ZERO(The Skulls, 6)(31)

“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.”