Chapter 50
“When were you told to lure Raven to Symon?”
“Woody saw her first. He got angry when she rebuffed his advances. Called him a revolting pig when he hit on her.” Katrina admitted, looking down at her hands as she kept picking at her nails.
“Bet that pissed you off. That he was flirting with another woman.” Diesel egged her on, trying to get her emotions under control.
“I’m used to it with Woody. He’s always flirting with other women. But I’m the one he keeps in his bed. The others are fleeting.” Katrina glared at Diesel.
“Bet he even makes you watch when he’s fucking the club whores.” York commented, leaning back against the wall, giving Katrina the appearance they were letting down their guard.
“They knew their places. I was his girl.” Katrina defended Woody, lifting her chin as she glared over at York.
“Baby girl. I hate to break it to you. But if a man really cared about you, he wouldn’t have done the shit Woody did to you. Woody didn’t give two shits about you.” Pratt informed Katrina, sitting in the chair that was in the corner of the room.
“Bullshit. I bet if that dude right there told you bitches to stand down, while he had me service him, you’d do it because it’s what he wanted.” Katrina pointed towards Viper.
Diesel had to chuckle when Viper seemed like he was about to go pale when all three women looked at him. His hands were in the air as he stepped back towards the door. “I’m not that stupid.”
“Katrina, that man knows if he ever told me to shut up, sit down or even allows another woman to touch him in appropriately or has me watch, not only would I gut him, but I’d also make him choke on his fucking balls while I shoved his severed cock up his ass.”
“What my wife says is true, Katrina. Any man worth his salt would never make the person they claim to be with do the things Woody made you do. I would never touch, much less think of touching, another woman. I like living way too much. The most important aspect is, I would never disrespect my wife with making her watch another woman suck my cock or fuck another woman in front of her like that.” Viper sternly told Katrina. His eyes on Diesel the whole time he made the statement.
“I think deep down you knew that. That’s why you got upset with Raven because Woody wanted her.” York stated, causing the others to look back at Katrina for her expressions.
Katrina huffed out a laugh as she crossed her arms and glared at Diesel. “She had the nerves to tell me the same shit you guys are. How Woody was bad for me. How I deserved better. Offered to talk to her parents about letting me stay there to get away from everyone.”
“She cared about you.”
“Bullshit. I caught her with Woody.” Katrina spewed, anger and hatred in her voice.
“Caught her?” Diesel asked, confused about the statement.
“Yeah. The bitch showed up at the clubhouse while I was chasing down fuckface at the halfway house. When I showed up, she was lip locked with Woody. When I screamed out, she pushed him off of her and punched him in the face. All he could do was laugh and tell her she would be on his cock before she knew it.”
“Sounds to me like Woody knew you were coming and forced himself on her. Of course you took his side, despite knowing the type of prick he was.” Pratt scoffed, shaking her head at Katrina.
“She went to him. He didn’t chase her!” Katrina screamed at them.
“You ever consider she went there to find you and got accosted by him? No! You believed whatever bullshit that man fed you, because deep down you knew she was telling you the truth about everything. But you made yourself believe whatever bullshit Woody told you because you associate that crap with love. That’s not love!” Diesel calmly told Katrina, trying hard not to lose her cool with the girl.
“What the fuck do you know about love? You didn’t even keep your own kid! You abandoned her the first fucking chance you got! Fucking whore! Just like your daughter!” Katrina screamed in Diesel’s face.
Diesel didn’t know what came over her. Before she registered her actions, she smacked Katrina across the face, sending the girl flying sideways on the bed. She didn’t even register when Pratt, York and Viper grabbed her and pulled her out of the room. She didn’t register when Viper picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and headed down the stairs and out of the house towards the backyard.
It wasn’t until he stood her on her own two feet that she dropped to her knees and screamed. Her fits hitting her upper thighs as she leaned her head back on her shoulders, looking up to the sky and screamed with all her might. How long she did it, she didn’t know. She just knew she had tears streaming down her face and her voice was hoarse.
When she keeled over, her face into the grass and cried, she felt hands on her back. Words of “get it out” being murmured softly. Through it all, she knew Viper was nearby in case she needed him. He never left her. Just like her teammates, who she knew were the ones with her currently.
“She’s wrong, you know?” Captain Irby commented, sitting on the grass next to Diesel, her hand on her head.
“No. She’s not. She’s right. I did abandon her when she was born.” Diesel hiccupped, not moving.
“No, you didn’t. Look at me, young lady.” Captain Irby demanded, her voice going stern, making the others go stiff.
Diesel looked up at her captain, trying hard to control her anger at the order. When she did, all she saw was her captain looking at her, eyes soft and a smile on her face. She couldn’t control the flinch when the captain reached out and touched her face.
