Ashby Holler (26 page)

Chapter Thirty-One

Vinny

Leaves crunched, and Vinny raised his shotgun. High up on the hillside and tucked between dense trees, he could see the entire compound. The people who traipsed in and out of the clubhouse, a wide stretch of gravel where their big rigs rested, the porch of Ellen’s house, but not the woods around him. Under a moonless sky, so far from the lights of the compound, Vinny stood blind in the darkness. Just him and his twelve-gauge.

Branches cracked behind him, and he spun, lifting his gun. A hand seized his barrel, pushing it down.

“Yo, man! It’s me,” Kev said, creeping closer.

“Fuck, dude. I almost shot you.”

“No, you didn’t,” Kev snickered. “I totally had the jump on you.”

Vinny shook his head, turning back to stare at the compound below. “You’re supposed to be on the east side.”

“How many times have we had to stake out the woods during a party?” Kev asked, nudging Vinny’s arm. “Never. What’s going on, man?”

“What makes you think I know?”

“‘Cause you’re our VP.”

“Shit,” Vinny muttered beneath his breath, “that’s right.” He’d forgotten he was supposed to be the man with the answers, except he never thought to ask any questions. Otis said watch so he watched. Probably not the makings of a great leader. All the right stuff for a perfect bitch-boy, though. In times like these, there was only one thing he could do: fake it.

“There was an article in the paper this morning, about a bar fire in Tennessee. Said eight members of a local biker gang were killed, along with eleven other men and women.”

“Only eight,” Kev said, crashing the butt of his gun on the rocky path. “That leaves what, five, six douchebags? That’s enough to regroup and do some damage.”

“I think that’s what Ellen’s afraid of.”

“Please.” Kev waved the notion off. “Ellen ain’t afraid of shit.”

Vinny chuckled. Truer words had never been spoken. “Okay, well. On the lookout then. Hold up.” Two figures walked up the hill, and Vinny slanted forward.

“What is it?” Kev whispered, lifting his gun a hair.

The garage light shined on wavy black hair, and Vinny stepped back. “It’s just Sasha and Dez.”

“Umm. I guess I’ll head back now. Go be on the lookout.”

“People are already starting to leave.” Vinny smirked. He was about to give his first order as vice president of Ashby Trucking, and it stirred every part of his body. “After everyone’s gone, we’ll head down.”

“Yes, sir,” Kev said, slipping back into the night with barely a sound.

“Sir,” Vinny mumbled. It sounded stupid. He stared down at the little outlines that buzzed around his clubhouse, adjusting his belt. Tight. His pants were suddenly too tight. He had the position, respect of his peers. If only he’d gotten the girl. Could have been the trifecta. No worries, his patience held no bounds. Knowing Dez, and he did, dude would fuck it up in no time. Sasha, the Rubik cube of his life, might never be his, but at least she wouldn’t belong to his brother.

***

Sasha

Sasha sat on the edge of her bed, watching Dez study the pictures that lined her mirror. After the interruption in the shower, he should be all over her.

“You looking for something?”

“This redhead, Candy.” Dez pulled a photo of Candy kissing Sasha’s cheek off the mirror, staring at it. “She’s in every picture.”

“Yeah. I’ve known Candy a long time. She’s the girl, the one my mom caught me with, that day.”

Dez sat on the opposite end of the bed, far from grasp. “And you kept hanging with her, in front of your mom?”

“We dyed her hair from blonde to red, changed her makeup and name. My mom didn’t even know, just another girl running in and out of the club.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I love her.” Sasha drew back. She was more shocked at her own words than Dez looked. That thought should’ve stayed in the brain, but the air around Dez vibrated in passion, creating a type of truth serum. She couldn’t lie to him. What was worse, she didn’t want to.

“You love her?” Dez asked, as if he just stumbled onto the impossible.

