PRES

a bay falls high novel

JAXSON KIDMAN
 Contents

Welcome to
PRES
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
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 Welcome to

There were now two sides to me.

The side that loved and took care of Tinsley.
And the other side.
The one that would do anything to protect her.

Written by Jaxson Kidman

 PRES

She was the dirty, poor girl…

… now she’s mine.

You read Tinsley’s story. Through her eyes.

Now it’s my turn.

This is about The Rulz. This is about controlling BFH. This is about finding my place in a world
where I will do anything to keep Tinsley safe.

If you think things have calmed down after everything that happened, you’re wrong.

In some ways… things are just getting started.

I never thought I’d say this…

…but maybe it’s time for The Rulz to be cut down to just two members.
 Prologue

T wo things crossed my mind.

First, I wish I had one of Barr’s cigarettes. Not that I had ever smoked a cigarette in my
life, but after everything that happened… and everything that was going to happen… a
cigarette wasn’t going to kill me.
Second, I wish I had Kip’s surfboard. Just to go out there in the waves and see what the fuck
would happen.
Wearing jeans and a black t-shirt.
Walking into the water.
Waiting for a wave.
It made me smile.
It hurt to smile.
Not because I was some cold hearted bastard.
Which I was.
It was the condition of my face.
Cuts would heal. Bruises would fade.
Even if there was a scar or two, at least those scars would come with a story.
I looked down at my hands. They were the proof that while my face may have been a little fucked
up, I still took care of business.
Business.
That was a word that came with a lot of heat to it.
Because there were all kinds of business to take care of.
Some personal, some not.
The ocean provided a constant soundtrack… the same soundtrack…
Hell, I never took the time to appreciate it.
Even after living here my entire life.
Born into a world that so many on the outside would do anything to get to experience for one day.
There was nothing I could say to that though. I had my own plans for my life. There was no sitting
back, putting my feet up, and just watching time do its thing like me watching the waves.
“What a waste of time,” I whispered.
I turned and walked through the sand.
I stuck my hands into my pockets.
They hurt.
 My face hurt.
My body hurt.
Pain didn’t bother me.
Pain would fade in no time.
That was its job.
To come and go.
And if it got bad enough, we all knew what was waiting on the other side of the pain.
I paused and looked up.
It was clear out.
Dark.
Stars in the sky.
The perfect kind of cliché night for myself and Tinsley to walk the beach. Hold hands. Steal
kisses. Find a spot to relax a little.
She was worth wasting time for.
Yet I was alone.
Walking the beach alone.
Lost in thought alone.
And that was my own damn fault.
Her words plagued my memory.
Some things are never going to change, Pres, are they?
I looked around the empty and dark beach.
I took my hands out of my pockets and looked at them again.
Forever within my grasp.
Then again, what did you expect?
A fucking happily ever after ending to this shit?
 Chapter 1

S he purred.
And it made my heart race.
I loved watching her all tucked in tight, curled up in a ball under the sheets, sleeping
peacefully. I didn’t exactly love that she was crashing in Kip’s guesthouse, but that’s where she was
happy for now. We had made arrangements to move in together and find an apartment but my mother’s
health took a turn. The ALS was just doing what it always does. There was no way I could leave her
live in that house alone. She had the best care in the world but there was one factor that would never
change.
My father.
I promised her I would stay close to the house with her and for her.
And Tinsley…
Shit.
She didn’t hesitate when she told me to listen to my mother. I offered for her to move into the
house. Give her her own wing of the house even. Complete privacy. Her own entrance. Her own
keypad. Private security. Anything to make her feel safe.
She refused.
Why?
She wanted me to be focused at home on my mother.
That meant a lot to me.
And I understood why she was doing it. Her mother was somewhere up north kissing trees,
building fires without a flame, counting stars, whatever else she needed to do to keep her veins clean.
I respected it, but I hated it at the same time. My mother never touched anything bad in her life other
than the occasional drink. And then, bam, one day she tripped and fell right next to the pool. She
wasn’t drunk. She just fell. Everyone laughed at her and she even laughed at herself. She joked about
having a blonde moment even though she wasn’t blonde. From there, it was nothing but a downward
spiral.
A fast one at that.
So to make a long story short, Tinsley decided to crash in Kip’s guesthouse. She and Claire were
okay but she didn’t want to live there. And nobody could blame her. Not even Claire. She refused to
take money or let me pay for a place for her. So Kip’s guesthouse worked. The deal was for Tinsley
to take care of the place, she’d live there for free. But only for a little bit. It wasn’t a long term thing
at all.
 Just a stay and go kind of thing.
Which was why, in the closet, Tinsley had bags of clothes. Nothing was hung up. Nothing was put
into drawers either.
She was hell bent on finding a way to take care of herself.
It made me love her even more.
And it pissed me off because I wanted to spoil her rotten.
To her, me spoiling her was watching some terrible chick movie, eating popcorn, and falling
asleep in my arms. Or turning off the lights and getting a flashlight to tell scary stories. Or having me
chase her down the beach after midnight when things could get a little crazy.
That was the shit money could never buy. The shit she wanted.
The shit I was willing to give her.
But there was more.
I reached for her shoulder and leaned down to the bed to kiss her cheek.
She groaned.
Under the covers… well… there was nothing on her under the covers.
I smirked, knowing all I had to do was peel those covers down.
One touch… one place…
My phone buzzed from the bed.
It was a thumbs up from Barr.
My lip instantly curled as I stood up from the bed.
“I love you, sugar,” I whispered to Tinsley.
She didn’t move an inch.
Which was good.
There were now two sides to me.
The side that loved and took care of Tinsley.
And the other side.
The one that would do anything to protect her.

