Fight (12 page)

Her bottom lip quivered. It was sexy,
but I couldn
’
t have that
shit right now. This was serious. This was
…

Winter nodded.
“
Yes. I know him. There
’
s more, Tripp
…
what I
’
m trying to tell you
…”

“
Fuck,
”
I bellowed.

I looked at the picture again and
wanted to throw up.

It was a picture of Winter, this
time in a bra. A lacy black bra that matched the panties she wore in the
picture. She was on someone
’
s
lap, arms around his neck, her cheek pressed to his.

The guy sitting in the chair had a
nice grey suit on. Money in his hand. A cigar in his mouth. Slicked back black
hair. An aura of complete asshole that burned even through the picture.

My world spun as I tried to make
sense of it.

It was a picture of Winter sitting
on Endo
’
s lap.

Endo.

Aldo
’
s
son
…
who was shot and in a
coma.

Fuck.

~ ~ ~

I knew I had to stop running away
from Winter. But it seemed each time she dropped something on me, I was pissed
enough that I had to leave. I had to get away from her for a second to catch my
breath. To convince myself none of this shit was her fault.

Christ, I had been told to come and
protect her.

Yet there was a picture of her on
Endo
’
s lap?

It seemed that Aldo was getting
more and more tied into this fucking mess. And I was smack dab in the middle of
it and had no clue what was happening, what had happened, or what was going to
happen.

I walked to the wall I had punched
already.

Fight. Do it. Fucking fight,
man. That
’
s
what you
’
re
meant to do. Not to fall for some woman. Not to care about how you fuck her.
Not to feel a little guilty for fucking her in the bathroom
…
because you want to take
her to her bed and taste her fucking body. No. You punch the wall. You leave
this house. You find someone to fight. A real fight.

I cocked my fist back. It was my
only sense of relief. The pain I
’
d
feel in my knuckles, hand, wrist, and arm would mask the pain in my heart. And
that
’
s what it all was
right now. Pain in my damn heart.

“
That
won
’
t fix anything.
”

My fist shook. Then I lowered it.
“
You think I don
’
t know that?
”

“
Tripp,
why are you so angry?
”

“
Endo.
He was the one shot at the fight.
”
I looked over my shoulder.
“
The
fight I lost. He
’
s in a
coma right now.
”

Winter touched her mouth.
“
Holy shit.
”

I turned and walked toward Winter.
She looked terrified. But I couldn
’
t
let her win this battle. No fucking way her emotions were going to overpower
mine.

“
Endo
is Aldo
’
s son,
”
I said.
“
Aldo and his
family
control everything. Aldo
sent me here to protect you. Skull X kills Rocky. Stoney tries to set you up,
wanting Aldo to send more people down here to help. What the hell does it all
mean, Winter? What else do you fucking know?
”

She shook her head and backed up
until she bumped into the doorway to the bedroom. She stumbled and I grabbed
for her arm to keep her from hitting the floor. I pulled her toward me. Her
hair fell in front of her face. I could see her blue eyes burning at me.

Slowly, I ran my fingers into her
hair and pushed it out of her face. I cupped her cheek and started to pull her
closer. My mouth ached for her. My body demanded I have her.

“
You
have to tell me everything,
”
I whispered.
“
Now or never.
I
’
m sorry if you
’
ve never been able to trust
anyone in your life. You can trust me. You have to trust me, darling. I don
’
t think we
’
re safe. I don
’
t think I was sent here to
actually protect you. Something else is going on.
”

“
Okay,
”
Winter said.
“
Okay. Just
…”

“
Tell
me how you know Endo.
”

She just stared at me for a few
seconds. Usually when life was going to fuck me over or knock me down I didn
’
t see it coming. Like the first
time one of my mother
’
s
boyfriends used me as a punching bag. Or the first time I had to really fight
and defend myself. Even the fight I lost that put me in this position. My head
was turned and I got rocked.

Hell, meeting Winter was taking its
toll on me.

But looking at her now, I knew it
wasn
’
t going to be anything
good.

“
Winter,
”
I said.
“
We
’
re
wasting time. Tell me everything you know about Endo. If you don
’
t, I
’
m gone. I
’
m
going to get in my car and just go. For good.
”

“
You
said you wouldn
’
t leave,
”
Winter whispered.

“
How
can I stay if I don
’
t know
why I
’
m here?
”

Winter slipped away from me. She
backed up to the bed and sat down.

And the truth poured from her
mouth.

18.

(Winter)

I
’
d
never forget the look on his face when he found the picture of Endo. The anger
that washed over him. How badly he wanted to punch the wall, but I saved him
from it. If anything, he should have punched me. But he wouldn
’
t do that. Tripp was too good of
a man. A real man. No matter what he said and no matter how he tried to play
his life off, deep down, Tripp was a good person.

I felt it when he looked at me.
When he touched me. When he kissed me. I felt it when he thrust his perfect
cock inside me. Most of all, I felt it when he held my hand.

