I want Ricky and I wish he were here right now.
“Kyla.”
Both of us turn to see Kristen jogging across the street towards us and while I breathe a sigh of relief, Dean growls angrily.
“Who’s this?”
“A friend.”
His jaw ticks as he thinks over his next move and his hold loosens when Kristen gets near.
“This isn’t over,” he promises and bolts in the opposite direction to Kristen.
Five seconds later she reaches me but keeps her eyes on Dean’s departing back.
“Are you okay? Who was he?” she asks, giving me the once over.
“I’m fine, he was Dean…my old dealer.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“He wanted me to go back with him.”
“I’ll call Slade, he’s with your dad today,” she says, rooting through her purse for her cell.
“No, don’t do that, I’m fine,” I urge when she begins dialling.
Her finger hovers over the call button and she frowns at me. I don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know this frown is going to be because she isn’t going to listen to me.
“I have to, Kyla. If your dad finds out I knew that guy was here and something happens, Slade will have to get involved for my sake.”
When she puts it like that I don’t want to stop her.
“Tell them I’ve gone home then, can we reschedule lunch?”
“Sure.”
She’s pressing her cell to her ear before I can head for my truck. I’ve got a feeling the hot bubble bath I craved not a half hour ago is going to be a dream till tonight.
Ricky
If we were taking things slow why did she ask me to meet her at her place after she had lunch with Kristen? Everything is happening fast, just the way I want it to.
I reckon I’ll be talking with Pope by the end of the week, that’s how confident I am. I just hope I’ll be confident when I talk to him.
Slade’s cell rings out for the third time in a minute and he’s still nowhere in sight. As usual his cell sits by his laptop at the bar.
“How’s Bonnie and JJ? I haven’t seen them in a while,” I ask Sparky.
“They’re doin’ good, brother,” he smiles his goofy grin whenever he talks about them.
Slade’s cell rings again and Sparky leans over to see who wants him so bad.
“Slade,” he yells, “Kristen wants ya.”
At the mention of Kristen’s name, he comes out the back room and immediately calls her back. His eyes flick to me then around the room as he listens.
“Okay, thanks for the heads up. I’ll see you later,” he says before hanging up.
Sliding his cell into his back pocket he walks over to Pope and whispers something in his ear. Watching the fast transformation of content to anger I know it has something to do with Kyla.
“That doesn’t look good,” Sparky grunts, watching the same scene as I am.
Pope throws his sandwich back on the wrapping and scrapes his chair back. Standing tall and with a face like murder I stand myself, ready for anything.
He slaps Slade on the back in thanks and walks out of the bar.
“What was that all about?” Sparky asks Slade as he nears us.
“That Dean was with Kyla just now and it didn’t look friendly...”
I’m gone before he can finish talking. Pope has only just got his bike started as I jump on mine. I nod once at him letting him know I’m coming with and he nods back in understanding.
“Wait up ladies,” Sparky calls out, jogging to his bike, “Someone’s gotta keep an eye on ya both,” he laughs.
Pope doesn’t hang around and pulls out onto the main road, I follow and Sparky catches us up within a minute.
Her truck is in the drive when we pull up and block it in when we stop. The street is quiet and the house looks fine.
Pope takes the lead and jogs up the steps and bangs on the door. It shocks me he doesn’t have a key, then I grin cause it means he won’t ever walk in on us.
My heart beats heavily as the locks unbolt and the door opens. She looks absolutely fine, nothing to show Dean hurt her in anyway or shook her up. If anything she looks pissed that we are turning up on her doorstep.
“I expected you sooner,” she mutters sarcastically turning away, leaving the door open for us.
She has changed from her blue get up to a pair of shorts and tight tee and now my jeans feel too tight.
“What did he want?” Pope jumps straight in.
Sparky hangs back in the doorway, I sit at the table opposite Kyla and Pope leans against the counter.
She nervously looks at me and back to Pope.
“He wanted me to go back with him,” she admits.
“Did he hurt you?” he asks her.
“Let me rephrase, did he touch you?” I ask myself.
I can see with my own eyes she isn’t hurt, I want to know if he touched her at all because if he did then I will snap every one of his fingers. She looks down at her hands, it’s an act I’ve seen her do when she doesn’t want to talk.
Pope notices this too and sweeps across the kitchen and hovers over her.
“Did he touch you, Kyla?” Pope repeats my question.
He’s scaring the crap out of her but his tactics are working.
“Tell me,” he roars so loud the veins in his neck bulge.
“He put his arm around my neck so I couldn’t move,” she tells him shakily.
Motherfucker, it’s hard enough to deal with knowing he had his hands on her for the last three years. She’s mine now and living in a whole new world. This is a different ball game.
I should’ve shanked him on a main artery when I had the chance on the inside.
“Tell me where he lives,” Pope orders her trying to reign himself back in.
“You don’t need to know that, he won’t come around here again.”
This isn’t what he wants to hear, myself included.
