by Nicola Jane
“I’ve got a hangover, Lottie. Tell them to come back when I can see straight.”
She places her hands on her hips. “Sure, I’ll tell Sara to come back because you haven’t washed last night’s skank away yet!” she snaps, and I sit up. “That’s right! Sara’s here to see you.”
I pull the shirt on and reach for some shorts. “Did she say why she’s here? Is Leo okay?”
“I dunno, she didn’t say. She ain’t crying,” she says, shrugging. “It can’t be bad news.”
I pull the shorts on, using the sheets to keep myself covered, then I rush to the bathroom and splash my face with cold water. It feels like forever since I last saw Sara, and even though I’m mad as hell about the newspaper article, I’m over the fucking moon she’s here.
SARA
I wait nervously by the bar. Tillie is chatting away, but my mind is elsewhere. I spent the night on Jacob’s couch to get breathing space from my parents and Alaric. He’s been blowing up my phone for most of the night. It buzzes in my hand again, and I stare down at it.
“You can turn that thing off,” comes Lake’s growly voice. An involuntary shiver runs down my spine. I stuff my phone away and look up into his grey eyes. Something about this man makes me feel like I’m home. “You’re not supposed to be here,” he says.
“I spoke with the cops. I told them the truth.”
“That your boyfriend was the one to land you in the hospital?” he asks, anger swirling in his eyes.
I hesitate, and his glare deepens. “I told them the truth, that it was an accident and I got hurt in the scuffle.”
He laughs, but it’s not in an amused way. “Are you shitting me? He blamed me, knowing full well I was innocent. I’ve spent the last few weeks signing in at the fucking police station every day to prove I haven’t left the damn country. The least you could do is tell the real truth, that he fucking pushed you!”
“But it wasn’t intentional,” I say. “I don’t want to argue with you, Lake. That’s not why I’m here. I just wanted you to know you’re off the hook.”
“The hook your boyfriend put me on,” he snaps. “Was the newspaper article his doing too?”
“No,” I snap. “Alaric didn’t know anything about it, just like me.” I don’t know why I’m defending Alaric, but the way Lake’s glaring at me is pissing me off. I didn’t come here to fight.
“I’ve missed out on being there for my kid,” he growls. “I had to sit in a cell wondering if you were dead! And if you’d have died, who the hell do yah think they’d have blamed?”
“I didn’t die,” I mutter.
“No thanks to that piece of shit. Is that the type of guy you want around my kid? Is that what daddy paid for?”
“No . . . I . . . he . . .” I stutter, trying to get a word in.
“You think he’s with you because he wants to be? You don’t think daddy steered all this into the direction he wanted?”
“Lake,” hisses Tillie. “Calm down, would yah.”
“I wanna see my kid,” he growls.
“Not while you’re like this,” I say firmly.
“You’re saying I can’t see him?” he yells, pushing his face closer to mine. This was not the reunion I had in mind. I feel disappointed by his anger and the way he’s staring at me like I’ve somehow betrayed him.
“I’m saying you need to calm down,” I snap. “This anger won’t do him any good.”
He pulls his phone out and shows me the screensaver of a large hand, one finger being gripped by a tiny one. “You’ve seen him?” I ask.
“Sometimes it pays to fuck a nurse,” he sneers, and my heart skips a beat.
I paste a smile on my face, ignoring Tillie’s sympathetic looks. “Then why ask? It’s clear that you’re free to see him whenever you please,” I say stiffly. “Take care.”
I turn and head out the door, willing myself to walk and not break out into a run. I focus on my car as I take steady steps, and I’m almost there when his heavy footfalls catch up with me. “Sara, wait!” he commands, but his demanding voice stopped working on me the second he spouted his hurtful bullshit. I reach for the car door, but his hand slams against it. “Wait!” he snaps.
“What do you need?” I mutter, keeping my back to him.
“I shouldn’t have said all that. I guess I—”
“I guess you never change. You think you can yell and get your own way. I know things have been tough. I’ve changed my mind over and over about Leo and I—”
“Leo?” he repeats.
