Dayanara Chapter 7 #3
My brother’s face told me he wasn’t happy with waiting, but he gave a curt nod. Stryder gave me a chin lift and a sympathetic smile. Their intrusion killed the fun we were having. They excused themselves after getting cups of coffee. My men and I finished making breakfast in silence.
When it was ready, they insisted that I be served before anyone else.
Once we had our food, Stalker announced to the common room occupants that there was food, but don’t be pigs.
It was a small stampede. As they passed us, I was stunned that they paused, said thank you, and kissed my cheek before getting in line.
My brother and cousin were in the mix. My guys steered me to a table and pulled out my chair.
Only after I was seated and they ensured I had everything did they sit.
Together we began eating. It tasted good.
Stalker and Predator were heavy with their praise.
In no time, more people joined us. Their compliments flowed freely, too.
I waved them away and said it was a group effort.
The brothers teased Predator and Stalker that they’d make me a good wife.
There was chatter around the tables as we ate. It was like a big family breakfast. I loved it. If it weren’t for the upcoming talk with my actual family, I would’ve been able to enjoy it more. My appetite was barely present.
“Daya, try to eat more. We know you’re hungry. Don’t stress over the talk. We’ll be there. Are you having Brighton join?” Predator asked.
“I think she should know, but I don’t want to add to her stress,” I admitted.
“I think she’d be more upset if she finds out later what he did. Personally, I think she needs to know, but it’s your decision. We’ll support you no matter what,” Stalker stated.
“Yes, we’ll support your decision,” Predator tacked on.
Unable to resist, I leaned over and gave first Stalker, then Predator, a brief smack on the lips. I kept it PG, but the scowl on my brother’s face showed his displeasure.
We ate on paper plates, so the cleanup was minimal.
When I got up to clean away the mess, Keenan, one of the two prospects, told me he and Ivan would handle it.
We were thanked again by all the guys. They did clean up after themselves, so I didn’t feel bad about the work left for the prospects.
I knew this was part of their job to earn their patch.
Stryder had explained this while prospecting.
I could no longer procrastinate. I took out my phone and texted Brighton.
Me: Need to have a family meeting. Please come to the clubhouse ASAP.
Her reply was swift.
Brighton: Be there in 5.
Me: TY
“As soon as Breezy gets here, we’ll talk. She said to give her five minutes.” I informed our small group. The others had drifted away.
Silence reigned while we waited. My guys held my hands under the table with one hand, and their other hands rubbed my back.
Whenever I glanced over at them, I received a sweet smile.
I felt their support and, dare I say, love.
They would stand by me no matter what. It was the longest five minutes of my life.
The door opened barely shy of five minutes later, and in walked Brighton.
She was alone. Worry marred her face. I stood and went to her. I hugged her.
“What’s going on, Daya?” she asked.
“I’ll tell you.”
“We can go into church. It’s empty and private. We use it sometimes for small meetings like this. I already let Bull know we would be using it,” Stalker said. I had no idea he’d texted his president.
“Okay, let’s do this,” I said.
As a solemn group, we left the room. Gazes were glued to us.
The others knew something was up. After we entered church, which I’d only seen from the hallway before, I had to study it.
So much was determined in this room. It was sacred to bikers.
I was stunned that we were even allowed inside.
Stryder shut the door. I was led to one end of the table, and a chair was pulled out for me by Predator, while Stalker did the same for Brighton.
They were so good to her. My brother and cousin sat when my men did.
“Okay, we’re here, and it’s private. Tell me what the fuck you meant by getting retribution for Breezy and you when it comes to Marshall?” Jess got right to the point.
“She’ll tell you, but you need to let her speak, and there will be no hollering or other shit. It isn’t an easy thing for her,” Stalker informed my brother.
“Yeah, no outbursts. Listen, and when she’s done, then you can ask questions if you have them,” Predator tacked on.
“How the hell do you two know what she’s about to say?” Jess snapped.
“Because she told us. We encouraged her to tell her family. Don’t make us regret it,” Predator growled.
“You have no right to tell me—”
Jess’s rant was cut off by Stryder placing his hand over my brother’s mouth and staring him into submission. Jess subsided, but his mutinous scowl never changed.
My guys squeezed my hands. I did it back, then removed mine to place them on the table. They continued to rub my back. I took a deep breath before launching into the hardest discussion of my life. I started by catching Brighton’s confused stare.
“Breezy, I want to start by telling you how goddamn sorry I am that I didn’t protect you.
That you were left to become a target of Marshall’s.
I swear, I had no idea he’d return home and target you.
If I had, he would’ve never gotten the chance.
I’ll live with my guilt until I die. I love you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you feel safe.
He’ll suffer, Breezy. Believe me, he will. ”
“Daya, there’s no need for you to apologize. You did nothing wrong. As for you protecting me, how could you? You were gone in the Marine Corps. You weren’t even in Tennessee. It wasn’t something any of us could’ve anticipated,” Brighton argued.
I shook my head. Here it went.
“No, that’s where you’re wrong. Jess and Stryder came into the kitchen and overheard Stalker, Predator, and me talking about retribution against Marshall for you and me this morning.
Jess asked what that meant. I never told anyone this, but when I was fifteen, the same age you were when he hurt you, Marshall Webb did the same thing to me. ”
The last bit was said more softly and weakly than the prior part. The reaction was what I expected. I refused to circle the problem with a bunch of empty words. It was blunt, but that was me.
All three of my family members sat there frozen.
Looks of disbelief, like they couldn’t trust that they’d heard me right, appeared on their faces.
