Because You're Mine

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX

Vanessa “Nessa” Monroe

April/May - Savannah

Cutting my holiday short to come back home after Nicholas was shot was a no brainer. I had been on a hiking holiday in the Appalachians and the group of assholes I had the misfortune to be with were so horrible I wanted out almost from the start.

Apparently being a nanny wasn’t a socially acceptable job, not to them at least. Not even when you were a nanny to the children of celebrities.

Not that I was going to tell the snooty and bitchy wives of the three corporate lawyers on the hike who I worked for. It was my bad luck that I was stuck on a hike with three constantly complaining and moaning bitches. They quickly let me know they were housewives and stay at home mums who didn’t have to work. It was said in way that conveyed their superiority over poor little old me.

I avoided them and their husbands as much as possible and spent most nights in my tent, reading on my phone. I did not want sit around a campfire listening to their bullshit stories or get propositioned by their creepy husbands. I could see that Ray, our guide, wasn’t into them either.

When the Lodge contacted him on his satellite phone to let me know my brother had been shot and was in a serious condition in hospital I immediately wanted to turn back. Ray insisted I had to wait on Dane, one of the other guides, he was on his way up on an ATV and would take me back to the Lodge.

We had been on the damned hike for a week and I had quickly realised the group were all newbies. Ray had taken us on an easy trail that looped into the mountains behind the Lodge, nothing demanding. I could have made the trek down the mountain in two days without breaking a leg in my haste.

Thankfully Dane didn’t waste time, we made the journey down the mountain the day he picked me up.

I was packed, in my truck and already on the road home before I called my dad.

“Why the hell didn’t you get a flight home, baby girl? One o’ the boys could have gone up to collect your truck and drive it home.” He sounded pissed, as I had expected he would be.

I didn’t care.

“No way would I allow one of those lead footed ‘boys’ of yours anywhere near my truck, Daddy. They wouldn’t treat her right. And anyway, I didn’t want it sittin’ up there in the mountains while I’m stuck in Savannah with no transport.”

My daddy sighed, it was a sigh I knew well. He was letting it go, for now.

“You could have used your Mama’s car, baby girl.”

I smiled, my dad always called me his baby girl, no matter that I was closing in on thirty. To him I would always be his baby girl.

According to my mama he had spoiled me from the moment I had been born. No matter how long and tiring a day he’d had, when he walked through the door he would pick me up and carry me around, resting against his big chest. Mama said it made Nicholas, or Magic as everyone now called him, jealous at first. Until our daddy sat him down and explained it was now their job to see to it that their girls were always safe.

From that day forward my big brother has been my fierce protector. A pain in the ass sometimes when it came to the boys I liked while growing up. He had scared off more than one guy he didn’t approve of. My brother wasn’t my only protector, with him came his friends. Friends who later became his brothers in the club.

“Daddy, how bad is it? What happened?” It had been gnawing at my gut since I got the news.

My daddy didn’t immediately answer and that made the hair on the back of my neck rise. This was bad.

“He’s fightin’ baby girl but it’s not good. He made it through the surgery, and that’s a big plus. The doctors are keepin’ him sedated for now. He’s condition is listed as critical.” He sighed. “He wasn’t the only one who got shot, Viper was as well. He’s not as critical as your brother but it’s not good either.”

He sounded incredibly worried and my foot instinctively pressed down on the gas pedal.

Two of the brothers shot? That wasn’t good, not good at all. It sounded like a lockdown situation and those are a pain in the ass.

“Don’t think I can’t hear you speedin’, Vanessa.” He growled.

Oh shit.

When he used my full name it means he’s either pissed at me or I’m about to get a lecture.

“We’re already sittin’ in the hospital with your brother. Do not make your mother and I sit by your side as well.”

I immediately slowed to the speed limit. He was right. It would be stupid to take unnecessary risks in my haste to get to the hospital.

Ending the call after promising to drive safely and message him at least once every hour I settled in for the last few hours of my trip.

I should have known he would be sneaky.

I was about forty minutes from Savannah when several bikes came up from behind me.

Fast.

I wasn’t scared, I would recognise those kuttes anywhere.

The Shadow Wraiths MC, they were family, my brother’s club brothers. And through him they became my family as well.

They escorted me to the hospital, four riders in front and four behind me.

I recognised Dive and when he pulled up next to me and showed me a thumbs up my head that had started spinning out horror scenarios settled. He would never have left Magic’s side if he wasn’t stable.

The two of them have been living in each other’s back pockets since they were little boys. With his best friend hurt so badly he would never have left his side if he wasn’t doing better.

As I parked he was already off his bike and striding towards me.

As my door swung open he was right there and I lunged at him. He caught me, pulled me into his arms and held me as I shook and cried all over his shirt.

His voice was rough but soothing. “He’s holdin’ his own, Ness. My boy is stubborn, he won’t let this shit take him from us or from his Evie.”

He pulled away, looked down at me, his eyes serious.

