by London Casey
Then again, how did I know Ashlynn wasn’t lying to me?
Fuck.
I had let her get to me. From the second I watched her sleeping, she had a hold on me. Seeing her today at the door. The way she reacted to me being there. Almost passing the hell out. Being goddamn beautiful and having that aura of total innocence and desperate need. The way her body tasted. The smell of her desire.
She cracked the shell around my heart a year ago. I thought that crack had hardened in jail. But I guess not. Then again, I had no idea what Ashlynn was. Other than the fact that she gave birth to my son. My only child. A healthy son.
“And I walked away,” I whispered.
I’d make that situation right. At least for the sake of Jude. The baby deserved me in his life and would have me in his life. I had survived enough fights and jail… nothing could take me down now.
Before I could finish the goddamn thought, tires squealed. I looked to my left and saw a black van barreling around the bend in the road. Then it crossed the yellow lines.
And it was aimed right at me.
~
I jumped to the left and saw the van getting closer by the second. The side door slid open and two men, dressed in black, with guns, tried to grab at me. I managed to throw a punch and then I lost my balance. When I tumbled back, I hit the ground and started to flip over. I was going down into a ravine, rolling and bouncing hard with each flip of my body. The only way I could protect myself was to tuck my chin into my chest and cover my head.
When I stopped rolling, the inside of my body felt like it was still going. I uncovered my face and saw one of the masked men already climbing to his feet, the gun in his hand waving around. I jumped up to my knees and shook my head, trying to get rid of the dizzy feeling.
Fight or flight was never an option with me. It was fight… fight until fucking death… always. Forever.
I lunged forward and tackled the guy to the ground. I grabbed his wrist and slammed his hand off the ground. It took three hard slams to get him to let the gun go. He came across with a left that rocked my jaw. I fell off him and scrambled for the gun. From the corner of my eye I saw him pull out a knife. I had to abandon the idea of grabbing the gun for the moment. I jumped at the guy again, getting him with the same tackle. I was bigger and stronger than him, even though he had weapons.
“Yo! John! You alive?”
The voice echoed.
I brought my fist down and hit John in the mouth. I then covered his mouth.
I looked up the ravine and saw the faint outline of someone standing there. It was his crew, checking on him.
That’s when a plan developed in my mind.
I grabbed John’s throat and made it so he couldn’t scream. I dragged him along the ground and got the gun. I put the gun right to his head.
“Listen to me, asshole,” I growled. “You’re going to do what I say. Get on your knees, hands behind your back. You’re going to look up to your boys and tell them I’m gone. That you got me. Tell them to leave so nobody sees them and gets nervous. Tell them you’ll take the motorcycle and meet up later. Got that?”
The guy shook his head. I jammed the gun to his head. He took a shaky breath.
“I’ll put a bullet in your head if you don’t,” I said.
He nodded.
I lessened my grip on his throat.
“Understand?” I asked.
“Yes,” John said. “Yes.”
“Good.”
I stepped back and watched as John listened to me. I put the gun to the back of his head and ripped his mask off. I looked at him. I had no fucking clue who he was.
“Say it,” I said. “Hurry.”
“I’m down here!” John yelled. “I got him!”
“Are you hurt?” the voice yelled down.
“I’m okay! You guys go! I’ll take his motorcycle.”
I waited and listened.
My plan had worked.
“Who are you working for?” I asked.
“Go fuck yourself, man,” John said. “I don’t even know your name. I just have my orders.”
“I’m the one with a gun to your head. You take my orders now, bitch.”
John turned his head and spit. “You said you weren’t going to shoot me.”
“I never said that,” I said. “I just gave you orders and you listened.”
John turned some more. I brought the gun back and slammed it to the back of his head. It knocked him out cold. He fell forward and I tucked the gun behind me. I then set my sights to getting to the top of the ravine.
If someone was after me, someone was after Benito.
Worse yet… what if someone was after Ashlynn and Jude?
17.
(Ashlynn)
I couldn’t get Jude to get comfortable. Each time I put him down, he started to cry. I settled on a warm bath for him. That seemed to do the trick, which was helpful because there’s nothing worse than your own child crying and you, as a parent, not being able to soothe them.
I sat on the closed toilet and watched as Jude picked up his toys and slammed them into the water. He was fascinated by bubbles and splashing water. When he’d hit the water too hard and the water splashed to his face, he’d get a really surprised look on his face like a ghost had just thrown water at him. It was nothing but pure innocence to watch. It made me smile to see him play and see him happy.
I pictured Noah there, on his knees, reaching into the water, splashing along with Jude.
That won’t happen. That will never happen.
The only thing that kept me in town was my mother. I stayed because she had gotten sick. Before that, it was just where I lived. My intentions were to start med-school in southern California and start the rest of my life. That all went to the wayside after that night with Noah. All my friends slowly faded away as they either went on to graduate school, med school, or just went off to live their lives. I was the only one pregnant and I wasn’t much fun. I think they all knew I was lying about Jude’s father - and I was. My story made me sound like more of a whore than I actually was. I think a lot of people lost respect for me and pitied me. They didn’t want to see me get fat, have a baby, and struggle.
