Page 5 of Gash

“You’ll be pleased to know I’llbe back at the club in a couple of days.I’ll have Charlotte withme.Let the women know she’s not a whore, but I’ve struck a deal with her.She’s going to help me find the two people I want.”

There was silence on the otherend.

“You stillthere?”

“I’ll help you.I want totalk to Charlotte alone,” Whizz said.

“Seriously?What is yourfucking deal?”

“That’s the deal I’m going tomake.You want me to find who you’re looking for, I want to talk toCharlotte.Believe me when I say that I’ve got your best interestsat heart.You just don’t see it.”

“Fine.It’s not likethere’s going to be much else for her to do.How’s the club?”Gashasked.Since getting out of prison he’d kept himself confined tothe clubhouse and the town of Fort Wills.

“The same.There are days kidsare running around, and other days it’s silent other than thesingles fucking.I don’t spend all that much time there anymore.It’s why I have a cell phone.I’m actually at home with my wife andkid.”In the background he heard Lacey cursing.

“How is Sally?”Gash asked.He liked the young kid.Whizz and Lacey couldn’t have kids, so theyhad adopted the younger teenager.

“She’s doing great.It’s a reliefthat she has settled down at school, and she’s not even causingtrouble.There’s no interest in boys yet, but I think it helpedthat I took several of the brothers with me to drop her off.Theyhave backed the fuck off.”

Gash laughed.“It’ll only be a matterof time before she starts causing trouble.”

“I own a lot of knives and guns.Let the little dicks think they can get close to her.I’ll handleeach and every one of them.”

“I’ll leave you to it.”Gashstared at the curve of Charlotte’s back, and a memory that wasdistant of another back, a naked back, flashed through his mind.Blinking backthe memories, he focused back on the call.“I’ve got togo.”

Chapter Two

Charlotte chopped theingredients for the salad, trying her hardest not to listen tohim, or topay any attention to him.They were going back to The Skullsclubhouse.She never had anything to do with the club seven yearsago, and Gash wasn’t the same man he used to be.Then again, shewasn’t the same woman.A lot had happened over the years to changeher, and there was no way she’d ever be that same carefree womanagain.

He ended the call, and she heard himmove away from the table.She kept on chopping even as he moved upbehind her.

“Did you have any otherfriends when we were younger?”he asked.

He moved her hair off her shoulder,exposing her neck.His breath fanned across her ear, and shecouldn’t help but close her eyes.Gash was stirring feelings andmemories inside her that he couldn’t even remember.She recalledanother night where he’d been like this, touching her, caressingher.

“Back away,” she said, whisperingthe words.Itwas hard as the two different times seem to merge in the one.Shefought it.Charlotte wasn’t about to let herself be brought down bymemories.They werehermemories.

“You don’t sound like you want meto move away.”His hand gripped her hip while the other forced herto pause on chopping the salad.“Did you have a friend back then besidesRebecca?”

“I’ve told you before, Rebeccaand I were roommates, that’s all.There was no one else.”Charlotteknew why he was asking, but she wouldn’t tell him what happened betweenthem.He’d only laugh in her face.She didn’t know whether to laughor cry.Gash wanted to believe there was someone else there ratherthan see that it was her all along.He didn’t even suspect it couldbe her, and that fucking hurt.

“You feel so familiar, andyou smell so damn good.”He pressed his face against her neck,taking a deep breath.

She gasped out at the flood of arousalthat he caused, taking her off guard.She was transported toanother time.The only difference between then and now was the facthe didn’t have the scent of alcohol on his breath.Last time, he’dbeen drinking, and at first, she had brushed him off.The biggestproblem for her was the fact she had always had a crush on him,always.From the moment she first met him, she’d loved him.She hadwatched him with Rebecca, and even though there had been moments ofjealousy, she never did anything about it.That night though, he’dbeen different.Yes, he’d been drunk, but she truly believed he hadbeen himself.Gash had been sweet, nice, and tender, and he’d madeher fall for him even more.He’d told her how beautiful she was,and how he couldn’t stop looking at her.

Even though he’d been drunk, she’dbeen pulled into his words, and that had been her mistake, and sheshouldn’t have fallen for him.

“What do you want?”sheasked.

“Why does this feelgood?”

She closed her eyes, allowing herself afew seconds of enjoying his closeness when reality came back.Hehad attacked her.Gash had been more than ready to kill her, andshe wasn’t ready to give in to him.She pushed him back with herass.“Give me some space.It’s not very nice to invade my personalarea.”

Charlotte finished chopping thesalad, tossing the ingredients together and giving it a quickdressing before serving.Gash hadn’t moved away, but she ignoredhim.The last thing she wanted to do was cave.She had only knownhim for a short time when he was screwing Rebecca.She’d never wantedto be one of those women that dropped her panties the moment a guylooked her way, but Gash, he’d been different.At least, shethought he’d been different.

Putting his plate on the table, she took aseat, opening the food magazine that she had been reading thatmorning when her life had seemed so normal.She tried her hardestto ignore him.When he sat down, and his knees grazed hers, shestruggled not to tense up from the simplest contact.

“You’ve changed,” hesaid.

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