“Nash was high on coke. We didn’t have much choice but to all vote. Drugs was serious, so even I wanted him to be voted back in with the club’s vote.”
“The same goes for Butch. He walked away. We need to know where his loyalty lies. We’re all going to take a vote, and that includes you.” Tiny turned back to the front.
“We go away on vacation and come back to a mess,” Angel said.
“Don’t, baby. This is club mess. When it’s all sorted, we’ll be heading back to Italy. I promised you an extended vacation, and we’re going to get it.” Lash placed his arm across the back of the seat to touch her hair.
Eva saw it in the mirror. Angel gave him one of her dazzling smiles.
“It would be easier for all of us if you taught me how to defend myself,” she said.
Lash let out a sigh. “I told you, I’m not going to teach you what you don’t need to know. I’ll protect you, always.”
“You’re not going to be with me all the time, Lash. I need to learn to defend myself and to defend our son.”
“Not discussing this, Angel. You don’t need it, end of story.” He cupped the back of her head, turning her to look at him. “This f**ker is going down. You don’t need to worry about shit. Tiny’s getting more prospects, and we’ll be good.”
Angel sighed but didn’t argue further.
Keeping her gaze on the road, Eva tried to ignore the sudden silence in the car. Tiny was looking out of his side window, Lash kept looking at Angel, and Angel was staring out of the window. The tension mounted, making driving very uncomfortable.
“When’s Gash getting out?” Lash asked.
“We’re picking him up in three days,” Tiny said.
“I want to be there when he gets out.”
“Why?”
“We were good friends, and since I’ve been with Angel I’ve not gone and visited him. I want to mend fences before he comes home.” Lash sounded hurt.
“Fine, you, Nash, and Steven are going to get him out,” Tiny said.
“Good. How’s Whizz doing?”
Eva winced at the other brother’s name.
“He’s dealing in his own way.”
“Last I heard he was f**king built, heavy weightlifting and the shit.”
Over a year ago Whizz had been captured by one of Zero’s old enemies from the past. Alan had captured Whizz and proceeded to torture and rape the other brother. Since then, Whizz hadn’t been the same. In fact, the man was a shell of his former self, and every time Eva saw him, he broke her heart. She couldn’t help him get rid of the demons that plagued him. Instead of curing him, she held him through the night when he came to stay at their house. She was surprised Tiny hadn’t caused any waves about having Whizz in their bed. It was nothing sexual and everything to do about comforting one of their own. She wasn’t attracted to Whizz. Eva hadn’t been attracted to another man since Tiny entered her life.
“I spoke to Kelsey while I was away. She said he’d shared their bed for some time. Nothing to do with sex or anything but to help him keep the nightmares away.” Angel pushed some hair back as she spoke.
“Yeah, Whizz has done the bed rounds so far. He’s not asking for anything. The nightmares come and go. He tries to deal with shit in his own way. It doesn’t always work,” Tiny said.
Eva couldn’t think of anything to add and stayed quiet.
Whizz did try. He didn’t reach for the bottle or drown himself in girls. Unlike some men, Whizz kept to himself. Eva didn’t know if his method of coping actually worked. He didn’t let anyone else inside.
The only thing he did was work on the computers and work out. The carefree man he’d once been was long gone.
It was a hard life but one Eva wasn’t going to interfere with. Whatever helped Whizz live day to day, she was all for. She didn’t want to see him go off the deep end and do something they’d all regret.
Silence filled the car once again. Blocking everything out, Eva tried to take pleasure in simply driving her car. Nothing could happen while she was locked within the four metal walls of her car. To a point, she was safe here for no one to get her, but no matter how much she tried to think positively about driving the car, she still hated every second of it.
The drive went by quickly, and before she knew it she was pulling into the compound. The main door opened, and members from The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds filtered out. Devil and Lexie were standing wrapped around each other, smiling.
“I guess people are glad for us to be home,” Lash said.
“It certainly seems that way,” Eva said, smiling. She parked the car and watched as the crowd pulled Lash, Angel, and Anthony in for a group hug. Wrapping her arms around her body, Eva moved around the crowd to go into the clubhouse. She found Prue taking care of Miles and Tabitha. “Are you okay with them?” Eva asked.
“Sure. They’re darlings. Go and have a bath. I’m sure you can need it with everything that’s going on.”
“Thanks, honey.” Eva turned away going toward the stairs. Taking the stairs one at a time, she ran fingers through her hair as she climbed to the top floor. This floor was Tiny’s floor. She’d redecorated the place over a year ago to more of her liking. When Tiny stayed here on his own, he’d settled on black walls and a white ceiling. Now the space was light, airy, and perfect for her to stay inside.
Closing the door behind her, she started to remove some of the jewelry he’d given her over the years. Placing them in a drawer, she caught sight of her reflection. She looked tired and worn.
Wearing makeup had never appealed to her, and she didn’t bother with cosmetic products now. Moving in close she inspected her eyes and her lips. There weren’t any signs of wrinkles on her face yet. What would Tiny think of her when she was older? Would she be fighting with the next generation to get her man to stick beside her?
She wasn’t under any illusions about her man. Tiny had cheated on his first wife repeatedly. Alex, his former brother-in-law, assured her that Tiny hadn’t strayed. She believed him.
When they hadn’t been dating, she’d seen the difference in Tiny when he slept with a sweet-butt and when he did not. The guilt was easy to see on his face.
“You’re not old,” she said, glaring at her reflection. She didn’t know why these insecurities were coming back to her. Eva wasn’t the oldest old lady within the club. Rose was, Hardy’s woman.