Three days. Three fucking, long excruciating days. That was how long I have been locked up, well okay I might be a little over dramatic on the locked up part.
The clubhouse was a far cry from being locked in a cell, but the impression was still the same. I was not allowed to leave the property, hell I wasn't even permitted outside the main house. And it felt like no matter where I wandered, every eye was on me.
I wasn't used to being caged like this and as soon as I could I planned on getting the fuck out of here. The only good thing about being on lockdown was my body had more time to heal. My hand was almost back to normal and my ribs were manageable.
I knew my jeep was parked somewhere on property but I needed to find it and the keys first before I could run again. I didn't belong here and the SOD would know by now where I was staying...I couldn't chance them getting to me again. In the last eight years this was the closest they have ever got to me and I preferred to keep it that way.
The Renegades didn't need this hassle, it wasn't their fight. Sure I made friends with some of the brothers over the last few months but that didn't mean they had to die for me, because that was where this was headed.
The SOD didn't care who they killed, they had no honor or morals. They shot first and didn't care where the bullet landed, as long as they got what they were after. I couldn't handle any more of the brothers coming to harm because of me, especially Mac...and Axel.
Even though Axel had returned to his normal asshole self, I still had feelings for him as much as I hated to admit it. The man just did something for me and my body was not one to let me forget it. Part of me hated him for causing that type of reaction in me. The other part wanted him for it.
The man was giving me whiplash, going from a sweet concerned badass biker one minute to being a total prick who refused to even acknowledge my presence in the room the next. I swear the man was bipolar.
I hated how he was screwing with my emotions. On one hand I wanted him to throw me up against the wall and kiss me senseless, the next I wanted to beat the shit out of him. Do you see the dilemma?
Since my experience with men was pretty much limited to the fucked up relationship I had with my father and then Hunter... I was pretty much clueless in understanding anything about the opposite sex.
Oh I tried dating, but after several fumbled attempts, all on my behalf, I decided I was better off alone. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that I had several issues when it came to men and my scars. I just chose to ignore them. Christ when did things get so fucked up?
"When you are done pouting Harley we need to ask you some questions." Axel interrupted.
What a fucking prick. I hated how my body heated up instantly from his deep voice, but his words heated me up in an entirely different way...an angry way.
"Fuck off Axel...just give me my keys and this problem for the Renegades disappears. I don't need you rubbing your nose in my business."
"Well those assholes shooting up my bar made it my fucking business so stop being such a spoiled little princess and tell me what the fuck I need to know." Since I was tossed back in Axel's room I managed to avoid any more of his "talks" by taking pain pills and feigning sleep.
This time they had me cornered and it looked like their patience had ran out. I didn't want or need them mixed up in this, but he did have a point. The SOD's brought this shit to their doorstep and now I knew they would never back down. Well shit. Banging my head against the window I was looking out of, the realization that their club was now involved regardless if I left or not.
"What do you want to know?" In good conscious I couldn't keep them in the dark about the SOD any longer. Men could die just because I was so damn set on keeping my secrets. Well fuck me, I hated being backed into a corner but that was exactly where I now found myself.
"Everything. Start with why you ran in the first place."
"Several reasons. But the main one was that I was no longer safe. On my father's order I was not to be touched until I hit eighteen. At the time I was almost sixteen. Hunter didn't feel like he should have to wait. He killed my father because of me."
Not that he was much of a father but he was better than Hunter.
"Are you sure he was the one that killed him and didn't just take the credit? That is a serious charge, the VP offing the Prez." Hawk asked as he took a seat on the couch.
Closing my eyes I remembered that night like it was yesterday. It was the first time I ever witnessed someone being shot. Christ there was a lot of blood. Turning I leaned against the wall for support as the memories transported me to that night.
"Since I was in the room and my father's brains splattered my shirt, yeah I am pretty fucking sure." Fuck that night haunted me. Watching my father's body jerk from the impact of the bullet and then collapsing to the ground. Blood oozed out of the hole between his eyes and puddled around his head, which fell about three feet from where I was sitting. Two of his trusted brothers also met their fate that night.
"And what the fuck where you doing in the room? Your father should have known better than to involve you in club business. What a piece of shit." I could tell Mac was pissed by the tone of his voice. And he was right, my father was a piece of shit, but not because of that.
"Look, my father hated, no loathed my existence. My mother was a club whore and he had no choice but to claim her when he knocked her up. That didn't stop either of them from fucking around on each other, there was no love. My mom overdosed when I was ten. My shitty childhood went from bad to worse from that point on."
Images from my childhood raced through my mind like I was watching a movie.
Me hiding in my room because I feared my father's wrath whenever he drank too much, the beatings that started with his hand and progressed to his leather belt, the verbal abuse and criticism that spewed from his mouth daily. The years of being tortured just because I existed...
I sank to the ground as I tried to block out the memories that flooded out, block out the pain I endured.
Arms surrounded me and I freaked out before I realized it was Mac. Behind him Axel was trashing the room as Hawk tried to calm him down.
"Yeah sweetheart, you were speaking out loud. Dammit Axel calm the fuck down she doesn't need this shit right now."
Mac picked me up and set me down next to him on the couch. Axel finally took the seat on my other side although his body still radiating with anger. Flinching I tried to scoot away from him.
"Um...sorry, you didn't need to know..."
"Shut the fuck Harley, you have no reason to be sorry. What that fucker did...well it is a good thing he is dead." Then Axel paused before he asked. "Your back?"
"No." He didn't need any more explanation than that and didn't push for more.
"What changed that made Hunter take action? Was he protecting you?"
"Fuck no Mac, Hunter was just as bad as my father. Look the only thing my father did for me was to issue the order I was to remain untouched until eighteen, hell I don't even know why. Hunter was promised that I could be his after that, even though he was ten years older than me."
"So again what changed?" Hawk questioned.
"Puberty Hawk. I grew tits and curves and Hunter was pissed that he couldn't touch me. My father wasn't exactly balanced and the club was starting to realize that and Hunter saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one bullet. He gets the club and me."
I could feel the anger in the air. More brothers had joined us, standing in the hall and I wasn't sure how long they had been there but at this point it didn't matter. Their club was at risk because of me so they had a right to know why.
"So you ran. After your father was murdered you ran?"
"Not right away Mac. I was safe for a little bit as the old ladies surrounded me and kept watch. For a few weeks I was safe, we had the funeral and the clubs lawyers finalized all my father's paperwork. I was suddenly a very rich teenager. I ran exactly four weeks from the day of his murder and have been on the run ever since." I knew the exact date, since it was my birthday.
Getting up from the couch I needed to distance myself. Even though the room was filled with twenty or so men, it was dead silent. I hated the stares I was getting, the pity, and the sympathy that shone in their eyes. Turning back to my window I tried to ignore all the unasked questions that hung in the air.
"What happened that caused you to run. You said you were safe, what caused you to run?"
Axel followed me over to the window but still kept his distance. Even with the space separating us, I could still feel him behind me.
"Simple, I was no longer safe..."
Without meeting anyone in the eye I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I needed to get my shit together, both literally and figuratively.