Perversion (Page 34)

Margaret laughs. “I’m a woman, baby. There’s more to us than any man will ever begin to understand.”

The moment I cross Seventh Street I know Margaret is gone.

I’ve got to make it back to Los Muertos to save Gabby. It’s more than three miles. But I can make it. I look up to the sky, the stars begin to swirl around and around. I quickly realize I’m wrong. I’m not going to make it. I know this because I’m now looking at those same swirling stars on my back.

I hear footsteps and voices, but I’m tired. A warm blanket of oblivion is being pulled over me, and I relax into it.

Oh, so fucking tired.

Of Marco.

Of this town.

Of this life.

Twenty-Three

I’m in my truck the second I get the text from Margaret. I don’t know how she knows or why, but I don’t give a fuck right now. I’m almost to the edge of Bedlam territory when I spot something that doesn’t look right and certainly doesn’t feel right. Three grown-ass men are looming over something on the sidewalk. One lifts a paper bag to his mouth to take a swig of whatever’s inside. I slow my truck and open the window.

“She’s pretty. Or at least, she was until whoever gave her that beating got hold of her,” one of the men says.

“You know the rules. She’s yellow. Bitch is fair game,” another chimes in. “You wanna take a go first?”

“Marco sure fucked up with this one. You’d think he’d want to keep her all for himself instead of turning blondie here over to the streets.”

“His loss is our gain,” a man chuckles.

I raise my hood and turn the truck with a loud squeal as fury seeps from within, flooding my pores. I see red, and these fuckers are going to pay. I drive directly onto the sidewalk and slam into the men as I skid to a stop. They bounce off my hood and fly into the street.

The one I didn’t manage to hit stares at me, shaking. His pants grow dark as he urinates himself. “You’re…you’re.”

“Go, before you find out who I really am firsthand.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. He scatters into an alley.

I already know who is lying on the sidewalk, but to actually see it is a thousand times worse. My gut twists. My rage turns to despair.

Tricks.

I’m breaking every law of the truce by picking her up and placing her in the cab of my truck, but I don’t give a fuck. My Tricks could be dying, and there isn’t a bone inside my brutal body that’s going to let that happen.

Once I have her in the passenger seat, I hop in and speed down the road. “Are you okay? Can you hear me?” I ask, placing a hand on her leg and shaking it. “Tricks, talk to me!”

“I’m not okay,” she rasps with a sputtering cough. “I’m never okay.”

My chest tightens. “I’m taking you somewhere safe,” I tell her, pressing my foot to the gas.

“There is nowhere safe,” she groans. Then, she says something that rattles me down to my bones. “He found the bus tickets. There’s nowhere and no one who’s safe. Not even Grim. But take me to him, anyway. Please, just take me to Grim.”

She slumps over. Her head lands heavily onto my lap.

Then, nothing.

Twenty-Four

I open my eyes, and everything hurts. As I wake, the pain grows from sharp to dull. I’m also naked and in the most comfortable bed I’ve ever been in. I look around and realize I’ve been in it before.

Grim’s bed. How did I get here?

I try to recall the events that led me to being here, but the last thing I remember is swirling stars.

Gabby. Shit! I must get to Gabby. I glance at the clock on the nightstand. It’s four A.M. I still have three hours. I exhale and wince at the pain.

I sit up, and although I’m in pain, I decide to ignore it because the pain in my head isn’t shit when it comes to the pain I’ll feel if I don’t get to Gabby in time. I hear voices on the other side of the door so I stand, wrapping the sheet around my body I shuffle toward them.

“She’ll be fine. She’s bruised and scraped up pretty bad, but it’s not life-threatening. She’s got herself a few cracked ribs. A minor concussion. It could be a lot worse. She’s a tough one, though,” I hear Marci say. “When she’s up, we all need to talk.”

“She’s not going back there,” Grim grinds.

Belly coughs before collecting himself. “We already know Marco’s the one jacking our trucks. He’s probably the one responsible for the rain of bullets in the park, too. He’s looking for a reason to start a war. The truce has only got a month left on it. I doubt he’ll be making an offer to extend it if he comes up with one.”

“She’s not going back there,” Grim says again. “And that’s final.”

Belly pauses. “I understand, son. And I’m going to leave this one in your hands. I expect you to make the right decision. For all involved.”

I open the door. “I’m going back,” I say.

The three of them look to me.

“Tricks,” Grim says with a shake of his head.

“No. Marco said that if I didn’t get back to him by morning or my dead body didn’t show up on his doorstep, he’d do the same thing to Gabby that he did to me. Only, he’d make sure she didn’t survive. I can’t do that to her. I’m going back.”

“We can figure out a way,” Grim begins.

“No, there is no other way. I’ll come back with Gabby when it’s safe,” I say with as much determination as my scratchy voice can muster.

“I knew you were a good one from the second I laid eyes on you,” Belly says, pulling me in for a gentle, yet firm hug. I’ve never been hugged like this in my life, and I find myself overwhelmed by it. I burrow into the comfort of his big body. “Don’t do this because you think anything will happen to you by our hands if you don’t. You’re family. Always have been. We tried to bring you home years ago. It’s about damn time you finally got here. You got a place here, regardless of what you decide.”

I look to Grim whose jaw is in a hard line. “Do I?” I ask.

His answer is a simple nod.

Grim

“I can’t be the reason people die,” Tricks says.

I stare down at her beautiful battered face. “You won’t. Marco is going to find a way to start a war regardless of whether you go back or not.”

“But I can’t be the reason, Grim,” she explains. “I just can’t. I have to get Gabby out. I can’t leave her there. I won’t.”

I pull her into the room and sit her down on the bed. We’re both silent for a moment. The space fills with tension and unspoken words.

“I fucked up. Marci told me everything,” I finally say.

She holds up her hand. “Let’s not do this. Not yet. Not now. You don’t owe me anything. I’m going to prove myself. I’m going to help take down Marco. When I’m free of him and Los Muertos, we can talk. Regardless, I’ll come back. I promise.”

“Belly was right. You don’t have to do this,” I say, holding her hands in mine.

“I know, but for the first time in my life, I want to.” The sincerity in her voice strikes me like a fist to the heart. “It’s the only way to see my way clear of all this bullshit and keep Gabby alive.” Tricks winces as she begins to unwrap the bandages from around her ribs.