Chapter Forty-One
Melissa
“You’re mine, Melissa.”
My eyes snapped open, peering up into the eyes of the man I loved. The man I wanted. The man I couldn’t have because he was in a club.
The look on his face, what he let me see said maybe he loved me too. But it didn’t matter. We could never be together. I couldn’t stay in the clubhouse. And he would never leave.
“Travis,” I whispered, my voice rasped in despair, as my orgasm washed over me. I dug my feet into his back, holding him to me for a moment longer before I would have to let him go forever.
“FUCK!” Travis yelled his release, and his body went rigid as he came inside me. I knew he hadn’t used anything. I should have stopped him. I was on the pill; I wasn’t worried about pregnancy. But he was a biker. It was irresponsible of me to not push for protection.
Travis gathered me in his arms, holding me against his chest.
“I meant what I said, Princess. I can already feel you pulling back. But I’m not letting you go.”
“Travis—”
“Not now,” he interrupted. “We’ll talk later. I just want to hold you.”
I snuggled in close. Travis was right. We could talk later. Right now, he wanted me and I wanted him. There was no point in shattering what we just shared with the truth of our situation.
He pulled the blankets over us and it wasn’t long before he was asleep. I laid there thinking about how much my life had spiraled in a matter of months.
Everything was gone. My home. My practice. My friends. Soon Dani would be gone too. Dante said they wouldn’t take her from me, but what he was suggesting wasn’t practical. It would be confusing for Dani.
No, it was better if I just made a clean break. Dani would forget about me. Danny and Dante would take her back to New York. I could give them a copy of her records and therapy plan. Dante knew Dr. Scott. He could take over her care.
Right now, though. Right now, I would enjoy being in the arms of this man. Feeling safe and secure. Loved by someone I loved. I would find a way to bottle this feeling and take it with me.
Tomorrow, I would find a new home. Take steps to build a new practice. Then, once I was settled, I would make new friends.
A light knock on the door woke us both. Travis jumped from his bed and walked to the door.
“Wait!”
“What?” he asked, scratching his chest.
“You’re naked.”
He looked down as if he didn’t believe me. “So?”
“Melissa?” Amber’s voice was heard through the door. Bugging my eyes at him, I pointed to the bathroom. Shaking his head, he huffed in annoyance and walked into the bathroom.
Gathering the sheet around me, I crept to the door and opened it a sliver.
“Sorry, Dante asked if I could come get you.”
Opening the door wider, I tried to keep my voice calm when I asked, “Is Dani ok?” I stepped toward Amber, forgetting about the sheet wrapped around my naked body.
“Dani is fine,” she chuckled, preventing me from leaving the room. “They just need a little help.”
“Ok, I’ll be right there.”
I closed the door and Travis stepped back into the room. “Everything ok?” he asked as I dashed by him to quickly use the bathroom.
“No. Dante needs my help,” I said when I came back out and threw on some clothes. Without another word, I dashed out of the room and down the stairs.
“Dante, calm down.” I heard Danny trying to calm the frantic man when I entered the room.
“I don’t understand what she’s doing.”
Dani moved her hands in the air. I placed my hand on Dante’s back as I stepped up behind them.
“Words, Dani.”
“No,” she said, pointing at the door.
“I don’t know want she wants. She points to the door but says no. The girls went outside. Does she want them to come back? Is she lonely?”
“Dante, calm down,” I said, and Danny smirked. Giving him a look meant to chastise him only made him grin bigger.
“Dani wants to play in the snow. She is still learning her words, so they don’t always sound the right way.”
“We don’t have winter stuff for her.” Dante sounded defeated, and I pulled him into my arms for a hug.
“You are doing great, Dante.”
“We have some extra things here for Tabby. I’ll go grab them.”
“Thanks, Ryder,” Danny said.
“I don’t feel like it. She just kept swinging her hands around.”
“Dani and I learned sign language. It’s easier for babies to learn sign language than it is for them to learn to talk. So, in order to communicate, she and I would watch YouTube videos in the evening.”
Dante looked like he wanted to cry. I knew he felt guilty about missing so much. There wasn’t anything I could do other than try to reinforce he was doing a good job.
“This is my fault. We haven’t had a chance to sit down and go over everything.”
“It’s been a bit chaotic,” Danny agreed.
“Why don’t you let Dani play with the girls outside, and the four of us can sit down and talk?” Haizley offered.
“I don’t know,” Dante hesitated, and I agreed with him.
“Amber and Aspen are both out there along with five brothers, and where Aspen goes, Diesel goes. She will be perfectly safe,” Haizley assured us.
“Ok.”
Haizley led us into church, assuring us she had permission from King to use the room. Dante sat between Danny and I on one side of the table, and Haizley sat on the other.
I knew what she was doing. She wanted to appear as impartial, and I got it. But she was my friend. We had agreed never to shrink each other.
“Now, Missy and I have been friends for a long time. But I have also been working with Danny and Dante for the last few weeks.” Haizley sat back. I noticed she didn’t have a notebook or tape recorder. “There are several things we need to talk about before we get to the topic of Danika. Would anyone like to go first?”
“I’m angry,” I started.
“We know you’re fucking angry. You made that abundantly clear,” Danny clipped.
