Chapter 4
Nick
The smell of candy cane and chocolate invades my nose, and I groan as my cock stiffens against something warm and soft.
Blinking my eyes open, it takes me a moment to remember where I am. Looking down, I find a sleeping Nova curled up against me, her cheek resting on my chest, head tilted up towards me.
My body stills as I remember what we did last night.
I told myself I was going to try and keep my distance from her this trip because any time I’m in the same room with her, I can’t fucking think.
Wanna know how well that's been going? Not good. Not fucking good at all. What I should have done was drive the van and made Will drive the truck. Yet, every time Will offered to switch, I turned him down because when I’m driving the van, all I can think about is Nova.
Is she safe? Is she hungry? Is she comfortable?
Why the fuck do I care so much about such small, stupid things? This Omega has me by the fucking balls and I can’t do shit about it.
I glare down at her sleeping face, hating just how pretty she looks right now. Her lips are parted, soft steady breaths puffing past her pretty pink lips as her long eyelashes fan against her cheek.
I’ve never noticed the freckles she has scattered along the underside of her eye, over her nose and across to the other eye.
I drink in her every detail, locking it in my memory for later.
The sound of my buzzing phone jolts me out of the moment and it’s not until then that I realize what I'm doing.
Scowling, I carefully maneuver her so that she doesn’t wake up.
Why? I should just shove her off me. She shouldn’t even be sleeping next to me. The only reason she’s in this bed is because she was a fucking brat and wanted to test my patience. I hate that she won her little game. But I’m glad it was by my hand.
My phone stops buzzing by the time I get to my feet and I take a moment to just stand over her, glaring down at her sleeping form.
Last night was the best sleep of my life. And I hate that it was because of her. Having her in my arms felt right. Her scent mingled with mine, while my cock and knot were locked inside her. That connection with her was something I didn’t know I needed.
I don’t want to need her.
I don’t want to need anyone.
Caring for someone only leads to heartbreak.
“Stop staring at her like she’s offended you.” Will’s voice makes me jolt. My eyes snap over to see him sitting at the table, the little white rat in his lap.
“How long have you been awake?” I whisper.
“About an hour,” he says, looking down at the cat as he gives her head a scratch. The cat purrs and rubs against his hand, making him smile.
What the hell is going on right now? I’ve never seen my brother so relaxed, not like this. I would think it’s a good thing, but the reason is Nova. She’d already wormed her way into Ian’s heart, now Will’s?
Stop fighting it, Nick. She’s your scent match. She’s meant to be yours.
Okay, sure. She’s my Omega. That much I can’t deny. But how could they so easily give themselves over to her when they barely know the girl?
Until we got out of that house, we knew nothing about her. She could have been some evil scheming bitch for all we knew.
Once we left the house, I did a deep dive on Nova Brooks and found out every little detail about her entire life.
And I hate what I found. Not because any of it was bad, but because it was all good. Too fucking good.
On paper, she’s a good person. Worked hard every day of her life, supporting her mom and her piece of shit ex.
She went above and beyond when it came to pleasing her employers.
Always paid her bills on time, and was a genuinely liked person by everyone.
I’m still not convinced I got the information on the right person. Because this Nova is a loudmouth, sassy brat who’s stubborn as fuck.
“We should get going,” I state.
Will looks back up to me and raises a brow. “Probably should shower and maybe put some clothes on first,” he suggests.
I look down and curse. I’m naked, and there’s a lot of cum and slick dried on my skin.
“Had fun last night?” he asks with a soft chuckle.
“Shut up,” I grunt, shooting him a glare as I swipe my boxers off the ground and shove them on before heading over to my bag of clothes.
“I’m not saying you need to be Prince Charming,” Will starts. “But try to be a little nicer.”
My head turns to the side, and I level him with a dirty look. “Nice? Do you hear how she talks to me? I’ll treat her with respect when she does the same for me.”
He sighs heavily. “I swear, it’s like foreplay for the both of you. It’s like you thrive on pissing the other one off.”
