Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Fury
“ W hat do you remember today?” Jo pushes. It’s the same question she asks me every evening when she turns up. I’ve noticed she always appears after the guys have left, almost like she’s avoiding them. I shake my head, and relief floods her face.
“Ripper,” I say simply. So far, I haven’t challenged her on anything because I haven’t had the energy . . . or the words. Panic crosses her face, but she relaxes again when I ask, “Where is . . . he?”
“He thinks I’m out shopping,” she says with an uneasy smile. “He’s sorting some business.” Shopping? It’s almost seven in the evening.
Something feels off. It’s been days since I woke fully, and no one can answer anything. Jo is acting weird, and even Axel seems preoccupied. He asks me every day if Jo visited, how she seemed. The entire situation doesn’t feel right, and I still don’t have the energy or the words to have a full conversation about it. I’m frustrated, and it’s starting to show. I sigh heavily and turn my head away.
The door swings open, and we both look over to see Xanthe stumble in. She looks up, flustered, with her arms full of bags. “Oh,” she says when she spots Jo, “you’re here.”
Jo places her hand over mine. “Of course, I am. I’m his wife.”
Something passes over Xanthe’s face, and she squares her shoulders. “Well, I’m his oldest . . . friend.”
“Funny, he never mentioned you,” Jo states indignantly.
Xanthe ignores her, placing the bags on the table. “Mum’s sorry she hasn’t been these last few days,” she says, opening one of the bags and pulling out a pack of my favourite biscuits. She holds them up with a grin. “She sent supplies, though. I told her the hospital feeds you, but you know what she’s like, forever worrying.” She begins unpacking the bags, and Jo watches through narrowed eyes.
Eventually, she picks out a pack of Percy Pig sweets. Jo rolls her eyes some more. “I don’t think filling him with sugar is going to do him any good. And as a nurse, you should know that.”
“A little of what you love won’t hurt, especially when you’ve been through so much.”
The door opens again, and another nurse walks in. “Visiting is over,” she says, looking directly at Jo.
“What about her?” she asks, nodding at Xanthe.
“She’s staff. Now, say your goodbyes, there’s always tomorrow.” I don’t miss the wink she gives Xanthe before leaving.
Jo huffs, tipping my chin back and placing a lingering kiss on my lips. I have no doubt it’s for Xanthe’s benefit because she hasn’t been affectionate the entire time I’ve been here.
Xanthe gives a sarcastic smile and a little wave as she leaves, rolling her eyes once she’s gone. I have no idea why she hates Jo so much.
She approaches the bed, perching on the edge. “Axel told me you have short-term memory loss,” she begins, and I give a nod. “So, what I’m about to tell you will confuse you, and I shouldn’t really even say anything because the doctor said it could confuse you more if we overload you with information.” She’s blabbering, a sure sign she’s nervous. I almost smile at how well I still know her, even after all this time. I have so many questions, but the words won’t come, and then she continues.
“I love you, Fury.” It’s not the words I was expecting, and I frown. “And you love me,” she adds . I did. I loved her a long time ago, but her parents saw an end to it. “You came into this hospital a few months ago. I was your nurse, and we became friends again.” My head hurts, and the pain forces me to squeeze my eyes closed. “I know it’s a lot,” she rushes to add, “but I wouldn’t lie to you, Reese.” The use of my given name has me opening my eyes again. They stare into her sad blues, and my heart twists.
“I don’t . . .” I trail off, shaking my head. I have no idea what she’s talking about, and it doesn’t matter how much I try, I still don’t remember.
“I know you don’t remember,” she finishes for me with tears balancing on her lower lashes. “But I needed you to know that before all this, we were starting to plan a life together.”
“Jo,” I say, wanting to remind her that I have someone, even if she isn’t completely mine.
“I don’t know what happened between you,” she says. “You never told me fully. But Axel said you and her split after Ripper found out about you.” I inhale sharply, and the beeping of the machine beside me rings out. She rushes around the bed to silence it. “You need to stay calm,” she mutters. Easy for her to say. “It all came out, and Axel made you come to London and stay at the club.”
I shake my head again. If she’s telling the truth, why would Jo be here? There’s no way he’d let her out of his sight if he knew everything. “She got rid of it.” His words return to me, and this time, his sneering face appears in my mind, causing me to shudder.
“Leave,” I whisper, turning my head away from her.
“No, Fury, please, I just need you to understand.”
