Chapter 17
Worley
Sleep was not my friend last night. Every time I dozed off, I was drowning in her brown eyes. I’m a grown man. Scratch that. I’m way past grown. I’m old enough that a woman’s eyes should affect me like this. How did it happen? Why did it happen? I’m losing my freaking mind.
Maci brought me pancakes and bacon for breakfast, along with a fresh-brewed cup of coffee. I love my Goddaughter, but I was a little disappointed it wasn’t Nina. She and her sister were still cooking. Apparently, Skylar woke up hungry this morning and asked for another pancake. Lauren went overboard with excitement and made enough to send to the clubhouse. Those guys and Kayla aren’t complaining.
Mack sits at his desk, going over Skylar’s file. I stand behind him, like always, watching over him. Only today, my eyes roam to the woman sitting across the desk. Nina glances at me from time to time. I don’t look away. A smile tugs at my lips every time her cheeks pinken a little.
A light knock comes on the door. Mack lays the file on the desk. Nina turns in her chair to face the door. Coty’s eyes meetmine. We all know who it is. I nod. He opens the door for our club's Queen.
“Love.” Mack stands and holds an arm out for her.
“Morning, everyone.” She slides under Mack’s arm and kisses his cheek.
“You…”
Nanny swats his chest. “Don’t say I should be resting. I’ve rested. I need to do something.”
“Okay.” Mack gives in. “But if it becomes too much.”
“I promise to leave.” She kisses his cheek again and sits in the chair beside Nina. “How’s our angel?”
“She connected with Maci and Ember, but still hasn’t opened up.” Nina sighs and adds, “Probably won’t for a while.”
“May I see her file?” Nanny holds her hand out. Mack slides the file to her.
“You wanted to talk to me before we talk next steps with her.” Mack folds his hands together on the desk.
“Yeah.” Nina glances at me and back at Mack. “I don’t think she’s mentally stable enough to be on her own. Wherever we send her, she’s going to need a really strong support system.”
“We’ll work that in somehow. Has she mentioned having family somewhere her abuser doesn’t know about?” Mack asks.
Nina shakes her head. “Not to me. Maci and Ember would have told me if she said anything to them.”
Maci and Ember know everything about Ariel’s Angels. A location is important. They would pass something like that along to one of us.
Mack turns to Shep. “She say anything to you?”
“Nope. Not a word. She told April, the helper I picked her up from, that she wanted another woman. We could get one in time. April said we needed to move fast. Skylar cried, but she got in my truck. She only nodded or shook her head when I guessed at food or drink to get for her when we stopped for gas. Not that she ateor drank much.” Shep drops his head. He’s as lost on this one as the rest of us.
“She misses her mom,” Nina says. “She told the girls last night that she hasn’t seen her mother in over a year.”
He isolated her. It’s one of the first things an abuser does. They make the victims feel like they have no one who loves them.
“You see more.” I hate putting her on the spot like this. She wouldn’t have asked for this meeting if she didn’t.
Nina nods at me and turns back to Mack and Nanny. “She needs to be under a doctor’s care and soon. The broken arm needs monitoring. The bones broke at an angle. They could slide and require surgery to reset them. She may need medication for her mental and emotional state. I’m not ruling out the possibility of a few weeks in a hospital either.”
Nanny places her hand on Nina’s arm. “That’s still not everything you see.”
Nina closes her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. She places her left hand over Nanny’s on her arm. “Without testing, it’s just guesses.” Nanny nods that she understands. “She’s underweight. She’s twenty-two and looks more like Everly than Maci and Ember.”
The room goes still for a moment. Nanny’s eyes meet Mack’s. Twenty-two is an age that hits the McLeods hard. Maci is twenty-two and doesn’t know we’re watching her closely, even while she’s at college. We did the same for Harley. Ariel was twenty-two when we lost her.
Nanny breaks the silence. “He withheld food from her.”
It’s not a question. Everyone in the room knows it.
