Intertwined Souls (Beautiful Souls #3)

Chapter One

Cayden

T here haven’t been many moments in my life where I was completely caught off guard. I guess it comes with the territory when your father is a piece of shit who taught you from a young age to always keep your guard up.

But being with my brothers, with my girl, those worries slipped away, and I felt nothing but… pure joy. My mistake.

My eyes snap open as my nostrils flare from the rancid stench of what must be smelling salts seeping in. “Wakey, wakey,” a man’s voice snarls.

Trying to get my bearings as quickly as possible, I wiggle around only to realize my hands are tied behind my back while I lay on my stomach. As the fog clears from my mind, thoughts of Ryker, Grayson, and Harley come flooding in. Where are they? Are they safe?

I remember being the first one to come back up the hill from the beach where we had spent the whole evening fucking around, but then everything went dark. If I’m lucky, they’re still safe down there.

Someone suddenly grasps my shoulders and yanks me up until I’m resting on my knees. The ground seems to spin around me, and I have to blink rapidly to clear my vision so I can take in my surroundings. We are still on the same road, by the trail head that leads down to the beach, but we are on the other side of the street behind a few trees. I can see the shadow of someone leaning against my bike across the road right where I parked it.

The fucker who yanked me up steps in front of me, and it takes all my meticulous training to keep my face neutral. Connor. The fucking prospect from our club. It’s not hard to connect the dots now and realize he is the other fucking mole. Daniel first, and now Connor.

He smirks at me. “Nothing to say?” he taunts.

As I level him with a blank, uninterested stare, he raises a brow, realizing I don’t plan to respond. Shrugging, he moves to stand on my right, a gun hanging loosely in his hand.

There were plenty of times growing up that I wanted to kill my father. Fuck, I would daydream about how I would do it and what his screams would sound like when it was his ass sitting on the torture chair in our basement and not someone else. But ever since he was put in jail and I’ve been living at the club with my brother, I haven’t had any thoughts like that. Until now.

My heart races faster than it normally does, and it takes everything in me to keep my breathing even. I focus on the rope around my wrists; my hands feel clammy, but I ignore it and pull at my bindings.

There is some wiggle room but not enough to slip my hands through. I start messing with the knot I find, attempting to loosen it as my thoughts stray to Connor.

I would like to put him in my chair in the basement and take my time making him scream over and over again. I don’t even know what the fuck his plan is or why he is doing this, but there is no way I am asking or begging for answers. It’s what he wants.

Instead, I focus on getting out of these restraints, my eyes darting left and right to take in what’s happening around me. I couldn’t have been out long because I faintly hear Harley’s laughter like they are working their way back up the hill to where the bikes are.

My heart beats rapidly against my chest thinking about them walking up here and facing this unknown danger, but I have to trust their instincts. Their strength.

What is the plan? Who the fuck is the person leaning against my bike seeming relaxed as fuck as he waits for them to come up the hill? Why would Connor be a part of whatever this is?

I fucking swear to Satan himself if they hurt the guys or Harley, I will not stop until they are all broken into a million pieces or they kill me.

Grayson comes into sight first from the trail with Harley directly behind him. He has a smile on his face until he glances up and notices the person leaning against my bike. He stops mid-step, causing Harley to run into his back. She says something that I can’t quite hear from across the street.

Sweat beads down the back of my neck and I frown, unsure as to why I am feeling so—so anxious. It’s an almost foreign feeling to me, as I am so used to being able to flip a switch and turn off everything.

Ryker pushes his way forward, blocking Harley’s view. “Who the fuck are you?” he growls.

“No one you need to be concerned with. I just came to collect what is mine.” I don’t recognize his voice, but I think Harley does when she pushes in between Grayson and Ryker, her face pale and her beautiful hazel eyes wide with terror.

Is that who he is here to collect? I will die before he takes Harley anywhere.

She stares at him, unseeing for a moment, and then lets out a gasp, her hands clenching into tight fists at her sides. Even from across the road I can see her tiny frame trembling with fury.

“My, my, you have grown into a fine young woman,” the man remarks slowly, casually, like this is a friendly visit. I can only imagine the way he must be scanning my girl from head to toe.

I’ll rip his fucking eyes out and shove them down his throat if he tries anything.

Harley’s body stiffens while Ryker and Grayson are brimming with anger on either side of her.

“What exactly is it that you think belongs to you?” she snaps, her eyes narrowing. She keeps her back straight and her head held high, showing no signs of fear to whoever this fucker is. Good girl.

