Comp's Chance

SUNNY

Isit in the common room with my hands on my head, waiting to hear something. Anything. Piper and Izzy sit on either side of me, rubbing my back. I sniff again, and they lean in, comforting me.

“What the fuck are they doing in there? Planning a fucking bar mitzvah? We need to know what the fuck is going on!” Halle exclaims. I watch as she walks closer to the door. Church, as they called it, is being held behind back there, and none of us women are allowed in. She sneaks closer, but Piper hisses at her.

“It’s club business. You’re going to get in trouble.”

“Ohhhh… what are they gonna do? Punish me? Maybe I want to get caught so they can tie me up, put me in the dungeon, and…” Halle keeps talking, not realizing the guys have opened the door behind her and are waiting for her to finish.

I try to discreetly point behind her, finally getting her attention, and she swings around.

“Well, hi, guys! So, what’s the new on Comp?” she asks, completely glossing over her earlier words.

“So, you want to be tied up in the dungeon, huh, pet? Didn’t realize there was a fantasy of yours I hadn’t already fulfilled. Assoon as we get Comp home and safe, I’ll be sure to rectify that… ropes and all,” Loki says with his signature crazy grin.

I cringe back from that look, but Halle swoons, like, literally swoons. I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand those two. Right now, though, all I care about is Nix. Praying he’s okay.

Swift comes out, and Piper walks directly into his arms. Same thing with Izzy and Hitter. I wait, needing to know something.

“We…” Swift starts, but we hear a shuffle from the hall, and all look that way.

“I can’t hear anything. Move over Rome,” Rae whispers.

“They haven’t said anything yet,” Rome chimes in, whispering.

“I want Nix. He’s going to be okay, isn’t he, Rome?” I hear Paisley whisper and then sniff. My heart breaks. I may not have seen much of Nix before he drove out of here, but he always made time for the kids, including Paisley. She would come back to our room and tell me everything that happened and how much fun she had with Nix. It helped to hear about him since I couldn’t see him, until he took off at least. Well, it helped, and it hurt. I shake my head, clearing those thoughts.

“It’s going to be okay, Paisley. He’s too strong for those pussies to take him down,” Rome says to her, and I try not to smile.

“Language!” Grease yells before Swift speaks up.

“Come on out, kids. You know you aren’t supposed to be snooping,” he says as the kids file out of the hall toward us, their heads bowed, knowing they’ve been caught. Rome has his arm around Paisley, who looks like she’s already been crying. They look the part of the guilty for listening in, well, they do until Rome looks up and over at Grease, sticking his tongue out at him. It’s hard to remember he’s still just a child. Half the time, he acts more adult than some of the brothers in the club.

“Mommy, Daddy, please don’t be mad. We just want to make sure Uncle Comp is okay. We were worried,” Rae says, trying to hold tears back. These kids are always so full of life, so full of happiness, and yes, so full of craziness. But right now, I can see the worry, the sadness, the pain on their little faces, and I hate it.

“Come here, baby,” I whisper, and Rae races over into my arms. I pull her into me and hold her as she lets the tears fall.

“If you are okay with the kids listening, I can let you all know his condition. I won’t go into detail,” Swift says, looking at me. I nod, and Loki and Halle do the same.

“They found him. He’s pretty beat up, but they got to him in time. He is going to make it,” Swift says, and we all release a sigh of relief. I hear what sounds like my daughter’s choked sob and Rome’s soft whispers of reassurance to her, but I can’t look up through my own tears as I still hold on to Rae.

“There are some details that need to be discussed, but those need to be in private,” he says, looking at me.

“Piper and I need to go get Bronx and Jett up from their nap. We can take the kids and get them something to eat. Paisley, do you want to help me with Jett? Rae is a pro at feeding her,” Izzy says, holding her hand out for the kids. They all file out of the room, and I don’t know what I would do without these ladies. They have to be the best people I’ve ever met. Except for Milani, I miss my best friend and have wanted to call and check up on her, but have been scared Jason could trace it back to me if I did that.

“Now that the kids are gone, I can go into more detail. Are you okay with all the details, or should I just tell you the basics?” Swift asks me.

“Prez, it might be too much,” Hitter starts, but Swift holds up his hand.

“She has the right to know if she wants to,” Grease says from the back, arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m with Hitter. The details are a bit… hard to handle,” Rodeo says.

“Can you all stop talking about me like I’m not here? Just tell me, I can handle it,” I say, freaking the hell out. Swift takes a deep breath before starting.

“He was taken about five days ago. A cop pulled him over for speeding, but shot him and took him to a second location. Turns out your ex has a bit of a reach. He hired two other guys to torture him, wanting information on you. Comp refused to give anything up. I won’t go into detail about what they did to him, but Devin brought one other thing to our attention. There is a hit out for you,” he says, getting it all out there. I suck in a sharp breath. I knew Jason was a vile and evil man, but I never thought he would take it this far.

“It’s my fault,” I whisper, looking down at the ground.