13. Fire and a Fit
CHAPTER 13
FIRE AND A FIT
Leo
I hate everything about this shit. I'm not used to riding into a situation blind, but Nisa refuses to tell me anything. It's like she is trying to convince herself whatever is happening with her mother isn't that bad and if she says it aloud, it will make it come true.
Either way, I'm going to make sure me and Chrome Creed do whatever we have to in order to help her. I just hope it's something that we can help her with.
Nisa is on the back of my bike again, but this time, even though her arms are squeezing me the same as before, I can feel the fear rolling off her. The entire club is on the road with me, riding as hard as we can go, trying to get to Nisa's mother's house.
"Leo, you smell that?" Doc asks through the in-ear communication system that we all have in our helmets.
"What?" I turn to look at him as we all come to a stop at a traffic light.
"The smoke," Nisa answers before he can. I feel her hands loosening and her body swaying slightly, like she's about to pass out.
"Hey! Don't fuck around, Nisa. I need you to keep it together." I squeeze her hand and she locks her arms around me again.
"Creed, blow the lights!" I order and the group of us pick up a high speed as we ignore all the traffic laws to get to Nisa's mother.
It doesn't take us long before we see the flames, bright orange and roaring.
"Holy fuck." I hear someone say, but I don't bother to figure out who it is. I feel the same way they do. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.
"Oh no, please God no," Nisa mutters behind me as I pull my bike to a stop. Just as I engage the kickstand, she hops off and starts running.
"Fuck, Nisa! Wait!" I call for her but I know she won't turn back not until she finds her mother.
"Prez, what do you want us to do?" Spike asks, rushing over to my bike.
"Help where you can, stay out of the firefighters' way. Make sure no one is stuck anywhere." I give him the basic orders that anyone would do if they were able.
I hop off my bike and sprint in the direction Nisa went. She's not in the right state of mind. I don't want her doing something crazy like trying to run into the fire.
"Momma!"
I stop when I hear Nisa calling out for her mother and try to pinpoint the sound. There are at least half a dozen fire engines along with police and medical personnel, not to mention the roar of the fire itself. I hear her yell again and I turn towards the ambulance.
I push my way through the crowd, but I take my time and watch the two of them interact. Her mother is angry. The smoke is getting to me. My eyes water from all the air pollution, still I keep my eyes locked on them.
I watch Nisa take a piece of paper from her mother. Whatever was on that piece of paper is enough to throw Nisa into a panic, and that is enough for me to make my entrance.
I get to the edge of the ambulance and hop up inside. My wide frame takes up any space that was leftover, and also is a great barrier to keep Nisa from running out.
"Ms. Maddy, how are you?" I lean down and kiss the older woman on the cheek.
"Oh, baby, I've had better days." She tries to smile, but her eyes crinkle on the sides and a big tear falls. She looks away, not wanting me to see her cry. I'd rather not see it. Instead, I turn my face and look to Nisa, who is staring wide-eyed out the doorway behind me.
"Anything you want to tell me?" I keep my voice even. I don't want to upset Ms. Maddy by screaming at her daughter.
"No." She replies instantly.
"Nisa! Don't you dare!" Ms. Maddy reprimands her.
"Momma. You don't understand. I have to handle this on my own." Nisa whips her head in her mother's direction and I watch the emotion exchange between the two.
"No, you don't. Ever since Hugh died, you've tried to be this big bad girl. I understand it Nisa, you want to prove that you can do it on your own. You're brave. You're strong, but that doesn't mean you have to do it on your own. You have help." Ms. Maddy reaches for Nisa's hand, but Nisa doesn't move.
"Mom, what help? Where do you think the help is coming from? We have no fucking help!" Nisa yells.
"What, you have a job. You said the club..." Ms. Maddy's eyes go wide before they jump up to mine.
I do not know what either of them are talking about.
"Yeah, not them." Nisa's voice is soft, as if she is trying to keep me from hearing them. She's part of another club. I didn't know that she was in contact with any other motorcycle clubs.
"Nisa, you need to explain to me what's going on. Do you know who did this to your house?" I don't want to think the worst, but if she knows who did this, what is the point of her hiding it. We could be over there right now, fucking them up.
