Chapter Nine
We've been at the hospital for six hours. The kid has been seen by a doc and is now asleep.
They weren't gonna tell us anything, said that we weren't family, even though we argued that Wrath came in with him and the kid was stuck to him like glue.
Took us a while, but we finally managed to convince them that we were family, that we were all his uncles.
It helped that the kid agreed with us and that he called Wrath ‘Uncle Tyler’.
I'm sat in the chair by the kid’s bed, my feet resting on the bottom corner as he sleeps tucked into Wrath’s side.
Wrath has his arms wrapped around the kid; his eyes closed, but he isn’t asleep.
He may look peaceful, but I know he's churned up on the inside. This is the first time he’s spent a night away from Marissa since she was taken.
"Brother," I whisper.
He opens one eye, giving me a look before closing it again. "Hmm?" he hums at me.
"Head home, I'll stay with the kid."
He shakes his head. "Nah, I'm good."
I'm surprised by his response, I really thought he would want to go home to his girl. "You s—" I don't get to finish what I was about to ask, as Marissa quietly sneaks through the door and makes her way over to her man.
I watch him as he watches her approach. The way he smiles at her, watches her every move. The man really is in love. She gently kisses him then takes a step back to take a seat, but he grabs her and shakes his head. He tries to pull her onto the bed, but she pulls back.
"No. I'm a stranger, it might scare him. I'll sit right here," she whispers to him.
"No, baby, you need a bed, you can’t sleep in that chair, please."
"Wrath, baby, I'm good, don't worry. Now let’s not disturb him." She quietly places the chair next to the bed and takes a seat, leaning back and watching her man cradle a complete stranger.
The smell of coffee wakes me. Opening my eyes, I see Nitro holding a cup in front of my face. "Thanks," I croak, taking the drink from him.
"Where's Nova?" a small, scared, tired voice asks.
I open my eyes, pulling myself up on the chair. I don't know how long I've been asleep, but I do know my back is fucking killing me.
"Hey, buddy." Nitro walks slowly over to the bed, and I look around wondering where Wrath is. Clearly so is the kid. "Where's Tyler?" he asks.
Nitro sits on the edge of the bed, reaching out a hand to place on the kid’s good arm, but he quickly shuffles back up the bed and Nitro pulls his hand away.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, Mason. You can trust us. Tyler went home with his girl a few hours ago. He'll be back later. I'm Kai, or Nitro, and this loser"—he points over to me and Mason smiles—"is Max, also known as Ice. Can you tell us what happened to your arm?"
The kid’s eyes dart back and forth between us. He doesn't know what to do, he doesn't know if he should tell us anything. We already know that the broken arm isn't from the crash.
We initially thought it might have something to do with the girl, but when the Doc came and found us last night, we realised that she had been through some pretty traumatic shit herself. Someone has been hurting these two, and we wanna know who.
I also wanna know why she thought it was a good idea to drive in her state, she could have fucking killed them both.
"Mason." Prez tries again. "Will you tell us what happened?"
He shakes his head, dropping it so he can't see us. I take a drink of the coffee and almost spit it out, it’s fucking vile. Who drinks this shit?
I get up from the chair and walk over to the bed, taking a seat on the edge. I place my shitty coffee on the bedside table then turn back to the kid. "Hey. So, we know that you didn't get your broken arm from the crash. Would you wanna tell us how you got it?"
He watches me for a few seconds. "Can I see Nova?" he asks.
I reach for him; he lets me take a hold of his hand. "Not yet, buddy, she's still resting. But I promise that we can see her as soon as she wakes. But until then, if you don't want to tell us what happened, why don’t we tell you about us? That way you know who we are."
"Okay," he says quietly. The kid is stressed, and I get it. I want to make it as easy for him as I can.
"Okay, so I'm Max. I'm twenty-nine and I have a younger, annoying sister." I give him a cheeky smile and he giggles at me.
"I'm Mason. I'm nine,” he tells me. He looks like he wants to tell me more, but he's not sure. So, he looks over to Nitro.
