by C. A. Rene
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her fight yet and anything with the description ‘to the death’ should be worrisome.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time I saw her fight, I was worried about her. Especially seeing her put beside a large built man. But you’ll see, Ember is quick. She’s so fucking fast, and you can see she has her whole fight mapped out before it even starts. Even considering everything her opponent might do. Let go of the worry and enjoy it, it looks like fucking art.” I reassure her.
“Okay, I will.”
We get to the floor and I take her hand to guide her to the door. Ember, Vin, and Travis are already here, having left together a few hours earlier than us. I knock on their door and after a few moments, it opens to reveal Travis with a backdrop of New York behind him. I’m a little awestruck as the streaks of blonde in his hair seem brighter against the tawny rest. His green eyes sparkle and his smile is a small curve of his plump lips. He hasn’t shaved in a few days and I really like the light brown stubble on his chin and cheeks.
Adri goes to him and falls into his arms, while he looks at me, I can see his affection and it’s for both of us. “How was the drive?” He asks me, Adri still nestled in his arms.
“Emmett drove the whole way here without a break. We stopped maybe twice to use the bathroom. He should probably rest before tonight.” Adri pops her head up and glares at me.
“Nah!” I walk by them, placing my hand on Travis’ shoulder. “But if the hosts of this place want to get me a beer, I wouldn’t complain.” I call out.
“Get it yourself, Asshole.” Vin says as he rounds the corner, with a grin on his face.
We bump our fists and he slings an arm over my shoulder, “I dropped your sister off with Carm, felt like he was missing her with how much he was blowing up her phone. Something about her needing to warm up before tonight.”
“Yeah, after the shitshow of Spain, it seems he’s grown fond of her. He’s constantly asking me if she’s okay.” I snort.
“Yeah, I can’t believe he can look at her and not want to kill her after that.”
“Should we be worried she’s there alone?” I crinkle my brow. I love Carm but the way he thinks and conducts himself is a bit unorthodox.
“No,” Vin chuckles, “you should’ve seen his face when she got out of the Hummer.”
“He came up to get her?” I ask, slightly astonished.
“Yeah,” Vin nods, “he tried to look annoyed, but as soon as she was close to him, his eyes were all soft and he pulled her in for a hug. He missed the shit out of her.”
“Wow,” I rub my fingers across my mouth, “that is a bit crazy.”
“Maybe he just needed a sister to soften him up.”
“Ember?” I raise a brow at him, “soften him up?”
“Especially Ember.” He winks.
He’s probably right, Carm needed a tough sister he wouldn’t have to protect but at the same time feel protective of. Again, I am struck with a familiar sadness, too bad we didn’t grow up together.
“What time do we have to be there?” Adri asks from under Travis’ arm.
If Vin has any questions about the three of us, he doesn’t show it. “Ten. Before that they have regular fights.”
“Oh?” Adri raises a brow, “regular? Like ‘you don’t have to kill each other if you don’t want to’ fights?”
“Yeah, those.” Vin grabs some beers out of the fridge. “You guys eat?”
“Yeah, we grabbed burgers on the way here.” I nod while taking the beer.
“You’re not worried about Ember in these fights?” Adri asks as she accepts a beer from him.
“I always fucking worry about her. I feel like it’s my new state of normal.” He swallows half his beer in one go, “but Ember doesn’t need anyone to protect her or worry for her. She needs people that will stand beside her and assist her when she needs it. She’s the toughest person I know. Trust me Adri, after tonight, the way you see Ember will be shattered. In a good way.”
“Aren’t you worried?” Adri looks up into Travis’ face. He hasn’t seen her fight either.
“A bit,” he shrugs, “but it’s E. She’s has a lot of power packed in that body. I’ve also seen her single-handedly take out two large gangsters with just a set of brass knuckles.”
“Oh yeah!” Vin snaps his fingers, “I fell in love that day.” He scrubs at his chin and we all laugh.
