Then his attention will turn to me.

I need to be gone before that happens.

She reaches out and grabs my hand, squeezing it. I don’t deserve her kindness, her compassion, her understanding. I don’t deserve anything from her, and if she knew the truth about me, she wouldn’t give it to me. She’d hate me. I know, because I hate myself.

My lies are catching up with me and I don’t know how to stop them circling. How can I fix the unfixable? Sasha’s assurances should put me at ease, but they don’t. If anything, they make my belly ache with a hollowness. I never want to hurt Sasha or Lily-May. They’re family.

She squeezes my hand again. “Ty, Nox—they’ll protect you. I promise.”

I wish that was the case, but they can’t protect me from Isaac. No one can. Coming here was a huge mistake, one that could cost the club. I know the lengths Isaac will go to in order to bring me home. I don’t know that they have the ability to stand up to a man like him.

Forget hanging around until I have a plan, I need to hit the road now. If anything happens to that little girl, to Sasha, I’ll never forgive myself.

“This isn’t your problem. I made a mistake coming here.”

Her brow furrows. “Lucy, you’re family and the Sons take care of their own. This is exactly where you should have come. It’s where you should always come when you need help.”

The tears that prick the back of my eyes this time are real. All my life all I wanted was to belong, to have someone care. I thought I found that with Isaac, but it was a lie. He wanted to keep me like a pretty little doll he could pull out whenever he needed to. I hated him for that. It was one thing in a long list of things I hated him for.

There’s a knock, then Nox steps into the room. His bulk fills the space and his presence seems to suck all the oxygen out of the air. I take a shaky breath as heat swamps my body, shifting a little as his eyes roam over my face.

He thinks I’m a victim. I’m not. A knife stabs into my stomach. I hate lying to him. I hate lying to them all, but what choice do I have? I’m a sitting duck out there alone, and I’m petrified what will happen if Isaac’s thugs get hold of me. I barely escaped this time. Next time, I might not be so lucky.

“There’s a prospect waiting to take you and Lily-May home,” Nox says to Sasha, finally pulling his gaze from me.

Sasha looks torn between loyalty to me and protecting her daughter. I give her an out. “Go home and be with Lil,” I tell her.

She lets out a breath and then says to Nox, “You better look after her.”

“Promise.”

He pulls Sash to his side and kisses her head. Then Sasha throws her arms around me and whispers in my ear, “I love you, Luce. Stay safe.”

When she pulls back, the lump in my throat is so big I can barely swallow past it. My lies score my soul deeper than any scar and I hate myself for perpetuating them.

Nox waits until Sasha leaves the room before he says, “How are you feeling?”

“Sore.” I shouldn’t admit any vulnerability, but the words fall from my mouth before I can stop them. He makes my tongue loose and I don’t like that he does.

I pull my guard back up. I can’t afford to let anyone in, especially not a member of the club.

“Whizz hook you up with some painkillers?”

I nod, even though those pills are in my pocket. He moves to the wall and leans against it, and the heat in the room seems to grow warmer as he peers at me.

I can’t stop from sneaking my own look at Nox. The man is built, even though he’s smaller than Rav, who seems to suck the space out of every room. His hair is shaved practically to his scalp leaving a thin layer of fuzz and his piercing blue eyes seem to see everything as he stares at me. I wonder if he can see my secrets.

My gaze moves over his thick arms that are covered in ink, a barrage of colour staring back at me from beneath the sleeves of his white tee and kutte. I watch the veins bulge as he flexes his fingers into fists before forcing them straight again, hating how affected he is by my situation.

“Club’ll protect you and figure out who these fuckers are,” Nox assures me.

My heart starts to thrum as frenzied butterflies take flight in my belly at the look he’s giving me. It’s a look I’ve never seen before, it’s a look that promises so much without words.

Fear grips me. He can’t get close to me. I can’t get close to him.

I swallow hard and manage to choke out, “I know.”

He moves forwards and takes my hands in his, and my heart stops at his touch. My eyes shift from our joined hands up to his face, and I see the seriousness in his expression as he stares at me.

“You don’t have anything to fear, Lucy. You took care of our girls. Now, we’ll take care of you.”

These words should be a relief, so I force a smile, but internally, I’m panicking. They can’t dig around. If they do, they might discover my dirty secret.

That Lucy Franklin doesn’t really exist.

4

Nox

I take Lucy upstairs to the club bedrooms. We have a few empty, usually kept for brothers from other chapters of the Sons, or out-of-towners. Since we have neither visiting at the moment, I set her up in the nicest of the rooms, although that’s not saying much. The furniture is tired, the carpet is dark grey, a couple of dubious stains on it, and the walls could use a lick of paint. She’s too good for a place like this, but at least it’s clean. One of the club bunnies or the prospects probably keep on top of it. I sure as fuck don’t.

She’s on edge, unsurprisingly, but I don’t miss the covert looks she keeps sneaking my way, as if she’s trying to suss me out. She shouldn’t go digging. Like all the brothers in my club, I have my share of demons. You can’t be in this life and come out unscathed. I’ve seen shit and done shit I can never take back, all in the name of the club, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’m loyal to my patch, to my brothers, to my president.

Right now, I’m close to going postal because of her situation, but I don’t want to scare Lucy any more than she already is. I can see she’s barely keeping it together.

I watch as she paces the space, her arms wrapping around her middle, her eyes everywhere. I can’t stop my gaze from moving over her. Her long hair is so blonde it’s almost white. It’s also still matted with blood, which makes my teeth grind with the reminder of how close I came to losing her. She has a slight upturn to her slender nose, a dash of pale freckles over her cheeks, and a set of curves that are enough to make a man lose his mind. I’m not immune to her. The woman is stunningly beautiful.

“It’s not much, but—”

“It’s fine,” she interrupts, then adds, “Really, it’s more than I expected.”

I watch as she sinks onto the edge of the bed, her hands skimming over the comforter. I can see in her eyes how haunted she is by this, how she has monsters dancing there. I never expected to see that, not from the feisty woman who got in my face in the hospital trying to protect Sasha—that same woman made my dick stand up and take notice.

“I need to shower,” she mutters, glancing down at herself.

I jut my chin in the direction of the en suite bathroom. “There should be clean towels on the rack.”