4 good junkie cunt love call

I had to see it for myself to believe it. Even if that meant walking into the jackass football
team’s locker room shower. I had been the only one dressed and not a single person said a word to
me. Brando just gave a head nod. A sign of respect. Knowing he had his guys ready for what needed
to happen.
They chirped more than a bird on a perfect Sunday morning.
It was almost sad to see.
Then again, it kept me from wasting time.
Barr sucked on a cigarette as we were parked next to the beach.
The orange and red glow of the dashboard of my SUV were the only lights.
“We can’t kill him, Pres,” Barr said.
“Fuck that,” Kip said. “We can make it look like an accident.”
“Alive means talking,” I said. “Talking is good. Keeps our message clear.”
“I’m over it,” Kip said. He cracked his knuckles. He rocked back and forth like an actual junkie.
“I want to fucking get messy.”
“You need to get laid, bro,” Barr said.
I started to laugh.
“Hey, fuck off, Pres,” Kip said. “You’ve got it whenever you want. And right outside my fucking
house too. That shit’s weird.”
“Want to know what’s weird?” I asked, turning my head.
“What?” Kip asked.
“When the cleaning lady comes and gets all the sheets… my stuff is on Tinsley’s sheets and your
stuff is on yours… it’s like a jizz party.”
“Oh, fuck,” Kip said, shaking his head.
“That’s nasty,” Barr said. “You should… wait. Shit. There he is.”
I turned around and my hands grabbed the wheel.
Sure as fuck, we were told the truth.
The exact time and location.
It wasn’t someone Brando was going to miss either.
Just some scumbag third string receiver looking to swing his dick in the locker room.
Now he was going to have to face the Rulz.
I threw open my door as Barr grabbed my arm. “Hey. You sure?”
“I’m fucking sure,” I said.
“Let’s get this shit over with,” Kip said.
We all climbed out of my SUV and walked down to the sand.
Kelvin lived near the beach with his doctor parents who were rarely home. Not that I gave a shit
about his personal life. The only thing I gave a shit about was him walking into the locker room with a
marker and writing what he did. Even going as far as finding out the name of the place where
Tinsley’s mother was staying and putting that number on the wall too.
The three of us hung back a little on the beach and took our time to catch up to Kelvin.
Kip tried to take the lead, but I put my arm out and stopped him.
I nodded to Barr.
He took a drag of his cigarette and jogged forward.
He caught up to Kelvin and bumped shoulders with him.
“Holy shit!” Kelvin yelled. “You scared me…”
He turned and faced Barr.
Barr flicked his cigarette away and said, “Damn. Sorry about that.”
Kelvin turned his head and saw myself and Kip approaching.
His eyes went wide.
That would have been a good time for him to start running. Or start begging.
Instead, he nodded. “Hey, what’s up, guys?”
“Guys, huh?” I asked. “Just a few guys hanging around on the beach.”
“Midnight walk,” Kip said. “My favorite.”
“Yeah,” Kelvin said. “So what’s up?”
Barr grabbed Kelvin’s right shoulder. “Fuck, man, there’s some shit happening in the locker room.
Chattering.”
“Someone wrote something nasty in there,” Kip said.
“Douchebags,” Kelvin said as he swallowed hard.
“My thoughts exactly,” I said. “Drives me fucking crazy. Makes me want to… run into the ocean
naked. Dive head first into a wave. Just to chase away that feeling.”
“What?” Kelvin asked.
Barr threw Kelvin toward the sand. “Go swim, motherfucker.”
“No,” Kelvin yelled. “Fuck. Man. Listen. It wasn’t me.”
“Now he’s lying,” Kip said.
“I hate liars,” I said.
“Okay. Fine. It was me. I did it. I wrote it. But they told me to. You know? Hazing and shit.”
“Do what I said to do,” I said.
“Naked in the ocean?” Kelvin asked. “Why? So you could take my clothes?”
“Mouthy,” Barr said.
“Fuck this,” Kip said.
He kicked then hit Kelvin right in the mouth.
The hit was a little sickening but it got Kelvin to shut up.
I pulled Kip back. “That’s good for now.”
I stepped toward Kelvin.
His mouth was bloody.
I crouched down and shook my head. “I was trying to be calm and nice. Let you make a fool of
yourself in the ocean. But then you had to fuck it up.”
“I’m sorry,” Kelvin said. “I’ll do it. I’ll fucking do it.”
“Come on,” I said. “Stand up.”
Kelvin climbed to his feet.
I looked down at him.
He took his hands from his mouth and tried to touch the bottom of his shirt.
He really thought that’s what I wanted him to do? To swim bare ass naked in the ocean? That
would even us up for what he did to Tinsley?
I shook my head.
One right hook sent Kelvin back down into the sand.
“He’s got jelly legs,” Barr said.
“Good thing I have you two to hold him up,” I said.
“Fuck yeah,” Kip said.
They wrestled Kelvin to his feet and I did what I had to do. For the sake of Tinsley. For the sake
of the Rulz.
When Kelvin toppled to the sand again after I gave the signal for Barr and Kip to let him go, I spit
on him.
“My advice is to find somewhere else to go to class,” I said. “Plenty of places online or out of
here. Don’t think you want our paths to cross ever again.”
“I need a cigarette after that,” Barr said.
Kip’s hands were twitching.
He looked at me.
“Go ahead,” I said. “She means something to you too.”
Kip took his turn, putting his imprint to Kelvin’s face.
We walked in silence back to my SUV.
I drove Barr and Kip back to Kip’s place where Barr had his car parked in the driveway.
We didn’t say a word to one another either as we split up.
Barr to his car.
 Kip to his house.
Me to my girl.
I snuck back inside the guesthouse and quietly washed my hands.
I had a bag with clothes in it so I changed my shirt and put on some fresh cologne before going
back into the bedroom.
Tinsley hadn’t moved an inch since I left.
I smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.
Thought about slowly peeling the covers off her body like I had done before.
She was so peacefully asleep I didn’t want to bother her.
I leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“I love you, sugar,” I whispered.
“Love you, Pres,” she purred.
I climbed over her on the bed and slid my arms around her.
I flexed my fingers and felt my knuckles throbbing in pain.
That didn’t matter though.
I had Tinsley in my arms.
Right where she fucking belonged.
 Chapter 2

