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  He shrugged. “What? You are a bossy bitch, Velvet.”

  “I have to be where you and the guys are concerned, but I’m not usually bossy with Harlow.”

  Harlow backed me up. “Yeah, she doesn’t boss me around but I’m glad she did on this because I love what she’s done with my makeup.”

  Scott walked to where Harlow was and grabbed her around the waist. He kissed her and then murmured, “I’m heading out but I’ll be back at the end of your shift to pick you up. You all good?”

  I tuned them out; watching lovestruck couples together was not something I enjoyed doing. Instead, I packed away my makeup and finished getting ready for work. It was a longer shift than usual tonight because one of the other strippers was sick, and Cody had asked me to cover for her. Fortunately for Cody, I liked him, so I’d said yes. Hell, in the four years I’d worked at Indigo, Cody was the best manager they’d ever employed so I was doing everything I could to make sure he stayed.

  Scott’s voice pulled me back into their conversation. “Nash is out front, Velvet. Something’s pissed him off. You got five minutes to check on him?”

  “Christ, Scott, Nash is always pissed off about something lately. I doubt there’s anything I could say that would help him.”

  Scott’s eyes narrowed on me. “What happened between you two? You’ve been good mates for years and now you’re hardly talking.”

  “Nothing, unless you count the fact I told him a little while ago to clean his shit up, and stop fucking every chick he sets eyes on.”

  Harlow sucked in a breath. “Really? You said that to him?”

  I scowled at the memory. “Yes. Someone had to, because seriously, I’m concerned his dick will need resuscitation soon. Surely that thing has had enough pussy to last it two lifetimes.”

  Scott snorted. “Make that three lifetimes and you’re getting close.”

  “My point exactly. So yeah, he didn’t take that conversation very well and he’s been avoiding me ever since.”

  Scott pulled Harlow close for another kiss and then gave me his attention. “Talk to him; he might surprise the fuck outta you.”

  He left me and Harlow alone and I stood staring after him, shaking my head. I didn’t want to talk to Nash for a couple of reasons. Number one was that our friendship really did seem to be dead after I’d said that to him. And the second reason was that he’d actually hurt me by cutting me off. We’d been friends for as long as I’d been working at Indigo; not close, close friends, but when we hung out together at the club we got on really well. There was an easiness to it that I liked, and he was one of the only guys who hadn’t hit on me. Well, he flirted a lot but he’d never put the hard word on me and I loved that about him. I’d felt like our friendship had gotten to the point where we could be open and honest so that’s why I’d said that to him. Nash screwed any woman that would have him and I felt like he deserved better. I knew there was something inside him that made him treat himself the way he did; looking at him some days was like looking in a mirror. I’d been where he was. The only difference was that I now respected myself enough not to do that shit anymore and that’s what I wanted for Nash.

  “You gonna talk to him?” Harlow asked.

  I sighed. Of course I was; I couldn’t let a friend down. “Yeah.”

  She smiled. “Nash is lucky to have you as a friend.”

  “He fucking is, but we’ll soon see if he realises that.”

  ***

  I found him ten minutes later, sitting alone in the club watching the stripper who was currently working the stage. It was still early in the night; only a handful of men were here so far. However, the ones that were here recognised me as I walked towards Nash, and whistles and suggestive comments followed me.

  One guy yelled out, “I’d like to lick your pussy and then come all over your face before sticking - ”

  This shit wasn’t new to me but this guy was a complete dick. I’d seen the way he treated the other strippers and I didn’t like it. I turned and challenged him, “Really? Is that how you sweet talk all your women? Cause I’ve gotta say, it doesn’t turn me on and there’s no way I’d let your tiny dick anywhere near my face.”

  His friends laughed and cheered me on, and I watched in satisfaction as his face turned a lovely shade of red. I shook my head in disgust at him and continued on my way to Nash. As I approached him, I realised he was watching me with an intense stare; it kind of unnerved me.

