Shattered (Shattered Souls MC Book 1)

by Heather Dahlgren

  The three of us laugh and I pull her to my side. I love that Kace and Harper have a relationship, but seeing someone else’s hands on her, even my best friend’s, it’s not something I can handle.

  “Brooks is here, looking to talk,” Kace says, his eyes flicking between mine and Harper’s.

  I feel her tense next to me, but I rub my thumb on her shoulder trying to get her to relax.

  “Harper has to get to work soon, when she leaves,” I reply.

  He nods and leans against the other small counter. “You two good?”

  He’s worried. He’s worried this is all gonna blow up in my face. We fought it out last night because he wants me to stop. I told him it’s not possible, especially now. If Kingsley is coming at us, going for innocents to send a message, I need to know why. As much as I don’t want Harper to go, I’m hoping she might hear something and feel the need to share it. After I told her something last night, I’m really fucking hoping she returns the favor.

  “Isn’t this cozy?” Brooks says, grabbing a mug.

  “Morning,” Harper says.

  I watch him closely to see if I notice what she said last night, but he gives her a wink. “Morning, Harper. I hope you slept well.”

  “Sure did,” she says, turning her back to him. “So, I’m…” she stops talking and grabs my hand. “Can I talk to you in private?”

  I laugh when Kace holds up a condom as we walk out. “What’s up?”

  “I’m not comfortable talking around him, I’m sorry. I need to head out. Do you want me to call you or what are we doing?”

  I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer. “I want you to call me when you get there, and if you leave for any reason. I want you to call me when you’re leaving, and if you wanna have a little phone sex.” I pull her closer, thrusting my hips against her.

  She laughs and hits my arm. “Okay, but what about when I leave?”

  “You come here,” I say.

  “Just like that, huh.”

  I take my chance and wrap my hands in her hair, slamming my mouth to hers. Her tongue tangles with mine and I know I’m gonna be hard all day thinking about what she does to me. I pull away, keeping my hands in her hair. “Yeah, babe, just like that.”

  “We need to figure out what the fuck those messages mean,” Porter says, lighting a joint.

  “It doesn’t make any sense. He thinks he knows something, but what?” I question, looking around the table.

  Brooks looks around and sighs. “It’s gotta be Harper.”

  My head snaps to his and I see red. “How? Why the fuck would he send men to so many different people? That shit makes no sense.”

  “Yeah, I agree with Z, something isn’t right. If it was about Harper, he wouldn’t threaten innocents. He’d go right for us,” Reid says.

  I nod my head in agreement and take a hit of the joint Porter passes to me. Everyone got the same message, everyone got tied up, and everyone said they had masks on. Hiding isn’t usually Kingsley’s way, which just adds to the confusion.

  “Are we sure it’s Kingsley?” I ask.

  “Who the fuck else would it be?” Kace asks.

  We have other enemies. Many others. It could be anyone. I don’t say it though, it’s Alex who does. “We stole guns from the Dark Angels, we ran off Raging Devils for selling drugs downtown, we’re trying to buy another location. I mean fuck, maybe we need to expand our judgement.”

  “Those pussy ass wanna be drug dealers wouldn’t have the balls to do this. Stealing guns from the Angels, that could be a possibility,” Porter says.

  “Get fucking eyes and ears out there. See what we can find out,” Brooks says. “Enzo and I need to go talk to the realtor, we’ll meet back here at six, see what everyone comes up with. Press the right fucking people, we don’t need this shit right now.”

  Everyone gets up and I stay seated. “We need to talk.”

  “This is becoming a habit, Z,” he says, annoyance clear on his hard face.

  I blow smoke in his direction and he growls. “Didn’t we have a deal?”

  He raises his eyebrows in confusion. “About?”

  “Harper,” I say, leaning closer.

  “I don’t have time for your bullshit, Z, get to the fucking point,” he says, through clenched teeth.

  “You promised to treat her like my old lady. Staring at her the way you did at my mom’s house, I should knock your teeth in,” I seethe.

