Page 74 of Intertwined Souls

He walks us over to where Cade is at the wall of equipment, and Cade quirks a brow. “Tired, baby girl?”

I nod, and he steps behind Ryker to where my arms are draped over his shoulders and pulls my gloves off before unwrapping my hands for me.

Ryker carries me upstairs to my room with Cade right behind us. As soon as we step into my room, he sets me on my feet, but I squeak as I’m swooped right off them again by Cade, who walks straight out of my room and across to his.

“What the fuck, Cade?” Ryker yells in protest.

“Thanks for carrying her up here,” Cade says over his shoulder as we get to his door.

Ryker grumbles behind us, calling Cade an asshole, and a giggle slips past my lips as we head into the bathroom in his room.

As we turn onto the road that leads us towards the Wilson’s driveway, I let my eyes fall shut and take deep breaths, remembering that I have the power now. I am safe. This is just a house; nothing here can hurt me, and I won’t be trapped the second I step inside.

The guys who rode their bikes and another truck stay at the end of the road while our truck, with Cade, Noah, Grayson, Ryker, and I, along with Gabe's and Nerds’ truck, pull up to the end of the driveway.

Gabe jumps out and jogs back to our truck. “Noah, Ryker, let’s go. Everyone else stays right here until we figure out if anyone is home or not,” Gabe orders.

Squeezing Ryker’s hand as he goes to get out, I say, “Be careful.”

He shoots me a wink and takes off down the driveway with Gabe and Noah. Grayson rests his hand on my thigh, and I glance at him. “Everything is going to be fine. You know you don’t have to get out of the truck if we do go in, right?”

Clearing my dry throat, I retort, “I know. But I do have to go in.”

Before Cade or Grayson can say more, our phones all buzz with a group text from Gabe. “Ryker just broke in,” I say, exhaling through my nose. “That means no one is there.”

A few more minutes pass before we all get the okay to come down the driveway. Cade turns onto the gravel road, and as the house comes into sight, my stomach twists and I feel like I’m going to vomit.

It’s just a fucking house, Harley. It means nothing.

Hopping out of the truck the second it stops, I meet Ryker at the front door. He watches me with a worried gaze.

“Don’t ask me if I’m sure. I’m doing this,” I snap at him.

Raising his brows, Ryker holds his hands up in the air. “Alright, little flame.”

I walk through the front door and glance around the home I was forced to clean for three years. Everything still looks the exact same.

The bathroom by the front door where Richard used to watch me, the living room I only ever walked in to clean. The kitchen sink my head was shoved in many times over the years. The kitchen floor where my beaten body ended up countless times.

Round the corner to the dining room, my eyes immediately find the corner I had to stand in. My stomach clenches painfully, remembering how hungry I was.

The slider door opens, and I spin around to find Colton standing there looking me over. Feeling like I might freak out on someone if they ask me if I’m okay, I turn away from him and walk into another room.

Everyone else has dispersed through the house, and I can hear them talking to each other about how their clothes are mostly gone. Personal items from the bathroom are missing. It looks like they packed up what they could and ran.

Gabe calls for Nerds from down the hall, and I follow behind Nerds stepping into the office they have. “Do you know how to open this safe?” he asks.

Gabe points to the safe in the wall behind the desk. Nerds gets closer to it, looking it over. Bile rises in my throat as I step forward and gently nudge Nerds out of the way. He eyes me like a ticking bomb but steps aside.

Squatting down, I glance at the keypad and enter the passcode.

071815

The little light in the corner of the keypad blinks green, and the lock for the safe disengages. Instead of opening it, I stand up and walk to the opposite wall in the office and lean my forehead against it, taking deep breaths trying to stop the vomit that is rising in my throat from coming out.

When I stand up straight again, I find all three of my guys standing in the doorway. Irritation burns under my skin at the concerned looks they’re giving me.

Stalking towards them, I angrily mumble, “I’m fine.”

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