Chapter 9 Nash
NASH
One of the security team delivered a heavy-duty first aid kit. I sat it on the table and opened it. Resting on top was an ice pack.
I turned, holding the pack in my hand.
Looking at her was like a fist to my chest.
Georgie. Georgie Linden was here in front of me.
Then other emotions swelled. She was too thin, her smooth skin was bruised, and she looked tired.
Everyone I ever loved is dead.
My hand clenched on the ice. She was supposed to be living her happy, good life. She wasn’t supposed to be hurt and hunched in a chair looking beaten.
Still, my gaze drank her in like I was parched and she was pure, cool water. She wasn’t a girl anymore, or a young woman on the verge of adulthood.
She was all woman.
Her blonde hair—still the same starlight color I remembered—spilled around her slim shoulders. Her face was paler than it should be, but the freckles were there dotting her nose.
And those pretty hazel eyes.
They were watching me now, warily. She had sharp cheekbones and full lips.
I imagined kissing those lips.
I stomped on my thoughts. She’s hurt, asshole.
Lifting the ice pack, I motioned at her hoodie.
She huffed out a breath. “Like I said., the injuries are healing—”
“And you got hit again today. Trust me, it will help.”
With a huff, she yanked the hoodie up.
I saw the bottom of a plain, black bra, and those ugly bruises mottling her ribs. My jaw clenched, but I noted the slim, almost delicate, torso, and more of that smooth skin.
I pressed the ice pack to her side, and she hissed. Next, I pulled out antiseptic wipes and knelt beside her. Carefully, I wiped at a small graze on her temple, and got a better look at the bruising, now that the makeup was wiped away.
Rage could be hot, but it could also be cold and cutting. It welled inside me, spreading like cracks in a frozen lake.
That fucker had beaten her. Systematically. She was tiny compared to him, but he clearly hadn’t hesitated. Not if her bruises were still this bad over a week later.
How bad had it been the day she’d been beaten?
Who had taken care of her? Who had helped her when she was in pain?
“Did you get treatment after this first happened?”
She nodded. “I woke up in the hospital.”
The cracks intensified. The guy was a dead man. He just didn’t know it yet.
“What happened to Viv?” I asked quietly.
Georgie was silent for a moment, then swallowed. “She was all I had left. Mom died, then Elliot, then Dad.”
Elliot. God, I still missed my friend. He’d been a good, decent guy. He’d always been up for an adventure or willing to lend a hand.
When he’d died, I’d thrown all my grief over his loss into my work. To becoming the best, most effective assassin I could be. A part of me wanted to honor his sacrifice.
My gaze stayed locked on Georgie’s face, and I saw her gaze turn inward.
“Viv loved to sing. She was good, too, and she wanted to be a star.” Her voice sounded hollow. “Then Dean Snyder happened.”
The name was vaguely familiar.
Her gaze flicked my way. “He’s a club owner here in Las Vegas.”
Those eyes turned haunted. I wanted to reach for her, but I stopped myself.
She wasn’t mine. I wasn’t good for her. She’d suffered enough and didn’t need more crap heaped on top of her.
“He sold her dreams. Told her that he’d make her a star. She started singing in his club, and he was luring her along with the promise of a record deal. He also installed her in his bed.”
I stayed still. I knew this story. I knew plenty of entitled assholes who used their power and money to get what they wanted.
“He got her addicted to drugs. Forced her to do whatever he wanted sexually. He withheld the record deal he’d promised.” Sadness filled her face and her shoulders sagged. “Then he started sharing her with men. His inner circle, clients, friends. He filmed it.”
Fucking hell. I took her hand. Her fingers were ice cold. “I’m sorry, Georgie.”
“I came here to rescue her. I managed to get her away from him. I spent several days with her hunched on the floor of a hotel bathroom while she went through withdrawal.”
There was a blank look on Georgie’s face now and it hurt because I knew it hid so much pain.
“She was finally starting to feel a bit better. I went out to get food. He texted her and said he had some of her things to give her.” Georgie rubbed her forehead.
“When I got back to the hotel, she was gone, and not long later, he texted me a picture of her high and naked with two men. I went to the club to rescue her…”
And that’s when she’d been beaten. “What happened next?”
“I woke up in the hospital. A few hours later, Viv’s body was dumped in an alley a block away from the Strip. She’d overdosed. No one cared that he’d done it to her. To the cops, she was just another junkie.”
“I’m sorry, Georgie. I’m sorry you lost her.”
“The pain never stops.” There were no tears in her eyes, but so much anguish. “I’ve lost everything.”
“What about your job? Your home?” My stomach clenched. “Do you have a man?”
“No. I don’t have any of that. All I want is revenge.” Now, something sparked in her eyes and she straightened. “Snyder is doing it again. Seducing a new singer. And I’m certain Viv wasn’t the first and won’t be the last. He and the thugs he keeps around him have to be stopped.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I’m going to kill them.”
Something inside me twisted. “Killing isn’t always easy, Georgie. You had a chance tonight, but you couldn’t take it.”
She lifted her chin at an angle that radiated stubbornness. “I just need to be better prepared. I need to train and plan. I will stop them.” She paused. “Elliot once told me that you’d scare anyone.” She licked her lips. “And that you would help me.”
I shoved a hand through my hair. “That’s why you tried to find me?”
She nodded. “I didn’t think I would. The person I paid to look for you…they said you didn’t want to be found. But for Viv, I thought I’d try.”
“I’m not some fucking white knight.”
She rose and slammed the ice pack on the table. “Good. I don’t need one. I need a dark one.”
I threw out an arm. “This road is one you don’t want to take.” I paced the room, trying to get a grip on my agitation. Georgie killing anyone wasn’t something I wanted for her. “Leave Vegas, Georgie. Go home. Go and live your life.”
You could help her. Help her get revenge.
Help pretty Georgiana Linden kill. Fuck.
I was darkness. I didn’t want her coated in the muck as well.
I wanted to save her from this.
I spun to face her.
“No. I’m not leaving.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Will you help me?”
“I want you to go back to Elk Falls. You have no idea what you’re asking.”
“No.”
“You’re not strong enough for this and you haven’t got what it takes.”
Her lips trembled. “I’m not that young girl anymore, Nash.” She gave a harsh laugh. “That small-town girl is long gone. Life ground her to dust.”
I shook my head. My fingers curled into my palms to stop from reaching for her.
“I’ll take that as a no.” Her mouth flattened. “I’m sorry I ever came looking for you. Don’t let me interrupt your life.”
She shouldered past me, then slammed the door behind her.
I set my hands on my hips, looking at the floor. My chest was tighter than it ever had been.
Fuck.
This was for the best. She’d realize she couldn’t do this, that she needed to go back to her life.
I didn’t want blood on her hands.