“You also saw her fight that dude in her defense class.” Travis reminds her.
“Yeah, but she was bleeding.” Adri says quietly.
“She may bleed tonight,” I nod, “but the other guy will always be worse.”
We get to the compound a few hours before the fight starts. Adri was getting anxious and wanted to see Ember before the fight. We all get out of Vin’s Hummer and I see Trent standing by the entrance. I haven’t seen him in almost a year because he was off on some mission in Mexico for Carm.
He looks good, although he beefed up quite a bit. His jet black hair and matching black eyes always made him look demonic but Trent has a fucking heart of gold for anyone he cares about.
“Pequeño!” He yells out, little one in Spanish, a nickname from when I was a kid. “Get over here!”
I do as he says and he crushes me in a huge bear hug, “I missed you, dude.” I tell him.
“Me, too.” He slaps my cheek. “Now, introduce me to the familia.”
Trent is Mexican and his parents used to work for my father until they were gunned down in a retaliation attack. Both were at their house and luckily Trent was with Carm at the time.
“Guys,” I look over to Travis, Vin and Adri standing by the Hummer, watching our exchange. “Come meet someone very important to me.”
They walk over and I make all the introductions. “Vin huh? I heard about you from Carm. You really do look like a Pitbull.” He nods and grabs Vin’s bicep. Trent knows no boundaries and he never worries because he’s quick on the draw.
“Pitbull huh?” Vin raises a brow, “I’ll have to work with Carm on his adjectives.”
We all burst out laughing and Trent has a megawatt smile, “I also heard you’re all good people and that’s all I care about. Emmett deserves good people.”
“He’s family.” Vin nods and Travis nods as well.
“Come inside,” he motions for us to follow him in. “I’ve been watching your sister take out your brother multiple times in the last hour. Is she real? I keep wanting to ask if she’s a robot or something but I’m afraid she’ll kill me.”
“Ember has some pent up aggression for Carm, so she may be a little rougher on him.” I chuckle.
“Who doesn’t?” Trent winks at me. “She has technique I haven’t seen before.”
“She’s good.” I nod.
“Really fast, something you both were gifted with.” He’s referring to my knife throwing.
“Yeah.” I nod, “she’s something to see when she’s in action.”
“Carm will be sore after this, but I could see he wasn’t allowing anyone else to spar with her. He’s become very fond of her as well.”
“Yeah, he has. Even if Ember is giving him a hard time.” I chuckle.
“Probably even more so.” He agrees. “Carm told me how she became one of the Heads.”
“Yeah bro, full Los Muertos makeup. It’s her signature.”
“She sounds like your father,” he sounds pensive. “Should I worry?”
I get it, my father was unhinged and maniacal. And yes, Ember is a lot like him but what she has that he didn’t is a heart.
“Yes, she is a lot like him. Scarily so, but she loves hard. I want to say there’s a balance but I’d be lying. She’s violent, volatile, and yes, downright murderous. She likes to kill those who deserve it and she has no regrets.” I stop and I know everyone behind me has heard our exchange. “Killing doesn’t bother her and she actually feels better after she’s done it, very much like him. But, she’s a
lso like our mother, from what I’ve heard. She loves who deserves it and she would do just about anything for those people, even if it were to kill her. She doesn’t think twice and her heart just continues to grow as she allows more people in.”
“I get it,” he looks at each of us. “Twins. You are both meant to be each other’s balance. It’s amazing.”
“Yeah, they are.” Vin chimes in, “there’s been a good change in Em since she discovered Emmett.”
“Good.” Trent smiles wide, “now let’s go see this girl kick Carm’s ass.”
We all enter the gym and I see Carm on one side of the mat, clutching his ribs and Ember on the other side drinking a bottle of water.
“One more time.” He says to her.
“You sure, Viejo?” She says with a chuckle.
Carm stretches his arms above his head and breathes out his pain. His face drops and the mask I always see him in when dealing with anyone outside of the family, is firmly in place. He nods at her once and Ember drops the bottle to one side.
