Craving Redemption (31 page)

Then his eyes shifted to Farrah’s and he winked.

“Hey, Ace!” someone called out.

It’s funny how the human brain works. Or is it the speed of sound that makes memories seem just a bit off?

Echo’s body started jerking before I heard the gunshots.

Or maybe it was after.

I can’t remember, because the minute he winked, I had to tighten my arms around Farrah and use all of my body weight to keep her from running to him.

I held back a scream and wrapped my legs around her hips, my back digging into the cement stairs as I fought her.

I managed to get one hand over her eyes as she gouged my arms with her nails, making me the only one who witnessed Echo turn his eyes to Farrah as he dropped to his knees and fell forward onto the pavement.

Neither of us made a sound.

And then, with squealing tires, it was over.

Chapter 52

Callie

I lost my grip on Farrah as Cody came barreling down the stairs.

“What the fuck?” he asked me, pulling me up as Farrah started scrambling toward Echo’s body, not even taking the time to stand.

“I don’t know,” I whispered back, watching as he ran toward the couple only a few feet away.

I should’ve been screaming. I should’ve been running for Echo the way Farrah and Cody were.

But I wasn’t. I was back in my crawlspace, and I knew not to make a sound.  Instead, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Asa as I walked slowly to where my brother and Farrah were rolling Echo onto his back.

I wanted to scream at them that there was nothing they could do—that he deserved to keep a little of his dignity.

“Hey, Sugar,” Asa answered lazily, completely unaware of the scene unfolding before me.

“Asa,” I rasped, “I’m scared.”

“Talk to me, Callie!” he ordered, all complacency gone.

“There was a car,” I looked up the quiet street, but nothing was there. “Echo brought Farrah over.”

“You have to tell me what happened, sweetheart,” he prodded urgently.

“I don’t know,” I told him vaguely, the world becoming hazy as I watched Farrah push Cody’s hands away so she could kiss Echo sweetly on the lips.

“Calliope, I can’t understand what you’re saying. Is your brother there?”

“Yeah. He’s with Echo.”

“Give him the phone.”

“But his hands are all bloody…”

“Give your brother the phone!” he roared.

I lifted my phone in Cody’s direction, and he must have been watching me, because he grabbed it right away.

“Grease, fuck! It’s bad, man,” he spoke into the phone softly, taking a few steps away from where Farrah and I were huddled over Echo.

The next few minutes felt like an eternity as we sat guard over Echo’s body. Farrah was still surprisingly silent, but she reached out and grabbed my hand as we waited. I wasn’t sure what we were waiting for, but the minute I heard the roar of multiple Harleys, my entire body sagged in relief.

As the men parked their bikes and came toward us, sirens began to fill the air.

“You call the cops?” a large biker I’d never seen before asked Cody.

“Nah,” he answered, pulling the phone away from his ear to gesture with it. “Grease. It was probably the neighbors.”

I watched the faces of the men around me as they took in the scene, and only a few were successful in maintaining their stoic expressions.

“You know who did it?” a man with tattoos on his face asked Farrah and me, kneeling next to Echo and pulling something out of the chest pocket of Echo’s shirt.

“No,” I answered, shaking my head a little.

“Good. That’s
exactly
what you tell the cops,” he told me ominously before standing back up and disappearing into the crowd.

I sat there in a daze as an ambulance pulled in with its lights flashing, and I didn’t move a muscle when two policemen ordered everyone to put their hands up.

They treated me like a threat, and as they took Echo away, I lay handcuffed, face down on the ground, less than a foot from his blood.

The rest of the day and into the night was a blur of giving statements and listening to apologies from weary policemen. They’d eventually uncuffed me, realizing that I was a victim, though I didn’t feel like one. I was just a bystander to something horrific that I was unable to talk about but would never forget.

Late that night, after the police had left the apartment and the place was quiet, Farrah finally spoke.

“I never thought that I could feel worse than the night I realized my mom would never love me,” she told me quietly. “I was wrong.”

              “Things can always get worse,” I told her seriously.

“I don’t know what could be worse than this.”

