"We are fucking taking care of them; we have been taking care of them since we pulled themfrom the car. Do you really think we'd let them go without?" Wrath snaps, his anger evident.
"I advise you to watch your tone when you're talking to me or Andrea. I will not tolerate that kind of attitude," Arthur states calmly, but there is an air of danger around him.
I've only ever seen this side of him once before, when he was at our house, threatening my uncle for failing to have his men released. Every other time I've seen him, he's been calm, relaxed. His demeanour has been friendly.
"You're in my clubhouse, Arthur. And while you are here, you will show respect to my men and our guests. Nova and Mason have not gone without since they have been here, and we will continue to take care of them for as long as we need to, or for as long as they want us to," Nitro states. His tone brokers no illusion that he is in charge right now. He spares me a quick glance and then turns back to Arthur.
"I believe we all owe Nova an apology, it would appear the tension in the room is creating some anxiety for her." He looks to Wrath, who turns my way, his face full of remorse.
"Shit, Nova, I'm sorry, sweetheart," he tells me.
"It's okay, you don't need to apologise, you didn't do anything wrong," I say, trying to pass off my anxiety as nothing important.
"No, Prez is right, this tension and anger can't be good for you. I'm sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable at any point," Wrath says again, and I smile at him, not really wanting to say anything. The truth is the bitterness between them is stressing me out. But I don't want them to feel bad for just being themselves.
Arthur doesn't apologise though, he just glances my way, remorse briefly crosses his face before he turns back to Nitro.
"Andrea and I have had a conversation, and we believe it would be best if we left and took Nova and Mason with us."My eyes shoot to his, but he's focussed on Nitro. I turn to face Andrea, as Max grips my hand. She's watching me, her eyes flicking between me and Max.
I cast a quick glance to Nitro, who has now turned his attention to me. He raises an eyebrow, I think in question, but I don't know how to respond, I'm just as surprised as everyone else by the suggestion.
"Erm, I…" I stutter. I don't know what to say. I can feel everyone watching me—I'm guessing waiting for an answer. I look to Max, his eyes locked on my face, his hand gripping mineso tightly.
"I'm sorry, but when exactly did you two have this conversation?" Nitro calmly asks.
Arthur smiles. "Last night, just before she left to come here. Look, Nitro, I have been keeping an eye on the kids for the last year—"
"Bullshit. If you'd been keeping an eye on them, then why didn't you fucking help them? Why leave them to deal with the shite they had to deal with?" Wrath snaps.
I try to swallow, but my throat is so dry. I can feel the anger rolling off everyone in the room and it's making my head spin. But what scares me is the fact that Max hasn't said anything. He's just sat next to me quietly, with a constant grip on my hand.
Arthur doesn't respond, he doesn’t even look at him, his eyes remain locked on Nitro. "We believe that the safest place for them right now would be with us. We can ensure—"
"You can ensure nothing," Nitro snaps. "My VP is right, why didn't you help them? If you've been keeping an eye on them, then you must have known what was going on. Yet you did nothing to help them, you did nothing to keep them safe." He's trying to keep his cool, but I can feel the anger radiating from him, we all can.
My eyes flick back and forth between them. I'm desperate to get out of here, but I also don't want to leave. This involves me and Mason. I need to be here.
"That is my fault. We had our suspicions, but until recently I wasn’t completely sure.” Andrea states.
"Nova, I wanted to get you out of there, I realised I'd made a mistake letting them take you, I knew something wasn't right, but I couldn’t work out what it was. Arthur offered to just help me grab you and get you guys out of there, but I couldn't risk it. If I did that and they found us, you would be taken off me and I would have ended up in prison. Then I'd never see you again. I know I failed you, but I'm asking you to give me a chance to fix it. I'm asking you come with us." She leans forward on the table, her arms reaching over for mine, but I don't react. The heat from Max is giving me comfort right now.
Chapter Fifty-Five
I know my grip is a little tight, I'm worried I'm hurting her, but she doesn't show any signs that I am. As I watch her look between Andrea and Arthur, I wonder if she'll take their offer of leaving. Fear burns inside of me as I think she might actually go. And maybe she should, maybe her leaving with them is the safest thing for her and Mason.
As the silence draws on, I'm beginning to think she's going to agree. I don't want her to go, but if it's what she wants then I won't force her to stay. I loosen my grip on her hand, giving her the space to make the right decision for her.
I glance at Prez and then VP, they both give me a look, one that lets me know they have my back no matter what. They know what I'm thinking, they know what I'm considering. And I know that they'll support me however this plays out.
"No." That one word pulls my focus back to her. As my eyes lock on the side of her face, I realise that her grip has tightened on my hand. "No," she repeats. "I know that you think leaving with you is the best thing for us, but I don't." Nova turns her head a little, glancing at me over her shoulder and giving me a small smile.
"Andrea, you say that you failed us… well, you didn't, I understand why you handed us over. I understand that you thought it was the right thing to do, and I don't blame you for doing that. But I failed Mason by not doing something sooner. I failed him by continuing to live in that house, letting them do the things they did." She lets out a breath, squeezing my hand a little tighter, pulling strength from me. "The men in this room, the men and women in this clubhouse, have been amazing, they have gone out of their way to protect us."
She glances at Prez. "If they want us to leave then we'll leave, but I won't choose to leave."
"We won't be asking you to leave, sweetheart,” Prez states.
She smiles at him and then turns back to face Andrea and Arthur. "You want to protect us, then do it here. Please?" she asks them quietly.
