Fight(39)

That was the problem. My mind was putting it together. And I hated that it made some kind of sense.

“Do you understand me?” Aldo asked.

“Sure.”

“You’re on your own from here. I want answers and I want my granddaughter.”

I thought for a second. “Aldo, if this Skull X group is serious… they killed Rocky. They went after Endo too. Do you understand that? If they…”

Aldo put a hand to my shoulder. He kissed my cheek. “Don’t f*ck this up, Tripp. You’re still owed a bullet to the head. It’s just a matter of time and what you can do for me. As far as Rocky goes, I had to do something to bring this to life. Okay?”

For a second I thought my heart stopped.

Aldo killed Rocky.

“Now if you don’t mind, I have to go visit my son,” Aldo said.

Aldo left the room.

I stood there alone.

Everything I knew was a f*cking lie.

Typical.





22.


(Winter)



I did as I was told.

I parked the car. I rushed inside. I locked the doors. I kept the lights off. I sat at the side of the bed, waiting. The silence was horrible. Staring at the clock didn’t help at all. The minutes were going too slow. I had no idea how long I was supposed to wait for Tripp to come back, if he did come back.

What if he was killed?

What was I supposed to do then?

I hugged my knees and fought back tears.

It was hard to explain, but Tripp meant everything to me. Whatever circumstances brought us together didn’t matter. When he was near me, holding me, touching me, loving me, it gave me a reason to look forward to tomorrow. The hell of darkness had been lifted.

Until now.

I was stuck in a room, in darkness, waiting. Hiding. Hoping nobody came to get me.

My mind went back in time, too.

I never meant to get pregnant. I never expected to give up my child. It was the hardest decision I had to face and yet my decision didn’t matter. Either way I was going to lose Autumn.

I knew who she was with.

That part I didn’t tell Tripp about. Yet. Not that it mattered. I hadn’t been in contact with Andrea for a long time. The last I heard from Andrea was that Autumn had teeth cutting through her little gums…

That’s when I finally broke down.

I cried like I would never cry again.

I gripped my knees. I grabbed for the carpet. I ran my hands through my hair. I wanted to scream. I wanted to break something.

When I couldn’t calm down, I stood up. I turned and flicked on the lamp.

Fuck the light.

Fuck getting caught.

Fuck getting killed.

I made a fist and thought about Tripp. The way he liked to fight and the relief it gave him. I bit my lip and brought my fist back. I swung forward and smashed my fist against the wall. I wanted to put a hole in the wall. My fist hit the wall and bounced back. I spun around and screamed as pain shot up my hand.

But I won though.

There wasn’t a hole in the wall, but there was a crack.

I cracked the wall.

I heard a knock at the front door.

I jumped and gasped.

Tripp would knock, right? If someone wanted to attack me, they’d just come in and get me.

I slowly went to the front door, all the lights off outside the bedroom.

The knocking sounded again.

“Winter?”

It was Tripp’s voice.

I turned on a light and opened the door. I jumped at him, kissing him, never needing someone as badly as I needed Tripp.

He put his hands to my waist and pushed me away from him. I stumbled back, almost falling, forgetting his insane strength.

“Tripp?” I asked.

The rage in his eyes was fresh, real, simply raw.

He was dangerous.

He stepped into the house and slammed the door.

He took out his gun. He looked at the gun, then looked at me.

“Winter, I’m so sorry…”

My mind had one thought.

He’s going to kill me.





23.


(Tripp)



I didn’t want to take out my gun. At the same time, I didn’t want to believe that anything Aldo could have said to me would have been true. It was though. Endo, the kid, Red Aces, this Skull X group. Winter had been in the middle of it all. All these storms and she was the goddamn catalyst.

And I was in love with her.

It was bound to happen, right? Even the toughest would eventually fall for someone. Figures I’d pick a woman that was as f*cked up in life as I was.

“Tripp…”

“No,” I said. “No. It’s time we get all the cards on the table.”

“What happened to you?”

“Aldo,” I said. “He needed to meet. That’s how he calls a meeting.”

“That guy attacked you.”

“You should have seen what I did to him.”

Winter froze. She was afraid of me, which was good. She should have been afraid of me. She should have been afraid from day one and stayed that way. We were too close, in everything.

“I’m going to tell you something,” I said. “And then you’re going to tell me everything Aldo wants to know.”

“Which is what?”