Forgiving Nancy (Last Hangman MC, #5)(6)

And it turns out Gabe’s little sister, sweet, innocent Nicole, isn’t so sweet and innocent. She’s as bad as the rest of us. Maybe even worse for f*cking Jase, an ex-fake cop and member of the Russian mafia. Those two getting together was something none of us ever expected but it was hilarious for us, not for Gabe though. Imagine big badass Gabe realizing that his baby sister has been screwing someone who was, at the time, our enemy. Seeing his face when she admitted everything was f*cking epic shit that I would never forget.

The MC has suffered too. We’ve lost more members to betrayals and retaliations than I care to admit. Some died heroes and some died like the low life piece of shits they were. Our compound has been blown up and rebuilt and now we’re stronger than ever. The construction has been finished for a few months now and I’m not sure if it’s good or bad but we’ve made it bigger, much bigger. The girls had a field day trying to decorate it and we had to keep reminding them that this isn’t a home, it doesn’t have to be homey. Those ladies will always crack me up. Whenever they come over, no scratch that, every time they come over, they try to sneak in little decorations and ornaments which was quite funny to be begin with, but now they’re just taking the piss. A while back the majority of the club went on a run for a couple of days so there was barely anyone at the compound so the girls took it upon themselves to hang girly shit up in the main hall. Ant, Aleck, Gabe and Jase weren’t too happy with them but me? I laughed so f*cking hard even though the compound looked like it was straight out of one of those decorating magazines. I’m so glad I don’t have a woman thinking they are the next Martha Stewart. I’m sure taking down the girls’ hard work left the guys each having a serious case of blue balls for days because those four women were grumpy as f*ck when they saw what had happened.

They made it clear they weren’t happy with their men and turned their attention on me. They started asking me at least ten times a day why I didn’t have a woman by my side yet.

And the reason is simple. I like my women the way I like my whiskey: thirty years old, naked and chilled. I don’t do repeats, I’m a one night kind of guy. Only one person has messed with my head and heart. That same person who disappeared after promising to love me and be with me forever. I won’t let anyone else do the same, especially since she still holds my heart.

I haven’t been in a relationship since Nancy. I don’t want serious, I just need a release. Not that I didn’t have the chance for more, a lot of my one-night stands wanted commitment, but I can’t do it. There has always only ever been one girl for me. Nancy. She’s my one and only and until I find her, I’ll never settle down.

After her last call to me, she disappeared from the face of the earth and to this day no one knows where she is. Her bag and shoes were found outside the party but there was no other trace of her and no one noticed anything suspicious. The cops told her parents that she had probably ran away but they would keep looking for her. They did also say that if Nancy really wanted to disappear then the chances of finding her would be slim to none.

I was devastated when I learned that she was gone, I can’t even verbalize how I felt. How I found out about it only added to my devastations: I was arrested by the cops. Her f*cking parents actually thought I had taken her and called the cops on me! My parents tried their best to get me out but nothing worked. My only saving grace was the information about my location they got from our phone call and our text messages. After I finally got out, I was a broken man, I felt empty. I didn’t have my Gorgeous Girl. I didn’t know who had her and I had no idea where to start looking.

A call from Ant a couple of weeks later is what brought me back to life. He told me to come back to New Orleans and join the Last Hangman. Apparently they needed fresh blood and according to Ant, I was a perfect fit. As much as I didn’t want to leave Texas in case Nancy was found, I didn’t have much choice. I was drowning in my self-pity and I refused to be that guy any longer. Joining the Last Hangman was just what I needed. I immediately fell in with Ant and I remembered some of the guys from my parent’s time at the club so it was easy finding my place. Soon we were drinking, hitting on chicks and causing mayhem together in good old New Orleans pretty much the second I turned up on the doorstep. Not much has changed since those days, except that my drinking and hitting on women buddies have changed. I only have Ryan left after those poor fools fell to the temptations of stability and commitment.

I still think about Nancy, pretty much every single day. I should have gone to her the minute she asked me to pick her up. None of this would have happened if I had just done as she wanted. She would still be with me, but instead, I’ve lost her forever. I still love her, that’s never wavered for even a second and it causes Gabe and Aleck to constantly take the piss out of me but f*ck them, they would be the same if they were in my shoes. I don’t know if they are doing it to really take the piss or to try and cheer me up. I have my good days, but some stuff remind me of the past and then I torture myself thinking how I could have saved her. Watching my brothers find their other halves over the years has left me a shell of myself because I realize I’ll never have that with the woman I want to share my life with.

I guess I’m pretty happy with my life at the moment. Do I wish I had someone to share it with? Sure, but no one could ever take Nancy’s place in my heart. She was the breath of fresh air in my life. I’ve loved her pretty much since the first time I saw her, and I think I’m going to love her for the rest of my life.