Ashby Holler (2 page)

Chapter Two

Sasha climbed into her pickup truck. Rolo crammed against her side as Vinny slid onto the passenger seat, and she inched away. Rolo’s body oozed treachery, and Sasha didn’t want any of it rubbing off on her. She turned the key, the engine’s roar rattling all the dashboard’s loose bolts.

“You were staring at me,” Sasha said, looking beyond Rolo to Vinny, “the whole meeting.”

“I, ah…” Vinny shifted in his limited space, glancing out the window. “I worry about you.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Are you gonna kill me, man?” Rolo sniveled. “‘Cause you don’t have to kill me, man. I got family in Canada. I can disappear. You’ll never see me again.”

Vinny leaned forward, looking across the cab. “I saw Candy creeping up your stairs first thing this morning, and I know you were out with her all last night. If Ellen catches you again—”

Kev popped from the bushes, running right in front of the truck, and Sasha slammed on the brakes. “Dude’s a fucking spaz.” She rolled down her window, resisting the urge to slap Kev on the forehead.

“I don’t see shit,” Kev said, hoisting his rifle on his shoulder. “This little prick’s a liar.”

“My mom needs you in the clubhouse. Might have a bug infestation.”

“Might have,” Kev grumbled, strolling away.

The truck rolled forward again, and her eyes coasted to Vinny. “I was out with Candy getting those pictures.”

“Sasha, please,” Rolo said with a whiny edge to his tone. “We’ve known each other since we were six.”

“That’s how I know you don’t have any family in Canada. You did this to yourself. Go ahead, sit here and pretend you don’t know what’s up. I dare you.” She drove up the hill behind her mother’s house and into the woods.

Rolo rocked in his seat, clutching the ends of his ripped shirt. “Fuck, man. Fuck.”

“Dude.” Sasha parked in a small clearing and killed the engine. “If you piss yourself in my truck—”

“You’ll what? Kill me more?”

A loud breath flowed from her throat. The guilt of this decision was starting to fade, which bothered her more than killing the man. She opened her door, and Vinny jumped from the truck. His large body blocked the passenger side. She leaned against the driver’s door.

“Tell you what,” she said, pulling the gun from her waistband. “I’ll give you one chance to save your ass, since we’re old friends. Tell me if you planted any bugs and I’ll let you sneak off.”

“You swear to fuckin’ God, man?”

“Yeah.”

Rolo looked between Sasha and Vinny, blood still dripping from his nose. “I was gonna put one in the meeting room today.” He shoved his hand in his pocket, and Sasha raised the gun.

“It’s cool.” Slowly, Rolo pulled a small device from his torn jeans and handed it over.

“Why’d you turn on us?” Vinny barked, landing a solid punch on Rolo’s chin. “We’re the only real family you’ve ever had, you piece of shit.”

“Man…” Rolo stared at his fidgety hands, his foot rapping the metal floor. “I don’t have people lookin’ out for me like you two. I gotta have my own back.”

The twitch of Rolo’s eyes, the way he kept rubbing his nose…Sasha had seen this act far too many times.

“You’re all coked out,” she said, her words laced with disgust.

Rolo’s bloodshot eyes flew to Sasha, brimming with guilt, and she cocked back the gun’s hammer. “Get out,” she yelled, his body jumping in place.

“Aw, hell. You swore, Sasha.”

Rolo inched closer, and she grabbed his arm, yanking him to the ground.

“I am letting you go, brother.” Sasha gave Rolo a hard kick to the chest, then another to the gut when he rolled onto his side. There was nothing worse than a soft soul. If she could control her drug use, she expected everyone else to as well. “You’re so far gone, you sold us out to Satan’s Crew for blow. Idiot, you’re already dead.”

Vinny rushed around the front of the truck, standing behind Sasha. “That’s what he was doing?”

“Rolo?” Sasha glared down, the gun in her hand propped on her hip.

