by Jessica Ames
“Lucy lied?”
I hear the pain in her words and it’s an axe to the heart. Lucy means the world to Sasha. They’re practically family, closer than sisters. Knowing she kept this from her is going to destroy her.
“I’m sorry, Sash.”
“Why’d she pretend to be someone else?”
“That’s a long as fuck answer.” I give her the condensed version of what is happening and when I’m done talking there’s silence down the line.
“Sash?”
“I need to speak to her.” The steel in her voice doesn’t surprise me. Sasha is tough as hell and she’s not the kind of person to give up on someone either.
I peer out the window, but nothing moves outside. My stomach should be twisting with apprehension of the fight to come, but I feel oddly relaxed, calm.
“No, you need to stay the fuck away from her until we figure this shit out. Do not call her,” I hiss down the line, my stomach twisting. Rav is going to kill me. I should have kept my mouth shut.
“She’s my best friend.”
“She’s also a fucking liar.”
“Nox…” There’s disapproval in her tone, but I haven’t spoken anything that isn’t true.
“She fooled us all, played this perfect role that none of us saw through. You don’t owe her any loyalty.”
There’s silence for a moment, then, “I owe her everything. She saved me. She pulled me out of the hole I was sinking into after Sin. She helped me raise my daughter, put food in our bellies when I didn’t have the money to do it myself. I don’t give a fuck who she was. All I care about is who she is. And if she lied about who she was there’s a fucking good reason for it. Never known Lucy be anything but truthful.”
Her words stick in my throat like barbs and I can’t swallow past them. Lucy has done all that, and more for Sasha and Lily-May. I can’t deny how important she is to me either, but she also lied and put the club—and me—in a terrible position.
“I’ve got to go, Sash, but stay away from Luce. At least until this shit blows over, yeah?”
She sighs loudly down the line. “She calls me asking for help, I’m not going to turn her away.”
I wouldn’t expect anything less, so I say, “I know.”
“Stay safe, Nox. And please keep Tyler in one piece.”
“You know I will.”
I hang up and pocket my phone, my gut rolling. I hate this shit. I hate that Lucy caused this. Things were so perfect between us, now it’s soured by what she’s done.
I peer through the window and see something happening at the gate. There are cars pulling up and men stepping out of the vehicles.
Itchy fear prickles along my skin as I pick my gun up and move towards the side door. I’m not leaving Kyle to deal with this shit alone.
As I cross the tarmac, the wind skimming through my kutte, I see my brothers out of my peripheral vision closing in on the gate, each moving with their guns raised.
Moving to Kyle’s side, the sun glinting off his own raised weapon, a suited man steps out of one of the cars, adjusting his tie. His dark hair is slicked back, his clothes clearly expensive and definitely tailored. His shrewd eyes skim around his surroundings, a lazy glance, as if the guns pointing towards him don’t even register.
I’ve never met him, but I know who he is immediately. Isaac Blackwood. He carries himself with the air of a man who has stared death in the face and laughed.
He’s not the only one. I’m not afraid to die. I came into this life knowing I would probably leave it young. I’m prepared to, but even so I feel some of the tension leech from my bones as my brothers close in around me.
Men crowd around Blackwood, their guns raised, ready for action. My eyes slide to Leon and Elijah who have their weapons trained on us, their mouths quirked into a macabre smirk that grates on my nerves.
Rav comes last, pushing through the brothers and moving to the front of the gate.
“You lost?” he demands, his eyes roaming over Blackwood.
He examines his nails, his stance bored. “You have something of mine.”
“Told your boys and I’ll tell you, we ain’t got nothing.”
Isaac’s cruel mouth turns up into a smirk and his eyes blaze. Rot fills my belly at that look. If he ever directed that at Lucy, I can see why she fled. The man is a scary motherfucker, but so am I, and so are my brothers.
“I don’t appreciate being lied to,” Blackwood says.
“Ain’t lying. So why don’t you get back into your car and fuck off. I won’t ask you again.”
