Zero

Knocking on the door, he stepped back and waited. A light was switched on, and then Cheryl opened the door. The lock stopped her from opening the door wide. “Butch? What are you doing here?”

“I had to come and see you,” he said.

She looked past him. “It’s really late.”

“Something is going down at the club.” He stopped himself from spilling everything. Why did he feel at ease telling her everything? Clenching his teeth together, he glanced down at the ground. “Look, I won’t hurt you. I just need to see you.”

“I don’t know you.”

“I won’t hurt you.” He stepped close to her, wishing he could touch her.

Back off, you’ll scare her.

Cheryl stared at him for several minutes before she closed the door. He heard the lock being moved, and then the door opened again. “I don’t know why I’m doing this.” She moved out of the way letting him pass.

“I swear I won’t hurt you.”

Why was he here?”

She took him toward her small kitchen. He saw a table with two chairs on either side. “Is your son in bed?”

“Yeah, he’s in bed.”

He watched her move to the kettle, filling it with water from the tap before returning it back to start heating.

“I work at the church. It doesn’t mean you can come here all the time,” she said, rubbing her hands down her sides. Did he make her nervous? “I let you in because you’re a Skull. I know you’re not going to hurt me.”

“I wouldn’t hurt you. I wanted to see you. Where is your man?”

“I don’t know. He wanted nothing to do with me when he knocked me up. It’s just my son and me.” She turned away to look at her counter. Cheryl took a cloth, wiping away some dirt. He stared at her back seeing how long her hair was. The length surrounded  her.

“What are you doing working at the church?”

“I may be a single mother, but it doesn’t mean I can’t work at the bloody church.” She placed his cup in front of him, taking a seat opposite.

“Whoa, I wasn’t saying shit.”

She glared at him. “I work at the church because it makes me feel good. I like it.” Cheryl took a sip of her drink, looking down at the table.

“The father just upped and left you?”

“Yeah. He was all for the planting but not for the growing and anything else.”

Butch frowned. “Have you just compared having a kid to a plant growing?”

“It’s not much different.”

“You’re something else, Cheryl.”

He caught the smile she was hiding by her cup. Yep, he was truly f**ked.

Chapter Seven

One week into the lockdown and Alan wasn’t anywhere in sight. Whizz was having no luck in finding out what happened to him immediately after the accident. Hacking into the hospital records close to the burn site brought the identity of Alan, or at least a John Doe with need for surgery to the face, back along with the burns. From the documents, Alan hadn’t given away his identity, and they’d only caught onto the description of the damage from what Zero told Whizz. After one year in the hospital, John Doe was transported out of the country where he just disappeared off the map. There was no other record of his progress. From the looks of it, Alan had found someone to take care of his needs without having it documented.

It was easy to do providing the person had funds. Not all of Alan’s funds were known. Whizz was going through different countries, but hacking into private systems took time. Not only was Whizz working on his identity and where he’d be, he was helping with protection, taking time away from the computer.

Alex was trying to work with Ned to find out all they could. They were looking for a man who disappeared ten years ago to never be seen again. There was only so much Whizz could get out of the computer. They were all pulling their weight in trying to find out the answers to the mystery. Zero heaved out the trash as he watched Prue look after the kids. It was lockdown, but Tiny was letting them all out to play. The gates were locked, and they were not having any customers on their mechanic side.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he watched Prue push one of the kids in a swing. It looked like Darcy, Blaine’s daughter. What would it be like having a kid with Prue? Their nights were spent not talking about the obvious attraction between them. More times than not she woke up to his rock hard c**k digging in her ass. He knew she did as he was awake most of the time. She didn’t knee his balls though.

“She’s something special,” Sophia said, standing beside him.

He glanced toward the woman he’d had a crush on for the good part of the year. Since Prue had entered his life again he hadn’t give Sophia much of a thought. Fuck, he hadn’t even noticed that he wasn’t looking at the other woman. When the f**k did that happen?

He returned his attention to Prue. “Yeah, she really is.”

“I hope there are no hard feelings.” Sophia smiled up at him. “We would never have worked, and I imagine you know that.”

“You’re Nash’s woman.”

“No, it’s not just because I’m Nash’s woman.” She looked at Prue then back at him. “You’ll figure it out soon enough.”

What was it with people around him telling him to figure shit out when it came to Prue?

When he heard her giggling and laughing, he turned to see what had caused her to be so happy. He saw her on the ground surrounded by kids. His heart filled with joy at the sight before him.

“See, she means more to you than you even realize.” Sophia touched his arm, smiled at him, then moved away. He followed her movements, unsure what the feeling was clawing in his gut. Instead of following after Sophia, he made his way toward Prue as she called to him far more than Sophia. Tugging one of the little ones off, he spun the little guy around. Darcy was laughing as she tried to tickle Prue.

“Save me,” Prue said, pressing a hand to her forehead. “They’re attacking me. My prince, save me from these little people.”

In no time at all Zero was laughing along with all the kids and Prue. Messing around, he ended up on the floor right alongside Prue. Only when Eva shouted “lunch” did the kids scamper off. Darcy wrapped her arms around her neck. “I really like you, Aunty Prue. Don’t leave.”

The little girl was gone, and Prue let out a sigh.

“I really like you as well. I don’t want you to leave.” He took hold of her hand, locking their fingers together. She tightened her grip around his palm. Zero wanted her to stay with him in Fort Wills.