Chapter Fourteen
Haizley
I had been staying with Aspen for three days when Gunner texted me, asking where I was. She was afraid to be home alone, which was understandable. Being sexually assaulted was awful. The memories and triggers were lifelong, despite having the best therapists to help you work through the trauma. But being sexually assaulted and having no memory of it had to be something entirely different.
Some might count it as a blessing and be able to move on quickly. Others had difficulty reconciling the loss of time with the fact that someone had complete control of their body while they had none.
There was a sense of empowerment knowing you did everything you could to fight back. It sometimes lessened the unnecessary guilt survivors laid on themselves.
Knowing you were unconscious and had no ability to fight should lessen that unnecessary guilt in a rational mind; however, I found more often than not it added to it.
Rationality had no place in the mind of someone who had been attacked, regardless of the way they had been attacked. People who were mugged or physically beaten also thought irrationally, blaming themselves.
That was where Aspen was. She felt like her body had let her down. Like somehow, she expected her body to fight against the drug that someone slipped into her drink.
That was not a rational thought.
Aspen had convinced herself that she was not chosen at random by someone whose sole aim was to exert their power over a woman. And it only affirmed my earlier thinking that she was hiding from something, or someone.
In order to help her work through her fears, I had been working from Aspen’s home. That was one benefit to offering online therapy. I could work from anywhere with a Wi-Fi signal.
Amber was my only in-person client, but after explaining why I couldn’t meet with her, she agreed to temporarily move her sessions online as well.
I had just finished with my last client while Aspen took a nap, when I heard the noise. Peering through the curtains that covered the front windows, I watched as the motorcycle pulled up across the street.
Gunner turned off the engine and slung his leg over the back of the bike. He didn’t walk up to the door; he simply sat back down on his bike, his long legs stretched out in front of him with his ankles crossed.
I watched as he lit a cigarette. He took a deep inhale, blowing the smoke out to swirl around his head, and watched the house.
Smoking was disgusting. The smell, the smoke that burned the nostrils of those around you who had no choice but to inhale. The acrid taste left on the tongue. Why then did I feel my core tighten as he lifted the tobacco to his lips?
Why was he here?
I let the curtain fall back into place and paced the floor. Biting my lip, I wondered how he found where I was. He threatened to hunt me down when I wouldn’t tell him where I was.
I couldn’t. I was bound by my oath. Bound by patient confidentiality. Yet something pulled in my heart, telling me he didn’t care. That he needed to know where I was; know that I was safe.
Wait.
No.
This wasn’t ok. I’d considered he might be following me, but the places I ran into him could all be easily explained. He was at work when I walked into the shop. Clearly, he didn’t follow me there. And the grocery store? Everyone in town shopped there.
It was a coincidence.
The incident with Brian was suspect. But again, we were on a public street. He was already sitting in the booth at The Diner. I was already in the bar when he came in the night Aspen was attacked.
Every interaction could be explained.
Except this one.
I quickly checked on Aspen to be sure she was still napping. She hadn’t been sleeping well at night. The nightmares of a faceless man woke her many times through the night.
Slipping my feet in my shoes and throwing a sweater over my shoulders, I opened the front door and stomped across the street. It was time to confront the sexy giant and get some answers.
When he saw me coming, he straightened up on his bike and tossed his cigarette into the street. He spread his legs wide, and I walked right between them without thought.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
I tried to sound angry; I really did. But my words came out more of a breathless wonder. Gunner didn’t answer me; he just grabbed my hips, pulling me closer, and slammed his lips on mine.
That was the end of any rant I had running through my brain. In fact, that was the end of my brain as I knew it. There were no more thoughts about him following me. No more questions about why he was there every time I left the house.
The way his lips moved seamlessly over mine left me praising fate for putting him in my path over and over again.
Missy always told me I would never find someone hiding away in my house. That my person wouldn’t just knock on my door and say here I am.
No, but he did pull up outside and wait for me to come to him.
I slid my hands up over his broad chest. When my fingers reached his full beard, I couldn’t help but run them through the coarse hair.
His large hands moved from my hips around my back and covered my ass, pulling me harder against him. One hand slid up my back, his fingers lightly teasing over my neck before fisting in my hair. The tight pull at my scalp had me gasping, and immediately, Gunner took advantage, thrusting his tongue deep into the recesses of my mouth.
I leaned further into him, getting lost in his all-consuming kiss, when suddenly I heard a piercing, terrified scream coming from the house.
Pulling back, I whispered, “Aspen.”
Turning to run back to the house, Gunner flew past me, his long legs eating up the distance of the street. Without hesitation, he slammed the door open. By the time I reached her bedroom, Aspen sat on the bed, tears pouring down her face. She pulled the blankets tightly under her chin as Gunner stood at the open window.
