get any easier by putting it off.If it helps, there’s no sign of it left.We’ve repaired the front wall, cleaned and repainted inside and out.”
Andy stared at the building for a moment then turned and watched him.Was he really going to force her to do this?She watched him, hoping that he would back down, but he didn’t.Dagger just stared back at her, patiently waiting for her to give in.
Finally, after several minutes of battling with herself she sighed.
“Fine.You win.Thirty minutes and I’ll eat.Then, either you take me home or I will drive myself.”She was glad her little car didn’t require her handing over the key for him to drive her It meant that she still had it, and he couldn’t stop her from leaving if she really wanted to.
She sighed and reached for the car door.Before she was completely out, Dagger had gotten out and come around the vehicle.He held her door while she stood and reached back inside for her purse.When she stepped back, he closed her car door.She reached over and hit the button on the handle so it would lock.
“That’s cool.But you don’t need to worry about it here.No one would touch your car or take anything out of it while it’s parked here,” Dagger said, motioning for her to precede him to the door.She shot him a look that said exactly what she thought of that.
“Yeah, and no one would dare come along and shoot up the club house, killing my brother, either.”She didn’t bother to hide the derision in her tone.“I’ll keep it locked anyway, thanks.”She turned and headed for the door, not caring if he followed or not.She’d agreed to go inside and eat, then in half an hour, if he wouldn’t take her home, she’d drive herself.That was what she was going to do.
But only because he was right—if she didn’t eat her body would start to shut down and with everything else, that was the last thing she needed to deal with.