I sucked in a breath and knew it
was no time to cry.

“
He
used to come in where I worked,
”
I said.
“
I met him before I
met the Red Aces.
”

“
Were
they friends?
”
Tripp asked.

“
Close
enough. I mean, Stoney called your boss for help, right?
”

“
True.
”

“
So
they
’
ve had ties,
”
I said.
“
At first, it was kind of neat. I don
’
t know. I mean, there were guys
in really nice suits with a lot of money. Five dollar bills were suddenly
fifties. You know?
”

Tripp nodded. He folded his arms
and leaned against the doorway. Like he was keeping himself guarded, halfway
out of the room. I hated it. It hurt to see.

“
There
was a group of them. I don
’
t
remember all their names. Mostly like Bobby, Richie, Petey, little Jack.
”

“
Aldo?
”
Tripp asked.

“
No.
I
’
m not sure I remember
that name. Well, Stoney had said it before. But he never came into the club.
”

“
Just
Endo then,
”
Tripp
whispered.

“
Yeah.
One night after closing, I went outside and Endo was waiting for me. He had a
car. He had money. He had a nice smile. It wasn
’
t
uncommon for any of us to do it, okay? I mean, if the guy was rich and wanted a
night, it was easy money. Sometimes we fantasized about someone showing up and
saving us from the life. Like in the movies and stuff. But it never happened.
”

“
You
didn
’
t fall in love and
marry Endo?
”

“
No.
Not that Endo was a bad person. He was just busy and violent. But he never
raised a hand though, no. He had other people do it. I mean if someone touched
me, they were taken out back and beat up. But with the Red Aces, it was all
good. They were all friends. They sat together, laughed together, but any conversations
were handled elsewhere. To me, I didn
’
t
get involved. Maybe I should have, Tripp. Maybe I should have poked around.
”

“
No,
”
Tripp said.
“
You would have been killed.
Easily.
”

“
I
know. Endo warned me of that a few times. That
’
s
part of the reason I
…
well,
I was with him, I guess. I wasn
’
t
supposed to be anywhere else. It got scary, Tripp. It really did.
”

“
Scary
how?
”

“
Endo
would get really drunk and have people hurt and killed. For fun. He would force
me to watch one of his guys shoot someone. I
’
d
never seen that stuff before.
”

“
Christ.
You shouldn
’
t have seen it
then.
”

“
Well,
that
’
s why Rocky seemed so
…
inviting.
”

“
You
left Endo for Rocky.
”

“
Something
like that.
”

“
Meaning?
”
Tripp asked.

This was it. It was brewing inside
me. Something I hadn
’
t
talked about in a long time. Something that would open gates inside me that I
swore would be shut forever. Part of me would rather die than talk about it.

“
Endo
and I had to end,
”
I
whispered.
“
There was a
problem. A situation. Rocky was able to swing in and save me. Endo kind of left
me for dead at the end of it all. Not that I could blame him, Tripp.
”

“
I
hate that guy,
”
Tripp said.
“
He always lived off his
father
’
s presence and cash.
He never did anything himself. It was always handed to him. It didn
’
t surprise me he was shot. I
just wanted to find out who and help Aldo.
”
Tripp shook his head.
“
Sorry.
Keep talking, darling.
”

My body tingled. The way his voice
said
darling
turned me on. I needed that feeling, because I was getting
cold on the inside. It hurt. I hated this shit.

“
Rocky
took me away from Endo,
”
I
said.
“
And he took me away
from the life. From everything that happened to me. From the notion that I had
to take my clothes off to pay my bills. Plus, when I was with Endo or Rocky, I
didn
’
t have bills. Survival
seemed so easy. I wasn't happy. I was actually really depressed. After
everything that had happened.
”

“
Which
was what? You were with Endo at one point. How does it all make sense now?
”

I looked at Tripp and instead of
talking, I pointed to box of pictures.
“
There
’
s a picture on the bottom that
will make more sense to you.
”

“
Do
I want to see it?
”

“
It
’
s not me naked. It
’
s the truth. Of what happened.
Of what I did.
”

Tripp stepped into the room and I
shot up from the bed. I couldn
’
t
believe I was trying to block him now. But I was scared. Scared he
’
d get mad at me and then abandon
me.

“
You
have to know what it was like for me
…”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Tripp said.
“
Trust
me.
”

“
I
care about you. I like you. I
’
m
…”

I
’
m falling for you. You
’
re supposed to protect
me. Now you
’
ll
know my darkest secret.

Tripp crouched down and dumped the
rest of the pictures out. My plan had been to have him find the picture and
figure it out himself. He was going to do that anyway now, but there was more
tension behind it.

Tripp grabbed the last picture and
flipped it around.

Slowly, he stood up.

I saw the look in his eyes. The
shock on his face.

Tripp then looked at me.
“
Winter
…”

I nodded.

“
You
’
re pregnant in this
picture.
”