Zero

“You want Zero to suffer.”

“And you think him finding your dead body will be enough to make him suffer?” He moved up the bed. His fingers caressed up her thigh. Alan’s touch repulsed her. She tried to jerk her leg away, but he held her tighter, his nails sinking into her flesh.

“I mean nothing to him. He’s in love with someone else,” she said, biting her lip.

“Ah, the lovely Sophia. He fancies himself in love with the other woman, but he’s not.” Alan shook his head. “No, he’s not in love with that bitch, but she’ll be fun to hurt when the time is right.”

“You’re going to hurt everyone?”

“Why, yes. If I didn’t hurt everyone, I wouldn’t be having any fun.” His fingers grazed over her stomach.

Fear unlike anything she had ever known gripped her, threatening to consume her in the heat.

“Such a pretty sight. I love seeing a woman all scared. The blonde whore was scared until I snuffed the life out of her. Probably did the whore some good.”

“Why did you kill her? She meant nothing to Zero.” She bit her lip trying hard to contain the scream she wanted to let out.

“But she f**ked him. You’re going to realize, sweet Prue, no one is safe. I’m going to hurt everyone who ever touched Zero. If that means a couple of people die, I really don’t care.” He cupped her cheek, caressing her flesh.

His touch repulsed her.

“You’re a monster.”

“Yet, you’re still alive,” he said, smiling. “I can’t be that bad. You’d be dead otherwise.”

“Only until you’ve finished with me. I’m not a f**king idiot. You’ll kill me when you’re ready.”

“I know. When I was little I loved to play games. I wonder who will win this game.” He took a step back. The commotion outside was lessening, and Alan was moving away, ready to disappear again. Where were The Skulls when she needed them? Zero was going to get his ass kicked when she saw him.

“Zero will kill you,” she said, trying to make him stay. If she kept him here someone might find them and Alan would no longer be a problem.

“And he will die along with me.”

Alan left, and Prue could do nothing but wait for one of Zero’s men to come and get her. They were not in charge. Alan was in charge, and there was nothing either of them could do to save each other. They were all at the mercy of a maniac.

Chapter Five

The police dropped all charges of assault and finally decided to take Zero’s statement after he apologized to the man he hit. The man suffered with a broken nose. Tiny put up the money for the hospital funds. The officers wanted to keep him for longer for the attack, but they had nothing. He’d f**ked everything up by refusing to come down and make a statement. Running a hand down his face, Zero had f**ked up again. By attacking the officer he’d given the cops the perfect reason to believe he was hiding something.  Zero knew he shouldn’t have hit the other man, but his temper had gotten the better of him. Leaving Prue hadn’t been an option, even though they agreed to post a guard outside the door. Fucking the nurse didn’t make him a killer, and he wouldn’t go down for that shit. During his statement, the police made sure he was aware that they were not here to pin the murder of the woman on him but were in fact asking him questions about the person responsible for killing the woman.

They treated him like a dumb f**k, and like Tiny told him, he had to deal with it. Fuck, he remembered when his father punished him years ago for something he didn’t do. Zero couldn’t remember what he had supposedly done, but he recalled the punishment. His father locked him in the dog cage for the entire weekend without feeding him.

Cutting off the memory, Zero remembered it was the one and only time he’d ever been trapped in something. Being behind bars was not something he ever anticipated. He’d rather go on the run before he went to jail.

Thinking about his life outside he doubted Alan wanted him in prison for the game to play out. How much fun would life be if he was locked away? He spent over twenty-fours in the prison cell for his own f**king doing, but it hadn’t been all bad apart from the fact he didn’t get to see his woman. Twenty-four hours felt like forever to him with nothing to do but deal with his own f**king problems. Tiny and the rest of The Skulls found ways of getting messages to him. Steven was with Prue in the hospital, watching over her, which he didn’t like.

Next time go to the station willingly, f**king ass**le.

He also found out what happened during the chaos of the discovery of the dead body. Collecting his stuff from the reception desk, Zero was in no mood for jokes. He ignored the banter going on around him. They were all talking about their normal lives full of normal shit. Zero hadn’t lived a normal life in such a long time. Heading outside, he felt the heat of approaching spring on his face. After not seeing it for twenty-four hours and having nothing but three walls and bars, Zero was appreciative of any scenery outside. At least he no longer had an issue with cages anymore.

Tiny was waiting in the car along with Eva and the twins. He climbed into the back seat glancing at the innocent lives beside him. Fuck, he should have made sure Alan was dead before he left ten years ago. No matter how hard he tried, Zero wasn’t going to be able to change the past. At the time he’d liked the idea of the other man burning alive. He’d been away from The Skulls for an entire weekend. The longer he was away, the less chance he had of being part of the club. He hadn’t watched the warehouse burn. Ten years ago he’d f**ked up and f**ked up bad.

“I want to go to the hospital,” he said. The thought of seeing Prue kept him going.

“You’re not going to the hospital.”

“Who is looking after her?” he asked, fisting his hands.

“Steven and Blaine have been dealing with it. Butch stops by as well. She’s a nice girl, cheery all things considered.” Tiny was the one driving. Eva stayed silent, looking out of the window. “We’re going on lockdown. I can’t risk our club. When Prue gets out of the hospital Sandy will take care of her. I’m not risking anymore lives. I can’t.”

Zero couldn’t argue. “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I f**ked up. I should have made sure Alan was dead. I f**ked up.”

“Yeah, you f**ked up bad. Whizz is working on locating him. So far, it’s hard to track a ghost.” Tiny tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I called Devil. He and his crew will be on their way the moment we need them.”