My hands fisted in my lap. I wasn’t sure how to express my feelings.
“Tell us why you’re angry, Missy.”
I looked at my friend. My eyes burned with tears I didn’t want to shed. I was an angry crier. Sure, I cried when I was sad like everyone else. But when I was angry, it was like I couldn’t control my emotions. The rage just burned and burned until there was nothing left to feed it and the tears spilled out, trying to douse the flames.
“I’m angry they left. I’m angry that Danny lied not only to me, but to Dante. I’m angry that he lied to Danika.”
“How the fuck—”
“Danny, wait,” Haizley cut him off with a hand in the air.
“Dante, how do you feel about what Missy said?” Haizley asked him.
Dante was looking at me. But my eyes were on my hands. I didn’t want to see whatever he was going to say on his face. Hearing the words would be hard enough.
He reached over and grabbed my hand. “I’m angry too,” he said. “I’m angry Danny lied to me, not just about when he left, but about Melissa, about my mother.”
I gasped loudly. “He knows who your mother is? Is she alive? Does she know where you are?”
“Missy,” Haizley called to me. “Let Dante speak. You are not a therapist right now.”
With a heavy sigh, I closed my mouth. She was right. But I glared at Danny. How could he keep that information from the man he claimed to love?
“Continue, Dante.”
“But I’m also thankful. I’m thankful Danny found Melissa, and I’m thankful Melissa took care of Dani for us.”
I smiled at Dante. He was a peacekeeper. It was easy for him to forgive Danny. He loved him. Love was powerful enough to forgive almost any transgression.
Almost.
“Danny?” Haizley urged. “How are you feeling?”
“Oh, I’m fucking angry.”
“Why?” Haizley asked, and I wondered the same thing. What did he have to be angry about?
“I’m angry that the woman I trusted to take care of my husband and daughter when I left can’t shut her fucking mouth long enough to actually listen to why I left and what happened!”
“How long does it take to say the words ‘ club business ,’
Danny?”
“Missy, stop it,” Haizley chastised. “Both of you are acting like children. Neither one of you wants to see this from the other person’s side and you have Dante caught in the middle of your bullshit.”
Haizley took a deep breath.
“Let’s start over. I am going to ask the questions, and you are going to answer them. Only when I ask you. Practice some self-control and do not interrupt.”
“Missy, what did Danny lie to you about?”
“He said he was committed to his family. Only he walked away. He told me they were prepared to uproot their entire lives to be where their daughter needed to be, because nothing was more important than Dani’s healing. And less than two weeks later, he was gone without a word.”
“Danny, would you like to respond?”
Danny sat in the chair, his eyes on the table. The room was quiet while we waited for him to answer.
“Melissa’s right. I did say I was committed to my family, and uprooting our lives for our daughter is something we are still prepared to do. I didn’t lie about that. Going to New York wasn’t something that was planned or something that could be avoided.”
When I opened my mouth to make another snarky comment, Haizley glared at me, and I quickly shut it. Danny brought out the worst in me, and I knew why. He had the power to ruin my life. It wasn’t just Dani. I loved Dante, too. He had become a good friend, and I didn’t want to lose either of them.
“The truth is, the woman I went after has been trying to destroy the world for decades. She had to be stopped, and I thought I could do it.”
“You were selfish.” I couldn’t stop myself from uttering the words.
“How does wanting my family to be safe make me selfish?”
“What were you trying to do? How did you plan to stop her? I assume this was the woman responsible for the hell Dante went through? For the abduction of Dani? What was your plan, Danny?”
“I can’t tell you that,” he mumbled.
I shook my head. I didn’t yell; I didn’t scream. It was pointless. We were at an impasse. Danny and I would never see things the same way. He would always put the club before his family.
“Dante, you’re quiet,” Haizley said. “Anything you want to add?”
“Can I ask a question?”
“Of course.” Haizley smiled.
“Melissa, tell me about Gunner.”
My head turned quickly to look at Dante. “What?”
“Tell me about Gunner. What happened?” Dante asked again.
“We are here to talk about Dani. Not me and my brother.”
“Missy, is it possible you’re projecting your anger at your brother onto Danny? Could your feelings about being abandoned by him in regard to the club be why you are so angry at Danny?”
I glared at my best friend. “We promised never to shrink each other. This has nothing to do with my brother.”
“I think maybe it does,” Danny murmured.
“Fuck you, Danny.”
“Melissa.” Dante’s quiet voice broke through my anger.
Shaking my head, I stood. “I can’t do this.” Pulling my phone from my pocket, I placed it on the table in front of Dante. “This is for you. There are hundreds of videos there for you both to see what you missed. There are lists of her favorite foods, her favorite toys. Things she likes and things she dislikes.”
“Missy,” Haizley called out. I ignored her and left the room. I couldn’t do this. I needed to leave. It would hurt. I would miss Dani forever. But I couldn’t stay here.
Running upstairs to Travis’ room, I pulled my duffle bag out and threw my clothes and toiletries into it. This was too hard. Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I ran back down the stairs and across the main room to the front door.
“Melissa, wait!”
Ignoring Danny, I rushed outside and got in my car. If I hurried, I could once again slip through the gate before it closed. Waiting for the police cruiser to move out of the way, I drove through the opening and away from everyone.