by Hart, Lane
It’s the most exhausting thing I’ve ever experienced. When I really think about it, I’m pretty sure that the anxiety of general population or the silence and sensory deprivation of solitary are just two different lanes on a highway leading to insanity. I don’t know how long the trip will be to get there, but all I can do is pray an exit comes along before I arrive.
Lucy
* * *
I’m pacing back and forth on the sidewalk in front of the pool hall bright and early, waiting over an hour for Malcolm when he rolls up on his bike around ten-thirty. The only reason I didn’t show up at his house to harass him was because I didn’t want to wake up the baby or piss off his woman.
“What’s taking so long?” I yell at him as soon as he kills the engine.
“It’s only been two weeks since the chef went missing. These things take time,” he grumbles as he climbs off and removes his helmet. “Jay isn’t too happy with us right now either, thinking we had something to do with it.”
“We did!” I say, causing him to glare at me, looking left, right and behind him to make sure no one overheard. The street is clear. I’m not that stupid.
“Get inside and don’t say another word!” Malcolm snaps at me.
Once we’re inside the air-conditioned building, I can breathe a little easier but not much.
“Have you heard from Silas yet?” I ask softly as he goes around turning on the lights.
“No. I haven’t,” he huffs. “Not since that day in the chapel when we gave him her address.”
“Do you think he…”
Before I can finish the sentence, Malcolm cuts me off. “He wouldn’t have killed her, not without my okay.”
“Well, dead or alive, the DA still hasn’t dismissed the case. What if they have more evidence now?”
“If they had more evidence, they would’ve had to turn it over to Jay. And as of his email last night, since he’s insisting all our communication be documented to protect his license, he hasn’t received anything new.”
“Ugh!” I groan as I slump down on a stool and rest my head in my hands. “Every night they show her face on the news.”
“I know,” Malcolm mutters with a sigh.
“It sucks.”
“Yeah, it does. Naomi keeps going by her restaurant and getting takeout because she wants to do something for the ‘poor woman and her employees who are missing her.’”
“You haven’t told her…”
“Fuck no, I haven’t told Naomi. We have a kid together, and I’m trying to get her to marry me. This is the last thing I need her to find out – that I’m responsible for the kidnapping and who knows what of an innocent woman.”
“I thought you said you didn’t think Silas would hurt her.”
“Hell, I’m not sure of anything anymore! The fact that the bastard won’t answer my calls isn’t exactly giving me warm fuzzies.”
“Well, it sucks, but what’s done is done. Hopefully, Cora is okay with Silas and the fact that she’s MIA means Nash will be a free man soon.”
“Hopefully,” Malcolm agrees.
Chapter Thirty
Nash
* * *
For the first time in…weeks, months, I don’t fucking know, the heavy steel door to my solitary cell opens and in it stands one of the guards looking bored.
“Let’s go, Kincaid.”
“Go where?” As I sit up on the lightly padded bench, I have to swallow deep and clear my throat because it’s so dry from not speaking to anyone in forever. “Has it already been thirty days?”
I lost track of time within a few hours of being in the grey cell with no clock and sleeping as much as possible. The trays of food that appeared through the slit in the door usually would tell me when it was morning, but then I would sometimes sleep through lunch, wake up for dinner thinking it was lunch, and then be awake for hours only to be provided breakfast again. Shit gets crazy when you’re alone in the silence with just your thoughts.
“Up, now!” the guard shouts at me when I take my time getting to my feet.
When I finally do manage to straighten up, my legs are weak, and my back is stiff from sleeping on a brick for nearly twenty-four hours a day.
I miss my bed.
And Lucy.
I really fucking miss Lucy.
I would give anything to hear her peppy voice again, telling me to get my ass up.
That’s the one downside to solitary – no visitors, not even her.
Several weeks ago, I met with my attorney. He looked pissed, his face red with anger as he informed me that the state’s witness had gone missing, but not to get my hopes up because the police would find her and then she would testify in trial soon since he had also requested a speedy trial right before she disappeared. Joey also hinted that he would fire me as his client if they found evidence the club had anything to do with her going MIA.
I have no doubt that the MC is responsible for the chef, which is so fucking wrong. Guess they figured out her name and tracked her down, doing no telling what to her to try and help me. Those crazy bastards are going to land themselves a spot right here with me in jail.
Even with the girl gone, I figured the DA would just put my trial off until they have more evidence to convict me. There had to be some trace of my DNA or something…
“Hold on. Is today my trial?” I ask the guard as I stumble over toward him.
“No. Apparently, it’s your lucky day. You’re getting released.”
“Released?” I repeat, the words not making any sense. “How the hell is that possible?”
“Do I look like the fucking clerk of court?” the guard snaps. “Get moving. I’ve got other shit to do than show you the door.”
