Her breathing slowed a fraction and she remained silent for a beat. She lowered her voice when she finally answered my question. “You’ve saved my life twice now. Both times you didn’t have to. I don’t know why I chose to stay with you, but if someone helps me when they get nothing out of it, it means something to me.”

Not the answer I expected.

Not by a long shot.

I stood and reached for her phone. After I sent myself a text so I had her number, I said, “I’ll text you when I’m ready. You can come with me to find them. It’ll give you a break from the noise here. Turning to leave, I paused and added, “I did get something out of it, Vegas. I kept Billy on side.”

Her voice filtered through the crowd as I walked away. “Not the first time.”

 

 

14

 

 

Tatum

 

 

“Voodoo Child” by Rogue Traders

 

The silence in Nitro’s ute was bliss. After a morning of being cooped up in the clubhouse with rowdy bikers and their family members, I craved the peace and quiet. Nitro had taken forty minutes or so to text after he left me in the bar, and I hadn’t hesitated to meet him out the front when the message came through.

“You waiting on a call?” he asked after about fifteen minutes of us keeping to ourselves.

I looked up from my phone that I held in my hands. “Yeah, from my cousin. One of my girls is staying with her at the moment and I just want to make sure she’s doing okay. Her boyfriend is an ass and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s gotten in her head and convinced her to go home.”

“Does she usually take this long to return your calls?”

“No.” And that had me worried.

He nodded but didn’t say anything further. We drove the rest of the way to his house in silence, but instead of my mind being focused on Monroe for that time, my thoughts were completely fixated on Nitro. I wondered what had happened to him in life that made him so closed off? I’d met a lot of men who didn’t do much talking, but none quite as detached as Nitro. As much as I didn’t want it to be the case, the man fascinated me. Because while he appeared to be a moody asshole, I’d become convinced there was a lot more to him under all that. It was probably buried deeper than most people would be willing to search, but I wasn’t most people.

He pulled his ute into the driveway of his house and jumped out. I followed him inside as fast as I could in an effort to escape the rain. Nitro’s home was as cold as he was and I shivered as I entered it. Following him down the hallway, it struck me again how bare his home was. Each room had the absolute necessities in it; actually, some rooms didn’t even have that. Two out of the three bedrooms were completely empty of furniture, the lounge room had only a couch and a television, and besides those rooms, there was only a kitchen, dining room, bathroom and laundry.

“How long have you lived here?” The words were out before I could stop them.

Nitro didn’t slow down to answer me, he simply called over his shoulder, “Fifteen years.”

“Fifteen years?”

He finished searching the bedrooms and turned to face me. Frowning, he replied, “Yes, fifteen years.”

“Why don’t you have any furniture if you’ve lived here that long?”

Staring at me like I’d asked the world’s most redundant question, he said, “I gave it to my sister when she and Renee moved out.”

“They’ve just moved out?”

“No, they got their own place a few years ago.” He continued his search of the house while I followed blindly behind him, unable to let go of my need to understand him.

“And you still haven’t replaced the furniture?”

He stopped abruptly and gave me his attention again. “Why the twenty questions, Vegas?”

I held his gaze. “I’m trying to figure out why you don’t have any furniture.”

“No, you’re trying to figure out me. You’re a lawyer, it’s what you do. But I’m telling you now, there’s nothing to figure out. I’m a man who has no interest in furniture or decorating or any of that bullshit, so quit with all the questions.”

I stepped closer, leaving very little space between us. “I don’t believe that, Nitro.”

“Believe what?”

“That there’s nothing to figure out. I think there’s a lot you keep hidden.”

His nostrils flared and when he spoke again, his voice held a dangerous tone. “Last night you wanted nothing to do with me. I’m not sure what the fuck happened between then and now, but let’s go back to the way we were.”

My lips spread out in a grim smile. “That’s the thing about life… We can’t often go back to the way things were.”

“Yeah, well, we can, and we will.” His words fell out in a harsh directive before he pushed past me and stalked to the front door. When he reached it, he called out, “Wait here while I go check for Dustin at Marilyn’s house. Lock the door after I leave.” With that, he left, the front door banging after him.

I strode to the door and locked it.

God, he could be a prick. A moody, stubborn prick who I would avoid if I knew what was good for me.

It seemed I never quite learnt my lessons very well in life.

 

* * *

 

He’d been gone for about ten minutes when two men snuck into his front yard, balaclavas in place, and guns in their hands. I’d been keeping watch from the front window of his lounge room when they appeared.

They were almost to his front door when one of their phones rang. The guy with the phone paused to answer it while the other one waited behind him. A short conversation ensued before the guy with the phone slipped it back into his pocket and said something to his mate. They then continued their trek towards the front door.

My fingers curled around the gun I’d found stashed in Nitro’s cupboard when I searched it just after he left me alone. I hadn’t been able to resist snooping, but had been disappointed when all I’d found was the gun. As well as owning very little furniture, he didn’t keep many personal belongings.

I watched as Nitro entered the yard, picked up his pace and advanced on the two guys fast. A few moments later, he punched the guy at the back in the head, causing him to stumble forward. With the element of surprise, he managed to wrap his arm around his neck and knock the gun out of his hand.