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The sweetest little cry interrupts the silence as tears flow down the sides of my face. Looking up, Ephraim is cradling our daughter, kissing her face as he cries tears of joy. Carefully placing Harper on my chest, Ephraim stares at the both of us with such love that a new wave of tears freely flow down my face.
“Mr. Phillips. I need you to take the shoestring and tie a tight knot around the cord about four inches from the base and then another 3 inches from your knot. Then cut the cord between the two knots.”
Sirens cut through our bliss and Janie leaves to open the door for the paramedics. Ephraim lays down beside me and holds us both protectively in his arms. Is this really my life right now? So much has changed from the past that still haunts me. Will it always be like this? This feels too perfect and in the back of mind, I have an eerie feeling that something or someone will take it all away.
1
Lizzie
Five years later…
Saint chases Harper through the yard as I call after her. She is by far her father’s daughter seeing as I’m unable to get her to sit still for longer than two minutes. My fiancé Ephraim, the Sergeant At Arms for the Rebel Souls MC, and I are finally getting married today and I couldn’t be happier. Harper, our rambunctious little girl, is currently running away from me because I’m trying to get her dressed. She was so excited when we told her that she would be our flower girl and that her role was very important. When we practiced her part, she was more intrigued with throwing the flower petals than paying attention to marching down the aisle. Saint, with the help of Janie will be our ring bearer.
Life has been a whirlwind the last five years. There has never been a dull moment in our lives since Harper was born. She’s a daddy’s girl, but very independent. Always wanting to do things by herself. I should’ve known we would have our hands full when she started walking at nine months. She gets into everything and Saint is always on her heels making sure that she’s okay. He’s her self-appointed bodyguard with a watchful eye and loving heart. The life that we’ve built has been simply amazing. It’s not perfect by any means, however, when I think about how far we’ve come not only as a couple, but as a family, I can honestly say that I’m genuinely happy.
My life before moving to Iron Forge is slowly but surely becoming a blur. So many good things have happened to both Ephraim and I that it could only be classified as a miracle. One thing that I’m extremely ecstatic about is that my family will be here. My heart swells at the mere thought of seeing them again. When things settled down after I killed Vincent, the man who took me all those years ago, I mustered up the courage to call my mother and invite them back into my life. When I first moved to Iron Forge, I had a lot of soul searching to do and I didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with my family at the time. They would’ve had so many questions and I’m pretty sure it would’ve turned into a media circus because of my father’s political involvement.
I’m not saying that my father would’ve exploited me for political gain, but with me choosing not to go back to California where my family lives, I now control what happens in the media. The only thing that they know is that the high profiled senator’s daughter has been found and is living in an undisclosed location. She’s safe and in contact with her family. The thing is, they no longer know me. I’m not the same dutiful, oldest daughter of the young, energetic senator who was poised to take over the world. He’s now running for president and he’s not too happy that my soon to be husband is part of an MC, but as I told him, my life is no longer centered around his political ambitions. He either accepts Ephraim or he will not be allowed in my life.
They arrived in Iron Forge over a week ago. Before then, I wasn’t prepared to see them. Yes, it’s been over ten years since I’ve seen them, but I just needed time to find out who I was after being taken and they needed to understand that I needed space. The first year after arriving in Iron Forge was spent trying to find my new normal. MoMa, owner of MotorMouth’s Bar & Grille, took me in, allowing me to live above her bar until I felt safe. Slowly but surely, I made my way down the stairs and got used to being around people instead of MoMa bringing meals to my room. When my parents granted me early access to my trust fund, I rented a home not far from town and found a therapist online. I couldn’t bring myself to actually interact with people right away, so I did everything online. With the exception of MoMa and Vivian, who is Oscar’s wife, I steered clear of people.
Oscar is the owner of the Boobie Trap, the local strip club, and those two women were with me every step of the way through my recovery. They aren’t even blood but they became my family. I can’t even describe the array of emotions that go through my mind each and every time I think about it. Which I do often as a reminder of how far I’ve come. Eventually, I started working there five nights per week and spent my days making a home here in Iron Forge. My parents wanted me to come back to California, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go back there. I would always be reminded of being taken away from them and I just couldn’t handle that. Iron Forge is my home now and I wouldn’t change that for anything.
