Ashby Holler

by Jamie Zakian

  “You said nothing was going on. I’m not trying to move in on my brother’s girl.”

  “I ain’t no one’s girl.” Sasha hurled a glare, tripping over a mini-mountain of clothes on her way to the door. “He’s probably just…just wait here.”

  Sasha pulled open her door, stepping onto the landing. “Hey, Vin.”

  Vinny stood and curved to stare up at her. Hurt shined in those baby blues, gleaming even in the low beams of moonlight.

  Sasha opened her mouth, and Vinny turned his back, walking away.

  “Nothing my ass,” Dez shouted from behind her. “What the fuck, Sasha? You playin’ me?”

  “No!” She spun, nearly face planting Dez’s wide chest. Panic sent her legs into a backward scramble, and Dez grabbed her by the arms.

  “The stairs,” Dez said, a tremble cracking his voice.

  Sasha glanced over her shoulder at the steep set of stairs that she almost fell down trying to untangle from her own web of lies. Dez pulled Sasha close, backing them toward her room.

  “I swear.” She slid her hands up his chest, stopping him mid-step. “We’re just friends.” His grip on her arms tightened, and she racked her brain for a distraction.

  “Vinny’s just pissed about the run, about what’s in the back of that truck.” Her words just flew out, hanging in the air. If she could reach up, pluck the words from existence, and cram them back into her mouth, she totally would.

  “What’s in the back of that truck?” Dez asked, his clutch loosening a tad.

  “I can’t.” Sasha wiggled from Dez’s grasp, and he latched onto the front of her coat. Leather wrinkled under his fist, squeezing her chest. “Dez.” She looked at his hand then straight into his eyes.

  The second Dez let go, Sasha scurried back though her gaze remained locked on his hard stare. “Please. Don’t push this. You have no idea what my mother is capable of. If you ask too many questions, piss her off, you’ll disappear.”

  His face changed, a skeptical type of fear flooding over the rage. Sasha crept closer, slapping on one of those glares that worked so well for her mother. “It’s best to just mind your own business ‘round here.”

  Dez walked out the door, the thump of his boots echoing over a concert of night critters.

  She stepped outside, watching Dez tear-ass toward the clubhouse. If he had half as many brains as muscles, he’d take her advice. If not, she’d be watching that impressive body drop down the cellar.

  ***

  Sasha never made it off her bottom step. She took up residence in Vinny’s spot. His scent was long gone, but a bitter sadness still clung to the air. She counted the cigarette butts piled at her feet, almost half a pack. Vinny must’ve been sitting there awhile.

  The sound of gravel crunching and giggles interrupted the tranquil rustle of leaves, and Sasha looked at the clubhouse. A trail of women glided off the porch, piling into a sedan. Even in the dark, their bright clothes glimmered. Sasha’s view of long legs and high hair ended when Otis walked toward her.

  “The girls were asking about you.” Otis handed her a beer then leaned against the railing.

  “Guess it’s a good thing I stayed out here then.”

  Otis uttered a low groan as he slumped against the railing. “I thought we had a talk about this anti-social bullshit.”

  Sasha picked at the label on the ice-cold bottle in her hand. “I did what you said, slutted around.”

  “Oh yeah. Did you find the magic cock?”

  Sasha shrugged, taking a sip. “Maybe.”

  “So, which Archer brother is it?”

  The entire staircase shook as Sasha spun to face Otis, gawking.

  “Think you’re slick, don’t ya, girl?”

  “Okay, smartass. You tell me, which Archer brother is it?”

  Otis chuckled, pulling a joint from behind his ear. “Knowing you, you’d go for Dez, even though you belong with Vinny, just ‘cause you like to touch the fire.” His zippo sparked to life, its glow masked by the gray smoke rising around it. “I think you were safer when you just fucked chicks.”

  After a second of silence, Otis crouched down. His stare turned hard, locking Sasha’s eyes with his. “You better not drive a wedge down the center of this club.”

  He handed her the joint then walked away.