“Y“I’mou going to ride her ass, Pres?” Barr asked from the passenger seat.
sure he does that already,” Kip said from the backseat. He leaned forward. “She into that
shit, Pres?”
My hands gripped the wheel tighter. I slowly turned my head and looked at Kip for a split second.
“What I do with Tinsley’s ass is my business,” I said.
“Damn,” Kip said. “You got it.”
“I’m just saying if you’re going to be that close to her, just have her ride with us,” Barr said. “I
think I can see what song she has playing on the screen on her dashboard.”
“Fuck,” I growled. “She doesn’t want me to drive her.”
“Ah,” Barr said. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Not used to this, huh?”
“Used to what?” I asked.
Barr laughed. He lit up a fresh cigarette and shook his head.
“Look, Pres, it’s simple,” Kip said. “You’re used to having your talons sunk into someone.
Fucking deep too.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you hold on tight and don’t let go,” Kip said. “And usually she goes along with it. I
mean, you’re Pres. We’re the Rulz. Anyone who gets close enough is usually starstruck and doesn’t
know how to act. Which is part of the fun.”
“Makes it easier to bring them in and send them away,” Barr said.
“Ti isn’t going anywhere, man,” I said.
“Of course not,” Barr said. “That’s my point.”
“She’s got you,” Kip said. “You don’t have her. That’s a twist.”
“Fuck that,” I said. “I know what I have. I know what I want. I know what I get when I say so.”
“Which is why she’s driving herself, right?” Barr asked. “That’s her way of making you chase her
down still.”
“And you’re doing it,” Kip said. “Look how close you’re driving.”
I slammed on the brakes and cut the wheel to the right.
Barr put his hand to the dashboard and almost lost his cigarette.
Kip barreled forward between the front seats and screamed.
My SUV was turned a little sideways.
I sat there and watched Tinsley’s SUV drive away.
I swallowed hard.
 “I’m protecting her,” I said. “That’s all. Everything she’s been through. The truth she had to face
with Claire. And what happened with Kelvin. She doesn’t know about that yet. I want her to feel safe
and not look over her shoulder. I want her to just live and move forward. Because she’s not living in
your guesthouse forever, Kip.”
“Jealous?” Kip asked with a sly grin.
“Not even close,” I said.
There was a thudding knock-knock knuckle sound on my window.
I turned my head and Officer Nerrings stood there, one eyebrow lifted high into the air.
“Ah, shit,” Kipp whispered. “Officer Numbnuts.”
I put the window down. “Problem?”
“You’re turned sideways in the road, son,” Nerrings said. “I was going to ask you if there was a
problem.”
“Bee,” Barr said. “Big bee. Yellow and black. Stinger about three inches long.”
“A bee?” Nerrings asked.
“That’s right,” I said. “We were just getting ready to drive again.”
“Anything I need to know about here, Preston?” Nerrings asked. “Do I need to check the inside of
the vehicle?”
“You’ll only find Kipp,” I said. “That’s the worst thing I’ve got in the backseat.”
“Other than some wild looking panties,” Kipp called out. “He’s got a fucking collection back
here. Edible.” Kipp leaned forward. “What’s your poison, Nerrings? Cherry or watermelon?”
“Funny,” Nerrings said.
“I prefer watermelon myself,” Barr said. “Flavor doesn’t linger as long. Plus, the cherry… too
red. You look like you just got done with her while she’s on her time of the month.”
I kept a straight face while Nerrings cringed.
He nodded. “Get out of here. I’ll be following you. Make sure nothing is happening here.”
“Since you’re going to make us late for class, how about coming into BFH and vouching for us?” I
asked.
Nerrings laughed.
He backed away.
I put the window up and looked at Barr. “Thanks for that.”
“What?” Barr asked.
I shook my head. “I’m never going to eat something cherry flavored ever again now.”

I t was the same bullshit routine after we took care of some personal business.
The story that spread around the halls was never the right one. But that was okay. Because as
long as the story was violent and grew bigger with each telling, that was fine by me. That was the
point. To make it known if you fucked with the Rulz you got hurt. And that included Tinsley. She was
part of me and part of the Rulz in a roundabout way.
I leaned against a locker and folded my arms.
I watched her as she talked to Gi and Iris.
I wasn’t all the way sold on that best friendship, but there was no way in hell I was going to tell
Tinsley who to be friends with. That, again, wasn’t like me. My plan was always the same - control
everything. It was the only way to survive anything in life. Kind of like driving. If you were driving,
you were fucking driving. It wasn’t like you were handling the wheel and someone was hitting the gas
with someone else was hitting the brakes.
Maybe that was a terrible example, but whatever.
I just loved watching Tinsley.
Waiting for the moment when she would burst into laughter.
It was always an explosion too.
You could catch that first explosion from a mile away. Then she’d shy up and try to cover her
mouth or force herself to quiet down. I told her a hundred times not to do that. To laugh how she
wanted. Because her laugh gave life in a way. Listening to her laugh made me laugh.
“Um… excuse me…”
I turned my head and saw some guy a foot away from me. Thumbs hooked into the straps of his
bag. Blinking fast.
“… sir…,” he added and swallowed hard.
His Adam’s apple looked like he had swallowed a banana.
His moppy, curly hair stuck up like he needed a haircut.
“What the fuck do you want?” I asked.
“You’re, uh, leaning, uh, against my locker,” he said. He laughed.
I didn’t laugh.
He stopped laughing and his eyes went wide.
“So?” I asked.
“I need to get my chem book,” he said. “Did I… am I…” He looked around. “Am I in trouble?”
Barr stood behind the guy and put a finger to his lips.
“Shh…”
Barr grabbed the guy’s bag and shook him.
The guy screamed.
Kipp then appeared and bumped his chest into the guy’s right shoulder.
“Oh, shit,” the guy said. “I didn’t do it.”
“Do what?” I asked.
“Whatever you think I did,” he said. His lips quivered. “I swear. I just need to get my fucking
chem book and leave.”
“Apparently I’m blocking his locker,” I said.
“How do we know it’s your locker?” Barr asked.
“I can open it,” the guy said.
“I’ll open it,” Kipp said. “Whisper the numbers to me.”
The guy shook his head.
“See, that’s a problem,” I said. “We have the right to inspect any locker we want. If you don’t
comply, then I’ll use your head to smash into the locker until it opens.”
The guy let out a whimper.
Was this whole thing wrong?
Damn right it was.
Did I give a damn?
Nope.
“Right here,” Kipp said, pointing to his right ear.
The guy nodded.
 He whispered the numbers so loud to Kipp that I heard them.
I turned and opened the locker.
“Well, fuck,” I said. “He wasn’t lying.”
“Why would I lie?” he asked.
“Don’t fucking talk back to us,” Barr said.
I side stepped but kept my hand on the locker. “I know the combo now. If you get it changed, I’ll
know. And believe me, you don’t want to do that. Okay?”
“Okay,” the guy said.
“Good luck with chem,” Kipp said. “You know all that is just bullshit, right?”
“You’re better off studying the chemistry of your tongue between a pretty girl’s legs,” Barr added.
The guy’s cheeks turned red.
I shrugged my shoulders. “They’ve got a point. We’re just trying to help you.”
I looked down the hall and saw Tinsley walking in between Gi and Iris.
That was enough fun for one minute.
Now I just needed to get my hands on Tinsley’s perfect body and taste her sweet lips.

