RECKLESS IN INK (BOOK TWO)

B7/C3

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Wolf

I followed Nova into the diner and over to a booth, a waitress came over to take our orders. We both ordered coffees before she had left us alone. "Are you sure this is okay? You don't have any jobs to do?" Nova asked me, I itch the side of my chin. 

"I'm sure. The guys are with their families today." 

"What about you don't you have any family besides the guys?" She asked me but I shook my head no. 

"Nope none" 

"Mum? Dad? Brothers? Sisters?"

"I was an orphan," I told her before the waitress came back with two mugs filled with coffee. 

"Shoot... sorry. I...I didn't mean too.." 

"No, it's fine. I was told that my mother died when she had me and my father just left me at the door of the orphanage." 

"I'm sorry," she says holding her mug with two hands. "Is that why you go to AA?" 

"Part of it but mostly because I was a drug addict." I took a sip of my coffee. I left her speechless as she stared at me, she shook her head.

"There's no way you used to use drugs. Hawk would have kicked your ass" 

"Yeah that's true but this was before I even met Hawk. I was 15, hanging out with a friend of mine, he had stolen some of his dad stuff. For years it was the only thing that took my mind away from the shit I called life." 

"When did you stop? How did you overcome the urge to not use it?" She asked me as she looked from her cup to me. 

"At 18 I overdosed. I lived but my friend Issac didn't. The hospital helped me get into rehab and I spent the year there, I got clean and moved out here but I was homeless. Looked for a job at the scrap yard and started to prospect at the club" I said as I looked at my mug, half-filled with coffee. "I'm still battling the urge everyday.. but I guess keeping busy with the club helps. What about you?" I asked her when I looked into her eyes.

"What about me?"

"What's your sob story?"

"What makes you think I have one?" She gave me a little smile. 

"Because everyone has one," I told her, I brought my cup to my lips and took a sip. I watched as she looked away, she looked out the window and sighed.

"My mum died at 14 with cancer, I didn't go to college but I worked at a diner to help dad with the bills. The manager and I became close and went out for a while..." she says pushing her hair behind her ear. I noticed she had a small heart tattoo on her neck.  "I went to rehab, and now I go to AA. My dad is dead and I work two jobs just to pay off debt and barely have enough to live on" I could see she was starting to get pissed off, then her eyes snapped to mine.

"Did the old ladies set you up to do this? To find out information about me?" 

"Why do you say that?" I asked her. 

"Because since my dad died they had been trying to check up on me, Tor and his old lady. Why can't they just leave me alone?" She asked me.

"Maybe they are worried about you. I did overhear once that you were like family to them" 

"No, my father was family to them, I just took over his business." She snaps. "Thanks for the coffee but I need to go," she said as she got out of the booth, she headed towards the door as I stood up and threw some cash on the table before I followed her out. 

"Nova! Nova, wait," I walked over to her, I grabbed a hold of her arm but she quickly jumped back covering her head with her arms. "Jesus Christ…" I mumbled. "Hey it's just me, I'm not going to hurt you," I told her, holding my hands up as she looked at me while putting her arms down. When I was talking to her in the diner her eyes were barely focusing and that meant one thing. "What have you taken?" 

"What..?" She asked me but shook her head "I...I don't know what you are talking about"

"Do you really think I'm stupid? What have you taken?"

"Nothing!" She snapped again. I knew the signs well, she was coming down from something as her moods changed quickly.  "Just leave me alone," she snaps once more before getting into her car and driving away. I shook my head and walked over to my bike. I sighed before I threw my leg over my bike and pulled my helmet on.

Once I got to the clubhouse I went in search of Twitch. Rage and Jäger we're playing pool, Whiskey and Echo were at the bar drinking beer while the other guys were around. Corba walks out of the back "Hey man, where have you been?" He asked me. 

"AA. Where's Twitch?" I asked him. 

"In his dorm, you know what he's like when Mireya goes home," Corba said, I gave him a nod before walking past him. I knocked on Twitch's door and waited until I heard a come in. Twitch was sitting at his desk typing away but stops when he heard me. 

"What's up?" He asked me. 

"Can you look into Nova Petrov" 

"Why do you want me to look into Mr Petrov's daughter?" 

"Because she goes to AA and I know she's hiding something," I told him, "Can you do it?" 

"Yeah just give me a few minutes," he said before turning back to his computer. He had brought files up that went back to the death of her mother. "I've got school records and hospital records. What were you looking for?" 

"She went to rehab" 

"Yeah, I got her records. She went in for being an addict. Heroin…" he says, as I looked over his shoulder at her file, I sighed. I knew she hadn't been on heroin today it was something else that had been keeping her awake. 

"Damn it" I mumbled to myself "thanks man," I told Twitch before I left.

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Enjoy!