  ***

  Sasha stepped inside the clubhouse, happy to find the place empty. Voices trailed from the backroom, and she snuck closer, peeking through the cracked door. It was almost like old times, when she’d spy on club business as a child, except Vinny wasn’t huddled at her side. He was sitting at that glossy table, next to her vacant chair.

  She turned toward the pool table, cluttered by sawed-offs and revolvers. In near silence, she loaded the guns while listening to her mother’s edgy tone.

  “…you two will ride with Otis. I’ll go with Dez. When you hear the semi’s start, light the fires. Vinny takes Dez’s Ford and leads. Kev, you bring up the rear in Otis’s pickup.”

  “We should head out.”

  Dez’s voice snapped Sasha’s spine straight. She tried to pinpoint the feeling in her chest, spawned by his deep rolling tongue, when the door tapped against the wall.

  “Sasha. Well-rested, I hope,” Ellen said.

  Sasha clicked the barrel of a shotgun closed and placed it on the pool table. “As cherry as pie. Can I talk to you?”

  “We’re getting ready to move out.”

  “It’ll be quick.”

  Ellen dipped her head toward the backroom then strolled inside. Sasha followed, slamming the door closed behind her.

  Before her mother could flash that irritated glare, Sasha stomped forward. “You’re totally zooted out.”

  “You better back up outta my face, little girl.”

  Sasha inched back half a step, lifting her brow. “What the fuck?”

  “That’s right, Sasha. What the fuck?”

  “You’re losing your shit, making crazy decisions. Last month, you tell me we’re merging with Satan’s Crew, ‘combining our interests,’ and now we’re, what, wiping them off the map?” Sasha tried to hold back, but her tongue wagged too fast for her brain’s liking. “Did your boy-toy rub you the wrong way?”

  The slap came as expected, though much harder than Sasha remembered. Blood soured her mouth, and she took a full step back.

  “I swear, if you had an ounce of common sense, you’d be dangerous. Stupid little bitch,” Ellen said on her way to the door.

  ***

  Once taillights faded down the mountain, Sasha hurried toward her mother’s house. Those huge white columns gleamed brighter the closer she got, inciting the urge to flee in the opposite direction. Seventeen years of torment dwelled inside that house. It was a place where a woman she loved shredded her heart with sharp, hate-filled words. Since moving above the garage, Sasha hadn’t stepped foot within the walls of the big house. She swore she never would, though tonight she’d make an exception.

  The second step of the porch squeaked, just as she remembered, and the door, as always, was unlocked. Sasha walked inside, bright light stinging her eyes. Pictures hung along the foyer, a couple in love and their child in pigtails, but she kept her head low. No point in looking at the past. It wouldn’t be returning.

  She strolled through the parlor, sliding her fingers across the dust-ridden baby grand, and into the kitchen. Not a thing had changed. Pots hung above a wood-burning stove, herbs lined a little shelf, and the tile floor glistened. So many nights, she scrubbed that ceramic on hands and knees with a toothbrush while her mother listed all the things she hated about her. This place felt like home and hell all wrapped into one.

  After flinging off a shiver, Sasha grabbed a milk crate from the corner. “Leave women and children in the back of a truck to starve. Fricken inhuman.” She loaded boxes of cereal and bags of chips into the crate, grabbing two gallons of water. “Coked-out train wreck of an operation.”

  It took two tries with her foot before she figured out, You
put down the water to close the front door. Her mother was right. Not a drop of sense had pooled in that brain of hers. She stormed down the gentle slope, eyes fixed on the cargo doors of a semi’s trailer. The crate thumped at her feet, and she fished a key from her pocket.

  When the ridges slid into the padlock, Sasha froze. Her mind screamed no. It wasn’t her mother’s wrath or Otis’s disapproval that stunted her task. It was the dread she felt about what lay beyond that door. After a deep breath, she popped the lock. Metal hinges screeched as the door swung open, revealing only shadows. Sasha leaned closer, hit by the stench of piss and shit. A clink of chains echoed from within, and she eased back.

  The second she lifted a jug of water, hands broke through the darkness. Blood-tipped fingers clawed the air, reaching toward her. The cries and moans ricocheted in her ears, soaking into her core. It left an ugly stain, bright enough for all to see. Her legs fixed to run, but she forced her spine to stiffen. She rolled the water inside the trailer then lifted the crate of food.

