"It was a cup, what the hell did she think we were going to do to her?" Nitro asks.
"She didn't know, Prez, that’s the point. She broke the cup and wasn’t sure how anyone was going to react. She doesn't know us, but she clearly has some trauma that she needs to work through. Put yourself in her place, running away from fuck knows what and ending up in a clubhouse full of huffy, aggressive, surly men who are watching her every move. She breaks something that isn't hers, she doesn't know what the reaction is going to be," Tongue states, his tone flat like he's reading from a sheet of paper.
"We're gonna unpick that shit later," Nitro snaps. "But we're here because Ice called us in." He turns to me and holds out his hand toward the room. "The floor is yours, brother."
"I'll keep this short and sweet; I've spent the last few days searching and following up on some leads. This morning, one of those leads paid off and gave us the location of Snake." The room erupts before I've even had a chance to finish what I was saying. Brothers yelling ‘let’s go get the fucker’ and getting up from their seats, ready to ride.
"Hold the fuck on," I yell. "Sit your fucking arses down, nobody needs to ride anywhere." I give them a minute to calm down and reclaim their seats. "You only need to walk a couple hundred feet. The fucker is in our basement with three other members of the Poisoned Devils."
Silence hangs in the air as everyone stops to look at me. You could hear a pin drop, and I'm fairly certain some of the brothers have stopped breathing.
"You're actually fucking serious?" Wrath asks me, barely above a whisper. Like he thinks if he talks any louder that what I said might not be true. I nod at him and smile.
"Happy birthday, brother," I tell him.
"It ain’t my birthday." He smiles at me. "But you just might be my best fucking friend."
"Oi, cheeky fucker, thought I was your best friend?" Nitro half laughs out. "That's some gift, brother. I wondered where the fuck you had been riding off to every night and day," he says to me with a smirk. He knows full well I've been spending half my nights in Nova's room, he’s caught me in there more than once when he himself has gone to check on her.
A light knocking on the door draws our attention. Tongue gets up and answers it. He doesn’t say anything, just steps outside the room, while we all talk plans for Snake.
"Brothers." Tongue stops us mid conversation as he walks back in. "I think Mason here would like to tell us something.” He leads Mason into the room with Marissa beside him. The kid has a death grip on her hand.
"Tongue?" Nitro questions.
"Trust me, Prez," he tells him.
"Mason, can you come here, please, buddy." Nitro calls for him to head to the top of the table, and Mason shrinks into himself, looking up at Marissa then over to me and Wrath.
"It's okay, Mase, come here," Wrath tells him.
Marissa tries to pull her hand out of Mason’s, but he gives her a look that pleads for her not to let go. She smiles at him and walks him toward the front of the room, stopping at the side of Nitro, between him and Wrath, who instinctively reaches for his woman. She gives him a wink but doesn't let go of Mason.
She knows how terrifying it can be sitting in here, telling people things you don't want to tell them.
"You have something you want to tell us?" Nitro asks the kid, but he shakes his head and shrinks back into Marissa.
"Mase." She gets down to his level. "It's okay, you can tell them what you told me. I promise you can trust them." He stares at her, and she reaches up, swiping a stray tear that has escaped.
"I can't, we promised we wouldn’t tell anyone," he says to her.
"Hey, buddy." Nitro reaches for him and pulls him closer. "I know you promised your sister that you wouldn't say anything, but we need to know. We can't help you guys if you aren't being honest with us. You saw how upset she was before, let us help you."
The kid looks around the room, his eyes flicking over each of us. He's fucking terrified, and I don't know if it's us, his sister, or something else.
"Mason." Nitro calls him, his tone clipped. He's not trying to scare the kid, he's just trying to get him to focus.
"You've got to tell us something, buddy. You told Marissa—"
"I didn't mean to, it just came out. Please don't be mad," he pleads, looking over to Marissa then Wrath, the tears flowing freely now.
Wrath goes to reach for the kid, and it pisses me off. I'm out of my seat and by his side within seconds. "Hey," I say to him and smile. He looks at me and gives me a sad little smile. "You won't get into trouble for telling us, but I need you to tell me what you told Marissa. Let me help, Mase. I promise,wepromise that if you tell us, we will do everything we can to help you both.”
Chapter Eighteen
As I grab his hands, I feel them shake in mine. I pull him toward me and wrap my arms around him. "I promise you're safe here. Nobody is going to hurt you, we're here to help. Please tell us, buddy. You don't have to tell us everything, just tell us what you told Marissa, that’s all we're asking for right now. I know you don't want to let Nova down by sharing your secret, but when you tell us, it will make you feel a little better."
"But what if it doesn't make Nova feel better, what if it makes her more upset?" he asks me, his arms still firmly wrapped around me.
