Picking up bottles he started throwing them into the sack he was holding. The bottles smashed with the force with which he threw them inside.
“Hey,” she said, touching his arm.
He felt frozen inside from her touch.
Can’t have. Can’t touch. Can’t f**king love.
Pulling away from the feel of her fingers wrapped around his arm he glared at her. “What?”
“What’s the matter with you? Did you have feelings for Kelsey?” She frowned, waiting for him to answer.
She really didn’t see how she turned him up in knots. He wanted to laugh, shout, scream, and shake her to bloody death. Didn’t she have a clue how he felt about her?
“Nothing, I’m f**king fine.”
Throwing the bag to the floor he charged toward the door. He needed to get out of here. Being close to her was going to make him do something he regretted.
She belongs to Nash.
“Zero, wait. What’s going on?” She ran to the door. The pained look in her eyes struck him deep.
“I need some fresh air. Can’t I even have that in f**king peace?”
“I’m so sorry.” Sophia dropped her arm giving him the space to disappear.
He walked out of the back to find Steven having a smoke.
“I thought you were at the hospital?” Zero said, grabbing a smoke for himself.
“I was. I came home to give Tiny and Eva the heads-up when they get back.”
“Is she dead?” Zero lit his cigarette taking a deep draw from it.
“No. It was touch and go. Sandy said they lost her for a second but brought her back. Killer is beside himself, and her f**king husband is sitting beside him. It’s a total f**k up and looks more like a soap opera. No wonder the girl tried to off herself.”
Staring at Steven, he shook his head. “You can f**king talk some, can’t you?”
“Fuck off. Besides, it’s a good job I’m here so you don’t do anything stupid when it comes to Sophia. Bitch isn’t worth it, man.”
He ignored the advice leaking out of Steven’s mouth.
“Fine, ignore me. Shit, I stink. I need to get a bath. Are you sure you can be safe here and not risk f**king your friend’s woman?” Steven asked, taunting him on the way back inside the clubhouse.
Zero stared out over the horizon. It was a lovely fresh morning, and the slight breeze ruffled his hair. Fuck, he needed to get his shit together. The Skulls meant everything to him. He didn’t want to risk the club for a woman. Sophia was just a woman, and he needed to get it through his thick skull otherwise he’d be out on his ass. There was no way he’d be facing this world alone without his club for support.
Taking out his cell phone, he looked up her number and dialed. She answered on the fifth ring sounding breathless.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hey, Prue, it’s me.”
“Lucas?”
He chuckled. Zero hadn’t heard his name in so long. “Yeah, it’s me. How are you doing?”
“Me? I should be asking you that. You’re the one who came to me a year ago. Are you well? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Nah, I’m good.” Her voice was so sweet and he owed her so much, yet he could never repay her for anything. “How are things?”
“Good, it’s pretty manic around here at the moment.” She went on talking about the fairs, the love she had for picking the fresh fruits and apples. “It’s coming up to over ten years, Lucas.”
He closed his eyes remembering the pain of the past. “I know, honey. I’ll come and see you soon.”
“You don’t have to come. You didn’t last year or the year before that.”
“I’ve got new commitments here. I’ll get away from here and try and get up there,” he said.
“Lucas, you sound … distracted.”
“I’ve got shit going on down here. In fact I better be going. Take care, Prue. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Before she said anything else, he hung up the phone. Tears sprang in his eyes at the memory of what Prue created. Fuck, he was turning into an emotional bastard. Talking to Prue wasn’t supposed to make him feel like this.
Wiping the tears away from his eyes, he walked back into the clubhouse. Being around Sophia made him forget about his pain and what he’d done.
He stood behind the bar and watched Sophia with her daughter. She was untouchable to him. There was no way for him to get to her, and because of that, they were both safe.
Chapter Six
Kelsey was safe, alive, and f**king breathing. Wiping a hand down his face, Killer stood up stretching out his tight muscles. Sandy was talking with Michael about her care while they were being kept in the dark. He hated the bastard for what he was doing. From the look of Sandy’s waving arms she disagreed with him.
She stormed away going straight toward them.
“How is she?” he asked, tensing to hear the bad news.
“She’s sleeping at the moment, peacefully I hope.” Sandy ran fingers through her hair. “This is all a f**king nightmare, Killer. She pulled through, but I don’t think she’s stable at the moment.”
“Is she awake?”
Sandy shook her head. “No, she’s not awake. She’s sleeping. The doctor put her under. She’ll be asleep for a few hours yet.”
Michael walked over. “I told you not to say anything.” He folded his arms, glaring at her.
“My loyalty is to The Skulls. You want to get me fired, go ahead. I never really liked working here anyway,” Sandy said, glaring behind her at Michael. Killer had a lot of respect for the woman before him.
“You’re not seeing her. I don’t care what you meant to each other. I don’t want you near my woman.”
Moving Sandy out of the way Killer glared at his competition. “You really think you can keep me away?”
“I’m her next of f**king kin. Kelsey is my responsibility. Not yours.”
Taking a step closer, Killer felt all of his rage build up. He’d love to take a swipe at the man in front of him. “You want to take this outside, then let’s f**king take it.” Killer would deal with the bastard like he’d dealt with all of his other enemies in the past.
Michael smirked. “You bikers, you’re all the same. You have no respect for the law. I don’t see what she does.”
“Kelsey never spoke of you,” Tate said. “You think you can keep us away you’ve got another think coming.”