“Tarin, you’re safe and among friends here. No one's here to judge or attack you. We’re the ladies of the Warriors. We have to be each other's friends and support. We love our men, but we do want to kill them from time to time. They’re alpha males who want to fix things. They don’t understand that women aren’t asking for that. We just want them to listen.” Several of them laughed. I relaxed a little bit.
One of the women leaned forward. “Hi, Tarin, My name is Wren. I’m Ghost’s old lady. I want to tell you my story. I heard you had something happen to you that was painful. No one said what, so don’t worry. I was taken by a group of men who were running a human trafficking ring. When the Warriors came to shut them down, they found me. I’d been raped and held by those men as I waited to be sold. Ghost and the whole club, including this chapter, supported me, and helped me to heal.”
The next woman spoke up. “Hi, I’m Brielle. I was raped by a man who I knew and I got pregnant. I had to be smuggled out to safety by men who my aunt knew. I didn’t trust anyone and when I met the Warriors, I didn’t know how to take them. Ranger made me see that there were good men out there. He took on me and my daughter. He loves her as much as he does our two sons,” she added.
“A man who was my superior in the Marines tried to rape me and then tracked me down after I got out and tried again. It was a miracle that both times he was stopped,” Harlow said softly. She’d been attacked? She had been a Marine for God’s sake.
“My first husband physically abused me and raped me for years. I had two children with him. A chance meeting with the Warriors one day saved my life. When I came to them beaten and in labor, they took me in. That's when I met Devil Dog. He protected me. Loves me and my kids. He loves them as much as he does our son.. Oops, sorry, I’m Ashlee,” she said with a smile.
The last one to say something was a beautiful redhead at the end of the table. “I’m Bryony and I'm married to Storm. I’m like Wren. Some men took me to sell me. Everly and another woman, Cassidy, went undercover to help take down this ring with help from the Warriors and the Dark Patriots. I was rescued and came here. Eventually, Storm convinced me I could be whole again, and he was the man who would love me, no matter what.”
“And you know what happened to me. We all have stories and the others do too. We know what it’s like to feel ashamed, scared, dirty and unlovable, but it’s not true. The Warriors are good men and they see beyond what happened to us. They see the real us, and they love us for who we are. No one will judge or shame you or treat you wrong. You have family and friends here. All you have to do is accept us,” Ilara told me. I couldn’t stop the tears that ran down my face.
I was encircled in arms. I don’t know how long I cried and we talked. I told them what Merrill had done to me and how it made me feel. All I know is when I was done, I was beyond exhausted. Jocelyn got everyone’s attention. “Ladies, I think Tarin has had enough. Why don’t we get back to our men and let her find Outlaw?”
Before they all left the room I told them, “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much this means to me, to have you understand and support me. It’s amazing. Thank you.” They all smiled and gave me a final hug. As soon as the last one was out the door, Outlaw came in. He didn’t say a word. He scooped me up, crutches and all, and took me out to the truck and then over to the house. He carried me to our bedroom. I could see the worry on his face. I was tired, but I needed to tell him what I’d decided tonight. He needed to know.