It’s why I didn’t drag my ass to the hospital this morning, his mood has been souring for the last two days, I’m surprised my mom hasn’t told him to fuck off yet.
I run my fingers over the scabs forming on my knuckles and wonder when my skin became so fragile that it breaks open after a couple of punches. I’ve had my fair share of fights, most of them I won, the ones I didn’t, JJ and I went back for more till I did, but none of them caused me injuries after two hits.
“This is it, I heard my dad tell my mom that your dad is going to deal with him as soon as he gets here.”
JJ is too hyped for what’s about to go down. I mean, I’m intrigued, who wouldn’t be. The stories we’ve all heard are about to become action, but like I said, JJ is too hyped.
“Everyone in the basement, now,” Dad hollers, as he limps his way into the bar.
The sun is dipping behind a cloud as we walk in and it seems to be matching the mood threading itself through the brothers.
Brothers file into the basement and our guest wakes himself up. He freezes when he sees my dad and it confirms the guy knows him. Not that we didn’t know that already. Sweat speckles his forehead and I grab a front row seat on an old crate.
“Ahh, you recognise me then?” Dad smirks and takes a seat on the chair Zach pulls out for him.
The guy doesn’t say a word, he doesn’t take his eyes off him and he doesn’t move.
“I heard my son gave you a warm welcome to the Lost Souls clubhouse. Do you feel welcome?”
He keeps his mouth firmly closed, and his eye on dad. One eye is swollen shut and his lip is crusted with blood. Dad drags a chair across the space and sits in front of him.
“Why did you shoot me?”
His leg begins to shake, and I sit forward, sensing my dad is losing his patience very quickly. “Are you going to shoot me?”
“If I weren’t weak from your attempt on my life, I would beat your ass until there was nothing left of your head but bone and mush. As it is, yes, I’m going to shoot you, in the knees, in the stomach, and then between the eyes. First, you’re going to tell me why? I don’t know you, I sure as shit know you don’t know me, so why the fuck was I on your radar?”
The guy still doesn’t open his mouth, and dad stands showing no sign of discomfort, even though we all know he’s in pain.
‘What everyone sees isn’t necessarily what is true.’
I remember him telling me that many times growing up, and he’s implementing it now, all for one man’s benefit.
“Someone said they’d give me a thousand bucks to ride out and shoot up a gas station. No one was meant to get hurt.”
“Who paid you?” Sparky asks, jumping in.
“He didn’t give me a name, and I didn’t ask.”
“I don’t know anyone stupid enough to shoot up around gas,” Pope grunts.
“He looked like you lot, had a bike, the leather…”
“Our patch?” Dad growls.
“No, Black Crows or something.”
The Black Crows.
The Lost Souls haven’t had any run ins with the Crows before. They stick to their territory and we stick to ours. We’ve never had a reason to cross paths, but apparently we do now.
Dad and Sparky frown.
“Did you get your cash?” I ask him myself.
He nods and hangs his head.
“Was it worth it?”
“No, but like I said, man, no one was meant to get hurt.”
“That’s what happens when you play with guns, people get hurt, moron,” Pope scolds him.
“I’m sorry, I really am.”
“I hear you, but unfortunately for you, you put a bullet in me and I can’t stand for that. Funnily enough, I take it as an insult when someone tries to kill me.”
He pulls himself up to his feet, and if you know him, you’ll know the slight narrowing of his eyes and the set of his lips mashed tight together means he is in pain. If not, it looks like he’s just getting older, and he’s pissed.
“Perhaps we’ve spent too many years living in peace, it’s made the need for prolonged revenge not so important. My revenge with you will be knowing you’re dead, buried and will never be able to come for me again.”
He holds out his hand and Dex is quick to lay a shooter across his palm and step back.
“If I’m honest, I thought I was going to die a long time ago. I got married, brought a house, had a family, all the while knowing that a punk like you could take me away from them. Some have tried over the years and we’ve always managed to get to them first. It’s made me complacent. Thank you for reminding me that peace never lasts.”
He raises the gun and aims it at the prick. The prick in question starts to shake in fear and dad closes the space between them.
I expect him to beg for his life, but I don’t think he can speak now. His fear has paralyzed him.
“I’d say I’m sorry, but you’ve brought this on yourself.”
I zero in on dad’s finger putting pressure on the trigger, and before you know it, the prick is dead, and blood is trickling down his nose from the hole between his eyes.
One shot didn’t kill my dad.
One shot did kill this guy.
I can’t take my eyes away from them, dad stands there, unmoving and no one says a word to disturb the moment. Even JJ is keeping his mouth shut for once.
“We hoped our sons wouldn’t have to see this violence, but like fuck if we’re not going to take our revenge and show them what we’ve been telling them for years. Anyone comes for us, we take them out. We don’t take prisoners, it could cost us more than we’re prepared to pay.”
He hands the gun back to Dex and searches the basement until his eyes land on me. Adrenaline and pain is bouncing in his eyes, it fades quickly when I nod and grin. If he’s worrying that I’ll see him differently now, he can think again. We’re Lost Souls and we will defend ourselves if you come for us.
