The viciousness in his voice cut through me, but I shook my head. “No. It’s just me. I’m not here for trouble.”
Smiler scoffed, then danced on his feet, his head constantly craning around the bend of the road, searching expectantly for more of my people . . . my former people.
The sound of feet pounding on asphalt came thundering from behind the iron gates. “What the fuck is happenin’?” a voice shouted. I couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like Ky.
Shit.
I closed my eyes for a moment, that forgotten fear coming back in full force, eradicating the calmness I had embraced on the ride here.
“The fuckin’ second comin’!” Smiler shouted back. “Open the gates!” My heart began slamming against my chest as the iron gates began grinding open.
I tried to suck in a breath, but the air was too humid and thick. That or my damn chest was refusing to function. Sweat dripped down my neck. I watched with alert eyes as the shadow of multiple feet danced impatiently behind the opening gates. I pushed my hands higher into the air, just as the gates cleared enough for my former brothers to slip through.
The sound of safety catches being clicked off guns echoed off the surrounding trees. Then, like a perfectly organized and fucking ruthless stampede, the Hangmen appeared, a united front.
They stopped dead in front of me.
My eyes tracked over each of my former brothers’ faces. Every one stared at me with a look of utter shock, quickly followed by pure hatred. Ky was the first to burst from the line. “What the fuck is he doing here?” he hissed. His blue eyes speared through mine, and he moved to run at me, but Styx grabbed Ky by the collar of his cut and dragged him back.
“What the fuck!” Ky spat, knocking Styx’s arm from his neck. One of the brothers broke rank and began searching down the road, gun held high. AK, the ex-sniper, checking for any nearby threats.
“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill the pissant fuck!” A familiar guttural, acidic roar ripped through the night. The next thing I knew, I was knocked onto my back, my spine slamming against the ground. Two fists came raining down on me like fucking steel sledgehammers, and my vision swam. “You tried to take her from me, you fuckin’ cocksuckin’ cunt! You and your kiddie-rapin’ fuck of a brother!”
Hands wrapped around my neck and squeezed like a vise. There was enough time for me to look up and see Flame’s black-as-death eyes. I didn’t fight back. There was no point.
Suddenly Flame was kicked off me, and I heard his bloodcurdling roar as he tried to charge back. “Flame, brother. Calm the fuck down.” I didn’t need to see Viking to recognize his loud voice coming from behind his best friend.
I staggered to my feet and held up my hands again. I saw Tank and Bull with their guns aimed at me. Then a huge guy I didn’t know—a guy littered with Nazi tattoos—glared at me, the barrel of his gun aimed right at my head. I saw another two members I didn’t know, a mixed-race brother with bright blue eyes and a blonde beside him with a Stetson on his head. Both regarded me like I was the devil himself.
Finally, my eyes fell back onto Styx. I was sure if a simple look could have killed, I’d be mincemeat on the floor. Styx’s eyes were twitching and his jaw was clenched to the point that his chin actually shook with the effort. But his hawk eyes never left mine. And this time, as his VP broke the line and came charging my way, Styx didn’t stop him. The fucker just smiled. Ky’s iron fist slammed into my stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs. He stepped back, his face red with burning anger. I made myself straighten and saw that the usually easygoing brother looked like shit. His skin was pale, and gone was the fun and carefree glint in his eyes. In its place was the glare of a fucking stone cold killer.
Ky’s lips curled over his teeth. He looked as if he was going to say something. But nothing came out of his mouth. He radiated rage, so much so that tears formed in his eyes. And then I knew. I fucking knew it was about Delilah.
My heart shattered. Because we had taken her. And my brother . . . he had ruined her. I might not have ordered the rape, the torture . . . but I’d let it happen. I was just as guilty as everyone else.
I lowered my arms to my sides, and exhaled a long breath. He would kill me now. I could see that promise on his face.
In a flash, Ky gripped my hair then kicked the backs of my legs. I dropped to my knees, and Ky brought a knife to my throat. He wrenched my head back and brought the blade to my exposed skin.
I closed my eyes.
