Page 88 of Nash

She pulls me into a hug. “They’ll fade. Just like this pain. I promise it’ll go away.”

Thankfully, when we emerge, she’s right.

Nash is gone.

Axel is, too.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

NASH

“What the fuckdid you do to her?” Axel barks, but I’m not in the mood for a cross-examination.

I’m not in the mood for anything.

“She’s not our queen,” I seethe, “so she’s not your business.”

“Fuck you,” he hisses back.

We’re in his opal black Jaguar E type. It makes me huff an ironic laugh. Vale would say it screams class and money, not crime and mafia, and she’d be right.

“It’sourbusiness,” he says, “when what I just saw back there risks it all.”

Axel saw the bite bruise I left on Vale’s neck. It’s darkened to a sickening purple with sallow yellow edges.

“You broke her heart,” he fumes. “She ran away crying, and now she’s a liability.” He takes the interstate exit to the old Navy yard in North Charleston. “What if she tells Alena? What if she tells anyone?”

“That’s exactly why I broke her heart; we won’t be able to hide it from Alena.” I confess, “Fuck, I could barely hide it back in that shop. Vale’s so goddamn breathtaking, and it would kill my daughter if she saw how I’m looking at her best friend.”

Axel silently seethes, but he doesn’t argue.

We know I’m right. We know I’m fucked either way, but at least this way, only Vale and I suffer.

And trust me, goddammit, I’m suffering.

Thoughts of Vale own my mind, even in my sleep. I dream about our nights together. Then I spent the day wide awake, sick over how I left her. Every minute, I worry about her.

I left her crying and broken-hearted.

Does it make it any better that I feel the same? I’m sick over it, too.

I went to Delta’s the next day, hoping I’d see her, hoping Vale would show up and tell me to go fuck myself.Which I do, thinking about her.

I’d rather her fight me than give up on herself.

On the fourth day, Jace told me, “You look like shit, and if she comes in here and sees you, it’ll wreck her, too, and everyone will know. You need to leave.”

I did, but not before I texted Alena, telling her I was worried about Vale’s absence from work.

If I can’t take care of her, at least my daughter can.

Axel parks his car outside of a nondescript three-story brick building. After the Navy left North Charleston, this former complex of buildings, officer’s residences, barracks, warehouses, and more is becoming one of the trendiest spots.

It’s the perfect place to hide an exclusive sex club. There’s no sign above the lone black steel door we open, just a keypad beside it, ready for our code to enter. Once inside, we’re greeted by a security team in a discreet front vestibule.

Here, you show your identification, surrender your phone, and get patted down as you hear the strict rules. If you break them, you’ll leave with broken bones.

Nadine Faye, the owner, will make sure of it.

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