“Last one.” She states and walks into the center mat. Carm flies at her and I watch as Ember’s eye’s widen a fraction. Then a grin curves over her mouth and I suddenly feel afraid for Carm.
When he reaches her, Ember drops her shoulders slightly and maneuvers her body so that she lifts him and throws him over her shoulder, using his own momentum. As soon as his back hits the mat, she’s on top of him and her hand is wrapped around his throat. He flips her over and swats her hand away. He doesn’t watch her other hand though, as it comes up and punches him right in the spot he was favouring earlier.
“Fucking brutal.” Trent chuckles. “I can’t wait to see her tonight.”
“She’s beautiful,” Adri agrees.
“She’s a fucking machine.” Carm calls out. “I’m done, Hermanita.”
“I’m going to hit the shower and get dressed.” She grabs the front of Vin’s shirt to drag him along with her, “you can wash my back.”
“That’s me,” he rolls his eyes as a smirk slowly spreads across his mouth, “professional back washer.”
We watch them leave and Trent turns back to the three of us. He’s grown older since he’s been gone and I know a lot of it has to do with dealing with the cartel. His parents were cartel and Trent took over their position when they were killed. He is our liaison and has to spend quite a bit of time there. Yes, the Eastside Rampage deals drugs, whores and just about anything that will make us money. Like Ember and her fights. Tonight may be about Wade and some piece of shit out to get him, but for Carm it’s admission and betting.
I always ignored the drug and prostitution when I think of the Eastside but I can’t do that anymore. The money sitting in my account, the ‘inheritance’ I have was made from those very things. I would like to clean it up and make legitimate businesses but Carm has always brushed it aside. We are a district and part of The Head corporation. We can never change.
“How’s the training?” Trent asks me.
“I haven’t done much these past few months.” I run my finger across my mouth, “it’s been a fucking whirlwind. Finding Ember, chasing down Talia and then just school.”
“Let’s go toss some shit and shoot some bullets.” He looks over to Adri and smiles, “you his girlfriend?”
“Yeah.” She lifts her chin.
“Come see what your boy was made for.” He chuckles and starts to leave the gym.
I turn and look at Travis, he’s talking quietly with Carm and whatever he says makes my older brother chuckle in a rare show of cheerfulness. A pang of jealousy hits me and I’m stunned. I don’t want him talking to and enjoying my brother, Travis is fucking mine.
“Trav,” I call out. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” He asks and raises his brow in a show of defiance.
Him and I are going to have a bit of a struggle. We’re both alpha males and yes, Adri will even us out but when it’s just the two of us-and I can’t wait until then-we will have a power struggle. But fuck me if my dick doesn’t like the idea.
“Shooting range.” I nod my head for him to follow us.
“I need to see how much my hermanito has suffered since he left me.” Carm smiles and starts to make his way to us, holding on to his sore ribs.
“Sure.” Travis shrugs and follows close behind.
He’s getting punished later for this.
We get to the shooting range and I pull out the M4 Carbine and pop in a full magazine then I head over to the handguns and pull a Walther PPK pistol. This is the same gun Ember used to kill my father, little did she know at the time, her twin favoured this gun and imagined killing their father with it many times.
“Sexy little thing.” Trent coos.
“She’s still my main bitch.” I nod.
“This the one that blasted el cerebro de tu padre?” Trent says with a chuckle.
“One and the same.” I kiss the cool metal.
We head out to the aisles and I pick the first one as I always have. Except now I have more of an audience instead of just Carm and Trent. Not that it bothers me, that bullseye is about to become my bitch.
“Did you bring your cuchillos?” Trent asks and I lift my shirt to show him the waistband I always wear. “Sweet, let’s fuck up some targets.”
I watch as he steps into the aisle next to mine and we set up our targets in the furthest setting. I pull out my M4 and snug it in close to my shoulder. This paper target is about to be decimated.
