Sleepless Nights(82)

Barney clenches his fist and cracks his neck. “You be real careful how you talk to me. I won’t be disrespected by a lowlife like you.”

Pop laughs again but this time his smile is evil. “I don’t much like how you think you run this town. Far’s I’m concerned I run this town. I got the cops in my pocket and I use money instead of threats, so they’re more likely to stay on my side. Even the citizens of this town think I run it. You know why?” Barney just stares at Pop and I’d find it funny if things weren’t so fuckin’ serious. “Because I don’t threaten the lives of the people. I don’t disturb their lives, killin’ their daughters and sellin’ drugs to their sons. In fact, the citizens paid me a million dollars to off you.”

It got so silent you could hear a pin drop from a mile away. “Excuse me?” Barney seethes, steppin’ even closer to Pop.

And that’s when it happens. A bullet flies between Pop and me, hittin’ Barney between the eyes. The other bosses get out of their seats and head towards us, drawin’ their guns. “Sit the fuck down!” Sage screams from behind us. And they all sit down.

I turn to look at him and find him puttin’ his gun back behind his back. Guess little boy didn’t want to play with daddy anymore. “I thought I told you to wait,” Pop growls.

“Yeah, well I was getting tired of the conversation. He wasn’t going to change anything and I’d rather be breathing than making the kind of money he was.” He walks around us and steps up to his father. “Old bastard didn’t even see it coming.”

Pop sighs and crosses his arms over his chest. “Well I trust you to handle them.” He points a finger at the other bosses. “Gotta get my boy back to his woman. You keep it clean around here and you won’t be hearin’ from me.”

“That was the point,” Sage grumbles and moves onto the patio.

Pop nods to us and we fall in behind him on the way to his truck. “That was awesome! I’ve been waitin’ my whole life for someone to blow a hole in that fucker’s face,” Ryan states, getting’ into the truck behind me.

“You coulda told us Pop. I still wouldn’t have said anythin’.” I moan as I rub my shoulder against the seat causin’ more pain to shoot down my body.

“You need to take a pain pill. You’re gonna suffer for days if you don’t,” Pop says instead of respondin’ to me. Asshole.



***



Hours later when I’m sittin’ next to Ashley’s hospital bed, I still haven’t taken a pill. I honestly don’t want to. Somethin’ could still go wrong, like infection.

I would still be a total mess if she hadn’t opened those beautiful blue eyes to look at me. “I had a dream,” she says, clutchin’ my hand as hard as she can.

“What about?” I ask, bringin’ her hand up to kiss her knuckles.

“I had a dream that we had a little girl with blonde hair and deep blue sea eyes. You rode up with her on the back of your bike and her eyes got wide. Then she said, ‘Momma, Daddy went really fast this time!’ and I slapped you upside the head.” The smile that graces her face stops my heart and restarts it all in the same second. Her eyes meet mine and I smile back.

“All your dreams will come true, Glossy. I swear to you.” And I know they will. I’ll make her happy for the rest of her life, even if it kills me. It will be the best death any man could have. Dyin’ for the only woman he’ll ever love.



Victor



I feel like shit. I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever felt this bad in my life. When Micah shot me, I hoped I would die. I mean, the people in my life would be way better off without me around.

I look at Ashley lying in her hospital bed and it’s all I can do not to fall on the floor and cry. She’s in here because of me, because I couldn’t tell Talon no. I couldn’t just let it go. I couldn’t help him deal with his sister’s death like a normal friend. No, I had to run around killing bad people. At least the streets are going to be safer now. Talon showed up an hour ago and told me Uncle Barney was killed. My sister’s…ugh…lover killed him. Color me shocked at that one. Killed by his own son. And thankfully the Wrath’s got rid of Micah, but not before Ashley got hit.

“Victor?” she mumbles while I’m not paying attention. I have a lot of drugs in my system. Plus, pain means nothing to me. I live and breathe pain even when I’m asleep. I only hope I never get shot again.

“Ashes. How you feeling?” I lift my head and look at her under my lashes. She used to tell me how sexy I looked when I did that. I shouldn’t be trying to be sexy for her. But it would be funny if her husband walked in here and saw it.