  “Remind me never to piss you and your acid tongue off,” he said as I sat next to him.

  “Well, you already have.”

  His brow arched. “How? I just arrived.”

  I leaned in close to him. “You pissed me off awhile ago, Nash, but I decided to let you off from my acid tongue.”

  “How the fuck did I piss you off?” His body tensed with anger and frustration which only served to irritate me; I hadn’t said or done anything to warrant the amount of hostility he was projecting.

  Sitting back away from him, I replied, “When I was trying to be a friend to you by suggesting you stop screwing around, you cut me off.”

  He glowered at me. “Friends don’t tell you how to live your life, Velvet.”

  “Then they’re not your real friends,” I threw back at him with no hesitation.

  He stood up abruptly. “Fuck, I don’t need this shit from you, too,” he muttered, raking his hand through his hair.

  I sat calmly; I wouldn’t allow him to rile me up on the outside, even though my insides were seething with annoyance. “Maybe you do, Nash. If you don’t have any other friends who will be honest with you, then I’d say you do need this shit from me.”

  He turned so he was staring directly down at me. Leaning forward, he rested his hands on either side of my chair and shoved his face into mine. His green eyes were blazing with wrath, and he spat his words out. “Today is not the fuckin’ day to mess with me. I’ve had all I can take from my family and I sure as shit don’t need to come here and cop more from you. So keep your fuckin’ mouth shut and leave me the hell alone.” With that, he pushed himself away from me and strode out of the club.

  Well, shit. I had no idea what that was all about, but something told me Nash probably needed a friend more than ever right about now. Unfortunately, I started work in ten minutes so it wouldn’t be me helping him tonight. Sadly, I knew he would find solace in the arms of a stranger but it would be temporary solace at best.

  Chapter 4

  Stupid Boy ~ Keith Urban

  Velvet

  I unlocked the boot of my car and started unloading my groceries from the trolley. It was only ten am and already the idiots were out in force, which meant my day so far hadn’t been the best. People never failed to irk me. Perhaps I should seriously think about doing all my shopping online.

  As I struggled to lift the box of coke cans I’d bought, into my car, a pair of strong hands took over and lifted it for me. I looked up at Nash’s face in surprise. It had been just over a week since I’d seen him; since he’d abused me. He hadn’t been into Indigo in that time and I wondered if he’d been avoiding me because he normally lived at that place.

  He laid a huge smile on me and that just pissed me off. I slammed the boot shut and pushed the trolley into the trolley bay before returning to my car. He was standing there with his arms folded across his chest, smile still in place.

  I glared at him. “So this is how you’re going to play this out?”

  “Play what out?”

  “I haven’t seen you for a week and the last time I saw you, you told me to back the fuck off. Now you show up and act like nothing happened.”

  His smile disappeared, and he rubbed his hand over his face. “Can we pretend that didn’t happen?”

  “No, Nash, we cannot pretend that didn’t happen. I’m not a fake friend who is happy to let shit slide. If you want that, you won’t find it with me, so I suggest you go back to your skanks, who I’m sure would be happy to provide you with a shallow friendship and a
place to stick your dick.” God, he riled me up lately and I couldn’t even begin to understand why.

  “Fuck, Velvet, you make it hard on a man.”

  “Oh good Lord, get over yourself,” I muttered, and tried to shove my way past him to the front door of my car.

  He placed his hand on my shoulder and stopped me before I could get past. “I’m sorry for being a prick the other day,” he forced out. His eyes flamed with displeasure, and his shoulders tensed; this was hard for him to do, but I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

  “And what about the fact you’ve been a prick to me for months now?” I challenged him.

  He opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut straight away and stared at me. I waited to see what he would say but nothing came out; he simply continued to stare. As much as I tried to figure out what he was thinking, he was unreadable. To me, anyway.

