Page 38 of Freeing Souls

“Missing you would mean I’ve thought about you,Dad.”Gabe glares up at him with hatred I have never seen before. This is– this is his dad?

Turning towards me, the man steps forward and squats down in front of me. Gripping my chin roughly, he turns my face from side to side, examining me. “It’s nice to officially meet you, princess. I’m your grandfather, but you can call me Killer.”

I don’t respond to him, just stare at him blankly, even though I would like to ask hundreds of questions.How? Who tried to killyou? How have you stayed hidden all these years? Why are you doing this?

Instead of being angered by my nonresponse, he simply smiles at me, a smile I recognize, just like his eyes… Gabe looks just like him. “You definitely aren’t like your parents. You have,” he contemplates for a moment, “fire within you.”

Releasing my chin, he straightens and walks back towards the door. “As for you—we have unfinished business. Enjoy your daughter while she’s still here,” he tells Gabe and then gestures for the other men in the room to follow him out.

“Gabe?” I ask into the darkness.

He breathes deeply. “I’m so sorry, Harley. This is my fault.”

“How could any of this be your fault?” I ask softly.

“Because I was the one who killed him. Or, at least, thought I did.” He curses as he shuffles around on the floor, clearly in pain.

Shutting my eyes since we can’t see in this room anyway, I listen as he explains. “My father is a piece of work, and there is only so much of him one could take. I dealt with him for years, hoping he would just end up getting himself killed. But that never happened. He just kept living. No matter what was happening, the man never fucking died.

“He was planning on expanding the drug and gun exchanges we were already doing, and he was going to put my brothers at risk to do it. I overheard him planning to send Axe and Stone to do all the runs, where they would have to be on the road for hours watching over the transport trucks going through territories that we didn’t have a deal with and could easily get them killed. I couldn’t let him go through with it.”

“What happened?” I ask, wishing I could see him or at least go to him.

“He made me come to this club with him one night to get a deal going. In order for the deal to go through, he wanted me to do horrid things to the club owner's daughter. I wasn’t goingto do it. I was done with his shit. I told him there was an emergency, and when I got him into the back alley, I shot him three times. There was nothing else on my mind. I just knew he had to go. He was the problem, and there was one solution. If I didn’t do it right then and there, I wouldn’t be able to do it, because the thought of killing my father ate at something in me, even though he was a horrible man.”

Heaving a breath, he continues, “His right hand man came out and promised to deal with the body. He was someone I trusted. I knew he would leave when I took over the club because even though he didn’t love everything my father did, he was loyal as hell. But he made me get out of there and dealt with the body. I should have known it was too good to be true. Fuck.”

“I’m so sorry, Gabe. You did the right thing, though. Even though he didn’t die, you were protecting people. It was the right thing. You turned that club around yourself.”

“Expect for the fact I have now put my daughter in danger because I didn’t make sure the fucker was truly dead.”

Silence falls over us as we both get lost in our thoughts. Being chained up in a dark room is easier to handle when I have someone here with me, but I want out. I don’t know what their plans are, but I know I am going to have to be strong and not get sucked into the memories of my past in order to save us both.

“Harley?” Gabe whispers.

“Yeah?”

“Promise me something.”

“What?”

“When there is an opening, I want you to run. I want you to move your ass and don’t fucking look back. Don’t think about me or anyone else. You get the hell out of here, okay?”

He wants me to leave him? How could I ever do that? Maybe I hated him at first, but now, I would gladly take a bullet for him. “Gabe–”

“No. I’m not asking. As your dad, I am telling you this. When the opportunity happens, you fucking take it, Harley St. James.”

“Okay,” I lie softly. I don’t know how to respond to the anger, the desperation in his voice. I could never leave him behind, but I can fight to get us both out of here. “I promise.”

Rage (Gabriel)

The door opens, and one of my father’s goons steps into the room, drawing me out of my own thoughts as I try to fight off the pain in my side from the bullet I know is still inside me.

Harley has been dozing off and on in the far corner of the room while I have been lost in my thoughts. I should have told the guys, my brothers, about my father. But I thought it was something I needed to handle on my own, so I never told a soul. It was a secret I thought I would carry to the grave, but I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. Of course, the bastard lived.

A guy in a ski mask walks in alone, a plate of food in his hand. Glancing past him out into the bright long hallway, I don’t see anyone else, and I know now is the time.

Harley has fully woken up and watches each movement as he walks between us and bends to set the plate on the ground. Sucking in a big breath, I push aside the pain pulsating through my body and let the image of my little girl being chained to the wall give me strength to fly forward and grip his leg, yanking him back so he loses his footing and falls on his back with a grunt.

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