Page 8 of Broken
Chapter Four
Max
A scream jolts me awake and I reach for the gun under my pillow. Jumping up to a standing position by the bed, I flick on the light and scan the room, seeing that it’s empty. The scream came from Izzy, who is currently thrashing around on the bed, a pained expression marring her face. Another scream rips from her throat and I climb back onto the bed. Her eyebrows are drawn close together and I see a few tear streaks down her face. My hand touches her shoulder in an attempt to wake her, but she recoils from my touch.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
“Izzy,” I say in a low tone, but her hands fist the sheets as if she’s in pain.
Whatever the hell she is dreaming about must be bad. I need to get her to wake up. I place my hands on the sides of her face. “Izzy, you’re dreamin’. You gotta wake up, girl.” My sister, Mallory, used to have night terrors when she was younger. I remember my mom telling me that you had to wake her up easy. If you scared her even more, she could have a heart attack. My thumbs brush back and forth over her cheeks as I try to coax her out of whatever hell her mind dreamed up for her. As much as I couldn’t stand her ass when she showed up last night, I feel an urge to help her.
When I was watching her get interrogated by Twisted something inside me wanted to stand by her, to help her. I couldn’t make a big show of it in front of the brothers, so I tried to let her know she wasn’t alone in the smallest ways I could. Offering her the bottle of water, whispering to her that everything would be fine even when I wasn’t sure that it would be.
I move my mouth closer to her ear. “You gotta wake up, girl, get outta your head. You’re safe.”
Her eyes shoot open, wide and full of alarm. She immediately pushes herself away from me but ends up hitting her head on the headboard.
“Ow!” She winces, her hand rubbing the spot.
I retreat, giving her some space. “Sorry I scared you. I didn’t know how to wake you up and you were screaming.”
Her chest is heaving and the sheen of sweat covering her shines in the dim light.
“You okay? You need somethin’?”
She shakes her head slowly. She is looking at the floor like she’s embarrassed.
“That happen a lot?”
“I...um...I don’t know.” Her hand runs through her hair.
Right, she doesn’t have a memory, idiot.
Looking over at the clock, I see that it’s seven in the morning. “Okay, well, I guess it’s safe to say that we’re both up. You hungry? I can grab some stuff from the vending machine. You’re technically not supposed to go anywhere without club permission.” I feel like an asshole saying that. It makes her sound like a prisoner. I get why it has to be like this. She has some tie to the club, to Twisted, in some way. That can be dangerous especially since we have no idea who she is and if she is a friend or an enemy. Looking at her, though, I can’t imagine her intentionally causing us harm. She radiates this sense of goodness, one I haven’t felt before. The girls where I grew up were all stuck-up bitches. They walked around like their shit didn’t stink, and you could tell they’d betray your ass in a second if a better option came along. That’s why I ran as far as I could once the opportunity presented itself.
“I’m a little hungry. I could really use a shower too.” She stands up, and I see her pause for a minute to get her bearings. It takes everything in me not to walk over to her and offer her some comfort. That’s not my place right now, though. Twisted’s words to me from last night replay in my head.
“You watch her, and that’s it. Anything fucking suspicious you bring it to me. I don’t give a shit if you think it’s important or not. You are there to keep an eye on her till we figure out where she came from and who she is. That picture she was holdin’, it was of my parents. I need to figure out where she got it and why she had it. This all goes well, you might get patched in. You fuck it up, you’ll be out on your ass. Speaking of ass, you stay away from hers. Keep it in your fucking pants.”
I won’t jeopardize my place in the club for a girl I know nothing about, no matter what pull I feel toward her. She pauses in the doorway, and I hear her sigh. “Problem?”
“I just remembered I don’t have any other clothes.” She walks back over to the bed and sits down. “Guess I’ll just wait till later.”
I can’t help but feel bad for her. She’s got no memory, no idea who she is, and she’s stuck in this place with nothing of her own. I reach into the bag I brought last night, with a few changes of clothes. I toss a shirt over to her. “It’s not much and judging by your size it will be huge on you, but if you want to get showered you can wear it. I’ll text Pres and let him know you need some clothes.”
She gives me a smile. “Thank you.”
I walk out the door, heading to the vending machine before I do something I’ll regret. I can’t touch her, he made that clear enough last night. Besides, I’m sure the last thing on her mind is me. She’s probably only thinking about when she can get out of this prison I’ve been made the warden of.
The phone rings twice before Twisted answers. “Yea.”
“She’s got no clothes here, no supplies. Can I take her out to the store to get some stuff?” I hate being a damn prospect. I hate feeling like a child because that’s why I ran from where I’d been my whole life.
“Girls are ready. I’m taking them over to you now. They are plannin’ to take her out shopping. You stay with all of them and make sure you keep an eye out for any clues as to who this girl might be. I’m hoping she isn’t faking this whole memory loss shit, but you never know.” His voice is hard. “I’ll be dropping them off in a little and leavin’ you with the truck.” The line clicks in my ear before I can answer.
I internally groan at the realization that I’ll have to spend the day with the Bitch Brigade.
Walking up to the vending machine, my choices are few and far between. I can’t even go out to get her something because she isn’t allowed to be left alone. I make a note to myself to grab some delivery menus from the office for the rest of the time that we’re here. The club gives me a check to keep me afloat while I’m prospecting. It’s nothing compared to what the brothers make, but it works for now.
