Page 26 of Sugar and Skulls

I push myself off my bike and take a seat by him on the steps. “Good. I don’t think she’s slept for several days.”

He grips his hair and breaks down. I’ve known my cousin…well shit I’ve known him my whole life. I’ve never seen him like this. “This is shit, Dirk. She didn’t deserve this.”

“No girl does.”

He lifts his head, looking at me with tears in his eyes. “I should have done more. Jesus, Dirk, I knew something hadn’t been right.” He stands up and starts pacing in his yard. “How did I not know she was Bill’s kid?”

“There’s nothing we can do about what’s already happened. We’ve got to focus on the here and now.”

He stops and stares at me. “I want her to stay here with me.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know, Dan. Bill is ready to have his baby girl by his side. He’s waited a long time for this.”

“She has school and friends here.” He leans against a tree and stares up and the sky. “And, she’s got me and the shop. You can’t take that away from her. Not now.”

A pang of something unfamiliar hits me in the gut. He’s right, he has a relationship already in place with her. I’m nothing but a stranger to her. For some reason this bothers me. Really bothers me. Is itjealousy? No, can’t be. I’ve never envied anyone. Ever.

“I’m going to talk to Bill about it tomorrow. He’s living at the warehouse, that’s no place for her.”

“I live at the warehouse, Dan. There will be other women there. It’s not like she’ll be the only one.”

“Women. Dirk…she’s just a girl.”

I stand up, drop my cigarette to the ground and grind it into the sidewalk with my boot. “She looks like a woman to me.”

Next thing I know I’m flat on back looking up at the stars. What in the fuck?

“Shit, I’m sorry man.” Dan offers a hand to help me up. I accept hesitantly. My cousin has never hit me. He jerks me to my feet. “Dammit. I’m so fucking sorry. This has me messed up.”

Dusting the dirt off my backside I try to get my bearings. Fuck, he has a mean punch. “It’s cool.”

He tries to wipe the blood off my lip, but I push his hand away. “I’m going to assume she took the pill?”

The growl that comes from Dan makes me take a few steps back. “She took it and spent the next two hours crying her eyes out. I’ve never seen her cry, man. Never.”

He sits down heavily on the step. This time I keep my distance. Another punch from him is not on my agenda for the rest of the evening.

“I’m going to find whoever did this to her.”

He looks up at me and shakes his head. “Good luck with that. I have a feeling she’s going to get to them first.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He chuckles lightly. “You don’t know Jess like I do. She’s going to get what she wants. She’s wicked smart, Dirk. Whoever did this to her…guarantee she already has a plan to make them pay.”

Again, I get that fucking jealousy pang. I want to know her. Damn do I want to know her. Just one tiny problem with that. Bill. He warned us, rather violently I might add, that he will disembowel anyone who touches his baby girl.

“I thought you said she was just a girl. Make up your mind.” I turn around, heading towards my bike. “Get some sleep cousin. I have a feeling we’re all going to need it.”

Chapter Twelve

Jesse

???

Iwake up with headache and my mouth feels like I ate the entire desert. The cramping in my stomach instantly reminds me of everything. I roll over taking in Dan’s bedroom. He is sleeping in a chair in the corner of the room with his boots propped up on the end of the bed.

Quietly I inch out from the covers and stand. Oh, god. I grab my stomach, leaning over. Boots thud to the ground. “You okay,” he says gently, coming up behind me.

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