“She came to see him and hasn’t left. Told the nursin’ staff she’s his fiancé. Your Mama confirmed it and had her added to his visitors list. Only family are allowed into the ICU.”

The moment he said Evie I started smiling.

Dive wasn’t smiling and my smile slowly faded.

“Ness, babe, you need to prepare. He’s not lookin’ good and your mama and daddy aren’t copin’ too well. Especially your daddy. He’s blamin’ himself for shit he had no control over. Like Magic joinin’ the club and gettin’ shot while protectin’ Lucky’s family.”

Cold dread slid down my spine.

“Are they okay? Lucky’s family?”

Dive slowly shook his head from side to side.

Oh no. I really liked his family, his sister and his mum were so friendly and seriously funny.

“His ol’ lady and son was kidnapped but we’re workin’ on getting’ ‘em back. Now that you’re here I’m goin’ to head back to the clubhouse to join the search.”

I was stunned. Lucky did not do relationships.

“Lucky? Our Lucky? He has an old lady and a son? Are you sure?”

Dive grinned and gave me raised eyebrows and a shrug. “He had a thing with a woman when he went to Remy’s weddin’. Never knew he left a surprise in her belly. She got into some trouble and was sent here to hide. Long story short, shit happened, Lucky claimed them. Unfortunately her troubles along with some club shit found her and that’s when Bren, her bodyguard, Magic and Viper got shot. Protectin’ her and the baby.”

His big hands clasped my cheeks and the grin was gone. He looked down at me and I braced for whatever was going to come next.

“I’ve already given you more than I should have, Ness. You don’t discuss Lucky’s business with nobody. You get me? This is me and you talkin’ straight. I know I can trust you not to run your mouth like the other bitches at the club.”

He dropped his head until our foreheads were almost touching. To anyone who saw us it would have looked like we were lovers or something.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

He was gorgeous and incredibly sexy but to me he was my brother. A brother I loved and respected. The same way I loved and respected Magic.

Dropping his voice even lower he gave me what he could.

“All women and kids connected to the club are under threat. You stay right here and you don’t go anywhere without brothers on you. Don’t let your Daddy or Mama talk you into goin’ home, it’s not safe. One of the brothers or I will be back later to bring you and your folks to the clubhouse. I know Magic insisted your Daddy keep a go-bag for him and your mama in the garage, I’ll send a prospect to pick it up. Are you okay for clothes and shit?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” My voice came out as a whisper.

“Good. I’ll text you if I can’t make it back. Don’t leave with anyone but the brothers I send to you. Okay?”

I gave a small nod. This was a lot more complicated than he was letting on.

Pressing a kiss to my forehead he dragged me into another hug then let me go.

“Let’s get you inside.”

With his arm around my shoulders and the brothers surrounding us he took me up to the waiting room.

Once there he gave me a one armed hug, handed me over to my Daddy and left.

My parents looked terrible, Evie was the same. Worn out, gutted and scared.

After hugging Mama and Daddy and assuring myself they were okay I went over and pulled her up out of the chair she had chosen on the opposite side of the room. That was bullshit. I drew her with me and she reluctantly allowed it, she had no other option because I wasn’t going to let go. I took her to my folks and pushed her down in the chair next to Mama who instantly put an arm around her and drew her in.

They have always been close and her and Magic breaking up had saddened my mama. She saw Evie as another daughter and I could see it hasn’t changed.

“Right. I’m goin’ to talk to the nurse and get an update on Magic and Viper. I’ll be back.” I quickly walked away, giving my parents and Evie some time to get over any awkwardness.

Later that evening the brothers Dive promised to send arrived to escort us to the compound.

It became our daily routine.

Every time I came in to visit my brother I made a point of visiting Viper as well. Even when he was moved out of High Care I still visited with him. As usual he said very little but I’m sure my babbling made up for it.

Things around the club were very tense for a while but it eventually settled down when Lucky’s family was found and rescued.

I went home with my folks for a few days before going to my own place. Or should I say our place. I shared an old house with Magic. I lived in the upstairs apartment and he had the one downstairs. Why was I upstairs? Because he maintained it was safer for me.

When he was discharged and came home it made it easy to look after him. I wasn’t in his space all the time but I was there when he needed me.

Of course, as karma would have it, Evie made herself scarce the moment Magic was well enough to try and talk to her.

She called me almost every day for an update though. It told me she still loved my stupid brother.

And my stupid brother?

He was working hard on healing and regaining his strength.

“I’m givin’ her some time but you bet your life I’m goin’ after her as soon as I can sit on my fuckin’ bike without fallin’ off. I should have made her listen to me years ago. I’m fuckin’ tired of her runnin’ from me, from us. I’m goin’ to fix what I broke and she’ll be my ol’ lady, the way she’s always supposed to have been.”

I was happy he’d finally pulled his head out of his ass.

My days consisted of helping Magic get to his doctor’s appointments and generally taking care of him. Not that I had to do much. My brother was super focused on getting better and didn’t require much help.

