Page 14 of Sharing the Prez’s Ol' Lady

“I smell like roses and chocolate chip cookies, two things every woman loves, asshole, so you, sir, can go fuck yourself.” Clash crossed his arms, pouting like a child.

Snyder chuckled. “Come on, Shasta, tell us what’s wrong.”

She nodded, hesitantly looking up and shifting her gaze between each of us before focusing on her hands sitting in her lap. “When I was sixteen, I met Hoax, but back then I knew him as Monte. He and I had a pretty good relationship for the most part. I thought I loved him, but then he took my virginity and things changed. I still stayed by his side, but he got involved with the Crows, and I started seeing a different side of him. Drugs and alcohol became a normal thing, and there were whispers he was fooling around on me. I don’t know if you guys know this, but Adam… I mean, Sabbath was his best friend.”

My eyes widened.Yeah, I definitely didn’t know that one.

By the look on Clash’s face, he didn’t know either. But Snyder sat there stoned faced, so maybe he did?

“Adam never wanted the biker life, and he always refused to join the Crows… even after Hoax asked him. We started hanging out a lot. Not exactly behind Hoax’s back, but a lot more than he actually knew about. One night I found Hoax in a room with a girl. They were both in the process of getting dressed, and I knew, just knew something had happened. Hoax and I had a big drawn-out fight, and he said if I didn’t trust him then the relationship was through. I ended up turning to Adam that night and one thing led to another, and Hoax somehow found out about us sleeping together. I’ve been with Adam ever since.”

Snyder sighed. “You cheating on Hoax doesn’t mean you deserved what happened to you, Shasta. I can’t believe that bastard would hold a grudge that long and do to you what he did.”

Shasta’s eyes glazed over, like she was thrust back in time. Her whole body shuddered as she tried to push the memory away.

“He said he never forgave me for cheating on him and was going to do to me what Leppard did.”

“What do you mean?” Snyder asked, looking as confused as everyone else in the room.

She lifted her shirt showing off the scar that went across her belly. “Before Leppard died, he used to force himself on me. He’d send Sabbath out on different runs, and when he was gone and Leppard was the only one left behind, he’d take me. It became an everyday thing, and eventually I numbed myself to it. But then Sabbath caught him in the act, and that’s when… that’s when…” She couldn’t bring herself to say whatever it was out loud. Once she did, I knew it would change everything.

“That’s when Sabbath really shot Leppard… and why?” I finished, realizing how deep this shit actually went.

She nodded weakly.

“Sabbath did it to protect me. He killed his own brother because he kept hurting me and taking what wasn’t his. But it also took Adam away from me. He wouldn’t touch me after that, not really, anyway. Especially after this happened.” Her fingers went to the spot of the scar.

“I found out I was pregnant, and Sabbath immediately told me to terminate the pregnancy. When I refused, he took me down to Mexico, left me on the doorstep of some shitty ass abortion clinic, then went to a strip club and got wasted. They fucked it all up, and I barely survived that day.”

More tears.

God, the shit this woman went through just to be with a man who treated her like garbage. She wasn’t damaged… she was a victim… a fucking saint.

“Why did you stay?” I asked, my voice very low and trying to hide the tremors I was feeling inside.

“Because deep down I still love him. But that love has been dwindling every day. And I feel closer to Snyder and Sandman than I ever did to him.”

“Hey! What about me?” Clash whined.

She smirked. “You blackmailed your way into my bed, bucko.”

He paused for a second and shrugged. “Hmm, guess I deserve that.”

“Sandman?” I asked cautiously. “Are you suggesting that you and him…”

She nodded. “Right before the accident.”

“Fuck,” I gritted out, running my fingers through my hair. “This is bad.”

“And it wasn’t before?” Clash’s sarcasm was not needed right now.

“Of course, it was, but if Sabbath finds out about any of this, you’re all as good as dead, and Jesse has no way to defend himself.”

A painful sob worked its way out of Shasta’s throat. “This is all my fault. I should’ve never given into the temptations I’ve been fighting for most of my time here. I should’ve never let my dark desires win.”

Snyder was quick to wipe away her tears. “Baby, this is not your fault. We’re all just as guilty.” Before she could protest, his lips were covering hers, smothering a sob with a valiant attempt to distract her.

She trembled in his arms, falling into them like she belonged there.

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