Page 43 of Diesel's Perseverance
“Dr. Stauber?”
“Yeah. He’s not involved with any of this.”
“I didn’t think he knew anything about it. He was an okay guy.” Myla placed her hand on Diesel’s tanned arm; his skin was warm and smooth. “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”
“I used my power of persuasion. It didn’t take too long. The doc is a pussy and a greedy fuck. Those kinds of assholes crumble real fast.”
“He was always nice to me.”
“I bet.”
She stepped away from him. “Not like that. Is your mind always one-track?”
He shrugged. “I know men.”
“Dr. Stauber wasn’t like that. He was a gentle soul.”
“Who was writing phony scripts for desperate addicts? Yeah… he was arealnice guy.”
“And your club never does anything wrong? Never hurts anyone?”
“Only the ones who disrespect us.”
Myla sighed. “I don’t want to argue about any of this, especially over Dr. Stauber. You’re right; he was dealing drugs just like Freddy, Peter, and whoever else was in the network. That’s what Freddy used to call it, and I stupidly thought he was talking about the clinics. I can’t believe what a fool I was not to have seen it. I guess I didn’t want to.” She swallowed the hard lump in her throat as tears filled her eyes.
“Come here,” he said, his voice a low rumble.
She bowed her head, not wanting him to see the dampness on her cheeks.
“Myla,” he said, tugging her to him.
He put his arm around her, and she pressed her wet face against his chest. The scent ofhimsurrounded her, a mingling of leather, sweat, sandalwood, and fresh air.
“I know all this has been hard for you. I understand your sadness. It’s about fear, broken promises, and… betrayal.” He drew her closer into his embrace. “I wish I would’ve known what was going on and you would’ve contacted me. I could’ve helped you.”
“You’re helping me now. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She looped her arms around his waist, relishing the solid strength of his body.
“I’m sorry and pissed as fuck at Freddy… ateverythinghe’s done to you. You didn’t deserve any of it.”
“None of this is your fault,” she whispered, tipping her head back and glancing at him.
“I would’ve stopped it if I’d known.” Diesel stared at her with eyes full of compassion.
He knows.Myla was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about the illegal activity Freddy was involved in. She felt the blood drain from her head and stumbled backward, away from him.
Diesel stepped forward and took her hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it.”
She met his gaze and knew he was apologizing for Freddy beating the hell out of her.How does he know?Her knees weakened, and the urge to flee seized her. Myla jerked her hand away and wrapped her arms across her chest.
“I have to go,” she mumbled.
“Talk to me.”
“I don’t want to.” She stared at the ground, kicking up small rocks with the toe of her shoe.
“Then we don’t have to.”
She heard the crunch of his boots and then felt his finger gently lift her chin.
