Then I saw the long, thick crimson stream making its way across the cracked patio. So much for barbecues. I'd never see it the same way with a man's blood trickling across the tile.
“God damn it, Elle Jo, I told you to stay inside! What the fuck's the matter with you, girl? You gone deaf today?” Snarling, he shoved his gun back in its holster, and caught up to me before I could run.
I screamed as he grabbed my arms and pushed me inside, firmly but gently, slamming the screen shut between us.
“You're too good to care about what happens to this piece of shit. I raised you better than to fall for bastards like him, and you know it. Your ma knows it, bless her soul.”
I winced, pinched my eyes shut, and shook my head.
“Daddy, don't.” I looked up, letting him see my anger, even if it threatened to get someone killed. “Don't ever use her name like that again.”
“It's the God's truth, sweetheart. We both know it. I'm taking out the trash before he leaves his fuckin' stink all over you. I get it, you think he's just a cute boy with a chip on his shoulder.” Growling, daddy pulled out his gun, and motioned again to my crush, bleeding on the ground. “I'm saving you from making one helluva mistake. You won't understand tonight, sweetheart, but you will someday.”
“No, daddy, you're the one making a mistake. Austin's right. I deserve to make my own choices. I'm eighteen now, and I'll be out on my own this fall. You can't treat me like a little girl forever.”
The rage on his face cracked. The soft smile that appeared was totally out of place. But that's the kind of man my father was, a storm in a bottle who gave all his love to me while he went away to kill, abuse, and do who knows what else.
“You can choose whatever the fuck you want, baby doll, just as long as it isn't him or any other sorry bastard wearing a one-percenter patch.” Daddy turned, his hawk eyes focusing on the unfinished business a few feet away. “Wish you'd understand. This maggot's dirty, and I don't just mean bitches and smokes kinda filthy. He's already been hanging with the NorCal boys, and that's where he belongs. Those fuckers aren't like us. Not anymore. They lost their damned honor years ago and made this club a fucking laughing stock. Your boy here will fit right in.”
“Wait!” I rammed the screen as hard as I could until it flew open, forcing him to pause. “You can't kill him. I know you don't like him and you're punishing him for what he's done. But I brought it on. I let him kiss me. I wanted him to.”
I locked eyes with the man laying on the ground. There was a glimmer of the heat we'd shared when our mouths locked behind his pain. I had to look away, before it totally consumed me.
“Do this for me, daddy. Everyone deserves a second chance, and you know it. He's too young to die, he's still finding his way. He...he treated me good.”
Several dozen teases flashed through my mind at once, all the mysterious little moments I'd shared with the bastard. I'd relived them a few hundred more times with girlfriends over the years, listening to them chattering about me, the only girl he'd ever been sweet on.
“Back inside. Now. I'm not asking again, Elle, and you'll do it if you want me to consider anything you've said tonight.”
He wasn't playing around anymore. Slowly, I pivoted and headed back into the house, flattening myself against the wall in the kitchen, where I could still hear what was going on while staying out of sight.
“Fuck's sake, Prez. You really gonna kill a brother out here in your own backyard? I – ah, fuck!” The soft strain in Asphalt's voice fragmented with new pain.
“No. Let me tell you, boy, you're a lucky sonofabitch. I'm letting you off with a few warning slugs in that fucked up shoulder. When I pull my fuckin' boot off your chest, I'm gonna walk to the gate and open it up. You'll crawl through it, straight down the street, get on your bike, and never, ever come anywhere within fifty miles of Seattle-Tacoma.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, you got yourself a whole pile,” daddy growled. “I'll talk to Blackjack. He's always been good at keeping the boys down there in line and putting 'em where they need to go. One of the only good men left south of Klamath.”
“Okay. Okay. Whatever you say.”
“Now you're starting to learn, Ass-fault. Maybe there's hope for you yet, but I'm not holding my goddamned breath. Fuck's sake, I'd suffocate.”
I shuddered. My father's voice took on a wicked satisfaction, the way a lion would talk if it was able to while playing with its prey.
“It's go time. Just one more thing.” He paused, and somewhere in that blank space his voice became daggers. “Stay away from my little girl. Forever. Don't ever come near her again, you bald headed fuck, or I swear to Christ I'll put you in the ground.”