Chapter Twelve
Banshee
Something woke me from my sleep. The silent room was filled with darkness, and I listened for any sounds of intruders.
Diesel was scratching at Aspen’s door, and when I heard the front door click, I grabbed my gun.
Without bothering to put on clothes, I slipped into the hallway in my boxers, knowing Diesel would protect Aspen.
My bare feet padded down the hall, my gun held at eye level in front of me, ready to take out whoever had broken in.
A quiet curse followed the scrape of a chair.
Son of a bitch.
I lowered my gun and reached for the light switch. Aspen stood by the table, her eyes wide in panic.
“What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
I looked her over. She was in the clothes she’d worn earlier, and her feet were encased in boots.
“Did you try to fucking run?” I growled, moving closer to her.
Diesel barked and scratched at the door. I quickly moved down the hall, letting him out of her room. He ran to the front door, barking.
“Diesel, no,” Aspen scolded.
“He needs to go out.”
“He doesn’t. He probably heard an animal out there and wants to investigate. It’s too dark.”
I watched her as she removed her boots and then crawled onto the couch, calling the dog to her.
“What were you doing outside?”
“Could you put some clothes on?” she asked, and even in the low light, I could see the pink staining her cheeks.
“Answer my question.” I loved seeing her blush. Loved the fact that my near-naked body made her uncomfortable. I set my gun on top of the fridge and moved to the couch beside her.
“Banshee,” she groaned. She buried her face in the blanket, and I smiled. Aspen wasn’t as unaffected by me as she wanted me to believe.
“Why were you outside?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I just wanted to sit outside and look at the stars.”
She was keeping something from me. She refused to look me in the eye, instead focusing on her hands that gripped the blanket tight.
I pulled her legs onto my lap and pulled off her socks. Gently rubbing her feet, I asked her again, “Why were you outside?”
“Am I a prisoner?” she asked, pulling her feet back. She stood up from the couch, not waiting for my answer, and walked down the hall, letting the door slam behind her.
I laid my head back against the couch. I guess I was sleeping out here tonight. She wasn’t a fucking prisoner, but she wasn’t fucking safe either. I pulled the blanket over me and closed my eyes.
The next morning, I woke up when I heard Diesel’s nails clicking down the hallway. I kept my eyes closed until her footsteps stopped and she gasped. The pillow to the face caught me off guard, and I smiled at the sound of her muttered, “Asshole.”
When the front door closed, I stood up and stretched my back. I was too fucking old to be sleeping on couches anymore. But it was clear I couldn’t trust her not to run.
I padded my way across the room and started breakfast. I was just setting the plates on the table when the door opened and Diesel rushed in, heading straight to the bowl I’d filled with his breakfast.
“Could you put some clothes on, please?” she grumbled.
I caught her hand and pulled her against my chest. “You don’t like my body?” I whispered in her ear. She shivered in my arms, and I knew anything other than yes was a bald-faced fucking lie.
Her hands rested on my pecs, while her eyes stared at the tattoos inked under her fingers. My dick stiffened, and when he made contact with her belly, she gasped.
“I told you I fucking wanted you.”
She pulled away and turned her back to me. “Get dressed,” she demanded. My smile was wide at her discomfort. I whistled my way down the hall and jumped in the shower.
My food would be cold by the time I was done, but I had more pressing matters. Namely, the hard-as-steel cock that rarely went down when Aspen was near.
If she thought putting jeans on would hide the bulge she’d caused, well, then she hadn’t been looking at me the way I wanted her to. If she had, she’d know exactly how I felt about her, and she would never again question whether or not I wanted her.
I came out of my room and found her sitting in the corner of the couch reading a book. She didn’t look up, and I frowned.
“I put your plate in the oven and set it to warm.”
“Thank you.”
I retrieved the plate and sat at the table, placing myself in a position to be able to watch her while she read.
“Are you planning to stare at me all day?” she asked, her eyes focused on the book in her hands.
“Are you planning on trying to run again?” I countered as I shoved a forkful of food into my mouth.
“I wasn’t running.”
“Bullshit.”
She slammed the book closed and turned to me. “You don’t get to call me names. Any names. No baby girl. And you certainly don’t get to call me a liar.”
“Then don’t lie to my face.”
She inhaled angrily. She was so fucking hot; I reached down to adjust myself. Her eyes widened, and she growled. I shouldn’t have laughed; I knew that. But I was so damn happy to see an emotion other than sadness and submission.
I wanted to see the girl who flipped off her brother. Who ignored his command and lived her life the way she wanted. I wanted that girl back. The one I first saw. The one that was happy. Carefree.
I wanted her to be happy.
Aspen slammed the book onto the couch and stomped to the door. “Come on, Diesel.” The two of them went outside, the door slamming behind her.
We had been here for three days. Three long, quiet, motherfucking days. She wouldn’t talk to me. She didn’t answer my questions when I asked her if she needed anything. Refused to say good night when she locked herself in her room.
I couldn’t go on like this.
The sudden knock on the door, filling the air, felt like a gunshot. Aspen jumped, causing Diesel to bark. I opened the door and found Haizley and Gunner.
“Come on in.” I swung the door wide, allowing them both to enter.
“Hey, Aspen, how are you?”
She shrugged, still silent.