However, as they replayed my words in their heads, the disbelief morphed into anger.
Even Brighton looked upset. But it was Jess who shot to his feet.
His chair tipped over onto the floor, making a loud crashing sound.
He slammed his palms down on the table and leaned on them.
It was like he was trying to lean across the table to where I sat. His eyes were burning.
“Say that again,” he hissed.
“I said that Marshall did the same thing to me that he did to Breezy when I was fifteen. He’s not a one-time offender.”
“WHY. THE. FUCK. DIDN’T. YOU, SAY. SOMETHING?” he roared.
“Calm down. Don’t yell at her. Remember what we said,” Predator growled.
“Jess, lower your voice,” Stryder told him. I noticed my cousin’s face was flushed, and he was holding on to his temper.
“Like hell. I want to know why she kept this a secret. Why did she let our baby sister get hurt?” Jess barked.
Though I tried not to let them appear, tears began to fill my eyes. I blinked rapidly to hold them back. Stalker and Predator came to their feet. The tension in the room was ten times worse than when we entered.
“We know you’re upset, but don’t you fucking dare take it out on Daya. It’s not her fault. Let her finish telling you why she never told anyone. And if you keep accusing her of allowing Breezy to be hurt, I’ll knock some sense into your hard head,” Stalker snarled.
“Please, no fighting. Telling you this is hard enough,” I protested.
“Daya, please, tell us what he did. I had no idea he hurt you, too. I’m sorry,” Brighton said softly. I gave her a loving look.
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I assured my sweet sister. She gave me the courage to continue despite Jess’s attitude.
“It happened the summer after the two of you graduated from college, Jess.
Remember, he stayed with us for two months while you guys partied and relaxed before becoming real adults with full-time professional jobs.
About a week after he came, he came into my room in the middle of the night.
At first, I thought he was trying to scare me.
You know how he loved to do that. However, I discovered I was wrong when he put his hand over my mouth and warned me to be quiet.
“I swear to God, I tried to get loose and scream, but he was too strong for me. When he was finished with me, he told me how I was his to do with as he pleased. He said I could look forward to his undivided attention while he was there. And he threatened that if I told anyone, he’d know it.
If that happened, he’d make sure to enter our house one night when we were asleep.
He’d kidnap me and take me far away. As for the rest of you, he’d burn you alive in the house.
I couldn’t risk him carrying out his threat.
It wasn’t fake. He meant it. I saw it in his eyes.
He’s not exactly sane. He made sure to repeat the threat often so I wouldn’t forget.
“I tried several times to tell you or Mom and Dad, but he was always around. And he’d do things to remind me of what he threatened to do, like playing with matches.
Or commenting about a story he read about a house fire that killed everyone in a family, or the article he read about a poor teenager being kidnapped and never found.
“You have no idea how relieved I was when he got the job in North Dakota and left.
He swore he would never return. It was after he left that I knew I had to become strong so no one could do to me again what he did.
I began with self-defense classes, learning to shoot, and working out.
You asked why one time, Jess, and I said it was to prepare for the Marines.
That was half true. The biggest reason I chose to join the Corps was that I saw them as the toughest people around. No one wanted to fuck with a Marine.
“I swear on my life that I never imagined him returning. If I had, I would’ve told you.
He never once came back in all those years.
You always went to see him. Because of that, I wasn’t worried about Breezy.
She was eight years old when he left. He ignored her.
God, if only I could go back in time. But I can’t.
“When you called and told me I needed to take leave and come home, I did it without knowing why.
You never told me, Jess. Walking into that discussion almost gave me a heart attack.
The bastard did it to our baby sister, your cousin, Stryder.
It made me sick. It was all I could do to hold it together.
When we went to bed that night, after talking about what happened, I went to the bathroom and puked up my guts. The guilt was crushing.
“That’s why when we get him, Marshall will pay way worse than he would’ve for just Breezy. We know that he’s most likely done it to others, but they were threatened or paid off to keep quiet or to drop any complaints. He’s gonna wish he never touched a soul,” I snarled. Fury overrode my hurt.
My brother was panting. His gaze was wild. “Jesus Christ, Daya. You let a man like that go free and hurt others, including our sister. How can you live with yourself?” he said in an accusatory tone.
I sobbed. Yelling commenced all around me, but I wasn’t tuning into who said what.
My heart was breaking. It was as bad as I imagined, or maybe worse.
I wanted to disappear. Shame filled me. Without consciously doing it, I went back in time to the night Marshall truly hurt me.
He did more than touch and kiss me. He made me do things to him.
And then toward the end of his stay, he took it even further.
I lost my innocence to a man I hated and feared.
Bile rose in the back of my throat. I shoved my chair away from the table and stumbled to my feet.
Hands tried to grab me. I think they were Predator’s and Stalker’s, but I evaded them.
I couldn’t tell them what I needed, so I shoved their hands away and darted toward the door.
I stopped short of opening it. A trash can stood beside it.
I made it with a couple of seconds to spare before vomit rose up and out of me. I heaved and spewed repeatedly.
The yelling seemed to dim. I was too sick to care. Hands on my back made me jump, and I automatically tried to evade them, but then it registered. It was Predator and Stalker. I knew their touch already. I ceased moving. Then, their words began to register.
“Shh, Dolcezza, we’re here. You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you,” Predator murmured.
“We need you to calm down. We hate seeing you sick. Tell us what you need,” Stalker added.
I couldn’t tell them. Along with the vomit, tears rolled down my cheeks. I wanted to curl up and hide somewhere.