“Kyla Flynn, you owe him no fuckin’ loyalty. Do not try to protect him in front of me, not after everything I watched you go through. Once again, I’ll repeat myself, I’m cleaning up your fuck’ mess. Give me his address so I can end this. I should’ve gone after him by now and fuck me, if I had he wouldn’t have been in town today.”
When she still keeps her mouth shut, Pope is seconds from losing his shit. Flipping open my cell I hit up Slade’s number.
He answers on the fourth ring and I maintain eye contact with Kyla.
“I need Dean Gibson’s address.”
I can’t work out the look on her face when I hang up.
“He should never have come back, he needs to learn you don’t exist to him anymore,” Pope informs her, Sparky adding, “When he came back to town, he did knowing full well who you are connected to. If we let that slide it shows we are weak, it shows we don’t care for our own.”
His input calms her down and she stops scowling at me. My cell pings with a message and we have an address for Dean.
“Got it,” I tell Pope, causing Kyla to scowl at me some more.
“Dad, please,” she begs.
“Shut up,” he shouts at her, “You don’t understand how hard it was not to track him down when I knew he was the one who peddled that shit to you. I told you this isn’t the world you’re used too, as your father I have to step in and fix your fuck ups. If you don’t want me cleanin’ up your shit, I suggest you don’t fuck up in the first place,” he bellows.
Even I take a step back. If she were publicly my old lady I could step between them and stop her next move, but she isn’t and Pope as her father has every right to handle her the way he sees fit.
She jumps out of her chair when Pope turns to leave and grabs onto his arm.
“Please don’t do anything stupid because of me.”
His head slowly looks over his shoulder at her and she shrinks away. He shrugs out of her weak hold and storms out, quickly followed by Sparky giving me twenty seco
nds or less to quickly talk to her alone before they leave.
“Stay here and don’t leave until we come back,” I tell her, hating how scared she looks.
“Take away the fact he is your dad, he is fucking Pope and Pope does things his way, not yours. Live your life not questioning him, I’m happening to be falling in love with you and I’d kinda like it if you were on good terms with him to make my life easier.”
Call me selfish but it’s true. A goofy grin covers her face and her eyes shine bright.
“You’re falling in love with me?”
Tucking a few loose hairs behind her ear giving me a full view of her beautiful face, I cup her cheek and smile.
“Yeah and when we get back I’m telling your dad you’re my old lady and then I’m taking you to bed.”
I walk out leaving her in stunned silence, feeling good and high on life, knowing when I start my bike my focus will be on the violence I want to inflict on Dean.
“When we get back I think we’ll have that chat while I’m already in this mood, get everything out in the open,” Pope informs me.
Sparky tries to hide his amusement while I try to hide my fear.
It’s the third time my cell has vibrated in my pocket in the last two minutes. Sparky up in front of Pope pulls over and we follow suit. He reaches in his pocket for his cell and I do the same. Looks like Pope has some missed calls too.
“Yeah,” Sparky speaks into the phone, calling back Cas I presume going by the reason for my missed calls.
“He’s here, we’re on our way to that fucker’s place now.”
He listens to whatever is being said on the other end and silently hands his cell to Pope.
He grunts down the line, his famous greeting letting you know he’s listening and he listens in silence until he hangs up and passes the phone back to Sparky.
“What’s the deal?” I ask, leaning on my handle bars.
“We’re to wear our hoodies, Cas doesn’t want anyone clocking our patches and I’m to leave him breathing,” he says, not looking happy at all.
“There’s worse ways to get a message through than death, Pope. We’ll make sure he listens,” Sparky offers, trying to lighten the situation.
Pope doesn’t say anything and climbs back on his bike. All three of us pull back onto the road and ride the rest of the way without any more interruptions.
Pope
Dean’s apartment block is in the most dangerous part of town and I can feel Sparky and Ricky watching me closely, the more I see, the more I see how Kyla lived like. A dirty fucking animal.
The corridors are filthy and littered with all kinds of crap, even drunks and addicts slumped against the walls off their heads. We approach Dean’s door and I withdraw my gun, Sparky and Ricky do the same and we position ourselves as a united front.
Banging on the door loudly, I give it five seconds before I bang again. I long ago lost the adrenaline for violence. The rush I see of my brother’s experience when we have gotten into fights has no effect on me anymore. It’s been business to me for a long time, but when I hear footsteps approaching us on the other side of the door, my heart thumps furiously and my hands tingle at the prospect of what’s to come. I’m angry above all else but I’m excited too. This is personal and this cunt is about to learn to be careful who he fucks over. I gave him the benefit of doubt when he first came to town because he left and it appeared he wasn’t coming back, but coming back a second time and trying to coax my daughter back to this hell hole, he should be expecting me.
The door is scarcely open when he sees us and tries to slam it shut again. All three of us barrel forward and force our way in. In less than a minute we are in and have Dean thrown onto his grimy couch shitting himself.
“You’re going to regret this,” he warns us, like we give we a flying fuck.
Sparky being closest to him, swings his fist out and slams into the side of his face. His lips busts open and Sparky jumps up and down laughing.
“Man that felt good. It’s been too long since I punched anyone.”
