41

 

 

Nitro

 

 

“State Of My Head” by Shinedown

 

“Send her home.”

Joseph narrowed his eyes at me. “And then?”

“And then I will do what you want.”

He watched me closely for a few moments. “You will give up Storm.”

I winced as I shifted my weight onto one foot. My leg screamed with pain and I needed to take most of the load off it, but it only brought more pain to the other one. Joseph’s beatings over the last two days had been severe. Worse than any I’d ever received. I could barely see him through swollen eyes, and bruises covered every inch of me.

My chest squeezed at the thought of what Joseph had done to Tatum earlier. He’d beaten her so badly that at one point I thought he would go too far and kill her. It surprised me that he’d left me alone with her when he was finished. In hindsight, though, I realised he used it as another way to break me.

If watching her go down hadn’t been enough, sitting with her had shattered me. Holding Tatum in my arms and knowing that everything I saw and heard was because she’d chosen to be with me had torn a chunk out of my heart. I’d realised just how much she meant to me and that I would do anything to keep her safe. Agreeing to return to Joseph had been a small price to pay in return for her life.

“I will give up Storm,” I agreed.

“Very well,” he said and took the few steps to the door of the room where he kept me locked up.

“Joseph,” I called after him. When he faced me, I said, “If you ever lay your hand on her again or hurt her in any way emotionally or physically, I will leave you and I will never come back. I will fight you to my death if I have to, but I won’t allow Tatum to be hurt again.”

He smiled that evil fucking smile of his that I wanted to wipe off his face. “It seems we have found your reason, Rhys.”

“My reason?”

“Your reason to stay with me. I won’t touch her unless you leave, and you won’t leave unless I touch her.”

I allowed him to believe that because it guaranteed Tatum’s safety. “Come and get me once she’s gone. We have shit to discuss.”

He raised a brow. “Now this is more like the soldier I raised, son.”

“Don’t fucking call me that.”

“And there’s the man you’ve become. We just need to find a way to merge the two sides of you.”

He slipped out the door, and I doubled over in agony. Clutching my stomach, I pushed out a few sharp breaths. My entire body was alive with this pain. I was aware, though, that it wasn’t just physical pain. My soul was bleeding. It was oozing the blackest shit it had ever known. Joseph would not get away with any of this. I would die to ensure it.

 

* * *

 

Joseph returned sooner than I thought he would. “William has taken her home,” he announced as he entered the room.

“Was she in a state fit enough to call someone for help?” She needed a doctor to check her out.

“Yes.”

Thank fuck.

“Right, so you need to bring me up to speed on your business.” And get me out of this fucking room. It was bare except for one chair. I’d spent my time in there pacing and plotting revenge. The few hours of sleep I’d managed had been on the cold cement floor, which had been agonising as hell.

He closed the distance between us in two determined strides, his face clouding over with annoyance. “You don’t tell me what to do. That’s the first thing you must relearn.”

I stared into his dark eyes. “So tell me then, how is this going to go down? Because I thought you wanted me back to run your new Sydney operations.”

“You’re testing my patience, son.”

I clenched my jaw. He called me that to push me and I refused to show him what it did to me. I needed to lock my emotions down again.

When I didn’t say anything, he spoke again. “We’ve got a meeting with a new client tonight. Eric Bones. I want you there with William and me so you can begin building a relationship with him.”

I already knew Eric Bones. He was a Storm ally and if I was in that meeting, news would travel fast.

“Joseph, I have to leave the club first. If they hear word of this before I tell King, there will be hell to pay.”

“You think I give a fuck about a motorcycle club, Rhys? I could crush them in the blink of an eye.”

“No, you couldn’t.” He had no fucking idea.

He grabbed my shirt and yanked me to him so our faces were close. “You forget what resources I have. With the knowledge you have of Storm’s business and King’s way of thinking, we can bring that club down together.” He let go and shoved me backwards. “We start work on that tonight.”

I stared at him while he walked to the door. My next question was one I didn’t want to know the answer to. “What do you have planned?”

He looked back at me, his eyes glinting with menace. “Eric Bones is desperate for cash. I’ve agreed to sell guns to him cheaply in exchange for his loyalty. He’s also going to flood the market with cheap coke from me, undercutting the club. And you’re going to help by giving him details of Storm’s trade so he can use that information against them. Tonight.”

He exited the room without another word, and I stood in shock at what he wanted me to do. Joseph was a smart motherfucker. Forcing me to disregard my club loyalty achieved two things for him. One, it showed I was serious about returning to him. And two, it ensured my ties to Storm were cut. Because no way would the club take me back if I betrayed them like this.

 

* * *

 

Eric Bones inspected me. Every bruise and cut on my face were noted, as was the way I grimaced each time I moved. Finally, he met my eyes. “You’ve left Storm?”

Joseph and William sat either side of me, their bodies rigid while they waited for my answer. William had spent the drive to the meeting point trying to drill his special brand of fear into me. I’d anticipated that, though, so I had done my best to prepare my mind for it. And I’d succeeded. So far.

“Yes.”

His eyes widened and he whistled. “Fuck. Never thought I’d see the day, Nitro.” Jerking his chin at my face, he said, “They do that to you?”