Page 3 of Intertwined Souls

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.

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