  He slowly stands and gets closer to my face. “Watch who you’re talking to, boy. I’d look at her like that even if she was your old lady. I don’t fucking trust her. You think she’s not behind what went down? She’s as guilty as he is. Get the information from her and get her out of my fucking club. I want this asshole taken down by the time he gets back. I don’t fucking care how you do it, get me what I need.” His eyes are cold and hold a promise of something, something I’ve never seen before.

  “She had nothing to do with it. She’s terrified of her father, of you, of the whole situation. She trusts no one, especially him. If it was him, which I have my fucking doubts, she didn’t know. I’ll get what we need, but I’ll get it on my time. You wanted this, this was your idea. You don’t like seeing her here, go home to your fucking wife.”

  I feel it before I even realize it. He punches me right in my jaw, grabbing onto my shirt. “I will fucking end you.”

  I laugh a humorless laugh and push him off me. “What the fuck is going on with you?”

  He grabs his cut off the chair and storms out.

  I meet Kace in the hallway and he eyes the reddening on my face. “Something is up with him. He’s acting worse than normal,” I hiss, rubbing my jaw.

  We watch him talk to Enzo and after a few minutes they both leave. I’m getting sick of them and their hidden conversations. That’s not how this club works. Seems they have forgotten the rules.

  “Come on, let's see if we can find anything out,” Kace says, slapping my shoulder.

  We’ve pushed on everyone I can think of and come up short. Nothing makes sense. I have a bad feeling about it all, so when we pull into Souls, I tell Kace to follow me. Unlocking the door to the room, according to Harper, I spend too much time in, we walk inside.

  “Shit doesn’t add up,” I hiss at Kace.

  He lights a smoke and leans against the dresser. “Break it down for me.”

  I look at him and sit down on the bed. “Kingsley wouldn’t hide, so why the masks? If it had to do with Harper, why go after others? But, we pressed everyone today and there’s nothing. There’s no talk of shit. And I’m sick of Brooks and Enzo running off like pussies all the time. They keep me out of shit and that’s not how it’s supposed to go.”

  “Look, I don’t know what the fuck Brooks and Enzo are up to. They didn’t bring anything to the table so maybe it’s just you. Maybe you are seeing shit that isn’t there. I mean, logically, this is Kingsley. It’s more than likely a new approach at throwing us off. It’s about the clubs, brother. You’re overthinking it because of Harper,” he says, lifting an eyebrow.

  I shake my head, running my hands through my hair. “She doesn’t have anything to do with it. She was out of her fucking mind. You saw it. If it is Kingsley, she has nothing to do with it,” I whisper, losing the battle inside me.

  “I never said she did, you’re saying that,” he returns, crossing his arms and watching me carefully.

  Fuck.

  Chapter 10

  Harper

  “Thanks, Ivy,” I say, handing her the keys to her car.

  I can’t show up to my club in her car. That would defeat the entire purpose of switching cars. I had her meet me behind the old run down bar where she used to work. It’s vacant and away from wandering eyes.

  “You’re welcome. Just give me a call when you want me to meet you again. I kinda like driving yours better,” she says with a laugh.

  We part ways and I head home real fast to shower and change. I also need a decent cup of coffee, because
the one Zane gave me I couldn’t even finish. Brooks with his fake smile and phony questions, made it impossible to even enjoy the few sips I had. I take a quick shower, making sure my hair and makeup are done. I glance in the mirror and stop short. For the first time I can remember, I have a smile on my face. It’s not the one I force myself to wear, it’s genuine. My eyes are clear too. There’s no hardness surrounding them. It’s Zane.

  I’m not a stupid woman. I know there is a shit load of things that need to be handled, that ultimately our lives are on the line, but he grounds me. He makes me feel like maybe there is a place in this life for us to have a bit of happiness.

  My cell phone rings, pulling me from my thoughts. My smile slips and my hard eyes are back in place as I answer. “Hey.”

  “Harper, how’s things at the club?” my father asks.

