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“Look, just a heads up. Prez got a look at the tracker, so he’s seen where she’s been.” It’s a warning from Jessie, but at this point, I don’t give a shit. I just want to get to Ella and make sure she’s safe. I storm over to my bike and speed off down the track to the clubhouse. I’ll speak to Prez first, but it’ll be brief. Ella is my concern, my only fuckin’ concern. I’ll deal with the amount of shit I’m in once I know she’s safe.
I know exactly where to find him, and when I barge through the door of the member's bar, he’s sitting in one of the leather armchairs drinking alone. His face scowls when he sees me, guaranteeing that this ain’t gonna be a pleasant conversation.
“Sit,” he orders, flicking his head towards the chair opposite. I take the chair, staring right back at him, hoping he’s gonna make this quick because the thought of those Bastard cunts watching her is making me murderous.
“Years ago, this place used to be a real family unit,” he starts, stubbing out his cigarette. “We have the perfect set up for it, right?” He’s speaking so calmly, taking too much time. I need to get out of here and go to her.
“We’d have BBQs on a Sunday, our kids would play together, our old ladies helped each other out.” He sniffs to clear his airways
“Ya know why we don’t got that anymore, Nyx?” he asks, all the creases in his forehead pulling together. Of course, I fucking know, everyone knows. This Charter halved its members after Prez’s old lady got killed, all the brothers with families moved across states to safer Charters.
“Yes sir,” I respond, the quicker we get this over with, the quicker I can leave for Ella.
“I’ve lost Hayley, Skid’s lost Carly, we got Jessie’s old lady trapped here like a goddamn prisoner. And all those bitches ever did to deserve it was love us.
Being associated with this club makes our enemies their enemy too. It puts them at risk. You think I want that for my little girl?” he asks, the frustration slowly building in his voice.
“No sir.” And I sure as fuck don’t want that for Ella either.
“So be it the Bastards, the Irish, or the fuckin’ Triad. Any enemy of this club knows that the only way to get to us is through them. That makes them a target.”
“I get it,” I tell him impatiently, needing to get the hell out of here and check my girl. I’ll kill any fucker that thinks it’s okay to watch her.
“No, I don’t think you fuckin’ get it, Nyx. I asked you to keep your eye on her, to talk to her at school, to be her friend.”
“Yeah, and I did all those things. Ella trusts me, I look out for her.”
“You made her a fuckin’ target,” he bellows at me, slamming his fist into the arm of his chair.“You may not wear the full cut yet, but you wear the prospect jacket. You work at the studio, you’ve done shit under the club’s name and if you’re a part of this club, the Bastards want to hurt you. They want to hurt the people you care about. You showed ‘em you cared about her.You fucked up.”
“What?” I shake my head back at him, confused. “You asked for this, you asked me to be her friend.”
“I asked you to put yourself into her life temporarily, Nyx. I never asked you to bring her into mine. Into all this shit.” He stands up and charges at me, his fist shaking with rage as he wraps it around my collar and drags me onto my feet. “What the fuck were you thinking, bringing her to the studio? That’s Souls’ fuckin’ territory, Nyx, she shouldn’t have been anywhere near it.”
“She got curious, she came and found me,” I shout back at him.
“That wasn’t part of the plan, you were meant to be getting curious about her. Do you realize what you’ve done? The Bastards find out she’s my daughter, they’ll kill her. Hell, even if those cunts think she’s someone you care about they’ll kill her. That’s what they do. They hurt us through them. It’s the only way the spineless dicks know how to fight.”
“Then bring her in, I’ll fetch her now. We can protect her, same way we do Maddy,” I yell, just the thought of her being close relaxes some of my tension. Telling Prez how much Ella means to me has suddenly become the least of my concerns.
“You think I want that for her? Constantly looking over her shoulder? 24-hour protection? What about her college plans, who's gonna protect her when she leaves town?”
“I would.” It’s the easiest answer in the world. I’ll go wherever she goes just so long as I get to take care of her.
“You,” Prez shakes his head and laughs at me. “Nyx, you’re just a stupid assed kid and the whole reason we’re in this mess. Bastards have seen your interest in her and now you’ve just put a target on the head of the only thing I got left.” He throws me back, releasing me at the same time and sending me crashing into the bar. His words hit me much harder though. I don’t argue back with him, how can I? He’s speaking the truth. Besides I’m too angry with myself for fucking things up.
“We’re at war, Nyx, and the only thing that comes out of war is death and destruction. I won’t have her be a part of that, she can’t be a part of this. It’s time to back off.”
“No.” I quickly straighten myself up, I can’t let that happen. “The judge, he’s shady, Prez, we can’t trust him.”
“Well thanks to you, I haven’t got a fuckin’ choice now. Being associated with us is a far greater risk to her.” I hear the sadness in his tone, and I stand in front of him feeling paralyzed when it suddenly hits me.
I’ve seen it for myself. I watched them shoot Hayley, I see how protective Jessie is of Maddy. Hell, Skid hadn’t even been able to trust his own brother with his wife. Threat is all around us and I’ve been an idiot to think Ella could be an exception to the rules.
“You need to get out of my damn sight, boy,” he tells me.
“What about Ella? I need to say goodbye, we were… we’re friends.” I back out of telling him what we really are, what’s the point? He’s right, I can’t keep seeing her, not if I’m putting her at risk, and I can’t turn her life upside down either. I can’t offer her an education or stability.
I can’t offer her jack shit but trouble.
