Destroy For Her - R.B. Hilliard Page 0,34
town but damned if it wasn’t the most reliable.
Sledge and Ax were tight back then, but then Sledge met Aimee. Talk about pussy whipped; he’d never seen anything like it. Sledge was gone for the woman—so gone that he didn’t see her for what she was—a gold-digging bitch. Nothing was good enough—not the money, the big house, or the fancy clothes. As far as Ax was concerned, her only redeeming quality was that she was a good mother to their kids. For years, he’d watched his friend slave to make the bitch happy. Sledge didn’t get it; women like her couldn’t be happy. Loco telling Steele that Sledge was broke, was the best thing that ever happened to Sledge. It was the catalyst that forced him to finally get his shit together.
He was considering asking Sledge if he wanted to go for a beer after work when the bitch came waltzing through the door like she owned the place. He took in her big hair, designer clothes, and spiked heels and scowled. She hadn’t changed one bit.
“Hey baby, I brought you lunch!” She spotted Ax and gave him a big smile. “Hey, Ax. I made enough for two if you’d like some.”
“You can leave it on the bench,” Sledge told her.
After placing it on the bench, she said, “Umm, can we talk outside for a minute?”
Sledge barely gave her a second glance. “I’m busy. Say whatever you came to say and go.”
She flinched. Ax almost felt sorry for her, but then he remembered it was Aimee, the gold-digging bitch with five faces, and was proud of his brother for sticking to his guns.
“Okay, well, I wanted to see if you would have dinner with us tonight. The kids miss you. I miss you.” Her words faded to silence.
Sledge looked up from the bike. In a cold-as-hell tone, he said, “Tell the kids I’ll see them Wednesday, just like we planned.”
“Please, Sledge, I’m really trying here.”
He pinned her with an icy glare. “I said, I’ll see you Wednesday.”
Her shoulders slumped. If Ax didn’t know better, he would say she was really upset.
“Okay, well, see you Wednesday.” She was almost to the door when she called out, “Bye, Ax.”
“See ya, Aimee.”
“Don’t give me that look,” Sledge warned once she was gone.
Ax held his hands up. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to; it’s written all over your ugly mug. You hate her. You’ve always hated her.”
Fuck. “No, what I hate, is seeing my best friend busting his ass day after day for a woman who doesn’t appreciate him.”
Sledge nodded toward the door. “You saw her, she’s trying.”
Ax’s mouth dropped in disbelief. “She kicked you out of your own damn house because you finally told her no. The only reason she’s here is because she wants something from you.”
Sledge’s brows hit the roof. “What are you talking about? She didn’t kick me out. I left.”
Well, shit. He didn’t know what to say. He thought it was the other way around, that Aimee kicked Sledge out. “I don’t hate her,” he grumbled.
Sledge sighed. “I want to believe she’s changed.”
Ax shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Sledge grabbed the bag of food from the bench and peered inside. “Damn, she made my favorite.”
“Pimento cheese?” he asked, looking hopeful.
Sledge smiled. “I could get used to this.” He tossed Ax a sandwich and a bag of chips.
Ax took a bite of his sandwich. Aimee was a bitch, but she made damn good Pimento cheese.
“What’s up with you and Sage, and what are we going to do about the fucker who did that to her face?” Sledge asked.
Ax told him about Carlos, then about Emma, and then about sleeping with Sage. They were discussing what to do about Carlos when one of Sledge’s customers showed to pick up his bike.
While Sledge dealt with the customer, Ax finished the bike. After dealing with some paperwork, he called it quits and told Sledge he’d see him later. On his way back to The Cave, he detoured to his house for a quick shower and a change of clothes.
He was barely out of the shower when Steele called. “Where are you?”
“At my house, why?”
“I just got off the phone with Carver. Emma, apparently, didn’t show up for work this morning. One of her friends stopped by to check on her and, well, shit, I’m sorry, brother, but they found her dead. The coroner’s there now. Carver said the friend mentioned your name, and the police want to question you. Lucy’s