Chapter 21

21

Sniper – Two Days Later

I slowly run my fingers through my girl's curly, red hair as she sleeps against my chest in our room at the clubhouse.

I've barely let her out of my sight. If I'm at the club, she's here, if she wants to take Autumn to the park, I ensure she just goes outside to the backyard, and if I've gone to the garage, she's been with me, hanging with Sarah, who's happy for the break because business is booming. I've finally given in to my wife's insistence to build on club property, as long as she's with me.

The club will pay for it to be built, and then the income from sale of my garage will go back to the club, so the garage will be all mine, the club only as a silent investor.

Wherever I am, my girl is right there, she has to be; otherwise, I'll lose my mind.

Aurora stirs, gripping my wife beater tighter and I squeeze her, giving her the strength to sleep comfortably. I just need my girl close right now.

She was fucking raped, held captive for a year.

Autumn was conceived through rape, that gorgeous little girl….

I squeeze my eyes shut. I don't have long until Steel arrives. Aurora begged me not to call him, but she never begged Snake. He was willing to be the bad guy for me.

His shock when we called hits me hard….

"This is Steel," he answers, and I squeeze my fists.

It's been four hours since learning the truth. My body hurts, but my heart hurts more.

I left my daughter and wife in the care of my mother while we did this.

She begged us not to call, but we needed to. I fucking need to kill the fucker who hurt my girl, I won't be able to breathe until I do….

"Steel, it's Snake," my brother answers while my father holds my shoulder. Breaker and Tats, standing on my other side, are the only other two brothers able to hold me down, along with Pitbull.

"Snake, brother, what can I do for you?" he replies, and Snake looks at me.

I nod, and he sighs, rasping, "What can you tell me about Aurora Taylor?"

Steel is quiet momentarily before he says, "I don't know an Aurora Taylor, Snake. Now, Aurora Foster, I know her, and if you mean her, and know where she is brother, I need you to fucking tell me. She's been MIA since she was seventeen. It's been nearly four years, and no one can fucking find her, including Keys. She finally contacted her dad a few hours ago but wouldn't tell him where she was or where she'd been…. Fuck, we just need to know she's okay and safe."

I open my mouth and speak up, admitting, "Aurora Foster is now Taylor. She's my wife, Steel…"

"Sniper?" he questions in confusion.

"Yeah, Steel." I sigh, running my bruised, cut hand through my hair., "I need you, Piston, Acid, and Mr. Foster to come to Huntersville, brother, and I need you to do it on the sly."

Steel's quiet momentarily before he asks, "Is she in trouble?"

I smile a little, happy he's showing he does care about her, and I admit, "Not anymore, but we need you to come here."

He agreed instantly, excited to see his ‘niece.' Snake wanted to tell him some of her trauma, but honestly, at the moment, he only needed to know she was alive and well.

I also didn't want to chance him ending Axe before I could get my hands on him.

My phone vibrates on the bedside table, indicating they're here, and Aurora stirs, wetness already building on my shirt.

I squeeze her tighter to me, rasping, "I know you didn't want this, Firecracker, but you need to understand, I'm not letting this fucker live for what he did. I can't have him breathing the same air as my wife, my daughter, my children, I just can't."

She nods, not saying anything, and I sigh, pressing my lips against her forehead, inhaling her before my door opens. I look up to see Brook. Sammy goes to greet her, and I give her a smile before gently kissing Aurora's head again, and sliding out from underneath her.

Brook takes my place instantly, and I whisper, "I'll message Brook when we're ready for you, Firecracker…."

She nods, her tears falling, whispering, "I'm still mad at you for lying to me, for basically kidnapping me."

I give her a smirk and reply, "I wouldn't expect any different from my firecracker, but know this: it can't be kidnap when we're married."

She chuckles, Brook, grinning wide, and I leave them to it as Sammy jumps on the bed, making me groan in frustration. The women laugh as I leave the room.

Fucking dog, taking my spot on the bed….

I make my way through the common room toward church, a lump forming in my throat as Momma rushes past me to my room.

A big part of me believes that Steel and them didn't know. Momma expressed how emotional Rory's dad was when she called him, and I heard the emotions in Steel's voice, but fuck, it's difficult because she was raped by one of their own, right underneath their noses.

