by Kerri Ann
Trellis knows the same devils that I do. We’ve both fought them daily to keep our cool. He’s no different, maybe even worse. I dealt with mine years ago, trying to be the better man. The Anchor’s? They still dabble in the darker parts of the world that I have nothing to do with anymore.
“That’s the way this is goin’, is it?” I spit out, full of venom.
“Bet your ass it is, Mason.”
Staying on guard, I ignore the angel on my shoulder and allow the devil to have his say. Moving a step around China, I take a swing, hitting Trellis in those perfect fuckin’ lying teeth. Damn, it feels good.
The red splashes against his pressed shirt, staining the purple color an ugly black. Smiling with a mouthful of blood, Trellis’ teeth are stained as he licks his split lip. Grinning excitedly, anticipating for the toss up we’re about to have, it’s easy to see the two of us are both happy this is about to go down. It won’t make a difference what China says now. This is happening.
After one swing, the whole of the house empties to partake in our nightly entertainment. Do I care that there are people here who could video us and ruin what’s left of my job further? Fuck no. Watching Trellis, I know there’s nothing stopping him either. Video be damned.
“Guys, come on. You both have big dicks, no one needs to provide evidence.” China’s words are heard, but not registering as we face off, readying to beat each other to a pulp.
Taking a swing, Trellis aims for my face. I duck, swinging and hitting him in the side. A perfect fucking crunch can be heard as his ribs crack. Relishing the damage and enjoying the sting to my knuckles, I wait as I don’t want this to be a quick dance. Stumbling for a second, Tre stands back straight, shaking off the knock, letting out a heavy breath. It’s not our first time squaring off, and we both know it’s going to take a great deal to put one of us down, but we’re not opposed to doing it.
“You’re a real piece of work, Mason.”
Swinging, hitting me in the jaw, I feel it rattle against my cheek. Fuck me, I didn’t see that left coming and it smarts. Stepping in close, I connect a heavy hit to his jaw. Spluttering out blood, he laughs as I do the same. We’re staining the ground, giving the ghosts their dues. Taking a few more swings, avoiding and blocking until I connect once more, caving a hard blow to the side of his head, it rings his bell. Trellis shakes it off. He’s holding his own better than he used to. Maybe after the years, he’s learned a thing or two, and his criminal dealings might have left him at the end of a fist once or twice.
“Good hit. Don’t expect another, asshat,” Tre sneers through a mouthful of blood with slightly crazed eyes.
“I have more where that came from, Tre.”
Five years ago, I wasn’t as well-trained as I am now. Sure, I knew how to hold my own after being a criminal sort, but with police training, I could take him down without a second thought. Problem is, I want to kick his ass. No way is this going to be over quickly.
Looking over at China costs me another shot to the head, but it’s worth it as I see her annoyed with this man posturing. I almost want to stop, but it’s amazing how much harming someone feels. Not to mention, I’m getting to take shots at his head for saying shit about me that isn’t true. Prick. I’ve had enough of him and his perfection.
As the crowd watches on, we banter, hit, and enjoy the crunching of bones as our pain is taken out on one another. Taking another shot, Trellis rounds a left that I block, then another right at my solar plexus, but missing. Sloppy. Bending away and blocking, taking my own shots to his sides and a couple to his head, the two of us are trading hit for hit. A few hurt like ass, but we’ve been needing this; steam had to be let off.
Pushing all the power I can into the next hit, I clock him hard. Stumbling a few times before falling to one knee, I hope he stays down.
I yell, slightly out of breath. “Stay fucking down, Trellis. I didn’t ask for this, but I ain’t about to quit.” My one eye is slowly closing up, my jaw fucking stings, and I can feel the bruise travelling along my side. But it feels good.
“Can you two please tell me you’re fucking done? Because this is bullshit, boys. I don’t care what the fight was about, it makes no difference to me.” China steps up between us, places a hand under Trellis’ chin and turns his face up to meet hers. “Trellis, you’re better than this shit.” Bent down beside him, she raised her face to me with a pleading look. “I thought you were too.”
