"Wait, Prez." I stop him at the door. "Are we going in there with half the information?"
He closes his eyes for a brief second, but then looks back at me. "Talk to her, someone needs to explain to her what happens next. I'm calling Church for one this afternoon, you have until then to explain to her." He walks out the door without waiting for me to respond. Wrath gives me a nod and half a smile before following Prez.
Great, now I need to convince her she has to tell a room full of men she doesn't know everything she's ever been through.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I watch Mason interact with the guys from the club. He's taken a shine to most of them, and he's really comfortable with pretty much everyone. I'm glad he feels safe here. He's still a little quiet at times, and guarded, but he's a lot more relaxed here than he ever was at home.
I don't know how long we'll be able to stay here, we shouldn't stay in one place for too long in case my uncle finds us, and I also don't want to risk anything coming down on these guys, not after they have gone out of their way to help us.
Movement from the other side of the room catches my eye and I turn to see Nitro, Wrath and Ice heading into the dining area. All three men glance my way, Nitro and Wrath both giving me a smile. Nitro then turns and heads toward the table where Mason and some of the other men sit, while Wrath heads toward my table. He stops right next to Marissa, bending down and giving her a kiss that is a little more than peck. I turn away, not wanting to intrude on their moment.
I jump as Ice places a hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, babe, I didn't mean to give you a fright," he tells me.
I look up, giving him a small smile. "It's okay. My fault."
"How the fuck was it your fault?" he asks, confused.
I hadn't even thought about it, I just said it out of habit. Not wanting to elaborate, I shrug my shoulders and go to turn away, but he grabs my chin, turning my face up to him. "Grab your cuppa, let’s go talk outside."
"Okay," I whisper. I turn to grab my cup and see Wrath and Marissa both watching me. Feeling confused and unnerved, I grab my cup and follow Ice out the front door.
He holds the door open for me, and I step out into the cool air. I shiver, but I close my eyes and take a big breath in through my nose, the scent of autumn in the air.
When I open my eyes, I see Ice watching me, his blue grey eyes locked on my face, and I feel myself flush from the intense gaze. He gives me a smile then reaches out, taking my hand in his. "This way," he tells me as he leads me down the side of the building.
As he leads me around the back of the old hotel, I can't help but look around. We're surrounded by a, maybe, ten-foot fence, there are other buildings on the grounds, there’s a garage near the front to the side and I wonder if my dad’s car is in there. I can't believe I crashed it. I can't believe I almost killed Mason.
Ice leads me to a bench set a little further back from the building, closer to some thick trees and a play area. As we sit down, I sit with my back to the table and Ice sits straddling the bench. I shiver once again and Ice pulls me closer to him. He places an arm around my back, his other hand cupping my face, turning it toward him.
"Dragonfly, we need to talk," he tells me, his tone soft, but there’s a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.
"More talking?" I ask, wishing we didn’t have to.
He nods, his thumb running across my cheek. He does that a lot, and I wish I didn’t like it so much. "Yeah. And it's gonna be a heavy day for you."
"What do you mean?" I ask, suddenly nervous.
"At one o’clock this afternoon, we're going to go into Church, and you're going to be asked a lot of questions, and you're going to be expected to answer them all. Those questions will be asked in front of my brothers, several of them. You're safe in that room, remember that." His eyes flick back and forth between mine, waiting for a reaction.
"What if I don't want to answer questions? What if I don't want to be in that room?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
He blows out a breath. "While we can't really make you tell us anything, we can force you to be in the room. We promised that we would help you, but we can only do that if you answer our questions."
"So, you're out here now, what, to convince me to tell you my secrets? To spill everything? For what?" I snap at him.
"Hey, I'm not the enemy here, Nova. We want to help, we would just like a better understanding of what you’ve been through so we can figure out the best way to help you.”
"And what if I don't want your help, what if all I want is for you to let us get out of here?" I look at him, hoping for him to back off.
"You know that won't happen. So, you can either talk to me now and I can help you when we get in there, or you can be stubborn and wait until we're in there and face rounds of questions from my brothers. Choice is yours, Dragonfly," he says with a smirk that I would love to wipe off his face.
"I'm ashamed," I whisper.
"Of what?" he asks, shocked.
The tears roll down my face and I swipe at them angrily. "Of what they did. Of the fact that I let them do it..."
