Tangled in a Web of Lies (17 page)

***

My head hurts, and my stomach feels like I did some serious abdomen exercises yesterday. I open my eyes, and everything is a fog. I quickly realize I’m not at home. I glance around, I’m in the hospital.
What the fuck?

I startle when a figure moves next to me, jumping out of my skin. It’s Shannon, and she looks almost as shocked to see me as I am her. Then I start to remember things. The doctor’s office, the fight... I cringe.
Oh God. I fucked up!

“How you feel?” asks Shannon.

“Like shit.” Like I should be dead. “Why are you here?”

I don’t mean to be rude, but after the fight Odin and I had, it doesn’t make sense that she’s here. Unless she came to finish what I started. How did I get here anyway?

“Odin asked me to stay. I don’t know why, but he’s been glued to your bedside since he brought you here.”

I gape at her.
He brought me here? He found me
? That means he came back. Why would he come back for me?

“Listen sweetheart, I don’t know why you did what you did. But a woman’s intuition is usually right, so whatever your reason, I’m sure it’s good. My intuition tells me you’re hiding more than a pregnancy. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on.”

I stare up at the ceiling through watery eyes, biting my lip. I don’t know what to do. I’ve lied my way into a corner, so tangled in my own web I’m suffocating.

“If anyone can keep a secret, it’s me. I’ve been in this club my whole life. I could bury half the members with the things I know, and I plan to take my secrets to the grave. But right now, you’re looking pretty bad. You don’t have a lot of options other than to come clean.” Shannon is absolutely right.

I got an abortion behind Odin’s back, he thinks I cheated on him and I tried to kill myself. I guess I do have some explaining to do.

I turn my head to look at Shannon. She has the eyes of someone who’s holding back a lifetime of secrets. Fuck it, what choice do I have?

“When Odin went to Chicago, Jaime got out of jail. I went home to get some things so I could stay with someone. When I got there, Rick and Jaime were waiting inside my house. They raped me, and threatened to kill me. I didn’t want Odin to find out, didn’t want him to get hurt. I knew he’d fly into a rage, and I didn’t want to be responsible for that, so I left. But it’s just like you said, sometimes two people just can’t stay apart. So I lied. Then when we were on lock down, I found out I was pregnant. Obviously, I couldn’t keep the fucking baby. I thought I could get away with hiding it.” I have to laugh at myself. It’s not until I’ve said it out loud that I realize just how ridiculous this plan was from the start.

Shannon is shocked. She stands up, wrapping her arms around me. She tells me it’s not my fault, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. Odin thinks I’m a whore who aborted his baby behind his back.

“You did the right thing not telling him. You’re right, he probably would have done something bad. But, you should have come to me sooner. I would have helped you,” Shannon says, stoking her fingers through my hair.

“You got a magic time machine?” I shoot out sarcastically. I take a deep breath. “I was scared. I’m still scared,” I admit. I’ve been terrified the last six weeks, constantly watching over my back every second I’m alone, waiting for Rick to decide to come finish me. Being close to Odin, I knew my life was safe, but there was still the constant anxious fear that he’d discover the truth somehow.The door opens, startling me. I’m afraid to see Odin standing in the doorway, but it’s just a nurse and Shannon rudely tells her to get lost.

“How did Odin find out about the baby?”

I shrug. “I have no idea. I told him I was having a cyst removed. Someone at the clinic must have said something to him. When we got home he knew. He told me he hated me, and he left. I don’t blame him. This,” I gesture to the IV in my arm, “is my fault.”

“We’re going to fix this.” Shannon takes her seat beside me, taking my hand in hers once more.

“I want to fix it. I want Odin to know I didn’t cheat on him. And I want him to know I didn’t abort his baby because I don’t love him.” My voice is shaking as I say this. There’s no worse feeling than knowing that Odin is still out there, feeling that pain and not knowing why.

“We need to tell Micah what happened. Let him take care of it. Then you’re going to have to come clean to Odin. It’s going to hurt, but it’s no worse than what he’s feeling now.”

I nod, Shannon is right.

“What will Micah do?”

“Jaime’s not a Bandit anymore. Taking care of him should be easy. I don’t know what he’ll do about Rick. But Micah is smart. He’ll take care of it. You can trust him, I promise.”