“Pope, Rick, watch over as Tal and Curt get rid of the body. I don’t want anything of him to be recognisable. Everyone else, fuck off and do whatever you were doing before I got back.”
The basement becomes a moving picture, but I stay where I am on the crate. The prospects busy themselves with the body and dad takes a seat, easing himself down slowly.
“You okay?” I call over.
“All good here, son,” he grins, and I half believe him.
“Go on, get yourself a drink. I’ll be up soon.”
Nodding once, I do as I’m told and leave him to his privacy before he comes up to the bar and hides his real feelings of pain in front of the brothers.
Leo
It’s been six days since dad killed Baxter Jones for shooting him under the order of the Black Crows. He’s tried reaching out to them and he’s got nothing back. He’s put out feelers and he’s heard nothing.
“Why do we have to be here? It’s not like we fuckin’ like her?” JJ bitches as we walk into the club. I laugh, it’s not like he was planning on grafting her last week.
“We’ll show our faces for Slade’s sake and then we’ll head into town,” I calm him.
This poxy town only has three bars and we’ve already been barred from two of them, leaving Josie’s Bar the only one we can drink in. The old timers don’t venture into town, opting for the privacy of the club bar. Us young’uns like to be out and away from our father’s eyes every now and then.
Today is India’s eighteenth birthday and Slade has taken over the bar to throw her a party. She is his princess and whatever she wants, he makes it happen. The bar is crammed with Lost Souls and India’s friends. JJ’s face lights up when he sees the fresh pussy and I lose him as he pushes through the crowds. I head for the bar and push up next to Sparky.
“Where’s my boy tonight?” he asks, pushing a clean glass towards me. He fills it with tequila without asking if I want one and slams the bottle down.
“He’s here somewhere, probably trying to work his way through India’s fri
ends I imagine,” I laugh and turn to look around. It’s not like he stands a chance with the birthday girl herself, not that I understand why he’d want to go there in the first place, but he seemed content last week to put the graft in. India’s friends stand out against our girls who hang out at the club regularly.
My gaze lands on a pair of long, tanned legs, they capture my attention and a round, pert ass I haven’t seen before makes my mouth water. Dark brown curls fall down the length of her back and I’m itching for her to turn around so I can check out the front. I’m trying to work out which friend this is when Sparky blows my mind wide open.
“You might wanna shut your mouth, if Slade catches you checking out India, he’ll cut your fuckin’ balls off,” Sparky chuckles, throwing back his drink, “He won’t want your grubby fuckin’ hands anywhere near her.”
I ignore my drink and him. This chick is not India. Her ass has never made me hard. Her legs are not tanned and smooth looking, they are skinny and gangly. And her hair has never been left down, it’s always been piled up on the top of her head. India wears baggy jeans and loose tops, not skin hugging dresses that barely cover her ass.
Leaving my drink on the bar, I make my way around the crowd and stand by the ancient jukebox my dad won’t let me upgrade and get a better look at the woman in the short black dress. To my amazement and fucking shock, it is India and she looks nothing like she normally does.
She’s hot.
She’s more than that.
She’s fucking stunning and my dick is throbbing at the sight of her.
What the fucking fuck?
She stands there unaware of what she’s doing to me, talking with Slade and my dad. I move closer to them, staying out of their sight but where I can hear their conversation.
Slade’s proudly telling my dad all about her going to college and something in my gut falls when her smile vanishes briefly.
She puts it back on when Slade looks at her and then it disappears again when he returns to the conversation.
I’ve known her our whole lives and she has never looked like this. Has she always been this beautiful or has she had a makeover? It’s like I’m seeing her for the first time all over again, only this time, we’re not kids and she’s looking delicious.
She makes an excuse to leave the conversation and even her voice sounds different. She sounds older, softer, sexier. The kind of tones you want moaning your name in pleasure.
I follow her and end up back at the bar. I make sure to stand beside her. Even in her heels, I’m a foot taller than her. She glances up at me and her smile disappears. I think she’s remembering last week, but that was more JJ than me. I didn’t say a word.
“What’s up, birthday girl?” I ask, ignoring the scowl on her face.
“Nothing, ass-face.”
“Ass-face? What the fuck have I done to you?”
Her scowl turns into a full-on glare. I really can’t remember pissing her off, not in the last few months anyway. Her face softens, and she looks defeated.
“Nothing,” she sighs, looking around me.
Kristen is chatting with Bonnie nearby and she’s talking about India going to college and again, her face falls listening.
“Do you wanna get out of here for a while?” I ask, knowing I could use some air, it might clear my head.
She squints her eyes and looks suspiciously towards me.
“Won’t your girlfriends miss you?”
“I don’t know what you’re going on about, I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Please,” she snorts, “You have every girl around here hanging off you.”
“Not you,” I say, and she gasps.
Why did I say that? I’ll just kick myself in the balls now.
“Leo Jackson, if you and JJ are trying to fuck me over, it’s not going to work, I know you two too well.”
Fuck her over, I’ll fuck her over but not in the way she’s thinking. Is it possible to have hit your head and not remember? It’s the only explanation I can think of why this is happening to me tonight.
