Chapter Forty-Two
My eyes blink open and I look down at her sleeping peacefully, tucked into me, her hand resting on the only spot on my chest that isn't covered in tattoos. I frown when the buzzing of my phone makes her stir. Grabbing it quickly, I see it's Prez calling.
"Prez?" I answer, sleep coating my voice.
"Fucking get your arse down here now. We need to go to the garage," he snaps at me.
"Okay." I hang up. You don't ask questions, especially when he's sounds like that.
I slide out from under her, making sure to gently place her head on the pillow.
I don't want to disturb her, but at the same time, I don't want to just leave without telling her.
I climb out of bed and quickly get dressed.
As I slip my arms in my kutte, she begins to stir.
I kneel down at the side of the bed. "Hey, baby," I whisper.
She blinks a couple of times, and her eyes try to focus on me.
"Hi.” She gives me a small smile, her voice hoarse from sleep.
I place my hand on the top of her head and lean close to her face. "I have to go out, baby, I don't know how long I'm going to be, but please stay?" It's not really a question, but I pose it as one, because I want her to stay but I don't want her to feel like she has to.
"Okay," she says quietly. I'm not sure if she's uncomfortable or if she's still half asleep. I lean down and give her a chaste kiss, grateful that she has agreed.
"Thank you. Hopefully I won't be too long." I give her another kiss and pull the blanket up to her shoulder, tucking her in before heading to the door. I turn around and give her one last look before leaving.
As I reach the top of the stairs, I see Nitro and Wrath at the bottom, waiting for me. They look stressed. Shit.
"What's going on?" I ask, not entirely sure I want to know the answer.
Nitro shakes his head. "Where is Nova?" he asks.
"Asleep in my room. What's going on?"
He looks to Wrath then turns back to me as I hit the bottom step. "Blades called. Her uncle, he’s in the garage, asking to speak to us."
My stomach sinks. The garage is connected to the compound, but you can't get to the clubhouse through the front of the shop, you can only get onto the grounds through a side door that is in the back of the building.
My head spins around the main room, looking for Mason. "Where's Mase?" I ask, panicked.
"Relax, he's good. Georgia has him in the cinema room," Wrath tells me, placing a hand on my arm, trying to calm me down.
"Fuck. What the fuck are we going to do?" We hadn't talked about this, we haven't had a chance to discuss what our next plans are.
"We are going to go over there and act like we don't know anything. We’re just going to see what he wants," Nitro states.
"Is it not going to look a little suspicious if the three of us all head over there?" I ask. I can't think straight.
"No. He asked to speak to the people who pulled the kids form the car. So, we're going to go over there and see what he has to say," Nitro tells me calmly. "Brother, you're normally so cool, what's going on?" he asks.
I shake my head then look up toward the top of the stairs. I know she's not there, but I just needed to check.
"Ice," Prez prompts.
"Sorry, Prez, I just don't like the fact that he's so close to her, to them. I'm nervous," I admit.
Wrath slaps me on the back, pushing me to start walking. "She's safe in here, brother. They both are. The fucker will have to go through all of us to get to her," he states, as he strides off ahead.
"Yeah, but what about Blades?" I mumble.
Nitro stops and turns to me. "Blades understands that she's under our protection. He might not agree with it, but he won't do anything to compromise them. So whatever shit you're thinking, fucking forget it," he bites out before turning and following Wrath.
I'm last through the door, making sure that I give myself some time to get my head together.
If I'm not thinking clearly then I'm putting people at risk. I see both Wrath and Nitro stop in the middle of the shop, Wrath doesn’t take his eyes off the front, but Nitro turns to his left and gives me a small nod, encouraging me to follow.
I take a deep breath and force myself through the door.
The first thing I see is a tall man, not as tall as me but around six feet.
He has light brown hair that is thinning on top.
He's stood in the centre of the room, glaring at us, his thumbs tucked into his belt loops, his stance wide.
He's wearing his police uniform—the posture, the uniform, it's all to try and intimidate us, all to try and force us to give him answers.
I stop on Prez's left side, folding my arms over my chest and widening my stance. I don't look at my brothers, but I know they will be standing the same, it's not something we practice, it's just something that happens.
"My brother here tells me you want to talk to us?" Nitro gestures to Blades before tilting his head in mine and Wrath’s direction.
He lets his eyes scan over each over us before taking a step toward us.
We don't move, we don’t say anything. We wait for him to respond.
I glance over to the side, Blades is leaning his side on the counter, his arm resting casually as he pretends to mess about with his phone.
I don't know if he senses me looking but his eyes shoot to mine.
He gives me a subtle head nod, letting me know that I don't need to worry.
He's ready to pounce at any point should he need to.
The piece of shit clears his throat, and I turn back to see him step up to Nitro, outstretching his hand for him to shake it. Prez just looks down at it and then back up to him, raising an eyebrow.
Her uncle suddenly looks nervous, as his eyes flick to me and Wrath. "I, erm, I just wanted to thank the people who helped my niece and nephew." He clears his throat again.
I raise an eyebrow, and my eyes move to Blades as he stands up straighter.
"You don't need to thank us for helping someone," Nitro says coolly. "How are your niece and nephew?" he adds.
"Oh, erm…" he stutters. "Well, they are okay. They actually left the hospital the next day." He clears his throat, glancing behind him, checking where Blades is.
Wrath quickly looks over to me, and I shake my head, my blood boiling with rage. How the fuck does he know they are okay?
"That’s good," Nitro states. "I'm pleased that they are okay. Did they tell you what happened?" he pushes.
I watch her uncle clear his throat; he drops his eyes to the floor for a few seconds. When he looks back up at us, his mask is firmly in place. I do my best not to shake my head.
"Well, they seem to have disappeared…”
"How do you know they are okay if they disappeared?" Wrath snaps.
"Oh." He turns to look at VP, shrinking a little as he steps forward.
"Well, the doctors said that they were okay before they took off.
But I was wondering if they said anything to you guys?
" He looks between Nitro and Wrath. I've not said anything to him, he doesn't see me as threat, that’s his mistake though.
He'll learn that I'm his biggest threat.
"No. The girl was unconscious when we pulled her from the car, and the little boy was only worried about her, he just kept asking if she was okay, " Nitro states, holding in his anger.
"Hmm." The fucker hums, pretending he's thinking. "I heard that you guys were in and out of there for a couple of days."
"Yeah," Nitro states, not giving anything else away.
"Well, did you see them or talk to them?" he asks. He's starting to get a little frustrated.
"No. We pulled them from the car, went to the hospital, heard they were doing okay, then left. One of our brothers is a doctor there, we're often in and out of there visiting him," Nitro tells him.
"I just want the kids home safe. Are you sure don’t know where they are? Just think, they might have said something about where they were going when you were there," he asks, desperation filling his voice.
"Like my Prez said," Wrath snaps. "The girl was pulled out unconscious and the little boy wouldn’t talk to us, he was only worried about the girl. We asked how they were when we are at the hospital, but we never saw them again."
"Okay, right, thank you." He starts for the main door but stops just before he gets there. "If you do happen to hear where the kids are, please call me. I really need them back." He takes a couple of steps toward the counter and places a card on it and then leaves, without looking back.
We stand and watch him get into his car, then peel out of the car park.
"Well, he was a piece of work," Blades casually states.
"Ice." Nitro calls my name and I turn to face him. "Are you okay?"
I blow out a breath and nod. "Yes, Prez, but I'm not gonna lie, I really wanted to smash his face in."
"That makes all of us. I promise you that you will get that chance," he tells me, stepping up to me and placing his hands on my arms. "Nova and Mason will be rid of that fucker one day," he says.