“Cheryl, you were a child yourself. You were raped. You were still healing from your trauma. You allowed someone to help you find a good family to adopt her, to give her the best life she could have had. In doing so, you showed your love the best way possible. It allowed you to heal. To grow. To be the version of you that needed to come out. You became the person you needed by letting someone else raise Raven. It does not mean that you hate her, never wanted her or didn’t love her. It’s what needed to be done.”
“She’s right, D. That girl in there said nasty shit because she’s hurting. She knows what she did was wrong. Her own mother abandoned her. Assumed her father abandoned her, only to find out he was killed while trying to find her. She doesn’t know what it means to be wanted, loved. You do. Raven does. The only thing Katrina knows to do is lash out.” Pratt said softly, sitting on the ground beside Diesel, her hand on her back.
“You’ve also got a man who would literally murder anyone who tried to harm you. That man will walk through fucking hell for you. He wouldn’t even entertain the shit that Woody’s done to Katrina. You two may not have been together for long as a couple, but you two have circled each other since we met them when Lindsey was kidnapped a while back. That man isn’t going anywhere without you, girl. He’s the real deal!” York followed up, sitting on Diesel’s other side.
“Let me ask you this, something that none of you knew about me,” Captain Irby commented, lifting Diesel’s face to look her in the eye. “I got pregnant at sixteen after a guy I crushed after really hard got me drunk. It was a bet between him and two guys from the high school football team. They knew I was from the wrong side of the tracks and had a crush on the captain of the football team. I was awkward and a nerd back then. Raised by a single mom who worked two jobs to make ends meet for me and my two siblings. She was gone all the time, so we ran a little wild.”
“Captain was a wild child. Now that’s hard to believe.” Pratt snorted before she cleared her throat when the captain gave her a stern look.
“Yes. I was a wild child at one time. I gave birth to a boy. My pregnancy ruined the close relationship I had with my mother and older sister. The guy I got pregnant by told the whole school how I begged him to have sex and seduced him, although he was a man whore, or in his case, a boy whore. Every day until I gave birth, and until I graduated, I was made fun of, laughed at, teased and excluded. I didn’t go to my junior or senior prom because of him. I gave my son up for adoption because I knew I couldn’t take care of him properly. His father would not be there for us. I graduated from high school, went to college, and joined law enforcement.”
“What was the question, captain?” Diesel asked, sniffling, wiping her nose with her arm.
“Smart ass. Because I gave my kid up for adoption, do you think of me as a loser? Someone who abandoned my child?”
“Damn, she went for the jugular on that one, D.” Rameriez chuckled as she situated herself on the ground with the others.
“God no! You were just a child.” Diesel answered, ignoring the others.
“Exactly. So why would you assume that you would be any different? You were raped. Your choice was taken from you. You did what was best for you and for Raven when you placed her up for adoption. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. Got it?” Captain Irby questioned sternly, looking Diesel in the eyes.
Diesel stared at her for several moments before looking around the yard where she perched on her knees. Her team was sitting on the ground around her. Viper, Highlander, Jacko, Dom, Kermit and Houston surrounding the women as if shielding them from prying eyes. The men all looked at her. When she caught each one of their eyes, they all smiled at her and nodded their support to her.
“This, lass, is family. The one ye were born into was just that, people ye were born to. This…” Highlander pointed towards everyone surrounding her, “this is family, love. They have ye back, no matter what is going on in ye life. They will support ye in the darkest of times and in the happiest of times. They are loud, nosey and a pain in the arse. But I wouldn’t change it for anything in this world.”
Diesel watched as Viper moved towards her, dropping down on his haunches. “Everything they have said and what I’m about to say should let you know how we feel. How I feel. You are an amazing woman. The woman I have gotten to know these last two years and our short time as husband and wife, I wouldn’t change for anything. Even knowing what I know about your past. When this is over, your family will only get bigger. It will now include Raven, her family if they choose, and my family. I’m not going anywhere hot stuff. You’re it for me. I don’t want anyone else.”
Diesel couldn’t help but let the tears fall down her face as she pushed up on her knees and gripped Viper by the face and kissed him. When she pulled back, she looked around at the people who surrounded her. Enough was enough. She had a daughter to bring home to her adoptive parents. She had a past to destroy and a dynasty to end.
“Get Blu ready. She told us how Woody noticed her. She never told us how her situation came to be. Something tells me she put her in Symon’s crosshairs. Time to find out. She goes nowhere until we know her participation in this. Yeah, she was hurt, but she caused more harm. It only backfired on her since she refused to read the red flags.”
“Fuck yes! Our girl is back!” Pratt and York cheered at the same time as they high fived each other.