I’m not gonna lie, I do like it. It makes my cock hard when she fights with me. Both physically and verbally. It’s fun to put her in her place, then watch her melt under my touch.
“Whatever.” I grab my clothes. “I’m going to shower.”
Once I’m clean and in fresh clothes, I head back out and find that Ian has moved from his bed over to the one Nova and I slept in. He has her wrapped up in his arms, her face buried in his neck.
My eyes trail over the two of them, and I hate how perfect they look together.
When my eyes land on Ian, I see he’s awake. He grins at me, winks, and then the fucker closes his eyes and buries his face into her hair.
Grumbling, I go over to the nightstand and check my phone. That missed call from before was one I should have answered. Fuck.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell the guys.
“Everything okay?” Will asks with a guarded look.
“Guess we’re gonna find out.”
The moment I’m out of the motel room, I’m hit with frigid air. I can’t fucking wait to be back home where it’s a hell of a lot warmer. I hate the cold, and I hate the snow.
I want to be back in Georgia in my own bed, with my bike, so I can get back to my life.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my pack of smokes and light one up as I press on Kane’s number.
It rings twice before his deep voice picks up. “About fucking time.”
“Sorry,” I grumble, blowing out a stream of smoke. “Just woke up. What's up?”
It’s not uncommon for Kane to call. We’re best friends, have known each other our whole lives, until he moved away with his father after being transferred to the Steel Devil’s chapter in North Dakota.
“First things first, fuck you for not coming to see me while you were in my neck of the woods,” he growls. A smile curves my lips as I chuckle.
“Ah, miss me that badly?”
“Fuck off,” he laughs.
“I would have—wanted to—but we weren’t there on MC business.”
“Right, you and your brother with your ‘merry band of misfits’ gig,” he laughs.
“Laugh all you want, but it makes us good fucking money.” I inhale another drag. “And lord knows we need it if we want to get the fuck out from under his thumb,” I grunt, blowing out the smoke.
The line goes quiet and, for a moment, I think he hung up.
“About that...” he trails off and his tone has me straightening up.
“What’s going on?” Something tells me this call isn’t a friendly catch-up.
“There’s been an incident.”
“What would that be?”
“Your father and his men were out on a run a few days ago. They were supposed to be heading our way for business, and took a detour that wasn’t agreed on. We both know that since your father became president, the club has gone downhill.”
Downhill? That’s not even close to describing it. It’s a shit show. A once well-respected chapter of one of the most respected MCs in this country became a fucking cesspool.
Steel Devils aren’t law-abiding citizens by any means. They kill, they steal, they do a fuck-ton of illegal things, but Steel Devils are not evil. They treat women and kids with respect.
At least, that was before my father got voted in as president. After that, everything changed fast. The MC I grew up in wasn’t the MC I ended up leaving.
I couldn’t stand by and watch my father ruin everything my grandfather built.
He and his men became cruel, sick and twisted men who thrived on power.
Of course, getting out from under my father’s thumb wasn’t easy. We might have left the compound, but we didn’t leave the state.
He made it known he would track us down and kill us for our betrayal if we tried to leave. It’s why we have worked hard for years to save up enough money to make the world believe we died and start over new as different people.
And this is the year, after we sell off everything in that van, that we’d have enough. Everything was going according to plan until Nova came along and fucked it all up.
“What did that motherfucker do now?” I growl, anger flowing through my veins.
“Well... he got himself and almost half of his men killed.”
All the air in my lungs leaves my body. “What?”
“They got into business with some really powerful people and tried to betray them. A fight broke out and from what I’ve heard, no Steel Devils walked away.”
“Fuck.” I blow out a harsh breath, the smoke in my hand drops to the ground and sizzles out as it hits the snow. “Fuck.” My hand grips my hair harshly.
There’s this pain that grows inside my chest as I start to pace. Not because of my father, I couldn’t care less that the motherfucker is dead. If he didn’t end up taking close to thirty lives with him, I’d be having a fucking party.
But there are people in that MC that I care about. My friends, my family. People I grew up with but who didn’t have a chance to leave like me and my brothers did.
