Page 16 of Mace
“I know he did a bad thing, but don’t kill him, please.” This doesn’t come from Sam, but from my little doe.
Nicky turns to her, his cold eyes appraising her, and every part of me wants to stand between him and her.
That’s never happened before. Nicky is my ride or die friend, the guy I would take a bullet for without a thought, the best friend I’ve been through so much shit with over the years. The only thing that keeps me from standing between them is knowing he would never raise a hand to a woman, especially not one as petite as she is.
“You’d beg for this cunt’s life?”
I can tell her mouth is dry by the way she swallows. Her friend is staring at her with wide eyes, as if willing her to stop talking, but all I can focus on is the pretty pink staining across the top of her breasts and up to her neck as she peers up at Nicky, sucking back breaths.
There’s a reason my best friend is our chapter’s Sergeant at Arms. He’s built like a fucking mountain, and his shaved head makes him look menacing. I’ve seen grown men cower in front of him, and yet she’s standing up to him.
“I’d beg for anyone’s life.”
Her throat works as she finishes talking, and Sam closes his eyes, gratitude working over his face. We didn’t come in here intending to kill him anyway, but this girl might be the only honourable thing about this fucking place.
Nicky steps up to her, and she shrinks back, her arms wrapping around her body protectively.
“What’s your name?”
“Just ignore her. She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” her friend blurts out. “Sam stole and should be punished, right?” The friend glares at her.
This woman has zero sense of self-preservation.
Nicky ignores the outburst, focusing on the little doe in front of him. “Name?”
“Maylie.”
She says it like May-lee, drawing out the second half. I’ve never heard that name before, but it suits her. Pretty and feminine, just like her.
“And what do you do here, Maylie?”
“I… I work on the bar, serving drinks and tables.”
“Do you like this job?”
This question seems to confuse her. “Um… does anyone like their job? I mean, none of us are working for the fun of it. Well, there probably are people who do work for the fun of it, but not in a place like this.”
She rambles on and on, ignoring her friend as she digs her fingers into her arm. Her gaze darts towards Sam, and I can see she’s torn about what to do. Her loyalty towards this man surprises me, but it says a lot about her as a person to want to save a wank stain piece of shit like him.
“If you want to keep workin’ here, you’ll learn not to question shit.”
Her bottom lip pulls between her teeth as if she’s trying to hold back her words, and when Nic speaks again, it’s not to her.
“Get him out of here.” This is said to Diesel and King, who drag him out. “Dash, find the accounts and go through them. I want to know exactly what’s missing and what we’re dealing with. Blade, disperse the crowd out front waiting to come in. Tell them we’re closed for the night.”
“Closed?” Maylie’s voice is pitched high.
I stare at her. She looks as if she wants to say more, but a glare from Nic silences her. This woman has a fucking death wish.
“Come on, May,” the other girl says, grabbing her hand. “Let’s go and tell the other girls the good news. They get to go home early.”
Maylie lets her friend steer her away, but just before they disappear around the edge of the bar, she gives me a final glance. There is so much in that fleeting moment that I almost step to follow her.
Who the hell is this girl?
Nicky steps up to me, and we move away from the brothers a little. “She’s gonna be a pain in the arse,” he notes.
“I like her,” I admit.