He withdrew, and she missed his closeness the moment it was gone.
“You can go,” Zero said, looking past her to the younger man.
Seconds later they were alone. “I didn’t think I was awful company.”
She watched him take the flowers from her bed, place them beside her, and tug the blanket down her legs.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked.
“We’re getting out of this fucking room. I’ve been locked up for the last couple of days. I’m not visiting you confined to the bed.” He left the room and came back minutes later with a wheelchair.
“Do all of your women end up in the hospital at some time or another?” she asked, stepping off the bed. He wouldn’t let her take another step. Zero lifted her up as if she weighed nothing. She wished it was true. Prue had always loved her food, and if she stayed with Eva, her size fourteen, occasional sixteen, was not going to last.
“We’ve been unlucky, but all of our women have lived.”
“I suppose that’s good.”
He stepped behind her and started wheeling her out of the room. Letting out a sigh, she relaxed into her seat, closing her eyes. This was what she’d been craving ever since she got here. Steven wouldn’t let her leave the private bedroom even though the nurses advised it and believed it would do her good.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you. Tiny told me Alan visited again,” Zero said, pulling her out of her carefree spirit.
“Yeah, he dropped by to show how powerful he was.” She shivered from the fear clawing up her spine. What Alan wanted, Alan got. Nothing she or Zero did was going to stop him. “He waited ten years for this, and now he’s going to have all the fun he can.”
“My thoughts exactly. I’ve got one of the boys looking into him, seeing if he crops up anywhere.”
“He’s like a ghost. No one has seen him.”
“You’ve seen him. Do you think you could draw him or at least describe him to someone who can draw?” Zero asked.
“Oh, like one of those crime photos. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Stop kidding around.”
Prue sighed, rubbing her temples. “If I don’t kid around it makes being scared easier.”
Zero stopped near a bench. He put the brake on her wheelchair and sat down in front of her. His hands rested on her knees. She felt the heat of his touch travel up her body. The delightful warmth spread through her pussy making her wet.
Cut these thoughts off.
Staring into his eyes, she wondered how she was going to survive the next couple of weeks with her heart intact. Since Trevor’s death she’d only seen Zero a handful of days. Each day they stayed clear of one another. She cooked for him, clothed him, but they did nothing else. They were friends and treated each other as such.
“What’s going to happen when I get out of hospital?” she asked, changing the subject. Talking about Alan wasn’t going to make the other man disappear. He was the bogeyman that came out in the night. She hated horror stories and was currently living her own.
“You’ll come to live in the clubhouse. Tiny is organizing a lockdown. Alan’s threats are being taken seriously. We can’t risk anything going wrong. The clubhouse and the compound is the safest place to be.” Zero’s hands started moving up and down her thighs.
Didn’t he have a clue what his touch was doing to her? It was hard to concentrate when his touch took away the ability to think.
“All of us in one place, is that a good idea?”
“He can’t pick us off one by one. All of us together are safer than alone. Alex, one of the guys, is flying to Vegas to talk to Eva’s father. We band together like brothers, taking care of everyone and each other. You’ll be safe there, and so will I.” Zero gazed over her shoulder. “I put everyone in danger.”
Prue didn’t dispute him.
“I should have killed him back then.”
“Instead you tortured the man, and now he’s back intent on hurting everything you hold dear,” she said. “Sorry, maybe you should have just killed him, not maimed him.”
“I intended to kill him. I wanted to hurt him. I held Trevor as he died, and I wanted the bastard who killed him to know what true pain really felt like.” Zero glared at his hands where they held her legs. “I made every second hurt. He screamed and even begged me to stop, but I didn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to show that kind of mercy.”
Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Prue looked around the hospital grounds seeing the people coming and going. Their lives hadn’t changed. They were all carrying on with the mundane tasks life throws at them. None of them knew what it meant to truly suffer or to beg. Alan was out there, watching, waiting. No one was going to rush him into anything. He would take his time until he was ready.
“He’s waited ten years for this moment,” she said, holding onto Zero’s hands.
