Women are a scary breed. I have seen first-hand how women can be pernicious and venomous, like my mother. My walls are built thick with vile scars, but having it thrown at Dani like that is the first time I've felt regret. Getting through those walls might be more than I’m willing to give; and more than Dani is willing to handle.
It's quiet when we pull up to the clubhouse. Most of the boys are at home with their Ol’ Ladies.
When we walk in, Bull is at the bar with Hawk, our treasurer. Hawk is older than dirt and has been around here longer than any of us. Always chimes in with how the world is shit today, and back then he had to walk through snow both ways, kind of bull shit. We have to sit there and listen to the old bastard in respect, but man, is he an asshole.
Bull gets up and heads straight toward Dani, inspecting her for any scratches or wounds. No doubt if the club princess had even a scratch on her pretty head, it would be my ass.
“You alright, Darlin'?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was a little scary, but I’m fine.” You can tell in her voice she's trying to be tough, but deep down she is scared as shit.
“I couldn’t fit her or her mom’s shit in my saddle bags; might send Charlie over to get it in the truck.”
“I'll send someone over in the morning. I don’t want whoever that was to come back around and have one of my men in there packing. Let’s go figure this bullshit out; we can catch the rest of the boys up in the morning.” He runs his hand over his scruffy face. He always does this when he's trying to figure shit out.
“Where’s my mom?” Dani asks, looking around the room. We haven’t seen her mother for hours; I'm curious where the bitch is as well.
“She was shootin' the shit with some of the girls; drank a little more than she could handle. She’s in the room she was staying in at the end of the hall. Old girl can’t handle the booze like she used to, that’s for sure,” Bull chuckles to himself.
Dani’s emerald eyes go hollow with a lost look, a look she often gets when Bull speaks of Lady. The woman he talks about and the woman we see are completely different. I think it fucks with Dani; she doesn’t really know who her mother is. At least I know my mother is a piece of shit.
It is killing me not to touch Dani; to comfort her in some way. What the hell am I thinking? Fuck! The pull she has on me scares the shit out of me. Bull always says, this life is not meant for women. Pick your women carefully and tread lightly around them when it comes to club business. Poor Dani hasn't been treated lightly; she’s been thrown deep down in club shit. I want to protect her; from the club and from myself. Bull has a saying, passed down from his pops, he tells all of us often. “Lust like a saint, trust like a sinner.” I remember how confused Bobby and I were when he told us that the first time. He made us ponder on it for awhile, but it still made no fucking sense. Bull eventually told us, 'Lust like a saint', means nobody is as good as they seem, even saints. And 'trust like a sinner', means trust nobody because nobody will trust the sinner you are. Something I need to remember often around Dani.
“This...“ Bull pauses, trying to choose his words carefully, “what happened tonight... she’s going to go through the roof,” he finishes, exasperated. No doubt Dani's mom will freak out; who knows what she'll do. I don’t trust the bitch, I know that.
“She doesn’t need to know,” Dani says, with such force that it shocks me. “We can make up a reason we need to be here, instead of the safe house.” Maybe she has a little more fire under her ass than we take her for.
Bull laughs; hell, we all laugh. “My daughter. I think there is some Devil's Dust in there after all. Lying to your momma, making me proud and shit.” Bull has the biggest, goofy-assed grin I have ever seen on his ugly face. I swear if that shit smile widened anymore his face would crack.
Truth is, as angelic as Dani looks, I can see the darkness that runs through her veins swimming around like meat-eating sharks, waiting to be released. If I can see it, I'm sure her mother can too. Explains a lot about why her mother sheltered her from the rogue life for so long, but even I know you can only trap a darkness, a beast for so long. Of course, the darkness that swims in Dani's DNA pool seems like a minnow compared to the rest of us, to me.
“Go get some sleep. You're safe here, Darlin'. We will figure out who those assholes are.” Bull treads lightly, giving Dani a kiss on her forehead. I want to put my lips on that angelic face, too. I can think of a couple of places where I want to put my lips on that knock-out body of hers. I sigh heavily in defeat; the attraction I have for Dani is exhausting.
“What then? I mean after you find out who is responsible?” she asks, snapping me from my daze. Bull stands there with his back to us, rubbing his face again.