“If you go near my man, I will rip the hair from your fucking head, do you hear me?” I yank on her hair hard. It snaps and pulls from her scalp, making her scream loudly. Lip and Bull rush out of the kitchen, so I let go.
“Fucking psycho!” Dolly cries, holding her head.
“Jesus, Cherry. Why do you have to be a pain in my ass?” Bull exclaims, catching Dolly. “Come on, darling. Let’s get you to your bike, and get you out of here before the Ghost Riders wake.” Bull helps Dolly stand and walks her out. The bitch rides her own motorcycle?
I want to know if Lip called her Dolly, and I want to know what the hell he was talking about with Bull, but the blood on the floor has me more concerned. What did Lip do? I step forward and survey the chair.
“Did you do this?” I ask. I don’t need to ask, though, because I know he did. Looking at the blood, I see little chunks that catch my attention.
“What the….?” I bend down to get a better look and find the chunks are teeth. A lot of them. I cover my mouth and turn away quickly, vomit threatening to race up my throat. Lip couldn’t have done this. Not the Lip I know. I clench my eyes shut and swallow hard. I’m starting to second-guess how well I know the man I love.
“Cherry, babe.” Lip grabs my elbow, his voice soft.
“I’m fine,” I choke. I’m not fine.
“Why don’t you go home? We need to get this cleaned before The Ghost Riders get up.” I nod in agreement, needing out of here.
“Yeah, I need to go see-” I stop, nearly exposing my lies. I swallow hard and shake my arms out, trying to get a hold myself. “I need to go get a few things.”
Lip’s eyes, which were pulled into a tight scowl, ease slightly. He leans forward and kisses me, but it’s not a peck, not a simple ‘I’ll see you later’ kiss. It’s deep and hard, his hands grabbing my face.
“Bye, babe,” Lip whispers against my lips.
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHERRY
I head to Golds Trailer Park and find Piper outside playing on the poor excuse for a playground. I pull over and park the car. She is so beautiful, and every time I see her I want to tell her I’m her mother and I love her, but I can’t. It hurts, words I can’t speak eating me from the inside out. I hope one day Eric feels this uncontrollable ache that dwells in my chest. That the judge feels the wrath of karma, and when he steps in the sight of the Devil it shows him no mercy. That’s all I have at this point, hope that karma and the scales of justice will punish Eric and Judge Calhoun.
I step out and head toward her. It’s Saturday, so her father won’t be home till late.
“Hey, Cherry, wanna see me climb to the top?” Piper asks. Her hair is pulled into two messy piggy tails, and she’s wearing an outfit I bought her a few weeks ago. It’s neon orange and green. It’s summery, and perfect with her vibrant hair.
“Yeah, let’s see it,” I reply. I can’t help but smile when I see her. She climbs all the way to the top of the dome and stands up.
“Did you see how fast I went?” She laughs. Just as I’m about to answer, one of the rusted bars breaks and her foot slips. I run to her and catch her before she hits the dirt.
“Are you okay?” I ask, looking her over anxiously.
“Yeah, I’m o-okay,” she stammers, still scared.
I set her on her feet and look up at the broken bar. I’ve tried to coax one of the MC brothers over here to fix it, but they know this side of town is dangerous, and I shouldn’t be over here anyway. Lip would freak if he knew I was here. This is a really bad part of town. Half this trailer park is ex-convicts and drug dealers. They won’t bother Piper, though, because she’s one of their own. It’s outsiders who bring the problems to the trailer park.
“Stay off this piece of shit,” I demand, grabbing the bar and wiggling it.
“But it’s the only outside toy I have,” Piper whines before crossing her arms.
I look down at her and sigh.
“Just stay near the bottom of it until I can get it fixed. I’ll bring some more tape with me next time I come by.”
“Okay, I can do that.” She smiles, climbing on the bottom bars. “You know, my daddy doesn’t care if I climb on it, and he knows it’s broken,” she continues.
I furrow my brows. “Your daddy is a dumbass, Piper.” I close my eyes and chastise myself, trying to backtrack. “Just, maybe your daddy isn’t thinking when he says it’s okay.”
Piper’s eyes are wide, and she’s covering her mouth.
“What?”
“You said a bad word,” Piper whispers.
“I did?” I tilt my head to the side, trying to think.
Piper shakes her head, smiling.
“What was it?” I can’t remember cussing at all.
“You said,” Piper looks around and cups her mouth with her hands, “dumbass.” I throw my head back and laugh.
“Oh, yeah, I did say that,” I remember. I forget that ass is a bad word since I use so many other ugly ones.
“Mommies are allowed to say bad words,” I point at her, “but not you.”
“You have kids?”
“Do what?” I question, still giggling about her cussing.
“You said mommies are allowed to say bad words,” she explains. My body tenses and my mouth parts.