  I make myself a mug of coffee to go and head out the door. “I’m on my way now. Why?”

  “Sal told me that you haven’t been in. Where’ve you been?” he questions.

  My heart pounds in my chest as I back out of the driveway. “I told you I was having some girl time.”

  “So you did,” he says, coldness in his voice.

  “Is there a problem? Something you think I need to know?” I push.

  I hear him mumbling to someone, I’m assuming Dom, before he returns. “No problems, just wanted to check in with my daughter.”

  Warning flags go up immediately. He doesn’t give a shit about me. He sure as hell wouldn’t go out of his way to check on me. It really makes me anxious to get to the club and see what I can find out.

  “Well, you checked and I’m fine. I’m about to pull into the club, so I’ll talk to you when you get home,” I say and hang up. I don’t even give him the opportunity to say anything back.

  I walk into Club Kingsley and give my fake smile to some of the girls walking around. I figure before I start looking around, I’m going to sit in my small office and actually get some work done.

  That’s exactly what I do and before I know it, I’ve been doing paperwork for several hours. I drop my pen and rub my temple. I walk out onto the floor and look around. It’s gotten busy and I grin as I see how smoothly things are running. The girls are on stage and there are plenty of horny men throwing money their way. Food is being served as well as drinks. It’s a good thing I’ve got going here.

  “Harper?” Sal asks, grabbing my attention.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I question, forcing a smile.

  “Can we talk for a minute?”

  A million things rush through my mind. Did he see Ivy with my car? Does he know where I’ve been spending my time? Is he going to push me on what I’ve been doing?

  I push it all down though and nod my head, following him to the back. We go into my father’s office and I want to laugh when he sits behind the desk. This asshole thinks it gives him power.

  “What’s up, Sal? I don’t have a lot of time. I still need to do payroll,” I state, looking bored.

  A grin spreads across his face, which has my stomach drop. “Your father called me earlier,” he begins and I go to cut him off but he raises a hand. “There’s a payment due, which your father feels best we don’t deliver on. So instead…”

  “He’s delivering me,” I deadpan.

  “There’s something in the room he’s requested be dropped off. He says to put it on and wait. The man will be here in about a half hour, so I suggest you get that sweet ass of yours in there and get ready.” He stands and walks around the table, leaning his fat ass on the desk. His eyes run up and down my body, lingering on my breasts. He adjusts himself, not even trying to hide it. “I could help get you warmed up,” he says, reaching out and dragging his hand down my chest.

  I knock over the chair, as I stand quickly. “Fuck you,” I hiss. I turn to walk out of the room and he pulls me back to him.

  I’m pressed against his fat body, sweat lining his forehead, as he presses his hard dick against me. “Mmm, I’d love nothing more than to fuck this tight body.”

  I bring my knee up and hit him right in the balls. He drops, groaning in pain. “Not if my life depended on it,” I say through clenched teeth.

  “Bitch,” he roars, holding his dick. “Get in that room and do what you’re told. Your father will expect payment to be made.”

  I rush out of the room and stand in the hallway. What the fuck! That’s what the phone call was about this morning. That bastard wanted to make sure I here, to once again pay a debt he isn’t willing to pay. My stomach turns and I rush to the bathroom. I make it to the sink just in time for my coffee to come back up. I splash water on my face and look in the mirror. The woman I know stares back at me. Angry, sad eyes look back. To say I hate my father is an understatement. I want to see him dead, watch him gasp for his final breath. Hear him beg for his life, all at my hands.

  “Hurry the fuck up,” Sal shouts, banging on the door.

  I never should have come back.

  Disgust, anger, and guilt. That’s what I feel as I stand in the shower. I’ve scrubbed my body three times and I still feel as dirty as I did an hour ago, when I walked out of the room. The room, as it’s called is a fucking room with a bed and nothing else. It’s where I’m sent to pay off the debts. There are no windows and the door is locked from the outside. When I was a kid, it was the scariest place in the world. I feared nothing more than being locked in that room, waiting for a man to take his payment. They always came, always took what they were promised. No different from what happened today. Only now, I feel like Zane will know. He’ll know and it makes me sick to my stomach.