“Found this little nugget hiding in the backyard,” Ephraim says, walking through the back door with a giggling Harper in his arms.
Reaching my hands forward, she happily comes to me, laughing, no doubt about evading me.
“Nugget, tell mommy you’re sorry for running away,” Ephraim playfully admonishes her.
“But, daddy, I don’t wanna wear a dress,” Harper whines in her baby voice. She knows she has her daddy wrapped around her finger and he always gives into that cute little voice. I’m hoping for today, he will be on my side since we’re only a few hours away from our wedding.
“Nugget, you have to wear a dress because today is special. Remember when you practiced throwing flowers yesterday?"
"Yeah, I remember,” she says in the cutest little pouty voice.
“Well, in order to do it today, you have to wear a dress. I promise you won’t have to wear it for long and if you’re a good little nugget, you get to eat cake and ice cream later.”
“Yay! Cake!” Harper cheers and bounces in my arms.
“Thank you, my love,” I say as I lean in for a kiss. I never get tired of kissing this man. Every kiss is just like the first as I take him in. Lingering just a little to last me through the pre-wedding chaos.
“It’s time for you and Saint to leave and get ready, while us girls go upstairs and have a bath. Janie, Alise, and Holly will be over soon to help us get ready,” I assert as I reluctantly pull away from the kiss.
"You know I don't believe in the whole not seeing each other before the wedding. Why can’t we just get ready here?”
“Because you’ll be in my way and besides, I want you to be surprised when you see me in my dress.”
“I would rather see you out of your dress,” he teases as he grabs me around my waist.
“Daddy, why do you want to see mommy out of her dress?” Our little inquisitive munchkin asks.
“Umm, nothing nugget. Just a little joke between me and your mother,” Ephraim stutters out realizing he needs to watch what he says around Harper.
She’s like a sponge and absorbs everything we say. It’s been an adjustment having a little girl, but we’ve managed to navigate around her little ears with only the occasional slip up. All of her uncles in the Rebel Souls MC have to catch themselves with their language around Harper, but they don’t mind. They love my little girl as if she were their own and I’m so happy she has them. They’re very protective of both Harper and Jacob, Gideon and Alise’s son who is only three months older. Gideon is the president of the Rebel Souls and Alise is his wife. She used to be a dancer at the Boobie Trap, but she now works behind the bar with me. These two little souls have changed the dynamic of the club since they’ve arrived. Large, tattooed men talking baby talk is a sight to see and Gideon had a playground built in a back corner of the property along with a kiddie pool.
Our children always have playdates together and besides being her father’s child, Harper gets a lot of her tomboy ways from Jacob, which explains why I have trouble getting her to put on a dress today. Finally getting her in the bath, my stomach does a little flip at the thought of today’s event. My nerves are getting the best of me as time moves closer to our wedding. My life is a fairytale of sorts. It’s almost like a gruesome retelling of Cinderella and Prince Charming. Usually, women with my past don’t get a happily ever after. Often times we’re forgotten about with no hope for survival. But I did. I survived and refused to become a statistic. Call it divine intervention or just luck, but that fateful day in Las Vegas, I made the choice to leave with two women who said they would take care of me. Two strangers who saw passed the fake smile and the lie of allergies making my eyes swollen and red.
Had Vincent not allowed me to go to the ladies room by myself that day, I would’ve never encountered my two saviors. He was so sure that I didn’t have the courage to leave. So sure that I was unseen by those around us although I was in plain sight. With no questions asked, I left with them, telling them what was happening to me because I was tired of being Vincent’s property. Tired of the beatings, forced sex, and feeling hopeless. What did I have to lose? Absolutely nothing, so I didn’t hesitate when they said they could help me escape. Yes, they were strangers, however there was nothing they could’ve done to me that hadn’t already been done. It was my first and best decision as an adult and I’m so happy I was strong enough to make it.
