Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
“We’re sending you everything we have. Danielle and I used our contacts and called in every favor we had left.” A weary sigh punctuated his pause. “We have names for you. Addresses. Details on the people who run the operation. The organization that provided Hadley to us.”
I’d demanded answers from them, but I’d expected pushback or evasion. Not cooperation, and certainly not sacrifice. “You realize what this means for you? For your reputation?”
There was a long and weighted pause before he answered, “Hadley is our daughter. Regardless of the mistakes we made, we won’t allow her to be harmed. Do what you must with the information. Keep her safe.”
The line clicked off, leaving me staring at the phone, a low ache spreading through my chest. Her parents had come through for her after all, when it truly mattered. It wouldn’t erase the damage they’d caused, the truths they’d hidden, or their ongoing disappointment in Hadley’s choices. But tonight, they’d shown a glimpse of something genuine beneath their carefully crafted veneer.
I tucked my phone back in my pocket and headed for the room we were using in the clubhouse. Hadley sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, her hair still damp from the shower, dressed in only one of my T-shirts.
“Everything okay?” she asked, setting her e-reader aside, her eyes flickering with cautious curiosity. “You look intense.”
I sank onto the bed beside her, taking her hand and threading our fingers together. I took a deep breath, meeting her gaze steadily. “Your parents just called.”
Her brows knit together instantly, worry tightening her expression. “Did something happen?”
“They came through, Hadley.” My thumb stroked gently over her knuckles. “I asked them to give me everything they had on the people who took you. I didn’t think they’d cooperate. Not only did they share everything about the organization behind it but they also used their connections to track down names, locations, and key players. They handed us exactly what we need to shut down the whole motherfucking operation.”
Her lips parted softly in shock, her eyes wide and unblinking. “They really did that? Even knowing what it could cost them?”
“Yeah, they came through for you.” I leaned closer, cupping her cheek gently, forcing her to hold my gaze. “It doesn’t fix what they did or how they raised you, Hadley. But it proves some small part of them is capable of truly caring about your safety. Even if they can’t accept the life you want to lead, they’re putting your life first, at least this once.”
Hadley released a shaky breath, her eyes glistening, a storm of emotions swirling behind them. “I don’t know what to do with that. They bought me and raised me in a lie. How am I supposed to reconcile it?”
“You don’t have to forgive them, baby. Hell, you don’t even have to fully understand them.” I brushed my thumb across her cheek, grounding her. “But it’s okay to acknowledge that there’s some fragment of love beneath all the bullshit. They showed that tonight. Doesn’t mean your relationship won’t always be strained if you choose to have one with them going forward. But they cared enough to do this, knowing it could ruin them. I thought you deserved to know.”
She nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I appreciate it. Really, I do. But it doesn’t change where I want to be, Thayer. I don’t belong with them. I never really did.”
I cupped her face gently between my palms, tilting her head back so her lips were lifted toward mine. “Where do you belong, baby?”
She smiled through her tears, her voice steady and certain as she reached up to hold my wrists, anchoring herself to me. “Right here. With you. Always with you.”
“Damn straight.” I leaned in and brushed a slow, possessive kiss over her lips, claiming her softly but completely. “You’re it for me, Hadley.”
She breathed a quiet laugh, the sound both relieved and tender as she whispered against my mouth, “Good. Because you’re it for me too. I love you, Thayer.”
My heart slammed against my ribs, emotion roaring through me like wildfire. I tightened my hold, dragging her flush against my chest and catching her mouth in a kiss that wasn’t gentle.
“I love you too,” I murmured roughly, my voice unyielding against her lips. “No matter what happens next, how many people try to interfere, or what truths we must face, nothing will change that. I won’t ever fucking let you go.”
She sank into me, her arms wrapping tightly around my neck, holding me as if she never intended to let go. Every part of me burned for her, and I knew without question—this woman was mine, now and forever. No lies, secrets, or outside threat would ever fucking change that.
17
CAGE
The heavy rumble of my Harley echoed off the cracked asphalt as the brothers rolled in formation behind me, our headlights slicing through the pitch-black night. I parked at the edge of the industrial district, feeling the familiar adrenaline-spiked tension in my gut. We’d tracked the bastard here—the hired gun who thought he could put Hadley in his crosshairs and still breathe another day. Big fucking mistake.