Shattered (Shattered Souls MC Book 1)

by Heather Dahlgren

  “Oh, babe, it’s alright. I’m here, I’m here now,” I whisper, swallowing the lump in my throat. My arms hold her tighter to me than I ever have. I bury my face in her neck and for the second time in my life, I cry.

  “Z, we need to clean this shit up. I’m sorry, man,” Porter whispers.

  I pull my face away from Harper, but I refuse to let her go. “Alex, get that piece of shit wrapped up and call Finn to bring the van. Porter and Riley, clean up any mess in that room. Kace, go find me Brooks. Hurry the fuck up, all of you. I need to get Harper the fuck out of here.”

  They all rush to do what I said. Harper is still crying in my arms and I kiss her lightly on her head. “Babe, I’m gonna get you out of here. I promise, not much longer.”

  Brooks and Enzo come down the hall and their eyes are on fire. I can’t let her go, I won’t. She hasn’t said a word and she’s still sobbing into my neck.

  “Get her to the club, we’ll handle this,” Brooks says with a nod. “We’ll talk when everyone gets back.” I lift my chin and stand, holding her against me. I start walking down the hallway and Brooks calls my name. “He’s fucking dead.”

  Finn brought us back to the club, Sal’s body wrapped in plastic in the back. I want to beat his ass for not watching her, but that can’t happen right now. When he pulls up to Souls, I climb out and head inside. He goes back to the guys and I carried Harper to my room. Once inside, I sit in the chair. “Babe, please, look at me,” I beg. She hasn’t spoken or lifted her head. She has stopped sobbing, it’s just gentle crying now. Unfortunately, the second her face lifts, I wish she’d kept it hidden. Her face is red from crying, tears staining her cheeks, blood splattered around. Her eyes are haunted, fear I’ve never seen before staring back at me. “Oh fuck.” I hold her tighter to me and rock her gently.

  “They know,” she croaks out.

  “Who knows what?” I question.

  She begins to cry harder and I fucking hate this for her. “Vegas Kings know I’m with you. I’m a traitor, I’m dead.”

  “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 grab him and that piece of shit Dom, before they see us coming. We’ll take them to the warehouse. The way they die is in the hands of Zane and Harper,” Enzo says.

  I’m looking around my club, at the men that have had my back for as long as I can remember. They’re giving me something that should never have happened. Their blessing to be with Harper. I’ve never felt so much respect for them. I need Harper to respect me and I can’t do that without the full truth.

  “Babe, I have something to te
ll you,” I say, looking from her to Kace.

  “We all have something to tell you,” Kace corrects.

  I stand up and lean against the table, facing Harper. “You’ve had the worst night and I don’t want to add to it, but there can’t be any lies.”

  “What?” she snaps.

  “When this started, Brooks and the club were under the impression I was going to get information out of you.” This time I turn to face the guys. “But I wasn’t going to tell you. I wasn’t going to put her in additional danger. I was going to let you or Kingsley kill me, but I was never going to push her for information. The reason I agreed to it was so I could be close to her. Even if it was only a few weeks, she would have been mine.”

  When I finish speaking, the silence in the room is deafening. I feel Harper behind me and I turn to her. She pulls me toward her and slams her mouth on mine. It surprises the shit out of me, but I kiss her back. She’s been through more than anyone should and that’s just considering tonight. So her kissing me right now, it just solidifies her feelings for me.

  “Well, I think we’re done here,” Riley laughs.

  I break the kiss and hold Harper to my side. “Thank you.”

  Harper and I walk out and I know nothing will ever be the same.

  Chapter 16

  Harper

  “Sweetheart, we don’t know club business. Unless that business has to do with people we love. So, I’m sorry your personal life was talked about, but I’m not sorry we know,” Gloria says.

  I’m sitting at her kitchen table, along with Nora and Adalyn. Finn is at the front door, keeping guard as usual. Zane and the guys had to go out of town for the day. He put up a fight, but the club will always be a priority. I’m not upset by it, I understand. Although, I’m not crazy about the six eyes staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

  “Shit happens,” I say, lifting my shoulder.

  Adalyn reaches across and grabs my hand. “Shit does happen, horrible, unimaginable shit. It’s how we move forward that matters. We can choose to crawl into a ball and give up or we can stand tall and fight. Make sure you stand tall and fight, sweetie.”

  “Do you know how to use a gun? I mean really use a gun?” Nora asks.

  Well obviously they were only privy to certain things from that night. It relaxes me a bit. I’d rather every detail of that night and that room burn like the pictures did. It was a bit freeing when Zane took me to a secluded spot in the desert and we burned the pictures. I cried and he held me tight. He’s been a rock and I know I couldn’t keep moving forward if it wasn’t for him. I’ll admit, when he started talking around that table about the club wanting to get information from me, it wasn’t a big surprise. I knew something wasn’t right, but I also knew he was being truthful. His motives were fucked up, but what isn’t with us?

  Brooks and the others have truly accepted me. I guess being held in a dungeon of a room with pictures of your horrific life will do that. I know this is far from over. That my father will be home and it will be war. I also know that now I have an entire club standing with me. Not because they have to, but because they want to. We might actually make it through this.

  “Harper?” Nora asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  “Shit, sorry. Yes, I know how to use a gun. I’m a damn good shot,” I say, smiling.

  “I’m not sure what Zane has told you, but we’ll probably be going on lockdown soon,” Gloria says.

  I’m not entirely sure what that means, so I sip my coffee and lean back. “Alright, tell me everything.”