The blade began to move over my skin. I heard a brother shout, “Ky! Don’t you dare fuckin’ kill him! We need to know why the fuck he’s here! Fuck him up, yeah, but don’t you dare fuckin’ end him!”
Then I heard the sound of the truck door opening and a loud, “NO!” pierce through the commotion . . .
. . . Harmony.
“Harmony,” I said and tried to turn to face her direction. Ky’s blade had paused over my throat, but his hand in my hair kept me still. “Harmony,” I croaked out again.
“What the fuck?” I heard one of the brothers say, and my eyes closed.
“Shit! She looks exactly like . . .” another voice said, but then trailed off to nothing.
I felt Ky turn his head then freeze. “What the fuck?” He dropped the blade from my throat and kicked me to the floor with the tip of his steel-toed boots. As I landed I saw a flash of white move in front of me.
She was protecting me.
Harmony stood, facing the brothers, her arms out at her sides as if to keep them from reaching where I lay. “Do not touch him!” she threatened. I swallowed at the sudden emotion welling up in my heart, the affection constricting my chest.
I got to my feet and put my hand on Harmony’s shoulder. She jumped, and I saw how frayed her nerves were. She looked back to me and her naturally ice-blue eyes locked on mine. Moving my finger to her cheek, I said, “It’s okay.”
Harmony’s face had paled. She looked at me as though I was insane. “They hurt you,” she said. It was deathly quiet around us. I didn’t care.
“I deserve it,” I replied back. I knew the Hangmen would all have heard, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything anymore.
I took hold of Harmony’s hand. I brought it to my lips and kissed the soft skin on the back. Tears of sadness and confusion formed in her eyes. I dropped our joined hands to my side and faced forward.
I looked directly at Styx and saw the look of astonishment on his face. Viking looked at Styx. “Prez, why the fuck does Prophet Dipshit’s whore look like—”
Styx raised his hands and started firing off sign language. “Get Mae and the sisters out here fuckin’ now!”
Bull turned and slipped through the gates. It was deathly silent as I stared my former brothers down. They glared right back. Tension thickened the air, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Harmony’s hand began trembling in mine. Knowing I had only minutes to be with her, I ignored the watching brothers and turned to the woman that had changed my life . . . given me life . . . given me the gift of her. Given me the only few precious weeks of happiness I’d ever had.
Harmony looked up at me and blinked. Her long lashes fanned over her cheeks, and my stomach clenched. I leaned forward and tried to put a smile on my face.
“Harmony.” I took in a deep breath. “Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for showing me who I truly am.” I shook my head, and laughed a humorless laugh. “Or at least who I could have been if everything hadn’t been so messed up.”
“Rider,” she whispered sadly, and a tear fell down her cheek. My heart broke. No one had ever cared for me in such a way. They never would again. I would never forget how it felt. What that care and faith could do to a person’s soul.
I heard the sound of rushing feet coming from inside the compound. Knowing our time was up, I leaned down and kissed her. As our lips joined, our version of prayer, I savored her sweet taste on my tongue, committing her scent, feel and taste to memory.
“I will never forget how yo
u made me feel.” I squeezed her hand. “How this touch reignited my hope when I had none left to cling to.” I let my fingertip drift along her bottom lip. “How these lips made my heart beat, when I was sure it could never beat again.”
“Rider—” Harmony murmured, but I cut her off.
“Thank you . . . thank you so damn much for making me understand what it was like to be normal for a time. I didn’t know until you that I’d been living my entire life with blinders on. You . . .” I sucked in a breath. “You changed all that for me. You made me see the truth. Even though it was too late, I’m glad that I saw it. We should walk into death with our eyes and hearts wide open.”
Panic spread across her face. But when I saw Bull walk through the gates with three women, I stepped back and faced the Hangmen’s wives. Harmony threw her arms around my waist and buried her head in my chest. She was holding me so tightly, so hard that I almost didn’t hear her ask, “Why do I get the feeling that you are telling me goodbye?”
I winced, trying to stop the sadness from consuming me. I held it together enough to reply, “I am setting you free.”
As Harmony’s hold tightened, I looked up to see Mae reach out and grasp Styx’s hand. “What is it, Styx?” her soft, confused voice asked . . . then she looked my way.
