Chapter One

ALIANA

I thought I’d left all this behind when I headed off to college. I was supposed to start fresh, to build my own life.

I had dreams of opening my own therapy center for survivors of trauma and abuse. But here I am, stepping back into the life of a biker’s daughter.

Don’t get me wrong, I missed my family like crazy. But I didn’t want to see ~him~ and ~her~ all wrapped up in each other.

That’s one of the main reasons I left in the first place. She got the man I wanted, and I couldn’t bear to watch them together every day for the rest of my life.

Now, I didn’t have a choice but to come back home.

I had to return for my own safety. My father and brother, however, think I’m coming home for a break and maybe even to start my center here.

My mother, on the other hand, knows the truth. I could never lie to her. She knows why I left and why I’m coming back. She said she was going to tell my father, but I begged her not to.

I wasn’t ready for him to know that his daughter was a failure.

I wasn’t ready for him to find out that I fell for his rival’s son, even if I didn’t know who he was at the time. It’s still a betrayal, and I don’t want to see the disappointment on his face when he finds out.

If they knew the truth, I would be locked away somewhere and never let out. That’s how overprotective my brother and father are.

Last I knew, my father stepped down as president and my brother took over.

He was getting older, so he stepped down and is now just the founder or someone who my brother or any of the members can come to for advice about club business.

All the original members stepped down while their sons took the reins. They deserve it though. They started Broken Angels, MC when they left the military over thirty years ago.

I always loved hearing them talk about how they started the club and why they did it. My dad was the leader of their group and that didn’t change when his squadron left after their last deployment.

There were nine of them total and they all made it out alive, but not everyone got that lucky. I’m just glad my daddy came home safely. The club is a family and I love everyone in it.

I’ve been sitting in the parking lot in front of the Broken Angels clubhouse for about thirty minutes now trying to figure out how I’m going to keep this secret from my brother and my father.

I keep checking to make sure that my bruises and cuts are still covered up. I want to put off them finding out for as long as possible. I need to get my head around it myself. I’m still not sure how I survived.

If it weren’t for my best friend, Hannah, I wouldn’t be here, but here I am, a month later, healed enough to move without collapsing.

Slowly, I get out of my car and walk up to the building and stop in front of the door to eavesdrop on the argument that’s currently taking place.

Sounds like someone and his ol’ lady are into it, which isn’t unusual here, there are plenty of men here with ol’ ladies that fight. This isn’t the first time and it sure in the hell won’t be the last time.

I lean my ear against the door, and I can hear their voices clearly. I would never be able to forget that voice for as long as I live. It’s the voice of the man that makes my body feel things that only he can make it feel.

The voice that makes my heart go from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds. The woman’s voice is all too familiar as well. It’s the voice of the woman who stole everything she knew I wanted.

Axyl, the Vice President of BAMC, and his old lady, Lana. They never did get along very well, and she never did like me.

Well, that’s not completely true, we were friends when we were younger, but that all changed when she met Axyl. She always thought that I was going to take him from her because she knew how I felt about him back then.

If I’m honest with myself, I still feel the same about him, but it could never go anywhere. Especially now that he’s married with two kids. He is a nice piece of man meat though.

I slowly open the door, trying to keep my appearance as secretive as possible, but that all changes when the door slams behind me after I bring my suitcases in. I look up to see everyone in the room stop and stare at me.

“Um…can I help anyone?” I instantly get anxious. Could they see the bruising? Did I not hide it enough? “It’s like you all seen a ghost!” When in doubt, joke.

Granted it was awkward because I was still wondering if they could see the bruising on my face. Thank goodness for the cold April weather because I was able to wear a long-sleeve shirt and my leggings.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite daughter!” My dad exclaimed. I look toward his voice and instantly want to run into his arms, break down, and tell him everything that I have been through these past three years.

I want my daddy to tell me everything will be okay, and he’ll handle it. I’m supposed to be strong, but I just want to run into his arms and be weak.

The only thing stopping me from doing that is the disappointment I know I’ll see on his face. I want him to see me as his strong daughter that can take care of herself, who didn’t need her daddy to take care of her problems.

I’ve always been strong, but right now, I just want to be weak. I can’t though, not yet.

“Dad, I’m your only daughter,” I said with a laugh, after getting out of my inner thoughts. I go over to hug him. The hug that says more than any words ever could, and I almost break then and there but manage to keep it together.

Luckily, he didn’t hug me too hard because my ribs are still sore as hell from the last round of torture he inflicted on me. If you can call almost being murdered torture.

The next person to step into my line of sight was my brother. My big, protective brother who had now taken on the role of President of the BAMC. He swept me up in a hug, spinning me around the room. I’d missed the comfort of his arms.

I’d missed the kind of hugs only a brother could give. He might be two years my senior, but we’ve always been tight.

