Page 65 of Crash and Burn
“Do you want some help?” Minx says from behind me.
I nod my head. “Yeah, please.”
With her help, we get Marley’s things packed pretty quick. I give the room one more once over making sure we didn’t forget anything. I take our bags out to my truck, tossing them in the back seat.
“You ready to roll, brother,” Raze asks.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“You going to be alright driving by yourself?” Concern crosses Minx’s face.
“I’ll be fine, Lil Mama. The sooner we get back, the better.” I hop in my truck and start it up, waiting for Raze to lead the way.
* * *
We roll up to the clubhouse close to two in the morning. The front gate has been repaired. To someone who doesn’t know what happened, they’ll never be able to tell anything was ever wrong. Knuckles and Buzz are manning the gate and let us in as soon as they know it’s us. I park my truck, turn it off and head inside, leaving the bags in the back seat.
“Go get some rest. We’re having Church first thing in the morning,” Prez tells me when I walk inside.
“You got it.” I head straight to my room, thankful no one is around to try to talk to me right now. In my room, I take my cut off and lay on my bed. My head is reeling with thoughts of where Marley could be. I pull my pen out of my pocket and take a long draw off it. I set my alarm so I can get up on time for Church.
There’s an ache in my chest that’s hard to ignore. It’s been there since Minx came to the table without Marley. I finally find a woman I want to be with exclusively, make her my Ol’ Lady, only to have her ripped away from me. At some point, I fall asleep, imagining Marley sleeping next to me. It’s short lived as I’m jolted awake after a bloody and bruised image of Marley pops into my head.
“I will find you, Princess,” I whisper into the world. “If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll find you.”
I turn the TV on for some background noise. I don’t pay attention to what’s on, taking another hit of my pen. I lay with my eyes closed for some time, not able to fall asleep. Before long, my alarm goes off.
I head out to the main room for coffee, not bothering to change my clothes. There are a few brothers scattered throughout the main room. I ignore each and every one of them as I walk into the kitchen and make a cup of coffee. I don’t bother adding any creamer or sugar in it, drinking it black. The thought of eating turns my stomach, so I walk out of the kitchen with nothing but my coffee.
“Rascal, come to my office,” Prez calls out. I walk straight into his office and sit on the couch.
“How ya holdin’ up,” he asks.
“Not fuckin’ good.”
“Minx told me you claimed Marley as your Ol’ Lady.” It’s not a question, but a statement.
“Yes, sir.”
“You know even if you hadn’t, we would still be doing everything we can to find her, right?”
“I know. I asked her about bein’ my Ol’ Lady the night before last, not knowin’ yesterday would play out like it did,” I explain to him.
He nods his head. “We’ll get her back.”
“I know we will.”
“Let’s go get Church started. Figure out how to get your lady back.”
We walk out of his office and into Church. I take my seat while Prez moves to the head of the table. He sits and waits for the rest of the brothers to file in and take their places. Once everyone is here and the door is shut, he begins.
“The Cartel wants war, we’ll give them war,” he declares.
