Edge of Ashes (Sons of Ash Motorcycle Club) (12 page)

“I still don’t get it.” She says.

“Never mind.”

“That only happens to people whose number
is just about up.” Ripper says. “Means you’re in some kind of danger Kari. It’s
as if your death is imminent.”

“Jeff!” Kari says, shooting him an alarmed
look.

“Just kidding,” he says after a pointed
pause.

Thankfully our food finally comes and we
can do something other than talk. Ripper has ordered a rare steak and he eats
it like a wolf; a starving one. I ordered a lamb dish and I have to say I have
never eaten anything quite like it. Zebra’s reputation is well deserved!
Fortunately everyone is so full at the end of the meal that no one is even
remotely interested in desert. As we wait for the check I rack my brain trying
to think of a way to keep my sister from going home with this creep. I look up
at the clock. It’s nearly eleven. We have been in the restaurant for nearly two
uncomfortable hours. During our dinner I sent Adam four texts begging him to
show up but so far he has yet to respond. It’s up to me salvage the evening and
I got nuthin.

Then as we leave the restaurant and
approach the parking lot I make one last desperate attempt. While they are
distracted I bend over and stick my finger down my throat. I would have thought
it impossible to make myself barf considering how repulsive it is, but it
actually works. Within seconds Anna is at my side holding my hair from my face.
After I finish retching she helps me stand.

“Was it the food?” Anna asks. “Do you think
you got food poisoning? Maybe we better tell the restaurant.”

“No no…I feel like fool as it is. Somehow I
just gotta get home before I have to vomit again.”

“Oh no, you can’t drive, no way.” She turns
to Ripper. “Sorry Jeff, but she’s my sister. I have to make sure she gets home
in one piece.”

“She’s a big girl pet, I’m-”

“She’s in no condition to drive. You go on
home honey. I’m going to drive my sister home.”

She lets go of me and goes over to Ripper
and hugs him. As they embrace Ripper stares at me. I smile triumphantly and
give him the middle finger. That’s right mother fucker! You messed with the wrong
sister! He responds by making a gun with his hand and pointing it at me and
pulling the trigger. I could care less. My sister is not going home with him
tonight and that the only thing I care about.

The next morning I pretend to still be
somewhat sick; just to keep up pretenses. I got off easy last night with
Ripper, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be so easy next time; and I’m
sure there will be a next time. I’m getting dressed when my phone rings; it’s
Adam. Now that the excitements over I’m not so keen on seeing him so I just let
it ring. After a few minutes I check and find that he called me back no less
than four times and texted me twice. I guess he was worried about me after all.

After Anna leaves for her own home to get
ready for work I decide to get up. I just can’t sleep. It’s like I’m just
waiting for the other shoe to drop or something. Around eleven o’clock someone
knocks on my door. I look out through the peephole but I don’t see anyone so I
go to the hall closet where my dad’s old hunting rifle sits. It’s not even
loaded but I shouldn’t have to do anything but show it and make threats. Just
as I decide the person has left there’s another, more urgent knock.

Slowly I unlock the door but keep the chain
on. I’m not stupid. I open the door with one hand and stick the barrel of the
gun out as I jerk the door open. The heavy wood door flies open, hits the end
of the chain and slams shut all before I can even see who is out there.
Disgusted, I take the chain off and just open the door with another jerk. As it
flies open I thrust the end of the gun’s barrel out and end up jabbing Adam in
the forehead.

“Dammit, that hurt!” He swears, rubbing his
forehead where he has a circular shaped mark. “You coulda killed me!”

“Oh it’s not loaded,” I reply.

For some reason I decide this is the
perfect time and place for a demonstration so I point the gun and pull the
trigger. The resulting blast is enough to deafen us both. It’s a good thing
Adam has pretty fast reflexes. If he hadn’t of knocked the barrel aside he’d be
sporting a hole in the exact center of his chest.

“Kari, you just about shot me! Was
that…That was on purpose wasn’t it?  Is it because I didn’t rescue you
last night from Ripper? If it is I had a real good excuse.”

“No it’s not because of last night
but…Wait, what do you mean excuse? Don’t you mean reason? Like, there was a
really good reason you couldn’t come by; or was it just some lame excuse like
you say?”