I watch as Isaac’s tongue moves over his teeth and I see a crack in his perfectly controlled emotions.
“You bring her out or I’m coming in, and if that happens, I’ll burn your little bike club to the ground.”
Rav growls and rattles the chain link fence. “You want to think about who the fuck you’re threatening. This ain’t no weekend riders’ club. We ain’t weak. You want us to rain down hell on you, just say the fucking word, because we will bring the fucking devil.”
Titch shifts behind me and I hear his own growl of frustration. I feel it too. This guy is an obnoxious fucker.
“I just want what’s mine.”
I want to scream at him that she’s mine, not his. I’ve claimed her, but I hold my tongue, barely.
“Stop!”
My stomach sinks as I twist to see Lucy running across the tarmac, Whizz on her heels, trying to stop her, but she’s quick, darting like a rabbit towards us.
Fuck.
Fear licks a path up my spine as my girl moves to the fence line, her eyes focused forward. She doesn’t give me her eyes, which scares the shit out of me. What the hell is she doing?
I risk a glance at Blackwood, who looks smug as fuck and I want to wipe that fucking look off his face. My heart starts to gallop in my chest as clawed fingers squeeze the muscle. Lucy should have stayed hidden, but now the devil knows she’s here and that puts us in a worse position.
I reach out without thinking and snag her hand. She peers down at our joined palms for a moment before tearing out of my grip like I’ve burnt her skin.
“Lucy, don’t do this,” I beg.
I don’t want this to happen. The savage smirk on Blackwood’s face makes me terrified for her. I don’t care if he knows she’s mine. I’ll tell him, if it keeps her safe. I’ll take whatever shit will come my way for touching another man’s wife, as long as she stays here.
Her blue eyes raise to meet mine and I see the fear behind the steel. There’s also something else hidden in their depths, pleading with me to understand. It makes my heart clench at the look. It’s more than words can say. She might have lied, but it wasn’t all a lie.
My gut rolls and claws dig into my heart.
“He’s my husband. I was always going home.” She raises her voice so Isaac can hear her.
I never realised the power of words to wound until this moment, until Lucy spoke words that gored me to my very core.
I watch her chin lift, watch her body snap straight and watch her step into someone else’s shoes. She’s no longer Lucy Franklin, but Natasha Blackwood—wife of a dangerous mobster. She’s every inch the mafia princess as she says, “Thanks for the bar job, but I quit.” Bar job? What the fuck is she on about?
Lucy smirks as she looks at Rav before sliding up to the fence and putting her fingers through the wire. Then she looks straight at her husband.
“I’m ready to go home.”
And my world stops.
23
Lucy
My heart is pounding as I move to the gate, my fingers scraping over the latch. No one moves to stop me and the air is so still I can barely draw in breath. The heaviness of it sits on my chest, forcing my heart to beat shallowly.
Then Nox grabs my wrist, his grip bruising, desperation written in every line on his face.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he hisses at me.
His heavy glare says I’m crazy if I think I’m wa
lking out of here without him. An ember of hope flares to life in my belly that he still cares, that I haven’t ruined our relationship beyond repair, but I stomp down on it savagely. I can’t be thinking about a relationship with Nox. I have to keep focused on my plan—protecting him and the club—even if it means giving myself up to a man I have been running from for years, a man I despise.
“I told you. I’m leaving with my husband.” The word ‘husband’ is poison on my tongue and it takes everything I have not to spit it out. Isaac might be my husband in name, but my heart belongs to Nox.
Watching his face shatter hurts more than any physical blow. It gores me deep in my belly. It tears out my heart. How can I hurt him like this? It goes against everything in me to shred him this way, but what choice do I have? Isaac can’t know we’re together. I won’t let him put that bullet in Nox’s head. How can Nox not see what I feel for him, what I would do to protect him?
“Let go of me.” I say each word slowly, deliberately. I need to hurt him to release him from this burden, I need him to stop outwardly claiming me in front of a man who can end his life, but the thought makes my stomach lurch. It’s like I’m ripping my own heart out of my chest. I want to be claimed by Nox. Knowing he did that in front of his brothers makes happiness flow through my veins.