“Leave,” I repeat, more forcefully this time. “I don’t . . .” I take a breath, “know you.” I turn to find her sobbing softly. “Leave.”
Xanthe
I cry all the way back to the clubhouse, and when I get inside, Axel is waiting for me, his face red with anger. “What the fuck did I say to you?” he bellows, causing some of the other bikers to turn to see what the commotion is.
“I had to see him,” I cry. “He doesn’t even remember we’re a thing.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Tell me you didn’t bombard him with information.”
“It’s not information. It’s memories. It’s our life.”
He steps closer, pointing a finger in my face. “You were only in his fucking life a couple months.”
“He still made me his old lady,” I yell angrily while swiping tears from my cheeks.
“And how did he react to your trip down memory lane?” he demands. Thinking of the way Fury dismissed me makes my heart hurt, and I stare down at the ground. “Exactly how I thought,” Axel adds. “The doctor told us we can’t fill in his blanks. Filling his head with memories he doesn’t have will set him back. You should know all this.”
Lexi moves closer, placing an arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go get a drink,” she says softly, leading me towards the kitchen.
Duchess looks up, and the second she sees I’m upset, she pulls out a chair for me to sit, then grabs a bottle of something and some glasses. She places them on the table, and I spy the bottle of whiskey Axel was asking about earlier, accusing some of the brothers of taking it. Lexi smirks. “We always take one for emergencies. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
I wipe my face on my sleeves as Duchess pours us each a finger of whiskey. “I just wanted to spark something in him,” I whisper.
“And did it?” asks Lexi, handing me a glass.
I take it gratefully and drink some, closing my eyes as it burns my throat. “Nope. He asked me to leave.”
“He was probably overwhelmed,” Duchess suggests. “Once he’s thought it over, he’ll want to speak to you.”
“What if he doesn’t?” I whisper, my voice breaking slightly. “We’ve only just found one another again, and now, he doesn’t even remember.”
“Then you have to make him,” says Lexi firmly.
“I tried that, and you saw how Axel reacted,” I mutter miserably.
“Fuck Axel,” she whispers in a hushed tone. “Soon, Fury will be home, and he’ll need a nurse.” She stares at me expectedly.
“Me?”
“Why not you?” she asks, shrugging.
“Because he sent me away, Lexi. I don’t think he’s gonna want me hanging around, especially now Jo’s here.”
Duchess scoffs. “Please, we all know you and Fury are meant to be, so, I agree, make him see you’re his one.”
I lay low for the next couple days. Axel is still pissed, even though Lexi convinced him the idea of me nursing Fury back to health is a good one. And today is the day he’s coming home. I’m not sure if I’m nervous because he rejected me or because I’ve got to nurse the man I love, knowing he doesn’t remember that he feels the same.
Axel fills the doorway to my room “We need to talk,” he says.
I sit up, bracing myself for more lectures. “I know I have to be professional,” I begin.
“It’s not that,” he says before I can finish. “The men just voted on this, meaning I can tell you some stuff that’s been happening.” I sit straighter, eager to know what he has to tell me. “But it stays between us, Xanthe. The other women can’t know. I don’t like the women involved in all this shit.” I nod in agreement.
Axel heads over to the window chair and sits. “We think you’re right about Ripper.”
“You do?”
“He’s avoiding us. We’ve asked to meet, but he always says he’s busy. That’s not normal for a club. If your President wants to see you, you ask when.”
“Do you think he knows more about the fight?”
“I think he was the one who fought Fury.”
I gasp. “What?”
“He’s the only one Fury would allow to beat him like he did. When Fury came to London, he was ashamed. Fucking around with a brother’s old lady is not something a club can forgive.”
“Yet you did?”
“Because of two things. One, I knew about Jo and her promiscuous ways. She wanted a kid, and she used Fury to get it.”
My heart drops. “They have a child?”
He gives his head a shake, and I almost slump back in relief. “Ripper forced her to get rid of it.”
“Oh. Shit. What a bastard.”
“Number two, I don’t like Ripper. He was voted in as the president there, but to be honest, he’s just another in a line of bad ones. That part of the club isn’t run by blood. Normally, I’d have a blood relation do that, or any kind of relation to a founder of The Chaos Demons, but I am the only blood relative. My father had great dreams of expanding, and I hate that I have to pull the plug on that.”
“You’re ending the Nottingham club?”
He gives a nod. “I was already making that decision, but Ripper’s pushed it to happen sooner.” He clears his throat. “We think he’s using Jo to get to Fury.”