“Me, either,” I answered, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

We were quiet for a while, listening to Cody pace back and forth in the kitchen. After all of the trauma of the afternoon, there was nothing for us to do. There were no papers to sign, no questions to answer, just… nothing.

Eventually Farrah stood, pulling me with her, and headed toward the bathroom.

“We need to take a shower,” she told me flatly, pushing the door open and ushering me inside.

She stripped down to her underwear, throwing her clothes out the door as she took them off, while I turned on the water. I assumed she wanted me to stay with her, so I made no move to leave, but was surprised when she came over and started pulling at my t-shirt.

“What are you doing?” I asked curiously as I let her pull it over my head.

“You need to take a shower.”

“Okay, I’ll take one when you’re done,” I told her gently, trying to pull her fingers from the front of my jeans.

“You need to take one now,” she mumbled urgently, looking into my eyes. “You’ve got bloo—you’ve got bloo—you need to take off these clothes. You need to take a shower
right now
!”

I looked down in surprise, realizing for the first time that I was covered in dried blood.

“Okay, baby girl. I’ll take a shower now,” I answered her quietly, moving her hands so I could strip off my jeans. “Climb in.”

The shower ran red when we climbed inside, and Farrah kept her eyes pointed toward the ceiling as she grabbed my body wash and started scrubbing. We passed it back and forth, washing our arms and torsos until the half-full bottle was completely gone. Then we started on our hair.

Farrah was rinsing her hair for the second time when Asa walked into the bathroom and slowly pulled back the curtain. I could see the questions in his eyes, but he didn’t say a word as he reached out a hand to me.

“We need towels, baby,” I told him quietly, ignoring his hand.

“Okay,” he answered hoarsely, looking between Farrah and me before walking back out.

“Okay, Farrah, that’s enough,” I told her gently as she started to pick up the shampoo bottle. I reached behind her and turned off the water as her arms dropped down to her sides. I wrung out her hair while she stood quietly, her eyes vacant.

“Here’s your towels, Sugar,” Asa called, pulling open the curtain. “You need some help?”

“No, I’ve got her,” I assured him. “I’m going to get her into some clothes and then I’ll be out.”

“Okay,” he answered, searching my face as he put a hand on my wet cheek. “Call if you need me.”

I gave him a nod and turned back to Farrah, wrapping one of the towels around me and using the other to dry her off. I held her hand as I led her to my bedroom, but her grip was nonexistent.

“Farrah, I grabbed you some clothes,” I called out, rifling through my dresser for underwear and pajamas. When she didn’t answer, I turned to find her standing exactly where I’d left her in the middle of the room. “You want some pajamas?”

She was looking at me—aware of everything that was happening—but it was like her body had just stopped working, except for the tears running down her face.

“I’m going to help you into these, okay?” I asked, hoping she’d push me away and ask if I was a lesbian. “Okay, well if you don’t mind then neither do I,” I told her with a shrug of my shoulder.

I unwrapped the towel and ran it over her head once, but she was beginning to shiver, so I dropped it on the floor behind her and started stripping her. I unclasped her bra and pulled the straps down her shoulders, leaving it stuck to her breasts with water as I pulled the oversized sleep shirt over her head. When that part was done, I finished stripping off her bra and pulled her underwear down her legs, thankful she stepped out of them with little prompting.

When I’d just finished getting my smallest sweatpants over her hips, there was a small knock on the door. As I turned toward it, a familiar head popped through, taking in the scene before walking completely into the room.

“Gram,” I sighed in relief before rushing to her. “Did Cody call you?”

“Yep. Told me my baby needed me, so here I am,” she told me gently, kissing my forehead before turning to Farrah. “Get some clothes on, Callie Rose, you’re gonna catch a cold in that towel.”

I hurriedly threw one of Asa’s t-shirts and a pair of yoga pants on as I watched Gram lead Farrah to the bed. She’d grabbed my hairbrush off the dresser on the way over, and once Farrah was seated, she stood behind her and started brushing.

“Asa’s out there climbing the walls, Callie,” Gram informed me, running her fingers through Farrah’s hair. “I’ve got things handled in here.”

Oh, God. I’d forgotten how good it felt to have Gram take control of a situation.

“Thanks, Gram,” I told her quietly, walking out the door and shutting it quietly behind me.

