Page 101 of Shattering Nash

“Alright, but he’s not gonna be happy.” Ace paused. “Yeah. I’ll be in touch.”

She stared down in silence at the battered wood. In its day, it was probably beautiful. Now, it had deep scratches, burn marks, and condensation rings.

When the chair across from her moved, she glanced up to see the familiar redhead.

“How do you like our place, darlin’? Wanna stay a bit longer? I could have that arranged,” Gent said.

“I want to go home,” she muttered.

He hummed. “You sure about that? Heard you fucked up, keeping secrets, lying to everyone around you. And to the queen?” His tone was laced in sarcasm. “You’re probably out of a job.” He spread out his arms. “We got some openings here. You got any unknown talents you’d like to share with us? Or?” His gaze traveled across her body, lingering on her breasts. “Show us?”

Oh God.

“Gent,” Ace warned. “Get the fuck outta here.”

Gent winked at her but thankfully followed his president’s orders, leaving her alone in the room with Ace and Cross. The silence was deafening. It seemed the threat to hurt her was mild, but it did nothing to calm down her nerves in their presence.

She cleared her throat, gaining both men’s attention. She offered a shaky smile, which neither returned. Charley’s smartest move probably would’ve been to remain quiet and wait for Nash to arrive. She tapped her foot on the wood floor, eyeing the room and taking it all in.

“I like your clubhouse.”

They both stared back.

“It’s, um, bigger than it looks from the outside. And it’s very homey inside.”

Cross’s hardened stare didn’t ease at all, but she noticed Ace’s eyes soften slightly. “It’s nice you can all come back here and hang out after taking a ride together.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, desperate to keep this conversation open. At this point, it was one sided. “I actually, um, went on a motorcycle for the first time a few weeks ago. I loved it.” She smiled, thinking of the ride with Nash.

That seemed to pique both their interests.

“Nash take you out?” Ace asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s got like seven bikes. He even let me pick which one I wanted to go on.”

Ace lifted his cigarette to his lips. “Which one did you choose?”

She bit her lip, racking her brain. She knew nothing about motorcycles. “It was black and chrome with a skull and crossbones emblem on it. It looked a lot like the ones out front.”

Ace shared a look with Cross. It was impossible to know what they were thinking, but it seemed like they were having a silent conversation. Ace took a drag from his cigarette, and Cross looked across the table at her.

“Good choice.”

Charley nodded and sat back in her seat.

Heavy footsteps sounded across the room. Wraith and Cue stood side by side in the wide doorway. Neither of them paid any mind to her. They were solely focused on Ace.

“Nash is here.”

The legs of the chairs scraped the wood floor in unison as Ace and Cross stood.

“Cue, move her to the back.”

“Observation?”

Ace nodded.

Cue walked toward her, gesturing for her to get up. She nervously stood, darting her gaze over all the men. If Nash was here, why were they moving her?

“I can’t see him?”

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