Chapter Two
Harley
S taring up into the eyes of the man who took everything from my mom, I want nothing more than to watch the life drain from his pathetic body. Slowly… painfully.
But instead, I have to get us the fuck out of here. I can hear Cade behind me, his breathing getting more ragged by the minute. He has been looking more clammy and pale the longer we’ve been here.
He needs help, and he needs it now. Help Cade, I repeat over and over again to keep all the other thoughts shoved back into a corner.
Forcing a few more tears to fall, I blink up at David. “Please.” I beg.
He reaches his hand down and runs it through my hair. My breath catches, and I break out into goosebumps everywhere, but I force my body to stay still, not panic. Bile rises in the back of my throat at the feel of his clammy hands on me, but I swallow it and do my best to shove any and all feelings down.
I can be repulsed when I am not at his mercy. When our lives are not hanging in the balance, depending on my actions in this very moment.
His hand stops at the back of my neck where he fists my hair and yanks me up off my knees. I gasp, the pain seeping in for a split second, but just like my time at Tammy’s I shove it down and stay focused.
When David first brought us in here, he still had his gun in his hand. When he went to leave, he tucked it into the back of his jeans. Here’s to hoping it’s still there. I reach my hand around his waist while he is distracted, enjoying the sound of my gasp when he yanked me up.
Feeling the cool metal of the gun, I yank it out and shove it against his side, making sure to dig it into his skin. David freezes and stares down at me, his hand still fisted in my hair.
“What’s the plan, little girl? Going to shoot me?” He grins. “I knew that fire didn’t dim that fast.”
He yanks on my hair again, forcing my neck back to an uncomfortable angle. His other hand reaches over and grasps my wrist that is holding the gun, trying to yank it away.
I recall what Lincoln always told me . If someone gets you by the hair, your first priority is breaking their grip. Otherwise, they have too much control over you. His arm is stretched across his chest, reaching down to where I hold the gun at his side, and I quickly push forward, catching him off guard as I bite his upper arm until I taste blood.
David lets out a curse, and his grip on my hair loosens. Bringing my leg around his, I kick as hard as I can, causing him to fall backwards onto his ass. His grip on my wrist doesn’t falter, dragging me with him down to my knees.
The second we land, he moves faster then I expect, throwing me onto my back and pinning me down. I still have the gun in my hand, but he grips my wrist, holding it up before slamming it onto the ground over and over again until I release the gun.
Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. He straddles my hips and holds my wrists on either side of my head, smirking down at me.
The sound of my heartbeat thrashes in my ears as I bite my lip to stop it from trembling. No matter how much progress I have made, that doesn’t stop the terror I feel at being pinned down. I’m doing everything I can to maintain my composure. Not show him how badly I want to scream, cry, even beg.
“Hm, this is more like it. Right where you’re meant to be. I think it’s about time we inject your friend again and then maybe I will take you right here in front of him. You can watch him slip into a coma before his heart slowly stops while I rail you like I have been craving to do for years.” Groaning, David leans down and runs his nose up the side of my face, inhaling.
I turn my head away as far as I can and squeeze my eyes shut. Think, Harley. Don’t freeze up. Cade needs you.
A loud bang and then a gunshot rings through the silence in the room. David sits up straight, still holding me down, and peers out the door. I take advantage of the distraction and bring my leg up in between his as far as I can get it, using all my strength and pent-up anger to jam my knee straight into his dick.
Letting out a howl, he releases my wrists. I grab the gun from where it still lays on the ground and hit him against the head with it. I have enough force to knock him off of me, but it doesn’t render him unconscious.
Climbing up onto shaky legs, I stare down at his still smiling face. “Why are you still fucking smiling?” I scream at him, pointing the gun at his chest.
“This is the most fun I’ve had since your mom was still in my hands. You aren’t going to shoot me. You may have fire, but you are still a child,” he sneers, raising a cocky eyebrow at me.
Aiming the gun down to his knee, I exhale and then take the shot just how Ryan taught me. David cusses and grips his leg while moaning in pain. “Why the fuck does everyone keep underestimating me?” I growl.
Glancing back over to Cade’s pale, unconscious form, my heart skips a beat. I run over to him and check for a pulse; it’s there but it’s weak. “Stay with me, Cade. Please. I’m going to get us out of here,” I murmur, running my hand down his cheek.
The sound of thundering footsteps draws me back to the present and remembering that someone else is here. There was a gunshot a few minutes ago.
Spinning around, I sprint over to the door and stand behind it.
The steps grow louder as someone approaches. I can hear a few whispered words, so I know it’s more than one person. Fuck.
My heart pounds so hard my chest begins to ache, and my vision threatens to go blurry as my breathing turns shallow. Taking a deep breath, I wait until someone steps into the doorway, blocking the light shining into the room. Without thought, I step out, gun raised.
