Page 97 of Cut Me Down

“I wish I could say I was a good man, or a selfless man.” I watch as she sets her gaze back on me. “I'm not. Especially when it comes to her. I'm selfish enough not to tell her to run, or to abandon her for her sake. She makes me a better man, but I won’t do that to her.” More silence.

“Good. Because knowing her crazy ass she’d chase after you or run into a drug den just to get your attention.” I smile at that comment. Knowing very well that she's right.

“You're damn right she would.” I look over to Ashia again and marvel over her sweet face. Looking over every inch and committing it to my memory. There’s a few moments of silence before Serena opens that mouth of hers again.

“Sooo…”Jesus Christ.“Is this a R-27?” Serena knows cars?

“Yeah?” I reply cautiously.

“Has Ash seen it?”

“Not yet. I’ve taken her out on the bike though.” She nods and looks around the car. Almost like she’s inspecting it.

“Yeah, I heard about the bike. She really liked the bike. She said it terrified her the first few minutes, but after that she really liked it.” I suspiciously look at her again in the mirror once she stops. She was rambling. Talking fast and erratically, but her sudden silence after is awkward and dubious.

“Go ahead, speak what’s on your mind. You don’t seem to have a problem any other time.” I scowl.

“Fuck you, asshole, and it’s nothing. If she hasn’t seen it then she hasn’t had the chance to tell you about it.” She crosses her arms again and shakes her head. How Ashia can stand to be around her more than five minutes is astonishing.

“Tell me what?” She stays silent. Of course, the one time she decides to shut the fuck up. “If it’s about her, you better start talking.” She huffs and rolls her eyes.

“Cooper had one. It wasn’t near as new or nice as this one, but she hated that car.”

“Why?” She hesitates, and I feel my patience getting dangerously thin. “Serena?” She rolls her eyes again before blurting out her response.

“She helped him get it, and then he’d make her…do certain sexual acts in it. Even when she didn’t want to. Not that she ever did in the first place, but we both know by now how Cooper treated her. She eventually just stopped saying no until the end of their relationship. He busted her face against the passenger door once, and then after everything happened, he stopped the payments on it and fucked her credit up. It took months to get her name off of it. Emmett eventually just paid the rest of the loan off for her.” My face turns about as red as the dried blood on it and I can practically feel my soul trying claw its way out of my body.

I hate that piece of shit. A part of me wishes he were still alive so I could keep him at Ty’s and continually torture his pathetic ass. It seems like every day I’m given knew reasons to hate him. Which only leads to more ways I could’ve inflicted pain upon him.

“I'm sure she’ll like yours though.” I raise an eyebrow at her.Is she fucking serious right now?“What? She’s not going to hold a grudge against a whole car brand.” I don’t give a fuck if she does or not. I do now. I gently release my girl’s hand and pull out my phone to send a text to Melanie.

Me:

Call and have a new car delivered to the house. Not an Audi, don’t even make it foreign. Full package, pay full price. If they can get it to the house by 7, tell them to charge double. See if they can take the Audi and turn it over. Thanks Mel.

Chapter thirty-six

Ashia

The rumble of the engine stirs me awake, and it takes me a moment to register where I am. Everything fades together for a moment before I realize I’m staring out of the windshield in Damien’s car. We’re traveling a long windy road, both sides covered by tall trees. The sun hasn’t set quite yet, but the number of trees makes it appear much darker than it is. I’m not sure when we got out of the city, but I think we’re up in the mountains now. The air is clearer up here, and I can’t see much of anything past the little bit of road ahead of us due to the hills and bumps. I move to adjust myself in the seat, and I look down to see his large hand resting on my thigh. Those big, thick digits curl around my leg in a protective manner.

Entangling my fingers in his, I hold his hand. Feeling much better after my power nap. Even after the memories of the day come flying back. I'm not shaky, and I don’t feel my heart pounding through my ears anymore. The shock must have worn off, because there’s not really any guilt left for killing that man. Damien was right, he was going to kill us. All of us, and Serena doesn’t deserve that, she hasn’t done or even been associated with anything pertaining to Cooper or Devil’s Hands. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I hate that I took a life, but I'm not sorry. The two people I care about most in the world were threatened, I couldn’t let anything happen to them.

After a few minutes, Damien turns off the main mountain road and starts up another hill.

“We’re home, baby.” Damien says to me, squeezing my hand, and I look over at him with squinted eyes and cocked head. Home? What does he mean by that? Is this where he lives?

“Holy shit.” Serena says under her breath from the back seat. I look forward again to see a huge double gate, connected to high fencing, stretching out on both sides. I try to look up the rest of the windy driveway when I notice head lights approaching behind us in the right side mirror. I halfway expect Damien to step on the gas and turn out of here, but he doesn’t.

“Don’t worry, it’s just Carter.” He presses a button on the top of his rear view mirror, and the gate opens. Both cars make their way up the curved, and well-constructed driveway to a beautiful tan brick house. At least two stories, if not a third one in the back, and massive windows that should show the entire inside, but they reflect instead like a mirror. Columns outline the front and surround the house, as does a wrap-around porch, on both stories.

One set of three garage doors lifts, and we pull into the vast garage. I bet it fits five cars at least, plus his bike is already present at the end. There’s tools everywhere, tires, and some guns on the wall. A tool bench with car parts laid out on top, and two doors to my right, and I’m assuming at least one of those leads inside the house. Damien gets out of the car, comes around, and opens both doors for Serena and I. Grabbing my hand and helping me up before wrapping his arm around me and pressing his lips to mine in a soft, sweet kiss.

He then entangles our fingers and unlocks the door to the inside. The four of us walk in to see this beautiful, dark house, and my eyes widen so big I’m afraid they’ll pop out. The ceiling must be at least thirty feet high, and I can see through to a railed balcony on top of the stairs. This main level is an open floor plan, with continued dark hardwood up to the living area which steps down into the dark grey carpeted seating area. A forest green is painted on the walls which compliments the dark wooden beams and accents on the walls. Ser walks a little ahead of me and gawks at the place.

“Ash, why the fuck haven’t you been staying here instead of your run-down apartment?”

Damien laughs at her comment.

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