K ip was on his back, staring up at the sky.

Barr smoked, deep in thought.
I stood in the middle of the garden.
A place of peace. Or something like that.
It was a place for anyone to come to catch their breath and calm down. To sit, study, and enjoy the
views and all that shit they tried to feed us. Everyone knew the second we stepped into the garden,
that was their cue to get the hell out.
“What are you thinking, Pres?” Barr asked.
“I’m thinking I’m not going to back down,” I said.
“They’re looking for attention, man,” Kip said.
“And you wouldn’t show up and throw a few punches?” I asked.
Kip sat up and swung his legs off the stone bench. “I’d be there in a heartbeat.”
“Exactly,” I said.
“You can’t go solo on it,” Barr said.
“We’ll work something out,” I said. “I know it’s been busy around here too. But ignoring
something like that would send the wrong message.”
“I’ve got time,” Kip said. He made a fist and cracked his knuckles. “And I’m in the mood for a
fight.”
“You just beat the hell out of Kelvin,” Barr said.
“That was sloppy seconds,” Kip said. “I want a fresh one.”
“Maybe you should try smoking,” Barr said. “It’ll ease you a little.”
“No,” Kip said. “I know what I want and need.”
“Me too,” I said.
I looked down the path and just as I felt like the world had shifted a few inches to the right, there
she was.
Tinsley walking toward us.
 It was impossible for a little grin to not climb across my face at the sight of her.
She was alone.
Not afraid of approaching the Rulz.
Dangerous and sexy.
Like no other girl I had ever met in my life.
And nobody would come close to Tinsley.
“Hey, sugar,” I said.
She pointed at me and her eyes flared with anger. “You.”
“Me,” I said.
“You… asshole…”
“Whoa,” Kip said. “That’s not a nice hello, girl.”
Tinsley froze and looked at Kip. “You too. Asshole.”
Barr cleared his throat.
Tinsley looked at him. “Asshole.”
“Okay,” I said. “You think we’re all assholes. Fair enough.”
“Think?” she asked. “I know it.”
“Why, sugar?”
“He left.”
“Who left?” I asked.
“Kelvin.”
“Your point?”
“What did…” She shook her head. “Why did…”
“Sugar, you don’t understand what he did,” I said. “I’m not tolerating that kind of shit here. You
deserve better.”
“Me? This is about me?” Her nostrils flared. “Goddamn you, Pres. I don’t need you to…”
Tinsley stopped mid-sentence and swung her hand.
She cracked me across the face.
The hot sting spread across my cheek.
She then balled up her hand into a fist and swung.
Barr hooked his arm to hers. “Easy, love.”
Tinsley turned and slapped him with her other hand.
“Damn, girl,” Kip said, jumping and running toward her.
She took a swing at Kip before I finally grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away.
“What are you doing, sugar?” I growled into her ear.
She wiggled away. “I don’t need you to fight my battles anymore. I can defend myself.”
I looked at Barr and Kip. I nodded. “Give us some space.”
“Let’s go ice your cheek,” Kip said to Barr.
“Damn, love, you should take up boxing,” Barr said.
They walked away and I stood facing Tinsley.
She was still ready to attack.
“Why?” she asked. “Did he look at me the wrong way? Huh? You jumped him on the beach? At
night? He told his parents he didn’t know who it was. Lucky you, right? And his parents said he’s not
allowed here anymore. Because of everything happening. He’s already gone, Pres. Sent away. To San
Francisco or something. Because of you.”
“Because of himself,” I said. “You don’t want to know what he wrote about you in the locker
room.”
“What?”
“On the wall. About you. About your mother.”
“What…”
“It’s not what you think, sugar,” I said. I closed in on her and touched her chin. “I want to beat the
shit out of anyone who looks at you. I want to break the jaw of any guy that has the nerve to talk to
you. That shit I can swallow down. That’s me fighting how much I really love you, Tinsley. But what
Kelvin did… no.”
“Why didn’t I know about it?” she asked. “So I could have done something myself?”
“I’m tired of that.”
“Of what?”
“Those I love hurting themselves to hurt those who hurt them.”
“What?”
“I’ve watched it before and did nothing,” I said. “It won’t happen with you, sugar. I’m going to
defend you and protect you… and there’s nothing you can do about it. One of these crazy bitches want
to get in your way, that’s all you unless you ask for my help. But these assholes… I’m not letting it
happen.”
“Pres…”
I felt anger and sadness wash over me in a way that I didn’t like at all.
Not right there. Not with Tinsley.
I shook my head.
I swallowed hard.
I pulled at her chin and brought my lips down to hers.
A soft and gentle kiss.
That didn’t ease anything in me.
So I went for a second kiss.
Better… but still…
“If he didn’t leave I would have beat the shit out of him every single day for the rest of his time
here,” I whispered. “And that sends a clear message to everyone else. Of who you are. And what you
mean to me.”
Tinsley nodded. “Okay. I get it, Pres…”
“No. You don’t.”
I kissed Tinsley one more time and then backed away.
I took a deep breath and grabbed her hand.
When I started to walk, she tugged at my hand. “What are we doing now?”
I didn’t look back at her.
I blinked fast.
“I want to show you something, sugar.”
 Chapter 3

