Page 16 of Gash (The Skulls #13)

going after Charlotte. I knew what she’d gone through. I saw the

evidence that someone had tried to destroy. The good thing about

everything going through the computer system, there’s always

something left for me to find, and I can dig it up. Paperwork is a

lot easier to get rid of. You just burn the shit.”

The mention of Charlotte’s forced

abortion twisted his gut. He was going to hurt Jeff, and it

wouldn’t matter what he did, Jeff would be getting off

lightly.

“ What is it?” Whizz

asked.

“ Nothing. I’m just thinking

about all the ways I’m going to hurt that fucker.”

Whizz looked back at the house where

Sally and Lacey were hugging Charlotte goodbye.

“ Do you really think she’s

going to kill Rebecca?” Whizz asked.

“ I’m not going to let her. If I

could, I’d leave her here, but she has a right to see this

through.” Gash watched as she tucked strands of hair behind her

ear. She had left her hair down, and she looked so beautiful,

innocent, even though she was anything but. Charlotte had been

dragged into his world, and he was going to protect her. Lacey had

lent her some jeans, which were a little loose. She also wore a

white buttoned shirt. “I’m going to be the one to pull the

trigger.”

“ Look, Gash, someone was out to

get you nine years ago. Finding Jeff was close to Gonzalez and even

The Darkness, and the men who tried to kill you inside—be

careful.”

“ You don’t think it was

Gonzalez fucking with us back then?”

Whizz shrugged. “My gut is telling me to

watch my back. Watch your own. I’ve got a feeling this isn’t over,

and it could get worse. That someone could still be out there

hunting you.”

“ Hunting?”

“ No one goes out of their

way to cause this much chaos and just disappears. Do you have any

enemies?” he asked.

Gash shook his head. “Well, I do have a

brother, but he’s probably dead.”

“ Brother? I didn’t know you

had a brother,” Whizz said.

“ A long time ago. He’s been

out of my life a long time.”

“ How long?”

“ Fifteen years, maybe longer.” He

didn’t give Andrew a thought as his brother wasn’t worth his

time.

“ Wow, that’s a long time

not to know anything about family.”

“ He was an addict, and he

couldn’t take care of himself. He’d sell out the club rather than

be loyal to it.” Andrew had disgusted him, and when Tiny made the

decision that Andrew was never going to make it in the club, he and

Andrew had fought.

Charlotte came to stand next to him.

“Are you ready?”

“ Yep, we’re driving, not

riding,” he said, showing the keys that Whizz had given

him.

“ Score.” She hugged Whizz.

“We’ll see you soon.”

Whizz pulled a cell phone out of his

pocket. “It’s programmed to have all The Skulls’ numbers. Call

anyone on that, and we’ll come running.”

Gas h shook his hand, and opened the door,

waiting for Charlotte to get inside.

“ Don’t do anything stupid,”

Whizz said. “If anything’s out of place, leave. Don’t get yourself

killed because of possible bad information. I can only find out so

much.”

“ I will. I won’t let

anything happen to her.”

They shook hands again, and Gash

walked around to the driver’s side. He gave the gang a final wave,

and started up the car.

“ I packed us up some food

so we don’t have to make a stop.”

“ We’ll drive toward this

hotel,” Gash said, pulling out a slip of paper. “I’ve already

called ahead, and booked us both a room. We’ll rest there, and then

tomorrow morning, we’ll take care of business.”

“ Do you have

weapons?”

“ Yes. This is Whizz’s car, and he

keeps them locked up in an inbuilt safe so no damage will come to

them.”

“ Have I upset you?”

Charlotte asked.

Frowning, he turned to her.

“What?”

“ You seem a little distant,

and I was wondering if the reality of what has happened has dawned

on you.”

Gash shook his head. “No. I’m not upset

about what I’m about to get you to do.”

“ What do you

mean?”

“ Look, killing someone, it

takes its toll on a person.”

“ Rebecca and Jeff, I don’t care

what their names are now. They deserve to die. Do you think I’m a

bad person because I don’t care?”

He glanced over at her, and saw that there

was absolutely no expression on her face. She looked like they were

talking about the weather rather than killing someone.

“ How many people have you

killed?” she asked.

“ I don’t keep count. With

The Skulls, you learn to move on and forget about the shit that you

do.”

“ When I first met you, I knew you

were dangerous. Once I saw your leather jacket, I researched The

Skulls. The club has a mixed bag for a reputation. You’re dangerous

and yet you fight to keep Fort Wills clean.”

“ It’s our town. Tiny made sure

all the bad shit stayed out.” He’d been away when more trouble hit

the club. The moment he got out, he’d promised Tiny he would wait

to get his revenge until the club was in a better situation. “Does

that bother you?” he asked.

“ No.”

“ Seriously?” he

asked.

“ There’s not a lot I can do about

it. I take it you’ve never taken the life of an innocent before?”

Charlotte asked.

“ I can’t guarantee

anything.”

“ I attacked several male and

female nurses while I was away in hospital,” she said. “I hated how

they kept me safe. It sucked.”

Gash gripped the steering wheel. He didn’t

like how easily it came to her to talk about the fact she tried to

end her own life. “How long has it been since you tried to end it?”

He snapped the words out, and he looked toward her.

“ It has been years, Gash. I’ve

not tried for about two years. I decided to start living, not that you can call

working and eating, really living.”

“ Does your doctor still

talk to you?”

“ Sometimes. He’s always had

a lot of patients.”