“Woah, Harley. It’s me, Axe, remember me?” He raises his hands and steps back into the hallway. “Ryker!” he yells.
I recognize him; there isn’t a doubt in my mind that he’s from the club. But for some reason, I can’t lower the gun. I can’t take my finger off the trigger or look away from the target in front of me. Adrenaline races through me, and the only thought left in my mind is Cade.
Get Cade out, get him help. Keep him safe. Nothing else matters. Someone else runs into the open doorway where I still face off with Axe, blocking my view of him.
“Little flame, it’s alright now. Give me the gun.” Ryker steps forward and grasps the barrel of the gun, not even seeming fazed that it is pointed directly at his chest. My hand starts to shake, and I release the weapon, stumbling back. Ryker passes it back to someone else and then steps up to me, but I shake my head.
“C–Cade.” I point to where he is. “Help him. Help him.” The words tumble out as I run back over to him and drop to my knees next to his head.
More voices sound behind me, but now knowing that Ryker is here, in the room with us, I feel like I can breathe a little more. The walls Cade made me bring up are slowly crumbling around the edges, the numbness from the day's events is fading, and everything is beginning to feel overwhelming.
Someone drops down on the other side of Cade and I jump, my eyes shooting up, connecting with Stone’s dark irises. “Is he injured anywhere?” he asks gruffly.
I shake my head. “No, just whatever they gave him. He’s been clammy, pale, getting dizzy. He said the room kept spinning and that his muscles felt weaker by the minute. Then he eventually passed out,” I ramble on, doing my best to recount everything I can remember Cade saying or what I noticed.
Stone’s brows dip in confusion, he reaches behind him and pulls his phone out, typing something and then nodding down at the device before slipping it back in his pocket again. “Axe, Sugar, come help me get him to the truck. We need to get him back to the club.”
They shift closer to help carry Cade out of the room, but I can’t seem to move out of the way.
Colton murmurs from where he squats down close to me, “Darlin’? Are you alright?” I shake my head, the most I feel I can do right now as I stare down at Cade’s unmoving form. “Harl–” he starts again, but I don’t hear whatever else he says because the person who caused all of this is spewing his own bullshit behind us.
Everything happened so fast, I forgot he was still awake. Taking one more glance down at Cade, I drop my head and kiss his forehead, then swiftly stand and move around Colton heading towards the door to follow the others out to where they are dragging David.
In the main room, Gabriel and Ryker drop David on the old, stained couch and stand in front of him.
Gabriel’s glare is enough to stop my feet from moving any farther. I stand a few feet behind the couch, listening to what he says.
“I should put a bullet right between your eyes and be fucking done with you, you sick bastard. But there are questions that need answers, and you are the only one who is going to give them,” Gabriel seethes.
David chuckles, “Oh? Didn’t get much out of Connor, I take it?”
Gabriel glares down at him, his arms crossed over his chest. “Connor?” he chuckles just like David did, sending shivers down my spine. “He’s currently burning in a hole in the ground in the middle of the woods. It took us all of ten minutes to break the stupid kid down and he told us where to find this club, and what you had him doing.”
A small part of me almost feels like it can relax knowing one of the threats against us is no longer a concern.
David rolls his eyes. “This all goes way past you, boy. You wouldn’t understand. I always told your pops he should have sent you off or killed you years ago because you would never live up to the club name.”
“And this disgusting pit does?” Gabriel scoffs, raising a brow.
“It does its job. Now, what's the plan? You want to kill me? You could.” He shrugs. “But it doesn’t end here. You have no idea what lies in the shadows waiting for the right moment to attack.” He chuckles darkly. “I’m not the only one who wants your precious little daughter.” Tilting his head, he locks eyes with me. “Well, or my daughter.”
And with those three simple words, or my daughter, my legs are moving before I even register what I am doing. Stalking around the couch, I bypass Gabriel and Ryker, the latter of which hasn't taken his eyes off me once since he came into the storage room Cade and I were in.
Coming to stand directly in front of David, I pull my fist back and put all my strength—my pent up fury, confusion, fucking devastation—into the punch, knocking his head to the side and giving him a bloody nose.
The fucker grins up at me, not even fazed, and I lose it.
Bending down to put my hands on his knees, I offer him the same sadistic smile he has given me all fucking day.
Then I press my thumb directly into the bullet hole on his knee, pressing down as hard as I can.
He tries to hold his pained grunt in, but it slips past his crusty ass lips anyway. He goes to grab me, but before he can an arm shoots past me and grips his hand, yanking it back until you hear the pop of his wrist breaking.
David screams, and I glance up to meet Ryker’s almost black eyes. He mirrors my smile and winks at me. “Got your back, little flame.”
“Harley—” Gabriel hesitates, coming to stand on my other side.
Pulling my thumb from David’s wound, I stand up straight again and look at Gabriel, noticing the worry and hesitation in his features.