I f I really wanted to sit down and think about time and life, then I’d get even more pissed than I
normally was. Because I’d end up wishing to meet Tinsley sooner. I would have loved to see her
with my mother. My mother would have put her arm around Tinsley, pulled her close, kissed her
head, and then playfully told her to run like hell from me.
We’d be in the kitchen, eating some kind of fancy ass snack, waiting for Tinsley to figure out what
she was eating. Then my mother would have tossed it all away and got everyone some real snacks.
And some real food.
Then we’d end up eating, laughing, my mother telling all the cliché embarrassing stories about
little Preston. Leaving me on the edge of being mad at her, but watching Tinsley laugh at my behalf
would have made it all worth it.
Sadly those moments never existed.
They’d never have the chance to exist, either.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
A lesson I learned the hard way.
A lesson I watched as time gave and took so much at the same time.
My fingers were interlocked tight to Tinsley’s hand as I approached the tall, wide, black door at
the back corner of the house.
It had originally been a guest bedroom. Complete with a sliding glass door that led to the pool.
Plus a side door with beach access. The room was almost like Barr’s bedroom. It had that whole
apartment feel to it. It was only ever used if my father had some business people spending the night.
At least until my mother got sick.
It didn’t take long for her to remodel the entire room and claim it as her own.
That was the thing about her…
“She just accepted it all,” I whispered as I put my hand to the door.
“Who did?” Tinsley asked.
“I’ll show you,” I said.
I opened the bedroom door.
There was a sinking feeling that forever hit me.
I never knew if I was going to find her alive or not.
That was the kind of shit that could ruin a person with ease.
Especially when I thought about my father. Running around the country - and the globe - fucking as
many women as he wanted to. Not giving a shit that his wife was home, bedridden, knowing she was
going to die.
“Oh, Pres,” Tinsley whispered. She pulled at me. “No.”
“No?” I asked her. “Are you afraid?”
“I’m not afraid,” she said. “This is… it’s too much. For you. To me…”
“No, sugar,” I said. “This is me. I’m showing you who I am. What my life is. And why things
happen the way they do.”
Tinsley nodded fast. She then had both hands to my one hand as I led the way to the bed.
My mother had a terrible look to her. And that wasn’t being cruel. That was reality. She was
skeletal, weak and tired, physically looking as though it were her time. But when you saw her eyes
you saw life.
She sat up in bed and had the room equipped in a way that it looked like a hospital room. There
was no other choice at this point. A table tray thing was in front of her with a TV playing her favorite
shows.
Everything about her looking like a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
“Hey, Mom,” I said to her and touched her hand.
There were times she had no sense of touch.
She moved her eyes.
I leaned to get into her range of view.
“Wanted to visit just for a minute,” I said. “I know you’re watching your shows.”
There was no response.
And talking to someone who couldn’t respond was another punch in the gut to get used to. But she
heard me. I knew she heard me. And I always paused long enough as though she were able to respond.
Out of respect. Out of love.
“I want you to meet Tinsley,” I said. “You’re going to love her.”
Tinsley inched closer to the bed.
Tinsley smiled big. “Nice to meet you.”
My mother’s face lit up. She smiled. She looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
She slowly moved her head back and forth.
Her right hand started to move a little.
I kept myself composed for her sake.
I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing as my mother fought damn hard to reach for Tinsley. And
Tinsley let my mother take her hand.
“Don’t worry,” Tinsley said, “he’s a good guy to me. Sometimes a little annoying.”
My mother smiled again.
She kept blinking. Faster by the second.
I listened to her breathing. Increasing. So desperate to say something.
“Mom, am I annoying?” I asked.
My mother nodded.
Tinsley giggled.
She looked at me. “See? Told you so.”
“That’s enough of that,” I said. “Mom, will you tell Tinsley how pretty she is. She’s new around
this place and is settling in. You think she’s beautiful, right?”
My mother kept nodding.
“No, not me,” Tinsley said. “Stop that.”
 “So if I’m so annoying, should I let Tinsley go? Be on her own?”
My mother smiled bigger than ever and nodded one more time.
“I don’t think I could do that,” Tinsley said.
My mother slowly shook her head.
“She’s just joking,” I said to Tinsley. “She doesn’t want you alone. You’re meant to be with me,
sugar.”
My mother looked at me funny.
“Oh,” Tinsley said. “He calls me sugar. That’s kind of cheap. You’d think a guy that good looking
could come up with something better.”
Watching Tinsley and my mother talk and laugh…
Let’s just say there were certain spots in my heart where I could keep a lot of hate out of. And
leave it hollowed out for these moments.
I carefully watched my mother.
The door opened behind us and in walked one of the full-time nurses.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Janine said.
“It’s okay,” I said. “We’re just visiting.”
“I’m just checking up on a few things,” Janine said. “Don’t mind me.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “We were getting ready to go.” I looked down at my mother. “Mom, I’m
going to go take Tinsley out.”
She let Tinsley’s hand go and fought hard to point at me.
I swore her lips were trying to move.
I wished for anything in the world just to let her talk one more time. Hear her voice…
I plastered a smile on my face.
“You’re pointing at me,” I said. “You only do that when you give me the Mom talk.”
My mother nodded.
“Oh, don’t you worry about him,” Tinsley said. “If he gets out of line, I’ll slap him. Or kick him…
you know where…”
My mother liked that comment.
“She’s full of fire,” Janine said. “You sure you can handle her, Preston?”
“All these women beating me up,” I said. “Not a fair fight.”
“And you offer fair fights?” Tinsley asked me with a wink.
I winked back at her.
My mother kept shaking her finger at me.
“I promise, Mom, I’ll take good care of her,” I said.
“I promise I’ll take good care of him,” Tinsley said. “It was so nice to finally meet you. You might
not know this, but Pres is a mama’s boy all the way.”
Fucking hell, Tinsley… what are you trying to do to me?
She could talk and piss me off so easily yet fill my heart with love.
My mother fought even harder to pat Tinsley’s hand.
I leaned down and kissed my mother’s cheek. “Love you, Mom.”
I took Tinsley’s hand and we left the bedroom.
I walked us to one of the back patio areas that overlooked the ocean.
When I leaned against the railing, Tinsley put her hand to my back.
“Pres…”
“She accepted it, sugar,” I said. I was going back to a thought from a while ago. “She just
accepted it. Like she always did. And to me, I could never put my finger on it. Whether she was that
strong or that weak. You know? I mean, there’s no battling it. Doctors told us she’d live three years.
Maybe five. It’s been longer. So she knows how to fight. But she took it. Easily.”
“Meaning?”
“That room she’s in. She did it all herself. She knew what was coming. It was like… it was like
she wanted to be ahead of it all, you know? To look it in the eyes and say fuck you, I’m ready. Her
version of control.”
“Now who does that sound like?” Tinsley asked me.
“Don’t go that route, sugar.”
“Pres, what you just did was amazing. I’m ready to cry. You took me to your mother. Such a
vulnerable thing…”
I turned and touched her chin. “No. This wasn’t about vulnerability. Or the preciousness of life,
sugar. This was about proof.”
“Of?”
“Why I do what I do for you. The weaker she got, the more my father changed. He turned into a
different person. He took advantage of her illness. And I had to stand there and watch it. The deals he
made. The way he hid money here and there. And the women…”
Tinsley swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry about that.”
“I’m not. It showed me everything I needed to know in life. Nobody is going to hurt you, Tinsley.
Or fuck with you. Not when I’m around. And I don’t care what the situation is. Kelvin wrote
something really nasty about you on the locker room wall. What I did… what the Rulz did… was to
ensure nobody else does it. Anyone who hears your name or thinks your name will know not to fuck
around.”
Tinsley touched my face and sighed. “And there you go, Pres. Showing that stupid side of you.”
“What?”
“Your mother was never weak. Do you think maybe for a second she let your father do all of that
on purpose?”
“Why?”
“The bigger picture, Pres. She let him mess around with cash and women because she was getting
everything else in order. And she gave it all to you. She did that with him right there. But he was too
stupid to see it. So what does he have now? Huh? He’s got a nice car.”
“Actually…”
“You own all the vehicles?” Tinsley asked.
I nodded. “Everything.”
Tinsley laughed. “So he has nothing.”
“You’re so fucking beautiful and smart,” I said.
I pulled Tinsley close and kissed her forehead.
She hugged me.
I shut my eyes and let the day start to wash away for a second.
Behind me, I heard someone clear their throat.
I turned.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
“Who is that?” Tinsley asked me.
“Go back inside for a minute, sugar,” I said. “I’ll take care of this. Nothing dangerous. I promise.”
I walked away from Tinsley.
 He stood there holding flowers.
He held out a grease stained hand.
I could never seem to shake the world of HCH.
And the last person I thought I would see…
Jett.

