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“Why?” Haizley asked, and I wondered the same thing. What did he have to be angry about?

“I’m angry that the woman I trusted to take care of my husband and daughter when I left can’t shut her fucking mouth long enough to actually listen to why I left and what happened!”

“How long does it take to say the words ‘club business,’Danny?”

“Missy, stop it,” Haizley chastised. “Both of you are acting like children. Neither one of you wants to see this from the other person’s side and you have Dante caught in the middle of your bullshit.”

Haizley took a deep breath.

“Let’s start over. I am going to ask the questions, and you are going to answer them. Only when I ask you. Practice some self-control and do not interrupt.”

“Missy, what did Danny lie to you about?”

“He said he was committed to his family. Only he walked away. He told me they were prepared to uproot their entire lives to be where their daughter needed to be, because nothing was more important than Dani’s healing. And less than two weeks later, he was gone without a word.”

“Danny, would you like to respond?”

Danny sat in the chair, his eyes on the table. The room was quiet while we waited for him to answer.

“Melissa’s right. I did say I was committed to my family, and uprooting our lives for our daughter is something we are still prepared to do. I didn’t lie about that. Going to New York wasn’t something that was planned or something that could be avoided.”

When I opened my mouth to make another snarky comment, Haizley glared at me, and I quickly shut it. Danny brought out the worst in me, and I knew why. He had the power to ruin my life. It wasn’t just Dani. I loved Dante, too. He had become a good friend, and I didn’t want to lose either of them.

“The truth is, the woman I went after has been trying to destroy the world for decades. She had to be stopped, and I thought I could do it.”

“You were selfish.” I couldn’t stop myself from uttering the words.

“How does wanting my family to be safe make me selfish?”

“What were you trying to do? How did you plan to stop her? I assume this was the woman responsible for the hell Dante went through? For the abduction of Dani? What was your plan, Danny?”

“I can’t tell you that,” he mumbled.

I shook my head. I didn’t yell; I didn’t scream. It was pointless. We were at an impasse. Danny and I would never see things the same way. He would always put the club before his family.

“Dante, you’re quiet,” Haizley said. “Anything you want to add?”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Of course.” Haizley smiled.

“Melissa, tell me about Gunner.”

My head turned quickly to look at Dante. “What?”

“Tell me about Gunner. What happened?” Dante asked again.

“We are here to talk about Dani. Not me and my brother.”

“Missy, is it possible you’re projecting your anger at your brother onto Danny? Could your feelings about being abandoned by him in regard to the club be why you are so angry at Danny?”

I glared at my best friend. “We promised never to shrink each other. This has nothing to do with my brother.”

“I think maybe it does,” Danny murmured.

“Fuck you, Danny.”

“Melissa.” Dante’s quiet voice broke through my anger.