Page 6 of Banshee
On the opening day of my flower shop, a woman named Rachel came in. She stayed for over an hour talking to me. She told me she was an old lady for one of the bikers in town. That was when I learned the Silver Shadows had set up another chapter.
I didn’t ask about the club. There was no reason for me to know who the president was or how many brothers there were. I’d only met a few of them anyway. I’d never asked whether he was one of them. It was safer not to know.
I should have called Val and asked her to move me somewhere else. Should have made her aware that a small piece of my past was so close. But there was a reason I didn’t. I knew how clubs worked. And I knew that my husband’s club wouldn’t step foot in Diamond Creek with another club already established here. Besides, the Death Dogs were in Arizona. Almost a thousand miles away. I was still safe.
Except I wasn’t safe.
From my husband, yes, but the one time I’d ventured out to finally try and make some friends, my life took a turn I never expected.
All I’d remembered was talking to a man at a table. The next thing I knew, I’d woken up in the hospital, and the doctor told me I’d been raped. That was three days ago. Earlier today, theman I had been talking to at the bar, the man who I assumed raped me, had broken into my home and tried again.
If Haizley and Gunner hadn’t been there to hear me scream, he would have succeeded. Now I was at the Silver Shadows’ clubhouse. If only my father could see me now. This was where he’d always wanted me. Except he wouldn’t. He didn’t know where I was.
Banshee nodded once, stepping aside, and we all stared as he stormed out the door.
“Shit, that was hot,” Amber whispered. I continued to stare at the door, unable to say a word, so I nodded. It was hot. I’d always thought Banshee was hot. It had been seven years since I’d seen him last, and if it was possible, he was hotter.
Haizley and Amber accompanied me to church with Deputy Blackwater, and the doors closed behind us. Hours later, I’d told them everything I knew, and Gunner had worked with me to get a sketch of the man who attacked me.
Haizley and Amber took me upstairs and got me settled into a room. Amber offered to stay the night with me, and I accepted. She ran to her room and grabbed a few things before Haizley left. I hadn’t slept alone since I left the hospital; Haizley had been staying with me. I was glad I didn’t have to sleep alone tonight, and I wondered how long Amber would stay with me.
Haizley said goodnight, and she would see me in the morning. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked around at the sparse room.
“I know it’s not much.”
“No, it’s perfect, actually. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sleep in my home again.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. How was I even supposed to feel? I didn’t remember the attack at the bar. Thedoctor told me a nurse from the hospital was there that night and found me passed out on the bathroom floor.
Haizley called me a survivor. I didn’t feel like I’d survived anything. I didn’t even feel like anything had happened to me.
Until today.
Before today, I’d been living with something someone told me I’d experienced. Today, I was living with something I’d experienced. I wasn’t sure which was worse. Knowing or not knowing.
The next morning, I woke up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. Next to a woman I had just met. I looked over at Amber, who was still sleeping. She’d woken up with nightmares, the same as I had. I’d comforted her the way she comforted me. It helped to feel useful.
“You’re staring at me.” Amber chuckled and peeked an eye open.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Neither of us got much sleep last night,” she said, sitting up against the headboard.
“No, I guess we didn’t.” I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. “What causes your nightmares?”
She scoffed. “That is a long story, but I will definitely tell you about it. First, let’s get some breakfast.”
She hopped out of bed and turned back to look at me. “I’m sorry, do you want to go first?”
“No, go ahead. I just want to lie here for a few more minutes.”
While Amber was in the shower, I thought about Banshee again. He was just as handsome as I remembered. He’d be forty-five now. Would he still think I was too young? Was my age the issue, or the number of years between us? I knew he recognized me when he called me baby girl. Would he tell King who I was? Would he call my father? More importantly, would he call my husband?
There were so many questions I didn’t have answers to. Questions I couldn’t ask without telling everyone who I was.
Once we entered the room downstairs, everyone fell quiet. I hated being the center of attention. When Haizley walked over, it seemed to signal that everyone could go back to what they were doing.
