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“Well, you’re gonna have to wait till tomorrow. Unless you want me to give her your number. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” Abby’s eyes roll over my chest and shoulders before looking back up, judging me like I’m a prime bull at a cattle fair.
“It’s fine. I’ll just catch her tomorrow.” I nod, leaving for my next lesson and wondering how the hell I’m gonna make it through the rest of the day without forcing Luke’s skull down into his chest cavity.
I don’t head back to the club after school, instead, I message Jessie warning him I’ll be late. Then I wait inside the toilets for the school to empty. When the halls fall silent, I break into the janitor’s closet and help myself to everything that I need. I spend the next few hours scrubbing Maddy’s locker clean and just as I’m finishing up, I hear the familiar sound of heels approaching behind me, and I curse under my breath before turning around to face Principal K.
“I hope you’re not doing this due to a guilty conscience, Nicolas,” Principal K speaks sternly.
“We both know who did this.” I drop the cloth into the bucket. “I just thought I’d save your janitor a job,” I bite back sarcastically, fast losing my patience with the hard-faced bitch who claims to run things around here.
“Mmmm.” She peers at me over the rim of her glasses, unconvinced. “I hope we won’t be seeing any… retaliation,” she warns, and the look I hit her back with makes no such promise. She leaves me to get back to scrubbing, and I don’t leave until all traces of Luke’s cruel words have vanished.
It’s nearly six by the time I make it back to the club, and when I pull up outside the garage Jessie is looking pissed at me. I park my bike and head inside, Jessie doesn’t say anything, just tosses the spare pair of overalls at me before I have the chance to explain.
“I’m sorry, okay,” I tell him, scrubbing at my face in frustration.
“You know how important this place is to the club. This and the studio are legit businesses, Nyx, they have to stay running. And while Skid’s off finding fucking God or whatever he’s doing at that church, this place is going to shit.
We can’t expect Rogue to cope on her own. It’s too much”
What Jessie’s saying is true, since Skid’s old lady got killed he’s been helping out at some local church. None of us know what’s going on in his head. But he’s always busy helping soup kitchens, he even had us all help him fix up some ramble-shacked house in town last month so a single mom could move in.
We’re all being patient with him ‘cause we know how bad he’s hurting. Far as we’re concerned, it doesn’t matter what it takes to pull him out of the giant ass abyss he’s fallen into, just so long as he fights his way back out.
“Yeah, I get it, but I’m stretched, Jess. I’m trying to get as much info about the girl as I can so Prez can rest easy, but it ain't happening. Me and her, we’re so different. She ain't gonna talk to me… and I need this. I need to get my cut so I can pick up some fuckin’ respect around here.”I pick up a spanner from the workbench, but all I can do slam it back down again out of pure frustration.
Jessie’s head shakes, and he lets out a long sigh before he sits down on one of the stools.
“Look, Tac loves you like a son. You’ve had my respect from the day you set foot on this compound, Troj’s too. And the fact Prez trusts you with all this shit proves that you got his.”
“Come on, Jess, he was kinda forced into trusting me. It ain’t like he could send Squealer to fucking high school, ain't no lawyer out theregood enough to dodge that lawsuit.” I’m being serious, but Jessie makes the situation lighter by huffing a laugh at me.
“He could have sent Grimm,” Jessie shrugs. “That kid probably got about as many hairs on his balls as Tac’s got on his fucking head.” That makes me chuckle, Tac’s as bald as a snake's ass.
“Look, Nyx, I know things are tough right now, and I get the pressure you're under, but you gotta remember that the others don’t know what shit’s goin’ on. The way I see it, the sooner you can get what Prez wants, the sooner you can move on.”
“Jess, I don’t know what he wants. Does he want her to be happy, or does he wanna have to save her so he gets a second shot at being a dad?”I don’t know what's going through our leader’s head. All I can be sure of, is that he wouldn’t like me having the thoughts that go through mine.
“He just wants to know she’s safe. Judge Jackson's fuckin’ shady. Find out what you can, how he treats her and shit. Prez just wants to know his girl’s doin’ and that he made the right decision all those years ago, okay? Then we can move on.”
“She drives a fuckin’ brand new Mercedes, he can’t be treating her that bad,” I point out.
“Yeah, well a lot goes on behind closed doors, things men like Jackson don’t want people to know about. We don’t know if he knows thathe ain’t Ella’s father, and I can guarantee you if he does, he’ll resent her for it.”
The thought makes my pulse tick.
“Once Prez knows that she’s safe and taken care of, he’ll pull you off this shit and we can set on making you a fuckin’ brother.” Jessie stands up and picks up the spanner, holding it out to me. “Now, this engine ain't gonna fit itself, shithead. Let’s get those pretty hands dirty.”
It’s gone nine by the time I finish helping Jessie fit the engine. Realizing the time, I race back up to my cabin to shower, not bothering to grab anything to eat before I jump on my bike and drive out to Ella’s place.
I stick to my routine, parking my bike up the street, then jogging behind the house. I climb the tree effortlessly now and swing myself on to the branch that I always watch from.
Ella’s bedroom light is off and her balcony door is wide open. I let out a frustrated huff, this girl will seriously be the death of me.
I assess the rest of the house, every room seems to be in darkness. I already suspected she was alone when I saw that only her car wason the drive. Jumping out of the tree to the other side of the wall.I prepare to make my journey across the lawn. What I don’t prepare for are the hands that cover over my eyes when I land.
I’m close to spinning around and throwing whoever it is over my shoulder until I hear a soft sweet laugh, and instantly know I’ve fucked up.
How the fuck am I gonna explain this?
