Page 37 of Freeing Souls

“What do you mean?” I ask, stepping towards him.

“When Tammy came here to confront Rage about killing David, he kept denying it. Eventually, she said something likehe’s backand then left.”

“Well that’s cryptic as shit and doesn’t fucking help us,” I growl and catch Grayson’s flinch as he lowers his eyes. I try, I really try, to find it in me to comfort him when I know he needs it, but I can’t.

Cursing under his breath, Nerds looks around at everyone. “We got a message. Same as the last one after the explosion came in.”

This is your second and final warning.

My fingers ball into tight fists as confusion and anger war inside me. “How the fuck would they even know it was us looking into the ball? We haven’t even done anything yet!” I yell and slam my fist into the wall, basking in the pain that radiates through my knuckles.

“This isn’t good, but we can also use this,” Axe says calmly. “This means the people who more than likely run the Black Night are the ones who took them, so if we move forward with our plan to take them down, we should find Rage and Harley.”

“And if they aren’t fucking there?” I growl.

“Then we get to have some fun and take out all our anger in my nightclub's basement,” Noah responds, a dark gleam in his eyes as he stabs his switchblade into the table.

Five days. Five more fucking days we will have to wait to find them. And if they aren’t there, then we will be five days behind and fucking screwed.

“Calm, brother,” Cade murmurs, laying a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m not going to be fucking calm until we have them back here. And you shouldn’t be either,” I seethe.

“I’m not calm on the inside, Ryker. I am ready to bring out the demons inside me, but doing that right this second will get us no fucking where.”

Chapter Twelve

Harley

Waking up in an empty, dark room does nothing to stop the panic from setting in. I can feel my breathing picking up, hear it echoing around me from where I sit on the ground in the corner. My ankle is chained to the wall, only a few feet of extra chain for me to move.

The memories assault me all at once, taking me back to the basement, the fear, the torture, the pain.

Breathe, Harley.Inhale. Exhale. You can do this. Just breathe. This isn’t the same, and you aren’t the weak little girl you were.

Someone groans, and I can hear them shuffling around across the dark space. Sucking in a breath, I don’t move or make any sounds. “Fuck.”

Straightening, I whisper, “Gabe?”

“Harley?” he rasps.

“Are you okay? Are you still bleeding?” I crawl forward, feeling around for him, but my chain stops me before I can find him. “Gabe?” I question when he doesn’t respond.

“I’ll be fine, Harley. Do you know where we are?”

“No, I just woke up here.”

“Fuck,” he hisses.

Footsteps come from the other side of the door, and Gabe shuffles around again. “Don’t provoke them, not until we figure out who it is and where we are. No matter what, Harley.”

I nod, even though he can’t see me, right as the door is pushed open a blinding light streams into the tiny room, a basement with bare white walls. Two men step into the room, wearing all black with ski masks. Another man without a mask steps into the room behind them.

It’s the same one from the gas station. He flashes his teeth at me before glancing down at Gabe slumped against the wall, not chained up but pale and weak from the blood he has lost from the gunshot wound.

“You fucker. How?” Gabe seethes.

“After someone tried, and clearly failed, to kill me, I decided it was my chance to make some changes.” He grins down at him. “Did you miss me, son?”

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