True friends.
I wiped the corners of my eyes and finally had the chance to call the hospital.
There was no change with my mother. She was still sedated. The cancer was still there, obviously. She wasn’t reacting to the treatments Dr. H had hoped she would. Truthfully, if my mother hadn’t been so stubborn, she could have gotten medical help sooner. I tried to bring that up to her once and she blatantly told me that if I hadn’t gotten pregnant, she would have taken care of herself better.
And now my father was poking his way back into the picture. Not that he’d ever do anything. He’d never visit. He’d never give a shit about me, about Jude, about his dying ex-wife. But he had used my address as his address. He knew he was in trouble and he was trying to pass it to me.
Fucking asshole.
I hung up the call and cried a little.
Then I drained the tub, got Jude dressed into warm PJ’s, and rocked him back to sleep. He was getting sick. Or maybe he was heartbroken that his father had come and gone without so much as a word.
When I put Jude down, he actually slept.
I didn’t make it two steps out of the bedroom before there was a knock at the door. I rushed to the door, thinking and hoping it was Noah. I ripped open the door and instantly regretted my decision.
There were three of them.
Three men.
The three men from last night… at work…
The asshole I hit smiled at me. “Ready to earn that fifty bucks back?”
18.
(Noah)
My mind was one track now.
Get to Ashlynn and Jude.
I needed to know they were okay. I needed to know whoever had attacked me hadn’t gone after her. I parked outside her apartment and my phone went off again.
This tim
e it was Dante.
“I can’t talk,” I said.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Benito kicked a hornet’s nest, Noah. We’re getting shit on all sides.”
“A black van tried to take me out. I wrestled one of the guys and the others fled. I didn’t kill him. Knocked him out. The bend up near Ridge Runner. You know where that is. Down that ravine if you want to go get him.”
“Where are you now?”
I looked at the apartment building. “Trying to make sense of this Craig situation. I have my guard up, okay?”
“You have to get back here soon,” Dante said. “Benito wants to regroup and talk.”
“Soon.”
I ended the call.
I rushed to the door and was ready to pound my fist, but I remembered about the baby. If Ashlynn had gotten Jude back to sleep I didn’t want to wake him. I needed to clear the air with Ashlynn first. Then I could meet my son and figure this all out.
I gently knocked.
There was no answer.
I knocked again and again.
So I did what I had to do.
I broke into the apartment for a second time.
I opened the door and looked to the right. It was quiet. Too quiet.
I stepped into the apartment and looked left.
That’s when I was greeted by a knife slashing through the air.
~
I got out of the way and watched as Ashlynn missed me and fell to her knees. The knife fell out of her hand and she braced herself on the floor. I dropped down and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“It’s me,” I said. “Jesus Christ, sweetheart, it’s me.”
She threw some elbows and got away. She went for the knife again. She spun around and pointed the knife at me. Fear spread across her face in a way that broke my heart.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “Hey. What’s wrong?” I looked at the hallway. “Is Jude okay?”
“Why would you care?”
“I fucking care, okay? I’m just…”
“I thought they were going to hurt me,” Ashlynn said and lowered her head.
I literally crawled to her. I grabbed her wrist and stripped her of the knife. I tossed it far out of her reach. I touched her face and forced her to look at me.
“Who hurt you?”
“They left though.”
“Black masks?”
“What? No. The lawyers.”
“The lawyers?”
Ashlynn blinked fast. She licked her lips. “Sorry. I’m terrified.”
“I’m here to protect you. I shouldn’t have stormed out before. There’s so much you need to know. Now tell me who the lawyers are.”
Ashlynn inched closer to me, letting me hold her. She then told me a story of how some guy was grabbing at her at work. How he threw a drink at her. She slapped him. Then her boss made her leave.
My heart was racing by the time she finished.
“Where do you work?” I asked, regretting the question.
“Ricky’s,” she whispered. “I’m sure you know it.”
“You’re a stripper?”
“No,” Ashlynn said. “A server.”
“But you wear that shit? The bra and panties?”
“It’s a bikini,” Ashlynn said.
“Like fuck it is. What the fuck are you doing there?”
“Surviving.”
Yeah, I bit my tongue there. Hard. She shouldn’t have been wiggling around in skimpy clothes. She should have been protected by me. All the time. No matter what. I could go out and earn enough to survive for all of us. The three of us. As a family.
“Who watches the baby?”
“My mother was helping,” Ashlynn said. “But I have a babysitter. Her name is Leah. She’s a teenager. Mostly responsible.”
“Mostly,” I whispered. “Jesus Christ. What did these lawyers want?”
“Said I was going to get arrested for assault,” Ashlynn said. “Said that if I came back to work and apologized to them, they wouldn’t get me arrested. And…”
She shook her head.
“Tell me,” I growled. “Right now.”
“The guy I hit… he told me he wanted a private session. He wanted to… taste the milk…”
Ashlynn let out a shaky breath.