Stepping forward, I use my boot to slide the crap of his table and sit in front of him.
“You made a mistake today,” I say, leaning forward and punching him square on his nose.
His hands fly to his face and blood spurts through his fingers and down onto his shirt.
“I would’ve made this clear the last time I saw you but you ran off like a fuckin’ bitch. If you ever go near Kyla again, I will personally beat you till all your bones are broken, I will bring you to the point of death and then keep you alive over and over again. I will cut you, I will shoot you, I will do everything I can think of to cause you pain for as long as I can. You hearin’ me?” I cruelly say, low and threatening.
“I hear you, man. Just get out of here. I get the message loud and clear,” he pleads.
It’s not good enough, I want to see he hears me rather than just hearing he hears me. Before I can make a move, Ricky appears from behind me and heaves his heavy boot into Dean’s stomach. He doubles over trying to regain his breath but Ricky goes in again and boots him in the head sending him flying back on the couch.
I hold my hand up to stop him and he pulls back.
“I was making sure he heard you,” he mumbles, glaring in Dean’s direction.
“Do you hear us, Dean?” Sparky sneers.
“Yeah, man,” he wheezes.
“I swear to God, if you touch her again I will rip your hands clean off and shove them up your fuckin’ ass,” Ricky goes on to engrain it into his brain.
I stand up and slide my gun into the back of my jeans. The man who thinks he’s the big man is currently shaking before us. It’s safe to assume he understands us now.
“Let’s go, this place is making me feel sick,” I grunt.
I promised Cas I would leave him breathing so I have to leave now before I go back on my word.
“I promise I’ll stay away from her, but I can’t promise she won’t come back eventually, they always come back no matter who their daddy is. Once a junkie, always a junkie.”
I laugh low and menacingly, I stop walking towards the door and turn around, “I thought we were getting somewhere…”
I get interrupted by Ricky, pushing past me and jumping on Dean. His fist bolting into his ribs over and over again.
“If I had known you had anything to with her, I would’ve killed you when I had the chance,” he yells, still pummelling into his ribs.
His fierce protectiveness over my daughter is a good start for our chat later. Sparky goes to pull Ricky away but I stop him.
“Leave him, he needs to do it and Dean needs to remember it.”
He needs to do it because I want to see how far he would go to protect my daughter and there is obvious tension between the two of them left over from prison.
Ricky throws him against the back of the couch and starts laying into his already mangled face.
“Pope, Cas’s orders are for him to be breathing when we leave, if you don’t stop him the kid is gonna kill him,” Sparky warns me and I relent.
“Help me.”
The two of us grab an arm each and haul him away, his eyes blink long and hard and he comes back to us.
“He gets the message now,” Sparky whispers in his ear.
“Kyla doesn’t exist to you anymore, I swear to god I will fucking kill you if you go within a mile of her again,” Ricky roars at him.
One by one we bolt out of the apartment leaving Dean bloodied and unable to move on his filthy couch.
No one looks our way as we make our way to the bikes and ride off without looking back.
The ride is long and we don’t stop until we are in the compound and behind secure gates. Sparky walks off in front and enters the bar first, Ricky is second and as soon as he is through the door, I come up from behind and haul ass up against the wall, grappling with his shirt and cut to keep him in place.
He doesn’t ask me what my problem is or what I think I’m do
ing because he knows, this is what he’s been waiting for.
My hands slide from his cut up to his throat and I squeeze until his face turns red and his veins bulge under my touch.
“It’s time we had that chat,” I snipe at him.
He doesn’t fight me back and his eyes start to redden under the strain. Arms wrap around me and more than one set of arms.
I partially see Oak and Cas beside me and they stick close when I shrug them off. Ricky slides down the wall and lands on all fours, holding one hand to his neck and one supporting his weight on the ground. Coughing and gasping for air, he stays where he is and doesn’t try to retaliate.
“Is it serious for you?”
Talking is the last thing on his mind but I want answers now.
“Yes,” he chokes out, coarsely.
“You gonna treat her right and only her?”
“Yes.”
Damn right he fucking will.
“Do you love her?”
He pulls himself to his feet and wobbles a little before righting himself and stands tall.
“Yes, I love your daughter,” he answers, boldly and adamantly.
Whistles of shock hiss around the bar and I give the kid his balls, not many men would admit that to me to my face after I had my hands around his neck.
“I’ll give you one chance, if you hurt her you better ride that bike of yours far and fast cause I will hunt you down,” I warn him.
He nods and steps forward holding his hand out for me to shake. I grip it hard and pull him into me, whispering into his ear, “I’ve never been so fuckin’ serious brother, the only love I know is her. The rest of me is violence as you well know. Do not fuck her up.”
I release his hand and turn away. I hear his thanks as I walk through the bar but I don’t stop. I just gave him a fucking pass to be with my daughter and I need a distraction to stop myself from thinking exactly what that entails.
As soon as I am behind my door and completely alone, I pull out my cell and hit Sally’s number.
She answers on the third call and the sound of her voice calms me instantly.
“Our daughter is in love and the fucker loves her back,” are the first words out of my mouth.