Page 27 of Banshee
“I’m sorry. You’re right,” she said. “I promise you’re safe here.”
“Valhalla said you never put two survivors in the same place. If I’m still safe, then you’re here because of someone else.”
“I can’t tell you why I’m here, but I promise you are safe.” I didn’t believe her. Then she asked, “How did you get involved in the club?”
I shook my head. It wasn’t something she needed to know. The door opened, and Melissa stepped in. “I’ll see you both back at the table.” I smiled at them both and rushed back out to where the others were.
Maybe Banshee was right. Maybe I should have stayed home. My mother used to tell me I was named after Irene, the goddess of peace. My life was anything but peaceful.
From the day I graduated college, my father had a plan to marry me off. He claimed he didn’t want to lose me the way he lost my sister.
And he didn’t.
He pushed me away. Gave me to a man who wanted nothing to do with me. Forced me into a life where I would never have children. Never have a family of my own no matter what I did.
We made it back to the clubhouse, and I went looking for Banshee. I could already hear him telling me I told you so, but I didn’t care. I wanted him.
Kytten hadn’t come back after she set me up here and left. She’d called a few times to check in with me. See how I was doing. But she never came back.
She said she wasn’t here for me, but I didn’t believe her. Then again, she could be here for Amber. Whatever her reason, seeing her here in Diamond Creek left me feeling scared and alone.
Banshee made me feel safe.
Chapter Nine
Banshee
The moment Aspen walked into the clubhouse, I knew something had happened. She went straight to Diesel and snuggled up to him on the floor.
And she wouldn’t look at me.
“Baby girl, Diesel hasn’t been out in a while; let’s take him for a walk.”
If my brothers thought it was odd that I called her baby girl, they didn’t say shit. I walked over and held my hand out to her. She looked at me then. Fear and panic swirled in her eyes.
“Come on.”
She reached up and took my hand, and I helped her to her feet. She didn’t say a word as she let go of my hand and walked outside, Diesel right behind her.
I followed her as we walked in silence until we were far from the clubhouse. Further than she usually traveled, but she wasn’t alone. She knew I was with her.
“What happened?” I asked when she finally stopped.
“Did you know my mother named me after the goddess of peace? She named my sister Diana after the goddess of the hunt. I don’t know where my brother’s name came from. I guess he got a regular name because they knew once he joined the club, he would never use it again.”
She was babbling nervously, and I let her. I didn’t want to interrupt whatever she was working through.
Suddenly she threw her head back and laughed. “Peace!” she shouted. “Peace?” She spun around and glared at me. “My life has been anything but peace. The day I graduated college was the day my father told me he would find me a husband. Someone who would take care of me and protect me. He said he already had him picked out.”
She was talking about me. She was supposed to me mine, and I was a chickenshit who, even at thirty-five, wasn’t ready to settle down. Everything she had endured, every scratch, every hit, every mark on her body was my fault.
“Baby—”
“DON’T!” she yelled. “Don’t call me that. You don’t get to call me that. You didn’t want me.” She jammed her finger into my chest with every word. I grabbed her hand and pulled her against my chest. “You don’t get to have me. You can’t have me. Not anymore.”
She cried against my chest as I held her in my arms. This was where she belonged.
“I’m so sorry, baby girl. I’m so fucking sorry.”
