Page 12 of Treachery

Locust hadn’t even taken a breath before Frost spoke, his tone weary.

“Not once in my fifteen years as the president of this club have I felt as fucking shitty as I did when that woman walked into this club house, looking broken as fuck, and called me out for becoming what we fight against.”

Right before his eyes, Frost…crumpled. He fell into his creaky desk chair and dropped his head into his hands, and groaned, as though the crown he wore was too heavy.

“Shit,” Frost mumbled, scrubbing his hands over his face, and groaning. “If Em finds out about this….” He shook his head, a weariness Locust had never seen before weighing on his features. Locust wanted to ask what the fuck was going on with Prez and Emily lately, but he had more important things to deal with.

Like getting his woman back.

“I can’t just leave it like this, Frost,” Locust declared, making Frost drop his hands from his face and pin him with a glare. Locust lifted his chin, refusing to back down. This was too motherfucking important. “It might have started off as an assignment, my duty to the club, but that stopped being my priority the moment I met that woman. She knocked me right on my ass with one look, man. Yeah, I kept at it, looking through her shit, watching her when she wasn’t looking, having Red check into her, but I only did that to satisfy you—because I’m goddamn loyal to the Unchained.” Gritting his teeth, he let the anger, anguish, and fear flow through him, biting at his nerves and guts. “But Nadia….” He met Frost’s gaze and held, pleading with the other man to see into him, to know what he couldn’t say.

Frost cursed, throwing himself back in his desk chair.

“Do you remember where I found you; weak, broken, standing on the edge of that fucking building, ready to throw yourself over? You were ready for death, desperate to meet the Devil, and I pulled you back, showed you there was more, that that night wasn’t the end for you.”

Locust couldn’t forget that fucking night; he’d been at his lowest, high as a fucking kite, terrorized by memories of his best friend dead from an overdose Locust could have prevented. The guilt had eaten away at his reason, his heart and soul, and all that had been left was a husk he wanted to destroy.

But then a deep, gruff voice called out to him from the night around him….

“Yeah,” Locust rasped, his throat suddenly made of sand and gravel. “And I can’t thank you enough for saving me, brother, but?—”

“No buts, goddammit! We—you and I—made that woman a motherfucking victim of the Unchained MC. We will leave her alone, we will let her get on with her life, and we will never speak of this clusterfuck ever again.”

Locust growled, his hands fisting at his sides. He was ready to jump over the desk and pummel his prez in the goddamn face?—

“And you, asshole, owe me,” Frost snarled, his eyes glinting fire. “You will forget Nadia Thompson. That’s a motherfucking order, ya get me,brother?”

He got it, alright.

Without another word, he spun on his heel and banged out of the office. He needed a fucking drink…then he needed to think. Because fuck if he was going to let Nadia slip through his fingers. He just had to figure out how to fix what he broke with the woman he loved without breaking his oath to the Unchained—because forgetting Nadia would be like slamming his own head against the wall, then ripping out his own heart.

Forgetting Nadia? Leaving her alone?

Not a fucking goddamn chance.

SIX

Nadia grimacedat the look on her best friend’s face; it was a cross between constipated duck and belligerent moose.

Vicki Epply was one of the first people to befriend Nadia when she moved to Wilkes-Barre, and got a job at Emerald Greens in Abington Heights near Clarks Summit. Vicki was the head of housekeeping, and her job was demanding and sometimes thankless, but she was a badass boss lady who took the shit from the club members, did the job, and didn’t let it ruin her day. She was a ray of freaking sunshine most of the time, shy, a bit of an introvert, but she’d fuck shit up for people she loved, especially her twelve-year-old daughter, Sylvia, who—according to Vicki—was the only good thing that came out of having sex with her ex. Vicki engendered trust and devotion, because she was loyal and thoughtful to her friends and family.

And Nadia couldn’t thank the woman across from her enough for her friendship and support over the last three years.

“Say something,” Nadia squeaked, twisting her hands in her lap.

Vicki slowly shook her head, her eyes shimmering with unshed angry tears.

“You should have told me days ago!” Vicki demanded, slamming her hand down on the bistro table. They were having lunch at Clarks Street Grill, a small but popular, indoor/outdoor restaurant abutting the busy main street. Nadia had asked Vicki to meet her there, knowing she couldn’t keep avoiding her bestie, especially since hiding in her office at work or clumsily rushing into the coat closet when she saw Vicki coming was starting to rankle. She was frustrated with herself for being such a coward. Vicki wouldn’t hurt her, she’d be angry, but then she’d mount a posse to go hunt down Locust for a good ol’ fashion hangin’. Vicki was sweet as a fuzzy Mogwai most days, but she could flip a switch and become a crazy ass gremlin when it came to liars; she hated liars.

And Locust was a big, fat liar.

“I know, but I was devastated, Vic, I just needed….” Nadia swallowed thickly, reaching for the ice water with lemon on the table in front of her. She barely took a sip before Vicki reached out, planting a gentle hand on Nadia’s wrist.

“I’m sorry, hon, I know I get a little worked up, and that’s why you kept throwing yourself into coat check like a crazy person whenever you saw me coming….”

Nadia grinned sheepishly.

“But I really am sorry that asshole hurt you, that his intent was to hurt you all along,” Vicki murmured. Meeting Nadia’s gaze, she offered her a soft smile. “How’re you doing, really? Girl’s night? I can have Jerry watch Sylvia Friday night. We can do margaritas andThe Witcheruntil we’re seeing three Henry Cavills—one for both of us.”

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