As soon as her blue eyes fell on me, her hand rushed to cover her mouth. “Rider,” she whispered, and my heart broke anew. Mae had always called me Rider, even when I was displaying no trace of the man she thought she knew. She had never lost her faith in me.
I realized how good a friend to me she had been. She was my friend, only my friend, and I had screwed it all up for a prophecy that was as real as Santa Claus.
I looked at Delilah in Ky’s arms. Ky was keeping her propped up. She looked like she was in pain. Struggling to stand. Her face was blank as she regarded me . . . I knew the man she would be seeing in my place. My gaze moved to Maddie, standing in Flame’s embrace. She was clutching him tightly, Flame’s black eyes promising me a death worthy of a Hangmen traitor. I nodded my head at the psycho brother. He would soon get his chance.
I closed my eyes, just feeling Harmony in my arms for a few more moments. Eventually, I gently guided her away from me. She looked up at me, confused eyes searching mine. “You are no longer alone, baby,” I said.
She frowned, her black eyebrows pulling down into an adorably confused frown. I slowly turned her to face the Cursed Sisters. I felt Harmony tense as all eyes fell on her. I watched Mae, Lilah and Maddie as they gradually saw the woman standing in my arms.
A long, disbelieving exhale rushed through Harmony’s lips. “No . . . ” she whispered. “Impossible . . . ” I saw Mae’s eyes widen. Lilah and Maddie stood, lips parted in shock, for what felt like eternity.
Harmony staggered back against my chest, just as Maddie left the protection of Flame’s arms and cautiously whispered, “Bella?”
Harmony’s head snapped to the youngest Cursed Sister and a pained cry fell from her lips. “Maddie?” she whispered back. “My little . . . Maddie?”
Maddie’s anguished cry matched Harmony’s, and she ran forward. Harmony didn’t let her little sister take more than two steps before she was rushing to meet her too. As soon as they met, in the no man’s land between where I stood and where the Hangmen protected their gates, they wrapped their arms around each other and dropped to their knees. My chest was tight as I watched Harmony hold onto her sister so hard that I thought she’d never let go.
Maddie’s long dark hair was exactly the same shade as Harmony’s. I saw Flame beginning to pace as he watched them, his hands on the side of his head as if he couldn’t take all the emotion.
Movement caught my eye. Lilah was edging toward her two sisters, tears streaming down her scarred face. She had her arm over her stomach, and her movements were labored. And even from where I stood, I could see her hands were shaking. Disbelief was all over her face. Harmony carefully drew back from Maddie’s arms and got to her feet. Maddie stood too, never leaving Harmony’s side, staring up at her elder sister like she was Christ risen from the dead.
“Lilah . . . ” Harmony murmured. Tears filled her eyes. “Lilah . . . what happened to you?” Guilt seared across my heart. I felt two eyes boring through me. When I looked up, Ky’s jaw was locked and he was glaring daggers at me. I got his message loud and clear: I was responsible for his wife’s disfigurement and pain. For whatever she was clearly going through now.
I completely agreed.
“Bella,” Lilah cried, drawing my attention back to them. She didn’t answer Harmony’s question, but carefully and cautiously folded herself into Harmony’s arms.
“Shh,” Harmony soothed as she held her tight. I saw her eyes squeeze together in pain—pain for what her sister must have gone through in her absence—and tears tracked down her face.
“I have missed you, Bella. I missed you so much I could barely breathe,” Lilah cried into Harmony’s shoulder. “But how . . . I do not understand . . . you died . . . I cannot . . . ?”
A loud, tortured cry came from across the lot. Mae. Harmony pressed a kiss to Lilah’s cheek and stepped out of her embrace. Harmony looked toward Mae. I let my eyes drift from Harmony, to Mae, and back again. They could almost pass as twins. Yet, curiously, I didn’t see them as the same. They shared the same height, build, dark hair and ice-blue eyes . . . yet there was a spark in Harmony that, to my heart, Mae didn’t possess. A spark that told me she was mine, in a way that Mae never was.
Was never meant to be.
