I felt the hot lava of jealousy kick up inside me.
Ana was supposed to escape this fucking town, not jump into the arms of some dickhead like Porter.
“Let’s go back to toleration,” Porter said. “I don’t tolerate what you did.”
With that said, Porter threw a punch to my gut. He grabbed my jaw and put my face forward. I then took another punch, this one to the jaw. I pulled at my arms, but the goons had a hell of a grip.
“That’s a good start,” Porter said. “I see you’re wearing that leather jacket, huh? Does that mean something? Or are you revisiting old memories?”
I coughed and spit a hunk of blood right to Porter’s shoe.
He nodded and swung again, hitting me on the other side of the jaw.
“I’ll tell you this, Knoxville… if the Reaper’s Bastards think they’re going to just push through this town into my city, you’re going to regret it.”
“Fuck yourself,” I said. “You don’t know what you’re up against.”
“Neither do you. But I am in a good mood. I took care of a family problem and it was nice to do. So I’m going to pass on my goodhearted feelings. I’m going to let you walk away tonight. And I’m even going to let you have Ana… eventually. When I’m done with her. Right now, she still has use to me.”
The rage boiled over. I couldn’t image some man putting his hands on Ana. She was my girl. She was my love. I was the one who was supposed to take care of her and protect her. Keeping her at a distance was supposed to help her, not cause all this.
I jumped forward and managed to break away from the two goons. My right hand went forward and I was two inches from hitting Porter. And, damn, if I had hit him, he would have gone up in the air.
Before I could get to him, the two goons were back at me. This time they both worked me, pummeling me to the ground.
Porter eventually called them off.
He left me with a stern warning - stay away from Ana.
I watched the car drive away and I climbed to my feet. I had taken worse beatings, but not by much though. Figures the first night I’d put my leather cut back on I’d get into a brawl.
I lit up a fresh smoke and smiled.
Stay away from Ana…
I took a deep drag and climbed on my motorcycle.
My life changed right then. Everything I believed in was left there on the ground with my blood.
“Stay away from Ana,” I whispered to myself.
I started my motorcycle and took off.
Nothing then would ever keep me from Ana.
Well, except one thing - death.
chapter thirteen
(ana)
NOW
My only real friend in life was Megan. She understood what I went through growing up because her mother ended up in the same boat. Her father actually had an affair that spanned the country, along with a second family. When her father chose that second family it sent her mother into a spiral. Her mother then craved married men, trying to find a way to get to married women. It was a vicious cycle that left Megan leaving her mother and never talking to her again.
She was also connected into the family like I was. One of the guys who ran the finances - Mickey - was her boyfriend. He was tall, skinny, looked weak, but I heard rumors he loved to kill people. That alone made him terrifying.
I sat on the corner of my bed, worried that the light was going to hit my face the wrong way and make my makeup look like shit. Not that Megan would judge me for what Porter did, I just didn’t want to have that conversation.
I was mad at myself for it happening. I was mad at myself even more that I was still there, in my apartment, knowing Porter could show up whenever he wanted to.
She cradled a glass of wine but barely drank any of it. Which was good because if she drank too much then she’d have to stay over. Call me mean but I wanted to be left alone. My mind wouldn’t stop racing, no matter what I did.
“You ever wish you could get away from it?” Megan asked out of nowhere.
“What do you mean?”
“Just leave. Start over.”
“What would that get?”
“Hope,” Megan said. “I mean, it sounds silly… but imagine just finding a little town. And there’s a little diner. Right? You get a job there. You find a cramped apartment. But you make it work. And then it’s all… simple.”
It was like she was reading my heart.
I smiled. “Too many movies, Megan. I don’t think it works that way.”
“What keeps you here then?” she asked me.
My answer was easy - Knox. But I wouldn’t admit that to her.
“I don’t know,” I lied. “So much happened to me at once. And then my mother getting sick, getting worse, and dying… I feel like I haven’t caught my breath yet.”
“Yes!” Megan cried out. “That’s it. Catching your breath. Every time I turn around, Mickey has something else going on. I find stacks of money in my closet. I find guns in the drawers. It’s just so…”
Megan shook her head.