When I wasn’t with him I took the time to look up my friends, to go diving, climbing, surfing and running. I still wasn’t allowed to go riding on my own and had to arrange for a brother to go with me when I wanted to take my bike out. It was a pain but I stuck to the rules. I’ve been around the club long enough to know they were intended to keep me safe.

And after seeing what happened to Harper, Lucky’s old lady, I liked my safety.

I tried to keep busy but eventually I got bored with not being constantly busy.

It was as if my mother had Nessa radar.

Her noticing my boredom meant she started bombarding me with job openings at schools around Savannah. Every couple of days I received an e-mail from her telling me to apply to some teaching job she’d found.

She wanted me home and did everything in her power to try and convince me to settle down and take a steady job.

She drove me nuts!

My dad wasn’t much better. Every time I popped into the shop where he built his custom machines he would start on me as well.

Telling me how much he and my mum missed me when I was gone on a contract.

According to him instead of gallivanting around the world with a bunch of rock stars I should be settling down and finding a man.

And the cherry on the cake?

They wanted grandbabies to spoil and it was my job to give them some.

My job?

Having kids so they could spoil them was my job?

In what freaking universe?

I wasn’t their only child, for heaven’s sakes. What about Magic? Why weren’t they pestering him for grandbabies?

I was only twenty eight and there was so much I still wanted to do and see. My contract with Sky as Lee’s nanny had come to an end as they no longer needed me. I missed them but wished them the very best for the future.

Sky had reconnected with the love of her life, the father of her baby girl, and they were settling down, starting a new life together in South Africa, building a family. She wouldn’t be touring for a while.

With my mama poking at me it was time to find a new contract. It meant going through the offers I’ve had once my availability became known.

The agency I worked through had sent me quite a few requests for my services. There were a couple of interesting ones but I was picky. I didn’t work with musicians who were in problematic relationships or in problematic bands. And there were too many of those.

My very first contract had been a disaster. I wasn’t as knowledgeable as I am now. I allowed the agency I worked with back then to place me without checking out my employer for myself. I should have let the club run background checks. I didn’t.

It turned out to be a huge mistake. The couple who hired me were both part of the band and wanted their four year old and two year old with them while on tour.

I accepted the job not knowing the first thing about my clients. I quickly learnt more about them than I wanted to know.

They thought nothing of going from performing on stage to an all-night party. Sometimes one, or both of them, didn’t come back to the bus at all. From my very first day with them the problems started. A week after I started I walked into a situation where the mother was high as a kite and screaming at her terrified babies. The father came running and got between her and the kids.

I threatened to leave but my agent talked me into staying for the sake of the kids. As a newbie on the nanny scene, and a rather sheltered twenty year old I allowed my much older and supposedly experienced agent to influence my decisions.

I should have taken those poor babies to a place of safety and gone home.

The rest of the band wasn’t much better, they were partying constantly.

The mother of the kids was high most of the time and the father drank way too much.

Their fights were the things nightmares were made of. Screaming, swearing, throwing any object they could lay their hands on and getting physical. Her, not him. They were bad for each other, very bad.

She was worse than him though, her drugs of choice were heroin and prescription meds and she didn’t even attempt to hide it. The drugs seemed to drive her violent behaviour. When she wasn’t high she was sweet with the kids, but unfortunately that didn’t happen very often.

I noticed that when the father got pissed at her he drank. He was very volatile but never laid a hand on her or his kids. Throwing shit around and breaking stuff was more his style.

The day she grabbed their tiny little two year old and threw her across the room was when I lost my shit. The dad, thank heavens, had snatched the baby out of the air and his shock and horror made my decision easy.

I quit on the spot then reported them for child abuse and endangerment. I did what I could to ensure the safety of the kiddies. Then I fired my agent and went home.

The things that happened in that hotel room stayed with me.

It made selecting my next client easier, Sky was that client.

I started babysitting for her when I was still a student and the band played at clubs back home. After my disastrous first contract she approached me with an offer when they were signed on to a tour. I went with them. We were like one big family, no drugs, no fighting and no excessive drinking. So different from my first job.

And what happened to the dad and the kiddies from my first job?

His parents stepped up and took the babies in when he filed for divorce, left the band and went into rehab. While he was in rehab the mother of the babies, still touring with the band, died from an overdose. He cleaned up his life, joined a new band who became very successful and famous, and is now a happily married man. His kids are kept out of the limelight, they stay home with his wife. Funnily enough, she’s the nanny who eventually replaced me.

I always think their story sounds like a romance novel.

Smiling at my silly thought I clicked through my e-mails.

I had to find a job.

Before my mother drove me crazy.

And what do you know.

I groaned out loud.

Another e-mail from her about a job at a junior school close to their home.

I had to get out of Savannah as soon as possible.

All I needed was the perfect job.

Or as close to perfect as I can get.

I had quite a few options that the agency forwarded to me.

Listing the ones that seemed like a good fit I started the process of elimination.

It was slow going but at least it would end with me having a new contract.

And getting away from my mother and her job hunting/matchmaking efforts.