Nash (The Skulls) (8 page)

“You shouldn’t have taken that beating for me.”

“Did you expect me to let Tiny kill you?” Lash asked.
“You’re an ass, but you’re still my baby brother.”

He watched as his brother sat on the mattress beside him. A long time had passed since he’d been sat on a makeshift bed talking with his brother.

“I’m not worth saving. I’m the weak link.”

His brother started laughing. “You think you’re weak. It took ‘til you were thirty to reach for the drugs. The booze and the women were who you were. I saw the way you treated Sophia for the brief moments you were with her.” Lash reached out, taking his hand. “Someone who can love like that, is not weak.”

Nash gritted his teeth as tears welled in his eyes. “You’re turning me into a fucking pussy.” He let the tears fall, feeling the misery of what his life had become. “It doesn’t matter how much I love her. I hurt her the other day with the way I treated her.”

“If Sophia cares about you
, or even loves you a little bit, then she’ll forgive you,” Lash said.

“I don’t know. I called her a whore. She’s not a whore. She’s special. Anyone with eyes should be able to see it.” He gripped his brother’s hand hard. It would only be a matter of time before the effect of the drugs ran off completely.

“You see it with Sophia like I see it with Angel.”

“Why was she so bloody?” Nash asked, looking at his brother.

Lash looked down at the floor. “You’re not going to want to hear this.”

“I need to hear this. If you’re going to do to me what I think you are, then I need something to keep me going
, otherwise I won’t survive this on my own.” Nash coughed, wishing he’d dumped the first bag of white powder instead of finding solace in the stuff. His biggest fucking mistake was taking that shit. “I can take it, Lash.”

“Your bank account has nothing in it
, and the apartment you’d been paying for stopped. She had to find a second job. I got Whizz to look through your records. You’re broke. The money you’ve been taking is club money, Nash. I’ve given Tiny back everything you took. It looks like along with the drugs you’d been gambling as well.”

“Fuck
. I made a big bet in a drug haze. I lost everything,” Nash said, remembering. He’d been so out of it he’d not even thought about the money he was using to replace his losses. “I’ll pay you back.”

“Get sober first and drug free.”

“What else? Tell me everything.” Nash felt sick to his stomach. His brother was trying to keep something from him, and he was getting a bad feeling about it.

“
Sophia quit college and works at the box factory and the diner.”

“She’s working two jobs?”

“Yeah, that’s what she has been doing the past couple of months. I don’t know what has been going on at work, but this afternoon she was attacked. I stopped them from really hurting her.”

Nash sat up blocking the exploding pain inside his head. “Someone put their hands on my woman.” The sight of her bruised face would haunt him forever.

“She’s not been protected by The Skulls. Kate’s dead, and Sophia’s open to it now. This is why we protect our own. We’re not leaving her alone again. She’s agreed to help with you.”

“Until I’m well you’ve got to promise me that you’ll protect her. You’ll do everything you can to keep her safe,” Nash said, needing his brother’s word that he would.

“Why do you think she’s helping me with you? I’m keeping you both safe. I’m not losing either of you, and if I’ve got to do this all by myself then that’s what I’m going to do.” Lash stood up, moving away. “I’m going to make sure everything is working, and hopefully by then she’ll be back.”

His brother left the room, leaving the door open. Nash tested the restraints and was satisfied when they didn’t budge.

“This fucking sucks.”

Closing his eyes, Nash tried to think of something better than being chained to the wall in the factory.
His thoughts always returned to Sophia.

He smiled as he recalled the first time he met her two years ago.

****

“
I’m bored, Kate. Come on, let’s head back to the club,” Nash said. She’d sucked him twice, and he was ready to pound her pussy. Out of all of the sweet butts at The Skulls, Kate was the one who’d caught his eye.

“
I just need to stop off home, and then we can head back to the club.” She pulled out her keys, her hands shaking as she did.

He’d noticed Kate was not always with it. Nash put it down to all the alcohol the bitch consumed.

“Nice place you got here,” he said. He wasn’t drunk at all, but he found Kate stopped hassling him all the time if she thought he was. Nash thought it was funny to play the drunk rather than to be the actual drunk.

She flicked the light on and told him to shush. “My sister is home. Fat bitch never goes out. I bet she’s eating ice cream and watching a movie wishing it was her.”

Nash chuckled, not really seeing the humor. He’d not met Kate’s sister. In his mind he pictured a fat version of Kate.

Sitting down on the sofa, he watched Kate bend down, looking for something. “Are you all right here? I’ve got to go and check some things out?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m good here.”

When she was out of sight, he put down the bottle of scotch Kate had carried and eased back against the sofa. The springs dug into his back. He doubted Kate earned enough to keep this place in good working order. If it wasn’t for her talented mouth and hot pussy he wouldn’t be interested in her.

“Kate? Is that you? I thought you said you were staying out tonight?” A feminine voice invaded his thoughts. Nash was shocked by the instant heat that flooded his groin. No woman had left him feeling like that. Getting up from his sofa he turned to see who it was.

The woman looked at him and frowned.

“I take it you’re Sophia, Kate’s sister,” he said. She looked nothing like Kate. Her hair was tied on top of her head. The dark, midnight black curls contrasted with her pale skin. Her flesh was flawless, not a mark on her. She had a cute nose and the sweetest eyes he’d ever seen.

She didn’t wear an ounce of makeup
, and she was currently wearing a pair of pajamas with chocolate chip cookies on them. The night clothes couldn’t hide her fuller curves either. Her tits were large, and he wanted to see if she had red nipples or brown. Did she wax, or was she neatly trimmed?