“Feisty,” he groans, tilting his head back. “You’re making my dick hard already.”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” Ryker seethes, stepping forward towards him.

The man tsks, “I wouldn’t if I were you.” He whistles, and more men step out from different areas surrounding them in a large, loose circle.

There are now more of them than us. But I can’t be worried about the numbers. We have one thing they don’t have: a fuck ton of rage and protectiveness over the ones we care for.

Connor yanks me to my feet, stepping behind me and pushing the gun into my side. He shoves me forward, and I stumble over my feet, feeling dizzy and lightheaded as we walk out from behind the tree and across the street to stand next to the man leaning against my bike.

With a hard shove from Connor, I land back on my knees with a small grunt. Harley gasps when she sees me, her eyes wide with concern.

But Ryker’s eyes narrow at Connor behind me. “You fucking traitorous piece of shit. I’m going to kill you,” he hisses. His jaw clenches, and his body is practically vibrating for a fight to expel the anger coursing through him.

Connor lets out a small chuckle, “I don’t think you’re in any position to be making threats.” Without even being able to see him I know there is a smug look on his stupid fucking face as he pushes his gun harder against my temple.

“Come with me peacefully and we will let the boys live,” the man I still don’t know says.

Like fucking hell any of us will let Harley go anywhere with this fucker. I almost laugh out loud.

Ryker curses under his breath, and I know he is preparing to say no just like me because fuck that. We can fight our way out of this. I’ve been working my wrists this entire time and can finally feel the rope loosening around my raw skin.

But before Ryker can do anything, our redheaded spitfire steps forward, her expression twisted with pure hatred. “I’ll go.”

Ryker grabs Harley’s upper arm and yanks her back against him. “No, the fuck you won’t,” he growls.

Harley opens her mouth to say something but with a glance at Ryker’s pissed-off face, she pinches her lips shut. He turns slightly, looking down at me, and I give him a small nod, then glance at Grayson, who also gives a small nod. Grayson might not like getting his hands dirty, but he has been trained to handle himself if needed.

Ignoring the pain of my raw wrists, I twist again and pull as hard as I can until one hand slips free. Giving myself a split second to shut down any fears or worries, I take a deep breath and then reach up and grip Connor’s wrist that has the gun to the side of my head.

Moving faster than he can register, I immediately yank his wrist up until it pops, and he drops the gun. I hear commotion behind me, but I keep my eyes focused on what I’m doing. I have to trust that my brothers have Harley and are keeping themselves alive.

They can handle themselves, I remind myself over and over again.

Snagging the gun from where it fell on the road, I jump to my feet and spin around, bringing the butt of the gun down on Connor’s temple as hard as I can, knocking him unconscious.

One of the guys who came out to surround us charges at me, and I quickly take a shot right between his eyes.

No remorse, boy. My father’s words echo in my mind as the man slumps to the ground, lifeless.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a groan as my vision blurs again and I sway slightly. Attempting to push back the feeling that something is wrong, I shake my head just as Ryker yells, “Harley, don’t!”

Turning around, I spot Grayson fighting off a guy while Ryker is taking on two. Another one starts moving up behind Grayson, but before he gets close, I easily take him out.

Swiveling around, I spot Harley slowly walking towards the man she recognized. Her face is pinched in pure determination as she stalks toward him. He smirks and stands tall but makes no move to do anything. His fucking mistake.

I hesitate, not sure whether to follow Harley or help my brothers, but when the guy fighting Grayson gets the upper hand and wraps his fingers around Grayson’s neck, I immediately sprint towards them and fire a shot at his knee. As soon as he releases Grayson, I take him out.

My hand trembles slightly, and I can’t help but glare down at it. Why am I feeling so many things? Is this all because I have Harley in my life now?

I need to turn it all off and focus, but turning it off leads to his voice in my head.

This is who you were meant to be, boy. Kill them. Clenching the gun in my hand, I shake my head, trying to dislodge my father’s voice swirling around me.

“You or them.” I turn my head and look at Gray. “Say it. You or them. It wasn’t a choice. Don’t spiral. We need you. Harley needs you. Keep it the fuck together.” The venom dripping from his voice and the use of the word fuck draws me out enough that I give him a sharp nod.

“Me or them,” I affirm. I have to focus.

“You get Ry. I’ve got Harley.”

Spinning around after Grayson’s command, I head towards Ryker. He took down one of the guys but is still fighting the other. He bounces on his toes, his face split into a wide, dangerous grin. Getting within a few feet of them, I can clearly see that Ry has it under control.

The other guy, a bearded, slightly large man is stumbling around trying to stay on his feet while blood drips down his face and his eye is swelling.

