Before he could stop himself, he pulled the trigger. The shot rang out, and what followed was chaos.
Tiny charged out of his office, and Eva was flat on the floor.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
Nash dropped the gun to the floor, and another shot rang out.
“Eva, are you all right?” Lash asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Blaine was getting up from the floor. “I saw where he was pointing. He had a clear headshot of Eva.”
“What?” Tate asked. The whole club was tense.
Nash was watching everything as if he wasn’t part of the show. It was as if he’d escaped his body and was watching from the outside. Lash was stood with Angel, who’d been thrown to the floor by Steven. Eva was pale, and Tate looked ready to murder him.
“Nash had a clear shot of Eva’s head. If I hadn’t done what I did, he was going to kill her,” Blaine said.
“I wasn’t.”
Tiny was in front of him in a blink of an eye. “You stupid little fucking shit.” The lapels of his jacket were tugged, and he was being dragged outside. The sun blinded him for a second, and he was thrown to the ground. Glancing around him, Nash watched as the other Skulls gathered around him. Even Alex Allen was there doing business and he’d witness Nash’s fall. Before all the drugs had taken over, Nash recalled that the other man was trying to move back to Fort Wills.
“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I was having a little fun,” Nash said, giggling. The laughter was uncontrollable. In the back of his mind he knew he’d fucked up and should be begging for forgiveness. Instead he found the whole situation funny.
“Fun? Shooting a firearm in my club and you’re calling it fucking fun.” Tiny’s hands tightened into fists by his side. The danger lurked in front of Nash, and he couldn’t give a shit.
“He’s not himself,” Hardy said. Nash was shocked by the other club member sticking up for him, especially after he’d threatened to out him.
“I see the problem with my own Skull, and I’m not going to stand for it.” Tiny stopped everyone from talking. “I gave you a reprieve because of Kate. She wasn’t your old lady but a sweet-butt. She meant nothing, and I still gave you time. I’ve given you too much fucking time, and it stops now.” Tiny stared at him with disgust.
The reality of his situation started to wake Nash up.
“It’s here, Sir.” Turning around, Nash saw one of the prospects holding his bag of white powder. The sight of his habit sent humiliation straight to his core.
“You little shit,” Nash said, walking toward the man. He stopped moving, and Tiny held onto him, stopping him from going anywhere.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Tiny asked.
“He had no fucking right to go through my shit.”
Shut up. You’re in the wrong. Shut up.
Lash walked out of the clubhouse with Angel, Tate, and Murphy in tow.
The disappointment on Lash’s face brought Nash’s whole world crashing down.
“How long have you been protecting him, Lash?” Tiny asked. There was no getting away from what was about to happen. Nash knew the end of his time was coming close.
“He’s my brother.”
Angel was holding Lash’s hand tightly.
I’ve fucked up.
Nash felt himself wake up completely. Opening his eyes, he remembered what he had done to Sophia a week ago when his brother had been celebrating Angel’s pregnancy. He’d gone back to his drug dealer and gotten more of the stuff that had brought about this.
He’d not seen Sophia in a week. The last time he’d seen her he’d been a total bastard to her.
You don’t deserve her.
Tiny raised his fist, and the first hit connected with his jaw. Nash went down, covering his face. When he opened his eyes he saw most of The Skulls standing with their arms folded. He’d brought this on himself. Butch, Lash, Hardy, Stink, Zero, Killer, Whizz, and Time were all there, including more of the men he’d been working with since he was patched into The Skulls to witness his end.
Druggie.
Addict.
Quitter.
Asshole.
Dangerous.
All the words rang out through his mind taunting him. Getting to his knees he climbed to his feet.
“You think you can be a drug taking asshole in my club you’ve got another think coming.” Tiny reached out tearing the cut off his back. Nash tried to fight, but it was useless. He was a little boy again only this time the man who had once given him comfort was tearing the comfort away from him by pulling the only thing he’d ever wanted, his leather cut for The Skulls. Tiny had been there for him when his parents were killed.
