I made fists and put them up.
“Are you serious?” the guy ask. “You want to fight me? Bitch, you don’t even know…”
“Yo, Kyle, just don’t kill her yet. We have to wait for that other one.”
“I know, Dana.”
“You’re name is Dana?” I asked. “Isn’t that a girl’s name?”
“Fuck you,” Dana said. He kicked at my clothes. “Going on a trip?”
“Thinking about it,” I said.
He crouched down and hooked his finger around a lacy pair of panties. He stood back up. “Look at these. Who you wearing these for?”
“Nobody.”
“She can wear ‘em for me,” Kyle said. “After I fight her. Then I’m going to fuck her. In every hole.”
“Easy,” Dana said. He lifted the panties up and stuck them against his nose. “Oh, so fresh.”
Kyle turned his head and laughed. “Give me a pair.”
I threw a right fist and hit Kyle in the side of the face. The punch sounded like a smack and it hurt so bad, my eyes squirted tears. I hurried back and jumped up on the couch, watching as the two of them were coming after me now.
I don’t know why I thought I could get away. I got back to the dining room table and they were around the couch. They stopped and leaned against the couch, showing their weapons.
“One more step,” Dana said. “We’ll fucking kill you.”
“And then I’ll still…”
“Shut up,” Dana growled.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Friend of a friend, I guess. Tying up loose ends around here.”
“Stoney send you? You know this is Red Aces territory.”
“Red Aces should be called the Red Pussies,” Kyle said.
Dana snickered. “Nice, man.”
“What do you want with me? I have nothing to do with them. You know Rocky is dead.”
“Yeah, we’re really sorry about that,” Dana said. “But this is a little business and a little fun. The business is finding out who you’ve been fucking around with. Heard there was some hotshot in town.”
“The fun is between your legs,” Kyle said.
He licked his lips again.
My stomach turned.
I wanted to throw up.
“But I’d like to see that fight,” Dana said. “You and Kyle. Tell you what, Winter. You fight Kyle. If you win, we’ll tell you where your daughter is.”
My heart stopped for a second. “What?”
“Sweet little Autumn,” Dana said. “Damn, she does look like you. Darker skin though. That’s because you got knocked up by that greaseball, right? But, oh, give her ten years or so… damn…”
“Shut up,” I growled. “You fucking piece of shit.”
“Yeah,” Kyle said. “Get her angry. She’ll fight harder.”
“Wait, wait,” Dana said. “If Kyle wins, he’s going to take you down. And I can’t promise what I’ll do first…”
“Fuck off,” I said. “Both of you.”
“Fight Kyle or I’ll kill you,” Dana said.
I put my arms out. “Do it.”
“Bitch,” Kyle said.
“No,” Dana said. “Fight Kyle or I’ll kill you. Then I’ll kill Autumn.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Want to hear about her pretty blue eyes? Her brown hair. The way she can never finish a cupcake without getting icing all over her face. Oh, and anything you want me to tell Andrea? Because I’ll kill her too.”
I lost feeling in my knees.
I caught myself on the table.
The room started to spin.
I told myself not to pass out. I couldn’t pass out. These crazy guys would…
Andrea…
Holy shit.
They knew everything.
25.
(Tripp)
What the fuck am I thinking?
The thought attacked me again and again. Leaving Winter was wrong. Leaving the nothing I had was only going to cost me my life. Plus, I fucking loved her. If she was going to end up dead or I was going to end up dead, at least I had finally found a good cause for it to happen. It wouldn’t just be me sitting in the shit hole apartment of mine with the windows open, listening to the waves crashing in the ocean.
More than anything else, Winter required a sense of trust that I knew nothing about. I wasn't incapable of trusting… I just never had a reason to. Some people can read someone and their lies by their eyes. For me, it was about the fists. If someone was willing to fight for the truth, then it was worth the trust.
I touched my cheek.
She had landed a hell of a slap to my face. There was a beautiful grit about her that drove me wild. She’d never leave my head, my heart, my soul. Even if this thing came to a crashing end and I was back to fighting for Aldo, she would have a place in my heart forever. She ruined any other woman I’d fuck because they’d never be as good as her. Then again, I had no desire for any other woman in the world but Winter. I wanted her. All of her.
I cut the wheel and spun the car around. The tires screamed in protest; maybe I was making the biggest mistake of my life. I had never followed love before so I didn’t know the outcome.
When I got back to the house, I parked the car a little bit away because something hit me. Not literally but just a sense of something. It was like I knew Winter was in trouble.
I ran from the car to the front door.
That’s when I heard the voices.