Nox stares into my eyes as if trying to read me and failing. He finally releases me, but I see the betrayal etched across his face, begging me for answers as to why I’m letting this happen. I have none to give him without alerting Isaac to my unfaithfulness, so I keep my mouth shut.
“Thanks for everything,” I say to Ravage, my smile barely in place as I speak those filthy words. I don’t want to say goodbye, never, but I can tell Isaac is getting twitchy. He won’t allow this show to continue much longer. Time to wrap things up.
I turn to Nox and swallow hard. Then I pull the gate open. No one moves to stop me this time. Isaac doesn’t move towards me either. If I expected some kind of loving reunion, I’m mistaken. He doesn’t drag me into his arms or profess his love for me. He’s not even looking at me. He stands statue-still, his dark eyes locked on Nox, angry heat pouring from them. Does he know? Nox wasn’t exactly discreet.
My heart gives a tremulous twitch and bile churns in my gut as I turn to look at Nox through the chain link fence. Everything in my body tells me this is wrong, that I need to go back to him, but I keep my feet rooted to the ground.
I have to.
“You ain’t fucking going with that fucker,” Nox snarls out, and I see the man he is behind the mask, the dangerous man who kills and takes no prisoners. I see the man who wants to keep me safe and is falling apart at the seams because he can’t.
His words make frantic butterflies beat against my belly. He can’t say shit like this. Not in front of Isaac.
“I’m sure you’ll find someone else to take care of the bar.” I keep up the pretence I was here to work, but Nox doesn’t care about my lie.
“Fuck that. Lucy—”
“Her name is Natasha,” Isaac spits out. “And she’s not interested in your little biker gang anymore. Get in the car.” The last part is barked at me.
I jolt, but I don’t move. My heart is throbbing in my chest as I watch the most important person on the planet throwing down with my nightmare. Nox was right when he said Isaac would put a bullet in him for touching me. I see that clearly now. Isaac is a jealous bastard, although I’m sure he has parked his dick in numerous women since I’ve been gone. He might be jealous, but he’s never been loyal.
A tear streaks down my face as I move to the car, trying not to look at Nox. I don’t dare, because if I do, I won’t be able to leave.
“Lucy…” The desperation in his voice is what finally has my eyes seeking his. Pain spears through my chest instantly as I see the broken look on his face. This is killing him.
Isaac’s gaze darts between us both. “You fucked him, didn’t you?”
I shake my head vehemently, hating the lie, hating that I can't claim him back when I desperately want to.
There’s a flash of metal and my heart stops as Isaac pulls a gun from under his suit and aims it at Nox. Everything seems to slow to a crawl as Daimon pushes him out of the way of the bullet, but he’s not fast enough. Nox’s left shoulder jerks back as if someone has punched him with a truck. Then he goes down to his knees. I scream. At least, I think I do. My ears feel stuffed full, like they’re filled with water as all hell breaks loose.
Bullets fly, the air filled with the crack of shots. I’m roughly grabbed as a bullet skims past my cheek, heating my skin as it goes. Then Leon shoves me into the back of the car. I bang my knees on the frame of the vehicle, knocking my stomach off balance, but I don't have a chance to recover as Isaac throws himself into the seat next to me before the car peels out of there.
I’m tossed in the backseat, forced to cling to the upholstery to keep from sliding off the leather. Fear licks a path up my spine. Nox was shot. Oh my God, Nox was shot!
Glacial cold climbs down my spine, settling in my belly as I recall the moment the bullet hit. Is he badly injured? Will he die? My breath rips out of me in shallow pants.
“Are you fucking that bastard?”
I turn to glance at the man who holds me captive now, the man I spent years trying to escape. Isaac Blackwood. The devil stares back at me, rage clouding his face.
I shake my head, fear rendering me mute.