“Ryker,” I bark, “enough toying.”

He sighs, pulling a pocketknife from the back pocket of his jeans and jabbing it straight into the man’s neck. He sputters, his eyes wide with fear as his hands grab at his neck, and within seconds he drops.

Ryker bends down, wiping his knife off on the dead man’s jeans.

When he stands and turns towards me, I quickly scan him for other injuries, but he seems to be fully intact besides a split lip. “Anymore?” I question.

He points over his shoulder down the road. “Two. But the second you started firing the gun, they booked it out of here. We should call Noah and Rage, though. I don’t want to sit around here in the open for too long.”

Agreeing with him, we jog back over to where Harley and Grayson are facing off with the leader of this crew. It doesn’t look like any fights have broken out between them, which is odd. Why wouldn’t he try to snag her when we were all preoccupied if that’s what he came here for?

Ryker swiftly moves past me heading straight towards him, but Grayson is quick to swing his arm out, halting him. Gray shakes his head, and Ryker lets out a huff as he glances towards Harley.

My own eyes move to her as well, noticing her insanely tense stance. My feet start walking without thought, placing myself right behind Harley.

Harley hasn’t spoken. She just stares straight at him, never wavering.

“What the fuck is happening over here? Harley, who is this and why hasn’t anyone fucking killed him?” Ryker all but roars.

“This—this is the man who killed my mom,” Harley hisses through gritted teeth, never taking her eyes off of him. “He was just about to tell me everything.”

The figure tuts, “Ah, ah, ah, doll. That’s not how this works. Come with me, and I’ll give you all the information you crave.” He splays his hands wide.

“Like fucking hell will she be going with you,” Ryker spits.

The man chuckles and takes a few steps towards us. An uneasy feeling swirls in my gut— something is wrong. His dark, almost black eyes bore into mine. The man is bald and has a beard that runs down to his pecks. “Feeling alright, boy?” he asks with mock concern in his tone as he tilts his head, watching me.

Ryker looks over at me and furrows his brows. “Cade?”

The elevated heartrate, dizziness, clammy hands, sweating, vision blurring, and—and the anxiety I keep feeling. He fucking did something to me.

Clenching my fists at my sides, I try to remain impassive and not show how affected I am by this.

“Cayden?” A soft hand wraps around my wrist, drawing my attention down to Harley where she now stands sideways looking at me but still keeping him in her eyesight.

I shake my head, prepared to deny anything so I don’t worry them, when the fucker talks. “Lightheaded? Blurry vision? Feeling anxious? Wait until your entire body begins to tremble and break out in a cold sweat. That little panicked feeling really doubles down then. It’s truly a beautiful sight.” He grins at me.

I frown as confusion sets in about what is happening to me, but at the same time I almost feel peace knowing that something is wrong, and it wasn’t just me losing control of my emotions.

“What the fuck did you do to him, you piece of shit?” Harley seethes, her fingers tightening around my wrist.

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Gave you an incentive, little girl. I’ll admit, he wasn’t the one we were aiming for. But when he walked up here all alone, we had to seize the opportunity. Now, I’d suggest that you and your friend, who is about to become much more sick, come with me.”

“Fuck no. No one is going anywhere with you. I’m sure I could torture you enough that you’d admit to what you gave him,” Ryker says, his lips curling back.

The man inclines his head. “That may be, but how long will that take? How long does your dear brother have left?” he mocks.

The shaking in my hands has slowly worked its way through my body, and now I can feel my entire body trembling as sweat drips down the back of my neck.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough!” Harley yells. “I’ll go. But tell them what you gave him so they can fix it.”

He tuts, “No. You and your friend will come with me. Now, I am tired of this game. It’s growing old. Start walking. I’d hate to have to put a bullet between the other boys' eyes.”

Harley steps forward hesitantly, still gripping my wrist.

“It’s alright. Just follow him. We will figure it out. The club will find us,” I whisper to her. She nods slightly and puts a little more confidence in her steps.

“Isn’t Connor one of yours? Just going to leave him behind?” Ryker retorts, trying to stall.

Without looking away from Harley and I, the man lets out a small chuckle. “He fulfilled his purpose. Do what you want with him.” He gestures for us to walk ahead of him, going farther down the road. Hearing a small click, I glance back to find a gun in my face. “Keep going. Just making sure everyone behaves. Otherwise, I have no problem putting a bullet in the back of your head.”

About twenty feet along, we come across a truck that is tucked away on the side of the road covered by some overgrown weeds and grass. He has us keep walking until we get to the bed of the truck.

