Page 91 of Intertwined Souls

Atlas parks and hops out to come open the back doors to the van. I climb out first and then help out the boy and girl. Atlas leads them towards the club, explaining to them who each person they see is.

Holding out my hand for Tia, she watches me cautiously and then moves towards me, but she doesn’t take my hand, instead opting to get herself out. The sound of a truck coming down the driveway has us turning our heads to see Noah’s truck with the guys, Harley, and Oakley coming into park.

They all get out, and Ryker gently scoops up Oakley, carrying her inside. Tia, who had been standing next to me, sucks in a breath at the sight and then breaks out into a run. Worried she is going to freak out on Ryker because Oakley is clearly knocked out, I run behind her but don’t want to grab her, so I just try to get ahead of her.

She doesn’t go towards them. Instead, she goes straight for Harley who is still standing by the truck. She turns just as Tia throws herself into her arms, tightly wrapping her arms around her neck.

Harley pales and holds her hands out to her sides, but after a moment she softens and slowly wraps her arms around Tia, soaking in the hug. Her eyes fall shut, and I watch a tear roll down her cheek.

“Thank you. Oakley saves us. You save Oakley,” Tia cries. “Thank you.”

Pulling back, Harley cups Tia’s cheeks. “You don’t have to thank me, sweetheart. You saved Oakley, you know? You helped us get to her. You are so brave and strong.”

Tia cries, and a small smile forms on her lips. Before she can respond, the smile drops and she frowns before crying out and leaning against Harley. “It–it hurts,” she moans in pain.

“Okay, okay, can you tell me where it hurts?” Harley asks in a slight panic.

Tia doesn't answer. Instead, she cries out, “Why does it hurt now?”

Harley wraps her arm around Tia and starts guiding her inside with Cade and I following after her. “You feel safe, sweetheart. When we have been in survival mode for so long, we learn to hide the pain, but now you can safely feel it. We’ve got you. It’ll be okay. I promise.”

We head inside and to the medical room, where the other two are already getting treated. “Where’s Oakley?” I ask Noah, who is leaning against the wall by the door.

“She’s in one of the guest rooms. We don’t know how she’ll be when she wakes up, so we didn’t think it was a good idea for her to be in here with them. Plus, there's only three beds in here, so it works best for these three,” he explains.

Nodding, I stand next to him and watch as Harley helps Tia into the open bed and Brielle comes over to talk to them. A few minutes later, Nerds pops his head in.

“Think any of them are up to talking to us?” he asks me quietly.

Glancing over at the boy who seems the most alert and content watching the other girl, I gesture towards him. “I think we can get him to talk first. Then maybe the girls will be more open,” I whisper back.

Walking over to him, we grab two chairs from the far wall and bring them close. I sit up by his head and give him a soft smile while Nerds sits slightly back behind me, opening his laptop.

“Hey, do you think you can talk with me?” I ask.

He stares me down before glancing back at the girl in the bed next to him.

“Is she your friend? Or family? We want to help you find your family so you can go home, but in order to do that I need you to talk with me. I promise you both are safe,” I explain to him.

He shoots his eyes back to mine and narrows them in anger. “No.”

Tilting my head in confusion, I ask, “No what? You don’t want to talk yet? If not, that’s okay.”

He shakes his head again before letting his eyes stray back to her. “She’s my sister. My twin. We can’t go home because our father traded us.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Grayson

“I’m sorry, what?” I stumble over my words, my eyes widening in shock. I know there is evil out there. I know some people are just downright awful, but some things you just can’t ever prepare yourself for, and this is one of them.

Everyone in the room has stopped what they are doing and seems to be trying not to stare at the poor boy in shock.

He stares at the ground, showing no emotion as he explains, “I’m Anthony. My sister, Anna, and I are twins. We are fifteen. Our parents divorced when we were ten, and somehow our father got full custody of us. Things were fine until he started going out almost nightly.” He shrugs, making a face before it goes emotionless again. “He’d come home drunk or high and cause problems.

“Then one night he came home and told us we were going on a trip. He blindfolded us and took us to some rank place where we heard him talking to a man about us. He explained we are twins and our ages. The guy offered him lots of money for us, but our father asked for a credit instead.”

“A credit?” I question, furrowing my brows, but I can already feel the blood draining from my face.

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