I shook my head. “She’s giving me the silent treatment.”
“How long?” Haizley asked, her head swiveling between Aspen and me.
“Three days.” Aspen narrowed her eyes at me, but she refused to speak.
“Let’s take a walk, Banshee.” Gunner shoved me out the front door, and I walked down the steps and away from the house.
“How long have you known it was her?”
“Since the day you brought her to the clubhouse,” I answered honestly.
“King is pissed you didn’t say something.”
“Well, King should have known who she was.”
Gunner shrugged. “She looks different.”
I stopped and turned to stare at him. “Her hair is darker.”
“She also had some reconstructive surgery.”
I turned my head to the side, wondering if he was lying. “How do you know that?”
“Nav got ahold of her hospital records. The damage was extensive, and she needed surgery. Sypher confirmed that Aspen had agreed to have her features changed slightly before she came here. Facial recognition doesn’t match enough for a positive ID.”
I looked back at the cabin. “That doesn’t make sense; she looks exactly the same.”
“She doesn’t, brother. They used the same program that Pippen tweaked to get an ID for Missy’s stalker. The one that used only his eyes.”
Aside from her hair, the only other difference I’d noticed was her eye color. I assumed she wore colored contacts. Why would she change the way she looked?
Why does it matter if she looks the same to you?
I turned back toward the cabin, and Gunner grabbed my arm.
“Where are you going?”
“To talk to her.”
Gunner shook his head and turned me in the opposite direction. “Let Haizley talk to her.” His hand on the back of my neck propelled me forward. I wasn’t small at six foot two inches, but Gunner was a fucking giant.
“Why’d you say no?”
“What?”
“When Kronos offered his daughter, why’d you say no?”
“She was a fucking kid,” I grumbled.
“Was that really it? ’Cause you didn’t have an issue voting Haizley in as my old lady. She’s only twenty-eight; I’m thirty-six.”
I stopped and turned toward Gunner. His hand dropped from my neck, and I stared at him.
“I was almost fucking forty, and she was barely out of college. Eight years is nothing. I was fifteen when Aspen was born. A year younger than her mother was when she had Zeus.”
“So what’s different now?”
“She’s older.”
“The age difference is still the same,” he argued.
“What the fuck is your point?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest so I wouldn’t hit the motherfucker.
Gunner took a deep breath and looked out over the land. He was stalling. Whatever he had to say wasn’t something he wanted to tell me.
“What happened to her isn’t your fault.”
“The fuck it isn’t. If I’d said yes, she never would have married that cocksucker. She would have been with me, and the other shitbag wouldn’t have raped her.”
“She’s not your sister.”
My arms dropped, and I stepped forward, getting in his face. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
Gunner held his ground. There wasn’t much that made him back down, aside from his baby sister and his old lady. The only other person who had that power over him was King. Gunner was loyal to a fault.
Which was why it made no sense that he was pulling this bullshit with me now.
“You are not responsible for what happened to your sister, and you are not responsible for what happened to Aspen,” he said. “King wants to make sure you aren’t doing this out of some false sense of guilt.”
I shoved at his chest, and he took a step back. “Fuck you, Gunner. And fuck King.”
“Banshee.”
“She was supposed to be mine,” I said, slamming my fist against my chest. “Now she is.”
“She’s married.”
I glared at the son of a bitch who had the nerve to question me. The man who fucking stalked his old lady until she’d given in.
“She won’t be once I find the motherfucker.”
“You can’t kill him without cause; you’ll start a fucking war.”
“Without cause?” I shouted, my arm pointing back toward the cabin. “He beat the shit out of her and put her in the fucking hospital. There’s my fucking cause!”
“Banshee—”
“She is the daughter of one of our allies. A former president’s daughter. Wars have been started for a hell of a lot less, brother.”
“And we came here to get away from that shit.”
“Well, it fucking found us anyway!” I yelled, throwing my arms out at my sides.
“Look, brother, I need to know you’re in this for the right reasons. Aspen has been through more shit than any woman should have to endure. She doesn’t need another man claiming her for the wrong reasons.”
I turned my head from side to side, my neck cracking to release the tension that was building. I paused for a minute, not wanting to answer right away. I knew Gunner was only looking out for me, and more importantly, Aspen.
I respected that.
But she was fucking mine. She’d owned me since the first time I saw her. Now it was time for me to fucking own her.
“She’s mine.” I held up my hand before he could interrupt.
“Not because I feel guilty or responsible for what she’s been through.
But because she was always supposed to be mine.
I knew it the first time I laid eyes on her.
I knew it that day in church when I said no, and I knew it the day she walked into the clubhouse months ago. ”
I took a deep breath.
“The first time I saw her, she scared the shit out of me. I’d never felt anything even close to the shockwave that went through me. But she was so fucking young.
“Did she remind me of my sister? Yeah, she did. That’s why I said no. I couldn’t end her life the way my sister’s life ended. I wouldn’t tie her down to someone she wasn’t in love with. She had her whole fucking life ahead of her. She deserved to choose her own fate.”
“Then maybe you should have asked her what she fucking wanted.”
I spun around at Aspen’s angry words just as she stormed back into the cabin and slammed the door. My head dropped back as I stared at the sky.
I was fucked.