Page 60 of Wild Card
“Does someone wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?” Ash’s eyes flick between us all as he gets even more frustrated.
“Dom must have told Byron about the results, cause he’d called up your mom just before Dom got to the house and warned her.” Earl takes over, explaining the story.
“He told your mom that Dom was mad about her lyin’ to his best friend and that he was coming over to kill her. She always knew who your dad was. All those years she spent in those whore houses was to put food in your belly while she was looking for him. Her parents had disowned her when she told ’em she was pregnant.” He smiles at me sadly. “She tracked him down to thistown, and when she realized he was a part of all this…” He looks around the room. “ She panicked. She didn’t want Grizz knowing you were his kid; she didn’t wantanyoneknowing in case it put you in danger,” he explains, and Grizz passes him the bottle so he can knock some back himself.
“Dom arrived at the house, and your mom had already armed herself with a knife. She was ready for him and determined to protect you. According to your mom, when Dom arrived at the house, she was so scared she just struck out.” Ash’s arm drops from my shoulder, and when I find the courage to look at him, I see the devastation on his face.
“All these years, you knew and you never told anybody.” He looks at Earl, and I can’t decide if it’s anger or hurt in his eyes.
“I was protecting Josie. She was defending herself, and Byron backed her story. He told me how mad Dom was when he got those results. Byron was the first person Josie called after she’d killed him. He helped her clean up. She confessed it to me a few weeks later after your dad's funeral, and for the sake of you, we all agreed that the truth stay buried.”
“And you're okay with all this?” Ash looks to Grizz, slamming his fist on the table and standing up.
“No, I ain’t o-fuckin’-kay about it, but these people were lied to. Byron clearly wanted to take the president seat and saw this as an opportunity,” Grizz points out. “I knew Dom better than anyone; he would never have put his hands on a woman, especially not one who mothered my child.”
“I should have known better, too; your dad was a good man.” Earl lowers his head in disgrace.
“We need to find that son of a bitch, right now. Drag him back and hang him off the club gates by his fuckin’ guts.” Ash gets up and starts making his way toward the door, and I quickly chase after him.
“Please, Ash. Don't leave, not now. I’m sorry. Please come back so we can talk.”
“Sorry?” He spins around and looks at me. “What the hell areyousorry for?” He looks me over like I’m crazy.
“I knew what Mom did. I kept it from you because I was so scared you’d hate me. Believe me, Ash, my mom would never have hurt your dad unless she thought she was in danger. I thought he was there to hurt her, too. I had no idea about Byron being involved. I thought your dad was a bad person who’d come to hurt us. I was trying to protect you from the truth, and I was trying to protect myself.” I start to cry. “Mayor Porter’s been threatening to tell everyone the truth since Mom died, and I was so scared everyone would see her differently.”
“Wait…is this why you were marryin’ Brett? Were they blackmailing you with this shit?” He’s looking furious now.
“I had to; I was scared.”
“Stay right here. I’ll be back.” Ash turns back around and starts heading out to the yard.
“Ash, please, where are you going?” I tug back on his arm desperately.
“To string those fuckers up from the gates by their guts, too,” he tells me, getting on his bike. When a car pulls up beside it and Brett gets out the driver's seat, I quickly yell for Grizz, cause I know things are about to get messy.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Ash
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I get off my bike, grip the cunt by his shirt, and slam him back against his car.
“I’m here to get my fiancée back. Ruby…If you know what's good for you, you’ll get in the car,” he calls over to her, and I slam my fist into the side of his face. I can see by the way he smirks that there's something going on, and when I hear sirens in the distance, I figure since I’ve come this far, I might as well do some more damage.
I hit the fucker again; knee him in his balls and make him fold over in pain, then after tossing him to the ground, I feel arms pulling me back that are far too strong to be Ruby’s.
“Quit! You know what he’s fuckin’ doing; do you wanna go back to jail?” Grizz yells at me.
“For this cunt, it’d be worth it.” I spit on the prick, who’s groaning on the floor.
“Yeah, you're right, but unfortunately, my daughter’s in love with you and I won't have her heart broken, especially not by you.” He forces me away and lifts Brett off the floor by his tiebefore laying the shit into his face. The cop car pulls up, and the two officers who get out look scared as they race to pull him off.
I see a second car pull up behind ’em, and when the sheriff climbs out and calmly puts on his hat, I get the sense this is all about to go south.
“Arrest these men, they’ve assaulted me.” Brett remains on his ass as he scurries back to rest against his car door.
“Actually, Mr. Porter, I’m here to arrest you.” Sheriff Underwood throws a curveball and shocks us all when he nods to one of his officers, and they start to cuff Brett.
“What? That's ridiculous, what the hell are you arrestingmefor?”
