Arthur smiles at her, a genuine smile. "Ah, love, I'm already working on protecting you. I have my lawyers working on correcting the issue ofguardianship. It's proving to be a little more difficult than I first thought. Your uncle knows a lot of people in a lot of high places. He couldn't just destroy the will that states Andrea was your guardian, but he could pay enough people and offer up enough threats to ensure it was suppressed. We have tried having it brought up against a few judges, but each one has had it thrown out. We just need to find the rightjudge, or..." He lets the sentence hang in the air.
"Or?" Nova asks.
Arthur glances to Andrea, who shakes her head at him. He smiles and looks at Nova.
"Or we need to apply the right leverage. However, Andrea is against that."
"Because I told you I will not take any further risks, we will do this the right way," she snaps at him.
"We have our lawyers working on the wills too, and we're coming up against the same roadblocks you are," Nitro tells them, choosing to ignore the tension between Andrea and Arthur. "Let me get you their details, I'd prefer it if they worked together on this."
"Agreed," Arthur says, his gaze still locked on Nova. "I told you the day I caught you dropping off those drugs for your uncle that you could trust me, that you could talk to me. I told you that every time I came to the diner, why didn't you say something?" he asks her.
She shakes her head at him, then lets out a laugh. "Arthur, you've been really nice to me, and I'm grateful for your concern, but I didn't even tell my best friend, what made you think I would tell you?"
"Because it's sometimes easier to talk to strangers. And your best friend, she knows. I've heard you both talking," he tells her.
"You're right she does, but I never told her. She figured it out, and Mason accidentally then admitted it when she questioned me while he was there." She drops her head, and her shoulders rise as she takes a deep breath. "It's not exactly something we wanted to tell people. Mason and I, we agreed that we would keep it between us. Our uncle said that nobody would ever believe us anyway, he said that if we told anyone they would separate us, and I couldn't lose Mason, he's all I have." Her voice breaks as she says the last part.
I lean forward, grabbing her and pulling her closer to me. "He's not all you've got, baby, you've got me," I tell her.
"You've got all of us," Nitro states as the rest of the guys call out their agreement.
She smiles at my brothers, then leans back into me. "Thank you. I appreciate that."
"Now, you're welcome to stay, but you should know that we have another club merging with ours, and the new members will start arriving tonight and tomorrow. We'll be having a party tomorrow night to welcome them all," Nitro tells our guests. "Nova, these parties can get a little wild, and while we will try to keep it tame, we can’t always promise that. Are you okay with that?" he asks her.
"Okay, as long as we can keep Mason away from the excitement," she says with a smile.
"Actually, I was thinking… Prez, if it’s okay with you that I'd take Nova and Mason up to my dad’s for a couple of days." As much as I should be here for the party, I'd rather she wasn't here, and I definitely don't want Mason here. "I know I should be here for the party—"
"It's a good idea, brother." Nitro cuts me off. And I'm grateful that he thinks it's a good idea, and not mad at me for suggesting it.
"Will it be safe?" she asks, nervous.
"Yes, baby, its' safe, I promise," I tell her.
"Tongue and Prospect will go with you," Nitro tells us, and I glance up at the table to Tongue, checking he's okay with the arrangement. He smiles and gives me a nod.
"I can also send a couple of men with you. They will ensure you are all safe," Arthur tells us, and I’m strangely grateful.
"What do you say, baby? You wanna come meet my dad?" I ask her, hopeful.
She looks up at me and smiles. "Yeah. I do."
Chapter Fifty-Six
The clubhouse is chaotic.
Brothers began to arrive late last night. I was so tired I had just wanted to sleep, and Max said he wanted to spend some time with the new guys as we were going to be away for a couple of days, so he stayed down here until the early hours.
He's only had a few hours’ sleep, but he was called into Church at seven a.m. I don't know what he was called in for, it's none of my business, but he's been in a pretty calm mood since, so as long as he's okay, I'm happy. I packed the few items of clothes I had in a small bag that Marissa loaned me. Mason seems to have acquired more clothes since being here, and I'm not sure how, but I'm relieved he has something he can wear and change in to.
He's sat next to me, and as usual he’s drawing in his notebook. As I look at it, I realise it seems to be a new one. "Mase, where did you get the book and pencils from?" I ask him, confused.
He doesn't even look at me as he responds, "Wrath and Ice got me them. They know I like to draw, and they wanted me to be able to do it while I'm here." He's so casual in his response, it surprises me.
"Did you thank them?" I ask, knowing he probably did but wanting to make sure.
