Silence descends among the room as I feel all eyes coming to rest on me.
“Harley?” Luna calls my name out in surprise.
Sucking in a deep breath, I look up to Venom to see him nod his support. He releases me and Neo immediately takes me back into his arms as I face Luna.
“Hey,” I whisper unable to think of anything else to say.
“What . . . are you doing here? Wait, how long have you been here? Why are you?” Luna asks her face growing furious by the moment.
“Easy, Kitten,” Shadow says, stepping up behind Luna he pulls her into his front. “There’re somethings you don’t know and you need to calm down. Don’t need you getting upset.”
“But . . . what’s going on here?” she demands, her gaze narrowing on me then turning to look up at Shadow.
At the anger pouring off her, I begin to shrink into myself. I’ve never seen Luna like this and I don’t want to experience anything she might do to me.
Call me a coward if you will but I’ve been through enough in my life. I don’t want to have to worry about if she’s going to lash out at me too.
“Easy, Angel Eyes, I’ve got you,” Neo murmurs into my ear.
“Right here with you, babe,” Venom says touching my arm.
“Are you with them both?” Luna asks in shock.
“No, but I’ve claimed her as my little sister, so she is my family,” Venom remarks coolly.
“Harley, come on in here, you don’t need to be standing there afraid to come in the room,” Rachel says, gaining my attention from where she was standing in Stoney’s embrace with their youngest in his free arm. Sebastian was sitting in a booster seat playing with his food while his brother and sister were staring around the room trying to figure out what is going on.
“Come on, Angel Eyes,” Neo urges.
Nodding, I step further into the room scared yet trusting Neo.
“I heard you were getting a tattoo today,” Rachel says as if I’d been around for ages without hiding in Neo’s room.
My throat tightens and words escape me. Unable to speak I nod in response. I know it’ll take me a while to finally be able to speak to women again but I’m trying. I did at least get ‘Hey’ out.
I don’t know why I can’t speak to women. I know I’m scared to be around them, but it started at the rehab facility. Though there, I didn’t speak to anyone and I hated being around the doctor who I had to see every day.
I hope to be able to not fear women again. I miss having friends to talk to.
“Is someone going to tell us what’s going on?” Victoria asks.
“Sweetness,” Tracker says in warning as he shakes his head at Victoria.
Seeing the confusion and anger conflicting across the women in the room, I make a decision before I end up regretting it. I glance up to Neo. “You should tell them,” I whisper, tears welling in my eyes.
“No, Harley, I’m not putting your shit out there,” he mutters, pulling me tight against his chest.
“Please, Nate, I don’t want hostility within your club. I know your brothers know, but I . . . I can’t,” I murmur, the tears spilling down my cheeks.
“Angel Eyes, don’t worry about it,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
“No, please, or have Rachel or Raven tell them, I . . . I’ll just go back to the room for now,” I say the need to cause self-harm intensifying.
“Harley, you don’t need to be alone right now,” Venom mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.
“How about it’s no one’s business but yours and those who were there,” Rachel snaps, coming to my defense as she glares at everyone else.
“Agreed,” Raven murmurs, nodding her head. “We all have our own demons, and we didn’t get in each other’s faces about it.”
“Yeah, but we also didn’t cut each other out for no reason at all,” Luna grumbles.
“Kitten, you need to cool it,” Shadow remarks.
“Why are you telling me to cool it? I’m just wanting to know why my supposed best friend who I’ve worried about for months on end is now standing here in front of me in Neo’s arms.” I can definitely see why she’s mad but at the same time she kept her story to herself, not telling me.
“Luna,” Shadow growls in warning.
“I was assaulted in this very clubhouse,” I blurt out without meaning to as I turn in Neo’s arms to face the room once more. For some reason the hostility is scaring me even more than the thought of what these women could do to me.
“Angel Eyes,” Neo murmurs.
“What did you just say?” Luna whispers.
“You were assaulted here? By whom?” Victoria demands, glancing around the room with calculating eyes.
“Is that why you moved and cut me out of your life? You blame me for everything you’ve been through,” Luna says tears welling in her eyes.
“Kitten, that’s not it so calm down,” Shadow rasps. “Like I said you don’t know what all has gone down with Harley.”
“I want to know who would go after Harley,” Victoria demands, glaring up to Tracker.
“Sorry, Sweetness, club business. Told you I wasn’t putting you in it anymore unless it was completely necessary,” Tracker says gently.
“But it seems Raven and Rachel both know, wait is this why we spent the other day away from the clubhouse?”
“The only one who knew anything was Rachel and as your ol’ man stated, Vi, club business. As for what happened to Harley here at the clubhouse, it’s been taken care of. Now with that said she doesn’t have to explain anything. You all need to calm the hell down and quit with the fuckin’ drama. She’s family to us all and has been through hell so back the fuck off,” Stoney yells loud enough to gain everyone’s attention.
“See, Harley, I told you,” Neo murmurs in my ear giving me a slight squeeze.
Yeah, he did tell me, and I couldn’t be more grateful to these men in the room, they’re protecting me even from the questions they knew the ol’ ladies would throw in my direction.
And as they do so I also realize Raven and Rachel are two women I know I can trust without a doubt.
Glancing around the room, I spot Ally standing next to her ol’ man as well as a few others I’d never met before. One of them though looks familiar. I don’t know what it is about him, but his eyes are nearly the same shade as mine. And . . . his hair color is nearly the same. Even from across the room, I can see the similarities.
His eyes narrow and I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing.
Chapter Seventeen
Neo
Following Harley’s gaze, I notice her eyeing Badger as he does the same with her. His head is cocked slightly to the side and I look between the two of them for the first time noticing the similarities between them.
Glancing from them to Stoney he’s seeing the same thing we are.
Are these two related in some way?
I shake my head, no that can’t be her parents are dead. Badger’s dad, Jasper, is in Colorado with our charter working for them out there, while his mom is dead. I’d been there when he’d set the house he grew up in on fire. He went through hell growing up with his bitch of a mother so why do they look so much alike.