“I thought he was better too, then it all went down. Don’t trust him, Doll. He’ll just disappoint.”
“You are such a piece of shit, Trellis.” I rake my hands through my mussed hair. “I…fuck, there’s nothing I can say that’ll ever make you believe I wasn’t what caused it.”
“Caused it?” Standing back up, the fire I thought that was extinguished burns deeper and harder in his eyes.
This isn’t over yet.
“I never said you caused it. What happened was worse; you didn’t stop it. That was unforgivable.”
I’m taken aback by that. He thinks it’s my fault that it happened, and that I could have stopped it? I swear, if he takes another shot, I’m knocking the fucknuckle out.
“I didn’t cause it, and I sure as fuck didn’t have a chance to stop it. Now, back off before I put you down for good.” Looking over at China, I see she’s confused about our whole bust up. I can’t explain it all, and I wish I could, but it’s unfair to tell her. Trellis and I fucking swore we wouldn’t tell it, ever.
Taking another swing at me, I wind up hard, pounding a stiff left to his jaw. As Trellis collapses to the ground, passed out, I know there’s nothing I can do to fix this.
I wipe my mouth on my shoulder. “Fuck. Sorry, Princess.” Straightening out my twisted shirt, I stick my hand out to help Trellis up, while she looks at me as if I’m made of molten lava.
She smacks my hand away. “I’ve got him, Officer.”
“China, I’m sorry.” Touching the side of his face gently, China waits for Trellis to come to.
Spitting a mouthful of blood to the stones, I doubt it’s a first for the grounds around this track. But I bet it’s one of the first times it’s because of a fight that involved someone other than a Crown.
“Mason, I’m still not happy you’re here.” Licking blood away from the edges of his mouth, Doll turns his face side to side, inspecting it. Smiling that knowing fucking grin, he rises off the ground. Kissing her on the head, he says, “I’m fine, Doll. Don’t fucking worry about me, love.”
Giving him a hug around the middle, I wince as a sharp pain lances through me. It’s my heart fluttering to the floor as the prick gets the attention I’m hoping for. Picking up my wounded pride, I turn to walk toward the house, beating a path between the shocked attendees. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
Hugging Doll tight, Trellis spits out again, “Yeah, that’s a good choice, Mason. Off you run.”
I stop in my tracks. Anchor really makes me want to plug him just one more time, but I hold off. Keeping my composure, I continue my way toward the house with my tongue in knots. I’m holding in the biting words I wish to spew. If I’d thought something was going to happen with her and I, right now is the perfect example of how it could never be. Someone like Trellis will always see me for what I was, not what I am. Those of the circle she walks with, they’ll always see the past too.
“Fuck.” Muttering as usual, I strip off the damaged shirt and wipe the blood from my face. I’m not a fucking love sick pussy, and I know when I’m just a fuck of convenience.
Only one more week, then I’m gone. I can make it here, even with the distraction of her so close.
CHINA
As everyone checks their phones, making sure they got a great copy of the fight to post on Instagram and Snapchat, I turn my attention to Trellis.
“Well?” I ask as he keeps me tucked close to his chest.
Pulling back a step, he groans as my arms come unlinked from behind his back. “Well what, Doll?”
“Well, what was that shit about, Tre? Give me what I want to know. You’re both holding back, hiding a really juicy story that only seems to matter to the two of you.” I hate bullshit. I can’t say it wasn’t fucking hot as hell watching the two of them beat on one another, and even though it had nothing to do with me, it was sexy as fuck. Their muscles popping and stretching as they took hits and dolled them out. The blood being spat out I could do without, but fuck! I loved it.
“It’s nothin’, Doll. Mason knows what it’s about and he—”
Tossing my hands in the air, I push away from him. “That’s my point, Tre. You two have some shit that’s unresolved, and it just came out in Rorschach paintings on my pavement.”
“They aren’t paintings, Doll.”
