In seconds, the two of them are on the floor. I see Cash reach for his gun, but Toke jerks his hand away and rolls on top of him before he can pull it out. He lands a right hook into Cash’s face, breaking my father’s nose. Then, he stands up. “It’s over.”
Cash pulls himself to his knees, wiping blood from his face. “No, it’s not.”
Toke doesn’t respond to him, just turns to walk from the room. Before he steps outside, he looks over his shoulder at me. “Don’t fuck up.” With that, he’s out the door.
I turn back to the room and watch as Cash gets to his feet. “What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”
“Once a brother, always a brother,” Topper reminds me, from his spot at the table.
As much as I want to throw his ass out, I know that’s not gonna fly. “First, you take off the President patch. Then, you grab a beer.”
I watch as he uses his knife to pull his patch from his cutt. His hands are shaking so bad that it takes him awhile. When he finally gets it, he tosses it my way. “Happy now?”
I don’t bother replying, just look at the table. “My first order of business is naming my VP.”
“Don’t do it.” Cash orders, but I ignore him and look towards Tin. “Tin-Man, I want you by my side.”
He steps forward. With pride in his voice he says, “I always am.”
Kittens & Claws
Shay
I rub the fur on the back of Butter’s neck and plead with her to quiet down. “Shhhh, please.” I swear every step I take, her meows get louder.
I found the kitten this morning huddled under Nina’s porch when I arrived at her house for coffee. I fell in love with the butter-colored kitten the moment I laid eyes on it. She is part of a litter from one of the neighborhood stray cats and Nina planned to take them to the animal shelter. After holding the kitten, I knew I couldn’t let her go.
Rachel giggles as she walks beside me. “I don’t know what you’re so worried about; Bowie won’t mind that you got a cat.”
“I don’t know about that,” Tag mutters as he opens the door for us.
“Well, you don’t know my brother very well,” She states in snarky voice and walks past him.
To say that Tag and Rachel didn’t get along is an understatement. They fight over the silliest things. They’re always at each other’s throats, but I think there is a bit of something behind the hostility. I figure I’ll catch them kissing any day now.
As soon as I step inside, I stop to place the kitten on the floor. She meows and prances away. As I straighten up, I see a woman sitting on my couch, a woman I don’t know. She is wearing a micro-mini skirt and her shirt is cut so low her boobs could fall out at any moment. I’m distracted from the heavy makeup that is caked on her face by her hair; it’s black as night on one side and bright white on the other. I’ve never seen anything like her in my life. I notice all these things before I notice the scowl on her face. A scowl that is directed at me.
“Well, lookie there. If it isn’t Bowie’s little piece,” She says as she stands up, not bothering to straighten her skirt even though it has ridden up to her panties.
I’m so shocked by her presence and her words that I just stand there, not able to form a reply.
“Mom, what in the fuck are you doing here,” Tag shouts, stepping in front of me and Rachel.
Mom? This is his mom, the same woman that let him live in a barn for months. I have the urge to rush over there and scratch her eyes out, but I don’t get the chance. Tag puts his hands behind his back, directing us to the kitchen. I follow his lead, pulling Rachel with me.
Judging by his reaction to her, her visit isn’t going to be pleasant. My first priority has to be keeping Rachel safe. If I can get her out of the room, I can come back and protect Tag. Running away isn’t working though. She is just following us. Her every step is predatory, looking like she could attack at any moment.
“I wanted to talk to the new girl on the block. We Old Ladies need to stick together.”
I look at her, not noticing a cutt or any ink on her arm. She looks more like the girls I saw at the clubhouse, the ones that Bowie called club whores. I doubt this woman is anyone’s Old Lady, and Tag’s next words verify my assumption.
“You’re no one’s Old Lady, Mom. You’re nothing but the old man’s whore.”
The words are barely out of his mouth, before the woman slaps him across the face with enough force the send his head to the side. Seeing this, I’ve had enough. I look back at Rachel and point towards the hall. “Go to my bedroom and stay in there until Tag or I come and get you.”