A fist lashes out, smashing into my cheek. My head snaps to the side, blood pooling in my mouth I fall back into the seat and I brace for the next hit as I slip back into the role of Natasha Blackwood—abused wife of a mobster.
24
Nox
The pain spreading through my shoulder is nothing compared to the agony of seeing Lucy bundled into that car and driven away. I reach for her, trying to follow the vehicle as it peels out of there, even though I can hardly move because of the fire licking across my shoulder. A bullet skims past me, embedding in the tarmac behind me with a thud, but I don’t care. My only focus is on Lucy.
“Nox, move!” Daimon’s voice cracks through the gunfire, but I ignore it.
Lucy is gone. Isaac took her and my soul is shredding into a million pieces. My tongue is glued to the roof of my mouth as all moisture flees. My last image of her was her terrified eyes before she was dragged away by that prick, Leon.
“Move, fucker!”
Arms snake under my armpits, wrapping around my chest and then I’m dragged back, scraping my jeans and boots along the ground. I don’t give a fuck about a few new scuffs. I care about saving my fucking woman. I try to fight against the hold. I can already feel the blood seeping into my tee.
Daimon drags me to the wall of the security booth and props me against it. He ducks down just as a bullet whizzes past his head. Fuck, that was close and I realise suddenly the danger I put my brothers in.
“Sorry,” I mutter, but he doesn’t hear me as he fires off a couple of rounds in the direction of the gate before he ducks back down.
Day’s mouth pulls into a tight line as he reaches for my right hand. Without apology, he presses my palm to my bicep. I can’t stop the groan from escaping my mouth as pain flares through my entire left arm.
“Don’t fucking let go,” he yells at me before he rises from his hiding place and fires off several more rounds.
It sounds like a war zone out there and I want to help my brothers, but my head is pounding in time with the pumping of my blood from the wound. I peer down at it, seeing it bubbling between my fingers, dripping down the back of my hand and sliding down my wrist. It’s bright red, vibrant, ugly. I’ve seen my share of blood over the years, but it’s been a while since I last saw my own.
“Where’s Prez?” I demand.
“Fury’s got him safe.”
At least that’s something. I let my head fall back against the wall, feeling dread claw its way through my body. Lucy’s gone. Isaac Blackwood has her and there’s fucking nothing I can do about it.
“She’s gone.”
Daimon peers down at me, his brows drawing together. “Fuck, brother, we’ll worry about Lucy when we survive this shit.”
Desolation washes over me and empty numbness starts to spread through me. I failed her.
The firing peters out and I hear shouting from my other brothers as the sound of squealing rubber fills the air.
Rav is suddenly in front of me, his huge beard taking up most of my vision.
“Fuck! Get him inside, now! Whizz—”
“On it, Prez.”
I’m hoisted up by Day and Fury who appear from behind Rav. I brush them off as soon as I get to my feet, not wanting to look like a pussy.
“I can stand.”
I might be overstating things, but I manage to keep my feet, even though my legs feel shaky.
“Stubborn fucker,” he mutters. I can’t argue with that. I am, but he’d be the same.
My shoulder is on fire, and by the time I reach the small room Whizz uses as a makeshift hospital, a thin sheen of sweat is covering my face and I’m shaky.
The coppery smell of my blood mixes with the scent of antiseptics as I step inside the room. Whizz brushes his blond hair out of his face as he orders me to get on the bed.
For once, I do as I’m told, sitting on the edge of it, my left arm hanging at my side like a limp noodle. Now my adrenaline is starting to die back, the pain is making itself known.
Whizz is in full doctor mode as he ushers everyone from the room but Rav then moves over to the bed. He helps me out of my kutte and then cuts off my tee, leaving me sitting in just my jeans and boots. My blood has mixed with the tattoos that span my left arm, smeared over the inked-up skin like a spilt ink pot.
I take a shaky breath as Whizz snaps on a pair of latex gloves.
“We need to go after her,” I tell Rav.
He’s standing against the wall, his arms folded over his broad chest, eyeing my wound like an irate bear.
“You got shot.”
“I know.”