Trust. It’s a hard concept for me, especially now. But really, I don’t have any other options. Right now, I’d do just about anything to see Jaime Mosley dead. I nod at Shannon, letting her know I’m willing to go along with her plan.

Shannon tells me how sorry she is for me, but I just shrug my shoulders. What’s done is done, and no one can take it back. Knowing Shannon is willing to stand by me, and has a plan to try and make it right, makes me feel better than I have in a long time. As much as I dread having to tell Odin the truth, I’m relieved not to have to carry it around myself any more.

“I wanna go home,” I tell her, deeply regretting my decision that landed me here.

“I’ll go check and see what’s up with that.” Shannon excuses herself, leaving her purse in her chair. I reach over and dig for her phone in her purse. I’m not terribly surprised to find a gun in there. I use her phone to text Kelli, let her know I’m up, and I’m okay. I ask her to bring me some clothes. Then I sneak the phone back into Shannon’s purse and set it back in the chair.

Shannon comes back with a social worker. Shannon looks irritated. She takes her purse, while the social worker makes it quite clear to me that I won’t be going home any time soon.

“There’s a mandatory 24 hour hold. And I’m suggesting that you be released to a mental help center for at least 30 days. You obviously have some issues that you need help working through.”

“This was an accident,” I plead, desperate not to be locked up in a nut house.

“I wasn’t born yesterday.” The social worker is a quirky bitch. My blood boils, as I contemplate jumping out of this bed and strangling her. Just then Shannon kicks the door shut behind her, and pulls a gun on the social worker.
Fucking great!

Shannon moves toward her, as she clutches her clip board in her hand.

“I don’t want to shoot you,” Shannon says to her.

“If you do you’ll go to jail!” says the social worker, nervously trying to hold her ground.

Shannon smiles. “It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Although, with the judges I have in my pocket, I’m sure I wouldn’t go away for long.”

Even I’m not sure if Shannon is bluffing.

“Do you know who I am?” Shannon asks, calmly holding the gun at her side, aimed carefully at the social worker.

“Not a very good person.”

I have to hand it to the girl, even at gunpoint, she remains quirky.

“You’re right about that. I’m a very dangerous woman, you know why? Because I’m married to a very dangerous man.” Shannon reaches forward, flipping the social worker’s name tag. “Tabitha Brown. I could have a hit out on you in seconds. Do you have kids?”

Tabitha is silent, an obvious yes.

“If you want to be able to sleep safe and sound with those babies tonight, I suggest you listen closely. Lila is going home tomorrow. So go sign whatever paperwork you need. And if you even think about calling security, I’ll make sure your kids never make it home from school!”

Even I am gaping at Shannon as she threatens this poor lady’s kids.

“See you tomorrow Lila. I’ll send the boys to pick you up. Make sure Tabitha here doesn’t try anything cute.” Shannon tucks the gun back into her purse before excusing herself. Once the door is shut behind her, Tabitha lets out a huge sigh of relief, doubling over and grabbing her stomach.

“Sorry about that. She can be kind of a loose cannon.” I try an offer some words of comfort.

“I’m beginning to understand why you tried to kill yourself,” she shoots back rudely.

“You’re right. I’m in a lot of shit, and it’s stressful. But you don’t have to climb in this boat with me. Just sign the paperwork and they’ll leave you alone.”

“Do you really think she can hurt my kids?”

I stare at her dumbly with a what-do-you-think glare. I don’t honestly think Shannon would hurt a child, but I want to go home.

Kelli stops by after work. I’m so glad to see her. She hugs me, and I can tell she wants to slap me for being so stupid and almost killing myself. She tries not to tell me as much, even though it goes against her moral code not to express her opinion. She brought me clothes and food, and I immediately get changed. Then we sit and eat, and Kelli lets me have it.

“What the fuck would I have done if Odin never found you? I’d be standing over your grave crying my eyes out, wishing I would have told someone about Jaime.” Kelli is quite obviously shaken up. I get where she’s coming from.

“I told Shannon. Don’t tell anyone! I don’t know what’s going to happen to Jaime,” I tell her. Kelli’s two blue eyes are wide as she stares at me.

“Good for you. I hope he fucking rots in hell!” she says, and I fully agree with her.

