Page 31 of Biker Daddy's Girl

Sarah isn't bothered and answers the door. I can hear her talking quietly, and two voices answering her. One masculine and heartbreakingly familiar to me, and the other feminine. The second voice pulls at something in my mind, like a dream I had ages ago, but I can't place it.

"Emma," Sarah calls. "Come here."

My heart rate kicks up, but I trust Sarah. Slowly, I rise from the couch, finger-combing my hair as I approach the door. When I reach Sarah's side, I force myself to look at our guests, but I can't tear my eyes from the first one I see. Luke. He's here. He's here for me, even if I've been a coward the last few days. His eyes meet mine, and he gives me a slight smile that sends butterflies winging in my stomach, even if I still feel the ache of doubt.

"Hey, baby girl," he rumbles, pushing his dark hair back from his face. "I brought someone to see you. Maybe she can make you feel better."

My brain is working at a glacial pace, but the woman next to me speaks, and all the pieces finally click together in my head.

"Hey, Emma," Macy says. I look at her and finally, FINALLY, see the woman next to Luke.

The world stops, time itself stops, and then starts again. Macy. She's here—alive, whole, healthy, and beautiful. The horrible memories of that night we were attacked, her head hitting the ground, the blood—they disintegrate and blow away like ashes in the wind. I can't move. I'm stunned. It feels like all the air has been sucked out of my lungs as I try to make sense of it.

I knew I hadn't been the same since that horrible night in the alley, but now my friend is right in front of me.

"I can't believe it. You're alive, Macy! I thought..." The last word gets lost as tears of relief flow down my face. She's not dead or still injured or even angry. She's alive and standing next to me. "I thought your parents moved you away because you weren't recovering, and you hated me, and—" I babble, wiping tears off my face.

"Emma." Luke's warm arms slide around my waist, and he pulls me to his broad chest. He holds me while I cry, his stubble tickling the top of my head. "You did not abandon Macy that night. You got help."

"Yes," I hear my friend say. She sounds like she might be crying too, her voice choked up as she takes a few steps towards us. "My parents didn't want to stay in the city after the attack. They moved us out to the country and used the excuse that it was better for my recovery, but I think it was because my mom was terrified of the city after that. Every time I tried to contact you, she would tell me the phone lines were down. We never even got the internet out there. I think she just didn't want to be reminded of what happened to me. And you reminded her. It wasn't fair. It wasn't your fault."

I finally turn my face up to look at Macy, and she takes a shaky breath, holding back her own tears.

"I wanted to tell you how I was doing, Emma, but my parents were so strict." Her lip trembles slightly, and I step away from Luke's warm embrace, my arms opening up in a wordless request. "I missed you so much," Macy admits, taking a hesitant step forward.

"I missed you too, girl. I missed you so, so much. And I was so, so afraid I had lost you forever. I thought I had lost my best friend, that I had failed you and ... and ... that it was all my fault," I finally manage to get the words out, my eyes filling up with tears.

Luke moves out of the way, clearing our path, and I move to embrace my best friend. She squeezes me tightly, and we cry into each other's hair for a long time, relieved beyond measure to see each other. When we finally separate, I turn to Luke, awed.

"You did this."

He crosses his arms and nods to the doorway behind me. "It was her idea."

Sarah, looking a little lost at this reunion, gives me a small wave. My head whips from Luke to Sarah, then to Macy, and back to Sarah. My best friend as an adult, Sarah, had given the love of my life, Luke, the information he needed to find my childhood best friend so I could finally have closure from that terrible night. Three people that I love so much are all here for me. My heart couldn't be more full.

With happiness bubbling up in me like a fountain, I take Macy's hand and lead her inside the doorway. "Macy, this is Sarah. She's my best friend. Sarah, this is Macy. She's also my best friend."

I expect Macy to shake Sarah's hand or maybe just stand there, overwhelmed and unsure. But, to my surprise, Macy steps forward, pulls me in a hug, and wraps her other arm around Sarah's shoulder, drawing us in close. I don't think anyone could've been more shocked by the embrace than Sarah, but she always rolls with the punches, and she immediately embraces both of us with her arms.

My world, after so long, is complete.

We spend the day catching up at Sarah's sister's house, Luke leaving to get us food and giving us some space to talk. Our conversations last hours and hours, and I'm thrilled to see that Macy and Sarah get along swimmingly.

Luke pulls me aside into the hallway at one point, and I'm sure he's going to kiss me, but instead, he presses his phone into my hand. "Watch this."

Perplexed, I look at the screen and press play. A video starts. It's of Jason, with a black eye and swollen jaw, but quite obviously alive and in one piece.

"Hey, uh, Emma. So...I'm alive. And, uh...I'm sorry. About the stalking and the shitty things I said. The Guardians..." He laughs, and it's both sad and embarrassed. "They beat some sense into me, obviously, and told me that if I didn't reflect on my actions, they'd give another dose of sense, which I obviously don't want. So I'm sorry for being a prick, for scaring you, and for fucking with the Guardians. I hope you have a good life. I won't bother you again."

The video ends, and it isn't until I'm left in the silence of the hallway with Luke that I realize how pure and powerful the relief I'm feeling is. Luke didn't kill him. The Guardians didn't kill him. Thank God.

"I thought … I thought I heard his head hit the ground," I whisper, eyes turning up to Luke.

"It was his helmet," he explains. "He threw it down with some force when he tried to get away from us. It hit him, but that's about it."

I take a few deep breaths, steadying my heart and emotions, then meet his eyes again. "You really did all this for me?"

"Yes. But we'll talk later." His rough, calloused knuckles skim down my cheek. "Go enjoy this time with your friends. Because after this..." His gaze turns heated. "You're mine."

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