“Fucking stop it,” Nash said, feeling like a child instead of the twenty-nine year old man he actually was.
“You don’t deserve this cut.” Tiny threw it in the trash, and Nash watched as he lit a match and started to torch his leather jacket.
“Tiny,” Lash said.
He looked over toward his brother seeing the pain in Lash’s eyes. Nash felt like he was breaking apart inside.
“Stay out of this. I have rules. A couple of rules, Lash, and this fucker has taken the piss out of my rules.” Tiny turned back toward him.
Nash had seen Tony let loose on men who caused his family pain. The club was part of that family, and Nash had made the club a laughing stock. His actions put a dark ring around the club and made them look weak to their enemies. Dropping to his knees, Nash hung his head.
“Get to your fucking feet,” Tiny said.
No one spoke up, and Nash realized he’d fucked up big time. When he didn’t stand up, Tiny grabbed a chunk of his hair and brought him to his feet.
Ever since he’d joined The Skulls, Nash never thought he’d be the one facing this punishment. He’d prided himself on being an integral part of the group. In the last few months he’d fucked up big. Staring in Tiny’s eyes, Nash knew he didn’t have a choice. Raising his fists, Nash got ready to defend himself.
This was the price of bringing drugs into the group. He was the only one stupid enough to think he could get away with it. Tiny’s wrath also had to do with him putting Eva in trouble. Their leader wouldn’t claim Eva as his old lady, but everyone knew the truth. Anyone who laid a finger on the woman would end up dead after being tortured first.
Fuck, he’d almost killed her.
Nash blocked the first punch with ease. The next hit came at his ribs then to his stomach. Trying to get a hit of his own in was difficult. Tiny was in the peak of health and the strongest of them all.
Three strikes landed to his face knocking him back. Pain exploded behind his eyes. Tiny wasn’t in the mood for playing. This attack was cold, harsh, and if Nash wasn’t careful he wouldn’t last the next ten minutes. With each hit the leader of The Skulls was getting angrier. The hits were getting harder, and Nash spit blood out onto the tarmac.
“Your father would be fucking ashamed of you,” Tiny said. “He was my right hand man. He left you to me, and I helped raise you with Patricia, Eva, and fucking Mikey. You had everything you could want, and you turned into a fucking druggie.” Tiny slammed his foot into Nash’s stomach.
Going down to the floor, Nash went to his knees coughing and spitting more blood out of his mouth. The pain was intense, and he couldn’t hold on any longer. Tiny was on the warpath, and nothing was going to stop it.
You fucked up, Edward.
This had nothing to do with The Skulls. The club was what made him strong. What he’d done today was fuck up in ways he never thought he could.
Accepting the beating, Nash wished for death, finally letting go.
****
“You’ve got to stop him, Lash,” Sandy said. “He’s bleeding, and if he takes more blows it will kill him.”
“Are you sure?” Lash asked, wincing as another kick landed on his brother. He wanted to stop Tiny, but Nash needed this. The last few months had been a disaster when it c
ame to his brother. There was nothing else Lash could do.
“Even The Skulls are vulnerable to internal bleeding and death.” Sandy looked ill as she turned her back to what was happening.
“Lash,” Angel said, grabbing his hand. “Stop him.”
Hardy stepped forward. “The beating the boy is getting is what he deserves, but Tiny is acting like this because of Eva. He has a right, but it’ll kill him if he kills Nash.”
Biting his lip, Lash couldn’t handle his brother being hit. Charging past the rest of the Skulls, Lash grabbed Tiny off his brother.
“Let him go, Tiny. You’ve done enough.” Lash faced his leader and one of his closest friends prepared to do whatever it took to save his brother.
“He almost killed Eva.” Tiny spat on Nash. “Your woman is pregnant, and he brought drugs into my compound. He’s fucking finished.”
“I can get him clean. This is not like Nash at all.”
