12. Nash

CHAPTER 12

NASH

After I told Denver and the three other Volunteers what I knew about the pictures of Spencer and Blaire on vacation in Antigua and the circumstances under which they were taken, Pacman—a guy I'd never met before but could guess was the geek—began rapidly typing into his keyboards. Yes, he had two laptops and a desktop with two screens, and he was going to town like his life depended on it.

Stan Harry—the Heretic, as I remembered he was called—laughed. "Don't worry about Pacman. He's got it. So, little brother, tell us what you've been up to." Stan was the club treasurer, and a protective sort, or at least that's how I remembered him.

I glanced at Denver, seeing a smile and a nod. "Well, I live in DC. I work as a, uh, a walker for wealthy widows who attend fancy parties, and I tend bar for parties now and then."

Blue—Blue Moon, as in he told the truth once in a blue moon—laughed. "I like that title, walker . I used to walk right up to whores and give them cash to blow me. You do that?"

The tension in the room escalated but I wasn't offended. It was what it was. "Hey, when you get paid five bills an hour for your company and your cock, you get a little less particular about who wants what."

Heretic stared at me for a solid fifteen seconds before he cracked up, slapping my hand and offering me another beer. "Dude, you speak the truth." Hell yeah, I did.

I hung out with The Volunteers for the weekend, and Packard, the geek, was still sorting through a mountain of miscues and bullshit. Whoever was responsible had covered their tracks well.

Denver got me a room while we were all in a holding pattern, and we hung out in the evenings. It was nice, being back in their company, and I wondered if I hadn't had such a restless spirit, could I have patched in? I'd been a prospect, as had Clint, but he'd stayed. I had to keep moving back then.

On Sunday, The Volunteers decided to break camp and head back to Sparta—everyone except Denver. "I'll be home tomorrow. I'm gonna take Nash to Roanoke where he can rent a car tomorrow to head home. I'll see y'all."

I thanked all of them for coming and waved goodbye as two of them roared out of the parking lot while Pacman followed in a tricked-out cage.

I turned to Denver. "I'm ready." He smiled and took my hand, leading me to my room and closing the door.

"I checked out of my room. Is it okay if I stay here with you?"

I could see the man was vulnerable, and I had worried about calling him, knowing the memories it would bring back, but a debt was a debt.

I woke up first on Monday morning and slid out of the bed. I made my way to the bathroom and got into the shower, trying to make sense of the previous night.

It wasn't what I expected it to be, and I'd done my best to give him what he'd asked for. When I stepped out of the shower, I quickly dried off and dressed in my last set of clean clothes.

When I walked out of the bathroom, Denver was sitting on the side of the bed, blanket over his lap.

"You okay?"

I walked to the bed and sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his broad shoulders. I kissed his cheek. "I'm fine, Denny. Are you okay?" I whispered as he leaned his head against my shoulder. I felt a quiet sob break free, and my heart broke for the gentle giant.

I held him for a few minutes until he rushed into the bathroom. I pulled my phone from the charger on the nightstand, prepared to send a text to Spencer, but then I remembered him saying I should keep in touch with Vani, so I pecked out a text to her.

Vani—On my way back to town. Let's catch up this week. If you want. Whatever you want. Nash

When I read it back, it didn't smack of confidence. I got three laughing emojis back, which made me smile. Vani wasn't one to fool, that was for sure.

Denver came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and looking like he had his shit together. "Thank you, Nashville. I can't tell you how much last night meant to me. It's been so fucking long. Well, there's been nobody since I lost Clinton." I stood up and wrapped my arms around his waist, giving him a hug he was reluctant to return.

Finally, I felt a kiss to the top of my head, and I pulled back, reaching up to pull on the beard. "I like this. You know, Clint would have loved it."

Denver nodded and pulled away. "Your man seems to have the potential for a great beard. Maybe if you tell the senator that you like it, he'll grow it." Denver was cutting to the chase. He wasn't one to mince words.

"How did you know it was him and not her?" I felt my cheeks flush.

Denver chuckled. "I remember when you and Clint ended up at the clubhouse. Hand's little sister thought you were right up her alley."

I laughed. Hand, as the club president was called, had a baby sister who was a gusher—as in, she was clingy and needy, and if one didn't give her all their attention, she'd tell her brother, and he'd beat the hell out of you. He beat my ass once over that idiot, and that was one of the reasons I decided to leave.

"Yeah, well, she needed more than I was prepared to give. Whatever happened to her?" We grabbed our things and headed out of the room.