“I know.”
“Ten years of waiting. Ten years of letting his hatred fester. Whatever he’s going to do, it’s not going to be pretty, Zero. He’s going to make life hard and painful.” Tears filled her eyes thinking about the blonde he’d killed. Yes, the blonde had fucked Zero, but no one deserved to die.
“I know.” He gripped her hands, looking into her eyes. “I can’t let anything happen to you, Prue. You mean the world to me.”
She smiled. “I’m a lot stronger than I look.”
“Not many women would be so calm after being shot at.”
Prue shrugged. “What can I say? I’m perfect.”
He chuckled. The sound was hollow, and the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Leaning forward, she cupped his cheek.
“Hey, you made a mistake. It’s in the past. It’s all in the past, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” She dropped her gaze to his lips. Big mistake. She didn’t want to be thinking about his lips or wondering what they would feel like on her body. “You cannot change what happened. Neither of us can. Trevor is gone, and he wouldn’t blame you. He’d be pissed, but he wouldn’t let you hurt yourself for what happened.” Prue closed the distance, pressing her lips to his. The kiss was friendly, and she withdrew within seconds of their lips touching, trying to avoid the temptation to deepen the kiss. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re in this together like we’ve always been.”
She watched him rub the tears from his eyes. “Now I feel like a fucking pussy.”
Prue chuckled. “You’re not a pussy. You’re not even close. We’ll do this together. You’ve got the club, and you’ve got me.” She tightened her hand around him.
If she was given the chance, she’d never let go.
****
“So, let’s see,” Alan said, spreading out the pictures on the floor. Zero was back in the game, thank fuck. Hurting him was going to be fucking hard in prison. He couldn’t believe the bastard attacked a police officer and risked ruining his game. Alan would have no choice but to hurt the officer then for spoiling his fun. The Skulls had a lot more friends than they deserved.
Clicking his tongue he looked over the pictures as the three men who still served him played cards. He paid them plenty of money to remain loyal along with a couple of security guards in the hospital. It was amazing seeing what desperate men did when someone paid the right amount of money. “Angel, blonde haired bitch belongs to Lash.” Alan matched the two pictures together. The couple looked happy. “It’s a shame Lash has anything to do with Zero. It’s going to be fun watching them die.”
Next he aligned Eva with Tiny. They were going to be the hardest to kill. He didn’t want that bastard Ned Walker trying to hurt him before he was done. If he survived killing Zero, he’d finish them off for fun, maybe take out Ned while he was at it. This was fun, such a fun, delightful game to play.
He picked up Sophia’s picture. She was holding her daughter and standing next to Nash. “It’s a shame Zero felt himself in love with you, honey. Poor you. I wonder how your slut of a daughter is going to feel without a mom.”
One after the other he aligned up the picture of The Skulls with their women or left them bare. They all meant something to Zero, and that meant they all had to go.
Lockdown was going to happen. He had his sources, and it was fun being able to be overlooked. No one ever seemed to remember seeing a man with a hood sticking to the shadows. Alan couldn’t believe how easy and how much fun it was getting around Fort Wills. Then he had people who gossiped. All he needed to do was listen and he found everything he needed without any problems.
Without anyone looking for him, the town was his oyster. His obsession was Zero, that one man. The one man who nearly killed him ten years ago. The very same man who scarred up his face making him look like a fucking monster. The one man who Alan was going to hurt and then kill, slowly, making every bone shatter.
Zero was going to know what true suffering really felt like before he died.
Chapter Six
A couple days later
Zero climbed out of the car leaving Steven behind the wheel as he made his way into the hospital. In the last couple of days there hadn’t been a single sighting from Alan, and no one had turned up dead. Whizz was still checking shit out, and it was going to take some time. Locating a dead man was a lot harder than they realized. To the world, Alan was dead. No one knew where he had gone from that burning building ten years ago or where he was now. He didn’t even have a picture of the bastard to help Whizz in his search.
