I study her, taking in her light, the way she radiates somethinggooddespite everything she’s been through. And for the first time in a long time, somethingwarmstirs inside me.
I wonder if one day I’ll get to that point. Happiness? It’s something I haven’t felt in a very long time and even then it was always brief. Emotions like that were teared away from me time and time again to the point that I’ve forgotten what it feels like.
“It’s good to see you happy, Harley,” I express honestly.
She finally pulls her eyes away from Hell and refocuses on me, something unreadable flickering across her face. “Why didn’t I ever know about you?” she asks. “I never really knew my dad before he died, but my mom never mentioned you.”
I exhale, my shoulders tensing slightly. “I was placed in foster care the moment I was born. Kyro found me living in a shelter when I was twenty-one and took me.”
It’s kind of the truth. Someday, I’ll tell hereverything.But not now. Right now, I just want to hold on to this moment, this fragile, butgood moment.
“You’re younger than me?” she asks, her brows knitting together in surprise.
I tilt my head, smirking faintly. “Don’t you remember? We had this conversation through the wall. I’m only eleven months younger.”
She blinks, shaking her head slowly. “I don’t remember much from the last few years I was there. Everything became a blur.”
I nod, understanding all too well. She was always sodazed and sooutof itwhen we spoke.
“Who killed Kai?” she finally asks, and I let out a big breath.
“After I freed my chain, I came for you. Got you out of there. But you were weak, barely able to stand. He caught us trying to sneak out…” I trail off, the memory flashing too vividly and I swallow before continuing. “He hit me and that’s when you…”
I stop again, the images of that moment, the chaos, the blood and how I felt in that moment. I wanted to make sure he never hurt anyone again. Also, what came after. How Kyro reacted.
I thought I was dead the moment he caught me, because of what we’d done to his son. He beat me so badly I was immobile for days, but not enough to kill me. Most of his focus seemed to shift toward finding Harley, and I was just left to rot… no longer useful.
I’m not entirely sure what his games were for me. Sometimes, men in pristine business suits would come in and inspect me like I was up for auction. It was becoming clear he wanted me out of the way, but figured he could make easy money off me in the process. Luckily, it never reached that point.
“But I suppose we both went a bit too far with the mutilation.” I finish.
She takes a sharp, shaky breath, and the atmosphere between us tightens. I slowly rise from the bench, my body aching from the years of pain I’ve carried.
There are things to be done. Things I have to face. I’ve been gone for so long, but now I know she’s safe and happy, that makes all the difference. I can always revisit her one day.
Just as I start to turn away, I feel her hand latch onto my wrist and I glance down at it, then meet her wide eyes.
“Please, don’t go,” she says, her voice desperate. “I can’t lose you again. Stay here, with us.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut and I blink, confused before looking around at the carnival—at the lights, the noise, the chaos.
“Here?” I ask, feeling unsure.
She nods, her grip tightening as she stands. “I mean, it’s a pretty fucked-up place once you live here, and it may not be normal to the outside world, but it’s actually very comforting. The people here stick together. They look out for each other.”
Swallowing hard, my mind spins. I didn’t think about this. I hadn’t thought about her wanting me to stay. But as I stare at her, the plea in her eyes, the way she’s holding onto me like I’m the last thread of something she can’t bear to lose, I find myself hesitating.
I can’t stay here. Can I?
“Even if it’s just for a while, until I find you somewhere to settle if that’s what you choose to do. I can’t let my little sister go and live how she has her entire life again, can I? I now have responsibilities, and we’re family. Actually, you’re the only family I have left”
She raises a brow, a soft, playful challenge in her eyes, but it doesn’t hide the depth of her words and for a moment, I feel a twitch of a grin creep across my lips.
“Okay,” I say quietly, almost without thinking, my heart making the decision before my mind can catch up.
She links her arm around mine. “Let me introduce you to some people,” she says, leading me through the crowd.
My pulse quickens as we stop by one of the amusement booths and my eyes flick up to Hell’s first, then to another guy, his face is concealed with spooky paint, green vortex’s in his eyes and tattoos crawl over his skin like coiling vines. But it’s the one beside him, the one furthest away, whofreezes me in place.