“You should have seen Odin when he brought you here. He was so fucked up Lila. I think he loves you.” It’s sick, but it feels good knowing that Odin was in bad shape over me.

“He told me he loved me.”

“What! Why didn’t you tell me that? That’s awesome!” Kelli seems ecstatic, which is strange because I always thought she was tolerating Odin for me, but didn’t really like him.

All this talk of Odin makes me miss him so much it hurts. I can’t wait to get the fuck out of here and figure all this out.  Kelli lets me use her phone to text him.

{Hey, it’s Lila. I just want to tell you I’m okay. I’m so sorry, I know I fucked up. I’m not mad at you either, I don’t blame you for what you said. I want to talk when I get out. But I don’t want to see you until then. Please don’t come to the hospital, I’ll call you when I’m out.}- Kelli.

We sit together until after dark, watching the TV in my room and talking mad shit on the entire Mosley family. Since Kelli is dressed in her scrubs still, no one seems to realize she’s here past visiting hours, and they leave us alone.

It seems like it takes forever for me to get out of the hospital the next morning. Micah shows up with Cole and Damien, but no sign of Shannon. I’m not too surprised after what she pulled on the social worker yesterday.  They each give me a big hug. Tabitha is clearly all nerves when she comes in to find three big bikers tattooed from head to toe standing in my room. She’s quiet as she has me sign all the release papers, and informs us it will be just a few more minutes.

“Do I have blood on me?” Cole asks, wondering why Tabitha was so nervous around him.

“No. But your mom pulled a gun on her yesterday,” I tell them.

“What?” Micah seems pissed.

I shrug. “She wanted to put me in a nut house,” I explain.

“Do you need some kind of therapy or something?” he asks point blank.

“What I need is revenge, to be able to tell Odin the truth, and to start over. Think a therapist can give me all that?”

I’m already dressed, sitting on the side of my bed, and Micah asks Damien and Cole to wait outside. Then Micah takes a seat in the chair and pulls it up close to me.

“Shannon told me some pretty disturbing shit about what happened when Odin went to Chicago. I want to tell you first that I’m sorry. We should have known something like this would happen, and pushed to take Jaime out a little harder when we had the chance,” says Micah, reaching out and putting his hand on my knee.

I shake my head. “No one saw it coming. Even I wouldn’t have thought Jaime was capable of such a thing. I feel stupid now. You’re right, I should have seen it coming.” I try not to look Micah in the eye, casting my gaze instead at the floor. I’m almost embarrassed at how severely I underestimated Jaime, and about all the lies I told trying to cover up what he did to me.

“I know this is hard on you doll, I can’t even imagine. But unfortunately, I’m gonna need to hear exactly what happened from you, before I can do anything about it. Every detail, anything you can remember.”

I look Micah in the eye, and take a deep breath. Coming clean to Shannon was easy, being that she is a woman. But there is something terribly uncomfortable about telling Micah. He moves his hand along my knee, rubbing my outer thigh, trying to comfort me.

I brace my arms around myself, and try to feel numb toward the disgust I feel when I relive what happened that night.

“I went home to get some things to stay at Kelli’s. Their bikes were out back, I didn’t see them. I came inside, and Rick was sitting at the table drinking. Before I could run, Jaime grabbed me by my hair, and pulled me into the living room. Rick held me down and Jaime pulled a gun on me. He said he’d shoot me if I wasn’t still.”

Jaime’s evil green eyes burn in the back of my head as every detail comes haunting back to me.

“Jaime pulled my pants off. I begged him to not to, but Rick pulled his gun out, and stuffed it into my mouth. He said they were going to teach me a lesson about being a rat. They blamed me for Jaime getting in trouble with the club. They must have figured out that I was the one who told Odin about Sergio.”

I avoid looking at Micah, feeling ashamed.

“Jaime raped me, at first with his gun.” I can still remember the awful way it felt, my insides being torn by the jagged metal edges of the gun. “Rick put his hand on my throat and started chocking me. He had his knees on my arms, pinning me down.”

I place my hand over the top of my arm. The only visible bruise they’d left is healed now, but in my head the wound will always be fresh.

