Page 24 of Intertwined Souls

His lips tilt up into a tiny smirk, but he doesn’t comment. He just grabs a helmet and straps it on my head before straddling the bike and putting on his own helmet. Holding out a hand for me, he helps me climb on behind him and starts up his bike.

Most everyone who is going out to place the trackers has already left, so we follow the last few out of the gates. As soon as we get onto the main road, I tighten my grip around Cade and enjoy the free feeling of the open air.

A little while later, we have placed three trackers and have two more to go. Everything has been smooth sailing so far.

Except the next one is unfortunately a judge. It’s disgusting how many people, especially ones in positions of power, might be wrapped up in the selling of others. It makes me feel sick to my stomach for the girls, boys, women, or anyone who may be out there right now suffering because of these selfish fucks.

How fucked up in the head do you have to be to treat human beings like this? I can’t wait for the day that we finally get our hands on some of these pieces of shit, and I get to take out all my rage on them.

Cade eventually turns off on a side road that I am pretty sure is not where we are supposed to be heading since according to the paper Grayson gave us, the judge lives in the middle of town. My brows furrow in confusion.

He pulls off to the side of the road and kills his bike, bathing us in darkness. “Cade?”

Pulling off his helmet, he hangs it from the handlebars and gets off the bike, leaving me still sitting on it. Cade pulls off my helmet and then grips my chin between his finger and thumb, tilting my head up so I look at him.

It’s so dark that I can just barely make out his facial features but can’t really see the color in his eyes.

“What’s going through your head?” he questions.

“What do you mean?” I ask, tilting my head slightly, trying to determine where this is coming from.

“I mean, you were doing good. We placed trackers, you had a smile on your face, you seemed fairly calm, but then your body tensed up and you were squeezing the life out of me the last ten minutes or so.”

Oh. Blowing out a breath I pull back slightly, letting his hand drop as I glance out into the darkness.

“I don’t know. I just feel frustrated with all of this. It feels like it will never actually end, and I will never get to see Tammy or Richard have to face everything they have done. I almost feel like–like I can’t truly move on without that. But I shouldn’t need it. I shouldn't need to see them suffer in order to move on with my life and heal from all their shit, but I can’t let go of my fury towards them, and it’s pissing me off.

“I feel like every time I take a step forward, something drags me back. I’m afraid that I’m not strong enough to truly let everyone at the club in and trust them. I don’t think I will ever be able to get past all my issues from when I lived with Tammy, and no one is going to want to deal with that forever—”

My words get cut off when fingers wrap around my throat and pull my head up towards Cade’s face. He slams his lips against mine and kisses me like he needs me to breathe—or maybe I need him to breathe.

The shock clears my mind in an instant, and I reach forward, gripping his jacket as he deepens the kiss.

Cade consumes me in the best way. He takes my control away yet makes me feel safe and wanted with just one kiss.

My mind feels empty of everything I have been overthinking by the time he pulls away, nibbling on my bottom lip before pressing his forehead against mine as we both breathe heavily.

Realizing I word vomited without meaning to and just let my thoughts get the best of me, I squeeze my eyes shut. “I’m sorry,” I mumble.

Cayden grunts and pulls me as close as he can with me still sitting on the bike, my forehead resting against his chest as he runs his hands up and down my back, soothing me.

“Don’t fucking apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. You are allowed to ramble on and let out everything you are thinking and feeling. You should. I fucking want you to. But what you aren’t allowed to do? You aren’t allowed to let those thoughts and feelings spiral into thinking you aren’t strong or good enough. You are one of the bravest people I know, Harley. No one compares to you when it comes to your strength.

“You have survived hells no one should ever go through, especially not as a child. You have faced a club full of men knowing it could have ended completely differently, but you weren’t afraid of death. You laughed in its face and showed everyone just how fucking tough you are.”

Tears slowly roll down my cheeks as I press harder against Cade, wrapping my arms around his back and holding on tight.

His words bounce around in my mind. Not a single thing he said was uttered with anything but full confidence. He truly believes everything he is saying, and after knowing what he has been through in his life and how fucking strong and resilient he is, it makes me feel like I can conquer anything.

With Cade by my side. And Ryker. And Grayson. My boys.

A few days have passed since we placed the trackers, luckily all with no mishaps, and Grayson has been holed up with Nerds almost 24/7 monitoring them and creating a map of where they each overlap.

Today, I finally have to go back to school, and I’m not looking forward to it at all. Brielle and Linc had started helping me prepare for a GED test when I was living with them, but now that I’m here, Gabriel wants me back at school and graduating to get my diploma.

I know it would be a huge accomplishment, but the thought of going to school every day for most of the day feels pointless and like a waste of our time when we have so many other more important things to focus on.

Like Tammy and Richard and all the horrors they’re getting up to.

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