Chapter 16 #2
“I have to talk to you about Danny.” When I saw a spark of annoyance flash through his eyes, I continued, “Before you get upset with me, I want you to hear me out. There are things you need to know.”
“Such as?”
“My mother is worried about him. She’s been trying to find him since the night you brought him here, and she’s starting to freak out.
” I got out of my car and stood next to him.
“I’ve been trying to convince her that she just needs to just give it some time, but she isn’t listening. She wants to go to the police.”
“No need for that.”
“I know. I’ve been trying to tell her that, but I can only put her off for so long, Zander,” I argued. “She’s his mother, and she’s concerned. I can only imagine how freaked out she’d be if she actually knew the truth about what was going on.”
“You’re not listening to me, Delilah. I’m telling you, there’s no need for her to go to the cops. Danny’s good.”
“I am listening, Zander, but you’ve been saying the same thing for the past few weeks.
As far as I can tell, nothing’s changed.
” Since we were on the topic of Danny, I decided it was a good time to mention the recent upgrade in surveillance.
“And while we’re at it, I hope you know I’ve really been trying with all this.
Even though I’ve been very tempted, I haven’t said anything I wasn’t supposed to.
I’ve held up my end of the bargain and kept my mouth shut. ”
“I know. You’ve done good, Delilah.”
“Really, ’cause it sure doesn’t seem that way.”
“Not sure what you’re talking about,” he argued.
“I’m talking about y’all watching me every second of every day.
” My mind was racing with worry, making it difficult to think straight.
I knew I was rambling and not giving him much chance to respond, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.
“I thought you and your brothers would ease up once I proved myself, but I guess that’s not going to happen. ”
“Delilah, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.
” A few of the guys stepped out of the clubhouse, momentarily drawing his attention away from me.
They each spoke but continued on their way.
“You know we’ve been keeping an eye on you.
There’s no reason for me to deny that, but you haven’t given us any reason to think we’d need to keep watching you every second. ”
“Then, I don’t get it. What’s with the creeper in the black truck?” I snapped back. “Why is he suddenly there all the time, watching—”
Before I could finish my thought, the door opened once again.
Two other bikers came barreling out, and following close behind them was my brother.
My mind immediately went blank. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
He was smiling like his usual happy-go-lucky self without a care in the world, and he was cutting up with Zander’s brothers like they were old buddies of his.
He looked nothing like he did the last time I’d seen him.
Instead of blood-soaked clothes, he was wearing a clean t-shirt with jeans, the bruises and swelling had faded, and other than the sling and a slight limp, he looked like himself.
I couldn’t make sense of it. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought that Danny was one of them—a brother of the Ruthless Sinners.
They were all so caught up in their conversation that he didn’t even notice me. “Danny?”
He stopped dead in his tracks as he turned to me. “Delilah? What are you doing here?”
“I came here to see about you. What the hell is going on? I thought ...” I turned to Zander and said, “I don’t understand what’s happening here.”
“No need to get all worked up, Dee.” Danny fussed. “I’m good. Me and the brothers worked things out. Things are gonna be okay. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
“So … what? After everything that happened, you’re suddenly all good with them?”
“Yeah, actually, I am.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. My brother had clearly lost his ever-loving mind. Trying to bring him to his senses, I motioned my hand to his sling as I asked, “And what about your arm? Did they do this to you too?”
“No.”
“No? Then, what happened?”
“Well … about that. I was shot. It wasn’t a big deal, though,” he answered casually. “Bullet went straight through, and I’m fine.”
“You were shot?” I gasped. “When the hell did that happen?”
Zander cut his eyes over to Danny, and the color quickly drained from his face when he realized he’d said too much. “I can’t get into all that, but look ... I’m fine, Dee. There’s no reason to make a big deal of this.”
“And why would I make a big deal of it? I’m just finding out that my brother was not only tortured—but shot.
That’s not a big deal at all … I would be crazy to make a big deal out of that!
” Feeling utterly betrayed, I turned to look at Zander.
“I can’t believe you kept this from me. All the times I asked you about him, and never once did you mention that he’d been hurt!
After everything, how could you just lie to me like this? ”
“I didn’t lie to you, Delilah.”
“Well, you certainly didn’t tell me the truth.
You were too busy protecting your brothers and your precious club.
” I threw my hands up and said, “You know what? Forget it. I’m done.
I’m done with all of it. I didn’t sign up for this—any of it.
You can have your club, you can even have my brother, but you can’t have me. Not like this.”
When I started to get back into my car, Zander called out to me, “Delilah, Wait.”
Seeing the anguish in his eyes tore at me, but I was too hurt to stand there and listen to his excuses.
I’d trusted him, and even though Danny had obviously forgiven them for everything they’d done, I just couldn’t do it.
I got in my car, and before I closed the door, I looked at Zander and said, “This is just too much. I can’t do it. ”
Saying those words to him killed me. I loved Zander.
I didn’t want things to end, but I couldn’t make the same mistakes my mother had made.
I needed to know that I could trust the man I loved, and I clearly couldn’t trust Zander—at least not in the way I needed to.
I fought back the tears as I slammed my door and started my car.
Without looking back at either Zander or Danny, I pulled out of the parking lot and sped through the gate.
I tried to keep it together as long as I could, but as soon as I was out on the main road, the dam broke and tears started to stream down my face.
I wanted to think I’d done the right thing by walking away, but the throbbing ache in my chest made me wonder if I’d made a terrible mistake.
That doubt weighed heavily on me as I pulled up to my apartment, got out of my car, and started upstairs.
As soon as I stepped inside, I knew something didn’t feel right.
I figured it was just my mind playing tricks on me, so I ignored the voice in my head that told me something was wrong.
I tossed my keys and purse on the counter like I always did, then, without turning on the lights, I headed towards my room.
I hadn’t gotten far when I heard a familiar voice call out to me, “Well ... hello, Delilah.”