"Ice will stay," Nitro states casually.
My head shoots up. What the fuck? "Hold up, why am I staying?"
"Because I'm your god damn fucking President and I said so." He smirks over at me. Fucking bellend. "Plus, Mason trusts you, and right now I think more than anything knowing her brother has someone around he trusts will make her feel better."
I can't argue with that, the kid does trust me. I'd just rather not sleep in a fucking chair all night.
"What's on your mind there, Prez?"
"I'm going to go check on the car, see if she had any belongings in there, see if there’s anything we can salvage. When she wakes, see what info you can get out of her. And I’m thinking if Doc lets her go we should maybe bring her to the clubhouse."
I nod. "Agreed."
***
I wake with a start. The room is dark, and there's only a thin strip of light coming from the window, not enough to cast any meaningful light in the room. I hear noises coming from the bed and I look over to see Nova's face scrunched up. I don't know if she's in pain or if she's having a nightmare.
My back aches as I get up from the chair and make my way over to the bed. "Hey, Nova," I whisper, placing my hand on the top of her forehead. "You're okay. Just relax. Shhhh."
She continues to make noises. I realise she’s having a nightmare, I don't know if I should wake her or just let her sleep. The dilemma is solved for me a few seconds later when she cries out and she shoots up in bed.
"Woah, woah, easy, Dragonfly. You're good." I raise my hands and take a small step back from her. I don’t want to scare her any more than she already is.
I hear her breathing speed up, so I quickly head to the door and turn the light on. "Nova, relax, it's just me. It's Ice. You're okay."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You scared me," she tells me, her voice croaky from sleep.
I head back over to the bed and grab the cup. “I'm going to go get you some water, give me two minutes."She doesn’t say anything, she just blinks a couple of times and nods.
She jumps when I walk back in the room. "I'm sorry, it's just me." My heart drops as I see her brush away the tears that are running down her cheeks.
"Oh, Nova. Here, have a drink." I hand her the cup then sit on the edge of the bed watching her as she takes a few small sips. I take the cup from her when she's done and place it on the table, so she doesn't have to twist herself around.
"Mason?" she asks me.
"He's okay, asleep in the children’s ward."
Her eyes bug out and I see the panic. Pulling out my phone, I quickly send a text, holding up one finger to her. Less than twenty seconds later my phone vibrates with a video call. I answer, turning the phonearound so she can see the Prospect record the corridor outside her brother’s room before entering and showing Mason fast asleep curled on the bed, holding onto the hoody that Wrath gave him at the side of the road when he was pulled from the river.
I see her face relax, and she looks up at me and smiles. I cut the call, putting my phone back in my pocket.
"Better?" I ask.
She nods and lies back down. "Why are you still here?"
"Someone had to stay with you."
She looks confused. "No, they didn't. Why are you here, Ice?"
"Because my Prez wanted someone to stay with you and I was ordered to stay."
"I… I..."
"Nobody knows you're here, you and Mason are booked in under different names. Only Doc knows who you really are."
"Doc?" she questions.
"Yeah. Your doc is called Doc. He's a member of our MC and has made sure that nobody here knows you're here. I'm here to make sure that you and Mason are safe."
