Zero by Sam Crescent

ever have fallen for him. He had next to nothing to offer her.
    Taking out a cigarette, he placed it to his lips and lit it.
    “He’ll get over it, you know,” Lash said, coming to stand beside him. Lash was Nash’s brother. The two were really close, and both were married with kids. For the first time, Zero was envious of the men settled down.
    “What?”
    “Your crush over Sophia. He can’t blame you really. Nash claimed her for a reason.” Lash leaned against the wall, watching his brother. “It’s why I couldn’t blame Devil for wanting my woman. Angel is everything to me. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”
    Zero followed his gaze as he looked toward his woman, who was talking with one of the sweet-butts. Everyone knew not to upset Angel. Once Lash found out, you made an enemy.
    “Angel is a beautiful woman. She’s sweet.” Too sweet for their life but Lash wanted her, and so they made it all possible.
    “If anything ever happened to her it would kill me. She’s my world. My life is devoted to the club. She never makes waves and never asks questions. Angel trusts me completely with her life and that of our son and future children when they come.” Lash turned back to look at him. “I will not live without her. She’s my lifeline and what makes me a good man.”
    “Why are you telling me this?” Zero asked.
    “There is a woman lying in the hospital who means the exact same thing to you. The moment she was in danger you forgot about everything else to be with her.”
    “Prue’s my friend.”
    “And yet, even for a friend you wouldn’t be lying in a hospital bed, holding her tightly. I stopped by the night the nurse was found tied to the chair, though obviously before she was actually there. Tiny wants us all to keep an eye on you both. You were holding Prue tightly, Zero. I wanted to make sure you were all okay. Don’t worry, I didn’t stay around to watch you or shit. That’s fucking creepy. You need to think about where your heart truly lies.” Lash gave him a pointed look and then moved away.
    Zero did love Prue. But his feelings didn’t delve any deeper than friendship, or did they?
    ****
    Steven was bloody awful at playing cards. Prue had won three rounds of snap, and he still couldn’t grasp it. He took his time putting cards down and looked them over.
    “You know, snap is the easiest game to play,” she said, frowning at him. “How did you become part of The Skulls if you can’t play snap?”
    “I’ve never played it before. Also, I’m letting you win.” He looked at her over the top of his cards.
    Pursing her lips, she watched him slowly put down a five, and she picked the top of her cards putting down a king. They’d watched television for the better part of the morning. She couldn’t believe the drama on the talk shows. It was overplayed and boring. Prue missed her school and the kids she taught.
    Staying in bed all day was awful. She hated not being able to do anything. Her wounds were healing nicely, and there was no sign of infection. It would be a matter of days before she went home, which she was thankful for. Zero hadn’t been gone for that long, but she missed him.
    “This game sucks. It’s boring.”
    “What do you want to play? Strip snap?” She rolled her eyes, chuckling. “Any news on Zero?” She knew he’d been put away for the last couple of days for being a fucking idiot.
    “Tiny’s picking him up this morning. They can’t keep Zero when all of his alibis check out. Last time I checked even officers can’t keep people for being irritating. There is footage of him entering the hospital as well. Some of the security cameras were working, but none of them worked after two o’clock. You’ve got an extra guard on the door, courtesy of the local law.” Steven placed his cards down, refusing to pick them up. “This game sucks. I’m not playing.”
    “Fine. You’re useless at it anyway.” She settled back in the bed looking toward the