I keep my mouth closed as my mind races, trying to figure out what has happened. Did Malcolm and the guys kill the witness? If so, that would be incredibly stupid, because it would definitely blow back on them. She didn’t deserve to die. And they don’t deserve life sentences, especially Malcolm with his new kid.
Everything happens in a blur from that moment on. I get my clothes and personal belongings back, I’m given some release papers that do, in fact, say that my case has been dismissed without prejudice, which apparently means it can be reopened again – probably if or when they find the witness dead or alive. Still, I’m thrilled to get to see daylight again for the first time in…however long it’s been.
I push through the final door of the county jail, and then the sunlight is blinding me. My eyes can’t adjust to all the natural light of what I’m assuming is morning. The air is clean and crisper than when I went in, making me assume we’re coming up on fall.
“There he is!” a woman exclaims. Her voice sounds just like Lucy. I blink my eyes at the figures standing around together in the parking lot, trying to identify faces.
I recognize the line of colorful motorcycles first, so I know that the Aces are here. Why the fuck would Lucy be, though? By now she must have done her hacker magic and found out about all the charges and the type of man she slept with. What woman would want to be with me after that? Ellie left me for significantly less.
I’m still staring at Lucy, trying to decipher the annoyed, pissed off but conflicted look on her face when Malcolm steps into my line of sight and gives me a back-slapping man hug. “Good to finally see you again, man.”
“What did you do?” I whisper to him while eying the other guys. Devlin, Wirth and Fiasco are grinning behind him. “Where’s Silas? And what’s Lucy doing here?”
“Silas is…handling some club business. And that girl has been worried to death about you, which means she’s been bugging the piss out of me. You have her to thank for your freedom.”
“How’s that?” I ask in confusion.
“Now isn’t the place. You’ll need to talk to her about that after we leave here. Just don’t do anything stupid like try and push her away because you expected her to bail.”
“Of course I expected her to bail! Any sane person would
have!”
“Guess none of us are sane,” Malcolm replies with a gruff chuckle before he steps aside so the rest of the guys can congratulate me on my release. Underneath their relief, I can tell they’re all a little on edge, even Malcolm.
What the fuck has Silas done now?
“We’ll head back to the pool hall and see you two there,” Malcolm says before he and the other boys mount their bikes, leaving me alone with an unusually quiet Lucy and her purple Prius so that I have no choice but to finally talk to her.
“Hey,” she says with her hands shoved in the pockets of her jeans once the sound of the roaring engines die down as they head off.
“Hey,” I reply awkwardly. What do you say to the woman you’re in love with after you’re finally released from jail for murder charges?
“We tried to visit you,” Lucy tells me. “But your attorney said we couldn’t because you were in solitary.”
“Yeah, I was.”
“What the fuck did you do, Nash?” she snaps at me.
“I’m sure you already know all about what I did. You’ve probably seen the evidence photos and read police reports by now, right?”
“Huh?” she asks with her brow furrowed.
“You know all the grim details, I’m sure. What you couldn’t find online I bet Jetta filled in for you.”
“No, Nash! I’m not talking about the charges. I’m talking about what you did to get put in solitary! Did you try and…did you hurt yourself?”
“What? God, no!” I exclaim in denial. “I just wanted to get some peace and quiet away from everyone cramped together in the cell block. I begged the detectives to not put me in so that they would throw me in.”
“That’s it?” she asks, eyes narrowed suspiciously behind her glasses. I think I prefer them over the contacts. She looks more like my Lucy, the one I was falling for before the wedding.
“That’s it.”
“Oh, well, good.” Lucy’s chest rises and falls with her heavy exhale. “So, are you ready to go home or what?”
“Why aren’t you freaking out? How can you be so calm about everything with the murder charges?”
“Because I know you, Nash. You’re a good man, and you wouldn’t hurt anyone if they didn’t deserve it.”
“Does anyone deserve to die, though? I would do it again in a heartbeat, but that doesn’t make what I did right.”
“They had criminal records a mile long and could’ve hurt Jetta. When someone you care about is in danger, or even someone you love asks you to save the person they care about, you do what needs to be done to help them because you’re incredibly loyal.”
“Yeah, I am loyal to the MC and my brothers, which means they’ll always come before anything else, even consequences.”
“I already knew that about you,” Lucy says. “I just don’t think you understand how loyal I can be too. I’m not Ellie. There’s nothing you can do that could send me running.” Lowering her voice, she says, “I found the witness and gave them to your club to help you, knowing it could go bad. But I cared about what happened to you more. Does that make me a horrible person?”
“No, of course not!”
“Then you’re not a bad person either,” she says. Closing the distance between us, Lucy winds her arms around my neck and goes up on her toes to press her lips to mine. “And I really missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I admit to her. “More than you can imagine. Thinking about that last weekend with you, it’s what got me through the days and nights. I didn’t think I would ever get released, and I was certain I would never see you again.”
