"No, he's the mayor's nephew."
"Oh, Bennington? That fucker won't care as long as we slop him some money."
"Yeah, he's already gotten a fat payday to keep shit quiet, but you need to calm your shit down, try not be impulsive. Did you really need to beat him within an inch of his life? What’d he do? Fuck some whore? His right eye doesn't work anymore, and his face actually needs reconstructive surgery."
"Good! He's lucky I didn't cut off his fucking dick," I spat. "And she’s not some whore, she’s a little scared fucking kid who deserves a chance in life. As for him, I’ll beat him again if he needs a lesson. The fucker doesn't understand no. I can teach him a couple of words I know free of charge." I looked at my fists that still had a couple of faded bloody scratches from his face.
"I get that. I know you took it easier than you wanted to, but next time just bring the fucker here. I don’t want you getting mixed up in political shit that we can’t fix with a payout."
"How was I supposed to do that, Bullet? Was I supposed to strap him onto the back of my bike and leave Skylar out there in the cold, trying to cover up her half naked body? He wasn't my priority. She was. Next time, I’ll just pop him between the eyes and the brothers can eulogize him for me."
“Rough, calm the fuck down. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just want to make sure we’re more careful about how we handle them.
I stared at Bullet with disdain. His stupid bushy black eyebrows and his white handlebar mustache. I wondered why just the hair in his mustache was white. He was right, but I had a problem and I couldn’t not seek revenge on guys like Bennington’s nephew. It was in my blood to exact justice on scum like him. I suddenly thought of Sky and Claire eating the tiramisu and felt cheated out of happiness once again.
"This is such bullshit!" I stood up from the chair, grabbed it by the arms, and tossed it to the wall—watched it crash to the floor. "Maybe if someone had taught a lesson to the fucker who raped and killed my sister, he would have made different choices—stopped violating women. Ava would still be here.” I put my hand to my forehead. I felt dizzy suddenly, like I might fall on the floor. It would take four of these bikers to move me, it had happened before. “This piece of shit is complaining about how his eye doesn’t work, but what about Sky? What if he’d raped her? He was trying to. Next time, I swear, I’ll just stick the gun in his mouth and put him out of his misery.
Bullet walked over to the chair, picked it up, and put it back at the table. One of the legs had broken and now it sat crooked.
"I know that wasn't easy, what you witnessed as a kid. That pain is never going to go away, but you've got to get a hold of this anger. Cause that shit will kill you, Rough. Stress is no joke. Why don’t you take some time off? Go on a vacation?"
"You want me out of here? You think the situation is that hot?” I crashed down into the chair next to the broken one. “What the fuck am I supposed to do? I can’t change my past. You and I both know, there are guys in this club that do a hell of a lot more damage than me." I tugged at my hair. Sure, I’d broken a few jaws, maybe an eye socket, but I’d never sunk a body in a lake or transported one in the trunk of my car. The stories these walls could tell. Claire was right, the club was full of a bunch of criminals. But I didn’t classify myself as one, not by a longshot. I studied law, knew how to use it in my favor, but I never broke one on purpose.
Bullet stared me down like he expected some sort of apology. I don’t know what the fuck he wanted. Expected me to skip town so that he could clear out the club before they had the feds in here sniffing around. "If you say I’ve got to go, I’ll clear the fuck out. But for the record, I'm never going to stand by and let a man put his hands on a woman. It’s not in my DNA, Bullet. I will take them down. It’s how I’m built and I’m not apologizing for it."
"I know," Bullet sighed, "maybe you could talk to someone about Ava. You've been holding that shit in for decades. Maybe it’s time to let go. Hell, I don’t know, at least sort it out. Turn away from your past if it’s killing you. I’m telling you brother to brother, Rough."