Page 33 of Freeing Souls

“I was never blindfolded, although I saw some others were. I think it was because by then, I was always given pills and usually out of it. Parts are fuzzy, but I remember we were brought in through a back door and not the front like when you are just being sold. We were taken into another open room, but this time, our owners stayed with us. When we went into the ball, it wasn’t at the same time as the others being sold.

“Our owners stayed with us until we were auctioned off to someone new, whether it was a direct trade or we were auctioned off and they got paid.” She breathes deeply and finallyopens her eyes. “I–I need to stop.” Her walls are shattering the longer she recounts the hell she lived through.

“Of course,” Grayson tells her softly. “Thank you. This is more helpful than you know.”

“You’re stronger than most people, Oakley. Most of us couldn’t sit here and do this like you have,” Ryker tells her.

She smiles sadly and leaves the room. Nerds mumbles that he will be right back and follows after her.

“What do you think?” Ryker asks Grayson.

“I think they are always going to have the same set up so there is no confusion and things are straightforward. That makes this way easier for us. But my big concern is the number of guards.”

“We will have to find out from Rage who we can bring in on this. I know we already asked for help, but I’d hope everyone would be willing to come back,” Ryker says.

Considering we only have five days until this ball is supposed to happen, things are about to turn into chaos. Excusing myself, I leave to go on a run, needing to burn off this nervous buzz under my skin.

Harley

“Where are we?” I ask in amazement as I gaze at the stunning view. We are at the top of some cliff that took almost four hours to get to. It has a view of the ocean and parts of a city I don’t know. Riding here with Gabe was the experience of a lifetime. Igot to see a playful side to him I hadn’t seen before. He screwed around and made me laugh almost the whole time.

We stopped for lunch along the way and got to just chat about the club and plans. When I told him I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, he told me it was okay, that I can take all the time I want to decide. It helped calm nerves I didn’t even realize I had. The guys all know what they want to do. They have purpose, and I feel a little lost not knowing what I want.

“This is my favorite spot. I have been coming here for the last eighteen years. I use it when I need to think.” He tells me as we take a seat on the ledge, our feet hanging over the side of the cliff as we stare out at the water below us.

“Eighteen years?” I ask, glancing over at him. The wind picks up slightly, bringing a calming breeze that blows the loose strands of my braid into my face. I brush them behind my ears as I wait for him to say more.

He gives me a soft smile, even as his eyes look sad. “The first time I came here was with your mom.”

Sucking in a breath, I stutter, “W-what?”

“It was the last time I ever saw her. If you don’t want me to tell you this–”

I shake my head. “No, please do. I just–I have to process.” I never expected this, nor did I know they actually got to spend any time together. But being in a place that I now know both of my parents were together at one point is a lot to process. It makes me wish more than ever that my mom was here now with us.

Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, he pulls me against him and tells me everything.

“I was going through a lot of shit the week before. My dad was a piece of shit and always tested us as prospects without any boundaries. I needed to get away, and Lilian had randomly showed up at the club, looking terrified and lost. I felt helpless,so I offered to get her out of there for a bit. The last thing I expected was her to say yes. We left and rode on my old Harley for hours until we stumbled upon this spot. We slept out here for the weekend. Never left each other's side.”

He continues to tell me about how he was finally honest with her about the initiation rape and what happened. They cried together as Gabe and I do now. “I think your mom is the only woman I have loved, which is insane, considering I barely knew her.”

“I don’t think it’s crazy,” I say quietly. “I also don’t think she is the only woman you have ever loved.”

Pulling away, he glances at me with furrowed brows. “What?”

Chuckling, I say, “Nothing we need to talk about right now. I’m glad you brought me here, but why now?”

“I don’t really know. I think I just wanted to share the one thing your mom and I had with you. We made you, which I believe is our biggest accomplishment in life. But now, you have something that belonged to just me and her. It only has good memories, even if only a few. It’s not tainted like most everything else.”

Gabe being vulnerable with me makes me want to do the same and finally say some things I should've said months ago. “I’ve never told you this because I didn’t really know how to just put it into a conversation, but I’m sorry for what happened when I came here. I’m sorry I stormed in here with one mindset and refused to believe what was right in front of my eyes. I will always regret that.”

Gabe sighs and glances out at the water. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Was it a dumb thing to do? Yes. But you were doing what you thought was necessary. You were strong and brave–”

“While being stupid.” I chuckle.

“Yeah,” he laughs. “I found out who you were to me right before you came. I didn’t know how to process it, and then, thereyou were, standing in front of me, looking like your mother. Brave, beautiful, a warrior.”

“The thought crosses my mind all the time—what would have happened if I had pulled that trigger and hurt you?” My voice catches.

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