“Look at me.” She lifts her red eyes to me and I kiss her salty cheek. “You aren’t dead. You aren’t a traitor, you gave us nothing. It’s me they want and I’ll give them that. I’ll take the bullet,” I say, never so sure of myself before.
“Sal saw me in the safe. My father made him wait for me, to trap me,” she says, her voice shaking.
“I need to know everything, Harper. If we are gonna help you, we have to know exactly what happened tonight.” I kiss her softly and move to stand. “I know it’s hard, but let's get you showered and then you can tell us all.”
I strip her, holding back my anger and sadness at her blood covered clothes. She can barely stand on her own, so I sit her on the toilet while I undress. I pick her up and step into the shower. There’s nothing sexual about this, I’m just washing away what I can. She allows me to clean her body as she holds onto the wall. I even manage to wash her hair, letting the water rinse her clean of the night.
I dry her and help her into one of my shirts. She sits on the bed while I put her panties on and a pair of her sweatpants. It’s hot, but she can’t stop shivering. I dress quickly and I know without even leaving the room that they are back.
I kneel in front of her and hold her hands. “Harper, are you going to be able to talk around our table? Can you tell us everything that happened tonight?”
Her sad eyes fill with tears, but she nods her head. “I’ll talk.”
“Okay, babe, come on,” I say, holding her hand tightly.
We get around the table and I pull a chair in for Harper. I place it between me and Brooks. She’s still shaking and I pull her closer, keeping my arm around her.
“Alright, everyone is here now,” Brooks announces. “Before we start, I need to ask you something, Harper.” She lifts her gaze to him and he gives her a sad grin. “If you can’t handle what we’re going to talk about, just tell us your side and you can leave. But if you can, we might have questions. Which would you prefer?”
“I’ll stay,” she whispers, dropping her eyes to the table.
He nods even though she’s not looking. “Before we talk about anything, can you tell us exactly what happened tonight?”
She closes her eyes and swallows. I rest my hand on her leg and she jumps. My heart crumbles in my chest. She’s broken, completely shattered. I guess it’s fitting she sits around this table.
“I’m sorry, babe. Take your time,” I reassure her.
“I went to my club because I needed to get stuff from the safe,” she begins.
Brooks and Enzo catch my eye and I know they know. They saw her fucking pictures. I nod, letting them know I’m aware and Enzo’s hands fist on the table. If he thinks he’s pissed, he should feel my anger.
“What happened next?” Brooks asks.
I’m so thankful he doesn’t push her about the pictures. But, when she goes on to tell us everything that happened, the fire of anger in my gut grows. I’m shaking with pure hatred and rage.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, Harper,” Kace says when she’s finished.
“We’re gonna keep you safe, don’t fucking worry. You’re one of us, always have been,” Enzo says.
“What the fuck was that room?” I ask, anger getting the better of me.
She slowly lifts her head, her eyes meeting mine. The tears that dried start flowing again. “That’s the room I’d have to go to when my father sold my body. That’s the room they collected their payment. That’s the room where all the worst things in my life have happened. That’s the room where Sal tried to rape me. That’s the room where I killed someone for the first time,” she shouts, anger finally coming to the surface.
I can’t stand it, I throw my chair across the room. “I’m going to fucking kill him with my bare fucking hands. I don’t fucking care if they kill me, as long as I have the satisfation of knowing I killed that motherfucker,” I yell.
Harper is crying and I drop down to my knees. “He destroyed you, we destroyed you. You deserve so much more. We didn’t do the heinous things he did, but we put you in the crossfire. I put you in the crossfire.” I lay my head on her lap and dig my fingers into her hips. “Please forgive me,” I whisper. “I didn’t help you, I didn’t help.”
“Z, come on,” Kace says.
“No,” I yell, lifting my head to look at him. “No one is leaving this room until we have a fucking plan. No one is leaving until Harper knows she’s one of us, that she is safe. I don’t fucking care if we are here all night.”
“Fine,” Brooks says. “Finn took Sal’s body out to the edge of town. He’s digging the hole and he’ll burn him and bury what’s left. We took all the files from Kingsley’s safe, those are for Harper to do with as she wants. Everything was cleaned and replaced at Kingsley’s. There is no sign we were there. The cameras were off and have since been turned back on. No one will know, until he comes back. Harper, do you know when he’s coming back?”
She looks around, stunned at the open talk. “No and I’m guessing since he knows I’m here, he’s not gonna tell me. But, I’m guessing it will be in the next few days. He likes revenge too much to stay away.”
“So we take him by surprise,” Kace states.
“Someone watches that club twenty-four hours a day. I wanna know who’s coming and going. I want to know times, vehicles, ages, when they take a fucking piss,” Brooks demands, slamming his hand down. “This is personal now. One of ours is in danger and we protect our own.”
“We’ll
