“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No. Stepdad keeps all men away.” She took a bite of the burger and moaned. “This is amazing.”
“I’m not taking you back to your stepfather.”
She paused with the burger pressed to her lips. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m not taking you back there.”
Keeping hold of her burger, she lowered it down. “You can’t do that.”
“Not only am I going to do that, but you’re not going to stop me.”
“You’ll be making a mistake,” she said. Inside she was cheering at having a savior intent on helping her. No one would try to take her away from Kenneth. Would she finally be able to break free from the cycle her stepfather had forced her into?
“You expect me to feed you and drop you back at the diner back in Piston County for that fucker to take you, knowing that he hurt you?”
“You sound angry?”
“I’m pissed, Sasha. Don’t you have any urge to protect yourself?”
“Yes, but you don’t know what he’s like.”
She jerked as he touched her arm.
“Don’t be afraid, Sasha. The club will take care of you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’d ask them to take care of you.They’ll do what I ask.”
“None of this makes any sense to me. I don’t think we should be talking about this. Crap, I don’t know what I’m doing.”
She dropped the burger.
“It’s on the plate.” He caught both of her hands within his. “Stop freaking out.”
Sasha stopped even as her heart pounded inside her chest. What was she supposed to do?
“Where would I go?” she asked. “I didn’t want for this to happen.”
“You need to stop worrying about what could happen and start thinking about yourself, babe. You’re twenty years old, living at home because that fucker blinded you. I’m offering you an out.”
Biting her lip, she tried to focus on everything that happened. For the last four years she’d tried to believe the story of herself falling downstairs rather than remembering the feel of Kenneth hurting her. Her mother had begged her not to say anything, asking for her trust. What the hell was she supposed to do?
“He’ll hurt my mother. I can’t leave her alone.”
She was breaking inside. How long had she been with Pussy? Was it already too late to get back to the diner before Kenneth saw she left? She didn’t want anything to happen to her mother because of her.
Do you really want to leave?
No, she didn’t want to leave, and the thought of going back to Piston County filled her with dread. Pussy was offering her an out, and she wasn’t even taking it.
“Then let me deal with him, Sasha. I don’t care what he does to me. I will not leave you alone with him.” His grip tightened on her arm. It wasn’t painful or threatening. He held her tightly, and it kept her grounded. She could think past the fear.
“Okay.”