“S o the question is… who are those flowers for?” I asked. “Because my mother is married, and
dying. Or if they’re for my father, that’s going to open a whole new can of worms.”
Jett laughed. He was built like steel and had a rugged laugh to match his rugged look. He ran the
shop that Weslee Jackson’s grandfather - and family - owned down in Hidden.
Which, again, had me shaking my head as to why the fuck this guy was here.
“You’re fast, kid,” Jett said. “But you’re still a punk ass teenager. A silver spoon motherfucker.
And if you think for a second I’m against tossing some new adult asshole like yourself around, you’re
wrong.”
I nodded. “You could have just answered the question.”
“The flowers are for your mother,” Jett said.
“And then the next question is… why?”
“Of course it is,” Jett said. “Rich people are so paranoid.”
“What about you?”
“I made my money, kid. I’m not afraid of losing it. I didn’t make my money through bad deals.”
“Are you suggesting my parents did?”
“Not at all,” Jett said. “And why the hell am I talking to you?”
I put my hand out. “I’m the one who owns the house now. Everything here belongs to me.”
“That so?” Jett asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “So anything you want, need, question… goes through me.”
Jett nodded. “That works, kid. I’ll take that on. You know, I know this is a little off balance for me
to be here.”
“No shit.”
“The town is busy,” Jett said. “And the rivalry of HCH and BFH is as crazy as ever. I remember
back during my time doing the same damn thing. There weren’t as many deaths though.”
I laughed. “Tell me this is about that.”
“Nothing to do with it,” Jett said. “I’m sorry I didn’t know about your mother sooner.”
“Why does it matter to you?”
“Believe it or not, we have history.”
My nostrils flared. “Meaning what?”
Jett laughed. “Calm down, kid. I didn’t take your mother to bed. Last I heard, your father was the
one who couldn’t keep it in his pants.”
I made a fist and made a move.
Jett lifted the flowers and smacked them against my face.
“What the fuck?” I growled.
“Take it easy,” Jett said. He stepped back. “You’re too jumpy. I’m literally here to give flowers. I
heard she’s doing really bad. I guess that comes with the territory. And before you ask again, your
mother was the closest anyone ever came to getting that crazy old bastard to sign off on his land.”
“What?” I asked.
“Long before your time,” Jett said. “Your mother was a beautiful and vicious business woman.
Your father was abrasive. A dick. He could have offered Pop billions for the land and Pop would
have said no every single time. But your mother… she knew how to slide right in and overpower
everyone. It was amazing. She had Pop eating out of her hand. One night… you don’t mind if I tell you
this, do you?”
“Go ahead,” I said.
“Okay. One night I was at the shop alone. She showed up. Dressed to kill. Looking like she was
on her way to an award show or something. I laughed at her and told her she was wasting her time
with me. She wanted to have a cigarette with me. So we stood there and smoked. I was this filthy
mechanic. She was this beautiful, rich woman. We talked about the weather. The beach. We talked
about motorcycles. And not until the end of it did she bring up the land. She looked me dead in the
eyes and wanted to know my honest opinion on it. If Pop would ever sell. I told her no. You know
what your mother did?”
“What?”
Jett laughed. “She dropped her cigarette, stepped on it, and told me she’d be back in the morning
with coffee and breakfast. And sure as hell, she was there, kid. She had Pop on the ropes. He was a
heartbeat away from signing off on the sale.”
“What happened?” I asked.
Jett shook his head. “Not sure. Something went wrong. My guess is that your father got involved
again. Anyway, from myself and from Pop, we send our condolences. You strip away the bullshit,
Preston. The fights, money, all that. We’re just people. And knowing that someone like your mother is
going through that is unfair. And I’m really sorry to hear it. And I hope when the time comes, she’s
able to go peacefully, and wherever she ends up from there, she’s still kicking ass.”
Jett offered me the flowers again and I took them.
“I’ll make sure she gets these,” I said.
“I appreciate that. I’ll get out of your hair now.”
Jett started to walk away.
“Hey, Jett,” I called out.
He looked back. “Yeah, kid?”
“You never… with her? Anything?”
“No,” Jett said. “Last thing I needed then was more women troubles. My advice is to stick with
just one. Find the right one and it’ll be the biggest headache of your life, but worth it.”
Jett strutted away.
Like some tough-guy-biker-bad-ass with tons of cash.
I looked at the flowers.
I laughed to myself.
Inside the house, I saw Tinsley near the glass door.
When she saw me staring, she smiled.
I touched my head.
Yeah, she gave me a fucking headache for sure.
I waved her outside and handed her the flowers.
“Do I want to know?” she asked.
“Just some ghosts, sugar.”
 “Ghosts with really nice flowers,” Tinsley said with a wink.
I growled and ripped the flowers out of her hand and threw them to the ground.
I stepped on them and cupped her face.
“Pres…”
“Flowers are cheap, Tinsley,” I whispered. “You deserve the entire fucking garden… the
world… the stars… the universe…”
 Chapter 4