I pulled her tight to my body again.
I had moved beyond anger. I was boiling with rage.
Was this the shit Ashlynn had to endure for an entire year? All by herself?
I hated myself as much as I hated these prick lawyers.
“Where’s your cell?” I asked.
“In my room. Why?”
“Call the babysitter,” I said. I wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m going to teach these lawyers something about justice.”
19.
(Ashlynn)
“What the hell are you going to do?” I asked Noah.
“Take me to Ricky first. Then I’ll handle everything else.”
Before I could speak back, Noah grabbed his cell phone and made a call. He said no more than three sentences.
Just checking in.
With the guy or guys that wanted my father dead, whoever sent Noah to me.
He started to walk and I grabbed his arm. “Hey. Am I in danger? With whoever you just called?”
Noah looked at me with his icy eyes. “One fire at a time, sweetheart.”
We went into the back of the restaurant. A few of the girls saw Noah and instantly stopped what they were doing to stare at him. I couldn’t blame them even if it made me jealous.
“I’ll take him,” one of the dancers - Becky - said. “For free.”
“Where’s Ricky?” Noah asked, not even giving a damn that half naked women wanted him.
It gave me a little hope, considering I had been fully dressed with stretch marks and he went nuts to kiss me and want me.
The office door opened and Ricky stood there. “What the fuck is this?” He then looked at me. “You bring him here? You trying to shake me down because of last night? I’ll fucking fire you right now…”
“Whoa, whoa,” Noah said. He put his right hand to my belly and kept me back. He put his left hand out to Ricky. “You did what you had to do. I’m going to do my part now. Those fucking lawyers from last night? They showed up to her apartment. Now before I start trashing this place and shaking people down for information, you can save your own ass, Ricky.”
“How’s that?”
“I’m with Benito. The Corlandio family. I make one call and this place is shutdown. They’ll come through and take a cut, a fee, and plenty more. So let’s talk like gentlemen.”
“Fair enough,” Ricky said. “Hey! Becky! Lisa! Go shake your shit and earn. Out of here!”
The back of the restaurant cleared out.
It was just me, Noah, and Ricky.
Ricky rubbed his sweaty, bald head. “Look. Last night got out of hand. I made sure Ashlynn was safe, at home. Those assholes were out of line, but so was she. We have a rule here…”
Noah stepped to Ricky, towering over him. “You know what they want to do to her? Her body? She’s the mother of my son. Get it now?”
“Holy Christ,” Ricky said. He looked at me. “I thought you didn’t know…”
“My little secret,” I whispered. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Eyes here,” Noah said. “Right fucking on me.”
“I’m all eyes and ears,” Ricky said. “What do you want?”
“Those assholes are back,” Noah said. “Inside right now.”
I watched as Ricky swallowed hard. He knew they were there. He allowed them back in.
“Why?” I asked.
“They’re money is good,” Ricky said. “We equally apologized, too. Last thing I need is a lawsuit.”
“No,” Noah said. “That’s not going to happen. You’re going to bring them to me. In a private room. This ends for good. Nobody touches my girl. Not after everything she’s been through this ye
ar.”
My girl?
His girl?
I was in shock.
“And what do I get?” Ricky asked.
“You need anything from me, you call me. Those pieces of shit won’t ever come back. If you don’t, I’m going in with a gun.”
Noah showed Ricky his gun and Ricky’s face turned white. He blessed himself and hurried to comply with Noah.
“Are you serious?” I asked. “You’re going to kill them?”
Noah looked back at me. “I meant what I fucking said. Nobody messes with my girl. That’s you.”
20.
(Noah)
There were better ways to impress a woman, I’m sure. But this was more than trying to get Ashlynn to not be pissed at me for all I did wrong. This was about purpose and reason. For all she’d gone through that I couldn’t control, this was something I could. I could send a clear message to anyone with eyes.
Don’t fuck with Ashlynn.
I made her stand in the corner and I sat in a leather chair.
I waited for the door to open.
This was risky. This was stupid. Benito would be livid. He’d want Dante to cut my head off. But I had to do this.
The door slowly opened.
I heard their damn voices as they walked in.
“I hope her tits are…”
I fired the gun.
Ashlynn screamed.
I wasn’t sure which was louder.
“Jesus Christ!” Ricky yelled.
The first guy fell.
I then stood up.
“You shot me!” the guy yelled from the floor.
The other two started to move, but they froze when I pointed the gun at them.
“Whoa, man,” one said. “What is this?”
“Assholes,” Ashlynn said.
“Ah, fuck,” the guy said.
“Is he the one?” I asked Ashlynn.
She nodded.
I walked to him. “You want to touch my girl’s chest? Because she’s breastfeeding my son?”
“Hey, come on, man. It was a joke.”
“Threatening her with a lawsuit? That’s a joke too?”
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Noah,” I said. “Never forget it.”
I smashed the gun into the asshole’s face. He blasted back against the wall, arms flailing. I hit him again and again, taking him down. His buddy threw a punch at me, missing my face, hitting my shoulder.