I shake my head. “Don’t. Please don’t stop me. Let me prove to you I can do this. I have to do this.” Narrowing my eyes back down at David, I lower my tone. “Especially now.”
All the things he said to me on the way here attempt to take over my thoughts, but I push them away and focus on the piece of shit in front of me. He deserves everything he gets and worse.
Gabriel sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Alright. But Harley, there is no shame in stepping back when it becomes too much. It doesn’t make you weak or make us look at you any differently, okay?”
I give him a sharp nod and let my demons out to play.
Ryker
Harley’s face contorts with fury like I have never seen before. Behind it is layers and layers of hurt, pain, and devastation. We have no idea what happened before we got here, but whatever did will never leave Harley.
When we realized that our tires were slashed and we couldn’t immediately follow, I lost my shit on Connor, who had just woken up. It only took five broken fingers, a broken nose, and probably a few broken ribs before he was spilling his guts, telling us everything.
His dad was the vice president here under David—was, because Rage killed him when we stormed into this shitty warehouse earlier. Connor wanted to prove himself so that eventually, when it was time for his dad to step down, he could take over. He wanted to earn his keep.
But instead of doing normal prospect shit, they had him follow after Daniel and come join SOS. He was watching them at first to gather routines, any information on the businesses, and documenting anything illegal that happened.
They wanted to ruin our club so they could take over our territory in Jacksonville. I’ll admit, I laughed a little when he said that shit.
The only problem was that Rage has flipped the club around. There is a hell of a lot less illegal activity than before. And anything that needs to be kept under the table is only run through ranking officers, so Connor was basically useless. That is, until Harley came into our lives and we had to have big mouths about meeting her at school. He said something to David, who immediately put him on the task of helping to find her and figuring out if Rage had a plan for her or anything.
After he finished spilling everything to Grayson, Noah, Rage, and I, Noah brought out his full enforcer side in front of us and beat him to death. First Daniel and now Connor; it’s going to hit everyone in the club really hard that we had two moles within our walls for so fucking long and we had no idea.
“…Your daughter is a fucking waste of space, but she did one thing that I can now use to my advantage.”
Harley’s voice brings me back to the present as she squats down next to David, who is now laying down on the floor with his hands tied behind his back underneath him.
“Over the course of three years, I probably spent ninety percent of that time with a cracked rib or two,” Harley sneers and stands back up, placing her foot on the lower left side of his chest. “Right here? This was her favorite spot to kick. After she’d beat me until I couldn’t get off the floor.”
She rears her foot back and kicks straight into the spot her foot was resting. David lets out a loud pained grunt; I'm surprised he didn’t scream considering we all heard his rib crack.
Harley heaves a breath and shuts her eyes for a moment. When she opens them again, there is nothing there. No sadness, no pain. She doesn’t even seem angry. Just numb. Her pupils are so dilated that her eyes look almost completely black.
Reaching behind her, she pulls out a small pocketknife . Where the fuck did she get that from?
She straddles his chest, lowering herself so her knees rest on either side of him. Flicking open the knife, she runs it down his face, pushing hard enough to slice him directly below his right eye, down his cheek and to his lip.
Her lips pull back in a sneer as she stares down at him. “That one was for me.”
Tossing the knife to the side, Harley rains down blows to his face, not leaving even an inch of it untouched.
David doesn’t speak; he tries to wiggle away but can’t with his hands tied under him. The cocky smirk he has carried all day is finally gone as he stares up at Harley with a hint of fear in his eyes.
By the time she finally stops, her chest is rapidly rising and falling, and a few tears escape her glossy eyes, rolling down her cheeks. “I sincerely hope that you keep breathing as we light this place on fire. When the ceiling and walls start to cave in around you, when you feel the smoke seeping into your lungs, I hope you feel every single piece of flesh as it burns off.
“And while you’re in that agonizing pain of being burned alive with no way out, I hope it’s her face you see. Lilian Thomas. The woman who did survive you. Who did fucking escape you. Who raised a daughter to get revenge on her behalf.”
She stands up and steps away from him, narrowing her eyes.
“You deserve so much worse than this. You’re getting off easy.” Harley glances from her dad to me before asking. “Can we light this place on fire?”
There are so many things running through my head right now. I want to hold her, comfort her, help her destroy everyone, bring her out of whatever hell is keeping her captive. I want revenge on her behalf.
I feel an inescapable need to take out all of these conflicting feelings on someone—not just anyone, but someone who hurt my little flame.
But instead, I put on a front and stand with her. Shooting her a grin, I nod fiercely. “Fuck yes.”
“Ryker,” Rage says in a strained voice. “There should be extra gas cans in the back of the truck they left here for us. Grab them, but don’t come back in until I come out. There’s one more thing that needs to be done,” he growls, clenching his jaw. “Harley, go with him.” This time, his tone is softer, but still demanding.