  “We’ll all be on lockdown. All club members and family and friends. Anyone who they believe could be hurt to get to them. They’ll decide on a location or if it will be in our homes. No one will be allowed out. We’ll stock our cabinets and we’ll stay together,” Gloria starts.

  “We will all depend on each other more than anything. The guys will be out fighting the war and we’ll be here waiting for them to return to warm arms,” Nora says.

  It all sounds like a fucking movie. How could something like this be real? I’ve been in this life, literally my entire existence, and this has never happened. Maybe that’s the real difference between the Shattered Souls and the Vegas Kings, the Souls actually love each other. They want to protect each other and do everything in their power to do so. It was never that way for me. My father didn’t care who was hurt, killed, or destroyed. It makes me wonder what my mother ever saw in him? Makes me wonder if he was different before she died or if he was just born evil. I look up at these women who are watching me like a fragile bird, ready to jump from the nest.

  “This is a lot to wrap my head around, I’ll be honest. But, can I ask something completely unrelated?” They agree so I continue. “Was my father always a worthless piece of shit or did that happen after my mom died?”

  They all exchange looks of similar sad faces. “No, sweetie, he was always horrible,” Adalyn says.

  “So what did my mom see in him?” I push.

  “We didn’t know your mom that well, she was the enemy.” I flinch and Nora grabs my hand. “Sorry, I’m not talking about you. I just mean we didn’t associate with her. I heard she liked the idea of getting out from under her parents’ roof and your dad provided that.”

  “I never met my grandparents,” I say.

  I truly only had my father. Which looking back on it all now, really was the most horrible thing to happen to me. I would’ve been better off being left at a firehouse or hospital. Maybe I could’ve had a real family, one that actually wanted a kid. Instead I was raised by the devil and I paid his dues.

  “We know you didn’t. But what did I tell you when you were a kid? Do you remember that?” Nora asks.

  I smile and tuck the hair falling out of my ponytail behind my ear. “My father doesn’t define me and I shouldn’t let him.”

  She gets up and squeezes my shoulder. “We knew even then that you belonged with us.”

  Tears prick my eyes, but I blink them back.

  “Well, I think we should start cooking. They guys are going to be starving when they get back. I heard that Zane won’t even allow them to stop for a drink,” Gloria says.

  We all laugh and I feel a little lighter.

  “So you helped with dinner, huh?” Zane asks, nuzzling my ear.

  I smile and kiss his cheek. “Yeah I did.”

  “You did good, babe. But, now I’m ready to take you home and show you how much I missed you today. You good with that?”

  My panties have been wet for the last hour, getting out of here and getting relief is exactly what I need. I don’t say that though, instead I rock my hips and dig my fingers into his back.

  He jumps back and grabs my hand. “Thanks for dinner. We’re getting out of here.”

  I laugh and say my goodbyes, smiling when Nora blows me a kiss.

  We get to Zane’s in record time. Finn is following of course and struggling to keep up. We rush into the house and he pulls me into the bathroom. He turns on the shower and pushes me against the sink.

  “Being away from you isn’t good for me,” he whispers, kissing me softly.

  I know what he means, but I’m not going to let our fears ruin this moment. “Being inside me is so much better.”

  He growls and starts ripping my clothes off. My body is burning with desire just from the need I see in his eyes. I help him pull off his shirt and watch while he steps out of his jeans. He doesn’t wait for us to take off our underwear, he lifts me, carrying me into the shower. He pushes my back against the tiled wall and kisses me. This kiss is frantic. It makes my already wet pussy drip with desire. His hard cock teasing me through my wet panties has me breaking the kiss. I let out a moan and drop my head back, hitting it on the tile. The more he works me over, the more I crave having his heavy dick in my mouth.

  I push out of his hold and drop to my knees. I look up at him as I pull his drenched boxers off, dropping them on the bottom of the shower. The water is pouring down on us, maki
ng this so much more intense. I kiss his inner thighs and let my tongue drag from his balls to the tip of his dick. He lets out a groan when I use my tongue to circle it. It spurs me on and I suck him into my mouth.

  “Fuck,” he hisses out.

  I take him as far back as I can before hitting my gag reflex. He shakes above me and I start to move. My hands hold onto his ass as I suck on him. Moving fast, in deep and almost pulling him out, only to take him all the way back in. His hips start to move and I get more turned on. He moves slowly at first, but after a few minutes he’s fucking my mouth. I dig my fingers into his ass, moving my head in time with his thrusts. He moans loudly and it catches my attention.

  I peek up at him and I nearly come on the spot. He’s bracing himself on the shower door and tile wall. His head is hanging down, his eyes closed, water running over his perfect body. His tattoos wrapping around his muscles that are twitching. It’s a sight I’ll never forget.

  I bring one hand around and cup his balls. He growls and bucks forward. I squeeze his balls, rolling them in my hand and that’s all it takes. He shouts, which echoes around the tiled bathroom, as he comes down my throat. I take every drop he has, pulling off him with a pop.

  He reaches down and lifts me under my arms. He rips my bra and panties off, assaulting my breasts with his mouth as his fingers slam into my throbbing pussy. He sucks and bites on my nipples. The water rushing around us makes this feel so much better. It’s warm, making our bodies slide against each other. He adds another finger and I moan.

  “Fuck, Harper. You are everything, fucking everything,” he whispers, kissing me with force.

  He lifts me and my back collides into the wall again. No time is wasted as he slams into me, filling me completely. His fingers dig into my ass so hard I know it will bruise and I welcome it. He’s pounding into me, bringing me closer and closer to falling over the edge. I know he can feel it, because he leans forward and bites my ear. “Look at me,” he demands.