Page 15 of Rattler’s Revelation (Demon Dawgs MC: Las Vegas #6)

“We know you didn’t go to jail, or you wouldn’t be a cop. Did Rafe protect you?” I ask.

“Yes, and no. The little girl I rescued backed my story. She told the cops that I saved her life and told her I was going back to help her parents. The prosecutor didn’t press charges after I agreed to tell them everything I knew about the men.

The cops were able to arrest everyone, except Tommy.

I don’t know what happened to him. My guess is he left town that night. He probably knew I’d turn on them.”

“What happened to the little girl?” Bianca asks.

“She went to live with her aunt and uncle. I tried to see her, but she doesn’t want anything to do with me. I can’t say I blame her. After all, who wants a visit from the man who reminds her of the worst night of her life?”

“I’m sorry,” Bianca says, but Randy shakes his head.

“Nothing to be sorry about. She’s living her life and doing well.

I keep track of her. She just got her driver’s license, so I see her driving around town.

She works at a Starbucks near the police station.

My partner goes there to get us coffee. He’s developed a semi-friendship with her so he can keep me updated.

He asks her how she’s doing in a casual way, and she gives him some basic updates.

I know she’s happy and doing well in school.

She has plans to attend UNLV, so I’m putting money away to help her when the time comes. ”

“That’s sweet of you,” Bianca says.

“Sweet?” Randy says with a grimace. “No. It’s just plain guilt.”

“Doesn’t sound like you have anything to feel guilty about,” I say. “You didn’t hurt her or her parents. If you had known what they had planned, you would have stopped them. You need to stop blaming yourself for a mistake you made at a difficult time in your life.”

Bianca looks at me with gratitude. While I don’t want to cause Randy additional pain, his story isn’t complete. He knows more, I can feel it. “You said you hung out with them. Did you ever meet any other members besides the ones you mentioned?” I ask.

Randy nods. “Tommy took me out to their compound once. It wasn’t much back then, just an old farmhouse, a barn, and a couple of sheds. He said they had big plans to develop the place into a stronghold.”

Now we’re getting somewhere. “Do you know where it is?”

He shakes his head. “Tommy made me ride with a hood over my head. I didn’t get a good look at my surroundings when he pulled it off. They’re in a gully of sorts. There are outcroppings surrounding it and hiding it from view.”

“They’re in a gully? That doesn’t seem too bright. They’ve boxed themselves in.”

“That’s what I thought. There is only one road in, or at least that I could see. They might have an escape route out the back, though. Tommy hustled me into the farmhouse before I could get a good look around.”

“What did you see inside?”

“Guns. Hundreds of them. They had Nazi and Confederate War crap all over their walls. I met their leader. Tommy called him Wade.”

Even though I was expecting it, hearing my uncle’s name creates a ball of nausea in my stomach. I fight against the rising panic to keep my expression calm. Outside, I’m a strong and stoic man. Inside, though, I’m a terrified child trapped in a nightmare of pain and humiliation.

“Rattler? What’s wrong?” Bianca asks. I blink my eyes open to see her beautiful orbs staring into mine. She has both her hands on my face as she speaks soothingly.

“You’ve gone a little green, man,” Randy says across from me. “What happened? What did I say?”

I gently remove Bianca’s hands before brushing my palm over her hair to make sure she knows I’m not pushing her away. Thinking of my uncle makes my skin crawl, and I can’t stand someone touching me with that bastard in my head.

“I’m sorry. Just bad memories,” I assure them. “So, is there anything else you can tell us about the compound?”

Bianca and Randy share a look before they turn similar looks back in my direction. The stubborn set of their expressions tells me they aren’t going to let me gloss over my reaction. Well, shit.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say stubbornly.

“You don’t trust us? After we both bared our worst secrets with you, you don’t trust us enough to do the same?”

I shake my head, but stop when I see the hurt on Bianca’s face. “It isn’t that I don’t trust you. Please, don’t think that. I can’t talk about this. I just can’t.”

“Have you talked to anyone?” Randy asks, quietly.

I shake my head. Bianca reaches over to wipe away a tear that I didn’t know had fallen.

Well, shit. There goes my manly persona.

I’m sitting at a picnic table sobbing like the child I once was.

The pain and loneliness are overwhelming.

I want to move and get away from here. I want to get up and run away from the two people looking at me with concern.

No one knows my secret. At least no one I care about.

There is only one man who knows. He knows because he’s the cause of my greatest shame.

“Shit, I need a drink,” I murmur.

“You need to unburden yourself,” Randy says. “Let us share your burden, just like you shared ours.”

“I never told anyone that story,” Bianca says. “I was too ashamed, but I trusted you and Randy. You can trust us. Can’t you feel it? There’s a bond growing between the three of us. Trust that bond.”

I study Bianca’s beautiful face as I consider her words.

Is there a bond? I was attracted to her the first time we met.

Has it only been twenty-four hours? It wasn’t just attraction, though; there was a connection.

I knew then I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from getting to know her better.

I wanted a bond with her. Even when she seemed interested in Randy, I hadn’t felt jealous.

Why is that? Why didn’t I feel jealous? I turn my attention to the man and consider the question, realizing I know the answer.

I’d felt a similar connection with him. I hadn’t felt jealous because I didn’t see him as a rival, but more as a partner.

Hadn’t he already put it into words when he told me to take care of ‘our girl’?

“This is hard for me,” I admit.

“We can see that,” Randy says. “It’s why we’re here. We’re here to support you. You can trust us.”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before fighting the fear that is keeping my mouth shut. “The man you met, Wade Turner, he’s my uncle. He’s also the man who raped me when I was five and who continued to rape me until I was a teenager.”

Bianca gasps. Randy growls. Neither interrupts. I spare a glance at both, searching for disgust, or worse, pity. Bianca grasps my hand with hers even as Randy covers both of ours with his. Once again, we’re connected.

“I don’t think my father knew. At least I don’t remember him being around when Wade assaulted me.

I got upset whenever I saw Wade. I would throw a fit whenever my dad said he had to leave me with Wade.

When Wade realized I was close to telling my dad what was happening, Wade threatened to kill me if I didn’t keep my mouth shut. You know how it goes.”

Bianca and Randy nod. “The standard MO for an abuser,” Randy says.

“Yeah. I hated that man, but I was too scared to fight back. He’d tie me up so he could have easy access.

He gagged me so I couldn’t scream. This went on for years until I finally broke down and told my dad.

He called me a liar, but he never made me stay with Wade again.

I think he believed me, but lacked the courage to face his brother.

Dad never treated me the same after that.

He pretty much ignored me from that day forward.

It’s probably why he didn’t realize I was around when he offered to sell Viper to pay off his debts.

As soon as I heard him threaten to give the bastard her location, I took off looking for her.

I finally found her in Vegas. I don’t know why I thought I could rescue her when I couldn’t even rescue myself. ”

“Don’t,” Randy snaps. “I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself for what that bastard did to you. You were a kid. From what I’ve heard from Rafe, you protected Viper. You came to Vegas, found your sister, and protected her. That makes you a hero.”

“It does,” Bianca adds. “I don’t know the story about you and Viper.

I’d like to hear it sometime. You saved yourself, and look at you now.

You’re an amazing man who has made something of his life.

You have friends who care about you. Not just Randy and me, but your brothers at the club.

The Old Ladies think you’re wonderful, and those kids?

They adore you. It takes a great man to earn the love of children.

You are a great man. I’m proud to have you in my life. ”

“Ditto,” Randy adds.