“What—” she starts, but he shakes his head.
“He took something from her. He took it over and over again when she was nothing but an innocent, defenseless child. So I am going to take it from him and show him the pain she had to feel every time he raped her.” There’s a hard edge to Rage’s words as he scowls down at David.
I wince, catching onto his meaning, my hand lowering to cover my dick. Yikes. Walking over to Harley, I grab her hand and pull her out the front door towards the truck, not wanting to see any of what is about to happen in there.
Harley’s face is still blank, but tears keep streaming silently down her cheeks. When we reach the truck, I grab her hips and gently push her up against the side of it, pressing my front against her.
Raising my hands to her cheeks, I gently cup them and wipe her tears away with my thumbs. “Little flame, talk to me,” I plead.
She shakes her head slightly and clenches her eyes shut. “I can’t. There’s nothing—” Shaking her head again, she whispers, “I can’t. I want to watch this place burn with him in it, and then I need to see Cade. I need to know he is okay.” Her voice cracks, and she clears her throat, looking down at my chest instead of at my eyes.
“Let me call Grayson real quick. He stayed back with Nerds to help track you guys and give us directions.” Pulling out my phone, I call him and wait for him to answer. When he does, I ask, “Gray, how is Cade?”
“He’s alright. Doc and Brielle are helping him—”
Harley’s eyes shoot towards the phone in my hand. “Brielle?” she questions.
Grayson chuckles softly on the other end of the line. “Yes, beautiful. Today is Saturday. They got here while we were at the beach. Remember they were coming for a BBQ this weekend?”
“Oh, yeah,” she mumbles flatly, eyes still distant.
“Anyway, they figured out what he was given. Or, well, their best guess anyway. I haven’t had a chance to go check yet, so I’m not sure what it was, but Sugar popped in and said he is going to be okay.” He hesitates for a moment before asking, “Is Harley?”
I clear my throat. “We’re wrapping up here and then heading back. Not okay, but we will rally. Together. ” I emphasize the last word while using my free hand to guide Harley’s chin up and make her look at me.
She doesn’t acknowledge me, but she also doesn’t pull away, so I’ll take that as a win.
After ending the call with Gray, Harley’s shoulders lose a tiny bit of tension as she helps me grab the gas cans from the bed of the truck. I can see her eyeing me, but I don’t ask her anything, giving her a chance to voice whatever it is that is on her mind.
When we get back up by the front door, we set the cans down and wait for Rage to come out.
“Why are you so calm?” Harley questions with a small raise of her brows, the biggest reaction I have seen from her yet—improvement.
I chuckle at her question, “Oh, babe, this is me after the explosion. I had my chance to calm down. And now that we have you and Cade safe and sound, I feel even better.”
Before she can say anything else, an agonized scream echoes from inside the building. I wince as the door opens several moments later and Rage walks out, blood all over his shirt, arms, and hands.
Glancing at Harley as we pick up the cans and start towards Rage, I say, “Oh, and by the way, I have made the executive decision for everyone that we will all be getting trackers implanted under our skin.”
Flashing her a grin, I pick up my speed and hand off a gas can to Rage, who looks more than pleased with himself.
“Ryker—” Harley sputters behind me.
“Come on, babe, buildings and people to burn. Get busy dumping that all over this shit hole.” I wiggle my can for emphasis.
“You guys soak the outside. I’ll go inside. I don’t think either of you will want to see what it looks like in there,” Rage says with a small tilt of his lips.
“Please stop talking. You're going to give me nightmares.” I shiver and run a hand down the front of my jeans; I need to make sure my dick is still there because I’m pretty sure it might shrivel up and hide if Rage doesn’t shut up.
It takes up about five minutes to get everything covered in gas. Rage being the last to come back out pours the remainder of his gas in a path from the front door towards where we stand.
Pulling a lighter from his pocket, he flicks it open and holds it out to Harley. “No pressure. But I thought I would offer it to you first.” He shrugs.
Without hesitation, Harley snags it from his hand, lights it, and tosses it down onto the gas. Like a slow-motion movie montage, we stand shoulder to shoulder and watch the fire rise and inch towards the warehouse before working its way up the walls and engulfing the entire building.
We continue to watch for a few minutes until even more screams ring out, these ones deafening and guttural. Yeah, David’s not getting out of this one. I can’t help but wince as he continues screeching in agony.
Being burned alive… Jesus Christ.
Rage exhales and looks at Harley. “Come on, we need to head out before anyone spots the fire and calls it in.”
He steps back, heading towards the truck while Harley keeps staring at the building holding the man who killed and defiled her mother. I grab her hand and intertwine our fingers together as a single tear falls down her cheek, directly over her scar.
“Burn in hell, motherfucker,” Harley whispers.