“One of those…” He says, clearly confused.
“Whichever one’s better.”

“Oh my god, what were you doing that was so
important that you couldn’t rescue my little sister from your presidents evil
clutches?”

“Sorry but I don’t have the clothes for it.
You can’t even look at the menu on the door without a pair of slacks and a
dinner jacket. No way could I have actually got in the place and found you.”

“You gotta be kidding me. You couldn’t have
forced your way in in order to save me?” I ask. I can’t believe what I’m
hearing.

“Well I could have but I would have looked
like a real jerk in the process; an under dressed one at that. Besides, you
were in a public place; Zebra’s no less. He wasn’t going to make a scene
there.”

“He practically did. He told me he was
going to violate my sister with a crucifix.”

“Is she a vampire or something?”

“What? No…of course not.”

“Well it’s a non- issue then.”

“Really?” I look around me until my eyes
locate the Virgin Mary statuette siting on the dining room table. I grab it and
return to Adam who is watching me with amusement.

“I’m not a vampire either,” he says as I
stand in front of him brandishing the Virgin. “You’re going to have to do
better than that.”

“Bend over!” I command.

“What?” His smile is beginning to become a
frown of uncertainty.

“You said it’s no big deal since my sister’s
not a vampire and I’m telling you it won’t be for you either since you’re not
an undead demon either. Now I don’t have a crucifix handy but this is close
enough so are you gonna turn around, bend over and drop your pants or are
things going to get ugly?”

“They’re already frighteningly unpleasant.”
He replies staring at the Virgin in my hand. “How much worse can it get?”

I advance on him another half step keeping
the religious implement between us.

“What kind of game are you playing at
here?” He asks again.

“I just want you to acknowledge that my
sister and I were in a dangerous position and you should have come to rescue us
and you have to admit that you were wrong not to come and then you have to say
you’re sorry. That’s what I want and I’m not kidding.”

He regards the Virgin like it’s got some
special powers or something then looks up at me.

“Fine. I should have come to rescue you and
I am very sorry I made the mistake of staying home and tossing off instead;
happy?”

“Marginally.”

“Great, now can we get some lunch. I
skipped breakfast so now I’m starving.”

“Sure, why not.”

I stow my dad’s loaded gun in the closet
and get goose bumps all up and down my spine when I remember how close I just
came to killing Adam.

“Oh my god!”

I jump two feet in the air. “What?”

I turn around and there’s Adam looking at
himself in the mirror.

“Oh my god, I look like a unicorn; and not
a mature one either. No I’ve only got a budding horn.”

“You’re kidding me. You’re concerned about
a little mar-” I stop myself mid-sentence when I see his forehead again.
There’s a purplish, circular swollen mark right in the center of his handsome
forehead. It looks exactly like he said. He is developing a tiny horn.

“Now I wish you would have shot me.” He
complains.

“That can be rectified.”

“No…you’ll only bungle it and I’ll be worse
off. I’d rather jump off a bridge or something.”

“Fine, but can we just eat first?”

“Alright,” he says. “But we take my bike.”

“No way, my cars much safer.”

“Do I look gay to you?” He asks.

“No.”

“A lesbian…transgender, bisexual,
transsexual, queer queen, ass monkey, butt muncher-”

“Fine, I reply. “I get it. My car is for
girls or queers and not homophobes like you. We’ll take your bike.”

“I’m not homophobic.” He says.

“Really…coulda fooled me.”

“I’m not. I’m the farthest thing from it. I
like gays. I’m gay friendly. I’m LGTBQRST friendly.”

“I think you got a few too many letters in
that last one.” I reply stifling a laugh.

“We’ll take your car.” He says.

“Great.”

“But why couldn’t you have gotten a real
one; you know from the 60’s or something?”

“Are you finished?” I reply.

He makes a zipping lips motion with his
fingers so we go out to the garage where my car is parked.

“Pink! You didn’t say it was pink!”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Even my reputation can’t stand up to the
hit it’ll take if one of my brothers see me in it; or worse a biker from
another club.”

“Shut up and get in you big pussy!”

