Page 72 of Shadow and Skulls

I pick up my soda, finishing it off after I slide my shorts up my legs.

Jason has his eyes closed, and Matt is trying to get his shorts pulled up with one hand.

“Well, you boys better get to a doctor. That shit might rot your cocks clean off,” he teases. “Come on. I got my truck outside. I’ll give you a ride to the ER.”

Neither of them say anything as they stand, their hands still dipped into the other’s swim trunks. They hang their heads shamefully as they walk in front of us through the house.

When my dad holds the front door of Lexi’s house open for them, all of the bikers now lining her driveway start clapping. Ash jogs around the side of the house, his gaze roaming over the four of us. He’s clearly looking for Lexi.

“She’s inside.” I nod toward the house. “We’ll take care of these two.”

He gives me a quick peck on the cheek despite my dad’s warning grunt and then rushes past us into the house. It doesn’t take much coaxing to get Matt and Jason shoved into the backseat of the truck. My dad gets into the driver’s seat as I slide into the passenger one. As soon as the door closes, my dad pulls his gun from his cut, pointing it at Jason and then at Matt.

“Tell her thank you,” he says, nodding his head in my direction.

They look at each other confused.

“You two fucks would be dead if it wasn’t for her. She’s the reason you live. Tell her. Now.”

Jason mumbles a quiet thank you while Matt remains silent.

My dad reaches over the back of the seat, cracking him in the temple with the butt of his gun.

“Jesus,” Matt groans. “Thank you.”

I focus on the windshield.

Dad lays his gun on the dashboard before starting his truck. “If either of you so much as look at either of these girls again, I can assure you not even my daughter will be able to save your asses. I’ll gladly sit the rest of my life in prison to see you rot in the ground.”

We drive a few miles with the club following closely behind us. When it becomes clear to the boys that we aren’t going to take them to the ER, they get fidgety in the back. My dad pulls up to Look Out Point, the place Jason coerced me into sleeping with him. The place where Matt raped Lexi in the backseat while Jason sat up front, ignoring her pleas. The place they left her crying in the mud.

“You’ve got two seconds to get out of the car,” my dad tells them as he throws it in park.

Quickly they stumble out, falling on the ground with a hard thud.

“I hear you guys like to make people crawl in the mud, yeah?” my dad yells. “Well, get crawling.”

The men of the club begin to laugh and make crude comments as Jason and Matt crawl away, still glued to each other’s dicks. I close my eyes and put my hands over my ears to block them out. My dad notices all the catcalling is upsetting me. He leans over the seat and pulls the door closed.

“Let’s get you home.”

As we drive away, I slowly lower my hands.

“That didn’t feel as good as I thought it would,” I say quietly, finally looking at him.

“That’s one of the misconceptions about revenge. It rarely makes you feel better.”

“Then why did you let me do it?”

He drives past the driveway to my little church house, continuing down the road.

“Because those fucks deserved every bit of that.” He laughs harshly, shutting off the truck in front of our house. My mom is swinging on the porch. “Now I’m going to let her help you deal with the guilt, because honestly, I don’t understand it. What I said back there, about being willing to go to prison, that was the truth. I have no remorse for giving people what they deserve.”

I sigh, dropping my head against the seat. “Sometimes I get glimpses of the Jason I used to know. I … I felt bad for him. Not so much for Matt.”

He takes my hand. “You’re such a good soul. Just like your momma.” He brings my hand to his mouth, kissing it. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe Jason is better than this. Maybe this will be his wakeup call.”

“I hope so,” I whisper.

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