Chapter 53

Grease

“Give your brother the phone!” I yelled at Callie as I stomped into my boots and left my room.

I’d been lying on my bed in my underwear, looking at fucking apartment ads, when she’d called. I’d immediately scrambled into some jeans when I heard her scared voice on the other end of the line.

“Grease, fuck! It’s bad, man,” Cody hissed, his voice low. “Echo was bringing Farrah over and Cal went out to meet them. I didn’t see it. I was in the bathroom when I heard the shots and came running.”

“Is your sister okay?” I asked as I raced through the clubhouse looking for Poet or Slider.
Where the fuck was everyone?

“Yeah, she wasn’t hurt.” He paused. “Echo’s dead, though.”

“What the fuck?” I roared, pausing in disbelief. “What the fuck happened?”

“I have no goddamn idea. When I came out of the apartment, Echo was fucking down, and Callie was wrestling with Farrah on the stairs.”

I finally found Poet and Slider outside having a smoke. I wasn’t sure why they did it, but if they were smoking together they always stepped outside to do it.

“Prez, we’ve got fuckin’ problems,” I yelled, practically running toward him. “Cody, I’ll send some boys to you and call you back.”

I hung up the phone as I reached the men and took a second to control my emotions.

“Some fucker killed Echo in Callie’s parking lot, with Farrah and Callie fuckin’ watching,” I told them as I flipped open my phone. “I don’t think they knew who it was.”

“Are the girls okay?” Poet asked calmly, but the twitching of his fingers gave a different impression.

“Callie’s brother says they’re fine,” I answered, listening to Michael’s phone ring repeatedly before hanging up.

“We need to get some of our boys over there—Echo’s fuckin’ dead in her driveway,” I told them both, but Slider was already on his phone.

“We’ll get some men over there, boyo, calm down.”

“Fuck that! Some fuck just shot down a brother in my woman’s fuckin’ driveway!” I roared back, completely losing my shit. “She fuckin’ watched it go down, and she’s not strong enough for that shit!”

“I think the girl will surprise you,” Slider commented as he shoved his phone back in his pocket. “I’ll head out with you and we’ll take some of the boys. Be ready in ten.”

He turned and walked back into the building as I gaped at his retreating back.

“Don’t forget that his daughter was there, too. Don’t matter how well he knows her, that’s still his blood, yeah?” Poet warned me quietly, patting me on the back as he passed.

It didn’t take ten minutes to leave—it took seven—and by the time we rode out, I’d talked to Cody and found out that brothers from the Sacramento Chapter had already showed up. I heard sirens in the background as he hung up, and I hoped that no one did anything stupid.

I was so scared out of my mind, wondering what shape Callie’d be in when we got there, that I couldn’t focus on anything
but
that and ended up making the drive on autopilot.

It reminded me so much of another time I’d raced south to get her that it felt like déjà vu.

I just prayed to whoever would hear me, that when I got to her, she wasn’t the girl I’d found hiding in a crawlspace.

Chapter 54

Callie

I walked into the living room to find Cody, Asa, and Slider talking quietly. Asa’s back was to me, so I didn’t say anything as I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He spun around at my touch and immediately brought both hands to the sides of my head.

“You okay?” he asked fiercely, searching my face.

“Yeah,” I answered seriously, comforted just from having him beneath my hands. “Farrah’s a mess, though. She’s practically comatose.”

“That what the shower was about?”

“She pulled me in there and refused to get in without me,” I told him with a shrug. “We had blood everywhere.”

“Gotta say, that’s always been a fantasy, but that shit was
not
what I thought it’d be,” he said with a small shake of his head, causing me to choke out a small laugh.

“Yeah, nothing sexy about cleaning blood off,” I told him, my mouth trembling for the first time that night.

“Christ, Callie,” he whispered, leaning down to kiss me softly. “You scared the shit outta me.”

“It scared the shit out of me, too,” I answered as he lifted me and then sat down on the couch, setting me in his lap.

“How’s Farrah?” Slider asked from his perch on the floor. He was sitting against the wall with his elbows resting on bent knees. His eyes were weary as he stared at me, and it was the first time I’d seen any emotion there.