Page 31 of Ink

"I've got to get to church, then I'll be at the shop. Come by later? We can go to Annalise's bakery; whatcha say?"

She grins wide and nods, making me smile back before I kiss her lips passionately, tilting her head with my thumbs under her chin to deepen the kiss. After a few minutes, Bella barked at us, and I slowed the kiss before kissing her nose.

I grab Bella before kissing Soph again, leaving her dazed as I stalk out of the room. I glare at Lucy, making her freeze before leaving the practice, taking Bella to Mel's flat, then heading towards the clubhouse. Axel had found one of Hairy's guys who used to be VP for the Devil's, an old rival club that we're now allies with.

He went rogue and is now on everyone's shit list, including ours.

Once I've pulled into the clubhouse, I quickly rush in to get myself a drink before church when I bump into my dad, who swallows hard; about to say something, but I just shake my head at him before shoving past. A few brothers look at me with furrowed brows, but I ignore them and my mother, who's looking at me with sadness. She caused this, though, and my father acted blindly like he didn't allow his wife to mistreat his son, the same son who has gone radio fucking silent. I nod to the prospect for a beer, and he quickly gets me one. Just as I'm about to take a swig, I hear Axel shout,

"WELL, WELL, FUCKERS, LOOK WHO I FOUND."

I look just in time to see Annalise rush over to my blood brother, and all the air leaves my lungs.

He's back; he's OK.

Fuck.

I quickly get up as Annalise and the pres go towards the kitchen and rush over to him before I grab him into a hug, holding him tightly, feeling fucking relieved that he's back until I hear him grunt. I pull back to see his shoulder all bandaged up, and fear grips me before I shout, "FUCK DOC, HE'S INJURED," making everyone in the clubhouse stop as Doc rushes over to us.

I ignore everyone as Doc comes into view and starts checking him out, making him grunt as he moves Dag's arm.

"Alright fuckers. I'm OK, I promise. Mel looked at it; she made her doctor friend look at it, and my unit's doctor, who is fully trained, by the way, had stitched it up. I'm OK."

The room is quiet, and Dagger shakes his head before Doc gets our attention when he speaks, "It's not a through and through. How'd they get the bullet out? Surgery?"

He clears his throat, looking sheepish, and I narrow my eyes at him as he says, "No, uh, one of my men had to pull it out on scene during a shootout."

My eyes widen while he side-hugs Doc. "I'm good, Doc. I promise I am. There was no way I was leaving my girl."

I swallow hard as Dad comes into view, looking like he's going to be sick, and Dagger has to placate him.

"I'm OK, Stormy."

I look around the room and lock eyes with my mother, who tries to hide the smirk she just had, and I scowl at her, making her swallow hard. My anger flares up; she's fucking happy he got hurt. The tension builds between us when she realizes I know her bitch side is open wide before it's broken when Axel walks in. "Alright, brothers, now that our man is home, basement now."

I give her one final glare before I grin sarcastically and follow Gunner, Butch, Flame, and Tank down to the basement, with Axel, Dad, and Dagger following. When we enter, we see the slimy bastard grinning while being hung by his hands from the ceiling with chains. When the others come in, we all look at Dagger to see he's stopped dead in his tracks by the door—panic, disgust, pain, etches all over his face.

And when the piece of shit speaks, we all freeze in shock.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite subject. How are you, Travvy? You missed me like I missed you."

Axel walks up to him and punches him hard, shutting him up before my brother. My fucking blood rasps, "Shacks," and I get in his face, making him focus on me. The pain in his eyes and the horror are nearly crippling. "How do you know him, Dag?" I ask in a rasp while everything starts to come into place—the disgust in his eyes, the hatred of being touched.

No, please, no.

He looks at Dad, and then his eyes come back to me before swallowing hard. "He's the man who molested me from the time I was 10 years old until I finally left for the Navy."

My whole body shuts down when he confirms my fears, and my eyes widen before he looks at Dad again. I stumble back on his next words, her hatred for him over the years shining clearer, "You can thank your wife for that."

The man with a death wish then decides it's time to taunt my big brother, his victim. "Aww, come on, Travvy, we both know how much you loved being chained to your bed; I have plenty of foot…"

He doesn't get to finish as Tank rushes up to him and starts to pummel his face and body. It takes Gunner and Flame to pull him back before Dagger walks over to our dad, the man who was supposed to protect him while ensuring he doesn't meet my eyes like he's ashamed. He starts to undress, passing his cut to a confused Axel, who then helps with his top, and I feel the bile rise up my throat.

This is why he never let me tattoo him, because his fucking body is full of scars that he had someone try to cover up poorly.

"What the fuck?" Flame growls while Dagger takes a deep breath, keeping his eyes on our father while I struggle to breathe as he tells us his truth, which we've ignored for years.

"Your wife, Stormy, was never happy about my existence. My body here is the proof of that." He points to Shacks and says, "That man is proof of that, and you let it happen to your child. You shoved me into a cupboard and tried classifying it as a bedroom; you hit me whenever she said I did something wrong when I hadn't; you fucking neglected me. That man is the one who hit your wife, and do you want to know why, Stormy? Because Tank put a lock on my door after I lied and said Ink kept pranking me? She got that piece of shit to hit her and say it was me all so you could kick the shit out of me."

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