Page 44 of Absolution

The sound of a motorcycle roars into the parking lot, and my father’s eyes fill with dread.

“That would be him,” I chide. “Want to meet him?”

My father shows a brief flash of panic, as the roar of his motorcycle grows closer. His eyes tell me that he’s conflicted, but they harden when he notices me watching him. He growls knowing his time is running short.

“If you show up at that court date tomorrow, I will make you pay for meddling with the boy. He doesn’t belong to you, and I will make for damn sure that you don’t get him.”

“We’ll see about that,” I throw back at him.

Ratchet’s bike pulls up just a few feet away from us. My father’s eyes switch from me to Ratchet, and back again as he dismounts his bike waiting on me.

“This isn’t over, Erica,” my father sneers as he releases his grip. I watch him run from me, and head towards the back, around the corner of the bar.

I breathe again for the first time, and take stock in what just occurred. My father not only knows about me, but also my intent to take Asher from him. His threats were clear on that fact. In that moment, as I reel from my encounter with him, I make a promise to myself. That no threat from my father or anyone else is ever going to deter me from this course. My father has a purpose for Asher, what that is I don’t know, but I am not about to let that come to fruition.

Straightening my clothes and taking another deep breath, I walk around the corner of the bar, and greet my man. As I slide onto his bike, I kiss him, and don’t mention a word of what transpired today. My father is my problem, and I am going to solve it on my own because Ratchet’s solution would be more permanent and a bit harder to explain.

My father deserves to die, but at the right moment. And I am the one to determine when the ribbon of his life is to be cut.

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