Page 47 of Healing Souls

“You and Daniel are pretty close, right?” Nerds asks him, narrowing his eyes.

He shrugs. “I mean, sort of. We went to school together but didn't really talk that much. Then we both started talking more when we decided to prospect for the club.”

“Did you know about this?” Nerds asks, flipping the laptop around to show Connor the photo of Tabby and Daniel.

Connor stares at the screen for a minute, pinching his lips together. “I don’t know who that girl is.”

After looking around at everyone and seeing that no one seems to be questioning his responses, I dismiss him and tell him to send Parker down here.

Parker is antsy on his feet as he stands in front of us, shifting back and forth. “Connor said you needed to talk to me?” he questions.

We go through the same steps as Connor, asking the same things. Parker is fidgeting the whole time and begins to sweat but says that he was in the club when Daniel got out, and he doesn’t know the girl in the picture with Daniel. After we excuse him, I look around at the guys.

“Well, fuck,” Blade sighs. “Either one of them is a really good fucking actor or its neither of them.”

Nerds types away on his laptop and then grumbles, “Connor did leave the club that night. He didn’t get back until the next day based on the front gate camera.”

“Alright, well, this isn't getting us anywhere now. We can ask around with the other brothers, but I don’t think anyone is going to know anything. There is no possible way that Daniel could have gotten himself out?” Axe directs his question at Nerds.

“I highly doubt it. I mean, he’d have to have something to pick the lock on the cell and then the lock on the door to leave.”

“Okay, so we keep our eyes open, contact other chapters, and then have the boys talk to that Lex girl and go from there. I feel like we’re running in circles, but something has to give soon.”

We discuss a few other things and then church ends. Blade and I talk about the boys going back to school because as much as they will hate it, they need to finish school and can’t keep missing it.

Running a hand through my hair, I leave the room with Blade, and we head towards the stairs to go back up.

Blade chuckles, and I glance over at him with a raised brow. He gestures towards my hair. “I think I see your first grey hair. Don’t worry, though. Silver foxes are a catch with the ladies.” He keeps laughing and walks ahead of me towards the stairs.

I shake my head and follow him up, wondering why I took him under my wing all those years ago.

Chapter Thirteen

Ryker

She’sfine.She’sgoingto be fine. She isn’t going to hate you for needing to walk away. It’s fine, I keep muttering to myself as I pace my room.

The second the first whimper came out of her mouth when we were heading downstairs, my entire body tensed as I whirled around and ran back up the stairs. Her legs gave out, and I had to watch in what felt like slow motion as she started to fall.

Luckily, Cade was behind her and immediately grabbed her, pulling her back. She kept whimpering and shaking as tears ran down her face and she started turning pale—pale just like my aunt.

All the times she would pale at the sight of her husband coming home smelling like another woman. At least, she always said it was another woman, but to me it was a foul stench. He reeked of alcohol, dirt, and BO. It was a smell that reminded me of my own father on occasion.

After my aunt’s husband, Leon, would come home and pull my aunt into their bedroom, they would be back there for a while, and then she would come back out and swallow some pills before sitting on the couch. So many times, she would whimper and silently cry. Her mouth would open like she wanted to scream, but no sound came out. All the blood would leave her face when the bedroom door opened and Leon would saunter into the living room.

Every time he left the house, I’d tell her I could kill him. I killed my dad and I turned out fine, after all. I could kill him. She always told me to shut up and not speak like that because one of these days, Leon would hear.

She wasn’t wrong. One day, he fucking did.

The door opens, and Gray walks in, shutting it behind him. I stop mid-pace and look at him. “I’m sorry. Did you tell her I was sorry? I don’t even know why it got to me so bad. I didn’t mean to just walk away, but I just kept picturing my aunt Mel over and over again. Then it would turn to that last night when everything went bad—”

Hands gripping my shoulder stop my rambling. “She’s okay. She is shaken up, but fine. Surprisingly, it was Cade who comforted her and brought her out of it. She didn’t say anything about you not being there, but I’m sure if you just explained to her what happened, she would be more than understanding.”

I shake my head. “No, I haven’t even told you guys everything—” I wince when I realize I’m admitting that I lied when I moved in here full-time after living with Aunt Mel by not revealing the full truth.

Grayson grips my face in his hands. They are soft but large, and something about them soothes me. “Ryker! Stop it. Take a breath.”

I take a deep breath and Gray nods at me, our faces only an inch away from each other. “Everything is fine. If you want to tell us all about it, you can. If not, then don’t. I seriously doubt that Harley is going to be bothered, alright?”

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