All three men swarm around Ember, kiss her temple, and hug her.
“Swear to fuckin’ God, girl, you’re gonna be the death of me,” Tombstone remarks.
“I’m sorry,” Ember murmurs.
It’s then both Angel and Tombstone take a step back and look Ember over again.
“The fuck?” Angel remarks.
I guess none of them knew about the scars.
“Where the fuck did you get those?” Tombstone demands.
“When did you get them?” Angel adds.
“Can we stay on target?” Reaper growls, noting as well as me how Ember does her best to hide the scars, but there is no hiding them. “Ember, we gotta know what happened, but why don’t you go to my room and grab a shirt.” He hands her his key to his room.
Watching him with her, I get the feeling that he knows something about Ember no one else knows. There’s no way he doesn’t know how she got the scars she’s got now.
Ember nods, takes the key, and rushes past the others who fill the room.
I watch her go for all of a second before turning my attention back to my Prez and VP.
“You know how she got those scars, don’t you?” Angel asks, lip curling.
“Yeah, and I’m tellin’ you now, ain’t my story toshare. I won’t tell what’s Ember’s alone. Took her a lot to even share with me.”
“When did she share with you?” Tombstone demands, nostrils flaring.
“Right before she moved to Montana,” Reaper answers.
“Fuck,” Angel snarls. “She was attacked at that fuckin’ school, wasn’t she?”
“Like I said, Angel, it’s her story to share. Didn’t like keeping it to myself, still don’t, but I won’t lose our niece’s trust. We all know Ember and the grudges she can hold,” he slices a quick glance my way, and I know that last remark is aimed at me.
Fuck me.
If she’s still holding onto a grudge because of the shit back then, it’s time for her to let it go. There’s no reason for her to be holding onto something that was my fuck up.
Tombstone and Angel seem to still be stealthing when Ember comes back in the room wearing a black long-sleeved tee that goes all the way to her mid-thighs.
Clearing her throat, she scans the room and visibly swallows.
“You able to tell us what happened now, Em?” Reaper asks.
“He said he was going to use me as a message todeliver to the club,” she says in answer. Her arms cross, her eyes dropped to the floor, her body tense. “He intended to make me talk, but I wouldn’t. No matter what he threatened. No matter that he had me strapped to an electric chair, I refused to talk.”
“The fuck,” I snarl quietly.
Ember’s eyes jerk up to stare at me for a brief second before she diverts them yet again.
“What happened?” Angel demands, watching his niece closely.
“He said I impressed him because I refused to give him any answers or emotions. Except for when he asked . . .” Ember trails off, shaking her head, breathing raggedly. “I still didn’t tell him. Not even when he touched me.”
Touched her.
That motherfucker touched her.