I climbed onto the bed, pulling Aspen into my arms. Whispering soothing words into her hair as I rocked her gently, hoping to calm the fear trembling through her.
Giving Gunner a look of helplessness, I continued holding Aspen as she sobbed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked out of the room as I heard him say, “King, we’ve got a problem.”
I could hear his voice on the phone outside the room. Still not knowing what had happened, I whispered to Aspen, “What happened? Was it a nightmare?”
She shook her head, but didn’t speak.
“Aspen, I can’t help if you don’t tell me what happened.”
I kept my voice soft but firm. I needed her to tell me what had scared her.
“Someone was in here,” Gunner said from the doorway.
“What?”
Aspen tightened her arms around me.
“Was it him?” I asked into her hair as I laid my head against hers.
She trembled in my arms, too afraid to speak.
Looking up at Gunner, I said, “She can’t stay here.”
“No, she can’t. I want to take her to the clubhouse.”
“What? She can’t go to the clubhouse. She’ll be surrounded by men,” I argued.
“There are women there, too. Sam lives there. Amber.” He lifted an eyebrow, telling me he knew I was meeting with her. “Beck is there every day. She’ll be safe there.”
“I don’t know.”
“Haizley. She can’t stay here. He knows where she lives.”
“I can take her to my house,” I insisted.
I watched his tongue dart out and lick his bottom lip.
Now was not the time to be thinking about Gunner’s tongue.
“I think he’s been watching her.”
That got my attention. I tightened my arms around Aspen, letting her know I wouldn’t leave her.
“Why do you think that?”
“He knew the moment you went outside. He was waiting.”
“Oh my God.”
Gunner moved to the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight as he sat down. He didn’t reach out to touch Aspen, but his voice was soft as if he were talking to a child. She had mentioned to me in the hospital she thought he was scary. His size alone made people wary. I was confident she would be safe at the clubhouse; though, I wasn’t confident that she would feel safe.
“Aspen, honey, I wanna bring you to the clubhouse. You’ll be safe there. No one will hurt you, and no one will be able to get to you.”
She turned toward his voice, still burrowed against me.
“I’m scared.”
“I know, honey. But while there are a lot of men there, every one of them will protect you.”
She peered up at me, fear so prevalent in her eyes. “Will you come too?”
Glancing at Gunner, he had a smile on his face. The nod of his head told me I was welcome.
“Yes, I’ll come with you. Let’s pack up some things.”
“I’ll have Amber make up a room for Aspen.”
“And me?” I asked.
Gunner just smiled and walked out of the room, his phone to his ear once again.
“Haizley?”
“What is it, honey?”
“Do you think I’ll never get back to a place where I’m not scared?”
Aspen sat on the edge of the bed, her hands fisted in her lap, her eyes staring out the window.
“Of course you will. It takes time.”
“How much time?”
Sitting down next to her, I took her hand in mine. “That isn’t an answer I can give you.”
“I fought him this time.” She sniffed.
“What?”
“I woke up and he was on top of me. His hand covered my mouth. I scratched his face and bit his hand. When he pulled his hand back, that’s when I screamed.”
Putting my arm around her shoulders, I squeezed. “That was perfect. You did a good job. We’ll tell the sheriff.”
I helped Aspen pack enough for a few weeks since we didn’t know how long we would be at the clubhouse. Once I packed up my own things, we piled into my car and followed Gunner to the clubhouse.
I wasn’t afraid like Aspen, but I was nervous. I had never been to the clubhouse. In fact, I had never really interacted with any of the brothers other than Ryder.
Standing just inside the door, I looked around the large room, surprised by how clean it was. But I supposed with a child living here, it would have to be. Gunner sent two young men out to bring in our bags.
“Archie, put those bags in the room Amber readied,” Gunner ordered, pointing to Aspen’s bags. “Johnny, put those bags in my room.”
What?
“Wait, I am not staying in your room.”
“We’ll talk about it later. Let’s get Aspen settled.” His hand on my lower back urged me further into the room.
“Haizley, we have to call Corbin,” Aspen reminded me quietly.
“King called Declan,” Gunner stated.
The fear in her eyes and the shortening of her breath indicated she was working her way into a panic attack.
“No. She trusted him last time, and it didn’t work out well.” Turning back to Aspen, I reassured her, “I’ll call Corbin and have him come here.” She nodded her head and looked around.
“Hi, Aspen,” Sam cautiously spoke.
“Hi, Sam.” Aspen’s quiet response made me optimistic.
“Why don’t we sit down on the couch and wait for Corbin?” Sam held out her hand to Aspen. She looked at me and when I nodded, Aspen carefully put her hand in Sam’s and followed her over to the large couch on the side of the room.
I was beginning to think this was a great idea. Here she had others she could connect with. It wasn’t healthy to rely on only one person.
Aspen needed more than just me if she had any hope of living the life she once led.