Revive (Storm MC #3) (27 page)

Scott was deep in thought, and slowly nodded as he took in what I’d said.  “I hear you, man.  I fucking hear you.”

***

A
few hours later, I parked my bike and waited for Velvet to come out of her exam.  She’d told me she would catch a lift with a friend, but I’d had the urge to see her, so here I was.  While I waited, I reflected on the last two weeks.  The day at the cemetery had been life changing for me.  Opening up to her had changed everything; it had scattered the demons in my soul far and wide.  Some still lingered, and I knew it would take time to clear them out completely, but I could breathe again.  The weight of regret and guilt had lifted, and the pain had dulled a little.  It would never go away, not fully, but it was becoming bearable.  Having Velvet in my life helped.  I wasn’t a talker, but having her to go home to, to laugh with, just to be with, helped get me through.  And she gave me hope.  For the first time since Aaron’s death, I wanted to make plans; plans for my life, plans that included someone else.

I heard her laughter, and looked up to find her walking towards me with a huge smile on her face.  She threw herself into my arms.  “What are you doing here, baby?”

Fuck, I liked it when she called me baby.  I wrapped my arms around her, letting my hand glide down her back and onto her ass.  “Thought I’d pick you up, take you back to my place and fuck you,” I growled, both of my hands on her ass now.

“You say the sweetest things,” she purred.

“I told you I’m all about the sweet talk, darlin’.”

Her eyes glazed over, and a smile slowly made its way onto her face.  “Yeah, you did, and I’ve learnt that when Nash Walker says something, he means it.”

“I do.  And on that note, you need to get your sweet ass on the back of my bike so I can make good on my promise.”

She didn’t waste any time.  Yeah, Velvet was addicted to me as much as I was to her.

This Means War ~ Nickelback

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V
elvet

Dark glasses covered my eyes as I walked into Roxie’s salon early the next morning.  She took one look at me and burst out laughing.  “That man of yours wearing you out, hon?”

I took my glasses off and slumped in a chair.  “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Madison started laughing.  “I knew it would take a strong woman to crack Nash, but I’d never factored in that it would take someone with a lot of stamina to keep up with him.”

“You need to make me coffee, woman,” I begged Roxie.

“Make your own damn coffee,” she said with a shake of her head.  “I’m thinking you actually might need some Redbull or something like that.”  Then, looking at Madison, she suggested, “I think you should tell Nash to get his shit together and stock his fridge with energy drinks for his woman.”

I dragged myself out of the chair.  “Fine, I’ll make my own coffee,” I grumbled as I trudged to the back room.  “Don’t come running to me when you’re down and out though, babe.  I’ll remember you letting me down in my hour of need.”

They both laughed, and I had to smile.  As tired as I was, I was more than happy to be worn out from Nash loving.  I thought about him while I made coffee, and by the time I got back to my chair, I was grinning.

Madison narrowed her eyes at me.  “You perked up.  What gives?”

“I was just thinking about how happy I am with Nash.  I never in a million years would have picked that I’d end up with him, but I’m glad I did.”

Madison smiled at me, warmly.  “I’m glad you did too.  There’s something special about Nash, and I love that you are helping him deal with his pain.  He seems so much happier these days.”

“Yeah, he is,” I agreed.

Roxie cut in.  “What are we doing with your hair today, Velvet?  You want a colour or just a cut?”

“A colour and cut, but just trim the ends.  Nash would hate it if I cut any of the length.”

Roxie rolled her eyes.  “Ummm, where’s the real Velvet?  She doesn’t let any man tell her what to do.”

I laughed.  “He hasn’t told me not to cut it, and trust me, I’d never listen if he did.  But, let’s just say my man likes to pull my hair, and I kinda like it, so there’s no way in hell I’m cutting it.”

“Of course he does.  My bad,” she muttered, and went out the back to get the colour ready for my hair.

“I’m so happy for you and Nash.  You both deserve happiness,” Madison said.

“Thanks, babe.”  I sighed, and added, “God knows, Nash really does after everything he’s been through.”

She nodded.  “Yeah, my heart breaks for what he’s gone through.  I can’t even begin to imagine losing a child.”

