Page 39 of Diesel

Gigi kissed my cheek. “I’ll leave you alone with him. Come and get me when you need to.”

14

Gigi

I met Skittles at the staircase. Everyone else sat in the dining room, eating sandwiches from a well-stocked refrigerator. “He’s dead,” I said. “I thought Diesel needed some time alone with him.”

“Did he say anything about the voices?”

“It was weird, Skittles.” I’d never get used to calling her that name. “He told Diesel all the answers could be found in the basement. For all the times Diesel was here as a kid, he never went to the basement. I think they intentionally kept him away. I’m worried about what he will find.”

We went to the dining room and joined everyone but Trixie.

“Where’s the little leg spreader?” Skittles asked. Wendy laughed.

“Enough,” Beast said. “She took her food upstairs. Cloie showed us our rooms. The woman is a little strange.”

“She’s pregnant,” I said. “I could tell by the way she held her stomach.”

“No way that old motherfucker knocked her up,” Brainiac said. “Hell, the climax alone would kill the man. I’ve got twenty bucks that says someone else knocked her up, and she’s pretending it was him so she could get her hands on his money.”

“That’s fucked up,” Wendy said. “But I’m sure that outfit gave him a little boner. Hell, it gave me one, and I don’t have a dick.”

“Can you people get any more fucked up?” Beast asked.

“I’m going to turn in for the night,” Cinder said. “Fucking monkey butt from riding so far.” He left, and Skittles waited to make sure he was gone before talking again.

“You don’t think he’ll go up there and try to kill that bitch?” Skittles asked.

Beast shook his head and finished the turkey sandwich. “I don’t. Besides, I’m sure she’s sitting on her bed right now, holding a gun, waiting for him to break into her room. If he’s that dumb, fuck him. The club doesn’t need that kind of man.”

“We going to vote on his punishment when we return to Pine Bluff?” Brainiac asked. It’s the same thing I’d been wondering. The club put up with a lot of bullshit from its members and officers, but killing an innocent woman was not something taken lightly.

“Let her kill him,” I said.

“Let who kill who?” Diesel asked. He grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen and sat beside me. “The Usher funeral director will be here shortly with his crew. Cloie shared Uncle’s journal. There’s a location in the basement that has his name on it. All the Ushers are entombed in the basement.”

“That’s why he never let you go down there?” I asked.

“I don’t think so.” Diesel watched the painting above the fireplace at the end of the dining room.

“Who is that?” I asked.

“Roderick Usher.” He got up and approached the painting. Everyone watched, but nobody joined him. The painting is almost 200 years old.

Diesel’s uncle had said Diesel was the last Usher. Assuming Cloie was pregnant by someone else, the uncle was telling the truth. A fear gripped both me and the future. What if Diesel and I married? What if we had kids? Would they have the same issue as Diesel?

“Who’s up for a little adventure?” Diesel asked. I was the only one to volunteer. The others excused themselves to their rooms, Beast grabbing Skittle's ass, Brainiac with his arm slung over Wendy’s shoulder. Great. They were all going to fuck while I roamed around in an old basement full of dead bodies. Yeah, it's a great tradeoff.

“Before we go,” I said, “you saw Cloie holding her stomach, right.”

“Yeah, and I know what you’re getting at.” Diesel didn’t seem to be bothered.

“She and whoever knocked her up will try and get what belongs to you.” I put my hands on his chest, the green in his eyes deeper than usual.

“It’ll never happen, G.” Diesel had a way of smiling that suggested he had everything under control even when he didn’t. “Uncle got snipped years ago and never told anyone. He didn’t want to be responsible for continuing the Usher legacy.”

“What about you?” I asked.

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