Page 18 of Loving Trent
“Dirty?” The way her one good eyes widen, I know I hit the nail on the head. Before she can say anything, my phone rings. I pull it out and swipe the arrow to answer without looking at it.
“We’re here.”
“Follow the road for five miles.”
“On foot?”
I pull the phone away from my mouth. “Is there anyone else here?” I ask the young girl, and she shakes her head. I place the phone back to my ear. “No need. But don’t come in too hot. I have an innocent with me.”
“Shit.” The line goes dead, and I place my phone back on the floor.
“I’ve got a couple of friends on their way to help. They might look scary as shit when they walk through that door,” I say, nodding my head to the open door behind me. “But I promise you they aren’t going to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you—” I give pause, hoping she will tell me her name.
“Harley.”
“Is that your name?”
“Yes.”
I extend my hand again, and Harley takes it instantly this time. “Well, Harley, it’s nice to officially meet you. Do you believe me that you are safe with me?”
She looks me dead in the eyes. Her eyes have lost a little of the sadness and fear that were there when we entered the room. “Yes. I probably shouldn’t, but I do.”
“Good.” The sounds of bikes roaring down the road fill the night air, and Harley stiffens a little, but I squeeze her hand, which is still in mine. “You’re safe.”
“Can I come in? It’s just me and Jerry.”
“Yeah,” I say, standing up and moving to stand beside Harley as the two bikers enter the room. “Harley, I would like you to meet my friends. This guy here, who looks really scary but is really a teddy bear, is named Jerry, and this guy,” I point to the other man. “His name is Sonny, and they are going to help us find the people who hurt you.”
Eleven
TRENT
“Hi, Harley,” Sonny says from the doorway. He won’t move closer until he gets Harley’s approval. “Mind if we come in and have a little chat about what happened to you and how we can help?”
I focus solely on her, and it pays off when she looks up at me. “Do you trust them?”
“With my life.” The beast that up until this point has only taken an interest in Shawn's growl the wordours.
Harley turns back toward Sonny and Jerry. “Then I guess I do as well.”
They come in but stand against the wall. Jerry is a huge guy, standing at six feet seven and weighing in close to three hundred pounds, so he slouches to make himself appear smaller. Both of them have long hair that is pulled back into buns, and Sonny has a long, mostly gray beard. It’s clear they are going to let me lead the discussion, and I want to start by telling her a little about who we are. “Mind if I sit beside you?”
“Sure,” Harley says. When I sit down, she grabs my hand and turns her body toward me.
“Harley, we need to know if anyone else is here,” I say. She shakes her head, and I see Sonny type something on his phoneout of the corner of my eye. The sound of bikes coming around the building gets Harley’s attention, and she turns toward the window. “Don’t worry about them. They are just going to make sure that we are all safe. Sonny here is the leader of a group of guys called Saviors MC. Their main goal is to help people who are being abused escape. No one will ever hurt you again.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe again,” Harley says, her eyes turning sad again as they drop to her lap.
“You are safe, but I understand what you mean.” I nudge her shoulder, so she looks up at me. “I’m just like you in more ways than one.”
Her gray eyes widen, and her mouth pops open. “You are?”
“Sure am. Mind if I tell you my story?”
“Please.”
Keeping my story short, I vaguely tell her about Camp Arrow and what happened to me. Doing this isn’t for my sake; it’s so I don’t re-traumatize Harley in any form. Sonny and Jerry have already heard all of my truths because I gave up my lie the moment Sonny entered the picture. When I looked into Shawn, I found out about his family life and uncovered his connection to Jenna Dawson—she’s Sonny’s sister. The very next day, Leon messaged me saying he thought his brother-in-law could help us, which I agreed to.