“Jaime said he was going to fuck me, the way I fucked him, and that he wanted it to hurt. Rick jerked off, laughing while he watched Jaime tear into me. I almost passed out. But I remember Rick blowing his disgusting fucking load all over my face, and spitting on me. When they were done he made it really clear that he’d come back and kill me if I ever said anything about it.”

Micah’s grip on my leg tightens, letting me know he’s affected by my confession. I look into his eyes, and I can see the pain reflected in them, like he’s feeling part of the blame for what Jaime did.

“Rick said he’d kill Odin, if he tried anything. I was afraid Odin would end up dead or in jail, so I told him I wanted some space.  I thought my best move was to just get away, but I love him.”

“You did the right thing not telling him,” Micah says, taking my hand. I know how deeply Odin cares about me, and it kills me knowing how much all this has hurt him.

I roll my eyes. Obviously whatever I did wasn’t the right thing, look how we ended up.

“Did you tell anyone what happened that night?”

“I told Kelli, a few weeks ago. And she was the only one who knew I was pregnant.”

“That’s good,” Micah reassures me. “Jaime Mosley is a pussy, and a traitor to this club. The only reason he isn’t dead is because his old man is a senior member. Tonight, that changes. I’m sorry it had to be like this. But it’d be a lie to say I’m not happy to finally have what I need to put his ass in the ground.” Micah is seething with anger, I can see it behind his eyes, but he does well to remain calm.

“What about Rick? He’s gonna put it together.”

“You let me worry about that. You’d be surprised what a man blinded by rage might fail to see.”

I nod, and just then, a new nurse comes in with my release papers all ready to go. Micah steps into the hall, and I can see him whisper in Cole’s ear. Cole’s eyes widen, and his horrified gaze catches mine. That’s when I know, that Cole knows. Then it hits me, it’s only a matter of time before I have to tell Odin. I grab my things, and walk out of the room to where the boys are standing. To my surprise, Cole wraps his arms around me, embracing me in a tight hug.

I wrap my arms around him, and he whispers in my ear.

“I’m glad you’re okay. You’re a strong bitch.”

“Thanks,” I say skeptically, giving him a strange glance before he leaves.

“I got some things I got to work out. Damien is going to give you a ride to my place. Once I have things sorted out, I’ll pick up Odin and head to the house.”

It’s a good thing I don’t have much, because I have to ride on the back of Damien’s motorcycle back to Micah and Shannon’s place.

Devil’s Cut

Micah has instructed Cole to find Jaime. Once he finds him, he is to tail him wherever he goes. Micah heads straight to Felix’s house. Felix is home, along with his son Jr. Micah politely asks how Nikko is doing and Jr. tells him Nikko should be out soon.

“Glad to hear it,” says Micah with a smile. When he gets a minute with Felix, he tells him he needs a minute of his time alone. Felix gets rid of Jr. and grabs to beers from the fridge, leading Micah into the garage.

“So what’s this about?” asks Felix, taking a swig of his beer.

“I want to send Jaime Mosley to hell.” Micah’s voice is firm, unmoving.

“That makes two of us. But we need a probable cause to sink another member’s son into the dirt.”

“I found something out today. Let’s just say I have enough to put that final nail in the coffin.”

Micah has Felix’s full attention.

“I found out that Jaime raped Odin’s girlfriend.”

“Lila?” Felix is stunned.

Micah nods.

“When did you find this out?”

“Today. Lila is in the hospital. Took the poor bitch almost killing herself to finally admit to Shannon what the fuck happened to her.”

“Did you go talk to her?”

“Yeah. Said the night Jaime got out of jail, he and Rick attacked her in her house. Raped her, and threatened her life.”

“You believe her?” asks Felix in all seriousness, nursing a bottle of beer.

“Yeah man, I do. In fact, after a lot of the shit that’s been going down between her and Odin, it actually makes perfect fucking sense.”

Felix takes another large drink from his bottle. “Any witnesses?”

“Lila says she told Crank’s old lady a week or so after it happened.”

Felix shrugs. The word of another old lady isn’t exactly standing evidence. But, Felix has wanted Jaime dead since he was caught dealing with the Kings.

“Does Odin know?” asks Felix.

Micah shakes his head, no.

“Oh shit! This is fixing to be one hell of an execution.”

