“Where is everyone?” he asked.
Hardy glared at him, clearing his throat. Rose left immediately and the sweet-butts.
“What the hell’s going on?” Nash ran fingers through his long hair, shocked by how much it had grown.
“They’re out working. Lash covered for your ass again,” Hardy said, standing up.
The respect Nash had for Hardy was high. He hated the look of disgust in the other man’s eyes. Nash was shocked by the looks his brother and now Hardy were giving him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No? I know a drug addict when I see one. I don’t like you being at the clubhouse, but Tiny’s got too many problems with Eva and the club to see your problems. We all see it, and the guys don’t like it. We’ve got women and children who visit here, regularly. Drugs are not part of the deal with us.” Hardy folded his hands over his chest, stepping close. “I’m giving you a chance to get clean, or I’m making Tiny aware of the fact.” He turned to look in the direction where Rose walked off. “My woman means the world to me. You put her in danger, and I’ll end you.”
With those parting words, Hardy left. Standing in the empty clubhouse, Nash zeroed in on Mikey’s picture. The older biker had been killed four months ago by one of their enemies. It had been that long since the old man had died, but it felt like he’d been gone far longer. Nash missed him. Mikey was the one guy who knew how to handle everything. Tiny was the leader, the guy in charge, but Mikey had been the voice of reason. Nash had been taking drugs for over two months. The fact he hadn’t been caught shocked him. Tiny really must be distracted with the rebuild of the club, Tate’s wedding, and everything else to do with their lives. Nash’s luck would run out sooner rather than later. He knew it down to his soul.
Staring at the picture Nash realized he’d been controlled by the drugs longer than he thought. Staring down at his hands, he vowed to get sober from it all. No drinking, no drugs, and no rough partying.
His hands started to shake, and the scent of booze lingered in the air. Drink was never really a problem. He could handle one drink.
****
Sophia Wright stared at the box in front of her. Ever since her landlord had been calling for her rent she’d had no choice but to get another job in the boxing factory. Between her waitressing job and the factory job she was earning enough to make ends meet. Providing nothing happened in her life like illness or, heck, actually having a life, she’d be fine. When she learned that Edward Myers, or Nash as he was known as to most people, had been paying for her place and that he’d stopped paying suddenly, she’d been shocked. She hadn’t realized he was paying for her place, and then she’d been hurt. He’d moved her into a place that she couldn’t afford, but she loved.
Shaking her head, she got back to business of making up the box in front of her. If she didn’t make up her quota her boss was going to be on her ass for more. She hated her boss. He was a fucking asshole.
Without this job I can’t live.
She kept saying the same thing over and over again. With everything that happened in her life in the last few months she’d dropped out of college. Her heart wasn’t in the studying at all. After she’d quit college, she tossed all of her books in the trash. There was no need for her to try to improve her life. Fort Wills wasn’t raving on the job front. The town was controlled by bikers, and that alone made finding work hard. For her it was difficult as Kate, her sister, had portrayed an image that many others believed Sophia to share.
Plenty of women she’d grown up with wanted to be an old lady or a sweet-butt. She didn’t want any of it. When Kate, her deceased sister, brought a Skull home, Sophia had been shocked. Edward, or Nash as he was better known, was nothing like the bikers she’d imagined in her mind. He’d been sweet, thoughtful, and the complete opposite of the biker image he portrayed. Whenever they’d been together, he’d been so nice, not once commenting on her plus size figure. In fact, she’d started to wonder what he ever saw in her sister.
“Get your head out of your ass, Sophia. Those boxes won’t make themselves,” her boss, Willy, said.
Ignoring his comments, she sped up her work.
Need the job. Need the job. Need the job.
It didn’t matter how many times she said the words, what she did was boring.
Her boss got right in close behind her. She didn’t make a sound and kept working as if he wasn’t there. “You need to keep that speed at all times if you want to keep this job.”
He threatened the end of her job every day. At first she’d been afraid in case he did take away her work, which was why she put up with his crap. She’d called him out on sexual harassment, and he’d thrown Kate in her face. Who would believe her when everyone knew how Kate was? She didn’t know why some people judged her on Kate’s actions, but it was a small town, and she knew what that meant. Her life had really gone to shit since her sister’s death and her kicking Nash out of her life.