  A woman crawled into the dim light, her face bruised, hair matted with brown clumps. She could’ve been any age, impossible to tell under all that filth and misery, but her blue eyes sparkled like those of a sunny teenager.

  “Help…me.”

  Sasha gasped, stumbling back. Words that she could understand made this nightmare very real. Women, children, human beings sat chained in the back of her truck. The boxes rattled against the crate in her grasp, and she looked down to see trembling hands.

  “Help. Me.”

  Within the woman’s twisted face, Sasha glimpsed what could be her future. Bound in the dark, left in her own filth. That would be her fate if she saved these people.

  “I’m sorry.” Sasha placed the crate on the edge of the trailer. “I…I can’t.” Her gaze dropped, and she pushed the crate inside. Groans, chains, a soft whimper, they all drowned under the hammer of her heart’s beat. She clicked off the switch for compassion, engaging the autopilot. A means of survival, which carried her though childhood. Just turn it off.

  After she slammed the metal door closed and snapped the padlock, Sasha shook a cigarette loose and slid it between her lips. A gust of frosty winds stole the flame of her zippo, and she dropped her arm, trudging toward the clubhouse.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ellen

  Ellen slouched against the passenger door, glaring at Dez. Her fingers drummed the tight jeans that clung to her thighs, jaw clenching.

  “What?” Dez said in a short, rough tone.

  His eyes didn’t leave the road ahead, which only fueled Ellen’s temper and sparked her desire. “What was that shit you pulled in the meeting?”

  “What shit?”

  Finally, for the first time in sixty minutes, Dez glanced her way. His harsh eyes, probing her body, melted her stiff muscles.

  “You challenged me at the table.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  Ellen snickered. The lost look plastered on Dez’s face was too funny not to enjoy. Such a dumb bastard, hurling his power without even knowing it.

  “Wait,” Dez said, followed by a sarcastic chuckle. “You mean that Sasha shit?”

  “Yeah, that Sasha shit. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you set me up.”

  “Set you up,” he muttered.

  “You laid out that plan with me then shot it down in front of the club. It’s a pretty tired cliché, even for you. You’ll have to be more creative if you want my seat.”

  “You need to slow your roll, woman. I didn’t challenge you. If I had, you’d know about it. And if I wanted your seat…”

  Dez glanced across the cab of the pickup, slinging a leer that could pierce flesh. “I’d do something a little more permanent.”

  Ellen sat up straight. A smirk crept onto her lips, and she chewed it back. It took mountains of self-control to keep from jumping in his lap and fucking his brains out while zooming eighty miles an hour down the freeway.

  “I am sorry, though.” Dez shifted in his seat, almost like he felt the pressure of her stare. “I might’ve spoken out of turn. I just thought…one of us would go with the cargo.”

  “There you go, thinking again.” Ellen scooted closer, almost catching a whiff of his bullshit. Always the perfect toy soldier, obedient and silent, until Sasha came into play. Then his face changed. Love or lust? A few games and she could find out.

  “I get it,” Ellen said, sliding her finger down Dez’s arm. “You’ve been away for a while. It’s tough to fall back in the swing of things.” She took his hand, guiding it between her legs. “There’s still time for a proper apology.”

  Dez yanked his hand from her grasp, slapping his palm on the steering wheel. “Stop fucking around.”

  “Why? Because I’m not Sasha?”

  His eyes flew to her, laced in different levels of fear.

  “No. Because you’re my president. The other night was a fluke. That shit can’t happen again.”

  “So club members shouldn’t fuck each other. Is that what you’re saying?” Ellen turned toward Dez, her brow raised. Watching him squirm under her paw was more fun than riding him, for now.

  “Ellen…” Dez shook his head, his grip tightening on the steering wheel.

  “Right. I’m hearing ya.” Love. It seeped from his body like a noxious fume. “Dull as a box of rocks.”

  The truck veered onto a ramp, heading away from lanes of traffic, and Ellen reached under her seat, fishing out a long chain.

  “What’s that for?” Dez asked.

