Her eyes sparkle with tears and clarity. I actually see that her decision is made. “I’m staying, but you’re taking me to your place tonight.”
I nod as we stand. She starts to walk toward the door and I grab her arm. She turns her head to see me.
“No more, Harp. This is it. You’re all in, we both are.”
She nods and moves to me, pressing a soft kiss on my lips. “My trust is in you, Z, all of it.”
Fuck, finally. Now it’s time to move onto what we need.
Chapter 8
Harper
I leave Ivy’s car at Soul’s and we take Zane’s bike. Neither of us should be driving, but I needed to get out of there. My head is all fucked up. At Soul’s I’m treated like I belong, like they want me around. At Club Kingsley, I’m the queen. I’m respected and feared, but not where it matters. It came crashing to me all at once, I hold all the power. Zane wants me, my father needs me. Love and hate. I told him I’m all in, which I am, my heart is. It’s just gonna take time for it all to make sense in my head.
We pull into Zane’s driveway and my heart pounds in my chest. I haven’t been here in so long. The memories start to flood me, good and bad. He gets off the bike while I’m staring ahead.
“Hey,” he says into his phone. Bringing my attention back to him. “What the fuck? Stay right there, I’m on my way.”
He jumps onto the bike and I grab him. “What happened?”
He shakes his head and flies out of the driveway. “My mom.” It’s all he says and my heart stops.
We get to her place in record time and he runs full speed up to the door. He stops right before going in and looks at me. “Stay here,” he hisses.
“Fuck you,” I say back. “I’m coming in with you.”
He searches my eyes for a minute and reluctantly nods. He reaches into his waistband and pulls out his gun. Instinct has me grabbing mine as I follow him inside.
“Ma,” he yells.
The house is dark and my stomach tightens. It’s too quiet, too still.
“Zane,” she says from the kitchen.
We rush that way and when he flips on the light, acid rushes up my throat. She’s tied to a chair, but on her side. Like she knocked it over to reach her phone. She’s crying, but it’s like she doesn’t even realize. She’s in shock.
“What the fuck,” he yells, dropping his gun and rushing to her. “Who the fuck did this?”
I move to them, helping him untie her. She’s got blood under her nails. She fought. We help her to the living room, sitting her on the couch and Zane kneels in front of her.
“Ma, tell me what the fuck happened,” he says angrily, but you can see the fear in his eyes.
She looks at him before cutting her eyes to me. I squat down next to him and rest my hand on her knee. “Adalyn, please tell us.”
“They want me to give you a message,” she says, looking at Zane.
“Who does? What the fuck?” he yells, getting up and pacing.
She glances at me, sadness or maybe fear in her eyes. “They said they know and they will take out everyone you love one by one.”
“Who said that?” I ask this time.
“I don’t know. They had masks on,” she says and finally starts to sob. “This is why I left that life, but it never leaves you.”
Zane rushes over and grabs her in a protective hug. “No one is going to hurt you. Do you fucking understand me?”
Fear rushes through my veins as I begin to panic. What if it was my father? What if he knows? He’s a sick bastard, this is something he’d take great pleasure in. He would have to make sure they wore masks too because she knows them all. Guilt and anger wash over me. He’s gonna kill us all.
“I’m gonna have someone here with you at all times. You’ll never be alone.” Just as he says it, he grabs his phone and moves to the back of the house.
I take his place and wrap my arms around Adalyn. “It’s going to be alright. Zane would never let anything happen to you,” I whisper in her ear.
She pulls away from me and her eyes bounce between mine. “He can’t protect us all, Harper.”
I dip my brows and my eyes bounce between hers. “Who did this, Adalyn?” Before I can say anything else, Zane rushes back into the room.
“Brooks, Enzo, and Kace are on their way. The others will be a while.” He pulls his mom up and kisses her cheek. “Go shower.”
She places her hand on his cheek and kisses him. “My sweet boy,” she says, and goes down the hall.
I keep my eyes on her until I no longer see her. As I turn toward Zane, he grabs my elbow and hauls me into the kitchen. “This is your fucking father,” he growls.
Fuck. “How do you know?” I don’t know why I ask, but I feel the need to at least pretend he might not be involved.
He jerks his head back as if I slapped him. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he roars.
“You wanted this shit, Z, I told you nothing good would come of it. Don’t you fucking dare put this shit on me. You told me to trust you, so fuck you,” I hiss.
I turn to walk away and he grabs me again. He pins me against the counter and slams his mouth to mine. Anger pours off of both of us as we brutally kiss. Teeth are clashing, tongues are frantic, and blood is