It brings back the horror of fucking Hairy and what he did.

I walk into church with my head held high. Every eye comes my way. All the brothers are here, and with the addition of four men, it's a tight squeeze.

"Brother?" Snake questions, and I look his way. Concern flows off him, but I ignore the look and look toward Steel, his silver hair short, his icy blue eyes assessing me.

He knows I'm the laid-back brother, who likes to party and have fun, but what he's not aware of is how much I've changed she I met my girl, and how that brother doesn't exist anymore.

I look beside him to see a man who looks like my girl, bags lining his eyes, before I notice two brothers, with blond hair and green eyes.

Acid and Piston.

I stand straight and cross my arms over my chest to control my anger.

"Where's my daughter?" Bill asks with anger, and I look at him.

I keep my voice cold and state, "She's with my momma and Brook."

His nostrils flare. "You can't keep her from me; I'm her father!" He takes a step forward. "You will go back and get her now!"

Some brothers tense at his tone. Steel sighs as Pitbull and Tats flank me.

Steel, along with my brothers, can see I'm a ticking time bomb, something Bill hasn't noticed, and if he's not careful, I may take my anger out on him, since it seems he is the one who left my girl when he hadn't needed to.

Calmly, I state, "And she is my wif,e and is currently fourteen and a half weeks pregnant with twins." The eyes of the new men in this room widen, and I continue, "What we need to talk about, she does not need to relive again." I look at Steel. "My wife will be brought here after we have spoken. She's going to be emotional as it is, and I will not put her through this again."

He nods with respect when my dad speaks up and asks, "Where's Autumn?"

I give him a small smile and state, "She's with Sarah."

Dad nods, and Acid asks, "Who's Autumn?"

I look at him and state, "Mine and Rory's daughter."

The men suck in a breath while the brothers look at me with pride, and I look at my big brother more out of respect because, right now, we're not blood-related; right now, he's my Prez. He nods to continue, and I take a deep breath, looking at the men.

"My daughter is three years old." They look at me in confusion before shock overrides their features when I admit, "When Rory was seventeen, she was raped and held captive for a year. I adopted Autumn on our wedding day."

Acid shakes his head and denies, "No, no, that didn't happen…."

I cut him off and state loudly, "Not only did it happen, but for a year, she was raped and abused by someone you all know, someone you trusted."

Steel steps forward with anger and demands, all respect gone, "Spit it the fuck out, Sniper."

My brother winces while the brothers all tense, expecting me to throw hands with his tone, but all I do is tilt my head and chuckle darkly.

"I respect you, Steel, I always have, and I get it, finding out you have a traitor is hard, but right now you're in my fucking clubhouse, called here by us. We didn't have to go down this route; I could have snatched your traitor up and killed the fucker without even telling you." I take a step forward, and his eyes take in my face, taking in all the cuts and bruises my wife has scolded me for the past two days. and I nod. "Yeah, you four looking at us like we've known what my wife went through for years. Well, guess what, you're wrong. We've been together for over just a year and a half. She, not once mentioned her past, only that her father," I look at Bill, "had chosen to go on tour after promising not to," he flinches, "and that her mother had died. She refused to tell me anything else."

I shake my head and sigh. "I lied to her."

Piston steps forward, his brows furrowed, and asks, "How?"

I give him a half smile. "She expressed her disdain for MCs." His eyes widen in shock, and I nod. "Yeah. For about a month into the relationship, I didn't tell her who I was, and when I was going to, she told me she'd never date a brother."

Acid smirks despite the pain and confirms, "Let me guess, you made sure she fell for you and married her before telling her."

I shrug. "Also ensured I knocked her up to boot."

Acid nods in approval, and I sigh. "She only told me two days ago about her trauma. She'd been seeing Emily, Tats' momma, and the local counselor, before I met her. I didn't know."

Steel speaks up this time, but with more respect, seeing I'm ready to fly off the handle. He asks, "Why did she tell you now?"

I go to answer him, but my woman's angelic voice answers for me, causing me to look her way with such tenderness that I can feel it deep in my bones.

"Because I tried to abort our twins…."