Page 13 of Healing Souls

Atlas clears his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable as he shifts in his chair, his eyes jumping around to everyone. We all give him our attention.

“He didn’t have a choice in what happened back then, did he?” he asks somewhat sullenly.

Axe shakes his head. “No. But that’s his choice of what he shares with you. You need to understand, Rage has had to fight battles the rest of us can’t even imagine having to deal with. So don’t go judging him without knowing everything. And you might never know everything.”

“I get it. You could see just by his eyes and body language listening to Linc explain everything,” Atlas says with a nod. “Brielle had one side to the story. She had a broken Lilian show up on her doorstep, bruised and a mess, who claimed to love the man who raped her. Brielle told Harley what she knew from back then because we all could see that Harley needed the truth. She needed someone to be honest with her. She also wanted to look into her father to find him, and Brielle didn’t want her going down that path.”

Noah scoffs. “That went well. How the fuck did she even get her hands on a gun?”

Atlas and Linc glance at each other before coming to some realization at the same time. “How would she have gotten into it?” Linc asks quietly, but we can still hear him.

Atlas smirks. “She’s Harley. The sneaky shit probably watched us enter the code. We’ll have to have one of the guys working right now do inventory. Text Ryan.”

“Care to fill the rest of us in?” Noah drawls in a bored tone.

Atlas lets out a grunt, while Linc says, “Ryan, our other friend who also co-owns a gym with us, offers gun classes. He was teaching Harley basic knowledge. She picked up on shooting quickly, and it became an outlet for her. We have a locked room for that stuff at the gym. You just need a code, and it seems that she watched us put in the code one too many times.”

I find a smile working its way onto my face.That’s my girl.

Noah looks at me and smirks. “Still feeling the same way?”

My smile immediately drops, and I clench my fists. If Rage and Sugar hadn’t walked back out at that second, I would’ve punched him in his smug face. He doesn’t understand.

Rage cracks his knuckles. “Alright. It’s three in the morning. I am fucking exhausted from this shit. Harley is still out. Give your numbers to Sugar, and we will contact you immediately when she’s up. I want to see how she is and what she has to say before either of you sees her.”

He looks calmer now, but exhausted. Everyone starts to agree before Atlas speaks up. “I’m not leaving. Lincoln is going back to the hotel we got where Brielle and Ryan are to fill them in. But I will not be leaving this property unless Harley tells me to.”

Rage studies him for a minute before he nods with a look of respect. “We can give you a room here in the club.”

“Would you actually leave if Harley told you to?” Noah asks with a head tilt.

Atlas smirks and crosses his arms. “Probably not.”

Everyone goes their separate ways, with Sugar going to show Atlas the guest room. I start to head up the stairs but hesitate.

Before I can even think it through, my feet are leading me out of the back of the clubhouse and towards Rage’s house. I don’t want to go in, so I walk around his house towards the back.

From the shadows, I watch them through the back slider. Rage and Grayson are talking in the kitchen. I’m guessing Rage is filling him in. I pivot to the right, making sure to stay hidden as I peer into the bedroom window. The curtains are open halfway, allowing me the perfect view of Harley laying in the bed and Ryker resting in the chair next to her asleep.

My chest feels tight. Like someone is squeezing it, forcing it to nearly burst.This is it.I tell myself, giving myself this one last time to watch, to feel. I have to find a way to lock it down. I can’t lose my brothers. What's best for them is what I want, always.

I feel Stone before I hear him. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

I look over my shoulder at him as he walks closer, not surprised in the least he found me here.

“I did this.” He nods towards the window. “I spent 500 days doing it. And I wasted 500 days. Is that what you want to do? I think you’re looking at this whole situation wrong. I think you’re going to hurt your brothers and her instead of making them happy.”

I scoff. “That’s different, and you know it. It’s just you and her. She understands you. Fuck, she even acts like you sometimes. This is not that. He loves her. Grayson cares for her. I can see them becoming more. Ryker and Harley. I don’t know about Grayson. But I can’t. I won’t ruin that for him. I won’t fight him for a girl. I’d much rather just step back and see him happy.”

Even if it feels like someone is clawing at my chest, trying to rip my heart out. A heart I had long thought was dead, but it seems to beat again for her.

He shrugs. “I’ll say this and walk away. You’re wrong. I think Ryker is looking at this from a much different perspective than you are. I’m the last person to say this, so listen good: Communicate with him. Tell him how you feel.”

I’m already shaking my head before he finishes speaking. I won’t risk it.

He snarls, “Don’t forget who was around lurking in the shadows watching everyone long before you, boy. When the day comes that your eyes open to reality and what’s actually in front of you, let me know. I’ll tell you I told you so, and we can spar out your anger at yourself because they’ve all moved on without you.”

With that, he turns and walks away. Leaving me even more confused than I was before.

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