“Please tell me Rafe wasn’t with them.” Rafe is our little cousin. His father is—well, I guess was—the VP. Rafe was forced into this life too. He’s got to be maybe twenty by now? He’s so young. Too young to die at the hands of the club.
“I don’t know. I don’t know who was with your father, except Viper, Bandit, and Wrench.”
Viper was my uncle, the VP. Bandit was my father’s enforcer, and Wrench was their treasurer. What the fuck was he doing with them? He’s never gone on runs with them before, so why now?
Doesn’t matter, none of it does.
All that matters is they’re dead. Good fucking riddance with those fuckers. But I need to know who else went down with them. And I swear if Rafe is one of them, I will find a way to bring my father back to life and kill him my fucking self.
Scrubbing a hand over my face I let out a harsh breath. “What the fuck do we do now?”
“That's why I’m calling. How far are you from home?”
“We should be there tonight, why?”
“I want you to go and check in on everyone. Make sure they’re okay. We’re on our way down, but won’t be able to get there for a few days.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I told you, I’m never stepping foot within those compound walls again.”
“I know. And normally I wouldn’t ask you to.
But as your best friend, please do this for me?
Your father may not have given a shit about the Steel Devils, but I do.
They might not be my MC, but they are my brother chapter.
It’s my right to make sure the family of the fallen ones aren’t going to suffer.
I need to come down and assess things, to see what needs to be done.
But until then, I need you to just go and make sure everyone there is safe. ”
I want to tell him no. That it’s not my job. But I won’t. I know I can’t.
Even though I’ve left that life behind, it doesn’t change the fact that some of those people were my family. Both in blood and in heart. My mother still lives there, despite my pleas for her to leave. I have aunts and cousins, people I’ve grown up with.
“Damn it, Kane,” I growl.
“Thank you, brother. It means a lot to me. I’ll see you soon. We have a lot to catch up on.”
“See you soon.”
We hang up and I stare down at the phone for a moment, processing what just happened.
Despite how much I want nothing to do with the MC and vowed to leave that life behind me, this changes everything.
It’s the ‘how’ that I’m not exactly sure about.
Someone steps out of the motel room, and I look over to lock eyes with Will.
“What’s wrong?” He frowns.
A moment later, Ian appears after. “Everything okay?”
“Depends,” I mutter.
“On?”
“Dad is dead,” I say, shoving my phone back into my pocket. “And so is half of the chapter.”
“What?” Ian barks. “What the fuck?”
“Holy shit.” Will’s eyes widen. “What happened?"
I fill them in on everything Kane just told me before we head back into the hotel room. Nova is sitting on the bed, freshly showered and changed, with her cat in her lap.
Her brow creases when she sees us. “What’s wrong?”
“Get your things.” I grab her bag and throw it on the bed. “We’re leaving.”
Once we’re all packed up and buckled in the vehicles, we’re back on the road heading home.
Home. Fucking home.
What does that mean anymore?
Was everything we worked so hard toward for nothing? There’s no point in starting over now because the person we were running from is dead.
Do we stay or do we still go?
It’s all so fucked up, I don’t want to think about it right now. It can wait until we’re back in Georgia.
As we drive down the highway, Nova's quiet next to me, Ian is in the back, and the radio playing because I’m too numb to argue with her about it. I’m lost in my head.
I’m hyper aware of the Omega next to me. My Omega.
One of the biggest reasons why we held back from finding an Omega was because the moment my father found out, she would have been in danger. She would’ve been used against us to force our hands, putting us back under his control.
Now, she’s not in danger. At least not the kind we can’t protect her from ourselves.
There are still plenty of reasons why Nova shouldn’t be in our lives, but none of them are deal breakers anymore.
Knowing that I don’t have to shoulder the weight I had, fighting the urge to make her mine, adds a whole new mess in my head.
Thinking about her and the responsibility of an Omega right now is the last thing I need, though.
One issue at a time.
Right now, my priority is coming face-to-face with my past, which is the very last thing I’ve ever wanted to do.