Page 3 of Aftershock's Fury

It’s been over a week since Kodiak, my club president, got the alert about his sister and father being attacked. Along with their cousin Loki, we all grew up together.

I pull out a picture of all of us standing around the four-wheeler ATV that Harlowe is sitting on. Her long auburn hair is braided down her back, and her light green eyes are dancing. Mud smudges her face from our riding. In the background, I can make out the dirt bike her father got her for her birthday. She’s decked out in all her safety gear. Kodiak has his arm around her, and I’m leaning against her from behind. My face next to hers. She has her hand in mine, and Loki stands at the front, making a goofy face.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. Everything changed that day for me. I was sixteen, and it was Harlowe’s twelfth birthday. I knew she was going to be mine someday. I was too old for her then, but I was willing to wait. I decided I needed to pull away so I wouldn’t be tempted. But a week later, her mother and her aunt, Loki’s mom, were murdered.

Anvil, Kodiak and Harlowe’s father, immediately fled with Harlowe. There was a threat on her life, and he wasn’t going to take any chances. We were never allowed to contact them, and they weren’t allowed to reach out to us. They’ve been in hiding for ten years now.

In that time, my feelings for her haven’t changed, but I don’t know if hers have for me. Even at twelve, she was always following me around. Holding my hand and telling me she was going to marry me one day. I used to brush it off until that birthday, when a boy told everyone he was going to be her boyfriend. Her brother, cousin, and I made sure he wouldn’t be.

Let’s just say that boy is a grown man now, and to this day, he turns and runs in fear whenever he sees us. You don’t have to hit someone to scare them. We just made sure he knew his body would never be found by humans.

I flip the picture over. I had it laminated before I left for the military to protect it. On the back is a photo I should never have taken, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d just gotten out of the military after a brutal ambush. I saw things I’ll never forget. And there she was, my beautiful Harlowe, unaware I was taking pictures of her from a distance.

“How do you have that?” Kodiak asks from behind me.

I lean forward in the chair in his office, the one I’ve been sitting in for days. I only leave to grab food or something to drink. I’ve postponed all my consultations and let my crew handle the jobs we still have going. All I do is sit here, waiting to hear if she’s safe.

“I got it.” I don’t elaborate and slip the picture back into my wallet.

“Shock, you know we weren’t supposed to seek them out. You could be why they were exposed.”

“That photo was from when she was eighteen.”

“Let me see it.” He holds out his hand, and I hear the pain in his voice. He hasn’t seen his baby sister in ten years.

I hand him the picture and watch as he traces his finger down it, just like I’ve done for years.

“She’s beautiful. She looks like her mom.” They are half-siblings, but Charisma had always treated Kodiak like he was her own.

“Yeah.”

I want to tell him I bet she’s probably even sexier these days because she’s no longer hardcore into soccer and volleyball like she was back then. I imagine she has curves now, but I’m sure her brother doesn’t want to hear that.

“How did you find them? Did Vortex help you?”

“No. He only helped me by showing me how to do it without being tracked and how to make sure it was safe and secure. I set up my computer to alert me to every Harlowe that popped up. At first, I had hundreds to sift through. But then one day, one popped up, and I knew it was her.”

“How?” He looks at me, jaw tight.

I shake my head. He hated that I told him years ago she was meant to be mine. It wasn’t until after he settled his anger by hitting me several times that he gave up.

“Have you heard from your contact?” I ask.

He hands me back the picture, and I secure it in my wallet where I keep it with me all the time.

“I heard from the WOA. Harlowe is in hiding for now. They’ll send her this way once they believe it’s safe. They’ve hidden my father’s body until we decide when to announce his death.”

“Who are these WOA people?”

“A group I found through one of the Handmaidens.”

“Riddler helped you with this? I thought you just met her when she moved here.” I stand and stretch my aching body. I’vebeen sleeping on the damn sofa, waiting to hear if Harlowe is safe.

“It was another president I met through a group out of Kentucky,” he answers. “Did my dad ever find out you saw her?” He nods toward me, and I can’t stop the chuckle.

“Yeah, he found out. Banged on the roof of the rental car. I had to pay for the dent.”

“You’re lucky that’s all he did.” Kodiak settles into his chair and starts going through the club’s books that Miner dropped off earlier. Not only do we run the bar, but we also have a chain of pot stores and several personal businesses. Then there’s the illegal money we make, which has to be laundered regularly through our other enterprises.

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