Mess Us Up – Jaxson Kidman Page 0,16

cuts the wheel.

I start to run toward the SUV.

Taz is behind me, yelling my name.

I’m not against jumping into the fire, even if it hurts.

These fucking assholes shot at Taz.

They shot at me.

The SUV comes to a stop and the driver’s door and back door open.

The driver steps out and so does two other guys.

It looks like everyone has a weapon.

“You’re fucking dead,” I call out.

“You’re outnumbered,” the driver says. “And what were you doing back there? Waiting for something?”

“Just taking a smoke break,” I say.

“Where’s the asshole who shot at me?” Taz asks.

“Right here,” another voice says.

The guy walks around the front of the SUV.

And Taz takes off.

“Shit,” I whisper.

Taz runs right to the guy and lunges for him.

I know this isn’t going to end the way we think.

The guy has a gun and Taz doesn’t care.

He tackles the guy to the ground anyway.

I’m not facing off with three guys myself.

So I tuck my gun into the back of my jeans and shrug my shoulders.

I just hope Jolie won’t get too mad at me for this.

I find a good spot near the beach and I pull to the side of the road.

I turn off the engine, step off the ride, and peel my helmet up over my head.

The pain in my face pushes through the rest of my body.

I drop the helmet to the ground and just walk toward the water.

Taz is right behind me.

I get a few seconds of alone time and silence before I look at him.

“You look like shit,” I say.

“You’re one to talk,” he says.

His nose is bleeding. His lip is cut open on the bottom. His cheeks are a little swollen. He looks like he got his ass kicked in a fight. I know I’m a mirror image of him. My right eye keeps threatening to swell and shut. I can feel my heartbeat in my left cheek. When I lick my top lip, I taste blood.

Fuck, I taste blood inside my mouth.

It was a goddamn miracle we got out of there alive.

Taz makes a fist and holds it out.

I smash my fist into his.

“Four on two and we handled it,” Taz says.

“No shots fired,” I say.

“They knew better. They wanted to feel us out.”

“I have no clue who they are, Taz,” I say.

“Neither do I.”

It had been a wild fight.

Taz came to help me as the three guys held me and helped themselves to as many punches as they could get.

Taz and I held our ground with the three guys.

But then the fourth came back into the picture and it got out of hand.

We managed.

The fight broke apart and guns were drawn once again.

That’s when Taz and I got the fuck out of there before someone got killed.

“You know, that was… that was the wrong time,” Taz says.

“I know.”

“We should have showed up a little later,” Taz says.

“Something you want to say?” I ask.

Taz wipes his bottom lip and then wipes the blood on his shirt. “I’m not Les, bro. I’m not going to dance around shit.”

“Les doesn’t dance around shit either,” I say.

“I know,” he says. “Do you really want me to say it?”

“Yeah, I do,” I say.

“Mama is never wrong,” Taz says. “Until she is. And she’s been wrong more than once.”

I stared out to the ocean.

I slowly nod.

There’s not much I can say to that.

Taz bumps his shoulder into mine. “Maybe she looked at the wrong clock or some shit. You know? I remember one time, there was this clock in our house… this fucker was always fast. We’d set it and then it would slowly move faster. After two weeks it would be fifteen minutes fast. So we’d set it again. It was fucked up.”

I look at Taz.

“A clock that goes too fast?” I ask.

“Maybe.”

“Let’s get out of here,” I say. “I just needed a breath for a second.”

“Where are we going now?” Taz asks.

“We have to go to Mama’s.”

“The whole crew?”

I nod.

I need the whole crew there.

I need to figure out what’s going on.

I need to know why everything around me keeps falling the fuck apart.

6

JOLIE

When I see Mac and the guys are back, I turn and walk away.

There’s a table full of food.

Everyone is happy and laughing.

Mama Dae is quick to hug Mac and Taz, wanting to know what happened and why.

Aric and Raf want to reenact whatever fight they had gotten into.

But I can probably tell the whole story.

And I don’t think I can stomach it.

I’m also tired of running up the stairs and going into