“I liked it.” I shrug. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“I never thought you’d let me choose his name,” he mutters.
“That’s what I’m trying to explain,” I snap. “I’ve messed you around, and I’m sorry for that, but it wasn’t ever intentional. I was confused and scared, but since having him, I’ve changed. I’m not a single girl looking for love anymore—I’m a mum and I don’t have time for games. My priority is him. It’ll always be him because I have a lot of making up to do for feeling the way I did in the beginning. If you want to be in his life, I’m happy with that. But I won’t let you distract me by throwing your tantrums. Sleep with who the fuck you like, but don’t let him down. Not once. If he stops being your priority, I’ll stop being reasonable.”
He stares at me for a long minute. The look of blame has left his eyes, and it’s replaced with one I can’t pinpoint . . . admiration maybe? “Thank you,” he almost whispers. “I won’t mess this chance up.”
I nod once, then get in my car. I don’t know what I expected when I drove here after speaking with the police this morning. Maybe I wanted open arms and for him to tell me he’d be there for me and Leo. It’s confirmation that I need to stand on my own two feet. I’ve never been a mother before, and it’s scary as fuck. Doing it alone, even scarier. But I can do it. Now, I just have to tell Alaric and my parents.
LAKE
“You fucked that up,” snaps Charlotte, and Connor nods in agreement.
“Actually, I didn’t. We cleared the air outside. She’s happy for me to be around for Leo.”
“But not her?” asks Connor.
I shake my head. She seemed angry with me, and who could blame her? But fuck, I wanted to see that piece of shit suffer like I have. So what if he didn’t mean to push her into the door? He still did it and let me take the blame! Then seeing her outside, all fired up like that, I shiver just thinking about it. She was a lioness laying claim to her son and it got me hot under the collar. I’ve never seen her looking so passionate and certain about something.
“You got any ideas yet?” shouts Riggs as he walks towards me.
“About?” I ask.
“About Six?” he growls.
“We let her dad in free of charge?” Chains suggests, grinning.
“Might work,” says Riggs.
I shake my head. “Not a chance. That scumbag ain’t setting foot in there. Anyway, it’d be weird when his daughter’s a member too,” I add, and they laugh.
“I can get you the licence,” says Maisy.
We all turn to her. “‘Scuse me?” asks Riggs.
“I know him. He’s sleeping with one of my friends, Aliyah.”
“I don’t think that’s a secret, Maisy,” I say. “I get the impression his wife knows all about his mistresses.”
“She doesn’t know that she’s pregnant, though,” says Maisy, wiggling her eyebrows. “And he’s setting Aliyah up in a place of her own.”
“Are you shitting me?” I gasp. “But he’s all about image and showing his happy family off to the public.”
“You could blackmail him, threaten to tell his wife. I have Aliyah’s new address. He seems to really love her, so I think he’d do anything to protect her,” says Maisy.
“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” asks Riggs.
“I didn’t know about Six. Lake was drunk and told me last night in his bed,” she says coldly, giving me the side-eye.
Cree s
laps me upside the head. “Man, you shouldn’t be talking about club business.”
Tillie hits me on the other side. “And you shouldn’t be fucking her when you’re clearly in love with my best friend,” she snaps.
I hold either side of my head. “Stop!” I yell. “I have a headache.”
SARA
I don’t feel as comfortable around Leo’s nurses as I once did. I’m eyeing each one suspiciously, wondering which one fucked Lake and gave him access to my child. It’s not like I mind Lake seeing Leo, he’s his dad, but at the time, he was ordered to keep away from me because the cops thought he’d assaulted me. What kind of nurse lets a possibly dangerous man see a vulnerable baby?
The door opens and Alaric comes in looking frantic. “Why haven’t you answered my calls?” he demands.
“I needed a break,” I mutter.
“From me or your parents?” he asks.
“Both.” The nurse comes back in, and I watch her closely. She’s definitely Lake’s type, with dark hair and huge breasts. I can imagine she’d be someone he’d try to charm into bed.