“C“Anything
an I ask you a question?” Tinsley asked as she popped her head up from my chest.
you want, sugar,” I said.
I kept my arm around her tight, holding her against me.
I was starting to come around and get used to the bed in the guesthouse. And actually I didn’t even
look at it like a guesthouse anymore.
It was Tinsley’s place.
I offered Kip some cash as a way to say thanks but he just smirked at me. Fucking prick knowing
he sort of had something on me. And he wasn’t shy about throwing it in my face that he could see
Tinsley’s bedroom window from his.
Not that anything would ever happen.
I wasn’t a trusting person but Kip, Barr, and Tinsley were on that list.
“How is your mother today?” she asked.
“My mother? Why…”
“Part of me can’t stop thinking about it. About everything. What it must have been like for her. For
you. And there’s no other family?”
I stroked her cheek. “Sugar, all those thoughts you need to get rid of. I explained to you why I took
you to meet my mother. And the reality is there for you to see. Asking me each day how’s she doing
won’t benefit anyone. She’s dying, sugar. She’s… dying.”
“That hurts.”
“Of course it does.”
Tinsley pulled herself up and kissed me. “I don’t want you to hurt.”
She slowly positioned herself over me.
As she drove her hips down and twisted them, I sucked in a breath and hissed.
My eyes narrowed as I watched this beautiful girl put her hands to my chest and push herself up.
She was in nothing but panties and a hoodie.
A familiar position I had found her in several times before.
My hands cut under the bottom of the hoodie. My fingertips against her smooth skin. Tracing lines
visible only to me. Lines Tinsley would only feel.
Ah, fuck, she’s so damn perfect.
I took my time, wanting to feel as much skin as I could.
Right up until I felt the warm swell of her breasts on my fingers.
I cupped her and swiped across the nipples, feeling her body shiver, listening to her gasp for a
breath.
Tinsley slowly put her head back, curling her fingers against my chest.
Her hips began a silent and seductive dance, grinding against a certain spot where I’d never be
able to hide what she did to me.
I eased my hands away from her chest and began to lift the hoodie.
I sat up, knowing right where I wanted to kiss her first.
My right hand slid around to the middle of her back so I could hold her steady.
My left hand tore the hoodie up with more speed.
As my eager mouth slipped over her right breast, Tinsley grabbed for my hair and purred my
name.
Pres… fuck…
I had her right where I wanted her. A place where time meant nothing. A place where it was all
about her. A place where she could be so greedy and I would still get something out of it.
I swirled my tongue to begin to write her a simple love letter of I fucking love you, sugar…
That’s when the bedroom door exploded open.

T insley sat back and pulled the hoodie down.

