I’m looking around my club, at the men that have had my back for as long as I can remember. They’re giving me something that should never have happened. Their blessing to be with Harper. I’ve never felt so much respect for them. I need Harper to respect me and I can’t do that without the full truth.
“Babe, I have something to te
ll you,” I say, looking from her to Kace.
“We all have something to tell you,” Kace corrects.
I stand up and lean against the table, facing Harper. “You’ve had the worst night and I don’t want to add to it, but there can’t be any lies.”
“What?” she snaps.
“When this started, Brooks and the club were under the impression I was going to get information out of you.” This time I turn to face the guys. “But I wasn’t going to tell you. I wasn’t going to put her in additional danger. I was going to let you or Kingsley kill me, but I was never going to push her for information. The reason I agreed to it was so I could be close to her. Even if it was only a few weeks, she would have been mine.”
When I finish speaking, the silence in the room is deafening. I feel Harper behind me and I turn to her. She pulls me toward her and slams her mouth on mine. It surprises the shit out of me, but I kiss her back. She’s been through more than anyone should and that’s just considering tonight. So her kissing me right now, it just solidifies her feelings for me.
“Well, I think we’re done here,” Riley laughs.
I break the kiss and hold Harper to my side. “Thank you.”
Harper and I walk out and I know nothing will ever be the same.
Chapter 16
Harper
“Sweetheart, we don’t know club business. Unless that business has to do with people we love. So, I’m sorry your personal life was talked about, but I’m not sorry we know,” Gloria says.
I’m sitting at her kitchen table, along with Nora and Adalyn. Finn is at the front door, keeping guard as usual. Zane and the guys had to go out of town for the day. He put up a fight, but the club will always be a priority. I’m not upset by it, I understand. Although, I’m not crazy about the six eyes staring at me, waiting for me to say something.
“Shit happens,” I say, lifting my shoulder.
Adalyn reaches across and grabs my hand. “Shit does happen, horrible, unimaginable shit. It’s how we move forward that matters. We can choose to crawl into a ball and give up or we can stand tall and fight. Make sure you stand tall and fight, sweetie.”
“Do you know how to use a gun? I mean really use a gun?” Nora asks.
Well obviously they were only privy to certain things from that night. It relaxes me a bit. I’d rather every detail of that night and that room burn like the pictures did. It was a bit freeing when Zane took me to a secluded spot in the desert and we burned the pictures. I cried and he held me tight. He’s been a rock and I know I couldn’t keep moving forward if it wasn’t for him. I’ll admit, when he started talking around that table about the club wanting to get information from me, it wasn’t a big surprise. I knew something wasn’t right, but I also knew he was being truthful. His motives were fucked up, but what isn’t with us?
Brooks and the others have truly accepted me. I guess being held in a dungeon of a room with pictures of your horrific life will do that. I know this is far from over. That my father will be home and it will be war. I also know that now I have an entire club standing with me. Not because they have to, but because they want to. We might actually make it through this.
“Harper?” Nora asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Shit, sorry. Yes, I know how to use a gun. I’m a damn good shot,” I say, smiling.
“I’m not sure what Zane has told you, but we’ll probably be going on lockdown soon,” Gloria says.
I’m not entirely sure what that means, so I sip my coffee and lean back. “Alright, tell me everything.”
“We’ll all be on lockdown. All club members and family and friends. Anyone who they believe could be hurt to get to them. They’ll decide on a location or if it will be in our homes. No one will be allowed out. We’ll stock our cabinets and we’ll stay together,” Gloria starts.
“We will all depend on each other more than anything. The guys will be out fighting the war and we’ll be here waiting for them to return to warm arms,” Nora says.
It all sounds like a fucking movie. How could something like this be real? I’ve been in this life, literally my entire existence, and this has never happened. Maybe that’s the real difference between the Shattered Souls and the Vegas Kings, the Souls actually love each other. They want to protect each other and do everything in their power to do so. It was never that way for me. My father didn’t care who was hurt, killed, or destroyed. It makes me wonder what my mother ever saw in him? Makes me wonder if he was different before she died or if he was just born evil. I look up at these women who are watching me like a fragile bird, ready to jump from the nest.
“This is a lot to wrap my head around, I’ll be honest. But, can I ask something completely unrelated?” They agree so I continue. “Was my father always a worthless piece of shit or did that happen after my mom died?”
They all exchange looks of similar sad faces. “No, sweetie, he was always horrible,” Adalyn says.
“So what did my mom see in him?” I push.