AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The only thing I know about her is that she used to do drugs with Catie. I'd appreciate any other information you can give me, Dax,” Arrow said, cutting to the chase.
“I know she's gone through a lot in her life. Catie said they were best friends. Emilee was there when the cartel kidnapped Catie but ran off instead of getting her help.”
“Ouch. That had to feel like a betrayal.”
“From what I could gather from their exchange at The Citadel, Emilee was high as a kite when it happened. But Catie isn't willing or maybe she's not ready, to forgive her.”
“Jay was okay with her becoming a member after that?”
“Yeah. She's been clean for two years. Part of our membership criteria is yearly drug testing. However, becauseof her past, Jay wrote a new contract up for her. The contract requires monthly hair follicle and urine testing. She's been clean since she joined last year. She is respectful and follows the rules. Jay made it very clear she wouldn't get a second chance. Screw up once and she was gone.”
“Good. Keeps her on the straight and narrow.”
“You know how particular Jay is about the safety of the club. It's not right to keep people out because they have an issue with another member, as long as they can both remain respectful and safe. Now, if either of them was to cause another scene or do something to jeopardize another member's safety...” Although he knew Dax couldn’t see it, Arrow nodded.
“Were you the one to run her background check?” Arrow asked. All members of The Citadel had background checks run on them as a screening before they could join.
“I was. Her official background check came back mostly clean with a couple of misdemeanor charges for petty theft, prostitution and drugs. During her interview, she was forthcoming with not only admitting to the crimes but also her repentance towards them. I was there for the interview, Arrow. She truly seems to have changed. I'm hopeful for her continued recovery. Sam hired her over at Renewed Hope recently as well. She called about her background check for the job.”
“What aren't you telling me?” There was something more, something deeper behind Dax's words.
“Look, when I tell you she had a hard life--”
“Spit it out, Dax.”
“Jay dug into her background deeper than a simple police check. Her family was murdered her freshman year in college.”
“Murdered?” That got his attention.
“A home invasion gone wrong. From what I can tell, her father woke up and confronted one of the perps. Emilee’s father was armed and aimed the handgun at the perp, notseeing the other one down the hall. The second perp shot and killed Emilee's father. The shots woke up Emilee's mother and teenage sister. They came running into the hallway and... the investigators presume the women lost their lives because they could identify the killers. In one night, Emilee lost her entire world. Both sets of grandparents were already deceased. She has a few uncles and aunts but not anyone she was super close to. Her great grandmother was already on the decline. Within a year of losing her son, her great grandmother also died. Her father was an Army Ranger, and Emilee grew up as an Army Brat. She’s lived all over the country, away from her bio family. She spiraled after her great grandmother died... dropped out of college, got in with the wrong crowd. Drugs were her way to escape the pain. From what we could tell from past social media posts, her parents adored her. She and her sister were only a year apart, and they were best friends.”
Fuck.
That poor girl.
“How long ago was that?”
“Coming up on a decade now,” Dax told him.
“Were the bastards ever caught?”
“No. They were good at what they did, there was no DNA evidence at the scene whatsoever.”
“She never got justice,” Arrow said.
“No. She's never gotten justice. From what I can tell, she's not had a lot of support or love in her life since.”
After asking a few more questions, Arrow hung up the phone. He wasn't one to judge anyone for their past, and it felt like Emilee made her past mistakes out of desperation. As a former Air Commando, he knew he'd done a thing or two in combat that would be considered crossing the line. Now, as an active officer of a motorcycle club, he'd been involved in a bunch of morallygray shit, but he'd do it all again. If his actions could protect the innocent...
Arrow thought about the information Dax had just given him. The sadness and pain behind her eyes now made sense. He'd seen Emilee at the last DDLG playdate at The Citadel. He'd taken Makenzie when Irish was out of town on business. While Makenzie hung out with her friends, Emilee played mostly by herself, although he'd noticed Makenzie tried to engage her. Emilee had been hesitant to accept.
Emilee was a good decade younger than him if not more, with dark, almost black hair and the deepest blue eyes he'd ever seen. He'd noticed the scars on her arms, the evidence of previous drug use, and recognized the obvious failed attempt at suicide with the jagged scar across her wrist. There was a depth of sadness in the girl's eyes and it had shaken him to the core. She was short and curvy. At six foot four, Arrow preferred taller women. The shortest woman he'd dated in recent years was five foot eight and that had seemed small to him. Emilee was pocket size. And, he had a thing for blondes, which she most definitely was not.
He wondered if she was playing with the DDLG lifestyle or if it was something she was interested in. There were plenty of Daddies in Grand Ridge to go around, including almost every member of The Watchmen. He himself was a Daddy, but unlike his closest friends, he was a strict Daddy. He thought both Lucky and Irish were incredibly too easy on their Littles. A fact he hadn't been silent about. Makenzie had balked at the idea of Arrow taking her to the playdate, preferring Savage, because she had Savage wrapped around her little finger. But, Savage was with Irish on the mission and it was Arrow or stay home. Makenzie begrudgingly accepted his supervision and confessed when he took her home that, “Uncle Arrow you ain't so bad after all,” before kissing his cheek.
Arrow scrolled through his phone for a few more minutes before putting it aside and finally, after a long day, fell asleep. It didn't last long. Arrow stirred from his sleep, his senses alert to the sound of Emilee's distressed cries echoing through the quiet of the night. His heart pounded in his chest as he sat up in bed, letting his eyes adjust to the dark.
Hearing her screams grow more desperate, he bounded out of bed and rushed next door to the guest room. He pushed open the door and rushed to her bedside. Fear contorted Emilee's features.
