He gives me a lift of his chin as I enter before he disappears behind a cloud of smoke.

The only other person in the room is Kyle. The prospect is stocking the bar, cleaning the sides down and keeping himself busy. I like the kid, but we’re all a little leery after what went down with Zack. Trust is a precious commodity and when it’s broken, it’s nearly impossible to fix.

My eyes move to the other side of the room and stop on Lucy. She is sitting at the table I’ve come to think of as hers because she’s always there, and she’s hugging Sasha as if she’s her lifeline. Seeing that, I can’t be pissed that Sasha risked herself coming here. Lucy needs this. She needs to know she hasn’t been forgotten, that people still give a shit about her.

They start talking excitedly, and I hang back in the doorway, watching them catch up, my mouth pulling into a grin. I’m glad Lucy has this, a friend willing to go to the edge for her. I get the impression from listening to Sasha talk about her that she’d done the same for her and Lily.

The door opens behind me and I twist to see Rav, who is huffing like a raging bull. I put a hand to his chest, stopping him from stepping further in.

“She’s okay, Rav.”

“She shouldn’t fucking be here.”

No, she shouldn’t, but Sasha came for her friend and I respect the hell out of her for doing that.

“Ain’t nothing going to happen to her while we’re here.”

He calms slightly at this realisation, tearing his tie out of his hair, so he can rake his fingers through it.

“Have a beer with me,” I say, hoping to calm him down.

He’s reluctant. I can see the urge to get Sasha out of here playing across his face, but I nudge him towards the bar and he starts to move.

As I slide onto the bar stool, Rav doing the same, Kyle grabs us two bottles of beer, placing them in front of us before moving away.

“We need to get a couple more prospects in here,” Rav mutters, taking a long pull on his drink.

We do. Zack’s murder left us with a hole in our ranks. The kid was close to patching too, which means we’re going to be short a patched member for another twelve months at least.

“Take it to the table,” I say, “see if one of the brothers have anyone in mind.”

Rav rolls the bottle between his hands. “I don’t like the unknown,” he says, and I get the feeling we’re no longer talking about prospects. I take a pull of my drink, letting the malty taste sit on my tongue for a second before I swallow it down.

“Me neither.”

“Lucy’s situation is an unknown, Nox. I don’t have a fucking clue what’s going on there and it’s pissing me the hell off.”

I get his frustration. I feel it too. I peer over at the two girls sitting together, their heads so close to each other, they’re nearly touching foreheads. It’s the first time I’ve seen Lucy smile in days, although I can still see the strain in her face.

“Not even a speck of dirt is coming up on her boss,” he says before he takes a sip of his drink. “It ain’t possible. You don’t get shot in the fucking head and not have a heap of shit in your life.”

My eyes stray to Lucy and the gauze that still covers her head wound. Hot oil pools in my veins as I take it in. Someone is going to pay for inflicting that hurt on her, for nearly taking her from me.

Daimon joins us after a little while, talking money at Rav while my attention stays locked on Lucy. She looks beautiful today, her pale blonde hair piled into a topknot, her eyes soft as she talks to Sasha. I want to capture her mouth, take her right here. Instead, I shift my legs to give my straining cock a little more room in my jeans.

Sasha suddenly stands and hugs Lucy, then the pair of them move over to the bar.

Rav watches Sasha approach like a lion stalking a gazelle, his eyes never leaving her face and as she gets close, he twists on his stool, so he’s facing away from the bar, and pulls his old lady between his legs.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he growls at her even as her hands go to either side of her hips. “Lily-May—”

“Is perfectly safe at home. Quit worrying.”

“It’s my fucking job.”

Sasha runs her fingers through the hair at the side of his head. “I needed to see Luce. Now I have, I can sleep easier.”

His expression softens at her words, his rage dying down. “I’ll take you home.”

Sasha turns and pulls Lucy into her arms. When they break apart, she says to me, “You better take care of her.”

I meet Lucy’s eyes with a smouldering look. “I will.”

Her throat works as she takes this in and God, I want to kiss her.

Rav wraps his arms around Sasha’s shoulders and leads her out. Lucy hovers awkwardly by the stools, her gaze shifting to Daimon, who is sitting a few feet from where we’re standing. He’s facing the bar, the bottle he’s drinking from rolling between his hands.

“I need…” she breaks off, licking her lips and I can see the tension in her face as she does.

“What? Tell me,” I order.

Her eyes come to mine, those blue orbs drawing me in. “I need to go to my place. I need clothes and other things.”

“It’s too dangerous. Sasha brought you some stuff.”

She scowls at me. “It’s been days. No one has come for me yet. I don’t think they’re going to.”

I snort at this assumption. “That’s a good way to end up dead, Lucy.”

“Please.”

It’s her plea that breaks through my sense. I can’t deny her anything when she asks like that. I dip my head, my hands coming to rest on her cheeks.

“Okay, but you stay here.”

She shakes her head. “It’ll be quicker if I come. I know what I need and where to find everything.”

She’s right, but I don’t like it. She rolls to her toes and presses her mouth to mine and my mind empties of everything but her.

“I know you’ll keep me safe, Nox,” she says, and her words hit at my pride. Of course I can fucking keep her safe.

“Okay,” I agree. “We’ll go in the morning.”

Her smile is radiant and goes straight to my dick. “Thank you.”

I mirror the gesture, but my mind wonders if I’ve made a stupid decision here, and if this is exactly what her assassins are waiting for.

11

Lucy

Somehow, I got Nox to agree to take me back to the flat I shared with Sasha and Lily-May the next morning. I haven’t been back there since I crashed through the clubhouse’s gates. It hasn’t been safe to. Sasha and Lily-May moved out the same day as well. It’s a few boroughs over from Kessington, so Nox had muttered something about getting permission to pass through another gang’s territory. That I understand because Isaac often had to do the same.

After Nox went to find Titch, I quickly changed into the jeans, ankle boots and tee that Sasha bought for me. There was clean underwear too, which beat the hell out of having to wash my knickers and bra every night in the washing machine in a small room near to the kitchen. I love Sash for thinking about this stuff.

Once I was dressed, I waited in the common room for Nox to return, impatiently biting my nails to the bed. When he finally steps back into the room, he’s smiling, and God, if that smile doesn’t do funny things to my belly. He makes my world stop, makes all the noise, all the static fade until all I can see is him. His body, his kindness, it’s more than I deserve, but I can’t stop from latching onto it with needy fingers.