The club was on lockdown, the women and children forced to live within the compounds grounds. It was a tight fit, but with everyone chipping in, life was actually quite fun. Zero enjoyed waking up to the sound of all the family around him, screaming kids and all. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, of course. That was his little secret to take with him to his grave.
He went straight to Prue’s room. A doctor was talking to her about her medications. Leaning against the wall he watched her nod, tuck some hair behind her ear, and concentrate on everything the good doctor had to say.
When they were done, he passed the doctor going to her bedside. She wore a pair of jeans and a plain white shirt.
“Hey, you. I was worried you’d forget about me,” she said, smiling.
Her bags were all packed, and she was no longer hooked up to several machines. She had pulled her red hair back in a ponytail leaving some wisps of hair to fall around her face. The clothes were a little large on her, but it all worked. She looked revitalized and fresh.
“How could I forget you? You nag me enough.” He walked into the room, grabbing the bag from the bed. “Are you good to walk, or do you want me to grab a wheelchair?”
“Nah, I’m going to walk out of this hospital.” She linked her arm through his, and together they made their way toward the car. Nurses stared at him, but Zero only had eyes for the woman by his side. He was going to make sure she walked out of the hospital the way she wanted.
Alan wasn’t darkening their days here, and he wasn’t going to let the other man’s presence spoil this moment. He had Prue in his town and about to be inside his club. Zero knew once the men got to know her, they would fall for her. She was easy to like.
He kept her away all these years to protect her. Trevor always wanted her to finish school and have everything her heart desired.
“Oh, you brought the car to collect me?” she asked.
Steven was waiting with the door open. Blaine was in the passenger side, and Zero would be sitting beside her.
“This is such a bummer. I was hoping to have a ride on your bike.” She smiled at him, shrugging her shoulders.
“Come on, stop trying to push your luck. You’ll be riding a bike in no time. I know what you’re like.” Zero helped her inside the car, taking extra care to secure the seatbelt across her lap. He brushed across her breasts, and he pulled away before he was tempted to do something else.
Moving around to the other side, he climbed in, and Steven was driving away.
He grabbed her hand, locking their fingers together.
“Wow, you’re all so morbid. Come on, we’re all alive still. We’ll get there. I know we will,” Prue said.
The men slowly relaxed and were talking about football. Zero wasn’t ready to start talking to the others. He wanted Prue all to himself. When they got to the clubhouse he’d have to fight to get her to himself. Eva liked her, and so did Angel and Kelsey. Prue hadn’t met Tate yet.
Zero inwardly groaned thinking about the other woman. Tate was one of those women you either loved or hated. He was still on the fence of loving and hating her. She was Tiny’s daughter, but apart from that, there was nothing special about her.
He hoped Tate didn’t piss Prue off. She had grown up with him and Trevor, and not once did she learn how to keep her opinion to herself.
The drive went by quietly in the back with Blaine and Steve talking between themselves. The gate to the compound was being manned by Butch and Tiny, who opened the gate when they came into view.
“This is the security?” she asked.
“Yeah, everything is locked up. Alan will not be getting inside, and we also have plenty of security cameras in place.” The car came to a stop, and he climbed out, going around to Prue to help her out.
She looked tired, and he wanted to make sure she got plenty of rest.
“Welcome to the clubhouse,” Tiny said, pulling her in for a cuddle. She chuckled, wrapping her arms around the large man. Zero felt jealousy hit him square in the gut. What the hell was wrong with him? Tiny was taken and wouldn’t want Prue.
The jealousy didn’t stop as the men greeted her, either hugging her or kissing her hand. She was tugged into the main house where Eva took over, leading her around the group of women. Kids were running around, and babies were being held. The clubhouse was in total disarray. The sweet-butts were on their best behavior being forced to wear clothes that covered every inch of flesh. The men knew not to push their luck in trying to get them naked as well. Any kind of sex would be done behind closed doors, away from kids and family.
“So, you’re Prue,” Tate said, standing in front of his woman.
Zero fisted his hand at his side.
“And you are?” Prue asked.
“Tate, I’m Tiny’s daughter, and Murphy’s old lady.”