Page 6 of Blood & Ash

“You’re one to talk about marriage.”

“I’m only sayin’. You two have been doing this back-and-forth bullshit for how long?”

“Too damn long.” I take a long drag, trying not to get choked on the smoke pulling through my lungs. Truth is, I need to cut her loose. Maybe if I did, she’d do something with her life besides wasting it fucking around with me when I call on her for an easy lay.

I don’t love her. There’s no time for falling in love.

No room for an old lady in my life.

I have too much riding on me. Like the future of this club.

My old man isn’t getting any younger and Eightball isn’t fit to lead. Only reason he’s still VP is because he’s loyal. He’s not Prez material. None of us are, but I know my father is setting me up to fill his seat at the head of the table when the time comes, and he’s taken out or can no longer ride.

I try not to dwell on that shit too much. Pops is fifty-five and has another good ten years in him.

“Check this shit out.” Goose slaps me across the chest as Starla and Daisy turn the stereo up and start grinding up against each other in front of Hash. The bastard loves every second of the show.

Hell, so do I. Especially after the day I’ve fucking had. Not sure it could get much more fucked. That is until Shelby comes running down the stairs naked and covered in blood screaming, “Someone call an ambulance!”

My whole world fucking stops at the sight of her. This life never fucking slows down. I try to catch my breath as everyone jumps up and barks orders.

Chill bumps fan across the back of my neck. I don’t know if it’s her blood or if it belongs to someone else. I’m not sure what she’s even doing here still.

Goose shakes my shoulder. “It’s your Pops.”

Chaos erupts, and yet I’m frozen in place. I stare at my boots, trying to force my feet to move. There’s nowhere to run and hide. Whatever is happening, these men look to me behind my old man. I get to my feet and rush past the stupid cunt, unable to get the vision of her out of my mind as I take the stairs two at a time.

When I reach the top of the stairs, Gotti is there. He shakes his head, pressing a palm to my chest to keep me from going into the room where my father lays in the bed with blood gushing out of his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. It’s not only him though, Eightball is slumped over in a chair with foam coming out his mouth. I push past Gotti, dropping to my knees at my father’s side. I’ve never been the type to pray, but I’m here begging God not to take him now. As I clutch his hand in mine, praying for the first time in my life, deep down, I know he’s gone. My Pops has left this world behind.

Left me here to pick up all the shattered pieces.

Everything happens in slow motion, like a silent picture playing out in front of me. Like all that is happening aroundme isn’t happening to me. It’s an out-of-body experience, being knocked out of the way as a paramedic tries to resuscitate my father. I sink down against the wall with my head in my hands.

Across the room, Goose is in the same shape as me.

I watch in horror, unable to do a damn thing as he too loses his father.

Standing in the doorway, with a sheet wrapped around her, stands Shelby. I don’t know what comes over me, but at the sight of her, I lunge with my hands outstretched for the cunt’s throat.

“I’ll kill you, whore.” I rage at her, digging my fingers into her skin, doing my damnedest to choke the life out of her as her eyes bulge out of their sockets. Gotti and Kevlar wrestle me away from her. Shoving me down the hallway toward my room. Where she was with me this morning and now she was with him. My father and she’s killed him.

Shelby stares at me from the opposite end of the hall, every breath rattling from her chest a struggle, with nothing but fear. She better be scared. She’ll be wishing she died right next to him by the time I’m done with her.

“I’m sorry,” she mouths.

“You’re dead to me. Don’t think about me. Anything we ever had means nothing. Fucking nothing. You hear me, bitch. Stay the fuck away from me. You’re as good as dead.”

“Blood, please,” she cries, and I punch the wall.

“I’m cool.” I hold up my hands in surrender as Kevlar pins me to the wall.

“You little bitch,” Momma Tee screeches, pulling a gun out from between her tits and aiming it at Shelby. Right as she shoots, Goose jerks her hand up, sending her bullet into the ceiling.

I can’t deal with this shit right now.

I storm past them all, going straight for the bar. Grabbing a bottle of Jack, I head out the back doors to the beach. I collapsein the sand and light up a cigarette with my father’s blood staining my hands. I take a hard pull from the bottle and stare out at the waves, wondering where in the hell this all went so fucking wrong.

I’m in a nightmare I can’t wake up from.

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