War of Hearts (Storm MC Reloaded 2)

“What’s a bad idea?” Nash’s old lady, Velvet, asks as she joins us. Her attention is only half on us, though, because she’s keeping an eye on the kids playing close by.

He grins as he slides his arm around her waist and pulls her close. “Fury’s got a hard-on for King’s daughter. King will slice his dick off and cut the rest of him into tiny pieces if he goes near her.”

Velvet shoots me a look of sympathy, but before she can respond, her son races across the grass, chasing after one of J’s daughters. “Zeke!” She gets his attention. “Come here.”

Zeke takes his eyes off Jewel for a second, looks at his mother, grins cheekily, and then goes back to chasing Jewel.

“He’s your son all the way down to his bones,” Velvet says to Nash. “And he’s only two. God knows what he’s going to be like when he gets older.”

Nash grins the same grin his son did. “If he’s my son down to his bones, we know what he’s gonna be like.”

The look Velvet gives him is the kind of look I never saw between my parents. It’s love and exasperation and affection all rolled into one. “Well, you need to go calm him down because if he keeps chasing Jewel, someone is gonna get hurt.”

Nash lets her go and turns to the kids who are weaving in between adults in their game of chase. “Jewel,” he calls out. “Come here, darlin’.”

Jewel’s smile fills her face as she runs over to Nash, who crouches to meet her. Zeke follows closely behind and Nash pulls them both into his arms when they reach him.

“Who wants to play a game?” he asks.

Both their faces light up as they cry out, “Me!” in unison.

Nash places a finger to his lips and says, “Shh. This is a very special game where the two of you have to be as quiet as you can.”

Zeke’s brows pull in. “Why?”

Velvet’s eyes meet mine, and she mouths, “Exactly like his father.”

“If you promise me you can be quiet, and that you won’t run around all the adults, I’ll come and read a book with you,” Nash says.

Jewel bounces up and down, excited. Zeke doesn’t appear to be as certain about this as she is, but her excitement is contagious and he jumps up and down, too.

“Okay,” Nash says, calming them down again, “Do you promise to stop running around?”

Zeke nods. “Yes.”

Jewel makes a strange face and starts moving on the spot, kinda like she’s dancing. “Go pee-pee.”

Velvet swings into action, taking Jewel’s hand. “I’ll take you, baby.” She also reaches for her son’s hand. “We’ll all go and then Daddy can read with you.”

The three of them leave and Nash starts talking about the trip to Melbourne, but I only half listen because my attention has drifted back to Zara who’s talking to one of the Brisbane guys. Whatever the fuck he’s saying causes her to laugh, which causes him to grin big and lean in close to her. My body tenses when the motherfucker moves his mouth near her ear and says something. The only thing that eases the strain of my muscles is the frown that spreads across her face and the way she leans back from him. Whatever he just said didn’t impress her, and she quickly leaves his side.

I exhale the breath I didn’t realised I was holding.

“Fury, did you hear a word I just said?” Nash asks.

Taking my eyes off Zara, I meet his gaze. “No, I missed it.”

Nash shakes his head. “Yeah, I bet you fuckin’ did. You need to find some other pussy and forget that one. I asked if you were riding down to Melbourne with us on Monday?”

“No, King wants me here.”

“Hyde’s staying behind, too, yeah?”

“Yeah, and a few other guys. But most of the club is going. This gang bullshit has rattled King, so he wants everyone with him.”

“Seems like as fast as Winter deals with some of them, they bring more gang members on board. I’d never heard of them before, but it looks like they’re building a fuckin’ army.”

The gang, Zenith, came out of nowhere six months ago and tread all over Storm territory. King runs coke and guns down the eastern side of Australia, and everyone knows not to get on his bad side by trying to take some of his business. But these assholes have earned his wrath by taking some of his territory, and if shit doesn’t calm down soon, they’ll force a war. King and the Brisbane chapter are heading down to Melbourne to help Winter get them under control.