“Come for a walk with me, I have a birthday present for you. I promise, no pranks or anything.”
She cocks a perfectly preened eyebrow at me and smiles, “You don’t have a present for me. You wouldn’t know how to be nice if it was forced down your throat.”
I know what I’d like to force down her throat.
Seriously? I either need to stop taking everything she says as sexual or do something about it. I choose to do something about it. It will be a lot more satisfying.
“I do, I swear.”
“Fine, but you better have a real present for me. If you try anything funny, I’ll kick you in the balls, ask JJ how it feels.”
I bark out a laugh, I remember, JJ was teasing her, and she snapped, she got him clean in the balls and he dropped to the ground like a sack of shit.
“I promise, I have pure intentions,” I say, telling the biggest lie I’ve ever told.
Now I have to think of a fucking present between walking from the bar and heading outside.
No one notices us leaving alone and I lead her around the back of the club. There’s a few tables and benches scattered around. No one really comes out here and I’m not worried about being seen.
I sit on an old bench behind the tree and she sits beside me. My entire body is aware of her and it feels like I’m coming alive for the first time.
She stares up at the stars and I stare at her. She’s grown into a beauty and I could kick myself for not noticing her before tonight. I guess I really have hit my head.
“Why weren’t you happy back in there?” I ask.
“My parents are so proud of the fact I was accepted into college, but I don’t want to go.”
“Why not?”
“I want to stay home and work with my mom, but my dad’s not having it.”
It sounds like she’s scared to do something new, but I keep those thoughts to myself. I know she hasn’t been far from Willow’s Peak apart from when they went to visit Kristen’s mom or Slade’s sister, Lily.
“I’ll come and visit you, I can keep you updated on everything happening around here,” I blurt out.
“Why?” she asks, sceptically.
I don’t fucking know. Instead, I say, “Because I’m your friend.”
“I didn’t realise we were that close,” she snorts.
She isn’t making this easy, not that I know what I fucking want, or what the hell I’m trying to achieve.
“We’ve known each other our whole lives, why wouldn’t we be close?”
“Leo, this is the first time we’ve been alone, ever. What’s going on with you tonight?” she asks, and I’ll be fucked if I can give her an answer.
“How much have you had to drink?” she giggles.
“I haven’t had anything,” I tell her truthfully.
Not a single drop has passed my lips tonight. She stops laughing and I lean in towards her. Her eyes glisten in the darkness and bore into mine, questioning me, half afraid and half full of wonder.
“Leo?” she whispers, softly.
“I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you all night. I don’t know why now, but all I can think about is kissing you,” I admit.
Now she’s speechless.
“Let me kiss you,” I urge, leaning in even closer.
“I warned you what would happen if you tried anything funny.”
She jumps up off the bench and I’m quick to do the same and step back to protect myself. She isn’t dropping me to the ground with one knee to the jewels.
“Do you actually get a kick out of playing games with me?” she hisses, “You couldn’t let me have my birthday joke free?”
We haven’t been that bad, have we? I relax and forget how hot she is looking. I see India who I’ve always known and move towards her.
“I’m not playing, maybe tomorrow, but not tonight.”
I smile and stroke her cheek; her eyes flutter and I close the gap betwe
en us and claim her mouth.
After a beat, she responds and opens up for me. Winding my hand around the back of her head, I pull her hard against me and deepen the connection. I feel her hand grip onto my tee and her warmth travels through the fabric and into my soul.
She’s the first one to pull away, leaving us both breathless.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” she whispers.
“Yes, we should have.”
And we’ll be doing it again, that’s for sure. She feels too fucking good on me, so soft and pure. I want more. Who the fuck wouldn’t. I said maybe tomorrow I’ll be back to playing games, but after that kiss, I highly doubt it.
She leans away, and chooses to sit on the bench, and changes the conversation.
“So, where’s my present?” she says, looking at me again, “And don’t say it’s in your pants, not after a kiss like that.”
As she says it, her eyes fall to my crotch and I’m glad for the darkness acting as a blanket covering my hard-on.
Resting my arm on the back of the bench, I spot one of my fabric wristbands. Perfect. I don’t know why I started collecting them but I’m glad I did now.
I make quick work of untying the white one and reach for her wrist. Her skin is warm and smooth as my fingers graze against her wrist tying the bracelet tight.
“A piece of home while you’re away,” I tell her, and she smiles.
She seems to like it and it gives me a strange sense of pleasure making her happy.
“Thank you.”
I can’t help myself, I move closer to her and kiss her again. She doesn’t fight me, and I take advantage before I break the kiss before she can.
“Kissing you should feel weird.”
“I’m glad it doesn’t,” I grin.
“What’s happening right now?”
“Fuck if I know, but I’m liking it.”
I pull her hand onto my leg and my thumb strokes across her palm. She’s allowing me to touch her, she didn’t with JJ last week, but she is me.
“What’s going on here then?”
India jumps away as JJ saunters over with his arm around Sasha, a club girl. The loss of contact with India leaves me with a chill and I could punch my best friend and brother.