“Everything okay?” she asks, her Irish accent thick. I nod, and she smiles politely before leaving again.
“Look, Alaric—” I say, sighing.
“Don’t say it,” he hisses. “Please don’t say it.”
“I can’t lead you on. It isn’t working.”
“You’ve been through a lot. You’re just confused. Before all this, we were working.”
“That’s what I don’t get. We went from zero to a hundred, and I never wanted things to move like that. We were having fun, a casual fling, I got hurt and suddenly, we’re together.” I glance at Leo. “I have him to think about.”
“You can’t do it all alone,” says Alaric.
“Of course, I can,” I say, smiling as Leo yawns. “I can,” I add, more firmly this time.
“You’ll regret it,” he snaps. “That biker will come sniffing around the second he knows you’re single.”
“I was always single. We never said we were dating. It started as fun because we both like the same stuff. I don’t know how we got here!”
“We got here because that animal pushed you, and I stood by you night after night, holding your hand!”
“But he didn’t push me, did he, Alaric?” I question, and he pales slightly. “I remember. It came back to me last night. I went to the cops and told them.”
“You did what?” he snaps.
“I didn’t say it was you,” I add. “I told them I got in the middle of you both. Neither were to blame. I know it was an accident. You wouldn’t hurt me. But I couldn’t let Lake take the blame either.”
“Your dad will go nuts when I tell him about this,” he mutters, storming out the room.
I gently stroke Leo’s hand. “It’s much simpler just me and you, baby boy. We’ll learn together,” I whisper.
Chapter Seventeen
Lake
The club falls silent as a man the size of Blu stalks in behind Riggs. “Everyone, this is Storm. He’s joining us from Nottingham.”
A few of the guys shake his hand, but he doesn’t crack a smile. “Lake, he’s going with you tonight,” says Cree, and my eyes widen. I don’t even know this guy, and now he’s coming on an important job?
“No offence,” I hiss, out of earshot, “but I don’t know him.”
Cree frowns. “So?”
“I don’t feel comfortable taking him with me,” I argue.
Cree smirks. “Riggs vouches for him, that’s all you need to know. Now, get fucking moving.”
Charlotte drops down beside me with a grin on her face. “It’s about time we got some hot new guys around this place,” she whispers, and I glare at her in disgust.
“I don’t need to be hearing that kind of shit!”
“Those arms,” she gushes. “And all those tatts.”
“Lottie,” I hiss. “No more.”
“I bet he could crack a bone in those ass cheeks.”
“SERIOUSLY!” I yell, and she snaps out of her daydream and stares at me in confusion.
“Why do you gotta yell like that?”
“I have to go. Storm, we’re hitting the road,” I order, heading for the door.
I stop at an all-night cafe. Storm flicks off his bike engine. “Why are we stopping?” he growls, and I swear, he’s got the voice of a god, it’s that loud.
“Cos I need a coffee,” I answer, stalking inside.
He eventually follows me. “You always drink coffee before you kill someone?” he asks.
“We’re not killing anyone,” I snap. “Who said that?”
“Ain’t that what we do?”
“Not in this charter,” I say, taking a seat. “You’d better keep quiet when we get there. Let me handle it.”
“If he steps outta line, do we kill him?”
“No!” I snap. “No fucking killing anyone. Why’d they call you Storm?”
He smirks. “Hot-headed, no patience, don’t let anyone get in my way.”
“I know some charters do things differently to us, but here, we’re a family,” I say.
“Yeah, yeah, I heard it all from Riggs. The reason I came here was cos I had to make a fresh start for me and my kid.”
“Kid?” I repeat. He didn’t have a kid with him when he arrived.
“He’s travelling over tomorrow with my sister. I wanted to check the place out first,” he says.
“No ol’ lady?”
He shakes his head, looking bitter. “Nope.”
“I got two kids. Connor is seventeen, and Leo, he’s in hospital, born prematurely,” I say.
“He gonna be okay?” he asks.
I shrug. “I hope so.”