Mae cried harder as Harmony slowly approached her. Mae had once told me of her sister Bella and the special bond they shared. She loved all her sisters, but I had always known there had been an extra bond between Bella and Mae. I could see that even now, in the way they looked at one another.
Mae was curled against Styx, the prez keeping his pregnant fiancée from falling down. He kissed her on her head, watching the scene with a fucking shell-shocked look on his face.
Harmony stopped dead.
“Mae,” Harmony said.
“You died,” Mae whispered. She stepped forward toward her sister. “You died . . . I sat with you as you died.” Mae’s face contorted with pain. “I held your hand in mine as it went still and cold. I felt your fingers stop shaking until they never moved again . . . ”
“I know,” Harmony whispered back.
“You told me to run. You told me to run and never look back.” Mae’s blue eyes became tortured. “So I did . . . I left . . . but . . . but . . . but I left you there alive and alone?” She shook her head and choked on her tears. “Bella, I would never have left you . . . if I knew . . . if I had known . . . ”
Mae’s knees gave way and she slumped to the floor. Styx moved forward to catch her, but Harmony was there before him, joining her sister on the floor. “Mae, do not blame yourself.” Harmony cradled Mae’s head in her arms. Mae cried and cried—loud, racking tears.
When she had calmed, she lifted her head and searched Harmony’s face. “You look exactly the same.” Mae smiled and ran her hand down Harmony’s cheek. “Still so beautiful. The most beautiful of all.”
“Mae, I am so sorry,” Harmony cried. “I thought . . . I was told you had all died. I thought I had lost you all too.”
Mae held out her hands to Lilah and Maddie. The two sisters walked over and joined them on the floor. They wrapped their arms around one another, creating an impenetrable circle. Their heads were bowed, as if they were in deep prayer. My stomach sank as I saw in that moment how they all would have lived in the old commune. Only having each other for support. Only knowing the love of the other sisters, nobody else accepting them.
Harmony lifted her head. “I was told you had all died.” She shook her head. “I have believed for so long that I had no one left in the world. That I was alone.” Then she looked at me and fucking smiled. “Until I met Rider.”
Her loving smile pierced the protective ice that had formed around my heart when we had arrived.
I had forced myself to try and detach. It was protection against my heart shattering. Because I knew it was coming.
Then it did.
“You have to be fuckin’ kiddin’ me!”
Harmony flinched. I looked up to see Ky shaking his head, combing back his long hair in frustration. He pointed at his wife. “You wanna know why Li’s face is scarred? Ask the sadistic cunt that brought you here.” Harmony’s face paled. “You wanna know why me and my wife—your sister—might not be able to have kids? Why Li can hardly walk because of surgery to try and fix that shit? Ask that fuckin’ rapist bastard that fuckin’ brought you here.” Harmony’s gaze fell to Lilah, whose head was bowed in embarrassment. “Ask your fucked-up cunt of a man about how he kidnapped Mae and tried to force her to marry him. Ask him about how he captured Li and allowed her to be burned and gang raped by his prick of a twin and his pencil-dicked friends. Ask him about his fuckin’ insane obsession with Mae, only to fuckin’ turn up with you, her fuckin’ mirror image! And how—”
“Ky! Enough!” Lilah shouted and struggled to get up off the floor. She winced and hissed through her teeth as she straightened. But she swallowed her pain when she saw that all eyes were on her. She turned to her husband. “Stop. We have just got our sister back. A miracle.” She shook her head. “So just . . . stop.” She seemed exhausted.
I felt like the piece of shit Ky thought I was.
Harmony stepped slowly toward me. Her bottom lip was trembling and her watery eyes were searching mine. “Rider?” she whispered. I ducked my head. I was ashamed. So fucking ashamed.
Taking a long inhale, I looked back into her beautiful ice-blue eyes and said, “It’s all true. Everything they said . . . I did. I did it all.”
Harmony’s face contorted in agony and she shook her head. Tears spilled from her eyes. “No, I do not believe it. You would never do all those evil things. The man I have grown to know, he would never do it. He has a kind and pure heart . . . he brought me back to my sisters. He saved me from an unwanted marriage. Turned on his own flesh and blood for the greater good . . . for the sake of my happiness, a woman he has not known long at all.”