"You let them do it? What do you mean?"
"They always give me a choice, me or Mason." I turn away from him, not wanting him to see my face.
"They made you choose between you being abused or Mason?" His anger is evident.
I nod. "I could have run, I could have walked out when I turned eighteen, but I didn't, because leaving meant I had to leave Mase behind, and he'd already lost so much. I couldn’t risk them hurting him. So, I stayed to make sure that they never hurt him."
He pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me. I try pushing him away but he holds me tighter. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. You're strong, and you should be proud of the fact that you've protected your brother. Now I'm asking you to just let us protect you for a change."
Nothing else is said. We sit on that bench in silence for the next hour, while I steel myself, waiting for the moment I'm in a room with the men of the club, being asked questions I don't want to answer.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I felt her walls come up when I pulled her in for a hug. I had thought that she was going to break, and that was why I pulled her to me, but as she tried push me away, I could feel her whole body stiffen. I wanted to talk to her a bit more, I wanted to try and get a bit more out of her before we have to walk into Church, but she had completely shut down.
As I walk toward the door with her hand in mine, I'm left wondering if she will share anything or if she'll refuse to speak at all. I know I said that we wouldn't make her talk, but the truth is, if Prez wants answers, he'll find a way to get them out of her.
I stop at the door, not removing my hand from hers. I use my other one to grab my phone out of my pocket and place it into the lock box outside of the room.
I see her watching me. "Are you okay? Do you need anything before we head in there?" I ask her.
She swallows and shakes her head. "I'm fine, thank you."
Hmm, her tone is flat and it surprises me a little. But I shake it off as nerves and head straight into the room.
Everyone is already seated, and as we enter, they all turn to look at her. Her step falters slightly, but then she quickly straightens herself and lets me walk her to the front of the room where my seat and another empty chair are waiting right next to Prez.
I help her into the empty chair, before taking my seat next to her. I want to grab her hand again but her body language is telling me not to. Her head is dipped low, her eyes focussed on her own clasped hand in her lap. Her breathing is steady and she seems calm. Maybe a little too calm, given the circumstances.
"Nova?" Prez gets her attention. "I'm sure you've met most of the brothers, but I'd like to introduce them all, so you know who they are."
"Okay," she says, her voice clear as she looks around the room. Both Wrath and I look at each other, surprised by how confident she seems right now. We both watch her as Prez introduces each brother.
"Wrath you already know. Then we have Blades and Tongue, our enforcers.” They both give her a curt nod. “Gears, our Road Captain, Tank, our Treasurer, Priest, our secretary, Data, our security, and Doc, our doctor. And I don't need to introduce you to Ice," he says with a smirk.
She smiles at each of the brothers and then turns back to Nitro. "I understand you have some questions for me." Prez raises an eyebrow at her response, quickly glancing over her shoulder at me. I shrug because I don't know what is going on with her right now.
"The questions I asked earlier gave me enough information. And I know how hard it was for you to answer them in my office. My brothers may have questions, and while the choice isyours if you answer or not, I believe I understand enough to shut down anything that may be too uncomfortable for you," he tells her, letting her know he has her back.
"It's fine, I'll answer anything I can," she states.
"Actually, sweetheart, what I'm going to do is start with a bit of information." He turns to the room and looks at the brothers. "Nova and her brother live with their aunt and uncle, they have done for six years." He takes a breath, looking at Nova to make sure she's good. She nods, letting him know to keep going.
"Nova has shared that she has suffered regular abuse from both her aunt and uncle, at least weekly since they moved in with them."
"What the fuck?" several of the brothers snap, and we turn to Nova, but she doesn't react, not even a fucking flicker. I turn to Wrath and Nitro who both look as confused as I feel.
"What about Mason?" Blades asks.
"Twice. Once not long after we moved in. I ensure that anything they dished out after that day came my way. The second time was the day we ran away." She looks directly at Blades as she answers his question. He looks like he's about to say something, but she turns to Nitro.
"My car, you said it was in your garage, were any of my belongings recovered from it?"
He nods at her. "Yeah, they were left in the garage to dry out. I can get someone to bring them to you."
"Thank you. Is the car a write-off?" she asks.
"It isn't in great shape," Tank tells her as one of our resident mechanics. "I've not had much time to look at it, but it will need a little bit of work doing to it. I'll check it over when I leave here, then get your things and bring them to you."
