Page 20 of Ensnared By Silence
Chapter 7
Hayden
Avigorous self-gratificationsession under the hot water, with memories of Aubrey falling apart on my cock, my tongue, and my fingers fueling every stroke until I erupted against the wall, helped with some of the immediate anger I was feeling. My workout released some of the pent-up frustration but not enough to keep me from doing something crazy. After dressing in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I rolled a blunt and settled onto the back deck, hoping the weed would relax me and stop the memories of her fear and her pleas.
That’s where Skid found me when he returned. He sat down next to me and his cut was nowhere in sight. I raised an eyebrow, and he took the blunt before explaining, “I called Gunner and told him what was going on.”
I went to stand up, angry he would out Aubrey like that to his MC President. Gunner and his wife Sadie, Skid’s older sister, were regulars in the tavern, but I didn’t have that kind of relationship with him. Skid placed his hand across my chest, stopping my movements, and I leaned back, exhaling deeply. He took a draw off the weed and passed it back to me.
“If what I suspect is correct, this isn’t MC business, so I needed to tell him I was going back to work for Devlin temporarily. He agreed, and while they always have my back, this is going to require more finesse than what we’re known for.”
He smirked, and I passed the still burning blunt back to him. I didn’t understand the inner workings of such a tight knot brotherhood, having grown up an only child to two only children. I didn’t understand the unconditional bond they had, but being around Aubrey for even this short amount of time, I was starting to understand the need to protect what you see as yours.
“Do you think she was raped?” I asked, fighting the bile rising in my throat.
I swallowed the now lukewarm coffee from my cup and waited for his response. I saw anger in his eyes as he turned to me.
He leaned forward and his voice became menacingly low as he replied, “If what you told me is correct, I don’t have to think it. I’ve seen the aftermath of sexual assault and it’s . . .”
He let his words end without completion and I scrubbed my hands down my face. “What am I supposed to do? Did I cause her freak-out?”
“That’s for her to say, but I have an idea that you may not like.”
I looked him in the eyes as he continued, “I think you need re-enforcements.”
“Who? You said this isn’t MC business.”
I was confused, high, angry, sad, and just wished he would spit it out. Every second away from Aubrey, knowing she’s hurting, was like a knife piercing my skin. I could still feel her pain. I rubbed my chest, hoping to push the ache away.
“Elise and Amaya. They have some experience dealing with things of this sort. Aubrey needs to talk to someone and Amaya runs the Natalia Foundation. I called her this morning, and she’s eager to help.”
“They can’t confront her. She was mortified this morning.”
He stood and shook his head. “Trust me, brother. They’ve got this.”
I worried he was wrong, but as we pulled up to the park, I saw Aubrey’s small body walking down the path and I felt relieved. Mathias and he were playing peacemakers and pushing us together, which I was grateful for. Seeing Aubrey so excited for Devlin and James to see her work gave me hope.
I might not like Devlin, but James is a great guy. If anyone can help me figure out who hurt her, it was them. Little did any of them realize, they didn’t whisper as softly as they thought they did in my bar. Especially since the entire place was wired with high resolution cameras and microphones. I saw everything and knew more about Elise and Amaya’s pasts than I had a right to.
I had to erase the recording where Devlin thought it was okay to fuck Elise over my desk.Fucking prick.I wasn’t even dating her when it happened, but since then, I’ve avoided him, for her sake. James, on the other hand, decided to fuck Amaya over one of the tables in the bar. Luckily, I saw it before it went too far, erased another recording, and had the tavern fully cleaned before opening.
