“I know you don’t look like a fuckin’ zombie when you’re with her.”
“Fuck off Axle.”
“He’s right though,” Viking adds.
“How about all of you bastards fuck off? You don’t know shit. That girl is broken; tried to kill herself three fuckin’ times. It’s not that I don’t understand it, because fuck I do, but what the hell happens next time when I’m not there for round four?” I snap. Axle raises his eyebrows as understanding washes over him.
“You should let her go then. She’ll always be a thought in the back of your mind though. You’ll always wonder if she’s lyin’ dead in some alley somewhere. I know you Mason. Keep her around and keep an eye on her,” Axle tells me. He’s right about one thing. I’d wonder, I’d worry, and I’d fucking lose my mind. Whitley has a hold on me that I can’t explain even to myself, and I sure as hell can’t shake it off.
“I don’t fuckin’ know what to do here brother,” I mumble under my breath.
“Get the fuckin’ meetin’ with Manuel done and over with. Let’s see what he has to say. I have the Cali boys headin’ out here to be our backup. They were the only ones that weren’t on some other shit,” Viking says. I nod my head and scratch the scruff on my jaw.
“I appreciate you backin’ me Viking.”
“Fuck off Mason. That son of a bitch sent that text for a reason. I’m guessin’ he’s in with Armando and knows about your girl. We’re family. He came after family.” Viking shrugs like that’s the end of the conversation. I’ve thought about taking it further and making him listen, but that wouldn’t do me any good. That son of a bitch is just as stubborn as I am.
“You good with Manuel?” Axle asks while leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest.
“I’m good with him, but not Julio. That motherfucker hates me,” I chuckle.
“Heard that. You did knock out half of his teeth. I wouldn’t like your ass much either,” Axle laughs.
“You handle the talk with Manuel. Let him know I’ll personally deal with Julio. Get that road paved Mason. We need this to go off without any fuckin’ issues. You’re lucky Ruger has contacts over the goddamn border. That last hit they did went down perfectly. That’s how I want this. We can’t afford the blowback that could come from this.” I nod my head and slap a hand on his shoulder.
“I got Manuel. Keep an eye on her, yeah?”
Viking nods his head. I walk out of the kitchen and as soon as I step into the front room Whit appears. Her eyes are red rimmed and swollen from crying. It kills me to see her like this, but there is nothing I can do for her right now. I need to stay focused to handle business.
“I’ll be gone most of the night. Guys will be here if you need anything though.” Whitley watches me, but I don’t know what else to say to her. I’m not letting her go.
“I don’t know what I want any more Mason. Most days I don’t even want to be alive,” she says softly. Each word that comes out of her mouth kills off a little more of my heart.
“I get it, I do. I can’t fix it for you Whit. I don’t know what to do. I’m not lettin’ you go though. You might have it in your head that you might run, but I will find you. I’m not givin’ up on whatever this is.”
More tears spill down her cheeks. Whit reaches up and swipes them away quickly.
“I can’t offer you anything Mason.”
“You give me enough without even realizin’ it.”
I move closer, lean down, and press a kiss to her forehead. Pulling away from her feels like I’m losing her. As I turn and walk out the front door something inside me screams to just hold her in my arms and never let her go, but I can’t. Not yet. Not until I know this shit is over and she’s safe.
I grab my helmet and climb onto my bike. There’s a nagging voice in the back of my mind that I want to ignore. She isn’t going to be safe until this is done. Alvaro has already made it perfectly clear he isn’t done with her. He showed up at her fucking job. I can’t let him get his hands on her. Revving the engine, I pull out and head