“N-n-no, t-thank you,” I stammer, inching closer to Rush’s sidearm.
She flicks her gaze to him again, and he idly glances up at her.
“You want me to drag him to the basement, don’t you?” he asks too casually for my comfort.
“You came to ask for a favor, didn’t you?”
“Dash is in critical condition right now,” he answers.
Her smile falls, and her eyes go dead in the next instant. “Snake?”
“He wasn’t there for the shootout. Some of your stripper friends didn’t make it, though. However, your two favorites are at the clubhouse,” he carries on, having a conversation that makes absolutely zero sense to me.
Why did she ask about Snake?
“You’re sure Snake is okay?”
“Jude is fine,” he assures her. “At least physically. I’m not sure where his head is at right now. You know how tight he and Dash are.”
She nods slowly.
“Get rid of the body. The incinerator is already turned on,” she tells him like that’s a normal-fucking-everyday thing to say. “Give me a starting point.”
“If I had a starting point, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be handling it myself,” he replies, lips twitching. “Surely you and Maya can finally come in handy, considering the hell the two of you have inadvertently drawn us into just because you got issues that sent you searching for romance in your twisted skulls.”
She gives him a wry look.
“The club won’t be drawn into my shit. But I’ll get started on yours. Figure out a way to keep Snake in line so that I can work without his anger toward me getting in the way.”
She pauses, looking down and smiling before randomly adding, “Good kitties.”
I get a little nauseated when I see the cats piling in so they can start lapping at all the blood. This is just too fucked up for me.
Even Rush bristles at the sight.
“Fucking crazy bitch,” he mutters under his breath. “He prefers Jude now,” he calls after her as she turns and steps over the body while heading outside.
“I know. That’s why I’m calling him Snake,” she says over her shoulder before she disappears from my line of view.
I’m not okay with losing sight of the terrifying woman who looks like a Barbie Doll reject in a belly-dancing outfit.
Rush gets up and goes to start pulling the body out of the doorway like it’s a typical afternoon’s task, kicking at cats to shoo them out of his path. I swallow back the bile, because he’s definitely more jaded than he used to be.
A slight sense of horror washes over me when a clown van comes barreling backwards out of the small, detached garage next to us. It even has a big red nose on the front, and curly hair that surrounds the windows, and undersized jazz hands for rearview mirrors…
A little clown horn squeaks like she’s beeping out a farewell, before she speeds off in reverse, does a quick one-eighty to face the front, and revs the engine with a much more horsepower potential than one would expect a clown van to have. The van darts off with the madwoman behind the wheel.
“I’m not okay with this level of insanity,” I say very loudly as my hands slightly tremble.
“Neither am I,” he calls out, and then curses as the sound of something heavy thumping down the steps signals he’s presumably dropped the dead body.
“Okay then. Glad to know we’re in agreement on limits,” I mutter as more and more cats come inside to start cleaning up the mess. “She should have offered me something a lot stronger than tea,” I decide aloud as I cut my eyes away to stare outside. “I’m going to need a lot more therapy.”
“Welcome to the shit show,” he says again like he heard me. “Be glad you’re only here for the finale.”
The more things change, the more fucked up they get…
Chapter 13
RUSH
Kara doesn’t complain as I begin tying her down with the newly acquired satin ties I stole from Sarah’s house. Hopefully, Snake won’t walk in, recognize them, and blow a fuse.
To be honest, I’d like to know who was getting tied down in their relationship.
Drex is predictably blowing his short fuse as we speak, because Dash isn’t getting better fast enough.
Kara eyes the new ties with a skeptical look, darting a suspicious glance toward me. I keep my lips from twitching, mostly because I can hear the loud crashing going on just outside my door.
“Who’s my brother beating to death?” Kara idly inquires.
“Someone who deserves it. Let him blow off his steam without judgment right now. He’s trying to keep himself under control so that he doesn’t get us all killed with his reckless leadership skills,” I answer before pushing up from the bed and going to lock the door.
Usually I sleep fully clothed, but I pull my shirt over my head, moving back toward the bed. Her eyes predictably drink me in, and I watch as her thighs press together as she fights the urge to squirm.