Thank you to celticturtle for editing my story for me! Sorry it took me awhile again. I promise I'll post the next chapter quicker. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Thank you to everyone who has been patient and waited for the next chapter.
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After awhile Luke and Delilah finally finished the stack of paperwork on his desk. Delilah was placing papers in folders while Luke was talking about a contract deal with Michael. She wasn't paying attention as she was concentrated on not messing up since these were important papers. She still didn't understand why he didn't just use his computer on his desk to cut down on this much paperwork.
She eventually finished and closed the cabinet. Rising to her feet, she patted the dust off her and sat back in her seat beside Luke. She looked over at the two men talking about business. She noticed how hard working and dedicated they both were to work. She moved her eyes to Luke and couldn't believe she didn't notice how attractive his side profile was before. His strong defined jawline could cut glass along with a sharp shaped nose. She stopped herself before her thoughts caused her to drag him to the bedroom.
She rolled her shoulder blades back a little deciding to work the kinks out of her back. She twisted to her right side causing the top part of her back to make loud popping sounds. Then she twisted to her left side making the rest of her back pop as well. When she was done, they both looked at her. She moved her neck both sides causing it to pop.
"Does that not hurt you?" Michael spoke up.
Looking at him, she said, "No, not really. It feels good actually."
"I'm surprised you didn't break something with how loud that crack was." Luke said as he felt her back.
She giggled and shook her head at their reaction.
"So, you're telling me you never cracked any bone in your body before?"
"Maybe on accident." Luke and Michael said in unison.
"Just get back to your discussion." She laughed as she shook her head.
As they returned to their conversation about contracts and new shipments someone knocked on the door and Luke told them to come in. The man walked inside the office and looked at Luke.
"Sir, can you step out for a second. The men need your help."
"Okay, Marcus. I'll be right there." Luke nodded to him and looked at Michael.
"I'll be right back. Stay here with Delilah."
Michael nodded and Luke made his way to Marcus. They left and closed the door behind them. Michael looked over at Delilah who had a worried expression.
"Everything's going to be okay Delilah."
Looking at him, she smiled, "Thank you Michael. You know besides Luke you're the only one that has been nice to me."
"Well, Jake is an asshole and a coward, but you haven't really got to talk to the other men. There are some good guys here. But you'll always have Luke and me."
"I'm very grateful for that. For the other guys, I understand why Luke doesn't want them near me. I don't blame him for making them keep their distances from me. I just can't help but think the whole situation with Jake and Dave is my fault. I mean it started because I was scared that a guy was touching me, and I just linked it to my father's abuse." She sighed.
"Delilah you can't blame yourself. What your father did to you was because he's messed up. You didn't do anything. You can't blame yourself because of someone else's decisions. Plus, you made a choice to get away from that. Most people stay stuck like that forever."
"I know but I can't help but think it is. It was just me. My brother didn't get any of the abuse. So, it has to be me, right?"
"Delilah, no. It wasn't you. I promise you that it wasn't you."
"How are you so sure?"
"I went through a similar situation. I blamed myself a lot for what my parents did to me. It took me awhile before I realized that it wasn't me. I didn't do anything wrong. They just took their anger and aggression out on me. They couldn't have the life they wanted, so they took it out on their child."
"I'm so sorry, Michael."
"Don't be. I'm okay now. It took meeting Luke to understand that, but without him I wouldn't be here today. He tries to help all the people he can. Which is why he created this gang to give people a second chance at life."
"Everyone here looks up to him, don't they?"
"Yes, ma'am they do."
"Even though he thinks they hate him or want to go against him. If I can eventually not blame myself for my father, then he can eventually learn that his men adore him, right?"
"He'll eventually. Just like you, the only way you'll stop blaming yourself is to realize it wasn't your fault."
"It will take awhile, but I will."
"From my experiences, it may take you time to heal."
"Thank you, Michael."
"You don't have to thank me. I'm lucky to have you as friend."
"Friend...?"
"Yeah." He chuckled. "Unless you don't want to be."
"No, no. I do. I just never had one." She smiled. "Friend. I like the sound of that."
"Then I'll be the best friend for you that I can."
She smiled and Luke walked back into the office. They both turned to look at him.
"Everything good, sir?"
"Yeah. Some men brought in a couple new guys while they were out."
"Would you like me to lend a hand?"
"First, were we finished with our business?"
"Yes, sir. We planned everything for the next few shipments. We also decided on which contracts to sign and which ones to get rid of."
"Then yes, you can go help them. They'll probably need your help. Make sure they're not too hard on the newbies. Plus, I promised I'd take Delilah to get more clothes."
"Yes, sir. I can watch over everything while you're gone."