  “Fine!” I huffed, and turned away towards the front door of the car, ready to leave. But before I left, I had one more thing to say, so I spun back around. “We’ve been friends for four years, Nash. I’ve always felt like you were there for me and vice versa. It upsets me that you’ve shut that down, but I’m not the kind of person who will allow someone to keep treating me like shit which is what you’ve been doing to me for awhile now. So, if you want to still be friends, you know where to find me and what you need to do. Until then, I’m done with this.”

  I didn’t even wait to see his reaction; I got in my car as fast as I could and sped off. It had hurt to say that to him, but there came a time in a friendship where you had to put yourself first and refuse to be walked all over.

  ***

  As I pulled into my driveway, I realised with a sinking feeling that my day was about to get worse. My ex-husband was leaning against his car, waiting for me.

  “Shit,” I muttered, and psyched myself up to deal with him.

  “Velvet,” he greeted me in his smooth, honeyed voice. That voice could charm the habit off a nun. I should know; he’d dazzled me years ago and smooth talked his way into my heart.

  “What do you want, James?” I snapped.

  “Someone’s having a bad day?”

  I didn’t have time for small talk with him. “I haven’t heard from you since the day you trashed my heart five years ago. I’m guessing that the only reason you’re here today is because you want something from me.”

  His cool composure was momentarily challenged, and I saw the darkness cross his face fleetingly, but he quickly pulled himself back together and walked towards me. He’d kept that darkness hidden from me for most of our relationship but when I’d not performed in the manner he’d wanted and had failed to provide him with what he desired, his dark side had shone through and slapped me in the face. I’d been naive in my love for him and he’d taught me that love is a fickle master; one to be avoided at all costs.

  He moved into my personal space; he knew I hated that. “I have a proposal for you.”

  “I’m not interested in any proposal of yours.”

  “This one will interest you,” he stated with the arrogance I knew so well.

  I pushed past him and began walking towards my front door. “The answer’s no.”

  He reached out, grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him. His grip was hard and I was sure it would leave me bruised. And shit, he scared me. I’d spent years building my walls up against any further hurt this man could inflict on me and here he was, smashing those walls down with ease. “You should know by now that the answer is never no, Velvet,” he threatened on an angry breath.

  My heart raced with fear. “What do you want from me?” I tried to hide my anxiety, but my voice cracked slightly; just enough for him to notice, and just enough for him to be able to play his manipulative games knowing that he held all the power.

  He kept me in his tight grip. “That’s my girl,” he said, his voice washing over me like poison, “It’s very simple really. I’m going to offer you a lot of money and in return you’re going to keep your mouth shut if anyone should ever come and ask you questions about me or us.”

  I broke free of his hold and stared at him. “Why?”

  “I’m going into the family business.”

  Politics. No wonder he was sniffing around me now. I had the power to shatter his dream.

  My anxiety eased a little and I faked the confidence I desperately craved. “Make your offer and then get the fuck out of here.”

  He visibly struggled with my attitude. This was a side of me that James was not acquainted with. “My lawyer will be in touch with the details,” he finally said. “And, Velvet, that language is very unbecoming.”

  My blood boiled. “I don’t give a shit what you think of my language. I’m not your doormat anymore, so I can say and think whatever the hell I want.”

  Disdain dripped from him. “I was right to get rid of you years ago.”

  His words pierced my heart. As much as I knew he was an asshole, and as much as I knew I was better than what he thought of me, it still hurt to have the man I’d loved and given everything to, say those words. He’d ruined my self belief years ago, and I’d slowly healed myself; I now feared he had the ability to bury me under a layer of self doubt and loathing all over again.

  Chapter 5

  This Is Who I Am ~ Vanessa Amorosi

  Nash

  Erika was wrong. Her neighbour didn’t have a mental health problem; he was just a dickhead. I’d confronted him ten minutes ago about her issues with him. He wasn’t happy about it and had proceeded to have a go at me. I let him hurl obscenities at me which he did like a pro. He was obviously experienced at abusing people; he didn’t even stop to take a breath.

