Page 71 of Disturbed Lucidity

I shrugged, looking over at the larger-than-life man, still holding his sleeping granddaughter, as he turned and smiled at me.

“Sorry I didn’t get to you sooner.”

Facing him, I frowned. “What?”

“That day. I should have killed them all. Would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.”

“Solomon, you did kill them. You killed the men raping me. You stopped them from hurting anyone else ever again. Because of you, I escaped.”

“I should have done more.”

“What more could you have done? You weren’t much older than me. We were kids, trying to fight off grown men. You did what you could and helped me get away. You didn’t have to do that, but you did.”

“They were hurting you.”

“They were hurting you too,” I stated when I saw Sunny smiling at us. Smiling back, I asked, “Tell me about Sunny.”

I watched when Solomon’s eyes sought his wife and the most serene smile I’d ever seen washed across his face. “My sunshine.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“The most beautiful sun, next to my Soleil.”

“Sunny told me she was going to have a baby. Are you excited?”

“No.”

Curious, I asked, “Why not?”

“Scared this one’s gonna go away, too.”

“She lost a baby before this one?”

He slowly nodded.

“That means this baby is special. A rainbow baby.”

“A what?”

“When a woman loses a baby and gets pregnant afterward, those babies are called rainbow babies because they represent so much love, hope and new beginnings.”

“I like that name—Rainbow.”

I was sad to leave.

Just when I was finally relaxing and starting to enjoy myself, Luc walked over and told me it was time to go. After saying goodbye to everyone and even getting a hug from Soleil, I found myself on the back of his bike as we headed home to Destiny. My head was still reeling from everything Remi and I had talked about. I’d never met anyone with a background remotely similar to mine. In a way, it was kind of refreshing to know that I wasn’t the only one, and yet it was sad. She was a wonderful woman. I could see the love radiating from her, but to know her past damn near mirrored mine broke my heart. Still, after everything she’d survived, she’d found a way to move forward, have the life she always dreamed about, even if her husband was in the doghouse.

I watched him relentlessly throughout the day. How he was able to enjoy time with his brothers, make sure his son was behaving, and still keep a watchful eye on Remi. No matter who she talked to, where she walked, what she did, Reaper never let her out of his sight. I could clearly see the longing in his eyes. The regret for whatever he’d done to receive her anger. He wanted so much for her to forgive him.

“What did he do?” I asked the second Luc cut the engine of his bike. Parked back at the clubhouse, I stayed seated, waiting for him to answer.

“Who, Reaper?”

“Yes.”

“He lied to his wife to protect her.”

“That doesn’t seem so bad,” I said, swinging my leg off the bike. Stretching my back, I added, “I’ve heard of people doing a lot worse.”

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