Page 23 of Banshee
“The abuse started almost immediately. There wasn’t a day he was home that he didn’t find some reason to hurt me. Not always physically.”
“Emotionally and mentally,” Haizley guessed.
“Yes.”
“And you never told your parents?”
I shook my head. “No. Pepper said if I told them anything, that his club would take them out. And I believed him. The Death Dogs are an awful club. They don’t follow the rules the table has put in place.”
“The table?”
“In the underworld there is a table, a committee of sorts. A representative from every criminal organization. The Russian Bratva, the Irish Mob, the Italian Mafia, the Triad, etc. One ofthose representatives is the Biker Federation. Which has its own panel, and they choose one biker to represent it at the table. The president of the club in New York sits at the table. They always have. But my father once sat on the panel for the Federation. Now it’s my brother.”
“And this panel, the Federation, couldn’t take the problem with the Death Dogs to the table?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Bikers handle their own shit. The only reason they sit at the table is to keep tabs on everyone else. Telling my family about what Pepper was doing would start a war. One I didn’t think my father would win.”
“So you left.”
“So I left.” I nodded. “They haven’t gone after my family. They know I didn’t go home. As long as my family never finds me, they are safe. And as long as my husband never finds me, I am safe.”
“That is a tough way to live, Aspen, always looking over your shoulder.”
I shrugged. It was how it had to be. I knew things that would get me killed. Things that would get Pepper killed. It was why he beat me so badly. I believe in my heart he tried to kill me. He was just too selfish to do it.
“How did you get away?”
I knew this question was coming. Kytten had asked me never to reveal it was the Nyght Nymphs who helped me.
“He’d beaten me so badly on our anniversary that I ended up in the hospital. While I was there, a doctor helped me get away. There are networks that help abused women. She was part of one. She helped me heal, and when I was ready, she helped me set up my shop here in Diamond Creek.”
“I am so sorry for everything you’ve gone through.” There were tears in her eyes that I knew she would never shed. Not in front of me, anyway. “I guess I thought all clubs were the same,aside from those who do illegal things and those who don’t. Gunner told me being an old lady meant more than marriage.”
“It does. I might be married to Pepper, but I was never his old lady. I don’t have a cut like you and the others wear.”
I was envious of the old ladies. What they had. How their men treated them. It was similar to my parents. I grew up listening to my mother tell me never to settle for anything less than complete devotion.
“I have known a lot of bikers in my life. I grew up with them. Gunner is one of the good ones. He might be gruff, and act like a caveman, but just know that man would kill for you. He would die for you too. My mother always told me never to settle for less than complete devotion. That’s what you have with Gunner.”
“Thank you. This is all still so much to get used to.” She tilted her head and watched me. “What about Banshee?”
“What about him?” I asked, trying not to fidget in my seat.
“Does he know who you are?” I nodded, suddenly unable to look her in the eye. “But he hasn’t told the others?”
“I asked him not to.” Her smile was unnerving. Almost as if she’d learned a juicy little secret that she was dying to tell. “What?”
“Nothing.” She sat up straight, waving me away, but her smile remained. “If your safety could be guaranteed, would you consider divorce?”
“Divorce is not an option. Not in the club. Death is the only way out, and to be honest, if I thought it wouldn’t start a war, I would consider it.”
“Aspen,” Haizley gasped.
“Oh, I didn’t mean I’d actually do it. I meant I’d fake it. As long as my family thinks I’m alive, they won’t retaliate. If word got around that I had died, they would want retribution. I can’t have a war on my conscience. People die in wars.”
“We’ll figure something out. You can’t live the rest of your life this way.”
“Haizley, I told you this because I needed to talk to someone about it. I just needed someone to know.”