Before we can attempt anything, which wouldn't be much with my sluggish movements, a sharp pain hits the side of my head and darkness consumes me.

Every bone in my body feels weak and extremely heavy. I bite my lip to hold in a pained groan when I try to move my arms and legs. Peeling open my eyes, it takes them a while to adjust to the small, dark room I am in.

There is a crack under the door, allowing light from outside the room to come in. A small shuffle to my right has me jolting up, despite my body protesting the fast movements.

Letting my eyes fully open, the room spins, and it takes a full minute for it to stop, leaving me with a pounding headache. Glancing over to where I heard the noise, I find Harley. Sitting on the old, cracked concrete floor right next to the dirty mattress I'm on. Her knees are pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them tightly.

She takes me in from head to toe but doesn’t say anything. Her eyes gloss over, and I see a small amount of tension leave her shoulders—relief that I am awake.

Locking my gaze with her dull hazel eyes, I speak from a dry, scratchy throat, “Are you okay?” I don’t see any visible injuries, but she could still be hurt.

She pinches her lips together but says nothing, breaking eye contact to stare at the door that sits ten feet away from us in the tiny storage-like room we’re in. There is nothing else in here. Just us and this filthy mattress.

Her not speaking worries me more than anything else. I know what can cause the silence. What drags you down so low you have no choice but to shut it all down. I don’t know how long I was out, so I have no idea when we got here or how long it’s been. Scooting forward towards Harley, I slide off the mattress and place my back against the wall right next to her. A dizzy spell hits, and I have to squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for it to pass.

A few deep breaths later, the room slowly stops spinning. My body feels heavy, and a pressure sits on my chest, very slowly taking me down. I have no idea what I was given, but pushing those thoughts down, I focus back on Harley.

I can worry about myself later. She is what matters right now.

“Harley?” I murmur, letting my head fall back against the wall as I glance at her. She still hasn’t moved; I don’t even think she has blinked. “Harley, you need to talk to me. I don’t know how long we have until someone comes in here.”

Growing slightly frustrated with her frozen state, I force my muscles to fucking move and grip her chin between my fingers, making her look at me. She stares right through me, not truly seeing anything besides whatever has consumed her and taken her down to the deepest depths of her internal hell.

“Baby girl,” I growl. “That’s enough. You can break down, retreat, hurt me, do whatever you need to do when we get the fuck out of here. But right now, I need you to find the anger—the rage that I know is coursing through your veins, and use it. I don’t know how much help I’ll be or when my body will collapse, so I need you to shove it all down and get it together. Break later.” I snap the last part, hoping that if anything, I can piss her off and pull her out of her head long enough to figure out what to do next.

Harley jerks her chin out of my grip, shooting me a glare and letting out a shaky, “Fuck you, Cade.” There’s not much heat behind it, her emotions still shoved to the back of her mind, but it was enough to pull her from the complete shutdown.

Nodding, I let out a breath. “Good. Grab hold of that flicker of anger I know is there and use it. The rest we can deal with later when we get the fuck out of here.” She squeezes her hands into tight fists, her jaw clenching almost painfully, but she gives me a subtle nod, so I continue. “Did you see where we went? Fill me in on the basics since that motherfucker knocked me out.”

“David,” she whispers and then straightens her back, narrowing her eyes at the wall across from her as if she can see his face there. “His name is David. He’s Tammy’s father.”

Fuck. Her father? Where the hell did he come from? I shake the questions away and focus on my girl right now who I know needs me to keep her centered.

“Harley, I need you to focus. Don’t go down that rabbit hole yet. Where are we?”

“He didn’t cover my eyes or anything. After he threw you in the bed of the truck, I tried to pull one over on him. Grayson had snuck me a knife, but before I could get it out, he pointed the gun at you again.” Her nostrils flare. “He tossed me a zip tie and told me to bind my wrists together or he’d shoot you. After I got them on, he walked over and tightened them before pulling me to the passenger seat of the truck. He tied my bound wrists to the headrest above my head. I cursed him out, reminding him that the others would come for us. He wouldn’t get away with this.”

Running a frustrated hand through her red messy curls, she lets out an annoyed sigh.

“He sliced all the tires on the bikes. They wouldn’t have been able to follow us. We drove for about forty minutes. I’m not too sure where we are, since I don’t know the area. But we didn’t go back the way that we had taken to get to the beach earlier. This is some abandoned warehouse.