“Fuck you, Trellis. You know what I mean. Tell me what the fuck that was all about.” I’m getting more pissed off that he’s not answering me, and I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have just left these two to pummel each other. I wasn’t siding with the right guy, or wrong guy. I just need the truth. I’m hoping I can trust Trellis after knowing him for years.
“Doll…”
“Trellis,” I growl. Tucking his dress shirt back in, giving in on the busted off buttons, I take in all the beauty of Tre. I’ve never once thought he wasn’t gorgeous, but when you add in splotches of blood, spit, and attitude, I find it hard to like him when he’s stubborn.
“Tell me what that was about. I don’t care about the bullshit—”
“China, it wasn’t about some girl. It was about Marnie.”
Okay, I’m stunned. “Tre…I uh…shit.” His high school sweetheart died in his senior year of university. The killer was never found, and the circumstances behind it was always very vague. “What the hell did he have to do with Marnie?”
“More than you know. Let’s just leave it at that.” Patting me on the head, like my brother always does, I need more information, but he’s not about to share. “Do me a favor and stay away from him. Yeah, I get you have to be here with him all the time, and that he’s your babysitter, but just do me this one solid and stay away.” Kissing me on the lips, I taste the blood, and hate that it feels brotherly. I’ve always had a crush on Trellis Anchor, and for once, he’s not the one I want to comfort me when I’m upset.
Wiping away the blood, blending it in with the rest on his shirt, I grin. “You have the mess, don’t make me dirty, mister.”
He winces as he smiles. “Never, would I ever.”
Starting off toward the shed, where I was originally venturing, I ask, “Why were you here, Tre?”
“I’d told Cas that I’d check in on you after that fiasco at the C&A Ball.”
“That was over three weeks ago, Trellis. Don’t you think you’re a bit late to the party for that?”
“I had some trouble at Anchor. Had to straighten it first before I could pop out. I’ve been...” He pauses. “Out of town.”
If I haven’t gotten an answer out of him about Marnie, then I’m sure as shit not about to find out about Anchor, specifically why he was ‘out of town’. Dropping it and moving onto a new topic, I consider going back to the house to check on Risen. I don’t get a great deal of time with Trellis, and I do enjoy his company, so I opt for the moment with him. It’s not like he’s stuck here with me, and I know him well enough that if he isn’t sharing, he isn’t sharing.
“So before you so rudely interrupted, I was on my way out to the shed. Creaper found Harriet. She was in pieces, mind you, but she’s finished now. Wanna see?”
“Yeah.”
Turning us, laying his arm across my shoulder, I laugh at the male posturing still taking place. Trying to show his stamp of ownership on our friendship, Tre and I walk off. We both know that there’s no way Risen would have turned tail and just sulked in the corner. At least, I hope not, and looking over my shoulder as we saunter off, I see Risen standing on the porch, watching us intently. His gaze is heated, serious, and deadly. The last thing I want him to think is that Trellis Anchor is who I want in bed. That ship sailed, but I don’t know him well enough to show the acceptability of fighting as a means to an end with my friends.
I move away from the party, off to the shed, thinking about the whole situation. I know this is going to cause some awful trouble in my future. I feel it brewing.
TRELLIS
He knocked me out? I did not see that coming. God damn, my fucking jaw hurts. There’s no way I’ll let on to Doll that it does, but shit. That fucker packs a punch. I’m going to be in pain later, but whiskey and tequila should help that.
I wasn’t lying when I said that Casper wanted me to check up on her, and I should have been here earlier. He’d asked me a week ago, but with the shit Tarrant had me doing, I was sidetracked. Always a fucking distraction with him.
“I’ve been spending every waking moment this week rebuilding her,” she says over her shoulder. Popping the lock on the handle, Doll walks inside as I follow slowly. “At first, there was so much missing. Getting what I needed wasn’t easy, but Risen took me out to get the spare bits.” Hearing his name flow off her tongue so lovingly, I want to call all the stops to make sure he’s six feet under.
