“I wonder if he looks the same?” My fingers find their way to my mouth, a habit I’ve had since I was a little girl in times where I need comfort.

The door at the front of the clubhouse is wrenched open, sunlight flooding the hallway that leads to where we stand in the common room. I stiffen as several deep, rumbling voices mix with one another, the echo of boots on the concrete floor in sync with my pounding heart.

King emerges first through the doorway, and his head swings about, searching me out. I slam a palm over my mouth and swallow back the vile acid that rises to the back of my throat. Please don’t make a fool of yourself, woman. Bronx gives my shoulder a squeeze as King heads our way, two men I don’t recognize emerging from the hallway as he does.

King’s eyes are gentle as he stops before me, bending his knees slightly so he’s my height. “You want to go somewhere private, like my office, or will you be better in an open room?” My heart swells for the guy. Here I am, the reason for a club he doesn’t get along with to be on his turf, and he’s still concerned about my feelings.

“In the open would be great,” I answer, pulling away from Bronx. I need to stand tall, to do this myself.

King turns back to the two men and points to the sofas. “Well get settled over there.” The men spin around, showing their Devil’s Breed patches, and head across to the seating.

I take a few steps toward them, still staying away from the entrance hall, and watch with interest as they rifle through the cushions, lift the ends of the sofas, and run their hands under the tables. Satisfied there’s no threat, one of them walks briskly toward where they came in and gives a hand signal to somebody down the hall.

King moves to my right, Bronx to my left, both standing by my side as I wait for him. The blood rushing through my body is an ocean swell in my ears, drowning out each heavy breath I’m sucking in through my nose and blowing out through my mouth. I’ve dreamt of this moment and I’ve imagined our conversation, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that this won’t be anything like that. Nothing could have prepared me for this—facing the truth, and closing the door on the last decade of my life.

Warm fingers search out mine, and I cling to Bronx as though he’s the only solid thing holding me on the ground, saving me from floating away. He anchors me, and through that connection I find the last bit of courage I need to do this.

Harris’s head is down, his eyes on the floor, but I remember that messy shock of brown hair like it was only yesterday that he was there before me, telling me to run. His lips are moving; he’s talking to himself, and a smile quirks one side of his lips up. He’s just as nervous as I am.

King steps forward, blocking me from view. Harris lifts his head to greet him, extending a large hand. King connects his, and the two men shake vigorously before breaking.

“How was your ride?” King asks.

Harris draws in a heavy breath, his huge chest rising. “Full of idiots, but what’s new?”

His voice—it’s exactly the same; exactly how it sounds in my head every time I’ve dreamt of our talks. My fingers throb with each beat of my heart, and I’m squeezing Bronx’s hand so hard.

“Thank you for coming.” King steps back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Wasn’t sure if you’d accept the invite.”

Harris’s eyes narrow, and a frown pulls his eyebrows in. “You send me a message like that, I’d climb out of fuckin’ hell to get here.” He rubs his left hand over his face, and I note the thick leather cuff on his wrist. Something twinges in my chest, the memories of playing with that cuff as a child awakening inside of me. Seeing it again, on him, right in front of me, proves how real this is. “Can I see her?” he asks.

King steps aside, revealing where I stand. With a bit of wiggling, Bronx manages to break his hold from mine, and urges me forward with a gentle hand between my shoulders. I’m unsure, still deciding what to say when Harris breaks the hugest smile, his weathered lips splitting to reveal his gold-capped tooth. The familiar sight is the last thing I need to spur me on, and I take bold steps toward him.

“Harris.”

“Hey, baby girl.” He reaches for me, and I shy away. As much as I’ve missed him, mourned him, I’m not ready to be held yet. There’s too much yet to be answered.

“It’s been a long time since you told me to start running,” I say. The men around us stand in silence, respectfully watching our exchange.

“It has.” Harris’ smile fades, but the welcome is still warm.

I’m not sure how I feel. “Why?” I glance at the two men who arrived with him; their cold and indifferent stares send a chill the length of my back. I move my gaze back to Harris. “Why did you kill them?” My question ends as a whisper, as though people might actually be shocked if they overhead my admission.

Remember where you are, Ryan.

“It’s not a quick answer.” His beard has flecks of grey, his eyes framed with crow’s feet. Time hasn’t been kind to him, but to me he’s still the same man I loved with all my heart.

“You didn’t come back. You never came to get me like you said you would.” I sound every bit the petulant child I was when he saw me last. I could stomp my foot and not look the slightest bit out of place.

“I couldn’t find you,” he explains. “I thought when you ran, sweetheart, you’d be picked up by the cops, that your face would be splashed all over the papers and all I’d have to do is follow the trail.” He shakes his head, dropping his chin to his chest. “Where’d you go, Ryanna?”

One word, my full name, and I’m done. A tear trickles from the corner of one eye and I let it run, proud of what it shows him. He betrayed me—he showed a child what it is to have somebody you trust take away your safety. He ruined the girl I was, and I want him to see that.

“Shit, baby girl.” He runs a hand down his beard. “Don’t cry.”

“I didn’t, for years. I held this shit inside and it ate away at all the good in there. I think it’s about time I let some of that pain out, don’t you?” More tears follow the first, cresting my cheeks and running down to my neck.

The men around us fidget with their hands, or screw a boot into the floor, looking for a distraction from what must be getting awkward for them. I look over my shoulder to Bronx, and find him watching, stern, yet keeping his distance. He nods tightly, telling me in a single action that I’m doing fine.

“How about we take a load off?” King says, placing a hand in the middle of my back. “Get comfortable, huh?”

I nod at his intervention and let him guide me over to the sofas. Harris takes up a spot to the left of the U-shaped configuration, and I choose the middle seats, tucking my legs up to my chest for a little added comfort. Bronx drops in beside me, placing an arm protectively along the back of my cushion. I look at his face as he stares at Harris, and I realize he’s also placed his arm behind me as a threat; a silent way of telling Harris that if he hurts me, then Bronx is going to have something to say about it.

“Drink?” King asks the group as Harris’s men take up spots behind my uncle’s sofa.

“Same as always, Kingy-boy,” Harris answers, crossing his left ankle to his right knee, and gripping it with both hands.

King snaps his fingers at Dog, sending him over to the bar to collect. “Same as I drink, Dog. You like anything, Ryan?”

“Just a water, thanks.”

“Bronx?” King asks.

“No, I’m fine.”

“You two?” King looks to Harris’ men.

They both shake their heads.

“Catch all that, Dog?” King calls over his shoulder.

“Yeah. Got it.”

Harris taps his fingers in a steady rhythm, eyeing Bronx’s proximity to me. I lean into the warm body at my side, letting my uncle know that this man is what I need. Harris rubs a hand the length of his shin, and his eyes drop to the floor before him as he speaks. “I guess if we’re goin’ to get the ball rollin’ we might as well start with the important stuff.” He fusses in his seat, stalling. “You want to know why your parents died, baby girl, and I want to tell you. But if you’re goin’ to understand the ‘how’, you need to know the ‘what’. You need to know my reason for bein’ at your house that night.”