Page 104 of Healing Souls

Ryker plops down next to me and watches my feet. “What are you doing?” he asks as the others join us, Cade on my other side and Grayson next to Ryker.

I sigh and rest my head against Ryker’s shoulder. “Something my mom and I talked about when I was little. She used to give me bedtime stories about Princess Brielle that saved a lost girl, which I now know was herself. But in the story, my mom said that whenever the lost girl was feeling sad, she would go out to the beach and push her toes in the sand. It made her feel safe and at peace. She told me one day she hoped I’d get to do that, and now I have.”

I take a breath and close my eyes. “At first, I was so proud of myself. I became the warrior princess in my mom’s bedtime stories. I knew she’d be proud. Then I found out about what her life was like and how I was created, and I thought, I have to go get revenge for her. Ihaveto make it right.”

“You're talking about killing Rage?” Grayson asks.

I nod. “Yeah. I thought that was the first step. Kill my dad, find the people who killed my mom, get revenge against Tammy and Richard for how they treated me. But everything has gotten so messy since then. I don’t even know what’s up and down most days. I don’t want to fail my mom. I want her to be proud of the person I am and what I do.”

I watch as Ryker lines his foot up next to me and pushes his toes into the sand. “You’re making her proud every day. I know it.”

“How can you know that?” I whisper as tears spring in my eyes.

“Because,” Cade rumbles next to me, leaning closer so our shoulders are touching, “we are proud of you. Look at what you’ve done. You survived. You are a fucking survivor, and you are working your ass off every day to heal.”

Grayson picks up where Cade stops, “You could have given up. You could have thought that was it and not tried anything to fight and get out. But you got away. You did the impossible, and now you possibly get to save more people who have been hurt.”

“I don’t know if I can handle it. Look what happened when Nerds just told me about everything,” I whisper, my lips curling into a frown.

Ryker grips my chin and turns my face up towards his, “You can handle it because you have us. You have an entire club at your side. We are in this together. It isn’t going to be easy, but we lean on each other.”

“When I went to Bri’s, I thought I found family. I mean, I did. Theyaremy family. But something was missing from it, and I think despite the reason I came here, I have found something here.”

“What’s that, my little flame?” Ryker asks.

I smile then. “My home. I feel at home here.”

Ryker grins and kisses me until I’m breathless.

We all lay in the sand and talk for what feels like hours. They tell me stories about their friendship and when they came to live at the club. They tell me things about Gabriel and how he has always been like a fun uncle to them, messing around with them and causing chaos.

Everything is peaceful, it feels normal, and I didn’t really realize how much I needed this until now. There is so much to talk about when we get back, but for this moment, we are in a little bubble.

As the day goes on, it gets chillier, and now that we are mostly dry, we all get up and put our clothes back on.

“Um, can someone help me wipe all the sand off?” I ask, turning my back towards them. Ryker comes up behind me and starts wiping off my ass.

“You don’t have to ask me for a chance to feel you up,” he chuckles.

“Ryker, focus,” I sigh, holding my hands out in exasperation.

Cade, who is already dressed, says he will be right back and walks back towards the path that goes up the cliff. Once Ryker is done copping a feel and actually helping me get the sand off, I get dressed. When we’re done, we head back to the path and up to the bikes.

Grayson, who is ahead of me, stops mid-step, and I bump right into his back. “Ouch,” I mumble and rub my nose. “Why did—”

The word dies on my tongue when I see a man leaning against Cade’s bike. I glance around but don’t see Cade anywhere nearby, which is odd because I watched him walk back to the trail.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and Grayson steps forward just as Ryker moves in front of me.

“Who the fuck are you?” he growls.

“No one you need to be concerned with. I just came to collect what is mine.” That voice— I know that voice.

Fear like I haven’t felt sincethat dayfloods my veins. I push Ryker to the side and step forward. His haunting eyes raise to meet mine, and my entire world comes crashing down around me.

August 18th, 2015

“Harley, be strong. Be brave. You can do this. Remember what I've always told you.”

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