The auto lights flicker to life. “I had everything brought in, but I haven’t wanted to come in here, not since...” Pausing, she shrugs. I understand. The last thing a Crown does is avoid their bikes, the track, and anything that has to do with racing. It’s like us avoiding the water. It’s in our blood like a drug. She’s been holed up here, and I haven’t seen her enough to know if she’s handling life, death, and loneliness. I’ve been a bad friend. Her Dad crashed, Casper crashed, her mother dies, and she’s the survivor. She’s the lone racer left all alone in this massive house. No wonder that asshole was able to get under her skin. He was the only fucking piece of ass that was available to her as relief. “Anyway, it’s ready to ride again.”
Watching as Doll walks over, lovingly touching the frame that’s sitting on the stand, her whole demeanor softens. She’s been tense. She’s afraid of her own fucking shadow. I know the feeling well.
Pulling back the cover, the dangerous beast cries out to be let loose on the track. “You been on it yet?” Picking a damaged camshaft up off the bench, it seems so gentle and docile. It’s amazing that something like this can cause the sum parts of a motorcycle to become a demon under the control of someone so unassuming and petite.
“Cas is doing good now?”
Watching as she meticulously wipes down the leather seat, I grab up a stool to recline on. “Yeah? He’s doing okay? When did ya see him last?” she asks, not turning my way. Anytime we talk about her brother, I see the sadness creep back up. Thick as thieves those two, and to be away from the track this much must be railing on both of them. My brothers and I love each other, but if we weren’t thrust together the way we were, there’s no way we would be where we are today. Caspian may be a bag of dicks with all his goofing off, and Tarrant may have me running ragged with shit for the company, but if they hadn’t made us, we’d have been different people altogether.
“Popped over yesterday to the room. He gave me a lickin’ for not being around to pester his ass earlier. Fucker even tried to throw his precious Jell-O at me.”
“You’re not going to tell me the story about Risen, are you?” she asks absently, wiping down the same spot on the seat more than it needs.
“Not a fuckin’ chance, lady. We’re not going there. Settle for now, got it.”
God damn, Crown’s are stubborn. Maybe even more than Anchor’s.
“I’ll just ask Casper. You might as well tell me while I’m feeling vulnerable.” Wiping down the headlight, she checks over her handiwork. “You don’t tell me and he does. You may not be happy with the outcome, Tre.”
Fuck. Blackmailing little woman. “Fine. But you might not like the answers you get, Doll. You sure you want to know?”
“Can’t be worse than how I imagine the story to go.” Pulling up a seat at the bench, I resign that once ag
ain, I’ve been bent to her will. “And I have a lot of time on my hands.”
RISEN
I’ve looked at my watch every few minutes, probably more than that if I don’t wish to lie to myself. Honestly, I’m not afraid of the conversation that her and Trellis are having, because I know the truth.
Marnie was my best friend.
I know what she was going through. I know everything and none of it was my fault. It was something that I couldn’t stop, and if Trellis wants to place the full blame at my feet, he’s looking at the wrong size twelves.
Yeah, I know he’ll spin it like he always has, but he’s never known the whole truth because she wanted it that way. Marnie knew he couldn’t handle it at the same time as what happened with his family, so she begged me not to say.
Sitting here, I wait for them to come back in. I’ve had a shower, hit the gym for an hour, then plunked my ass down in a lounger, waiting for the inevitable. China will come through those doors with Anchor fast on her ass. She’ll freak out and he’ll smirk, smiling and taunting my ass. I would too.
He did get in a few well-timed hits, and I’m sure a few teeth are looser now than they were before, but I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time I’ve taken a beating or dolled one out, and I bet it won’t be the last either.
Cassidy asked what happened. When I wasn’t about to spill my guts, she made me a plate of my favorite proteins. Sitting on the leather couch, I catch Harlow up with the play-by-play fight she missed. Most of the true partygoers had left after the fight, in search of new antics. The real entertainment had ended and there were better places to be. The room silences a few notches as China and Trellis enter the room. Watching him skirt around, accepting the congratulatory pats on the back and apologetic stares, they’re carrying on as if he was a returning champion.
“What the hell was Tarrant trying to accomplish?” China asks, presumably finishing a story they’d started outside.