“Try and make me leave,” she says before I grip her waist and attack her mouth, needing to taste her. I want to spend the rest of my life soaking up each and every inch of her, and never let her go.
Epilogue
Nash
* * *
I nod to the captain of our cruise ship as I climb the stairs to the viewing deck. We’re not out for our normal gambling cruise tonight. It’s a private party this evening, as the Aces celebrate Devlin and Jetta’s engagement with our own signature style.
“I got you, baby,” I tell Lucy as I hand her one of the bottles of beer I retrieved from the bar below decks.
“Thanks!” She grins at me as she turns around and leans her back against the rail. “I love this boat. You guys have a great business going with these cruises.”
“Yeah, this was one of our better ideas,” I agree as I lean on the rail beside her. “Not as good as your idea of finding a new place together, though. I like our new townhouse; it’s a lot nicer than our old apartments.”
“You’re sure you’re okay with moving in together already?” she asks me.
“I’m more than okay with it,” I reassure her. “Thinking about the days we had together got me through my time in jail. I thought those memories would have to last me the rest of my life. Once I got out and realized that you and I might actually have a shot together…well, I’ll do anything to make that happen,” I tell her. “I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger and learned a lot of hard lessons about what it means to love someone. What you and I have is the real deal, Lucy, because we’re both in it for the right reasons.”
“We’re actually in it because we love each other,” Lucy whispers over the ocean breeze.
“Exactly,” I nod. “I don’t think I ever truly knew what it meant to love a woman until you barged into my life.” I can see a faint blush stain her cheeks in the moonlight as I lean down to give her a kiss.
When her lips part and our tongues meet, the flame that is always simmering between us threatens to erupt into another inferno that might have us stripping down right there on the deck. Fortunately, Lucy taps me oddly on the side of the head, causing me to pull back momentarily.
“What was that?” I laugh as I catch her hand.
“Malcolm just stomped up the stairs,” she giggles to me as she pulls slightly away.
I turn around and lean back on the rail as Malcolm approaches, giving us both a rare grin. “I saw you two sneaking off and just wanted to make sure everything was okay out here,” Malcolm says. “I thought maybe the small-fry here couldn’t hold her liquor and was out here ‘looking at the fish’ while you held her hair.”
“That’s honestly a fair assumption,” Lucy laughs. “I’m good at a lot of things, but drinking probably isn’t one of them. I’m not sick, though. I just came out to enjoy the view. I love the ocean at night. The stars, the moonlight on the waves, the wind…all of it.”
“I hear you,” Malcolm agrees, taking a swig from the whiskey glass he is holding as he stares out into the darkness.
“I haven’t had a chance to ask you today,” I say to get Malcolm’s attention. “Did Silas call you yet? Today makes what, six weeks since he disappeared?”
“Six fucking weeks,” Malcolm agrees with a heavy sigh. “And still not a peep out of him. Maybe he knows the case has been dismissed, and he’s having fun with his ‘new friend’, but I just don’t know.”
“You’re actually worried about him?” I try to clarify.
“Nah, this is Silas we’re talking about, not Fiasco,” Malcolm snorts. “He can handle himself as well as any of us. I guess I should say I’m not worried that he’s in trouble…I’m worried about what kind of ‘fun’ he’s having out on his own.”
“He’s an odd dude,” I agree. “I’d still trust him with my life. He’s always had our backs, no matter what. But some of the things he says, or the way he acts sometimes…”
“He’s kind of creepy,” Lucy chimes in.
“Amen to that,” Malcolm agrees as he raises his glass and drains the last of the whiskey.
“I could try and find them if you want me to,” she offers.
“Maybe. Let’s give him another week,” Malcolm tells her. “Best thing to do is just not think too much about Silas. He’s one of those guys that it’s best not to hear from sometimes. ‘No news is good news’ and all that, with him. Th
e important thing is that Nash’s case has been dismissed, you’re actually smiling for the first time in years, and we’ve got a party going on downstairs. Let’s get back to it before the guests of honor think we’ve abandoned them.”
“Cheers!” Lucy smiles as she finishes off her bottle of beer, then grabs my hand and drags me towards the stairs. “I love you, Nash, but I have to say, meeting Jetta has also been a highlight of the last few weeks!”
“When I met you, I never would have thought you’d fit in so well to this fucked-up family,” I tell her as I follow her below decks. I wrap an arm around her as we head back into the party and pull her close to me. “I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong about someone in my life.”
* * *
The End
Coming Soon from Lane Hart and D.B. West
Thank you so much for reading Nash!
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Silas’s book is up next!
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Order your copy now!
About The Authors
New York Times bestselling author Lane Hart and husband D.B. West were both born and raised in North Carolina. They still live in the south with their two daughters and enjoy spending the summers on the beach and watching football in the fall.
Connect with D.B.:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorDBWest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordbwest/
Website: http://www.dbwestbooks.com
Email: [email protected]
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