Looking back at mum, I nodded. “Good. And for the record, I will never be ready to contact him.”
Mum nodded her understanding. “I know, baby. But if you ever change your mind, I want you to know I will support you fully and be there for you however you need.”
The front door slammed, jolting our attention from the conversation.
“Havoc!” Nash’s voice boomed through the house as he made his way to the kitchen.
His furious eyes met mine a moment later, only holding my gaze briefly before turning his full attention to Havoc.
“Nash,” Havoc said as he stood to meet my brother. His always-on-alert body tensed more than it usually did and the vein in his neck pulsed.
Oh, shit.
“What the fuck are you doing sitting in my mother’s kitchen drinking coffee?” Nash demanded.
Mum interrupted. “Nash—” but he cut her off.
“No!” he bellowed. “He has no right to be in this house.”
I stood. “Jesus, Nash, what century do you live in? I’m a grown woman who makes her own decisions and Havoc has every right to be in this house because he’s with me and this is my home.”
Nash’s eyes widened. “What the hell do you mean he’s with you? Last you told me, this was just some fun. I didn’t think you two were actually together.”
Havoc’s deep voice crashed over all of ours. “Nash, let’s take this outside. This is between you and me.”
I swung my angry gaze to him. “No, this is between all three of us, Havoc!”
His dark eyes met mine and he shook his head. “Yeah, it is, but for now, Nash and I need to get some shit sorted. Alone.” He used the tone he took when what he was saying was final. I knew better than to argue so I let them go.
And I prayed they both walked away from this unharmed.
21
Havoc
We barely made it out the front door before Nash’s fist landed on my cheek. I gave him that one, but it would be the last one he’d have.
“I don’t want you anywhere near Carla!” he thundered, veins bulging and fists clenched ready to attack again.
I’d seen Nash in fight mode and he was lethal. I didn’t get my name for nothing though, and he should have remembered that. However, there were two things holding me back—the brotherhood of the club and Carla.
“It’s too late, Nash. And besides, she’s right when she says she’s old enough to make up her own mind.” I focused on my breathing and keeping my natural fight instincts under control.
“I don’t fuckin’ need you coming into my family and telling me how it should be run.” His eyes held the wild look I’d seen many times in him and I knew his first punch was only a warm-up. Nash was just getting started.
“I’m just trying to be honest with you here. And what I’m saying is that I thought this thing between me and Carla would be done by now, but it’s not. It’s far from done. Do whatever you feel you need to do, but if I were you, I would take into account your sister’s feelings on this. Fighting her will only push her away.”
He threw another punch, but I blocked him and punched him in the stomach. As he recovered from that, I moved so I could grab him in a headlock. He was quick though, and knifed his elbow back into my gut. Winded, I stumbled back, attempting to work out my next move.
Nash didn’t ease up. He came at me, fists flying. I avoided each one, ducking and weaving, until finally I managed to punch him hard in the face, dropping him to the ground. He didn’t stay down though. Within a couple of moments, he was back on his feet ready to keep going.
Any other fight and I’d be all in and loving the fuck out of it. Nash was a worthy opponent. But I didn’t want to fight him. He, on the other hand, was intent on making his point.
He kept coming at me with punch after punch. Some, he got in and some, I managed to block. We must have kept going for a good ten minutes until we found ourselves sweaty, bloody and battered. But neither was backing down.
And then my phone rang. It was Yvette’s ring tone and it distracted me for long enough to allow Nash to land one final punch, almost knocking me out completely. As I lay sprawled out on the grass with a bloody nose and pain radiating through my body, he glared down at me. “Leave my sister the fuck alone or else you and I are gonna have problems you don’t want.”
I sat up and watched him leave. As he stalked through the front door of his mother’s house, Carla attempted to exit.
“You’re not fuckin’ going out there,” Nash bossed her.
“Move out of my goddamn way, Nash! You can’t stop me from doing what I want.” They had a standoff for a few moments before she eventually pushed past him. I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear his grunts of disapproval before he continued on inside.