Page 14 of Riding Through Life

“Why would I? Nothing happened.”

“Because, dumbass,” Playboy pipes in. “If you would have told her the truth, none of this would have happened and that bitch wouldn’t have been allowed in the Clubhouse and she would have been fired from Nadia’s dance studio.”

“Fuck.” I scrub my hands down my face when therealization hits. “Because I didn’t do anything, she spun it to make me the bad guy. Who is this crazy bitch?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Torch pulls his phone from his pocket and dials Red. “Hey did you run a background on Nadia’s new dancer, Lynn?” The line is silent for a beat while Red replies. “Well, something isn’t adding up, not if this bitch can come between brothers and their Ol’ ladies.” Torch motions for Playboy to give him his phone. “Run this number and see what you can come up with. Then when you’re done, check Playboy’s room for any of her fingerprints. She isn’t being honest with us.” Torch rattles off the number to Red. “And keep this between the four of us. I don’t want anyone else, not even Nadia to know about this until we have all the details. I’ll run it by Capone when we get home. Thanks, brother.” Torch hangs up his phone and shoves it in his pocket. “Let’s get our mark and fuck shit up so we can get back home.”

Chapter

Eleven

KENSI

Aweight is sitting on my chest and all I can do at the moment is cry. Aftermath was everything to me. He was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Now all my dreams are shattered lying in a million pieces at my feet. Every time I move, I’m cut with therealization that Aftermath didn’t love me, not if he could do what he did.

Somehow that bitch got my number and has been texting me shit about Aftermath no one but me should know. She told me how they met and she feels guilty for letting it carry on the way it did, not knowing she was the other woman.

At first, I didn’t believe her, but after a while, it started to make sense. The way Aftermath would do things for me out of guilt of hiding something or the way he’d space out like he was thinking about something, or I should say someone that wasn’t me. And each time she saw him, we weren’t together.

Then there’s the Club. According to Lynn, at the party, Aftermath and she were going to announce their new relationship and move me out. But apparently, that didn’t go as planned. She told me it was because I swept in and stole him away before they could. That hurt my heart and shattered my soul. When I asked her if that was the case, why did she sleep with Playboy? She told me it was because she wanted to make Aftermath jealous with envy. Something isn’t sitting right with her story.

A sob escapes from my chest when my phone rings with Aftermath’s ringtone. It’s been a few days since I left the Clubhouse and not a single person had reached out to me. I must be as disposable as those Club Bunnies. Now that Aftermath and I aren’t together, I don’t belong there and they’ve all proved it with their actions. I stare at my phone, contemplating whether to answer or not when it quits ringing and goes to voicemail. It immediately starts ringing again and I can’t escape the tears running down my face. Why did he have to do this?

It stops and starts again two more times. Aftermath isn’t going to let this go until I answer him. Might as well start now.

“What?” My voice is trembling with heartbreak.

“Tiger, what’s going on?” Aftermath’s voice is a soothing balm to my broken heart.

“I don’t want to get into this right now, Aftermath,” I whisper, holding back tears.

“Get into what? Kensi, what is going on?” The confusion and pain in his voice is my undoing. I sob quietly, letting my tears fall. “C’mon, baby, I can’t fix this if I don’t have a clue what has you running.”

I pause for a long time, anger replacing sadness. He’s confused and wants to fix this? Maybe if he’d kept his dick in his pants this wouldn’t have happened. “I’m not running, Aftermath. I’m done.” My voice is stronger now, anger clear in my tone. “Until you can come clean and be honest with me, I’m fucking done.” I hang up the phone and throw it across the room.

I’m at my dad’s new house, in the spare room. When I showed up on his doorstep, he didn’t hesitate to take me into his arms and try to soothe my broken heart the best way he could. We got drunk the first night, passing the bottle of Tequila back and forth until neither of us could talk anymore. The second night, after nursing my hangover and swearing off Tequila and men, he made me my favorite comfort food, grilled cheese and tomato soup. That night I cried myself to sleep. Tonight, he left me alone and is giving me space.

It's been several hours since I last talked to Aftermath. My eyes are red and gritty from crying, my throat hurts and my chest is heavy. The rumble of motorcycles in the distance has my heart hammering in my chest. There is no way Aftermath is back already. I stand up and pull the curtain back slightly, looking down onto the street from the second-floor window. A single black SUV is still parked outside but if someone is in it, they haven’t moved in the past six hours. The rumble of Harleys grows louder until they quiet down and disappear. When I don’t see anyone turning into the driveway, I push back the curtain and flop onto the bed.

This is supposed to be a happy time in my life, not one of the worst. I’m fucking over being sad. Anger replaces the hurt I’m suffering from, and I pull myself off the bed. Heading into the attached bathroom, I turn on the shower as hot as I can stand it.

Peeling off my stinky clothes, I get in the shower and let the hot water soothe my aching muscles and painful heart. Once the hot water turns cold, I get out and dry myself off. I clean off the steam from the mirror over the sink and stare at myself. I’m a beautiful young woman with everything going for me. If a man cannot appreciate what I have to offer, then he doesn’t deserve my heart or my soul. I just wish none of this was true and the heartbreak didn’t happen.

I need answers, damn it and the only way I’ll get them is from Aftermath. Not over the phone or through text messages. Face to face. If he did cheat on me, then I’ll walk away with a bruised heart but my head held high. If he didn’t, he has a lot of explainingwhy he wasn’t honest with me about this chick.

With renewed determination, I throw on a pair of jeans and a tight white T-shirt. I fix my hair and makeup and exit my bathroom. If Aftermath wants this skank, there isn’t anything I can do but make him regret ever giving her the time of day. If it’s all a lie, I’ll be wearing my ass-kickers and beat some skanky ass.

Hurrying down the stairs, I hear my dad moving around in the kitchen, “Hey Dad! I’m going to head out for a little while!”

“Kensi…” The calmness I felt earlier disappears when I hear my dad’s voice. It isn’t fear but the authoritative tone he used to use when something wasn’t right and he wanted me to comply without question.

I stop in my tracks when the front door busts open and six men in suits come barging in with their guns drawn. “What the fuck!” I shout as they surround me.

Not to be taken down lightly and compliantly, I go after the bigger guy. My fist connects with his face before he knows what’s happening. Pain vibrates up my arm and into my shoulder but I don’t let it stop me. I fight, kick, scream, scratch and bite, giving them everything I have. One after another try holding me down, but I keep fighting.

“Enough!” Someone bellows before smacking me upside the head with something hard, making me dizzy. The knock stuns me enough that the six men can subdue me.

Once they have me secure with zip ties around my wrists, behind my back and my feet tied together, do they bring in my dad by gunpoint. The man who knocked me upside the head keeps his gun trained on my dad’s head. My heart is hammering inside my chest, andquestions are swirling in my brain. Something wet and sticky slithers down the left side of my face below the spot where this asshole hit me.

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