Ranger's Fury - E.C. Land Page 0,23

have watched you over the past two months. I have seen it inside you. I have allowed this up until now. But this morning something’s different and you’re going to give it to me even if that means I take it from you.” Advancing on Harlow, I get directly in her space, reaching up I wrap my fingers in her soft black hair gripping the back of her head.

Harlow’s eyes close, her breathing becomes almost nonexistent almost as if she were memorizing my touch.

“I can’t do this,” she finally whispers, opening her eyes she looks up to meet my gaze. Tears shimmer ready to fall.

“What can’t you do?’ I demand already having a feeling of what she’s about to say.

“This. Being normal.”

“Baby, you’re not normal and no one expects you to fuckin’ be. I sure as hell don’t.” And I didn’t if she were normal, she wouldn’t be my Harlow. The woman who had drawn my attention like no other from the first time I saw her.

“You say that now,” she mutters, placing her hands on my chest and pushing away from me.

I reach out and grab her upper arm as she goes to turn from me.

“Told you, baby, this shit isn’t happening. Now fuckin’ give it to me,” I snarl, growing frustrated by her stubbornness.

Harlow narrows her gaze once again, but this time she does it attacking me. With each blow she throws my way, I block. While doing this, I do the one thing I can think of that may push her completely over the edge.

Bring up the past.

Every little bit of it.

The stuff she screams about in her sleep.

What happened when she lost her dad. What those girls did to her, beating her, sheering her hair, cutting her face with a pair of scissors. What happened when she made her first kill when she was sixteen. I also brought up the girl who started her on the last job that in the end got her kidnapped. I bring up every little thing I can and as I do Harlow’s fight becomes more erratic as she screams.

Finally, unable to take anymore, Harlow collapses to her knees and her hands go to her head as she screams out her pain. Falling to my knees in front of her, I pull her against my chest holding her to me as she gives me every ounce of pain pouring out of her.

“I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you. Let it go,” I mutter soothingly as I close my eyes and rest my cheek against the top of her head.

Hearing her screams of pain from all she’s endured and allowed to build inside her, I wish I could go back in time and protect her from all of what she went through. However, if I did that, she wouldn’t be the woman she is. All I can do now is make sure she knows without a doubt she’s not alone. Not anymore and that’s the way it’s going to stay until I’m not breathing anymore.

Chapter Thirteen

Raven

At the sound of Harlow’s screams, I close my eyes and squeeze them together. I hate having to hear them. But the wind told me she needed this. To release all of the pain inside her. Everything she was holding on to. If she didn’t, I knew she would go back to being the Harpy and leave once again. I also knew if she did this, none of us would find her, not this time around.

“What the fuck?” I open my eyes at the snarling question coming from Stoney as he approaches the table I was sitting at with Blaze. Shadow and everyone else were sitting silently around us. Some of them were drinking beers, others were taking shots.

My gaze goes from Stoney to the woman in his arms.

The very same woman he nearly lost.

Rachel.

All because he was buried in his own head being stubborn while hurting his ol’ lady. If measures weren’t taken they’d have lost each other completely. Now it looked to be as if everything were on track.

I try not to think what they endured during those days. I was having to go through my own terrors, something I prefer to keep blocked out of my mind, not wanting the reminder. Hell, Blaze doesn’t even like to think of it, either. We’d spoken of it once and after that we swore to never talk about it again. For us, and our boys. Matthew and Mark.

“Someone going to tell me what the hell is going