Denver chuckled. "She found herself a younger guy, and she's pregnant. He's a prospect, and if Hand doesn't kill him, I'll be the first one in line to throw the Prez a parade. They guy's name? Seymour."

I looked at Denver to see he wasn't laughing. I couldn't hold it after that. Pansy, her actual name, loved the movie, "Little Shop of Horrors." It would figure she'd find a guy named Seymour.

We headed downstairs and hopped on Denver's Road King. Once we had the helmets on and our shit in the saddlebags, I wrapped my arms around Denver's muscled abs to hold on, my thoughts settled on the events of the previous night. They were nothing like I'd expected.

I exited the rental office with the keys to a Mustang that Denver had insisted on renting for me. "I'd have been fine with the Nissan."

We'd had an argument in the line because I wanted to pay him for the car. I didn't have a credit card, so that was a problem, but Denver had insisted he was going to cover it. After I assured the agent I could drop the car at the rental office in Crystal City, the deal was done.

"Yeah, but you remember what Clint wanted to do before you left, and you guys never got to do it?" Denver grinned, taking me back to the conversation.

" I wanna take a road trip with you and little brother in a Mustang. You think we can do that someday, Daddy? "

I nodded, feeling the tears swelling again. "I miss him every day, Denver. I'm so glad he met you. You made him very happy." I couldn't help the sob.

Denver kissed my forehead and walked away without looking back. I hoped and prayed the man found peace, and maybe he could find another boy someday. He deserved the best.

I pulled into the driveway of 16 Sunnybrook Lane, parking in the driveway instead of sneaking through the woods like the last time. It was daylight, not midnight, and the trees had lost their leaves, redecorating the once-immaculate yard into colorful chaos. It was comforting to see that everything on Sunnybrook Lane wasn't perfect.

I walked onto the porch and rang the bell, hearing the heavy Bong… Bong… Bong. It reminded me of an old television show I remembered watching in one of the better foster homes from my youth.

I was there temporarily because the house was full, and I had to sleep on a pallet on the floor of the bedroom the biological boys shared, but it was a glimpse of what a real home could be like.

The foster mom always had a snack ready for us when we got home from school, and we were allowed to watch The Adams Family , while we ate before it was homework time. The main house where the television show took place had a doorbell like the one at the Brady home.

When the door opened, I saw Vani with a welcoming smile. She stepped out and I folded her small frame into my arms. "Is everything okay?"

"He's out for a run. He's been worried about you, Nash." Her tone was that of a chastising older sister, which I appreciated.

I pulled back and offered a smile. "There's no need for anyone to worry about me, Vani. I've been taking care of myself for a long time."

"Yes, but it's a whole different animal when someone loves you." She stepped out of my arms and pulled me into the house. I saw some boxes in the grand dining room, and I was immediately on alert.

"What's up with this?" I saw fancy dishes, squares of foam, and brown paper spread on the large dining table.

Vani offered a glowing smile—that I took as fake. "We're going to paint, so I'm emptying out the hutch. This is the anniversary china that Spence bought me. I show—or used to show—these fancy houses, and they all had china on display.

"Spence never wanted me to feel like I didn't have the same opportunities or options as others, so one year, he kept coming up with odd scenarios where a staffer was trying to pick out china patterns and asked for the group's opinion. He'd come home with these pictures of patterns and ask me which one I liked the best, and I told him this one. Imagine how unsurprised I was when I got a beautiful china service for eight on our fifteenth wedding anniversary. He's sweet, but he's not very subtle." She had a bright smile as she told the story.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. It was as though I'd lost something I never had in the first place, and the feeling settled low in my belly. How could I have been so fucking stupid to think someone as kind, loving, and classy as Spencer Brady could find a hood rat like me worth his time?

"Well, I just stopped by to see if you made it home okay, and ask if you've found out anything more about the pictures? Did Frank Turner send them?" I definitely wanted to talk to Caroline about her husband, but one step at a time.

"Oh, you haven't heard the latest. Come sit and have some coffee, or…" she glanced at the grandfather clock near the door and turned back to me with a smile. "How about a cocktail? It's five o'clock somewhere." She giggled as she headed toward the kitchen.

"I wish I could, but I need to take the rental to the airport to turn it in so it doesn't cost Denver another day. Call me sometime. If I hear anything from my friends, I'll let you know." I headed toward the door.

When I opened it, I was met with the sight and smell of Senator Spencer Brady. The combination nearly knocked me on my ass.