“Yeah, man,” Rolo said to the leaves below him. “Women like you ain’t never seen and eight-balls on tap. They said it could be my every day. All I had to do was…”

“Let them kill us and take our holler.” Sasha crashed the butt of her gun against Rolo’s cheek, knocking him flat to his stomach. “This was my father’s mountain.” She pointed the barrel at the back of his head, inching away.

“Get up,” Vinny said. “You’re going in the cellar, alive.”

“Oh shit.” Rolo hobbled to his feet, taking a small step. “I think I just pissed myself.”

“You’re lucky you did it out here, scumbag. You know, you always—”

Rolo bashed his forehead against Sasha’s nose, flashing the world to red. She staggered back, and he kicked Vinny in the nuts before taking off in a sprint.

Tears welled in Sasha’s eyes, rising up in attempts to soothe the sting of her face. She blinked back a watery haze. Vinny rocked on his knees while gasping for air, and Rolo ran across the hillside. Blood dripped down Sasha’s chin as she raised the gun. With one eye closed, she held her breath and pulled the trigger.

Rolo tumbled to the ground before the shot could echo down the holler. Sasha reached for Vinny, and he pulled away.

“You okay?” she asked.

Vinny waved for her to go, his eyes low.

“Not so great having all that crap between your legs now, is it?” Sasha said with a grin. She trudged through tall brush, toward the whimper beneath a patch of ivy.

“You shot me!” Rolo screeched, flopping onto his back. His chest heaved as he blubbered and wiggled in the dirt. “My leg! Shit, man.”

Sasha looked back at Vinny, who cupped his balls as he limped closer. The sun had slipped below the mountain’s peak, leaving only thin rays to light the trees around them. This was taking too long. She had shit to do with someone far more attractive than the loser on the ground at her feet.

“If I give you a bump, will you jump in the cellar all by yourself?” Sasha asked, only half-joking.

Rolo stopped squirming, the howls ceasing to flow. His shifty eyes calmed, flying to her. “Yeah. Two bumps, big ones.”

It might be hard to believe a man would jump to his death for a few lines of cocaine if Sasha hadn’t seen people do worse for much less. Rolo’s pleading eyes stared up at Sasha, and she almost unloaded her gun in his face. Instead, she dug through her pockets.

“Ellen probably heard that shot,” Vinny said, stepping beside her. “What’s up?”

“Hold this.” Sasha handed Vinny the gun and pulled a small vial from her coat. Rolo hopped up the moment he saw it, slithering forward. She poured a line of white powder on his palm, looking away as he snorted it up his nose.

“The other one,” Rolo said through gasps, wiping his blood-smeared nose and licking his fingers.

“Fucking gross.” Sasha bumped him another fix, cringing. “Your face could be an after-school special.”

Vinny chuckled, grabbing Rolo by the arm. “Come on, narc.”

They walked Rolo back toward the truck, stopping next to a metal storm door in the ground. Sasha fished a set of keys from her pants and unfastened the padlock. Hinges squealed as the door opened, and the stench of death wafting into the crisp air sent shivers down her spine.

Rolo cowered, staggering back. “Right, so—”

With a kick to the ass, Vinny sent Rolo plunging into the dark hole. After a second of yelps, a thud echoed from far below.

Sasha peered down, glimpsing only shadows. The seconds of silence provided a hint of relief. She hoped he’d died instantly. A broken neck was better than a slow death.

“Ahh, shit. Man,” Rolo said, his voice sounding so far away. “Sasha, throw down the blow. Come on, please.”

She tightened her grip on the vial. Stupid. That’s what she was for feeling sorry for that piece of shit. “Kill yourself with the bones down there, ‘cause we ain’t coming back. Asshole.”

Vinny closed the door on the screams that bellowed from deep within the mine’s shaft, and Sasha locked it tight.

“I think you should be my girl,” Vinny said.

Sasha waited for the butt of his joke, but he held a straight face.

“What head did he kick you in, ‘cause…?”

“I mean.” Vinny stepped closer, tucking the gun into her waistband. “If we pretend, it would throw your mom off your pussy stink.”

