Chapter Fifty-Four
"I missed you," I say to Andrea, giving her a hug.
"I'm sorry, Nova, for everything. I should have known better than to trust your uncle." She glances to Prospect before turning back to me and guiding me toward one of the tables near the back wall.
I sit with my back against the wall, it's a habit that I learnt pretty quickly after moving in my with aunt and uncle. He had the knack of just appearing behind me, right before he would attack. I found that I preferred to see it coming, that way at least I could see what I had to prepare for.
"Your mum was my best friend. I promised her and your dad that I would always take care of you and your brother.
She made me promise that no matter what I would always be with you.
" She grabs the drink the prospect has brought over before he even has a chance to put it down.
He places mine in front of me and looks to Andrea as she downs half of it.
"Would you like another?" he asks.
She shakes her head. "No, thank you."
He gives a nod and walks away without another word.
Andrea turns back to face me. "I thought I was doing the right thing handing you over to them.
The death threats started the day I picked you both up.
" She stops talking as a shadow covers our table.
We look up to see Tongue standing there, watching us.
"Prez would like to know why your friend is here asking for you," he states to Andrea.
I glance back and forth between them, not really sure what he's talking about, but as I watch Andrea, I realise she knows.
Her eyes flick behind Tongue and I follow her gaze.
I see Nitro standing in the doorway to Church, watching us.
He waits for a few seconds and then heads back inside the room.
Thinking they don't need anything else, I lean back in my seat.
But as I get comfortable, Tongue begins to walk away.
Casting a quick glance behind him, he throws over his shoulder, "You both need to come back in, please," then heads back into Church with Nitro.
As we both step back through the door, my eyes instantly seek out Ice. I give him a smile, but he looks worried. "Baby," he calls, and I walk over to him without hesitating. Taking the seat next to him, he reaches for my hand and uses his other hand to pull my chair closer to him.
"Is everything okay?" I ask, the feeling of panic rising. I look to Andrea who seems relaxed as she takes the seat she was in earlier.
"Baby. Breathe. It's fine," Max tells me, but he doesn’t seem convinced, and I turn to Nitro, who nods and gives me a wink. As he turns to look at Andrea, his face drops the smile and is replaced by a scowl.
I grip Max's hand tighter, needing to feel a little comfort. He returns the gesture then grabs the back of my neck and pulls my face toward his and places a gentle kiss on my lips.
"Everything is fine, baby, just relax for me," he whispers in my ear.
A knock on the door has us all turning toward it. As Prospect walks in the room, he steps to the side to allow someone else to enter. I smile when I see Arthur walk through the door.
"Hey, kid," he greets me with a smile. Andrea stands and he’s in front of her in a second, pulling her to him. I'm shocked as I glance a look at the men in the room, and I think they are just as shocked as I am.
"Prospect, get another chair, please," Nitro calls to the guy at the door. He nods then leaves, returning a second later with another chair, placing it right next to Andrea’s.
"Prez, he had a bag with him. I made him leave it at the gatehouse. I'll go through it before bringing it down here," the prospect tells Nitro.
"What’s in the bag, Arthur?" Nitro snaps.
Arthur just shakes his head, looking a little bored. "Clothes, Nitro, relax," he states.
Max's grip tightens on my hand, and I look to Nitro then Wrath and they both look like they are about to explode. "Clothes?" Nitro questions. "Please fucking tell me that you don't think we're putting you up here?" he asks in disbelief.
Arthur laughs, which I think pisses Nitro off even more. "Please, like I would stay in this place..."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Wrath snaps.
"Calm down. The clubhouse is not my idea of a good night’s sleep. The clothes are for Mason and Nova. Andrea asked me to pick something up for them," Arthur states, glancing at Andrea and then turning back to Nitro.
"Erm, what?" I ask.
"I understand that you don’t have anything here, that you left everything behind. I just wanted to make sure that you both had some clothes at the very least," Andrea tells me.