"Momma, you okay? You going to let the medics take you to the hospital, right? Get checked out?"
"I don't want to go to the hospital. I'm fine. I have a friend that I can stay with. Until you get this sorted out, I guess." The older woman still won't look at me.
"Fine, I'll be in touch. Just stay safe, okay." Nisa says and tries to push past me.
"What part of this situation makes you think I'm just going to fucking let you leave. I want some goddamn answers." I don't move a muscle as she tries to push her way through.
"You're not going to get them. So either you stand here in my way or you let me go so I can handle this." She stares up at me, waiting for me to decide.
I laugh right in her face, "Handle this? Tell me, when were you going to start handling it? When whoever you're messing around with killed your mother? Or maybe when they came after you? Your mother is going to the hospital and your house is burned to nothing. I don't think you're doing a very good fucking job handling it." I peer down at her, but she doesn't budge. She doesn't cry or yell at me she just stares right back at me. It's annoying as fuck.
"Fine, you act like I'm not going to follow you. I'd rather know what the hell I'm about to get myself into. But fuck it if you want to ack like a fucking brat, let's do it this way. It seems like a good day to die, anyway." I move to the side and let her get out of the truck.
I step out right behind her and follow her every step of the way.
"Leo, you need to go to the club. Just go back home." She says over her shoulder, dismissing me like I don't mean shit to her. I guess I don't, but she means something to me.
I reach forward and grab her arm, spinning her around to me. "For fucks sake Nisa, what are you doing? Look around you. Whatever is going on isn't something you can do on your own. Why can't you understand that?"
"I can't risk it!" She tries to wrench her arm from my grasp, but I don't let go.
"Can't risk what?" My frustration is at a peak level.
"Losing you too!" she screams and finally manages to get her arm away from me.
Losing me? What the hell?
"I'm not going anywhere. What are you talking about?"
She lets out a deep sigh, "Not yet, but if you keep sticking your nose into places it doesn't belong, that is exactly what is going to happen."
"That sounds like a threat." I squint my eyes at her, hoping that she'll explain. I don't want to see Nisa as the enemy, but I will.
"It's not, it's a plan." She looks up at me, and finally a bit of emotion begins to break across her face. Tears balance themselves on the edges of her eyelashes.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I take a step forward, not trying to intimidate her, but I need to know what that means.
She looks around and for the first time since we got here I see a group of my patch brothers around, no one has said anything but they all look beat down. "Tell us," I say to keep her on target.
"I can't. I just have to go back to him. I'll go back and let him know that I'm not going to help him. I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else. I just wanted a family." She cries and even though I have no idea what she is talking about, I know whatever it is must be bad.
"You're not going back to anyone who would do something like this to you or your mother. Do you think I'm stupid?"
She runs her hands through her hair. "I don't have a choice, Leo. I wish I did, but I don't I put myself into this situation and I don't want to do this but I have to own up to my mistakes."
"Does it have to do with the bomb that went off at the party?" Rumble asks.
Nisa turns to look at him and gives him a slight nod.
"Fucking hell girl. There's nothing we can do now. Not here. You're going to come back to the clubhouse and tell me everything that's going on. You're going to lay it out piece by piece and not leave one thing out. Do you hear me?"
She shakes her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "Leo always trying to fix something. This can't be fixed. It's my problem. I won't tell you a thing. I'm going to do this on my own." She doesn't seem like she's going to budge.
Spike walks up next to me and presses close so he can whisper in my ear, "Leo, let her go. We can always follow her and get her out of trouble if need be. You forget we're better at this than she is." He backs away and catches my gaze before he steps off.
I don't like the idea of her doing this on her own, but he's right. I'm trying to play this game on her rules. Chrome Creed MC has their own rules, especially when it comes to protecting our own.
"Fuck it, you want to run off and play Wonder Woman on your own. Do it. Don't come running back to me for help when you get into a position that you can't get out of."
Nisa squints her eyes at me. "Don't worry, I stopped expecting you to come save me years ago. You made sure that fairytale was buried right along with my brother." She looks me up and down before she turns on her heels and walks away.
Anger boils inside of me both from hearing her bring up Hugh again and for letting her walk away. I hope Spike had the right idea because if something happens to her while we hide in the shadows. I'm never going to forgive myself.