“Candy is…special to me. I treated her like shit, always. I was angry for a long time, took most of it out on her, and she’s still so sweet to me. I love her for that.”

A sour looked scrunched the bridge of Dez’s nose, much like he’d been chewing on lemons. Sasha could tell harsh words lingered on the tip of his tongue, and she had a good guess as to what they might be.

“Did Candy say something to you?” Sasha asked, regretting the question before it even left her mouth.

“She said you guys dated for years, and you just broke it off with her two weeks ago.”

The groan that broke loose carried Sasha’s eyes to the ceiling. “There was no dating. We messed around. That’s it.”

“Are you…are you a…?”

Sasha took a deep breath. Any minute now, the word dyke would fall out of Dez’s mouth, and she’d have no control over her fist. Not how she imagined the night’s end.

“I’ve been with a bunch of women and men,” Sasha said, hoping a little preemptive strike would end the conversation.

“That’s not normal, Sasha.”

“Is anything we do normal?”

“I want some things to be.” Dez tossed the picture onto the nightstand, finally looking at Sasha’s face. “Do you plan on fucking other people after we’re married?”

“Do you?” For the first time in a long time, Sasha felt lost. She’d never set terms of a relationship before. In hindsight, it might have been a good idea to get this out of the way before the engagement.

“No, I don’t,” Dez said firmly.

His hard stare cut straight through her. If the right hands caressed her in the right way, would she be able to say no?

“I don’t plan on it either.” The gold band on her finger grew tighter, the diamond heavier. Sasha twisted the ring, tugged, but it didn’t relieve the pressure. “We don’t have to do this, so soon.” Thanks to the gallon of sweat that coated her palm, the ring slid off with ease. She ran her thumb over the sharp ridges of the pointed stone, then held the ring out. “You can give it back to me when you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”

Dez reached out, his fingers drifting toward the ring. His hand closed around hers, pressing the rock into her skin. He scooted closer, holding her arm to his chest.

“I’m ready now,” he said, his lips brushing her cheek.

Warm breath flowed over Sasha’s skin, and every emotion spiked. Love mixed with hate, desire and disgust blended, and they all tore at the seams of the flesh that kept them contained.

Dez pried open Sasha’s fist, took the ring, and slipped it back onto her finger. It might’ve been the tingles that stemmed from his touch or the cool metal that hugged her skin, but her restraint shattered. She crashed into his arms, driving his back into the mattress. His kiss was rough yet gentle, hurling a wave of white fuzz over her mind. This wasn’t her. She wasn’t a vulnerable, frightened little girl who quivered inside strong arms. Unless she was and never knew it.

Lips skated along Sasha’s neck as Dez pulled at her shirt. She could feel the affection in his fingertips, the hunger, even when he manhandled her. Such a force could only be one thing, love. She could sacrifice a bit of herself, be that scared girl for love.

“Dez,” Sasha called out before her mouth could stop the word from slinking loose.

The grip on her body tightened, and he spun her, laying her back against the mattress. A kiss snuck in, intoxicating, bringing an ache. His hands slid up her arms, guiding them over her head. Their fingers laced, and he squeezed while rubbing harder between her legs.

“Too much clothes,” Dez said, releasing his clutch to fumble with her belt.

Sasha stared up, into the frosty eyes that shined behind thick strands of wavy hair. The words I love you almost slipped out. She wanted to say it, let Dez know how badly her body craved his, but the declaration refused to leave her cowardly grasp.

Dez stopped battling with Sasha’s pants, a half-grin striking his face. That gleam caught behind his stare; it was as though he could hear her thoughts. He leaned down, and she felt his kiss before it landed on her lips.

***

Vinny

Vinny cringed as he walked past the garage. The sounds that spilled from Sasha’s room, especially with her window open, hit his gut like a sucker punch.

“That’s beat, man,” Kev said, looking at Vinny and then to his feet. “Losing your girl to your brother.”