“There’s more, but this shit stays between me and you,” says Micah. Felix shakes his head, agreeing.

“Lila got pregnant, aborted the baby because there was a chance it was Jaime’s. Odin found out about the abortion, still hasn’t put it together yet, but it’s only a matter a time. We need to act quick. I want to pick Jaime up tonight! Medical records, Lila’s statement, Crank’s old lady’s statement, all I need is the vote of one more senior member. Then we don’t even have to take this shit to the table.”

“You got my vote, brother! But what about Rick?”

Micah smiles mischievously, letting Felix know he has a plan for Rick.

“Well then, I guess I should lace up my boots. Looks like it’s going to be a hell of a night,” says Felix with excitement.

The sun is setting over Santa Monica when Micah pulls up to his house on his bike. Odin is trailing along behind him. Micah parks in front of the house and checks his phone. There is a text from Cole.

{Bitch is home alone drinking. Let me know when you want me and Damien to grab his ass!}- Cole.

Odin definitely knows that something is up as he gets off his bike, and puts his helmet on his handle bars. He looks at Micah, who is having a hard time looking him in the eye.
What the fuck is going on?

“I’m gonna need your keys.” Micah holds his hand out for Odin’s bike key.

If Micah was anyone else, Odin would tell him to go fuck himself. But Odin has a lot of trust and respect for Micah, so he places his key in Micah’s hand skeptically. Once Micah puts Odin’s key in his pocket, he looks Odin in the eye, with a dark and sorrowful expression. Odin takes a deep breath, bracing himself for bad news.

“Listen son. I brought you here because there are some things you need to hear. Before you get all pissed off, I want you to know I just found out myself this morning, and I’m already working on making it right.”

Odin stares confused at Micah, a sick feeling growing inside him.

“What you’re about to learn, is going to break your heart. It’s going to make you crazy. I can’t let you do anything stupid.” Micah taps the keys in his pocket. “But I will help you make it right. And I’m sorry.” With that, Micah gestures toward the door.

Odin wants to immediately start asking questions, but when he comes in, and finds Shannon and Lila sitting at the kitchen table, his heart skips a beat. Lila out, and even though she’s ten shades of pale, she looks beautiful.

“Hey,” he says, his face lifting and the twisted knots in his stomach settling slightly. But when she smiles back at him, there is an unsettling look in her eye that shakes his core. The knots twist even tighter, and he swallows nervously. Shannon gets up from the table, and gives Odin a big hug that does nothing to calm him.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” she says with a hurt smile. She casts one more heartfelt glance at Lila before her and Micah step outside.

Nervously, Odin paces toward the table, and takes a seat next to Lila.

“What the hell is going on?”

“There’s something, I’ve been hiding from you.” Lila’s hands are shaking in her lap, and she’s nervous. Odin tries to ready himself, already feeling the magnitude of whatever horrible shit she’s about to lay on him. But Micah’s warning rings clearly in his head.

“Before I tell you what it is, I want to tell you why I lied to you.” She takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes. “When I was 14, I was raped by my school counselor. It hurt, but getting raped wasn’t the worse part. The worst part was that I went to my best friend, and I told him everything, every detail. It drove him crazy because he loved me. He put a bullet in that fucked up piece of shit counselor’s brain, and now he’s serving the next 20 years of his life in prison. He’s miserable, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I should have never told him, knowing what it would do to him. And I live with that on my conscious every day.”

There are only a couple reasons why she’d be telling him this again, and none of those reasons are something Odin wants to think about. He swallows hard, as panic sets in.
Please God, don’t let her say it. Don’t let it be true.

Lila reaches over the corner of the table and takes Odin’s hand. He gazes into her eyes. She looks more settled on the inside than she has in months. He takes her hand in both of his, stroking his thumb over her knuckles. He tries to remember to breathe as a sick feeling creeps through his veins.

“The weekend you went to Chicago, Jaime and Rick were at my house when I went to get my things to stay with someone.”

Odin’s grip on her hand tightens and his eyes widen. His jaw clenches in anger as the same sick feeling inside him seizes his stomach.
They hurt her, he knows it.

“Rick held me down, and-” her breath catches, and she puts her free hand over her face in shame. “and Jaime raped me,” she whispers.