Page 23 of Towles

“No. No, it’s okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

“This is my life,” I said and returned to the cot. “It’s for shit. I have no hope for anything better.”

“There’s always hope, Ethan. I can help you with that.”

“Right. Hope has only ever failed me, April. I’m not one of your patients who can be fixed. I don’t run like that.”

“I get it, Ethan. Always pretending that everything is okay is exhausting.” She reached out, and I stood.

“You don’t want to do this, April. This life, the one I lead, isn’t for you. Fuck, it isn’t for anyone.” I turned away and hit the wall, leaving behind a smattering of blood.

“Towles,” Beast said. “I got him,” he said to April.

“Ethan,” April said before leaving. “You’re allowed to fall apart, even if it’s only a little bit. Don’t be hard on yourself.”

Beast waited for April to leave. “Manning’s going to set you free. I told him we wouldn’t press charges against Summers.” He nodded toward the exit. “What’s with you and this April chick?”

“She’s my therapist,” I said, stretching my fingers, knuckles crunching.

“Your therapist?”

I told him what Manning had me do. I’d yet to share that with the club.

“She’s also Paul Summers’ wife. Future ex-wife.”

“Fuck. He’s the mayor’s brother, too.”

Manning entered the room and unlocked the cell. He said nothing and left. He hated not being able to keep me overnight.

“I’m not fucking her, brother.” I walked out ahead of Beast and found Paul Summers speaking to April in the lobby.

“You need to keep walking, brother,” Beast said. “Don’t start shit here.”

April broke eye contact with Summers and smiled. The rage on his face was priceless. I thought about giving her a tap on the ass but decided against the idea. Manning was still watching, holding his handcuffs. He would charge me with sexual assault.

“How’re Sophia and Denise?” I asked.

Beast climbed on his bike. “Denise is fine. Sophia quit. Said she didn’t sign up for this shit.”

I didn’t say it, but shit is what you got more often than not when you were affiliated with a club like ours. It was part of the territory.

Skittles and Gigi exited their car and met April at the top of the stairs. They ushered her into the car before Summers came out. He’d been added to the list of assholes I needed to deal with.

8

April

The funny thing about life is that you never know when yours will intersect with someone else’s. It happens, and there’s no way to be prepared. You take it at face value and hope it doesn't land you in jail or six feet under. My intersection with Ethan had led me to both sides of a jail cell. Would it eventually put me six feet under?

“Ethan had to stop at his place,” Skittles said. She stood in the doorway of Ethan’s private room at the club. “Don’t let any of this scare you. We help each other get through these things and are better off.”

“I never realized Paul had a violent side,” I said. “I need to tell that woman I’m sorry for what he did.”

“A man never shows his violent side as long as he thinks he controls you. When he feels he’s lost or losing control, that’s when the brutality emerges.” Skittles put her hand on the doorknob and started to close the door. “No woman deserves a man like that. Ethan isn’t like that. He’s a little rough around the edges, but he’ll treat you right. Keep in mind he’s been burned too many times to count. Also, there’s no need to apologize to Sophia. She knows it was all him. Never apologize for that asshole. He’s responsible for the shit he's done.”

“That’s why Ethan talks about the club so much. He acts like the club saved his life by keeping him out of prison, giving him something with a purpose.” I understood more than Ethan thought I did.

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