“No ol’ lady for you either?” he asks.
“Nope.” I use his word cos I guess neither of us want to go into that much detail. “I got a sister too, Charlotte. We call her Lottie. She’s got her eye on you,” I say. “It’s probably better you don’t go there,” I add.
He nods. “Brother, I don’t have time for women and I don’t want any grief with my brothers. I came here to start again and raise my son.”
“Good,” I say. “Let’s get this job outta the way.”
I knock on the large black door and take a step back, waiting patiently. “Nice place,” says Storm. “Worth a penny.”
“We don’t bother anyone, we’re not here for trouble, we just gotta lay some cards on the table to get him thinking. Keep quiet.”
The door opens, and I’m taken aback to see Sara staring back at me. “What are you doing here?” I ask. “I thought you weren’t staying here right now?”
“I’m getting my things together and going back to my apartment later. What are you doing here?” she asks.
Alaric sidles up behind her and places his hands on her hips. Sara shifts uncomfortably, but it doesn’t deter him as he smiles brightly. “What can we do for you?” he asks, placing a kiss on Sara’s cheek. I clench my fists.
“We didn’t come to speak to no monkey,” grates out Storm, and I like how he knows instantly that this ass isn’t who we’re here for. “Get us the man of the house!”
“Why do you want to see my dad?” asks Sara.
“I’ll deal with this, sweetheart,” says Alaric, and Sara sighs heavily.
“Actually, Alaric, why don’t you see if my dad is free to see these gentlemen. I’ll wait here with them.” Alaric hesitates before doing as he’s told.
“I’m a gentleman now?” I ask, smirking.
“Why are you here, Lake?” she snaps.
“Business, sweetheart,” I say, using Alaric’s pet name for her. It riles her, and she narrows her eyes. I’m addicted to getting under her skin. “So, you and him still together?” I ask.
“No, he’s doing it to piss you off,” she mutters.
“You been to the hospital today?”
“I go every day, twice,” she says coldly.
“I thought I could go later,” I say.
Alaric returns with Anthony Falcon. “Business or pleasure?” he asks coldly.
I glance at Storm and we grin at each other. “A little of both, I guess, our business and your pleasure.”
“Then you’d better come in,” he mutters.
We follow him to his office. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a rich, powerful dick. “Make it quick. I have somewhere to be,” he says, standing by his window and staring out.
“Would that somewhere be the comfort of another woman’s arms?” I ask.
“Are you here to discuss your failed licence application for your seedy sex club or my love life?” he questions.
“How is Aliyah?” I ask.
He sneers, turning to face me. “Please tell me you haven’t come here thinking you’re going to blackmail me with Aliyah.” He laughs coldly.
“Blackmail?” I repeat. “Not my style.”
“My wife is well aware I have a mistress, so you’re wasting your time.”
“This is her, right?” I ask, throwing a photograph taken of Aliyah earlier today. “She’s leaving a private clinic,” I note.
“Must cost a pretty penny,” adds Storm.
“You like that line,” I say, glancing at Storm. “Is it a Nottingham thing?”
Storm shrugs. “Maybe.”
“So, you have a photograph, you have her name . . . now what?” Falcon asks.
“This,” I say, holding up another photograph for Storm to look at, “cost a pretty penny.” Storm examines the photo before releasing a low whistle. “Eaton House in Mayfair,” I continue. “Two thousand one hundred per week.”
“What is this?” roars Falcon. “Why do you have that photo?”
“We’ve been looking closely at your life, Anthony. You’ve been a very busy boy.”
“So, I rented my mistress a place, that’s not unusual,” he responds, rubbing at his forehead. He’s getting stressed. My plan is working.
“Not just any place, though. Nine thousand and one hundred pounds per month is quite a home.” I lay the photo on top of his mistress’s. “Two bedrooms. Now, why would she need a two-bedroom place? Isn’t it just a fuck pad for the two of you? Especially when you already own a house in Knightsbridge. But then, your wife knows about that place so it’s not ideal . . .”