Page 68 of Intertwined Souls

“After all this is over, we will be able to get this information to someone we trust within the FBI. And then they will be going to jail for a long fucking time. I know we want to kill these fucking sick bastards, but killing a judge, a sheriff, and other important people in town won’t be easy to smooth over. But have the FBI swoop in at the end and arrest their asses? That will be a celebration.”

I nod, thinking over everything he’s saying. “Alright. But when do we even do all of this? How do we know when it’s time to actually take action?”

“That’s something Rage will have to discuss with us in church, and he’ll have to base it on how fast you and I can plan everything.”

“Okay. Have you messed with the Black Night Ball website anymore?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. I am a little stuck on how to get in without it setting off alarms because whoever created the site is damn fucking good at keeping people out.”

While thinking it over, I move back over to the desk on the other end of the long back wall that has basically become my spot and get started on checking out everyone who is involved in the club.

Nerds left the tech room a few hours ago to go talk with Rage and hasn’t come back in yet. I’ve been making slow progress going through all of our members. It’s going to be a long few days for me trying to get through everyone. On the plus side, everyone that I’ve checked out so far is good. I haven’t found anything bad or suspicious.

Leaning back in the chair, I stretch my arms over my head just as the door opens behind me. I spin around to find Harley leaning against the door frame. Her lips are pinched together, and she has a pained expression on her face.

“Hey, beautiful. Did your test go okay?” I say softly.

She nods and steps into the room, shutting the door behind her. Walking over to my desk, she hesitantly leans her butt against the edge, and her fingers squeeze the desk on either side of her.

Wetting her lips, she watches me nervously for a moment before quietly asking, “You saw her?”

Realizing Rage or someone must have filled her in about Tammy making an appearance at the club, my eyes soften. “Yeah, I did. How are you feeling?”

Shrugging, she drops her head and stares at her feet. Instead of answering my question, she says, “Tell me what you thought.”

Tilting my head, I roll my chair so I’m in front of her with my knees on either side of her legs. Harley raises her head enough to meet my eyes when I grasp her hips. “She doesn’t matter, Harley. She doesn’t deserve us sitting here thinking about her. You have made so much progress since you got away from her. Don’t let this drag you back down. No matter what, every single person in this club will stand with you.

“We are all mad on your behalf. No one wanted to stand there and listen to her shit. The only reason we did is because we have to play the long game. And as more things happen, as we take down this empire she has formed, you might hear about her or even see her more.”

Taking a deep breath, I lock my gaze with her scared and withdrawn eyes.

“I’m going to take a wild guess here and assume you aren’t stuck in your head because this brought up what she did to you. But you are worried we were sucked into her trap, right? That she showed up here with a smile, dressed nicely, seeming like the picture-perfect woman and we would all think, She’d never harm a hair on someone else.”

“How do you know that?” she whispers, blinking away tears.

“Because you are strong and brave, but you’ve also been put through so much in your life already. When you lost your mom, who was your person, you latched onto the thought of Tammy, who you thought was your aunt and was going to protect and love you. You fell into her trap. So why wouldn’t we?”

“I know it’s stupid,” Harley blurts with a slight sniffle. “It’s really stupid to let my mind go there, but it does.”

“It’s not stupid. Not at all. Our brains rewire after trauma in an attempt to protect ourselves from more harm. It’s what I did when Lincoln told me who he was. I’m still struggling to fight off the part of me that assumes he is going to leave me like the rest of my family has.

“If they share the same blood as me then they eventually leave in one way or another, right?” I shake my head. “But it’s not right. Feeling it is okay. But don’t let it set you back or make you retreat into yourself and feel like you can’t trust us, okay?”

She nods and drops down into my lap, draping her legs over mine and burying her head against my neck. “I know. I think that’s why I left everyone else out there and came back here. I just needed you.”

Wrapping my arms tightly around her, I breathe her in. I need you, too.

Tamara (Tammy) Wilson

Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out. Everything is fine. It’s fine.

Pulling into the driveway, I fly out of the car and run inside our home, yelling, “Richard! Richard, where the fuck are you?”

“Tam? Why are you yelling? What’s going on?” Richard asks as he walks out from the hallway across the room, freezing when he sees my face. “Why does it look like you’ve seen a ghost?” He runs a hand through his greying short hair, and the skin around his eyes crinkles as he frowns down at me.

“I went by David’s club since we haven’t heard from him in so long and we know from our source that Harley is still at SOS. I know that old fucker. There is no fucking way he would just give up trying to get his hands on her. He has been working on it for years ever since we got her from the hospital,” I breathe.

Richard’s forehead creases. “Okay, and what happened?”

---