Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
HASH
Ican’t get the look on Aisling’s face when she woke while I was getting dressed out of my head as I ride away from her house.
I could see the questions swirling in her eyes.
I don’t owe her any explanations.
That isn’t what we are.
I tell myself that every day, hoping one day I’ll convince myself it’s true.
The truth is, I’ve never met anyone quite like her.
Everything about her is easy. When I’m with her, all the shit that’s going on in the club and with Ink’s girl stops.
She doesn’t need someone like me bringing shit into her life and fucking it up.
That’s the main reason I haven’t invited her to the clubhouse or DD’s. I don’t want her anywhere near my world.
Shit, I didn’t even invite her to my goddamn birthday party my brothers threw for me. I couldn’t even enjoy it because all I kept thinking about was how badly I wanted Aisling on my lap.
For the last three months, I’ve been waiting for her to ask when she can meet my brothers or, hell, even see my fucking room at the clubhouse.
But she hasn’t.
If I know her like I think I do, she’s too scared to push that boundary. She’d rather stay in the dark than lose me by pushing.
I need to end this before she gets more attached.
I’m kidding myself if I think it’s only her that’s growing more attached.
Never in my life have I spent the night in a woman’s bed at her place. As soon as her head hits the pillow, I’m fucking gone.
But lately, I can’t pull myself away. Her bed feels like one I belong in, with her soft body pressed up against me, keeping me warm when all I’ve felt in my life is cold.
I didn’t lie when I told her I had club business. Prez texted me last night letting me know I need to do a run with Ink. Usually I’m all about that shit, but for once in my life I would have rather stayed in bed with Aisling than do something for the club.
That’s how I know I need to end this.
I can live with being miserable for the rest of my life, but I refuse to do that to her.
I watched the shit Evan went through, and I’m watching the shit Sutton is going through.
Seeing that girl beat the fuck up when Ink carried her out of that shithole motel did my head in.
All I could think about was what if that were Aisling?
There ain’t no way in hell I’m bringing someone with a light like Aisling’s into a world full of dark.
I’ll never forgive myself if I’m the cause of something happening to her.
All of this has put me in a bad mood I can’t seem to shake.
“Where has your ass been?” Trick asks as I walk into the clubhouse, still awake with a beer in his hand as he lounges on the couch.
“Jesus Christ, you look like shit. Go to bed,” I tell him, sparing him a glance as I walk past him toward the stairs, heading straight toward my room.
None of my brothers know about Aisling, and I intend to keep it that way.
“Can’t. Prez called church!” Trick calls after me, sounding as fucked up as he looks.
All I can do is shake my head as I close the door to my room.
Everyone has their own demons. His just happens to come alive every night when he closes his eyes.
I’m being a dick, and I fucking know it.
Ink doesn’t need this shit right now, but I can’t get a lock on it.
I’m here at his girl’s ex’s house having his back like a brother should after he killed the fucking man with his bare hands, but all I can think about is her as I’m dragging this piece of shit’s lifeless body across his fancy wood floors.
It’s fucking with my life, and I can’t afford that.
Now I’m helping dispose of a dead body we just killed, and shit is brewing with the Black Diamonds.
I haven’t had a good feeling about any of that since the run Ink and I went on. They’re greedy and think their shit doesn’t stink. It’s a bad combination to have.
I need to end it with her tonight.
“God, what the fuck did you guys do?” Scotch asks, bringing his tee up and covering his nose. “It fucking stinks.”
“That was Ink’s handiwork.”
“It smells like burned flesh.” Scotch is now plugging his nose through his shirt.
“He burned him like he burned her.” I shrug. It’s an eye for an eye in my book. The sick fuck deserved every single thing he had coming to him.
“It was fucking awesome. I never thought I’d take notes from Ink, but I’m using that one day.” Cyrus adds, sounding way too excited at the idea of burning someone alive. God, he’s so fucking crazy.
“You bring a tarp?” I’m ready to get this over with.
Scotch holds up a duffel bag. “In here. I parked the truck by your bikes. Didn’t want to cause any unwanted attention.”
Closing my eyes, my head tips back as my hands rest on my hips and I inhale deeply.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
My night can’t get any worse.
“What the fuck did you want me to do, Hash? Drive it through his backyard in this fancy-ass fucking neighborhood? If that doesn’t cause his neighbors to wonder what the fuck is going on, I’m sure when they see us loading his dead fucking body in the back everything will become crystal fucking clear. ”
“And you think us carrying him down the fucking sidewalk won’t?” I fire back.
“Ladies,” Cyrus cuts in, lowering his hands in a calming gesture. “Let’s all simmer down.”
“Tell him to get his head out of his ass and I’ll simmer down. I came here to help you after Prez specifically asked you not to make a fucking mess.”
“I didn’t make this fucking mess,” I growl, jabbing a finger at myself. “You get your own head out of your fucking ass. Coming in here with a fucking attitude like we don’t got shit to do.”
“Do we have a problem?” Scotch steps up.
I move to follow suit, but Cyrus slides in front of me, halting my path. “No one has a fucking problem. He’s just having an off night. You know how it is.” Cyrus shrugs, trying to ease the tension that has clouded the room.
Scotch stands his ground, not moving. The hard expression on his face tells me he’s ready for a fight.
My chest is rising up and down rapidly as I breathe through my nose, trying to calm down enough where I don’t want to punch my own fucking brother in the face.
Scotch beats me to it, stepping back a beat as he bends down to unzip the duffel bag, pulling out the tarp.
Cyrus turns around, giving me a ‘what the fuck was that?’ look as he pushes me back and he speaks lowly so only I can hear.
“I know you’ve got something going on. I don’t know what it is, and I can tell you’re not ready to share.
But that shit right there isn’t cool. You need to figure out whatever the fuck is going on and do it soon. ”
“I know.” I scrub my hand roughly down my face. “I’ll take care of it.”
This shit ends tonight.
“If you two are done gossiping like a bunch of bitches, do you care to help me roll him up?” Scotch asks, sarcasm lacing his voice.
I checked Scotch’s sarcastic ass tone because I’m two seconds away from rolling up his body too.
Without another word, Scotch, Cyrus, and I place Zach on the trap and roll him up. We make quick work of cleaning the room top to bottom, making sure there isn’t a trace of us being here. Tension is still lingering in the air.
Two hours later, we’re done and ready to carry him to the cage.
“Who’s taking which end?” Cyrus asks. “I don’t mind taking the head. His hair looked kind of silky.”
“I swear to God I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you.” Scotch shakes his head.
“You can’t even see his hair with him wrapped up so why does it matter?” I ask.
“I know it’s there.” Cyrus shrugs. “We should have burned his hair off.”
“I bet if you ask nicely, Prez might let you do it in the basement,” Scotch tells him as he picks up his feet.
“He won’t.” Cyrus pouts. “Prez never lets me have any fun.”
“That’s because your idea of fun is the equivalent of a serial killer,” I tell him as I zip up the duffel bag and throw it over my shoulder. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. I think the smell of burnt skin is stuck in my nose.”
“Next time you two decide to burn someone and need cleanup, don’t call me.”
“It wasn’t us!” Cyrus and I say at the same time.