She giggled, walking toward her truck. “That’s a super romantic offer, but I’m gonna have to pass. You need to be more chill. You’re the one who’s gonna get me busted.”

Vinny followed Sasha to the truck, not saying a word the whole ride back. After parking beside the garage, she cut off the engine and turned to face him. His eyes were locked on her, a strange mix of icy warmth in his stare.

“Candy’s gonna get you caught,” he said in a bit of a huff. “With her bright red hair running up and down your stairs all hours.” He took her hand inside both of his, holding snug. “
You
need to be more chill. I won’t watch them stomp you again. It’ll go down bad.”

“Nah, you’re right.” Sasha pulled her hand away, patting Vinny on the arm. “I get it. I’ll be more careful. C’mon.” His eyes lingered on her. She didn’t look; she could just feel them. “My mom is probably flippin’ her shit right now.”

***

Sasha pushed open the door to the backroom, stepping inside.

“Well?” her mother asked, marching forward.

“I think we’re cool. He had this on him.” Sasha handed over the slim recorder then tucked the gun back into her mother’s holster. “He was gonna plant it in here.”

“Did you…?”

“Yeah, but there’s more.” Sasha sat at the end of the table, plucking a joint from the pile in the ashtray. Her gaze wandered around the empty room before the clink of a zippo lured her stare back. “Where is everybody?”

“Getting shit ready for Candy’s party,” her mother said, closing the zippo’s lid once Sasha sparked the tip of the joint. “You must be pretty close with her, to get her to do…that.”

“Not really.” Sasha could hear the sound of jeans rustling behind her, and the scent of Vinny’s cologne filled her lungs. “She’s just another trucker slut trying to fuck her way into the club, but that won’t work with me. No cock.”

“Hey! Watch your nasty mouth, girl.”

“Sorry, Mom,” she said, her sarcasm rolling out thicker than the smoke curling from her lips.

Ellen plucked the joint from Sasha’s fingers, taking a few quick hits. “So? You said there was more.”

“Rolo was working for Satan’s Crew, not the fuzz.”

“Shit.” Ellen sat on the edge of the table, hitting the bone again before handing it back. “Is that better or worse?”

Sasha shrugged, rising to her feet. “It’s a hell of a lot more fun to kill biker douchebags than pigs.”

“Where are you going?”

“Shower, get ready for the party.” Sasha headed for the door, passing Vinny the joint on her way out.

***

Drops of water splashed against tile as Sasha reached for a towel. It still bothered her, calling Candy a trucker slut. The girls who hung around the club coined the term themselves, saw it as a title of honor, but Sasha couldn’t stomach separatist labels.

She wrapped herself tight in the towel and walked out of the bathroom. Vinny looked up from the corner of her bed, and she almost tripped over her own feet.

“What the fuck, dude?” she yelled, grabbing an empty pack of cigarettes from her dresser and chucking it at his head.

“Your mom saw me come up here.”

“So?” Sasha stripped off her towel, using it to dry her hair. After a moment of silence, she looked at the bed and into a full-on gawk. “For real? Perv.”

“God…damn.”

“Jesus.” She tossed the towel at his face then pulled on a pair of cargo pants. Once her bra was tightly fastened, she turned her glare back to him. “Blood going to your big brain now?”

“That’s still just…yeah! Hey, come here for a minute.”

“No way,” Sasha said, crossing her arms.

“Just a little closer. I wanna see something.”

Sasha crept forward, standing in front of Vinny. He hooked his finger around her belt loop and pulled her onto the bed. He pressed his body against hers, his rough hand gliding along her side.

“Anything?” he asked, dragging his lips along her cheek.

Her spine was stiff. She felt something, all right, digging into her hip. There was also some awkwardness and a bit of impatience brewing in her chest, but he probably wasn’t interested in that.

Slowly, Sasha shook her head. Vinny rolled off her, a long sigh sinking his chest. She’d been shooting Vinny down for years, but this was the first time she felt guilty. It was also the first time sparks filled her body when he rubbed up against her.