Page 14 of Freeing Souls

“Okay, well, it’s time for meds, and the doctor is going to come in shortly so we can see about getting you moving a little. How would a walk to the bathroom and a shower sound?” the nurse asks.

“Fucking amazing,” I groan.

“Perfect. Well, you two,” she glances at Gray and Harley, “go get some coffee and food. He’ll be busy for the next hour or so and then probably sleep.”

They nod, and Harley leans over me, pecking my lips and pulling away before I have a chance to deepen it, making me huff. She grins at me and walks towards the door. “Be good, Ryker.”

“We’ll come back as soon as we can,” Grayson says, giving my hand one last squeeze before standing.

The thought of kissing him forces a memory to slam into me.

Lunch with all of them… Walking Grayson to the tech room...

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“I will do that again…”

Talking to the guys about the bikes… Atlas pulling up then a blinding light coming from…from right where Atlas’ bike sat.

“Ry?” Grayson questions softly from where he now stands next to the bed.

Shaking my head, I give him a forced smile. “I’m good.” He starts to walk away but stops when I call his name. “I know I said I would kiss you again, but being crippled and all, I’m gonna need you to get your ass back over here and do it for me.”

Grayson’s mouth drops open, and he stares at me wide eyed before glancing at a grinning Harley and a nurse looking down at her tablet, not paying attention to us.

I raise a brow when he doesn’t move. “Well? Are you really going to leave poor, injured Ryker without even a kiss goodbye?”

His cheeks turn a delicious shade of red as he walks back over to me and bends over the bed, his hands on either side of my head. “I hate you,” he grumbles.

“I know,” I smile up at him and use my free hand to cup his neck, pulling his face down to mine. The kiss is short and sweet, but I can feel the tension bleeding out. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he needed this.

And I needed it from him. Reassurance that the other day wasn’t a fluke or I didn’t completely make it up in my head.

Harley

“Hey, Harley,” Presley says as I walk into the kitchen at the club. After the nurse had Grayson and I leave Ryker’s room, we came back home to shower, eat, and check in on everything happening around here. “How’s Ryker?”

“He’s good,” I tell her. “I have a feeling he is going to give us a lot of shit about wanting to leave as soon as possible.”

She chuckles as she pulls ingredients out of the fridge. “More than likely. Axe has been a pain about resting. He insists he’s fine, but he still needs to rest his ribs. Yesterday, I caught him out in the garage helping clean up.” She rolls her eyes.

“I thought mama bear was going to actually hurt him, so he’d have to go to the hospital and not be able to do anything for a while,” Raven adds as she walks into the kitchen and hugs Presley before giving me a side hug.

“He needs rest,” Presley grumbles. “I did get Jayce on board with making him rest. And of course, Axe can’t say no to that cute little face. They’ve been having movie marathons.”

“How’s Brielle?” I ask Raven. I’ve seen Brielle once since everything happened, and she wasn’t doing well. Since then, Raven has taken over being her support person if Lincoln can’t be with her.

“She’s sleeping right now. I’m worried about what this will do to her if he doesn’t make it.” Raven sighs.

“He’s going to make it.” I breathe through my nose, trying to calm the rising anger. “He has to make it.”

“I know, Harley. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it as he won’t make it.” She says gently, like I might explode at any moment.

“On a more positive note, I really hope this brings them closer. I’ve talked with Bri a little about her relationship with the guys, and it’s not them with the issue. It’s her,” Presley says.

“She does want it. It’s clear as day to everyone except her,” Raven grumbles. Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I look up to find Carly standing there wide eyed. Raven sees her as well and lets out a laugh. “Chill out, Carls. Not talking about your crazy ass. This time.”

“What? I–” Carly starts, trying to play it off, but Raven raises a hand, stopping her.

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