“Of course it is. He’s the weakest one here. The fucker needs a wakeup call, and The Skulls are not for the weak.”
Running a hand down his face, Lash looked at his brother. If Tiny kicked him out of the club, Nash would be as good as dead. All the shit his brother had caused would come crashing down on him. You were either a brother, or you were kicked to the curb.
There was only one way to keep him in the club.
“I’ll take his beating for him. I’ll vouch for him.” Lash faced Tiny prepared to do everything that would guarantee his brother’s safety. If he was going to get his ass kicked, then Nash was getting the detox, but Lash would be the one to handle it.
The brothers looked at him.
“Why’s he getting the beating?” Killer asked.
“Lash is vouching to keep his brother in, which means the punishment needs to be paid. He needs to take the beating on Nash’s behalf to keep him inside,” Murphy said.
“No, he’s done nothing wrong,” Angel said.
Lash glanced toward his woman, seeing the tears in her eyes. Murphy held her back with Sandy trying to talk to her. “He’s my brother, and I’m not leaving him alone in the dark. It’ll kill him.”
“You’re prepared to take the beating for him?”
“Yes,” Lash said, tightening his hands into fists.
You owe me fucking big time, brother.
“Lash, no,” Angel said. Her voice rose up to meet him. Looking at Tiny, he saw the resolve. This beating needed to come into order. There had been too much shit going down in the last year for anything to slide.
Raising his hand in the air, he asked for two minutes without actually speaking.
Tiny nodded, turning away.
Walking back to where his woman was being held by Murphy, he cupped her face, glaring at the other man to let her go.
“You can’t do this, Lash. You do this, and he could kill you. I can’t raise this baby alone.”
“Can you get my brother into my car?” he asked, turning to Hardy. The other biker agreed and left.
“This is not right,” Angel said. Tears were streaming down her face.
“It’s right for this club—”
“Your stupid club shouldn’t get to decide this.”
Lash did the only thing he could to silence her. He slammed his lips down on hers. When she went lax in his arms, he pulled away.
“If Nash had raised that gun and aimed it at you, even accidentally like he did, I’d kill him. I wouldn’t let him get away with hurting my woman. He’s my brother, and I’d give him a beating of a lifetime.” He looked over his shoulder to see Tiny waiting. “Eva belongs to Tiny. We all know it, and if anything happened to her, Nash wouldn’t forgive himself. I’m doing this, and then I’m going to handle my brother.” Caressing her cheek, he forced her to look at him. “But I’m going to need you to be strong for the both of us.”
She sobbed, pressing her face against his chest. “I can do that.”
“Good. Get her out of here, Murphy. She’s not going to like this.”
Angel fought Murphy. Lash walked away knowing Tate would console his woman. He went in front of Tiny and waited for the punishment to be dished out. The next couple of weeks were going to be fucking painful.
****
Sophia brushed some of her fringe away from her forehead as she stood packing more boxes. The job was so fucking boring, and she was tired again. All she wanted to do was curl back up around her pillow and go to sleep. Ever since her run in with Nash that was all she wanted to do, sleep. She’d not even been tempted to go to the club in case he was mean to her again.
Kate always had a mean thing to say about her.
Tears welled up in her eyes once again as memories of all the horrid things people had said to her over the years came crashing down. She really did wish she could cast the memories aside and start afresh.
Brushing away any evidence of tears, she continued working and contained her yawning. Willy came round, brushing up against her. She didn’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his presence.
“What’s the matter? Can’t handle me, baby?” Willy asked.
Some of the workers laughed, and she looked around her. She turned to face him. “No, you couldn’t handle me, and if you keep rubbing your little dick against my ass I’ll sue you for sexual harassment.” Sophia had enough of being pushed around, by him, by Kate, and even by Nash. She was done with it all.
The laughter died on his face. She turned away, going back to the boxes. The silence was deafening. Only the sound from the machines could be heard.