“She wasn’t my girl.” Vinny picked up the pace, but he couldn’t outrun the sting of the truth. Sasha never really was his girl.

“Yeah, but you guys were fucking.”

“No,” Vinny said casually. “We weren’t like that.”

“Bullshit. You lived in the same house with her, steps from her bedroom. I know you guys fucked around. I would’ve.”

“She’s like my sister, my clubmate. Sex would just make things weird.” The words sounded alien to Vinny, but they came out so natural he almost believed them.

“I guess,” Kev said with a shrug. “You got some willpower. Must be why you’re VP and not me.”

Vinny snorted. He’d have to work on the whole discipline thing, since everyone thought he’s the responsible one. It should be easy, as long as Sasha’s not in reach.

“What’s this?” Otis asked, walking down the clubhouse steps.

Kev hung back with the prospects, leaving Vinny alone to stare into Otis’s hard eyes.

“Everyone split,” Vinny said, straining to keep his spine stiff under the weight of Otis’s stare. “So I thought we’d do a perimeter check.”

Otis hardened his glare, and Vinny fought the urge to scurry back up the hill. He made a call and technically, he outranked Otis. It felt kind of cool and totally sucked.

“Yeah.” Otis nodded, slow. “Good idea. You can send Kev and the prospects home when y’all are done. I’m gonna crash at the big house tonight, in the spare room. I hope you’re a light sleeper.”

After a hard whack on the arm, Otis brushed by, but the gravity of his face hung in the air.

“Hey, Otis!” Vinny cut around Kev and trailed Otis up the hill. “What’s going down?”

“What do you mean?” Otis glanced at Vinny but didn’t stop his stroll toward Ellen’s house.

“You never sleep here unless there’s trouble. And the whole guarding the house during the party shit. Did something happen last night?”

Otis stopped, turning on his heels to stare bullets. “Did you hear something last night?”

“I thought I saw Ellen in my room.” Vinny inched closer to Otis. If his voice could manage to project a fraction of the command his position stood for, he might get some answers from his road captain. “If you tell me what’s up, I can help. Don’t keep me in the dark. This is my family.”

A twinge of compassion shone in the porch light. It almost worked, but the softness drained from Otis’s face the instant it appeared.

“Someone’s always waiting to storm in here and take what we got. Bikers, street thugs, the feds. It’ll just get worse the bigger we get.” Otis gestured to the clubhouse below the gentle slope to the three men who stood just outside, shooting the shit. “It’ll get quiet again then all hell will break loose. That’s the life we signed up for. From now on out, shoot everyone first and sort details later. Colors, badges, patches, all of ‘em.”

Vinny shook his head. What Otis said, the way the man’s voice slightly trembled, left a bad taste in Vinny’s mouth. The taste of bullshit. “Otis—”

“We have a run scheduled for tomorrow afternoon,” Otis said, holding a blank glare. “The club needs to vote on whether to restock or lay low. You should call a meeting before Sasha heads out, don’t you think?”

Vinny smirked. He’d gotten all he could from Otis, a big fat nothing. “Yeah,” he said, easing backward down the hill. “Ten a.m.”

“Sounds good. I’ll tell Ellen; you let the others know.”

Vinny turned, trudging down the hill. His eyes flew to Sasha’s room. Everything he wanted dwelled within that room, and this time it wasn’t her body he desired. It was the information stuffed inside her brain he needed.

“So.” Kev held his arms out at his sides, shotgun in one hand and a joint in the other. “Back to the woods or what?”

“Nah.” Vinny stopped in front of Kev, snatching the joint from the man’s hand. “We’ll take a quick look around and call it a night. You two,” he pointed to the prospects then to the woods behind him, “take the east side and we’ll meet up at the front gate.”

Without the slightest hint of protest, the prospects crept into thick brush and slipped behind the trees. Vinny slapped Kev on the shoulder, taking a few hits of the joint before handing it back. “Having prospects is awesome.”