Page 48 of Dark As Coal

What was Angelyn doing here?

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her at the clubhouse as often. Granted, we had been staying at our place more, but still.

I offered her a kind smile, even though I wish I was one of those people who could pretend they didn’t hear their name being called, “Hey, what’s going on?”

She looked frantic when she rushed out, “I need your help. Look, my sister called me and said her boyfriend was getting violent with her. I was on my way to her, and remembered you got off around this time, and knew that it would be better to have help.”

I felt for her, but I had one question, “Why didn’t you tell the brothers?”

Something about this whole thing was screaming at me, but Sutton’s words the other day had me rethinking. ‘Sometimes the best way to get through to someone is to show them all the kindness you can muster… until you can’t.’

“Okay, I’ll help you. But Angelyn, the moment we get your sister, I’m calling Coal. Okay?”

And that wasn’t my only mistake of the day.

***

The moment we pulled up outside of a house, I turned to ask Angelyn if she was going to call her sister, but she was already out of her car shutting her door.

I’d learned to always trust my gut, trust it deeply, therefore, I typed out a quick text to Coal.

Me – Track my location. I love you.

Putting my phone in my back pocket, I got out of the car and followed Angelyn up the rickety porch stairs to a house that appeared to be in horrible shape.

Why would anyone be okay living in something that looked as though a good storm was going to knock the whole thing down?

But every thought was taken away when the door opened and before I could react, someone came up behind me and hit me upside my head with something.

The last conscious thought I had was that Coal better hurry his ass up.

And why the hell did I not stop to put my property kutte on?

***

“I helped bring her here. Now, where’s my money?” That voice.

I knew that voice.

Carefully, to avoid as much pain as possible, I lifted my head.

And when my eyes locked on the woman standing there with straight long brown hair and that beauty mark on her right cheek, it took everything I had inside of me to not speak.

To not speak and tell her exactly what I thought about her.

To not speak and spew venom from my mouth.

And then as I watched the man with a weird ass blonde haircut that appeared his hair didn’t know if it wanted to be a mullet or a shullet, hand her a thick wad of cash, she looked over at me and freaking smirked.

She freaking smirked.

What Cuntasourus.

Then she proved to be exactly the name I called her when she said, “It’s nothing personal, you see.”

Right.

I didn’t say anything.

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