"Where are you going?" Spencer seemed excited to see me, and he asked a great question. All my plans for my life had flown out the window the night I took him and Vani up to a room at a swanky hotel so they could sleep it off without making more headlines. I didn't know what the hell to say to him in response to his question because all I could think was that I wanted to go with him—anywhere.

"I need to go home, but first I gotta drop off the rental. I, uh, is Jay home from school for the break yet? How's his arm?" I was trying to deflect his attention about what I was doing in hopes of giving myself some time to get my shit together.

"Okay. Let me shower, and I'll take you to… Where do you need to turn in the car?"

"No, I mean, it's just Crystal City, and then I can get the metro to my apartment in Foggy Bottom." I was fighting like hell to keep from taking him into my arms and kissing him like he was giving me life.

Spencer stepped closer, and I could smell the sweaty, musky deliciousness of him, which made my heart pound faster. It was intoxicating, and I couldn't stop myself from huffing at him.

"I'm going to shower, and then I'm going to take you to turn in your rental car. I don't know if you've heard, but things have taken a turn for the worse in the Turner family. I have it in good authority that Caroline is lying low. She might be out of business for a while."

That was news to me. Maybe it was the night I'd spent with Denver and how I felt after, but in that moment, I wanted the Senator to claim me and ask me to be his lover. It wasn't anything I'd ever wanted before, but the power in his voice had my insides melting.

Spencer touched a hand to my cheek before he turned and ran upstairs, leaving me in a puddle at the bottom of the winding staircase. I felt a gentle touch on my back and turned to see Vanessa with a bright smile on her pretty face. "Come talk to me, Nash."

I followed the petite woman into the kitchen and took a seat while she prepared drinks for us. "So, you've missed the town gossip, I guess? Senator Frank Turner is in the hospital for undisclosed reasons. I guess if a sixteen-year-old girl showed up at my door and called me Mommy , I'd probably have a medical episode."

"Wait, the Senator has a daughter who's not Caroline's?" I had to wonder how Caroline was taking that news.

"That's the story. I heard Caroline is moving out of their home and taking him for every penny he has. They had an agreement that if he ever cheated, she gets everything." Vani had a smile on her face that was a little vindictive but under the circumstances, I loved seeing it there.

Not knowing Caroline's husband was also a Senator, I'd have never suspected she mixed with society's elite, but it certainly made more sense how she had access to all the power players.

I'd escorted many widows to fancy parties in town, and I'd spent quality, expensive time with lawyers, judges, doctors, and politicians, sometimes at a function, but more often in a bed, against a wall, or on the floor. The money rolled from one person to another, and I'd taken my part of it along the way because those people who paid for my time? They were all jobs for me—not real with any feelings at all.

Of course, my opinion of the Washington upper crust changed when I met Spencer and Vanessa Brady. Suddenly, something else occurred to me.

"Damn! She's gonna want the apartment back, I bet. I gotta find somewhere to live." Now, is it all about me? Fucking hell.

Vani giggled. "Well, we have room here if you need it."

I stared at her, taking in her demeanor. She meant it, and I couldn't understand why. "You and Spencer have a life and a son. There's no reason for me to get in the middle of all of that. Hell, Vani, we've only known each other for a week. Why would you give a shit about me?"

Vanessa placed a glass on the counter in front of me, slowly pushing it to me. "I don't know what you drink, and I'm not a bartender, so it's Glenlivet. It's Spence's favorite."

I nodded and took a healthy swig, slowly swallowing down the liquor to help ease the nerves in my belly. It felt as though I was at a crossroads, and in the past, I hadn't made the best decisions under those circumstances. I glanced in Vani's direction to see she was sipping a glass of white wine and studying me carefully.

"I—I'm not—" I was trying to put the words together in a way that made sense instead of the jumbled mess in my head.

Vani nodded and placed her wine on the marble counter. She took my hand and offered a comforting smile. "You do what's best for you. Spencer won't commit to you because of me, but I'm moving out. We're selling the house, and I'll give him a divorce when he asks, but he needs to do it for himself—not for me and not for you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. She was spot on, though I wasn't sure why it hit me so hard.

"That man is loyal to a fault, but I believe he's also twisted up. Let him take you to drop off the car at the airport, and then have him take you home. You've got some things to consider as well, Nash. Yes, it's fast, but that doesn't make it wrong." Vani was so sweet as she reached for her glass.

I slugged the rest of my drink, realizing she was dead on. Each of us had to do what was right for him or her. I had more than a little thinking to do.