“ Did he pay careful

attention to you?”

“ No. Not at all.” She reached out

and took his hand. “I’m not going to blow or do something crazy. I

had the therapy, and even though at times it’s tough, I’m not going

to do anything drastic. I’m good.”

He held her hand as they drove

forward. The long road out of Fort Wills was somewhat abandoned.

There were a few houses dotted across the land, and plenty of

farmland.

Tapping the steering wheel, he started to

whistle. Relaxed and happy, Gash held onto Charlotte like a

lifeline.

Within seconds, memories of

the past

started to flash through his mind.

“ What can I help you

with?” Rebecca asked.

“ Well, baby, I’m here to see a

slut about a guy,” Gash said, taking a swig of his beer.

This woman in front

of him was just begging to be fucked. He saw the way she licked her

bottom lip and the way she arched toward him. Her tits were

practically exploding out of her shirt.

He shouldn’t trust her, and he

didn’t , but

he was on a mission to find his brother. Tiny had told him that he

needed to locate Andrew. Gash hadn’t given the fucker much of a

thought, but if the club needed to know where he was, then he’d

find him.

Most of the time in the

past Andrew had been easily located in dives, drugs holes, or sex

clubs. He was an evil fucker. Even when they were kids, Gash had

known the evil that was in his brother’s eyes.

Growing up in foster homes

there had been rumors about Andrew. When they had found a place

where a family wanted them both, Andrew had pretended to be the

perfect son ,

but Gash had seen the way he commanded people. Women were scared of

Andrew, and men flocked to him given how good he was at taking what

he wanted.

Pulling out of the memory, Gash pulled

up against the side of the road.

“ What is it?”

“ I was looking for my brother

seven years ago,” Gash said.

“ Andrew?”

“ Yes. Did I talk about him

to you at all?”

“ Not really. Whenever I

asked you what you were searching for you always said a

rumor.”

Gash tapped the steering wheel

repeating the same word. “Rumor. Rumor. Rumor.”

“ What’s going

on?”

“ Andrew fought for a place within

The Skulls. When we were growing up, he always believed he could do

something better. He made everyone believe he was perfect, but he

wasn’t strong like the club needed. He couldn’t hold his own in a

fight, nor could he understand the meaning of the word loyalty.”

Gash laughed. “There had been rumors seven years ago of a guy who

was plotting to end The Skulls, because of it, Tiny sent me out

looking for my brother in case he’d give up any kind of

information.” Grabbing his cell phone, he climbed out of the car.

“I’ve got to call Tiny.”

“ Okay.”

Standing up, he pressed Tiny’s number,

and waited.

“ Hello,” a little girl

said.

“ Tabitha?”

“ Yeah, you’re not

Simon.”

Gash smiled. Tabitha and Simon,

Devil’s son, shared some kind of connection that drove both Devil

and Tiny crazy. They were always trying to find ways to talk to each other. When

Simon visited, he saw both of them holding hands, talking. It was

sweet.

“ No, honey, I’m not Simon.

Is Daddy there?”

“ If I go search for him,

he’ll know I took his phone. I’ll get in trouble.”

“ Tell him he dropped it or

left it in your room, or wherever you are. You shouldn’t be taking

his phone.”

“ He promised Simon would call

him, and he’d give me the phone. Daddy lies sometimes. I know he

doesn’t like Simon.” Tabitha sighed.

“ He worries about you. You’re

what, five ?

You shouldn’t be worried about shit like that.”

“ I’m nearly six, and you’re not

allowed to swear.”

“ Whatever, honey, you and I

both know your dad says worse.”

Tabitha chuckled. “Okey-doke.”

He heard some noise in the

background.

“ Tab, I’ve told you not to

take my phone,” Tiny said.

“ I didn’t. You dropped

it.”

“ Hello,” Tiny

said.

“ She’s so

adorable.”

“ Yeah, adorable and

sneaky.” Tiny sighed. “What can I help you with?”

“ Seven years ago. What were the

true rumors going on at the club?” Gash asked.

“ Shit. This is a long time ago. I

had intel back then that someone was giving information about The

Skulls. Secret shit about our drug runs, and our dealings with Ned

Walker. The only person that I knew who could have that kind of

information was your brother. Andrew, he wasn’t exactly happy that

he didn’t make the cut. He left, and at the time we didn’t have

Whizz to keep an eye on him.”

“ You think Andrew

was the one selling

those rumors.”

“ I would, yeah, but then you got

picked up for rape and murder, and after that shit, we were trying

to keep you alive and safe, and shit returned to normal. There was

nothing going on after you were sent down. We didn’t have the means

of finding out who was selling shit either.”

“ Yeah, and after I was sent

down, the club had to deal with every kind of shit.”

“ You don’t think that’s a

coincidence?” Tiny asked.

“ No, not on your life.

Something doesn’t add up. Tell Whizz to look for Andrew. You know

all the details.”

Hanging up, he flicked his phone shut,

and climbed into the car. “Did Jeff and Rebecca say anything to

you?”

“ Like what?”

“ Anything at all. Simple

shit.”

“ She told me she was seeing some

rich guy who wanted her to do things for her. Sleep with certain

guys. I never took all that much notice of her, or what she had to

say. Jeff, he told me not to take offense. He was just doing his

job. What’s going on?”

“ I don’t know, but

something doesn’t add up, and I don’t like it.”

“ What do you

mean?”

He didn’t know, and that was the

problem. Gash only knew something was up.