My pain surfaced.  I could imagine, but not fully.  It had been devastating enough to lose babies before they were born; the thought of losing a child that had lived and breathed, caused actual physical pain. 

I didn’t want to have this conversation so I sat in silence.  Madison must have felt it too because she didn’t say anything further.  When Harlow stepped through the door of the salon, I was happy for the distraction.

Standing to greet her, I said, “Thank God, you brought cake with you.”

She put the cake down on the counter, and gave us both a hug.  “I brought you half and half, Velvet.  We’ve got celebrating to do.”

I frowned.  “What are we celebrating?”

“You passing your exams,” she said as if I’d asked the dumbest question on the planet.

I grinned at her.  “I love you.  Yes, let’s celebrate that because I’m pretty sure I did.  And when I find out for certain next week, we can celebrate again.”

“Yes!” Harlow exclaimed.  “I like the way you think, honey.”

“What kind of cake did you bring?”

“Hummingbird and caramel mud.”

“Oh my God, woman, you’re gonna kill me.  I love those.”

She smiled, and said, simply, “I know.”

Roxie came out with the hair dye ready to go.  She greeted Harlow, “I just heard the words caramel mud.  Your hair cut is on me today because I fucking love caramel mud.”

Madison laughed.  “I think you should be thanking me, Roxie.  I mean, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t know these two.  Which means you wouldn’t be getting cake and you wouldn’t have a beautician starting here soon.”

Roxie’s trademark sarcasm was in full force today.  “You want a medal, babe?  I’m sure I could round one up for you.”

Madison poked her tongue at Roxie and we all burst out laughing. 

These women made my life so much better just by being in it.  I’d never been big on friends; I’d resisted opening myself up to women as much as I had to men.  But sometimes in life, people managed to work their way into your heart.  It happened slowly, until one day you realised how big a part they played in your happiness, and just how lost you’d be if they weren’t there.

***

N
ash

Church. 

I had a sense of foreboding about today, and it unsettled me.

Taking my seat at the table, I looked around to gauge the mood of the room.  Marcus was emanating control.  Fuck, he looked like he was ready to take on the world.  And like he knew he would fucking win if he did.

Smug bastard.

This wasn’t going to be good.

Scott sat next to Marcus, a fierce look on his face, his body tense. 

And, Griff, our Sergeant-at-Arms, was on Marcus’s other side.  He too, looked ready to go to battle.

The room filled quickly, and Marcus called the meeting to order.  He ran through the usual business, fairly routine stuff.  I sat back and watched it unfold, wondering when his agenda for today would be realised, because he sure as fuck had one.  There was a nervous energy in the room; watchful eyes everywhere were taking it all in. 

Everyone knew that something was going down today.

Fuck.

When it finally happened, I sat in stunned silence, not believing my eyes or my ears. 

Marcus asked if anyone had business to bring to the table.  I looked around to see who it would be; I figured Marcus had someone primed for this. 

I wasn’t the only one looking around the table.  Anticipation pervaded the room.  The tension our club had been under the past couple of months had stretched us and placed us in a precarious position.  Like a house of cards, all it would take would be one knock, and everything we’d worked hard to achieve would be threatened.

Griff stood. 

I watched him, waiting to see what he had to say.  I had no idea what he was doing; this hadn’t been discussed  at any of our meetings.  He pushed his shoulders back and adopted an aggressive stance.  His jaw was set and there was a determined look on his face.  When he spoke, his voice was hard and cold.  “I call an officer challenge for the Vice Presidency.  Scott has lost confidence in the President, and I don’t believe he can or will do his job properly.”

What the fuck?

I sat up straight in my chair, my shoulders tensing.  What the hell was Griff doing?

I flicked my gaze to Scott.  His face registered shock, but he said nothing.  Anger and disbelief seeped out of him. 

I sucked in a breath at the magnitude of this challenge.

Griff.

I’d never seen it coming.  And Scott obviously hadn’t either.  I looked at J; he was as stunned and angry as I was. 

Griff had fucking played us for fools.

He’d double crossed all of us.

