I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. “I mean, I guess you can say it’s somewhat of a trigger, but the main reason I didn’t allow you to touch my back is because of the scars Sire left behind.”
I bit my lip before removing my cut and then my shirt. I grabbed Will’s good arm and maneuvered his hand around me. Once his hand was on my back, I dragged it down, allowing him to feel. Will gulped as tears flowed from his eyes like a river.
“I know I don’t deserve you, but, Will, I swear to you, if you give me another chance, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
After a few minutes of silence, Will soothingly rubbed my arm. “I’m not going to lie. You really hurt me after sleeping with that woman. I know we were broken up, but you swore you would never do anything like that.”
“I know, and I’m not making excuses, but I was trashed, Will. I was still trying to hide who I was. The fear of the guys kicking me out was the only thing keeping our relationship a secret. But, during therapy, I realized I don’t care if I had the brotherhood or not. I can't live withoutyou. Nothing else in my life matters if I don’t have you. So, please tell me I can at least try to earn you back. I love you, Will, and I am nothing without you.”
Will swayed his head from side to side before a small smile tugged at his lips. “We can take it one day at a time. But, Jacob, if you hurt me again?—”
“I swear on mypatch,I will never hurt you again.”
Will leaned forward, and I met him halfway, lightly pecking his lips. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling like I couldfinally breathe again, now that he was in my arms. After nine long months, my life finally felt right again.
“Now, I need you to tell me who did this to you.”
Will broke our embrace to sit back against the bed. “I really can't remember much. I was hit from behind, and I didn’t get a good look at their faces. The only thing I remember is the voice of one of the men. It was so cold and dark. He said something like, I would pay for my sins, and Jesus prevails. That’s all I can remember. Are you okay?”
Will stared at me with concern when I snatched my hand away. “Did he say, tonight, you will pay for your sins. Jesus always prevails.”
Will’s mouth dropped open. “H-how did you know that?”
I took a deep breath, willing myself to calm down. “Because… that’s the exact thing Sire used to say to me before he gave me a lashing.”
Chapter Thirteen
WILL
“Can I please go to the living room for just a little bit?” I whined.
Tech turned those icy blue eyes my way, giving me an unimpressed look. “Bed. Rest,” was all he said before turning his attention back to his laptop.
I groaned, folding my arms as best as I could with this damn cast. As the days went on, I felt myself unraveling. Doc had put me on bed rest until my ribs healed. Tech wouldn’t let me do a damn thing. Between hunting for his father and taking care of me, we hadn’t done anything else.
Even though I was a little annoyed with his overprotectiveness, I was also grateful. Tech hadn’t left my side once. While I was in the hospital, he arranged for me to be moved to a bigger room. He even had another bed added to the room so he could sleep as comfortably as possible. Tech was six two and his body was not built for sleeping on a hospital couch.
During my stay, all the brothers stopped by with flowers, get-well-soon cards, and balloons. A few even dropped off food for Tech and me. It warmed my heart to see the club rally behind me better than my own family. Well, that was everyone exceptfor my grandmother and Aunt Toya. They were there both days, fawning all over me.
My grandmother and Aunt Toya were the only two in my family who always defended me and never looked down on me. They didn’t know how bad things were between my mother and me. My grandmother had tried to get me to talk about what was going on for years, but I didn’t want to cause a huge rift in my family.
When my grandmother and Aunt Toya laid eyes on Tech for the first time, they nearly lost their minds. Just like Oscar, they kept telling me how I had hit the jackpot. He really won them over when they saw how attentive he was to me. We hadn’t picked things back up romantically, but the love he had for me shone through with his care.
After everything he told me about his childhood, I honestly couldn’t be mad at him anymore. I wasn’t giving him an excuse for all his behavior, but I now understood him better. If I had gone through half of the things he did as a child, I would have suppressed my feelings as well.
The more I thought about it, the more I hated his father. He was an evil man. We still weren't certain whether his father was responsible for my attack. All signs were pointing in his direction, though. That phrase that he said wasn’t something people just walked around saying.
The day we returned to the clubhouse, Tech asked Viper to call church, so he could tell them the rest of his story. He wasn’t as detailed as he was with me, but he made sure they knew the important details. Once he let them know he believed Sire was behind my attack, the club was ready to help in any way.
Finding his father was harder than I thought it would be for Tech, Cara, and Sara. Mainly because Tech had no information on his father. No real name, birthdate, or Social Securitynumber. The only information he had was where he grew up in a small town in Alabama.
The bar's cameras were also a bust. Although my attack was clear as day, you couldn’t see the men’s faces. They all wore black hoodies over their heads, masking their identities. That still didn’t deter Tech, Sara, and Cara. They were working day in and day out to get a location on Sire.
I didn’t know what they would do once they found him, but I worried about Tech. He acted like he wasn’t bothered by coming face-to-face with his father. I knew better. That man caused so much trauma in him that he had to seek therapy. Seeing him after all these years was bound to reopen old wounds. At least this time, he wouldn’t have to face Sire alone. Tech had me and the entire club behind him. His real family.
A knock sounded on my bedroom door, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Come in,” Tech shouted.
