“I think I’ll tell you a story, Valentina. You see, your mom loved motorcycle trash just like you, apparently. Always letting a filthy cock in between your legs. Seems it runs in the family.” Holy fuck, there’s more wrong with this guy than we initially thought. What kind of father talks to his daughter the way he is? It’s downright vulgar.
“Dad, please stop this,” Valentina pleads. It falls on deaf ears.
“You want me, right? This is what you want, Brian, huh? If that’s the case, I’ll drop my weapons. The boys will back off. You take me and let her leave, yeah?”
“Nope, that’s not how this is going to work. You fucked me over one time too many, cost me a deal with the Irish, and I never fucking recovered. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.” I have no damn clue what he’s talking about.
“Man, I don’t know you. The only thing I know about you is that you put a hit out on my head but were too damn fucked in the head to get it right. So, tell me, what did I do to fuck you over?” I ask.
“Eleven years ago, I was a beat cop. You were a detective, head of the narcotics department. My only job was to not let you get close to the Doyles. I’ve been paying for you taking down their shipment ever since.” I knew Brian was a dirty cop, but I had no idea just how fucked up he is.
“You took an oath, so you’re sayin’ the job you took was for the Irish all along. You’ve been dirty that long?”
“That’s what I’m saying. It took me time, but imagine my surprise when shit falls into my lap after you leave the force, shack up with Diamondback. Of course, it didn’t help that my wife liked to fuck biker trash. This bitch right here, she means nothing to me. I bet she means something to you, though.” Valentina sucks in a breath. Her is chin quivering, and tears are rolling non-stop down her cheeks.
“You’re right about that. What’s it goin’ to take for you to let her go?” I attempt to placate him. It’s then I notice Crank. He’s skating around the parameter, and fuck if that is not what I expected.
“Nothing. The only thing I want is your head on a platter, and her father’s.” The color drains out of Valentina’s face, This is clearly news to not only me but to her, too.
“What are you talking about?” Her voice is hoarse. My brothers are still squared up beside me—Shovel, Razor, Ruger, Cannon, and Doc. Dice is out for right now, which I know I’ll have something else to worry about when it comes to the numbskull.
“You’re not my daughter. Never were. I put up with you while your mom was around. The only reason I let you back in the house was if this shit went down, I could always sell you to the Irish. Sure, you’re old, but I bet you’d still make some money in a brothel.”
“If you’re not my father, then who is?” Valentina’s eyes hold a shit ton of sorrow.
“I don’t know. She never would tell me.” That’s when the brothers take aim, picking off the goons Brian brought with him while he’s still going down memory lane. He flings Valentina to the ground, aims his gun at me as I walk through a hailstorm to get my hands on him. I’m going to kill him with my bare hands, but Crank does what Crank usually does, and that’s whatever he wants, consequences be damned. A gun in his hand, no matter how fast I try to get to the two of them, Crank unloads his gun in Brian’s head just as he shoots Crank in the chest.
“No, no, no, Crank!” A wail is torn from her lips. Crank is on the ground, his hand reaching out to Valentina’s. She takes it while her other hand keeps pressure on the gunshot wound.
“Don’t you die on me, Crank. I love you like the father you should have been. Please don’t die.” I squat down beside her.
“My Tiny Tina, give that boy a chance for me, sugarbear. He needs a woman like you to keep him in line.” Crank’s breathing is choppy, there’s blood at his lips, and I know it’s too fucking late, even when Doc reaches his other side, kit in hand. He looks at me, and I know. I fucking know. And I’m not sure how any of us will recover from what happened today.
15
VALENTINA
My whole life has been a lie. Everything has been one omission by the other, and right now, the world is closing in. I don’t even remember how I ended up in Corey’s room, or how I’m clean, without a trace of Crank’s blood on me. The only thing I can think about is the man who I thought was my father killed the only man in my life who I wished could have been mine.