Shadows of Shattered Souls

taken from him. By all accounts he did amazingly with that child, and she was happy and healthy. When he was eleven he got a job at a hardware store, lying about his age, so he could earn money to better dress Reece when she started kindergarten the next year. He worked every day after school from three until seven, and Reece stayed with a kind neighbour who cared for the little girl while Kyle went to school and work.” I smiled a little, imagining an eleven year old Kyle, most likely way taller than he should have been, probably already working on those death glares he threw around so well. “Kyle didn't know, but his Dad got mixed up with a bad dealer and got into a lot of debt. He owed them thousands of dollars, and was in really deep. All he ever cared about was his own neck, so when things got scary, and these men started trying to intimidate him, he offered up something they couldn’t turn down, his daughter.”

I gasped as bile rose in my throat. I could scarcely breathe at the thought of such a horrendous act. She was three years old! Literally a baby! I had to fight hard not to run off and empty my stomach, but I fought to breathe through it, needing to know, needing to have Kyle’s story, so I could be there for him. I looked to Keira again, and tears were running down her face silently and she looked pale. This was obviously as hard for her to tell as it was for me to hear.

“When Kyle got home that night, he went to collect Reece, and found the neighbour unconscious and the house turned over. Kyle woke her and found out who had taken Reece. He worked out the guys who had taken her were linked to his Dad and he beat the crap out of his Dad until he got the truth. He was big for eleven, but I think he got a beating on his Dad that day, purely powered by rage and fear, because his Dad was also a huge guy.

“He found Reece a few hours later. She had been locked in a cupboard in a drug den. They were waiting for some sick sonofabitch to come and buy her, but they hadn’t realised the cupboard they had hidden her in was air tight. She suffocated, and was cold by the time Kyle had taken out the two coked out kids guarding her, and got to her. He called paramedics and cops, but it was too late. She was gone. His Dad was arrested, and sent to jail. He died there five years ago, started a fight with the wrong felon, but it didn’t help Kyle heal.”

“Because he blames himself?” I whimpered, unable to tame my devastation at hearing what had happened to him. No wonder he was terrified of losing people he loved. He had lost the most precious thing in his life to monsters and that was not something anyone could ever just get over.

“Yes, he blames himself for not being there to stop her from being taken, just like he blames himself for surviving when his team were all killed when he was on tour. He was so angry when he came to us, so filled with hate for himself, and for everyone around him. It helped when Kade came to us a few months later, They found a common bond and gradually he found enough peace to live, and a way to deal with the rage at what he had lost. Then Cole and Matt came along and Kyle became their protector, which helped, but I honestly don't think he will ever stop blaming himself for losing Reece and I believe that’s why he is being so cautious when it comes to you, Honey. I’m sure in his head he thinks if he claims you as his completely, then he will lose you as he has lost so many already.”

“It makes sense now.” I agreed. “He’s scared if he fully jumps in, he’ll lose me.” How could I ever blame him for feeling that way after what he had been through? It was a miracle he had ever been able to go on after what his own father had done to him and his poor baby sister.

I was starting to realise, after hearing what Matt had suffered, and now this, that what I went through was a whole different kind of Hell. Yes, it had been unspeakable, and I was sure I would spend the rest of my life trying to recover from it, but in a way it was nothing compared to what Matt and Kyle had been through, because while some unknown monster worked hard to destroy me, the people who loved me were fighting hard to save me, and loved me unconditionally.

Matt and Kyle had been hurt- torn apart, by the people who brought them into the world, the people who were supposed to love them above all else. That was what I just could not fathom. I knew evil existed in the world, only too well, but why would that evil have children, just to destroy them? How could someone be that truly evil?

“I know it’s hard Olivia, but I think he just needs time to come around. All you can do is try to prove to him that you’re not going anywhere. Just be patient with him, Honey. He will come around, but he is always going to be protective, he always has been.”

“I can live with that, especially now I understand why.” I said firmly, determined to just let him go at whatever pace he needed, just as he would for me. Keira was right, this whole thing was hard for him to come around to, and it would take time. I wasn't going anywhere, we had all of the time in the world and I would wait forever for him if that