Page 65 of Imbalanced Minds
Chapter Thirty-Four
Iris
After I woke up, and Cory came into the room to soothe me, it took most of the afternoon to get me to calm. I was stunned when he told me I’d been out for over twenty-four hours. It shocked me even more when I found out where I’d been taken. I knew it wasn’t a hospital as soon as I woke to see a massive man by my bed, but the strong stench of disinfectant sure made it smell like one.
Cory didn’t relay much information to me, and for that, I was kind of pissed off, but understood. He wanted my head as clear as possible before he revealed anything. He did, however, introduce me to the tank of a man watching over me. Tucker, I now know him to be, has been sitting with me on and off, alternating with Cory for the three days since I arrived.
Honestly, I can’t remember too much of the time I’ve been here so far. I’ve spent most of the time sleeping or crying.
They gave me some decent pain relief which has made me pretty drowsy hence the sleep but from what I can recall, I’m intent on getting my answers.
Tucker’s with me today. I’ve been annoying him with the same questions, and I can tell he’s ready to get me out of his hair. At least so he doesn’t have to sit and listen to me jabber on. I kind of like him. He’s quite the softie but I wouldn’t tell anyone else that.
A knock comes from the door and an unknown face pops in seeking Tucker’s attention. As he walks over to the guy, I pretend I’m not paying any attention. Low whispers are exchanged, so I turn my head ever so slightly to try and eavesdrop on their conversation.
Jumping at Tucker’s voice, I whip my head in his direction. “Hey, girly, boss man wants me to bring you to the meeting room. Seems it’s time you’ll be getting some of them answers you’ve been naggin’ me for.”
Barely smiling, while internally crapping myself, I get situated and ready myself to leave this room.
I’ve been in here only a few days, but the thought of leaving these walls compared to the real deal outside them has my anxiety levels rising.
I don’t know if I’m ready for this.
Walking through the hallways seems somewhat shady. It’s like I snuck out of home and am up to no good. It has total badass vibes to it as I walk past men in heavy metal t-shirts, leather vests and exposed skin covered in tattoos, but it screams family.
Tucker motions for me to walk through a large wooden door, and when I enter, I’m taken aback by the sight of at last a dozen men sitting in the room.
Tucker clears his throat to get my attention and then I notice he’s pulled a chair out for me. Sitting myself down, I look around the room and immediately catch sight of Cory. He gives me a small smile, but not enough to reassure me of what’s about to happen.
Although most of the men sitting around this table are good looking, I’m extremely wary. The big guy at the head of the table slams down a big wooden hammer of sorts, causing me to jump before he starts speaking.
He explains why we’re all here and something else about this being an unofficial church meeting. Not having any time to mull that over, he passes the meeting over to Cory, who sits across the table from me and starts introductions.
“Iris, this is Moose, he’s the President of the Burning Devils, also Gunner’s uncle and these are some of his brothers. Crow, his Vice President, Tucker, whom you’ve already met, Rusty and Fez,” he continues to point and introduce them all in turn. There are too many to memorise, so I zone out for a bit after Fez lifts his chin in greeting.
“When we came home from the farm the other night, you were asleep. Justin stopped by not long after we got home. After finding out about Tyrell stalking you, we knew we needed help. We knew this was way bigger than the both of us, and if we wanted to find and stop him, we needed lots of it. I rang Gunner knowing he had connections, at the time I didn’t realise how big those connections were or the part they’d already played. I checked on you before we left and when I realised you were still sleeping, Justin and I met with him to seek said help.”
“I have a confession to make,” I bow my head, embarrassed and scared of the reactions I’ll get around the room. “I wasn’t actually sleeping. I faked it. I wanted to be alone and if you knew I was awake, well...”
“Are you kidding me with this shit?” Cory bursts, “Why the hell would you do that?”
“I was scared. I didn’t want to think about it. I just wanted to forget. I knew you’d only fuss over me, and that’d keep reminding me of what’s happening. I’m so sorry.”
“Okay, you two. Ace, you need to lay off.” Moose instructs.
Gunner is next to speak, and what he says leaves me speechless.
“We’d already been helping, but they didn’t know it was us. I’d left an unmarked envelope of paperwork on Cory’s desk at work. That was the only information we could get hold of until we met and these guys told us about your note. Turns out, Tyrell was not who you thought he was.”
The stern face of Moose takes over the conversation now, authority rolling off him in waves. “While Gunner met with Ace and your brother, I wanted to get a gauge on the situation before we made any initial plans on how to approach. When we got into Ace’s security feed—which wasn’t easy,” he looks to Cory, then back to me, “we noticed unusual activity. Dark shadows, then suddenly, the truck out front was being trashed. It was then I made Gunner call these two back while I was readying my men to come get you out and fuck those assholes up.”
Sitting in a large room, behind a large mahogany table, listening to all the facts is daunting, but one thing is bugging me. “How long have you known he was stalking me?” I turn to Cory, hurt that he’s kept this from me.
“Around the sighting after your first attack. We had a hunch, but we knew for sure when we got the papers. When you received that threat is when we found out he was part of an unruly gang. This is the main reason Moose helped us, and why Gunner spoke to him about it. Moose wants these muppets out of his territory and by helping us, he’s getting his message across too.”
“Of course, love, what you hear does not leave this room,” Moose tells me with his authoritative tone, yet I see a speck of affection in his eye.
It all makes sense, at least a little.