Ruthless Sinner (Ashby Crime Family)

I glanced at Terry, who stood just behind Virgil, ready to do whatever he thought I needed. I said to Virgil, “Does this motherfucker actually have a gun to my head?”

Outrage and disbelief were more prominent in my mind than actual fear. “This fucking pussy who only picked up a gun to shoot our fucking mother thinks he can shoot me?”

Before Cal could respond, I turned quickly and landed an uppercut just under his chin, sending his head snapping back and buckling his legs. The gun tumbled to the ground. “Next time you do something that fucking stupid, be prepared to pull the trigger.”

Cal smiled and stood, that wild, crazed look back on his face, turning his green eyes an odd shade of pale jade. “I pulled it once. I can do it again.”

I felt a smile cross my face, but there was no amusement or joy behind it. Instead, it was the kind of smile that came when you were about to brawl.

“Except I’m not some little old lady. You want to shoot me, Calvin, you’ll have to look me in the eyes. Not hide away like a fucking pussy.”

My knuckles landed on the open split already on his cheek.

Cal stumbled, but he recovered quickly. “Ask and ye shall receive, Jasper.” He took a step forward and twisted his upper body to land a jab straight to my chest before he landed another on my side.

“You want to fight, Calvin?” I laughed. “Guess all we needed for your balls to drop was to kill your crackhead wife.”

That pissed him off good. Fury, or maybe it was rage, exploded within Cal, and he barreled forward, landing two jabs to my side, a hook to the jaw, and then the chest. When he advanced on the cross, I ducked and sent two quick hits to his midsection. “You piece of shit!”

“From the asshole who shot his mother all because he couldn’t control his bitch.”

I spit out the words, angry as fuck every time I had to say them.

“That’s right. Let’s talk about the truth, little brother.”

I stepped forward and went in for a combo, two jabs to the nose and a cross to the jaw.

“You tried to kill Sadie to ease your own fucking guilt. You saw how Bonnie was acting, suspicious and shady as fuck. A new mother leaving at all hours of the night. A real man would have at least suspected she was getting dicked down by another man. A man in our line of work, well, he would have followed her and done something about it, but you didn’t do any of that, did you, Cal?”

“Fuck. You.”

I hit his nose two more times until I heard the crack of a bone breaking, maybe shattering in pieces.

“Don’t try to be a man now. The time for that has come and gone. It won’t save Bonnie now, and it sure as shit won’t save you.”

Cal crouched down low and ran at me until his shoulder landed in my stomach and sent me flying to the floor. He sat tall on top of me and wailed on me with his fists. Hand after hand landed on my sides until I bucked him off me and climbed on top of him.

I smiled down at Cal’s busted and bloody face. “Family is family, asshole.”

My fists rained down wherever they fell, face, chin, jaw, chest, stomach, it didn’t matter to me. I didn’t give a fuck in that moment that this was my little brother, the one Virgil and I protected from the worst shit humanity had to offer. “We don’t turn our backs on family.” Another crushing blow to the jaw. “We sure as shit don’t try to kill family.” Another hit to his nose.

“Son of a bitch!”

Blood rushed down either side of his face, and Cal tried to sit up because I was sure he couldn’t breathe.

“Stop.”

I should have stopped. Hell, I told myself to stop, but I couldn’t. My eyes didn’t see my brother with the same eyes, damn near the same face as me. All I could see was rage. Blind rage that it was Cal, my own fucking kin, responsible for the stress and the hell of the past few months, the enhanced security for family and employees. All of it. And it was his fucking fault.

My fists had a mind of their fucking own, refusing to stop until I felt hands on me, tugging at my shoulders and my shirt, pulling me until my fists could no longer touch Cal anywhere.

“Let me the fuck go!”

Virgil got between me and Cal, so I knew it was Terry’s arms that yanked me to my feet and spun me around.

“Man, I know you’re pissed, rightfully so, but you can’t kill him.”

“Yeah?” I spit blood from my mouth. “Just watch me.”

I wrestled away from Terry and turned back to Cal to find Virgil a barrier between us. “Move,” I barked at Virgil.