All the wicked thoughts were going to his cock, making him want her.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are,” she said, shaking his hand and pulling back. Sophia didn’t linger on him or make any innuendos. He watched as she walked to the kitchen and filled the kettle.

“I’m Nash. I’m part of The Skulls.”

“Is Nash your real name?” she asked, turning toward him. He couldn’t hear Kate, and he didn’t care. All need to be inside Kate disappeared. Moving toward the kitchen counter he took a seat.

“No, it’s Edward. Edward Myers.”

“It’s lovely to meet you. Kate’s told me a lot about you.”

“I hope it’s all good stuff.” Nash folded his arms, wanting to impress her somehow.

Her eyes didn’t move down his body. She stayed focused with looking at him.

“Yeah, she’s very happy to have met you and been with you.” Her cheeks turned a dark red
, and she finished making a drink. “Do you want a drink?”

“I’d love one.” Not one woman had ever offered him a drink before. It was strange
, but Kate offered to fuck and suck his dick before she handed him a drink.

This was the newest experience to him
, and it was odd.

The blush coating her cheeks drew him in as well. What was she embarrassed about?

“I see you’ve seen my chunky sister,” Kate said, sitting beside him. Her hand wandered up the inside of his leg. He swatted her hand away and shot her a glare.

Anger at her calling Sophia names shot through him. With Sophia’s back to him, he wrapped his fingers around Kate’s throat. “Don’t ever call her that again.” He leaned in close pretending to kiss her. “Or I’ll fucking end you and make sure no one can identify the body.”

Pulling out of the memory, Nash coughed, wishing someone would just shoot him. The pain was too intense for him to handle, and he was finding it harder and harder to fight.

****

“You fucking promised me these boys would keep in line,” Snitch said, slamming his fist on the table. He was camped in the warehouse waiting for the perfect opportunity to do what he’d come back to Fort Wills to do, and now his men were telling him the group of criminals they’d hired might have fucked it up. He was pissed, beyond pissed. He was fucking furious. “What exactly did Lash do?” It was taking every ounce of strength not to hurt one of his men.

“He caught the men trying to rape Sophia. They were in broad daylight—”

Snitch lost his temper, grabbing Scars around the neck and slamming him against the nearest wall. “I didn’t give fucking permission for them to tease a woman, especially a woman so close to the fucking Skulls. We’re waiting for the right time. Lash starts looking at those bastards, Tiny will know about me. We’re doing this low key.”

“It’s just a bitch.”

Snitch slammed his fist into Scars’s stomach. “Nash is the weakest link. He’s being taken out of the problem with the club. They’ve got him alone with his woman. He’s vulnerable, and if he so much as starts thinking about shit, then we’re done. You better pray that doesn’t happen. Tiny never forgot about me. He acts like he does, but we’ve got a lot of history he wouldn’t want his boys to know.” Releasing his man, Snitch took a step back. “Call your men. You warn them that if they act without orders again, I will cut their balls off and feed their dicks to them.”

Walking away, Snitch went outside breathing in the fresh air. Everything was so close. He wasn’t going to let some common fucking thugs ruin everything he’d fought so hard to get.

The time for his revenge was close. Tiny was going down. Waiting was not the problem when he saw an end in sight.

Sophia tapped her fingers on her thigh wishing for the day to be over. Her back was hurting from being slammed against the metal railings by Gill. Part of her wished
she could go back and gouge the bastard’s eyes out. Her nails sank into the denim of her jeans. She wanted to feel the pain to stop thinking about what the bastard could have done with her.

“
You’ve surprised me,” Zero said.

Turning
toward him, she waited for him to elaborate. She’d never been alone with this Skull. Lash and Nash were the only Skulls she’d been alone with. He didn’t make any move to say anything else.

“What do you mean?” she asked, needing to be distracted.

“I was there when those men had you trapped against the metal fence. A lot of women would have broken down by now. Not you. You’re going strong.” Zero nodded his head. “I respect that.”

“I don’t have time to panic about it. Nash needs my help
, and Lash has agreed to protect me providing I help him.” She’d do anything for Nash. Kate knew the truth of her feelings and spent a great deal of time taunting her about it.

“It’s more than that. You’re in love with Nash.”

She didn’t say anything to him. Speaking of her feelings would never be good for her. Kate made her life a misery because of her feelings. She remembered the time Kate brought him home and fucked him in the next room. Every time she saw Nash after that she’d been unable to look him in the eye.

“You don’t have to say anything to me. I get it.”

“I do love him. He’s been good to me, and he was good for my sister.” She turned to Zero. “I’m really sorry that Kate brought drugs into his life.”

“It’s not your fault. Nash should have stopped. He knows the rules
, and this is entirely on him. You’re not to blame no matter what you think.” Zero reached over, squeezing her hand.

“Are you all this nice?”

Zero laughed. “Not many people would say we’re nice.”

She smiled. “You’re being nice to me
, and that’s all I care about.”

He pulled up outside of the apartment block
, and she climbed out. Zero followed close behind her. She blanked the people who were watching her. It wasn’t anyone’s business with Zero being near her. She ran up the stairs with him close behind her.

Grabbing her
set of keys out of the bag, she tried to put the key into the lock. Her hands were shaking so bad that she couldn’t get it to fit. Cursing, she tensed as Zero took the keys from her.

“Thank you.”

“I’m not going to hurt you. Stop thinking I am.”

She pushed her way into her apartment and went straight to her bedroom.
Sophia grabbed the case from inside her wardrobe and began to fill it with her clothes.

Zero stood in the doorway.

“Nash helped you to move, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“What happened between you two?” Zero asked.