Chapter Five
Blaze
The gathering grew so large, the street beyond became a blur of bikes.
“You see.” May motioned toward it, slapping at my chest in an absent, and entirely intoxicated manner. “Your mama’s worried about nothing. Them fucking cops couldn’t get down here if they wanted to.”
I gazed at it with a nod and hit the joint when he handed it to me. We’d already smoked one, but even that wasn’t enough to convince me of his logic. Those cruisers could move the bikes, of that I had no doubt. I was sure if my mother was there, she’d have told him so in that authoritative voice they must have taught her in police school or whatever she did to become a federal agent.
Easy nudged against my arm from the other side, “There you two are.”
He snatched the joint from between my lips and hit it in a quick succession of deep breaths that were never fully exhaled, before flinging it aside.
“What the fuck?” May’s voice rose and thinned.
“Shut the fuck up, Aunt Daisy is leaving. You want to smell like a skunk’s ass when you hug her goodbye? I’m sure she could still find the time to bust your chops in front of all the guys before she goes, wise ass,” he rattled at his son, while securing each of us in a hold that was half embrace of the shoulder and full threat of headlock.
He steered us toward the crowd, hooking a hand on my shoulder to draw us to a pause beside a woman in too much eye make-up. Her brown eyes widened when she noticed me, and she shifted her weight into what I’m sure she thought was a more seductive pose. It might have been, if it was on a woman that didn’t smell like she’d had twice as much liquor as me and May combined.
“Knock it off. Hit us with the whore spray,” Easy barked at her.
“Excuse me?” She blinked, her lips parting abruptly in a subtle scowl.
“Fuck off.” Easy dismissed, before addressing Lucia. “Do it, I know you got some. I got faith in ya, girl.”
I blinked, much like the girl opposite of us had, my confusion clear for all to see. Lucia didn’t need further instruction; she slid a bottle of generic perfume out of her purse and sprayed us worse than a skunk could have ever hoped to. A huge cloud of particles went straight into my mouth. It smelled like candy and ass all at once and tasted worse. I coughed and heaved, but Easy was merciless. He put us in motion again while I was still struggling to breathe.
“Aunt Daisy, I got him right here,” Easy called, causing Daisy to whip around and face us in a whirlwind of long, dark curls.
“Where have you been…?” she started, her eyes widening with concern.
“I’m good. I’ve just been with May,” I assured her, trying to accept her hug and prevent a scene.
She paused a few inches in front of me, her arms ghosting, but not yet claiming. Her dark eyes locked with mine and she tucked her head back before shifting it forward and pointedly sniffing.
“Your mother is not going to be happy,” she hissed, as she drew me into a hug.
“She rarely is, where I’m concerned.” I laughed, that weed hitting at the worst possible time.
Daisy stared up at me, unamused and unblinking.
“Get in the car, Blaze Anthony. We’ll drop you and Karlotti off on our way out of town.”
“Yeah… I’m not ready to be cooped up in a hotel with my mother’s energy right now. I’m probably just gonna crash at Uncle–”
“In.” She hitched a thumb, not waiting to hear the rest of what I had to say.
Montana, who'd been standing in the opening of the driver’s door, cleared his throat and looked away from us, suddenly becoming overly interested in the rubber lining of the window. He worried it with his thumbnail while Daisy hugged May, and appeared to be chewing Easy’s ass out, even if I couldn’t really make out what she was hissing at him.
Karlotti slid out of the backseat, stood up beside me and shut the door behind her.
“Uh…” Montana stammered. “Wh-what are you doing, Honey?”
“My brother’s not going, and I’m not leaving him. I want to stay, too,” she decided and started back into the crowd.
I turned to follow her, leaving Monty to deal with Aunt Daisy. I was too old for this shit. I’d not been around my uncle in over a decade. My mother would force us in the car come morning, and who knew when I’d make it back. I wasn’t ready to climb back into her box, and I knew Karlotti wasn’t either. I could keep an eye on her. We weren’t children, and she wasn’t some irresponsible thing that couldn’t be trusted past the mailbox.
“Daisy, get in the fucking car. We’ll call Oak once we’re on the interstate, okay? They’re adults and not our children. This isn’t our battle. It isn’t even our business, babe…” Monty was saying, as I dipped back into the garage for another peek at my father’s bike.
Did they really think I’d just climb in and leave it? I’d sober up and drive us wherever Oak and Mom had stayed come dawn. What was the worst that could happen? It was already dark as shit; we couldn’t be more than eight hours from daylight.