“You know,” Trent begins talking to Adri and Travis, “I trained this kid from young. The sounds of guns firing used to make him piss his pants.”
I chuckle and let loose my magazine, watching as I create a beautiful blooming flower over the heart of my target.
“Shit,” Trent whistles as our targets fly back towards us. “You fucking beat me on that one, Niño.” We both set our rifles aside and switch out fresh targets. “I’ll murk you on the pistols though.”
He wishes. I don’t disagree with him and stay quiet. I’m not a fucking shit talker, I prove shit with my actions. I watch as the target flies back out to the farthest position and I hold the target with my right eye as I close the left. I release eight bullets into its brain and call it back to me.
“Honestly?” Trent growls, “this is you after you live a life of school girls and cushion?”
“Fuck you.” I laugh. “This is me on the regular, Mano.”
“Let’s see you dance with those knives.” He counters.
“Fine.” I shrug, if I’m being honest, knives are my best skill. Guns come as a close second.
We put our guns back into the armory and I watch as Travis talks quietly with Carm. He’s really fucking testing me tonight. I’m not sure what I’m so pissed off about. Carm is straight, I’ve seen him with girls. It’s just seeing Travis finally look comfortable, at ease with someone and having a laugh to top it off. All things he rarely does.
Adri comes up and runs her hand along my back, “that was so good.” She coos.
“Thanks.” I shoot her a smile and we follow behind Trent to another door across the hall.
This one is filled with dummies situated in different positions throughout the room. Some are even mechanical and move out of certain spots. I have been training here for years so I know all of them. Trent turns the switch and we hear the motors start and the dummies begin to move. I throw off my shirt and palm two of my knives. I feel the grin hit my face and a sense of complete calm come over me.
I’m about to fuck these fake fuckers up.
22
Emmett is throwing his knives at an alarming speed. Each one sinks deep into the mannequins dressed in different clothing. Trent is chasing him around the room, trying to keep up and failing. I’m amazed by how many knives are sticking out of these things’ heads. I know Emmett has skill, I was there when he sunk a knife into the back of the guard’s head. But this is something else entirely. He is a weapon. The way
he shot those guns and now the knives, he was trained to be a weapon for the Eastside Rampage.
“We always hoped he would want to work for us,” Carm says from beside me, reading my thoughts. “But he wasn’t cut out for it. He doesn’t get a high from the kill.”
“I would say that’s a good thing.”
“Sure,” Carm shrugs, “not in this business though. It’s why I let him go be with his sister.”
“Ember though,” I look over at him. “She’s perfect, right?”
“No,” Carm shakes his head and a smile comes over his face. “Fuck no, she can’t be controlled. Sure she loves to kill, she gets that high, but she will never follow orders. When she used to work for us, before we even knew who she was, she did her own thing and agreed to jobs she wanted. She was so good, we let it be. No one in this world could tell her what to do.”
He’s right. E will always do what she thinks is right and most of the time it’s based on what she feels is right for her family. I would never fault her for her way of thinking but I am a bit worried about her need to kill and fight. Will that ever go away or will we always be part of her double life?
"I better go and get ready for the fight. First one starts in ten minutes." I nod at him and watch as he leaves the room.
There's something that's bothering me about Carm.
Yes, to everyone he looks like a doting big brother for both E and Emmett but I can sense something lurking under the surface. I watched him as he watched Emmett shoot and his face wasn't one of pride, it looked like he was pissed. As soon as he saw me watching, he schooled his features into bored indifference. I could be wrong, maybe he feels like the burden of this gang is resting solely on his shoulders and his brother and sister get to live normal lives. Mind you, I’m using the term normal loosely.
"Like what you see?" Emmett sneers at me.
"Excuse me?" I turn to face him.
"You've been watching and talking to my brother this whole time."
"And?" I ask.
"You want him." He nods.
I can't help it, I let out a hearty laugh and slap him on the shoulder. It catches the attention of Adri and Trent and they stop their conversation to watch us.