He swallows hard and opens the door. He
pulls a baseball cap from his jacket pocket and jams it down on his head
followed by a pair of Rey bans. When he gets in he slinks down as far as he can
go, then tilts the seat back all the way till he’s just about lying flat.

I get in and start the engine. “You’re
pathetic.”

He doesn’t comment. I decide a little
humiliation is in order so I swing by his shop. He must have had his eyes
closed the whole time because it doesn’t even register until I’m parking in
front of the shop.

He jumps in his seat in a panic. “What the
hell are we doing here?”

“Thought we could invite a couple of your
brothers to lunch.”

“Are you mental? No one would be dumb
enough to even get near this thing. Only a complete moron would willingly get
in. You’d have t-”

He stops himself mid-sentence when he
realizes he’s the complete moron who willingly got in my car a few minutes ago.
He tries to slink down even farther but he just cannot get below the window
line.

“Oh look, we have company.”

A couple guys dressed in Sons cuts are
walking over to us. They don’t look too unfriendly, but they do look
purposeful. I roll down my mirror when they get to my car.

“Is there a problem ma’am?”

The older of the two bikers ask. They’re a
handsome pair and it makes me wonder if your looks have anything to do with making
it into the club. Even Ripper has his qualities. The guy addressing me sports a
crew cut and is clean shaven. His buddy is bald with a beard that is confined
to the bottom of his chin. He looks like he could be a guitarist for a metal
band. I can see the butt of a handgun peeking out from his jacket. I guess
since the civil war started the brothers are on high alert.

“No,” I finally reply. “Had a phone call so
I pulled over. Don’t need a ticket you know.”

“You weren’t using your phone.” The biker
accurately observes.

“Yeah well it fell out.”

He looks around on the ground.

“As I was driving.”

He looks back down the road.

“And a truck smashed it flat.”

“Who’s your shy friend?” He asks.

“He’s not the talkative type.” I reply.

The other biker who was just standing back
quietly now moves around to the other side of the car. The guy who has been
talking to me suddenly walks to the front of my car. He must have read my mind.
Too bad, because right now I’m not really up for running over inquisitive
bikers.

“You shouldn’t be bothering him,” I say. I
really wish I wouldn’t have done this. It was a stupid thing to do just to bug
Adam. What if these two are on Ripper’s side? I could get caught in a
shootout…again.

“I think I’ll be making the decisions on who
I’m going to bug and who not…I’m going to bug. Just let me-”

It happens so fast I can’t believe it’s
happening. The passenger door of my car flies open catching biker guy in the
head and knocking him to the ground. As the door is opening Adam is launching
himself out and ends up on top of the guy. I hear a loud bang and suddenly the
sidewalk is covered in a splash of bright red arterial blood. I open my mouth
to scream but nothing seems to come out.

Adam flattens himself out on the pavement
and fires two shots underneath my car at the other biker as he runs around to
Adam’s side. The man screams and falls to the pavement out of my sight. I hear
two more gunshots and then Adam is back in my car screaming at me to drive.

I turn the car on and do the exact wrong
move. I go forward and thump! I hit the guy Adam just shot. I panic and put the
car in neutral and gun the engine.

“You get your license in a Cracker Jack box
or something? Get us out of here, reinforcements are coming!”

I glance to where he is pointing. Four guys
have just run out of the building and are sprinting in our direction. This is
bad…this is really bad. Adam just murdered two guys because I had to take him
here to humiliate him. Their blood is on my hands too.

I finally get the car in reverse and gun
the engine. We go in reverse for about thirty feet before I come to a skidding
stop and put the car in drive. The group of angry brothers has just reached
their fallen comrades. With my heart in my throat I gun the engine and take off
in a whirlwind of dust. What a freaking nightmare.

“Next time you feel the need to humiliate
me,” Adam yells, “do you think you can maybe count to three before you act? You
might have saved yourself a lot of trouble that way. You know they’re going to
come looking for you and they’ll find you too. I can’t believe you bought a
pink car. You might as well put a neon sign out saying here I am please shoot
me!”

I decide to let him run out of steam before
I start my own freak out. It’s really counterproductive when both people in the
relationship are freaking at the same time. Finally he shuts up. My turn.