  Ellen stopped fumbling with the strand of linked metal and looked at Dez. “I’m gonna have your brother chain the front door shut before he lights the fire.”

  “You said the place cleared out by two a.m. Why lock an empty bar?”

  “I might’ve been a little off on my times. Probably more like three-thirty, four.” Ellen leaned back, her glare locked on Dez. “Now that I think of it, the place is usually jammin’ at this hour.”

  “Yep. That sounds about right for you.” Dez chewed on a smirk as he glanced at Ellen. “Don’t worry. I warned Kev and Vinny this might happen before we left, figured you took care of Otis.”

  That smug half-grin on Dez’s face sparked Ellen’s temper. She should be the one smiling. He just handed her a stone inside the glass house they share.

  “You can’t keep your big ass from making waves, can you?” Ellen said, managing to keep her voice at an even keel despite the anger brewing inside her chest.

  “What’s in the back of that Peterbilt?”

  Ellen nearly choked on the rage that climbed up her throat. Heat prickled her skin, and her lungs pumped the wall of her chest. She rubbed her nose, her hand landing on the vial inside her pocket.

  “There are so many things I could have your little brother do for me. As his president and somewhat of a surrogate mother, he just throws blind faith at me. And my daughter. God, she’d be devastated if she knew you stuck your dick in me.”

  “How’d you get to be such a vicious bitch?”

  Ellen smirked then grabbed a shotgun from behind the seat. “The luck of the draw.”

  ***

  Sasha

  Sasha sat on the steps of the clubhouse, puffing on her third joint. Headlights turned onto their dirt path, stopping at the locked gate. The flood of lights cut out, and Sasha grabbed the shotgun beside her.

  While creeping into the shadows, she lifted the barrel. Candy ducked under the gate and scurried up the driveway. Her heels wobbled on tiny pebbles, arms out to grasp invisible rails. Sasha chuckled. Just that one sight was enough to take the edge from her bones. She lowered the gun and stepped from the darkness.

  “Whoa! Don’t shoot.” Candy stopped short, lifting her hands up in front of her chest.

  “For real?” Sasha leaned the gun against the porch and returned to her spot on the steps.

  “What’s up with the sawed-off? You sounded really upset on the phone.” Candy inched closer, glancing around. “Is everythin
g all right?”

  “Nobody’s here. You can come sit down.”

  “Nobody?” Candy wormed toward the stairs, peeking through the open door. “Not even Otis?”

  “They’re all out on business. How’d you get here?”

  Candy sat beside her, their hips grazing. When Candy batted her green eyes, Sasha dropped her gaze.

  “I stole my mom’s car,” Candy said softly.

  “You shouldn’t have done that.”

  The look on Candy’s face reflected fear, but the girl shrugged. “It’s no big. She booted up right before you called. Probably won’t wake up for a while anyway.”

  “I didn’t mean for you to come here. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

  “I know. You said that on the phone.” Candy reached for Sasha’s hand, stopped short, and then scooted away. “What’s wrong? You’re acting weird.”

  Sasha moved back, taking in the vision beside her. Somehow, those lips had gotten fuller, stomach tighter, legs longer. “I’ve had a bad week, that’s all.”

  Candy took a deep breath, then grabbed Sasha’s hand. Sasha pulled away, but the girl had one hell of a grip, or maybe she didn’t struggle that hard.

  “And you called me,” Candy said, gliding her thumb along the back of Sasha’s hand, “to make it all better?” The smile that followed those words could light the world on fire. “I can do whatever you want to make it all better.”

  It would be too easy, too right, to fall into Candy’s arms. Gliding her tongue along that smooth skin could only do harm, and not just to her sorry excuse of a heart, but to her entire club.

  “Can you just sit here with me, pretend to be my friend?” Sasha asked. It was possibly the most pathetic request she had ever made.

  “Well, that’ll be a cinch.”

  Candy latched onto Sasha’s arm, cuddling tight, and Sasha let her weight fall to the girl’s side. Evil saturated her soul. She feared it might spill over, but Candy stayed attached to her arm. The town’s distant glow fought to claim the dark sky, and they sat in silence, feeding off each other’s misery.