forgot to mention that,” he snickered. “Figures though, it’s always the uppity bitches who’ve got shit to hide.”
“Oh, this is fucking beautiful,” Zed crowed. “Blackmailing the blackmailer… God, I wish you had a fucking sister.”
“Perfect timing too,” Buddha piped up. “The clubhouse a/c unit went out this morning and the wrecker needs a new tranny.” He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, darlin’, you always come through.”
Liv smiled. “Glad I could help.”
Torch draped his arm over her shoulder. “Sounds like you got a lot done today, I guess we should feed you. Let me take a shower real quick.”
She squeezed his side. “I need to talk to you about something else first.”
Wondering what could be so important, he gave Buddha and Zed a nod to signal for them to beat it. Once they were out of earshot, he sat down on a bench and pulled out his cigarettes. He lit two and handed her one like he always did. “What’s on your mind, beautiful?”
She paused. “I ran into Nadia today.”
Great, instant fucking mood killer and definitely not important. “What did she want?”
“She apologized—”
“Yeah, I’m sure it was fucking sincere,” he sneered.
Liv sat down next to him and rubbed the back of his neck. “Babe, she didn’t even have anything to apologize for. She took some drugs and didn’t tell you about it, big deal. It wasn’t malicious. I, on the other hand, killed a man whose brother ended up putting you in a coma—”
“He didn’t put me in a coma,” he set the fucking record straight. “I got hit in the head when that building exploded.”
“You know what I mean. Look, I get there’s a grudge but I don’t think it’s one worth holding on to, she didn’t do anything to warrant so much hostility. And frankly, I think she’s paid a high enough price. She’s really down and out right now. I mean, she’s living out of a car for fuck’s sake.”
“There’s the problem right there, she’s always been a goddamn mess.”
“Torch, she’s trying. She’s off the drugs but apparently it’s impossible to get a job in this town when you’re on the club’s shit list and people pigeonhole you as a junkie stripper. Come on, I think most of us around here have done a lot worse than self-medicating. So she talked some shit too, we’ve all done it. Don’t you think it’s a bit much to let it ruin her life?”
He studied her face, trying to figure out where the hell she was going with this. “Why are you so worried about a bitch you don’t even know?”
“Why were you so worried about me when we first met? You knew even less,” she pointed out.
“That was different.”
“How? She may not be black and blue, but she’s hurting just the same.”
It was becoming clearer, Liv somehow saw something in Nadia that reminded her of herself. “Sweetheart, there’s a big difference between you two. I didn’t give a shit what she shot herself up with, I was pissed because she went off the rails over getting her feelings hurt. She’s weak and unstable, people like that can’t be trusted and this club has a lot to lose.”
“I don’t think she’s as weak as you think she is. I think she just needs somebody to give her an opportunity to prove herself.”
He blew out a deep breath and stubbed out his cigarette. “What are you asking for here? To let her come back around?”
“No, I already told her she wouldn’t be welcome at the clubhouse anytime soon. I set her up with a room but she needs a job. I was thinking she could help out at the hardware store, she wouldn’t be close enough to the club to do anything stupid.”
Maybe not, but she would be close enough to rob the register or steal product for her next fix. He shook his head, dumbfounded that they were even having this conversation. “We could use the help to free up Beanie or Malice, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. I just don’t fucking trust her.”
“What if I give you the money to pay her salary?” she pressed. “Two months, that’s all I’m asking. If she proves me wrong, I’ll run her out of town myself.”
“You paid for a room and now you’re gonna pay her salary on top of it? Babe, that’s going way above and beyond. I’m not letting her take you for a goddamn ride.”