  After spending a good hour trying to get myself clean, I get dressed in jeans and a tight black sweater. I brush my wet hair, thinking about what happened today. Thinking about how my father uses me like property, and how Sal was so excited to see it happen. The more I think, the more pissed I get. I twist my hair into a bun, and slam the brush down. I grab some clothes, throw them into a bag, get my keys and rush out the door. I drive right to Club Kingsley and I smile when I see the parking lot is empty.

  I go inside and lock the door behind me. I’m grateful that everyone has left and I only turn on the light in my office. If anyone drives by, they’ll think I’m busy at work. I use a flashlight to go into the back, into my father’s office. I begin going through everything. All the drawers, all the file cabinets, coming up short. There’s nothing. He literally has paperwork for the employees here and that’s it. Fucking smart man.

  I look around the office and notice his safe. Getting up, I grin because I know the combination. Not because that prick gave it to me, he’d never do that. One day when I was a kid, I was listening by the door and he told it to one of the girls he was banging. She was killed shortly after, so I decided I’d never open it. It scared me to think of the secrets and lies in it. But right now, it makes me smile.

  I get the safe open and I pull out the first folder I see. I open it and my hand flies to my mouth. Picture after picture of me. Not just me, but me in the room. All the horrible things that have happened to me, staring right back in my face. File after file it’s all the same. I feel sick to my stomach and anger grips me tightly around my neck. What kind of sick son of a bitch does this? Why the fuck would he keep these? Everytime I think it can’t get worse, it does.

  As I put all the files back, I shine my flashlight around the room. That’s when I notice a bag stuffed behind the filing cabinet. I go to it and when I reach inside, I pull out a mask. A mask just like Adalyn said the men had on. I fucking knew it.

  I hear something and I rush to close the safe, stuffing the mask down my shirt. I go out and toward my office and I notice the noise I heard was Zane driving by. Fuck. I grab my phone and call him.

  “Hey,” he answers, with a coldness to his voice.

  “Hey, I’m finishing up here. I need to meet Ivy and switch cars and I’ll meet you at Souls,” I rush out.

  He’s quiet for a minute and with everything stirring inside o
f me, I’m losing patience. “Yeah fine.”

  He hangs up and I feel defeated. There’s no one on my fucking side. My father is a cold hearted sick son of a bitch, that doesn’t care about me, clearly. Zane is pissed because I’m not rushing back to him, but what the fuck does he expect? If he had any idea what happened today, what I’ve been through he might change his tone. Although, maybe it would just disgust him and he’d treat me like the trash I feel.

  I drag myself outside and call Ivy to do the car exchange. I can’t even be bothered to talk to her, I just change the keys and go. My head is a mess, my body feels violated, and my heart is becoming more jaded.

  When I put my seatbelt on, I realize I still have the mask in my shirt. “Fuck,” I yell. I take it out and throw it in the back seat. I’m done with everything, I need to get drunk. I need to do something that will make me forget, even if it’s for a little while.

  Chapter 11

  Zane

  I’m sitting in the chair smoking a cigarette watching Harper sleep. Something is going on with her. I’ll admit I was pissed I didn’t hear from her all day and even more pissed when she was still at her club when it was almost midnight. I was ready to go at it with her, but when she walked in with a bag, looking more defeated than I’ve ever seen her, I kept my mouth shut.

  She didn’t say a word to me. She changed into one of my shirts, climbed into bed, and went to sleep. I’m certain she was awake for a long time, but I didn’t bother asking. She felt the need to hide and I gave it to her.

  I want to push her, ask her what the fuck happened, but I know better. She’ll unleash her anger on me and I won’t get anything from her. Brooks is furious. He wants results and he wants them yesterday. Between him and Harper, I didn’t get any sleep. I have so much shit I need to figure out and neither of them are making it any easier on me.