"I'm Kai…"
"Why do they call you Prez?" he asks, surprising us.
"Well, because I'm in charge of these big idiots.
We're in an MC, The Soulless Knights, and I'm the boss.
Max here, known as Ice, is my Seargent at Arms. And Tyler also known as Wrath, is my my Vice President.
" Mason gives Nitro a small smile, but he looks confused, so Nitro leans forward.
"How about when you get out of here, you can visit the clubhouse, and we can tell you all about the Soulless Knights? "
Mason gently nods at him then leans back on the pillow. "Could I please have some water?"
"Of course, buddy, I'll go get you some. I'll be right back," Nitro says, getting up and heading out to grab him some.
He shuffles, trying to sit up in the bed. I reach for him, gently helping him sit up.
"You wanna tell me anything?" I ask him.
He watches me for a few seconds and then nods. "Nova is my sister." I nod, having guessed that bit already, but he keeps talking. "She’s my hero."
I'm surprised. Kids always say people are their heroes, but there's something about the way he said it. He really does mean it.
A few minutes pass in silence before Nitro appears with the water. I watch as Mason drinks half of the glass then hands it back to Nitro, who places it on the table.
"Mase." His eyes shoot to mine. "Wanna tell me where you and Nova were headed?"
He shakes his head, not saying anything.
"Okay. How about you tell me how you got the broken arm?" Another shake of the head. I glance at Nitro who shrugs his shoulders. The kid seems to have a rapport with Wrath, and part of me wonders if we should wait for him to come back.
I slip a quick glance and wink at Nitro. He gives me a little chin lift, letting me know I'm good.
"Okay. You don't have to tell us anything. Nova is still resting. But as soon as they say it's okay, we'll take you in there to check on her. Erm, we think they are going to let you go home soon. Nova might have to stay here for a few days, but you should be able to go."
The minute I say he can go home, the colour drains from his face, and his demeanour changes. He's afraid. He doesn’t want to go home.
I keep pushing, hoping not to push him too far. "Hopefully Nova will wake up before you go, but if not, I'm sure that you won't be apart for too long."
"No. I can't go home. Please, I need to see Nova. Ice, please." Mason sobs as he scrambles from under the covers, his hands grabbing at mine. The kid is fucking petrified.
"Hey. Mase, breathe," I tell him, pulling him into my lap. “You’re safe, you can trust us. But I need you to tell me what’s going on. We can help you and Nova, but you have to be honest." I beg him to tell me but he just sits in my lap, gripping at my cut as sobs wrack through him.
We sit here for almost an hour. He's stopped crying, but he hasn't let me go. Mind, I haven't let go of him either, and Nitro has sat in a chair by the door the entire time.
"Hey, little man," is called behind me.
Mason sits up, looking over my shoulder, and I turn to see Wolf and Acid standing in the doorway. "You okay?" he asks, and Mason climbs off my lap and moves to the bottom of the bed where they meet him. Wolf picks him up and hugs him, while Acid ruffles his hair.
"What happened? Is Nova, okay?" Wolf quietly asks him. I sit on the bed disappointed, waiting to hear his answer when I hear shuffling, and a few seconds later he's climbing back into my lap.
Nitro smiles as I hold the kid closer to me. I'm so fucking pleased he came back to me; I'm so pleased he trusts me. I glance down and see his eyes fixed on my face. "It's okay," I whisper, loud enough only for him to hear.
"Please don't make me go home." His eyes are pleading.
"You don't feel safe at home?" I ask him.
He shakes his head.
"Do you feel safe with Nova?"
He nods at me, then says, "She's the only one I feel safe with. She protects me."
I wrap my arms around him, pulling him to me, then I turn to face Nitro.
"Not anymore, buddy. We're going to protect you both.
I promise." I don't need my Prez's approval.
I already know he'll agree, I know my brothers will agree.
"When you're ready, we’re going to need you to tell us what we need to protect you from.
I'm going to need you to trust me, Mase. Can you do that?" I ask him.
There is no hesitation from him as he nods. "I trust you, Ice. Thank you."