“Let me use the van?”
She didn’t even balk at the request, just reached over to the desk, and tossed me the keys.
“We going somewhere?” Angel pulled the cover off herself. She was getting better, but even a little activity was enough to tire her out.
“No, you stay here with Jazmine.” I put my hand out, stopping her from moving. I saw her face crumble slightly, she wanted to complain, but I couldn’t be Inkpop right now. I was tearing at the seams, and I needed to clear my mind.
I jumped into the van, not even bothering to tell any of them bye. It was days like this; I wish I had my bike.
Chapter 14
I drove around for hours thinking about what Jazmine had said about how if something happened to me, it would kill Angel. If there was anyone in this world, I knew loved me; it was that little girl. I didn’t want to become like everyone I despised. I promised her we wouldn’t go back. I promised her I was going to stay with her. I promised her I would bring her back to Mikki. How in the fuck could I do that when I didn’t trust anyone in the clubhouse? Thinking about it just frustrated the hell out of me. I ended up at the pier; I don’t know what I was expecting to find. Maybe I was looking for Lou. Perhaps I was looking for a random hobo to start with me.
I knew as I arrived; it was a bad idea. Several shops were teeming with police officers, and the Giles cargo ship was still in port.
I had no idea if these people were looking for me, but I was cutting it too close. It was a stupid idea.
I looked over at the art shop. Jazmine had been complaining she didn’t have the colors she needed to do all of my tats. I could pick them up. It would only take a second. I drove into the back of the shop, making sure no one was looking in my direction. Fortunately, the back was mostly covered by trees and thick brush. There was only a tiny clear area where you could park.
I remember her saying something about the blue, and something else about cyan, or more periwinkle, I had no fucking clue, but the woman had made such a big deal about it.
I rummaged through the box I knew she kept her colors. I picked up one of each shade of blue, “One of these better be the damn color. How the hell can she even tell the difference?” I shook my head and put all of them in a bag. I didn’t want to admit it because I wasn’t used to this sappy shit anymore, but I felt bad for upsetting her. She deserved to have her peace, and here I come barging into her life and disrupting it. I was one lucky bastard that she’s the person she is. Any other woman would have thrown my ass back to the sharks.
I would figure out a way to protect her from my mess; I had to.
I opened the door to the back of the store, but I knew I’d fucked up before I took the first step out.
“I fucking knew it!” Clean yelled out, his face splitting into his signature college boy smile as he stepped off his bike and put his lid on the handlebars.
Two other men, one I knew, Devin and another I had no idea who he was, hopped off their bikes and started to make their way to me.
They were all smiling at me, but all I could see was red. I dropped the bag and tried to figure out how I could take them down before they got the drop on me, three against one. I had survived worse and had been when my hands were tied behind my back.
“Ink! My brother!” Clean rushed at me, and my brain instinctively went into attack mode. He grabbed me around my upper body in what looked like a hug, but I broke his hold and brought my elbow up, catching him squarely in the jaw. He grunted and fell backward hard.
“Motherfuck!” Devin was the next one to come at me. I swung my fist at his temple, then used my palm to hit him square in his solar plexus, he fell trying to catch his breath, a ragged gasping leaving his mouth.
The one I didn’t recognize ended up ay my side, and he got in a few good hits. It was nothing that would faze me, and it was only the sound of flesh hitting flesh that even let me know he was striking me. I turned, my adrenaline on high, I roared as I picked the grown man up and threw him against the back wall of the shop.
“You should have left me the fuck alone!” I spat at them, “You lying traitorous fucks!”
“Ink! Cool out!” Clean got up and came at me from behind, using his strength to try and hold me in place. Clean was always the biggest of all of us. He was freakishly strong and not afraid to use it, but I wasn’t the same skinny boy they had known from years ago. Now Clean was only slightly bigger than me in muscle, but he didn’t have the cutthroat mentality I had or the speed. Having to kill someone before you ran out of air on a regular basis did wonders for agility. I threw my head back, head-butting Clean. I broke out of his hold again and slammed him against the side of Jazmine’s big delivery van. The thin aluminum of the sliding door, denting at the force and size of the big man. I hunkered lower and stepped into his space, not even giving him the chance to catch a breath. It was where I was the most deadly.
I pummeled into his body with blow after blow of hits. He
