Her eyes meet mine, and I can see sympathy and also understanding playing in their depths. “A man doesn’t have to beat a woman to tear her down. Sometimes a simple word can do more damage than a fist could ever do.”
Something about her words causes my stomach to roll. “Are things okay with you and Red?”
Her hand pulls away from mine in a flash as she leans back against her chair. “Everything is fine.”
Not giving me time to reply, she jumps from her chair and grabs her purse from the table. “I gotta run, gotta pick up the kids from Mom’s.” Without giving me a chance to say goodbye, she heads to the living room and is out the door.
I follow behind her. Just as I hit the living-room, Tag catches my arm. I try to jerk away, but he doesn’t let go. “I need to go after her.”
“Sometimes people have to deal with shit on their own,” He says with more wisdom than a sixteen year old should have.
“But...” I start, but he stops me with a shake of his head.
“Just because you were ready to listen, doesn’t mean she’s ready to talk.”
My shoulders sag, when the truth of his words hit me. For years, my parents and Jeremy tried to get me to tell them what was going on with me and Marcus. Each time they questioned me, I sunk further and further away. I don’t want to do that to Lila. “You’re right. I’ll let her tell me when she’s ready.”
Stepping away from me, he shoots me a smile that I am sure turns all the teenage girls into mush. “I thought you said you were gonna make me some cookies, so hop to it, Mom.”
He started calling me Mom right after he moved in. Of course, he only does it when he wants something. Each time he says it, I want to laugh but I also want to cry a little, because his own mom hasn’t even checked in on him since he’s been here. I smile at him and head to the kitchen. It’s time to make Tag some cookies.
Time to Vote
Bowie
We roll into the clubhouse around nine in the morning. The place is already busting at the seams with members. I called ahead, and told Cash we needed to have church as soon as I arrived. I gave him some bullshit story about problems with the drop, but he’ll find out the truth soon enough.
Climbing from my bike, I look over to Tin. “Are you sure you wanna be here for this?”
“I may not be able to vote, but I wouldn’t miss this for any fuckin’ thing.”
Even though Tin wears a cutt, he doesn’t have the same rights the other brothers do. It took me three years of fighting with our father for him to be allowed in church at all, but his mixed blood keeps him from earning a vote. That is the first thing I’m gonna change when I take the gavel from Cash.
I nod and turn to the clubhouse, lighting a cigarette as I go. He lays a hand on my shoulder before I can even take a step. “Are you sure you don’t want to go see Shay before we go in there.”
Hell yeah, I do. A part of me wants to go grab her and run for the hills, but I can’t. I have to get that President’s patch off Cash. “Nah, man. I’ll see her when this is over.”
“Brother…” He starts but I cut him off with a shake of my head, not wanting him to remind me that I may never walk out of this place again.
“Come on then, let’s get this shit done,” I say as we walk towards the clubhouse.
As soon as we step inside, I see Cash sitting at the bar with Toke at his side. “Fuck!”
The word barely leaves my mouth, before Rollo is standing in front of me. Lines of worry are etched in his face as he says, “He was already here when I showed up this morning.”
“What I want to know is how the hell did he get away from you in the first place?”
“Fuck, brother. I had him drugged and tied up, so I thought it was safe to get a little sleep,” He runs a shaking hand through his hair.
Tin’s hand lands on my shoulder. “We’ll talk about this shit later.”
My barely controlled fury is threatening to break through, so I take a step back. Throwing my half smoked cigarette to the floor, I growl out, “If any of us is still breathing when we walk out of here today, we’ll do more than talk.”
Rollo nods his head, knowing that nothing he can say will help him avoid the ass-whooping coming his way. “I understand.”
I nod, letting them all know the conversation is done and head to Cash. He lifts his chin, when he sees me approach. “You’re back.”
I don’t waste my breath shooting the shit, just get to the point. “I told you we needed to have church. Are you ready?”
“Sure am,” He says as he downs the rest of his beer.