"We are fucking taking care of them; we have been taking care of them since we pulled them from the car. Do you really think we'd let them go without?" Wrath snaps, his anger evident.
"I advise you to watch your tone when you're talking to me or Andrea. I will not tolerate that kind of attitude," Arthur states calmly, but there is an air of danger around him.
I've only ever seen this side of him once before, when he was at our house, threatening my uncle for failing to have his men released. Every other time I've seen him, he's been calm, relaxed. His demeanour has been friendly.
"You're in my clubhouse, Arthur. And while you are here, you will show respect to my men and our guests.
Nova and Mason have not gone without since they have been here, and we will continue to take care of them for as long as we need to, or for as long as they want us to," Nitro states.
His tone brokers no illusion that he is in charge right now.
He spares me a quick glance and then turns back to Arthur.
"I believe we all owe Nova an apology, it would appear the tension in the room is creating some anxiety for her." He looks to Wrath, who turns my way, his face full of remorse.
"Shit, Nova, I'm sorry, sweetheart," he tells me.
"It's okay, you don't need to apologise, you didn't do anything wrong," I say, trying to pass off my anxiety as nothing important.
"No, Prez is right, this tension and anger can't be good for you.
I'm sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable at any point," Wrath says again, and I smile at him, not really wanting to say anything.
The truth is the bitterness between them is stressing me out.
But I don't want them to feel bad for just being themselves.
Arthur doesn't apologise though, he just glances my way, remorse briefly crosses his face before he turns back to Nitro.
"Andrea and I have had a conversation, and we believe it would be best if we left and took Nova and Mason with us." My eyes shoot to his, but he's focussed on Nitro. I turn to face Andrea, as Max grips my hand. She's watching me, her eyes flicking between me and Max.
I cast a quick glance to Nitro, who has now turned his attention to me. He raises an eyebrow, I think in question, but I don't know how to respond, I'm just as surprised as everyone else by the suggestion.
"Erm, I…" I stutter. I don't know what to say. I can feel everyone watching me—I'm guessing waiting for an answer. I look to Max, his eyes locked on my face, his hand gripping mine so tightly.
"I'm sorry, but when exactly did you two have this conversation?" Nitro calmly asks.
Arthur smiles. "Last night, just before she left to come here. Look, Nitro, I have been keeping an eye on the kids for the last year—"
"Bullshit. If you'd been keeping an eye on them, then why didn't you fucking help them? Why leave them to deal with the shite they had to deal with?" Wrath snaps.
I try to swallow, but my throat is so dry. I can feel the anger rolling off everyone in the room and it's making my head spin. But what scares me is the fact that Max hasn't said anything. He's just sat next to me quietly, with a constant grip on my hand.
Arthur doesn't respond, he doesn’t even look at him, his eyes remain locked on Nitro. "We believe that the safest place for them right now would be with us. We can ensure—"
"You can ensure nothing," Nitro snaps. "My VP is right, why didn't you help them?
If you've been keeping an eye on them, then you must have known what was going on.
Yet you did nothing to help them, you did nothing to keep them safe.
" He's trying to keep his cool, but I can feel the anger radiating from him, we all can.
My eyes flick back and forth between them. I'm desperate to get out of here, but I also don't want to leave. This involves me and Mason. I need to be here.
"That is my fault. We had our suspicions, but until recently I wasn’t completely sure.” Andrea states.
"Nova, I wanted to get you out of there, I realised I'd made a mistake letting them take you, I knew something wasn't right, but I couldn’t work out what it was.
Arthur offered to just help me grab you and get you guys out of there, but I couldn't risk it.
If I did that and they found us, you would be taken off me and I would have ended up in prison.
Then I'd never see you again. I know I failed you, but I'm asking you to give me a chance to fix it.
I'm asking you come with us." She leans forward on the table, her arms reaching over for mine, but I don't react.
The heat from Max is giving me comfort right now.