Chapter 15

"You know Lynch wasn't the same after you two had your fallin' out," Fury says, speaking for the first time since he joined me outside.

I knew he was there. He sat next to me on one of the picnic tables. He just sat there, looking ahead, seeming to be in his own head, but he wasn't. No, this man was thinking about the nephew he took in and adopted.

"You mean after I cheated on him." I don't bother hiding the truth from this man. He already knows it. Same as all of his brothers.

"But did you?" he counters.

"I made out with another man at a frat party. I've dated countless men since the night I told Lynch we were over." I try not to let the guilt eat at me, though there's nothing that fully takes the regret away. It's something I have to live with for the rest of my life.

God knows if I'd just ignored my aunt and paid closer attention to those pictures, I could've saved both Lynch and myself from the pain I've caused us. Instead, I allowed myself to be blinded by a gold-digging whore. Why did I listen to her? I should have questioned it back then. Rather, I ignored every warning that had been screaming at me from the beginning.

Helena disapproved of me being with Lynch. She encouraged me to find someone of my prominence. She hadn't hidden her distaste for Lynch. It's why I have a hard time swallowing down the fact she wanted Lynch for herself. Helena was only ten years older than me. My grandparents had her later in life. Dad had helped raise her until he married Mom, and they started a family. With her being only five years older than Lynch, I could see this happening for some, but my aunt? I always thought she wanted an older man. That's what she seemed to always be with at parties she needed a date.

"And he slept with countless women in an attempt to erase the memory of you." Fury's tone irascibly patient.Still, there's no hiding my flinch from his truth. "That being said, he couldn't. You're the other half of his soul, Cammy. As he is yours."

Ela had said the same thing about Lynch and me when I saw her, and she told me what she told him.

"What makes you think he couldn't?" I blurt out. There was no keeping the words in as I cock my head in order to see Fury's features. The two men share some resemblance to each other but look so different from each other.

"Because, I might be his uncle, but I'm the only figure he's had in his life since he was a kid. I was there when he was born. I swore to my sister I'd protect him and his sister. His dad was a damn good man who was killed just after Harlow turned five. He's like a son to me, just as Pitch Black is my son and Raven is my daughter. I know him and know the type of man he is. We Corbins are hard men, but we find our one, we don't deny it. But we do what we gotta do to survive without them when we don't have them."

"You say that as if you've experienced it," I mumble, watching him closely.

"Because I have," he confirms and looks into the distance. "Long ago, I thought I could live without my Ela. Thought this life wasn't something she could handle. I ended it with her and nearly lost her to another man. If I hadn't gotten my head out of my ass, I would have. Since then, I've been blessed every day to wake up with her at my side."

"I love him," I whisper. A cool breeze flows around us like a lover's touch.

"Know that, darlin'." Fury reaches out and squeezes my shoulder. "He loves you too."

"How do I let the past go and move forward without thinking of all that's happened between us?" I find myself asking.

"You do it knowing you both love each other. Life is going to throw curve balls at you, and you take the good and the bad as it comes. Enough bad has been dealt to you both, I'm thinking it should be a long while of good between the two of you."

"If that's true, then why is it we're dealing with all the ugly now?" I want to believe he's right, but with my aunt causing problems and setting fire to our house. God, how could I be so stupid and ignorant?

Lynch's house was our house. One he'd bought for us. One he wanted to give to me, and instead of him being able to do that, I ended things stupidly believing my horrible aunt.

"Because, Cammy, darlin', it's just a hurdle you both have to get over together in order to come out stronger together," Fury states, looking up at the sky. "Storm's coming, we best get you inside."

I look up at the darkening sky, and it didn't look like a storm was coming, just the setting of the sun.

"I'm not ready to go in just yet," I say, content at being right where I am. Even with the alligator they call Bart resting a little ways away.

"We can stay a little longer, but soon, we need to go in. That storm is coming and it's best you be inside when it does."

"Why do you say that?" Now, I'm curious as to what he's talking about. "There's no storm clouds in sight.

"Not every storm has to do with the weather, Cammy." He shrugs. "Ela said it was coming. Said it'll be one we'll never forget. She's one for speaking in riddles, and I don't always know what she means, but I've learned to read well between the lines."

"Right, so something's coming our way. I can only assume it has something to do with Ezra," I grumble.

"Maybe, maybe not, but Pennington has a grudge against Lynch. Just as Perrin held one against family lines. Men like them, they're monsters who need to be put down."

"I agree." And I did. I couldn't stand when monsters got away with things they shouldn't. It's one of the reasons I went to law school. I wanted to be able to help those who couldn't help themselves.

"That being said, some have to turn into monsters to take out the ones who threaten what they shouldn't."

I nod, getting his meaning without him speaking any further.

"Does Ela always know things that are going to happen before it happens?"

Fury chuckles and shakes his head. "Ela doesn't exactly know everything that's going to happen, but she hears the whispers on the wind. Sees what no one else can see and learns. She explained it once to me that the ghosts who live at our sides are the ones who really talk to her. They warned her never to tell anyone anything they tell her, but she can warn without giving the answers."

"And you never thought she was crazy?" My eyes widened, and I immediately felt horrible for asking. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Fury outright laughs and sits up, rubbing his hands on his denim-clad jeans. "My ol' lady is crazy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. She's eccentric. A beautiful woman. A loving mother. And she's mine. But she's never wrong. She hates that she can't use the gift given to her to help others. She can't out and out say what she learns. Fate is a funny thing, she said, and she doesn't want to get in the middle of anyone following the path they're intended to take. If she did, then no one would be doing as fate intended for them. It's why she didn't interfere in what was going on with you and Lynch back then. She knew the truth and couldn't intervene." Fury's eyes lock on me, and he loses all humor in his eyes. "Ela knew you'd come home because you were guided here. You were guided back to where you belong. Lynch has never stopped loving you and never will."

I suck in a shuddered breath, unable to do anything but nod in understanding.

"Now, let's get inside before it's too late," Fury recommends, hopping off the table and outstretching a hand for me to take.

"What about the other women? The children?" I murmur, placing my hand in his.

"Ela had me speak to Chains and Tyres, they're the only ones she said could know what was coming. They organized for all of the other women and children to spend the day away from here. They're all elsewhere being protected by those trusted by the club."

"By who?" I didn't think any of Lynch's brothers were missing. Inside, I saw the clubwhores who, evidently the guys didn't care about protecting as much as they did their women.

Fury pulls me to my feet and wraps an arm around my shoulders while guiding me around the clubhouse. "Let's just say Ela called in reinforcements before even telling me. Let's say, Ela isn't stupid and called in the Silent Night, a Dark Spirit, and one mean ass Harpy."

My eyes widen at the mention of these names. I'd heard of them. Lynch had told me about them a long time ago. But I always thought of them as stories. Not really people.

Fury and I round the building to make our way inside. We barely take another step when we hear it. The whistling sound of something coming. Looking up, I let out a surprised cry at the sight of it.

"Fuck," Fury snarls, wraps his arms around me and takes me to the ground shielding me.

The blast comes, and debris rains down on us. I scream Lynch's name, fear seeping through my veins at the thought of losing him. I fight Fury in hopes of going after Lynch. I need to make sure he's okay. That he's alive, but Fury refuses to budge. He contains me as I struggle to get up.

Shouts come from every direction, and I don't know if they're good or bad. What I do know is that I need to get Lynch. To make sure he knows how I feel about him and know he's alive.