~ ~ ~
It was mostly dark. We sat on a rock, the water crashing, spraying us with cool ocean water.
Tripp was talking and my heart was sinking by the second.
“Do you know the Skull X crew?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, I’ve seen them. I’ve never dealt with them. I know them and the Red Aces have had some history. They like to fight. A lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if your boss was involved with them.”
I didn’t mean anything by it, but Tripp jumped and stormed away from me. He walked to the water and kicked at a wave as it slithered into the shore. We were barefoot, walking, and any thought of something soft, sweet, or romantic was long gone out the window.
Slowly, I approached Tripp. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said. “You might be right. Maybe. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“So Stoney set all this up thinking it would get your boss down here?”
“Yeah,” Tripp said. “He thought Aldo would come in and bring muscle. Even that doesn’t make sense to me. Why the hell would Aldo give a damn?”
I swallowed my answer and let Tripp figure it out.
“Maybe he is involved too,” Tripp said. “But sending me…” He then looked out to the water, his face angry. “I’m just a casualty in all this. I’m here to check on things, report back, and then die.”
I reached for Tripp’s hand. I squeezed it. “No. You’re not going to die.”
He ripped his hand away from me. “What do you know?” He looked at me. “In my business, if you lose, you die. And… I lost. I lost my last fight, darling. For what it’s all worth, I should be dead right now. Trust me, I’ve seen it.”
Tripp started to walk and I went after him. “What do you mean you lost?”
He stopped. “I lost a fight. I was taking on some guy. I had the fight in the bag, too. But then someone took out a gun and shot Aldo’s son. Almost fucking killed him. Put him in a coma. My eyes were on the shooter, trying to figure out what to do.” Tripp looked at me. “One second. That’s all it took. The other guy got a shot on me and rocked me. The thing with fighting, darling, is that muscle and size look nice, but a punch is a punch. The right punch to the right spot could knock anyone out. A lot of times guys get hit and go down and it’s when they smack their head on the ground, that they go out for good.”
I could see the pain and even embarrassment in Tripp’s eyes when he spoke.
“Hey, you’re still here. With me.”
“I’m on borrowed time,” he said. “When this is done… I’m done.”
“No. I don’t believe that. You’re keeping me safe. That’s what you were told to do.”
“And when my purpose is up, it’s over. Trust me. I know Aldo.”
“But if the loss wasn’t your fault…”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “There was money on it. Aldo is simple. Make him money, he keeps you alive. Lose him money and he has no use for you. Believe me, you don’t want to meet him, get to know him, or be anything close to him.”
I felt bad for Tripp. I had nothing to say because I had been living the same life. No matter what I did or where I stepped, it was wrong, bad, and deadly. Even after Rocky was killed, any chance of freedom was quickly taken.
My brain was processing so much at once. I had Tripp confessing something so powerful to me just at the same time he told me that Skull X took out Rocky and that Stoney had put a bomb in my car, wanting to get Tripp’s boss here.
“You’re quiet,” Tripp said.
“I’m in shock.”
“Don’t be. This is our life. At least we have each other right now.”
“You mean that, Tripp?”
Tripp reached for my hand. He held it tight and nodded.
“I mean it, darling.”
Everything about Tripp oozed sex. But in that moment, he got to my heart.
And I knew I had to tell him everything.
17.
(Tripp)
I held her hand all the way back to the motel. Maybe Winter was right. If we were going to get shot at and killed, then fuck it. Let the bullets tear us apart.
Tear us apart.
Thinking as though we were together.
I glanced at my hand locked tight with hers and realized we were far beyond the line. This was really bad. And Stoney had practically caught me fucking her in the bathroom.
Someone had ties with Red Aces, Skull X, and Aldo. This shit was tied tighter than I originally thought.
When Winter got into the room, she plopped down on the bed. I walked to our bags and grabbed them with one hand. With my other hand, I grabbed her hand and made her stand back up.
“Tripp…”
“We’re going back to your place,” he said. “I’m done being here. I’m not going to be afraid. I’ll fucking take on the Red Aces myself if I have to.”
I expected her to fight me on it.
But she didn’t. She nodded.
“Yes,” she whispered. “There’s something I want to show you. Something… it’s private, Tripp.”
“Okay.” I touched her face. “What is it?”
“It’s bad.”
“Bad?”
“Yeah. Bad. I’m worried you’ll judge me. You’ll leave me.”
I gritted my teeth. Don’t say you’ll never leave her, man. That’s not what this thing is. It’s not a fucking movie or something.
“I’m not going to judge you, darling. If you think it has anything to do with what’s going on…”
“What if it doesn’t?”
“Then why would you tell me?”
“Because I trust you. Because I want you to see what it’s like for me.”
“What does that mean?”
I saw the hurt wash over her pretty face. Her blue eyes weren’t quite as bright as before. “It’s just stuff. Stuff Rocky used to hold against me. Why I’m stuck.”
Jesus, she was terrified, almost shaking now.
“Okay,” I said. I kissed her forehead. “It’s okay. Let’s get out of here. I’ll protect you.”