“Get back to work,” Willy said, talking to the rest of the room.
She kept working even as he leaned in close. His foul breath brushed across her neck. “Sue me for sexual harassment all you want, Sophia. Just remember, I’ll be the one who’ll be walking away happy. No one is going to believe the sister of a whore.”
Gritting her teeth, she kept assembling the boxes.
Money for rent. Money for rent.
“You’ve not even got The Skulls on your side. I heard what happened at the diner. Your ass is not taken and not protected.”
His hands caressed one cheek of her ass. “Think about that the next time you mouth off.”
Before she could do anything he’d walked away. No amount of money was ever going to make her love this job. She hated this job and the people inside it. It fucking sucked. Blocking everything out, she focused on getting her shift done.
The work was mundane, which let her think about the one big problem in her life, Nash. She missed him so much. When she’d sent him away after he kissed her, she’d not thought through her actions at all. She’d simply reacted to what happened. The kiss had made her body react in ways she didn’t know were possible. No other man had affected her the easy way that Nash did. Nothing had been easy to her, nothing. Her sister getting in with The Skulls had given them a layer of protection, or at least it had given Sophia some protection that she’d not seen at the time. Now, everything was gone, and she was considered free meat. Shaking her head, she pushed her fringe out of her eyes. She really needed to get her hair cut. It was too long, and the strands were becoming unruly.
Having any free time was not in the cards for her right now. Her life consisted of work and more work. Life was easier when Kate brought in money, but then when her sister got hooked on drugs, there was no money either.
Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths before continuing with her job. At lunch she sat by herself ignoring all the looks she was getting. She’d never realized how much The Skulls had her back. Her sister shacking up with Nash made her life easier.
Sophia couldn’t stop the stab of pain piercing her heart as she remembered the number of times she caught Nash and Kate together. Part of her always thought Kate did it on purpose. It was as if her sister knew that Sophia had a crush on Nash, and getting her to see them together was Kate’s way of showing her that she didn’t have a chance with him.
The logic was messed up, but it was the only t
hing she could think of to excuse Kate’s actions.
She’s gone.
Biting her lip she went back to work in a foggy haze. There were times she missed her older sister and other times when she was glad Kate was dead.
When it was time for her to finish work, she left the factory floor and grabbed her bag from her locker. Without looking at anyone she set off outside of the factory on her walk back home. Once she got home, she’d have a few minutes to wash, change and head out toward the diner.
Her life was not that eventful, but she got stuff done quickly. Hitching her bag high on her shoulder she kept her head down. The roads were rarely busy where the factory was located.
A couple of cars and trucks passed on their way into town.
Pulling the band out of her hair, she let the locks roam free. She wanted to feel the wind in her face before she was trapped in another building serving someone. There were no other jobs in Fort Wills, and she wasn’t going to follow in her sister’s footsteps. The sound of a car pulling up alongside her forced Sophia to stop.
Gill, along with a couple of his friends, was sat staring at her.
She started to walk away once again. The sound of doors opening travelled to her ears. Her heart sped up, and she focused on the path in front of her. The stretch where they’d stopped was the most deserted with no houses or buildings in sight. This was the part of the walk she hated. Anything could happen to her, and no one would know unless she was lucky enough for a car to pass.
Sophia knew she wasn’t that lucky.
“Hey, why are you rushing?” Gill asked.
Walking faster she tried to avoid him. Gill grabbed her arm stalling her walking. He pushed her against the metal fence behind her.
“I’ve got a job to do. Leave me alone.”
In the next breath he tore the bag from her shoulders throwing it at one of his friends. She recognized all of them but didn’t know their names. It wasn’t high on her list of activities to know the men who were working in the same building as she was.
Smart move, Sophia.
“I don’t like your attitude. I mean, I was friends with your sister, and I’m sure I can extend the same kindness to you.” He caressed down her cheek. His touch repulsed her.
Nash (The Skulls) Page 4