Page 58 of Out to Find Freedom

I couldn’t believe the night.

The fear I’d felt.

It wasn’t because Phillip Burrows had been there either. I knew the people around me had the matter at hand. I’d come to trust and realise they were true to their words. Instead, fear claimed me for the men involved. Especially when Ryan ran out the back door into the fray.

It was crazy as I knew he was competent in his job. I’d heard some stories from Julian and Mattie about the women with the Hawks men. A lot of the stories were mind-blowing and super scary. Some of what the women had been through was even worse than what I’d experienced. However, all of them had come out well in the end. And that was because of the Hawks men, as well as Ryan and his work colleagues.

Killer opened the front door and walked out first. Julian pushed me ahead so I could follow Killer. Then Julian was behind me with Mattie.

We crossed the road to the compound. The place was lit up. There were vehicles everywhere. When Killer opened the door, I didn’t want to step through. Tension shivered down my spine. How many people would be in there?

“You’re good here,” Killer said.

I nodded. “I know.” And I did, because the men in the club were amazing. I knew it from experience and how Julian gloated about them.

We went through the door, down a hallway, and then into a large open space where there were couches, seats, a pool table, some arcade games, and a bar. There were also a few men and women around. Two women, in fact, and when they saw us, they approached slowly. I shifted behind Killer. Julian and Mattie came to my side, but it was Julian who put his arm around my waist.

“Hey, honey,” one of the women said.

“Cupcake.” Wait, what? Cupcake? Had that really come out of Killer’s mouth? I knew he had an “old lady”—not that I really understood what that was—but I’d never seen her before. Or his reaction to her. Killer’s voice was in a tone I hadn’t heard. Sweet, soft, and loving. He leaned forward, cupping the woman’s jaw, and kissed her as if no one was around to see it. I witnessed her melt into him, her arms sliding around his waist. At the end of the kiss, he curled his arm around her shoulders and turned to face me. It was then that the other woman stepped up to Mattie and hugged his waist, which he replicated.

“Em, this is my old lady, Ivy. Ivy, meet Emmie.”

“Hi, Emmie. I’ve heard so much about you. All good, I promise. I’m sorry for what you went through. It’s disgusting what some people do. Family can totally suck sometimes. But it’s good that you’re healing. Julian and Mattie are the perfect people to be around when that happens because they’re kind, funny, and sweet. I just bet—”

“Babe,” Killer said.

Ivy blushed. “Sorry. My mouth gets the better of me sometimes.”

My lips twitched. She was… adorable. The tightness in my chest eased.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ivy.”

Her smile was bright. “You too.”

“Emmie,” Mattie called. I looked to him and the woman at his side; they looked similar. “This is my sister, Zara. Zara, Emmie.”

“Hey, it’s great to see you, Emmie. I’m sorry about what just happened. Though I’m sure the guys had it all in hand.”

I nodded. “They did.” If I remembered correctly, Zara was married to Talon, and they had four children together.

“We’ve set up a room for you. A lot of the brothers sleep elsewhere, so it was easy to get two rooms close together.”

Two rooms?

Wait, I’d be staying on my own?

At a compound full of bikers?

Yes, I trusted them; they’d proven I could, but it was still daunting after what just happened. People broke into Julian and Mattie’s place to kill me. Because my aunt wanted me dead.

Could there be more people after me?

Would she send more?

Was I actually free?

I glanced at Killer. “Will she send more?”

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