Taking Dante’s hand, I ushered him out of the truck and up the two stairs, pushing open the clubhouse doors. I had barely stepped inside before a ball of blonde hair tackled me, damn near knocking me to the ground.
“Oh my God! You’re really here,” Ellery cried, hugging my neck tight as her body shook.
Holding my friend tight, I watched as Dante rushed over to Melissa, pulling her into a hug. Ryder walked over, shaking his head. “You scare my woman like that again, and you and I are gonna have fucking words.”
I smirked at the fucker, tucking Ellery under my arm as I shook his hand. “Deal.”
Together, we all walked over to where Dante and Melissa were talking, and I warmly greeted the doctor. “Dr. Jefferson.”
Her eyes blazed, a stark contrast to her earlier cheerful demeanor. A vein pulsed in her temple. The air crackled with unspoken threats as Ellery shifted nervously under my arm.
“How fucking dare you!”
Her face, usually so composed, was contorted with fury. Ellery visibly flinched. The doctor’s calm demeanor didn’t waver; she seemed unfazed by her rage. Dante stepped forward cautiously. Ellery whimpered, clutching my arm tighter. The tension was palpable.
“You abandoned her. Less than two weeks with your daughter and you up and fucking leave!”
“Missy,” Dante tried to interject, but the woman wasn’t having it. I could clearly see she was angry at me and nothing was going to stop her from getting her say. I braced myself.
“No, Dante. He needs to hear this,” the woman snapped as she got right in my face. She was fucking pissed and was determined to let me know it.
“How could you do that? What was so fucking important that you left your daughter? What was so goddamn urgent that the club needed you more than your family did?”
“Missy,” Haizley hissed as she reached out, trying to pull Melissa back.
“Less than two weeks, Danny,” the woman seethed. “Less than two fucking weeks and you left. Then Dante left. You both abandoned the one person who was supposed to mean the world to you, and you left her with a fucking stranger.”
And just like that, my anger rose. I didn’t abandon anyone. This woman knew nothing of what I did, what I endured, what I suffered.
“You weren’t a stranger! You were her therapist. You had been working with her every fucking day.”
“I wasn’t her parent!” she yelled back.
“No, you aren’t!” I stepped forward. How dare she judge me? She knew nothing of my life. She ran away from hers. I stayed, protecting those I cared about, those who mattered the most to me. Everything I did, I did to protect my husband and daughter.
“I left for her!”
“Bullshit! She needed you to be present. She needed her father. Did Dante tell you how she cried for days?”
“Dr. Jefferson—” I growled, trying to rein in my temper.
“Fuck you, Danny!” Melissa stepped forward. “Fuck all of you! Goddamn bikers. You don’t think of anyone but yourself.” She spun around, pointing at everyone before she turned back on me again. “I told you how important you were to her therapy. I explained how integral you and Dante were to her healing. You didn’t fucking care!”
Balling my fist tight, I seethed, “Don’t tell me I don’t fucking care. I was trying to save the whole goddamn world.”
“It’s not your job to save the world. Dante and Dani are your fucking world. They should come first!”
“IT WAS ALL FOR THEM!” I roared, my anger now set free. Fuck this bitch! Who the hell did she think she was? She was nothing but a therapist. A fucking babysitter. If someone didn’t get this bitch away from me fast, I was going to lose my shit.
“That’s always the excuse, isn’t it? I did it for them. I left them to keep them safe.”
“That’s exactly why I fucking left. You don’t know what I went through for them. You don’t know what I had to sacrifice,” I snarled.
“Sacrifice?” Melissa scoffed. “Sacrifice means putting them first. It means giving up your own dreams, your own life, to make sure theirs is everything it can be. You don’t walk away from them in the name of sacrifice.”
“Missy, please, let Danny explain,” Haizley pleaded, trying to calm the irate woman.
“Explain what? What could he possibly say other than, oh wait, Fucking. Club. Business.” She pulled away from Haizley. “Isn’t that the standard line?” she asked, looking around the room as no one said shit while she continued her tirade. “Where were you, Danny? ‘Club business.’ What were you doing, Danny? ‘Club business.’ When are you coming home, Danny? ‘Club fucking business.’ Fuck your club. And fuck you for putting the club before your family. It’s always the same fucking line, isn’t it, Gunner?”
