Page 43 of Nightmare

Venom extends a hand. “Bonnie, is it?”

I nod.

“Good to meet you.”

With that, he turns and walks away.

“You bikers aren’t big on the talking, are you?” I laugh, glancing at Fury.

“Most of us.” He winks.

Well, I’ll get around them. One way or another.

They’ll be forced to love me by the time I’m done with them.

10

“Is he okay?”

Glancing at Western, who is sitting at the bar at the club, shooting back shot after shot of alcohol, I wonder what the hell has gone down. He didn’t come to the club tonight. Apparently, he hasn’t missed a night since he got out. Curious, as soon as I finished my shift, I came straight here only to find him drunk and refusing to speak to anyone. He didn’t even acknowledge me when I came in.

Fury, who I’m standing beside, gives me a side-eyed expression. “When Night is like this, you don’t go near him. He’ll drink himself stupid and go to bed. Don’t worry your pretty little head ‘bout it.”

He clearly doesn’t know me.

Not yet, anyway.

“Why is he like this, though?”

“Him and Hazel had one hell of a blow out, she stormed out, threatened to leave and take everything. If she don’t come back, and word of this gets around ...”

Frowning, I turn to him. “Is it really that important that he has a wife, just for appearances? Everybody has made their mind up about Western in this town, so what does it matter?”

“It matters because he has already lost fuckin’ everything. Nobody will hire him. Nobody will even fuckin’ speak to him on the street. Havin’ a wife, lookin’ semi-normal when he was out in town, kept the comments at bay. I’m not entirely sure you know what it’s like to live a day in his life, Bonnie. He fuckin’ suffers.”

Glancing at Western, I wonder if he’s right.

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