Just like with our mom, I couldn’t hide anything from him. But I don’t think he knows why I left, and I sure as hell didn’t tell him about Alex and the hell I went through with him. “God, it’s good to have you back, little sis. I’ve missed you!”

“I missed you all too! I’m sorry I haven’t been back since I left for school, but I was busy trying to finish my degree faster than usual.” I tell him.

My arms tighten around his neck and my nose buries into his neck. He’s always smelled like spice and leather, a scent that always calmed me. Not in a strange way, but in a brother-sister kind of way.

“So, what did I walk in on?” I ask, attempting to shift the focus off me. But of course, that never works. The spotlight always finds me when I least want it to.

Unbeknownst to me, my sunglasses had slipped off while my brother was spinning me around, revealing the bruises I’d been trying to hide.

Why didn’t I use makeup around my eyes instead of just relying on sunglasses? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! So much for keeping my secret under wraps. I know for a fact that’s not going to happen now.

“We’ll finish this later when you go to get your stuff out of my place.” I heard Axyl tell Lana before he stormed over to me and grabbed my face. “What the ~fuck~ happened to your face!?”

My brother and Axyl exclaimed in unison, once Westyn snapped out of his shock. Their outburst drew everyone else’s attention to us. I could feel their questioning gazes, making me want to curl up and disappear.

God, why am I so stupid? I should have known better than to not cover this up with makeup. They’re not going to let this go, and now that the club has seen my face, I definitely can’t put it off much longer.

I glance at my dad’s face, seething with anger, and my eyes instantly fill with the tears I’ve been holding back.

“Nothing. Just let it go, please,” I pleaded quietly as I jerked my chin out of Axyl’s grip. I jumped from my brother’s arms and grabbed my suitcases before bolting into my old room. How could I have been so stupid?

I thought I’d covered it up better, but apparently, it was worse than I thought. Especially when you don’t use makeup like you should have, Aliana. I slide down the door and look around my room, trying to hold back the tears.

It’s still the same. Blue walls, pictures of my friends and me from high school, the white and blue bedding set on my queen-size bed. Everything is just as I left it.

They didn’t forget about me, and that makes it harder to keep the tears at bay. What will they think of me now? What will they think of me when they find out who did this to me? I need a shower.

That should clear my mind, hopefully. I’ve been traveling all day, and I’m starving. I can’t handle my brother, or my father for that matter, let alone Axyl right now. He was just as protective of me, if not more, as my own brother.

I decided I would unpack my things and then grab something from the kitchen to eat before I take a shower. It took me about an hour to fold and hang up everything and put it where it needed to go.

Once I was done, I ventured into the kitchen, after checking if anyone was around. When I saw that the coast was clear, I made a sandwich and grabbed a bag of chips and a can of soda, and retreated back to my room to eat and shower.

I managed to make it there and back without anyone seeing me.

I was sitting in my room eating my sandwich and wondering where the guys had gone. I’m surprised they didn’t break my door down demanding answers.

Maybe they had to go on a run, or they just decided to give me the peace that I asked for. I snorted at that thought because I knew that wouldn’t happen.

I finished my food and set the plate on the bedside table and started to get my leggings and tank top out to take a shower. I began to strip out of the clothes that I’d been traveling in all day.

When I got down to just my bra and panties, someone cleared their throat behind me. I spun around to see Axyl standing there, leaning against the door jamb.

His eyes are darting from each scar, bruise, and wound on my body. I can see the fire igniting in his eyes, and I’m frozen for a moment.

“What the hell, Axyl! Get out! I’m practically naked here!” I yelled at him.

“Who the ~fuck~ did all of this to you! You’re black and blue all over and have stitches! So, tell me…~Who. The. Fuck. Did. This. To You~?!” He enunciated each word through gritted teeth, which I found quite sexy.

Heat rushed down to my core, and I tried to squeeze my thighs together nonchalantly. He may be annoying, but damn is he still sexy as hell, and I wouldn’t mind having a taste of him. NO! Focus, Aliana…you can’t tell him. Not yet!

“That’s for me to know and you to not find out. At least not yet,” I said before darting into the bathroom and locking the door behind me. I sink to the floor with my back against the door, wincing at the pain coursing through my body.

No one was supposed to find out. At least not yet. I wasn’t ready for them to know about him and what I had endured for the last three years of my life.

Axyl is going to go tell my brother what he saw, and then my brother is going to go tell my father, and then I’m going to be forced to tell them. My father is the one man that can scare the shit out of me with just one stare.

I could never pull off a lie with him when I was living at home. Perhaps returning here wasn't the best idea, not until I'd dealt with Alexander and his gang. I was aware that I couldn’t handle this on my own, and I needed my dad and the club to back me up.

I just assumed I'd have more time to come up with a strategy, to figure out how to spill the beans about what happened and who was responsible for my predicament.