  Once I was sure he was finished, I took a step closer to him and snarled, “You finished?”

  I was slightly taller and bigger than he was, but he held his ground; he didn’t even blink at my intrusion into his space. “No, one last thing. You tell your sister that this is my fucking home and I’ll do whatever the fuck I want whenever the fuck I want to do it. And if she wants to get her big brother involved, tell her to bring it on.”

  I was already in a foul mood after my earlier conversation with Velvet, but this guy’s smugness tipped me over the edge. Even if I’d wanted to contain my fury, I wouldn’t have been able to.

  “You’re the big fuckin’ man, aren't you? Treating women like that must make you feel real fuckin’ good about yourself, motherfucker,” I growled. “You know what makes me feel good?” I continued in a menacing tone. He had the good fucking grace to register concern, but my lust for violence had been fueled, and there was no turning back now. I raised my fist and smashed it into his face, taking great joy in the blood this produced.

  I’d caught him unaware and he tried to get in the game, but I was two steps ahead of him and punched the other side of his face before jabbing him hard in the gut. He doubled over, but I wasn’t done. I grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him back into the brick wall behind him. The thud he hit the wall with was satisfying, as was the look of alarm on his face.

  “Stop!” he managed to get out while clutching his stomach, and trying to shield his face from me.

  My arm was raised and ready to rain more blows down on him, but I paused and eyed him. His face was a bloody mess and he appeared to be in some pain. I’d probably done enough damage to make him think twice about bugging Erika again. Lowering my arm, I demanded, “We got an understanding here, asshole?”

  He didn’t hesitate. “Yes, now fuck off and leave me alone.”

  “Just one more thing; you fuck with my sister again and I’ll be back.” I paused, and then threatened him further, “And I won’t be alone.”

  He nodded and once I was convinced he meant it, I shoved him one last time and then left him to it. I was fairly certain that Erika wouldn’t hear about this from him which was the way I wanted it. She had a tendency to stress too much about shit and the last thing I wanted was her worrying about me. God knew, she already did
that enough.

  ***

  Five hours later, I met with Scott, Griff and J to discuss where we were at with our investigation of Marcus. Griff was full of bad news.

  “You’re kidding, right?” I asked in disbelief.

  Griff looked at me and shook his head. “No, the lead was a dead end. Marcus has covered his tracks well.”

  “Fuck,” J swore and slammed his hand down on the table. “We’re never gonna get this motherfucker, are we?”

  I felt his frustration. We’d spent the last two months trying to get a handle on what Marcus was up to and none of the leads went anywhere. Either Marcus wasn’t up to anything or he was skilled at hiding shit. We all believed the latter scenario.

  “Patience, brother,” Scott directed at J.

  Unfortunately, patience wasn’t J’s strong suit and he was pretty agitated with this latest development. “Maybe I need to go back to Adelaide and talk to some of the boys down there. Someone’s gotta know something for fuck’s sake.”

  Scott considered this and then gave Griff a questioning look. Griff nodded, and Scott turned to J and agreed, “Okay, you go down there and see what you can find. But you’re going to have to keep it quiet, brother; the last thing we want is news travelling back to Dad. You know if we can trust any of the boys down there with this?”

  J contemplated that, and then replied, “There’s two of them who I’m pretty sure can be trusted.”

  Griff stood. “Contact them and set it up, J.” He checked his watch. “I’ve gotta go, got a hot date with a brunette.”

  “Since when do you date?” I asked. I’d never known Griff to date.

  “Date is probably the wrong word for it, brother,” he smirked, “But I have dated before.”

  “Must have been before I came to town.”

  Scott stood as well. “Long time before you came to town, Nash. Griff’s a moody bastard; kind of makes it hard to find a woman to stick around.”

  “That and it’s hard to find a woman who won’t fuck you over,” Griff muttered as he left us.

  “That’s the fuckin’ truth,” I agreed as J and I stood too.