And, Marcus sat there with a satisfied smile on his face that made me want to hurt every last motherfucker who was with him on this.  I wanted blood.  I fucking wanted Marcus to bleed for everything he’d ever done to his family, and to his club.

And, I knew that one day we would have his blood for this.  Scott, J, and I would fucking make sure of it.

What happened next was a blur to me.  One of the other members seconded the motion, and Marcus called a vote for next week’s Church.

Scott pushed his chair back and stood.  Fury rolled off him.  His eyes bore into Griff, and he spat out, “I want a vote on this today; I don’t want to wait another fucking week for it.”

“Griff?” Marcus asked.

Griff nodded his approval, and the vote began.  It was happening so fast; it felt like we were on a freight train hurtling towards destruction. 

Marcus voted yay, and got the voting started.  I watched in horror as nearly every member voted with Marcus. 

Scott was out. 

Griff was in.

The gavel came down, and the decision was reached.

Loyalties had been discarded. 

Trust had been broken. 

Family had been screwed over.

And I knew Storm would never be the same.

My Sacrifice ~ Creed

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N
ash ~ 3 months later

I took the three steps up to the door with hesitation.  And, I hesitated again before knocking.  Coming here today was essential, but I still felt trepidation.

Gabriella opened the door.  She didn’t smile, but her face revealed her relief at seeing me.  “Nash.”  She didn’t say anything else, and I knew it was up to me to find the closure I was searching for.

“I’ve come to tell you I’m moving on.  The shit that happened will always stay with me, but I can’t hold on to my anger about it any longer.”  The words wrestled their way out of me.  They had to be said, and I had to follow through, but I still struggled to even look at her.  I wondered how the hell I would ever manage to let my anger go.  And then, I remembered Velvet, and my anxiety settled to a manageable level.

“Thank you for coming,” she said.

“I didn’t come for you; I came for me, Gabriella.  I’ve finally realised I had no control over what you did that day.  All these years, I’ve held onto you, and let you project your feelings onto me.  I’m done.  And I’m finally letting you go.  I’ll deal with my shit, and you deal with yours.  Don’t text me or ring me anymore.”

Surprise, and then anger crossed her face.  “You came here to say that to me?  We need to talk about Aaron; about what happened.”

I shook my head.  “There’s nothing more for us to say to each other.  And what I actually came to say to you was goodbye.”

“No!  You don’t get to decide that,” she ranted, her anger taking over.

“I do get to decide that.  And I have decided that.”  I paused, before saying, “Goodbye, Gabriella.”

Without giving her a chance to say anything else, I turned and made the short walk back to Velvet’s car.  She was watching me through the window, a concerned look on her face.  “You okay?” she asked as soon as I was back in the car.

I gave her a tight smile.  “Let’s just say, I’m getting there.  This shit is never gonna be easy though.”  I blew out a long breath. “You need to drive before she comes down here,” I said.  I knew Gabriella, and I knew her temper.  It was as quick to flare up as mine, and she would come down to give me a piece of her mind; I was sure of it.

Velvet nodded, and did as I’d said.  We drove in silence for awhile.  I stared out the window, my mind drifting.  The last couple of months had been fucking hard.  Between dealing with my shit, and then club shit, I was exhausted.  Mentally at least.  And yet, there was light in amongst all that.

I turned to Velvet.  “Thanks for coming today.”

She glanced at me quickly before looking back to the road.  “I wouldn’t be anywhere else, baby.”

She was my light; the sweet in my life.

I reached out to brush my hand over her cheek.  “I love you, sweet thing.”

It was the first time I’d told her, and I didn’t know how she would handle it.  I shouldn’t have been concerned.

Turning again, she smiled at me. 

And then she gave me everything when she said, “I love you too, Nash.”

T
hank you for reading Revive.  I hope you enjoyed Nash & Velvet.  While I was writing this book I was a little concerned that Nash wouldn’t live up to your expectations - that he wouldn’t quite be who you thought he was.  Nash has always been the fun, flirty, sexy biker in the Storm men.  I always knew what his backstory was, but when I got into writing it, he was even more broken than I thought.  And angry.  The way he fought his feelings for Velvet really brought out the asshole in him, and that’s when I started to get concerned.  However, he is who he is, and I stayed true to that.