“It’s a plan, and you’re going to have to take it otherwise it’s the end of the road for you. I’m not going to let that happen.”
“I shouldn’t be here. You know it, and so do I.” Nash lay on the mattress feeling every single one of his pains.
“How is he?” Lash asked.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched his brother talking with the doctor. “He’s in pretty bad shape. Tiny did a number on him. I don’t think there’s any internal bleeding. He may have a cracked rib, and I’ll bring some bandages to help.”
“Nothing for the pain. He’s going to take this like he deserves.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?” Sandy asked.
“If the gun had been aimed at your head, what do you think?”
Sandy didn’t argue. “Fine. I’m going to go and give the others an update. If you need anything, give me a call. I’m here for you all.”
She left through the door. The same door that Sophia had left through a couple of minutes before. He’d seen the cuts and bruises on her face. Who had hurt his woman?
“If you want to leave, you can,” Lash said. The other two bikers gave him a sour look before turning away.
“You should have left me to rot,” Nash said. “The club hates me.” He rolled to his back, wincing in pain.
“I’m not giving up on you. The club is our whole lives. I’m not going to let you throw all that away because you think life is a little hard.”
“A little hard? Brother, life is a damn hard f**king road and filled with pain.”
Lash knelt beside the mattress. Guilt swamped Nash as he got a good look at the marks on Lash’s face.
“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 f**king pu**y.” 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 f**king 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 f**king 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 pu**y. 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.