“There are also two others here working for him. I couldn’t try anything—I couldn’t do fucking anything,” she seethes. “Every time I tried, he held you over my head. I couldn’t let anything happen to you.” She murmurs the last part so quickly I almost don’t hear her. Blinking away the tears that have formed at the corner of her eyes, she asks, “Will they find us? What do we do?”

Keeping my composure, knowing Harley needs me to keep it all together—even as fury that I haven’t felt in years floods my veins—I ask, “What did you see when they brought us in?”

Harley pinches her lips together before answering with a furrowed brow, “Not much. It’s one big room with some old couches and a half-rotten bar on the far side. There are a few doors on the left side of the room, but we went right and came down a hall that had two doors and then this one at the end.”

“And there’s two others with David?” At this, she nods. I exhale, taking stock of my body as I respond, “Alright. My body is slowly shutting down. I can’t move too fast without getting dizzy, but if you can get your hands on a gun, I can help us get out of here. Harley,” I give her a stern look. “You will have to fight. Don’t freeze. Don’t hesitate. You remember everything you’ve learned; all the anger swirling inside of you needs to come to the surface. The breakdown can wait until we get the fuck out of here. Got me?”

Harley locks her gaze with mine, using my eyes as her anchor. She rolls her shoulders back and takes a deep breath. “Got it.”

“Good. Now, come here.” I demand.

She rises to her knees and inches forward next to me, bringing our faces close. Raising a trembling, aching hand, I cup the back of her neck and pull her close. Gently pressing my lips to hers, she makes a noise in the back of her throat and cups my cheeks in her hands, ending the kiss far too soon for my liking.

Opening my eyes, I meet her tear-filled ones. “Harley…”

“I’m scared,” she whispers. “Not of this—this shit with David, that’s a different story. But I’m terrified I’m going to lose you. We don’t know what’s happening to your body. Cade, I just found you. I can’t lose you yet. I’m not ready.” She shakes her head, a few tears escaping down her freckled cheeks, “I can’t ever lose you.”

“Babygirl, you aren’t going to lose me. The world may be a cruel place, but we don’t meet the other half of our soul only to lose it. I have to believe that.” My chest tightens in a way it never has before.

All these emotions, feelings, her tears—they are foreign to me. And yet, they don’t feel wrong. Everything about Harley feels meant to be.

“Just please be okay. Save your strength. I’ll do what I can.”

Nodding, I press our foreheads together, but we are quick to pull apart at the sound of thudding footsteps coming towards the door. Harley backs away, sitting against the wall next to me. My eyes widen when she takes a shuddering breath, pulls her knees to her chest, hunches her shoulders, and begins silently sobbing.

A lock clicks, and the creaky door is pushed open. It takes me a few seconds to adjust to the brightness, a dark figure coming into focus.

“Ah, you're awake. I’m surprised,” David hums. “Maybe you weren’t given enough.” He tilts his head, staring down at me.

“What happened to you giving me this supposed antidote?” I rasp, glaring at him.

He tilts his head at me as a grin stretches over his face and he slowly glances at Harley. “I’ll think about it. It really depends on how you choose to behave.”

Based on the cocky smile on his stupid fucking face, I’ll bet he doesn’t have any plans to actually give it to me. If he even has something that could help me at all. He just wanted Harley here and under his control in the easiest way possible.

Harley lets out a loud sniffle and raises her head up, letting the tears continue to stream down her face. “Don’t hurt him. I’ll do whatever you want,” she sobs.

David rolls his eyes. “Please don’t tell me you're losing your fire already. I was very much looking forward to breaking you. I expected more out of you, Harley. Honestly, losing it over some kid?” He raises a brow at her and lets out a dramatic sigh.

Harley cries harder, and the sounds coming from her are heart-wrenching. As much as I know this isn’t fully real—these tears are not fake either.

I want to know what happened. What was said. Did he lay a hand on her? Trying to let my anger rise and take over is futile when I can feel my body getting weaker by the second.

Harley jerks up to her knees, moving towards David. “Please,” she begs, raising her hand to rest on his thigh. He sighs and pets her head . He shouldn’t be fucking touching her. I will my body to do anything, to get up. Help her. She shouldn’t have to do this alone.

Bile threatens to rise watching his hand move through her hair, knowing I’m useless. I’m fucking useless right now.

My eyes droop as I watch him grip the back of her hair in his fist and yank her to her feet. Harley lets out a small gasp of pain. There are fast movements on the other side of the room that I can’t fully make out as my vision blurs and my eyes refuse to stay open.

Blinking quickly, the room spins and my head throbs as my body slowly falls to the side. There’s a loud grunt somewhere across the room.

And then there’s nothing at all.