“How?”
“It would cause alarm bells to ring if he was to show concern for the man he wanted to kill. It didn’t happen in the ring as planned. It would explain why Jo has been allowed to turn up to visits without him. We think they’re waiting for Fury to come here, then Jo will either do something or she’ll get access to him for Ripper.”
I process his words. “But you’re going to stop her, right?”
“Fury believes she loves him. He thinks things are still great.”
“Then tell him the truth.”
“I want to, but you know what the doctor said about telling him everything. Since you blurted out your little part, he’s not spoken to any of us. Not even Jo.”
“Good,” I mutter.
“She can’t be left alone with him.”
“She’s coming here?” I snap, pushing to my feet. “Are you kidding me?”
“Once he’s settled, I’ll get rid of her. I also need to use her to lure Ripper here.”
“How?” I shake my head. “Actually, don’t tell me.”
He stands and heads for the door. “What about Donnie?” I ask, and he pauses, giving me a sheepish look.
“We have him.”
“Have him?” I repeat.
“I can’t tell you that part.”
I narrow my eyes. “How long have you had him?” He grins, marching out the room. I growl and chase after him. “Answer me.”
“I can’t. Club business.”
We get downstairs. “Club business, my arse. If I find out you’ve had me hiding away here for no reason, I might hurt you,” I threaten.
He laughs. “Look, I kept my promise to Fury. You’re safe.”
“He doesn’t even remember,” I hiss as the door opens and Nyx enters with Fury hooked on his arm.
I pause to stare at him. He looks frail and weak, nothing like the man who left me a few weeks ago, telling me he wouldn’t be gone long. His eyes find mine, and for a fleeting second, I see something, recognition maybe. But he looks away as Jo comes in behind the pair, holding some bags. The prospects rush over to grab them, and she smiles gratefully.
A few brothers head over to help Nyx, and they lead Fury to the couch. I follow Axel, who stops by the couch. “Great to have you home, brother,” he says. “I have you a fabulous nurse.”
Fury looks at me again, but this time, he looks annoyed. Jo narrows her eyes and scoffs. “Not her.”
“Can we have a word?” asks Axel calmly. She nods stiffly, following him towards the office. “And you, Xanthe,” he adds to my surprise.
We get inside, and I close the door. Axel sits behind the desk, pointing to the seat in front of him for Jo, who sits. He tips his head to me, indicating I should go to him, which I do, much to her annoyance.
“We haven’t had much time to catch up,” he begins, “what with you avoiding me.”
She flusters. “I haven’t been avoiding you. I can’t visit Fury in the daytime.”
“Because of your old man?” asks Axel smugly.
“It’s no big secret,” she hisses.
“And what would he say if I told him you were visiting Fury?”
“Fury will go mad if you do that,” she says with confidence.
Axel leans forward, resting his arms on the desk. “You know how I feel about my club,” he says firmly. “I protect them with everything I have. The men are my family, as far as I’m concerned. My blood.”
“If this is some big speech about how I’m getting in the way, save it. Fury loves me, and I’m here for him.”
“What’s the plan here?” he asks with a smirk. “Leave Ripper?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.”
“I also love every single old lady under my protection,” he says carefully, and I stand a little taller knowing he’s referring to me in that. “My men pick their old ladies too wisely for me to doubt them, so when they choose, I back them one hundred percent.”
“What are you talking about?” she snaps impatiently.
“Fury chose well,” he says. She eyes us cautiously, waiting for him to continue. “He chose Xanthe.”
Jo stands abruptly, causing the chair to scrape the floor loudly. “Bullshit.”
“Just because he doesn’t remember yet doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
“Let me go ask him,” she snaps. “Or show me her damn tattoo.”
Axel stands too, towering over the desk. “Sit the fuck down,” he bellows loudly, and she does so without question. “Don’t disrespect me or Fury’s old lady again.” He takes a calming breath. “You have two options now—tell me what you know and I decide if you’re innocent in all this and let you walk, or keep lying to my face and I kill you and your old man at the same time.”
Jo begins to cry, and I stare at the floor. I might dislike her, but I don’t want to see her upset. “Ripper is so angry,” she sobs. “He refuses to let it go.”
“Why is he back here?”
“To end Fury,” she admits, and I stiffen at her confession.
“Xanthe, go check on Fury. Don’t leave his side until I come find you.” The command in his voice is strong, and I leave, knowing that arguing will only piss him off.