Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 79599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“How important?” The prospect asked, moving the toothpick that hung from his lips from one side to the other with his tongue.
Pulling off my chain I held it up so he could see Bear’s skull ring dangling from it. “This important.”
The prospect eyed the ring skeptically before slithering off his seat. He took the chain from my hand and disappeared behind the screeching metal gate. When he came back ten minutes later it was like he was another person. “I’m Pecker,” he announced, stepping aside so I could enter. “What did you say your name was again?” A smile replaced his earlier scowl.
“Thia,” I said, stepping into The Beach Bastard clubhouse, although I would have called it more like a compound. It was an old motel or apartment complex. Three stories high with rooms open to the elements circled an open courtyard below where an empty pool sat in the center. Off to the side was a clear glass door that looked like it used to be an old bar or restaurant and it looked as if the Bastards still used it for its original purpose. The bar was fully stocked and several men, all wearing cuts, played pool at one of three pool tables.
“Where is Bear?” I asked again. Out of the rain and under the protection of a series of overhangs, my jaw began to shake and my teeth chattered. My wet tank top and shorts clung to my body. My hair lay flat and lifeless against my forehead and cheeks, dripping water into my eyes.
“Bear’s busy right now, but he told me you can wait for him in his room,” Pecker said as I followed him up a flight of stairs to the second floor, holding onto the jagged aluminum railing for support. I nicked my middle finger on an especially sharp point, sucking off the drop of blood that pooled on the surface. “Sorry, should have warned you about that.”
Rain streamed down into the courtyard with such ferocity that the Bastards wouldn’t need a hose to fill their empty pool. The small overhang was no protection from the sideways rain.
Pecker stopped in front of a dark green door and opened it, motioning for me to go inside. “He’ll meet you in here,” he said with a laugh. I stepped inside the dark room but spun around again when I heard the door slam behind me.
“Where did you get this?” a menacing voice asked. My throat squeezed tight and slowly I turned to face the owner of the voice. On the edge of the bed sat a man who looked very much like what I remembered Bear did, except this man had graying hair and a face filled with hard lines.
He held up Bear’s ring.
“Where is Bear? Are you his dad?” I asked, hugging my arms around my waist. The man stood up and laughed, closing the distance between us. I backed up to avoid contact, my head banged against the door.
“I’m not sure you heard me, Darlin’,” he said with mock sincerity, “But I asked you a fucking question and I don’t know who you think you are or where you think you are, but I’ll fill you in…” He leaned down to stare at me with familiar blazing blue eyes. “I’m Chop. Stands for Chop Chop because…” He chuckled and ran a calloused finger down my cheek, I pulled away and he grabbed my face so hard my mouth opened and he squeezed my cheeks until they touched in the middle. “Well, you don’t need to know that story, now do you? I run this shit. The patch on my cut says so. You’re in my house so you’ll tell me where the fuck you got this before I shove it down your fucking throat and choke you with it.” Chop held up the chain again, the light from the lamp glinted off the diamond in the eye of the skull.
Chop might have had the same color eyes as Bear’s but they held none of the beauty. Chop’s burned with instability, rage, and violence.
This was a mistake.
I’d gone to the compound seeking… what exactly had I been seeking? Help? Protection? Safety? All I knew was that in that room, with Bear’s old man only a few inches from my face, I felt anything but safe.
When I didn’t answer right away, Chop shrugged. “Okay have it your way.” It was when he pressed the ring to my lips when I suddenly found my voice.
“Bear gave it to me,” I blurted out.
“Bullshit! Where did you get it?” he roared, again trying to force the ring between my lips.
“I was ten!” I screamed and when I opened my mouth the ring slipped in and smacked against the back of my throat. I gagged and Chop took a step back, examining the ring in the light of the lamp. I didn’t know if he meant for me to continue but I did anyway. “He gave it to me in Jessep when I was ten years old because I did a favor for him.” I didn’t know if I would get Bear in trouble by telling Chop exactly what happened so I kept it vague. “He told me that if I ever needed his help to come here and show the ring and he would help me.”
Chop waved me off. “Shut up,” he commanded, still twisting the ring around in his hand like he couldn’t believe it was there. A twisted smile took over his face and he let out a burst of laughter. “He’s a dead fucking man walking but the kid has always been funny.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, not sure if the new round of teeth chattering was from being freezing or from fear.
“It means that my boy gave this to you because he never expected you to show up and take him up on it,” Chop said, putting the ring in a pocket sewn to the inside of his cut. “He wouldn’t have done shit for you, except maybe show you his cock.”