She then fell back on the bed, her face bright red.
I looked at Barr and Kip.
“Whoa,” Kip said. “Did we…” He sniffed the air. “We did…”
Barr had an unlit cigarette tucked behind his head. He pointed to the bed. “Pitching a tent there,
Pres. What’s that sleep? Eight? Ten?”
“More than you,” I growled. “What the fuck do you want?”
“Well, this is my house,” Kip said.
I swung my feet off the bed and stood up.
I looked down at Tinsley.
Still bright red.
Flustered.
Turned on.
I touched her fingers for a second and then lunged at the two assholes who stole my moment.
Barr dove out of the room.
I managed to get my hands on Kip though.
I swung him around and threw him out of the bedroom.
I slammed the door as I exited the room too.
Call it what you wanted, but I had to get some kind of relief.
I could have punched Kip a lot harder than I did.
He took the punch to the jaw like a man would.
Stumbling back, hand out.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “We’re good.”
“No, we’re not,” I said.
Barr put his cigarette between his lips. He stuck his chin out. “Come on. Give me one.”
I curled my lip. “This better be good. Really fucking good.”
 “I can’t stop picturing it,” Kip said. “Tinsley riding you, bro. She’s got some wild curves…”
I went for Kip again.
He jumped back and put up fists. “Yeah. That’s right. Come on.”
“We need to get his ass up to the ditch,” Barr said. “He’s losing his mind.”
“He’s about to lose his fucking life,” I yelled.
“Yeah, keep talking like that,” Kip said.
“Speaking of the ditch,” Barr said.
I looked at him. “What?”
“Well… might have some cash to throw around up there.”
“Meaning?” I asked.
“I don’t like it,” Kip said.
“Like what?”
“BC,” Barr said.
“You pulled me out of bed with Tinsley for that?” I asked.
“They want a meeting,” Kip said. “To talk about the money they took.”
The money they took from Tinsley. The money me, Barr, and Kip had been playfully throwing
around as a bet to see who could get to Tinsley first. Money that had been out of my mind because it
wasn’t just about getting Tinsley into bed.
She had gotten to our hearts.
And I had gotten to hers for good.
“I think it’s something else,” Kip said.
“I do too,” Barr said. “But maybe still worth a shot?”
“To talk to those assholes about money,” I said. “Ignore them.”
“Yeah?” Barr asked.
“Why not?” I asked. “What do we care about them? If they’re reaching out it’s a desperate move.
Fuck them.”
“Wow,” Kip said.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re as soft as butter in the sun.”
“Fuck you,” I said.
“Kip, let it go,” Barr said. “Pres is right. We’d be walking into something stupid. Take a break
from the outside fights.” He walked to Kip and put an arm around him. “I promise, we’ll get the ditch
jam packed for you really soon.”
“Yeah, sure,” Kip said.
We eyed each other.
“Don’t go looking for trouble,” I said. “BC is Barr’s call anyway.”
“I only brought it up because of what they did to our girl,” Barr said.
“Hey,” Kip said to Barr. “If she’s our girl…”
“If he finishes that sentence I will kill him,” I said to Barr.
“Come on,” Barr said, pushing Kip. “Let’s get you out of here. You’re all fired up tonight.”
“I’m just fucking around, bro,” Kip said to me. “Go enjoy your night. Lock the door!”
Barr looked back at me and shook his head.
They left the guesthouse and I locked the door.
I went back into the bedroom and locked that door too.
Tinsley was on her knees on the bed.
 “Everything okay?” she asked.
I looked next to her and saw her panties on the bed.
That meant there was nothing but the hoodie keeping me from her.
I stepped up to the bed and reached for the hoodie.
I slowly peeled it up over Tinsley’s head.
“Yeah, sugar, everything is fucking perfect…”

T he heavy door closed behind me and the echo was the reminder that I was making a big mistake.
Too much fucking pride and I fucking knew it.
Yet there I was…
Tinsley was back home sleeping.
Three in the morning.
We had only called it quits an hour ago.
My tongue laced with her sweet body.
My mind full of fresh memories.
Yet it was one text to my phone that kept me up.
Ur going 2 miss him
From Cole. To Tinsley.
Part of BC.
I should have called Barr and Kip.
But this was personal.
They were trying to get to me by getting to Tinsley.
If they got her rattled she would worry. I loved her with all my heart, but I didn’t need her
worrying and making side deals, or quick decisions when it came to these assholes.
Plus, they had already went after her once.
That situation could have been much worse. And it wasn’t exactly settled in my mind yet either.
Which was another reason I stood there, waiting to see if Cole was actually going to show up.
I replied to his text on Tinsley’s phone, wanting to know where he was so we could talk.
It was some hollowed out warehouse.
I wasn’t going to say a word and give it away that I wasn’t Tinsley.
Even though I smelled like her at the moment.
Her sweaty hair… the smell of her shampoo… perfume… her skin…
I heard a whistle to my right and turned my head to see Ado coming for me.
“Shit,” I whispered.
I turned and was ready for a fight.
Until someone grabbed my shoulder and turned me around.
“Surprise, fucker,” Bain said right before he clocked me in the mouth.
Ado jumped on my back and I stood no chance to even get a single punch in.
I gritted my teeth and tasted blood as Bain and Ado each had one of my arms.
I pulled and twisted, but each time I did they punched or kicked me.
When I was down on one knee, I heard someone laughing.
That’s when Cole finally showed himself.
 Clapping. Grinning.
Knowing he had set me up.
I had taken the fucking bait.
All because of some stupid shit Kip said to me about being soft.
“Are you proposing to me?” Cole asked. “Because if you wanted to beg me, you’d have to get on
both knees.”
“I’ll leave that to these guys,” I said. “I’m sure you’d prefer them on their knees in front of you.”
Bain smashed the back of his hand to my head.
There were more than stars for a few seconds.
“Hold on there,” Cole said. “Don’t kill him. This is going to be fun. Stand him up.”
Bain and Ado wrested to get me to my feet.
Cole stared at me with pure hatred in his eyes.
Fucking BC.
“Can’t believe you came alone,” he said. “I almost feel bad for you.”
“I feel bad for you,” I said. “Three on one. That’s weak.”
“Three on one,” Cole said. “Pres. Barr. Kip.” Then he sighed. “One… Tinsley Ditkiss…”
I made a move at him but Bain and Ado held me back.
“See?” Cole asked. “Three on one isn’t so bad.”
“Wait a second,” Bain said. “Three on one… Cole, Ado, and Bain.”
“Tinsley Ditkiss,” Ado said, blowing a breath at my ear.
“I’ll fucking kill you,” I said.
“No, you won’t,” Cole said.
“Do the others know about this?” I asked. “No way you got the others to go along with whatever
this is.”
“So you’re quick to snitch,” Bain said.
“Don’t worry about that,” Cole said. “I want to show you something.”
Cole had a cellphone in his hand and hit the screen a few times.
He turned it around and showed me a video.
Of Tinsley.
On the beach.
Running, alone, on the beach.
The video zoomed in on her face. Then it zoomed out. Then it zoomed in again, this time to her
chest as it slowly danced up and down. It zoomed out again.
This time when I moved, I moved hard and fast.
I broke out of Ado’s hold and swung, hitting Cole in the face.
He dropped the phone.
Bain punched me in the gut.
Ado punched me in the face.
Cole added one last punch.
I stood my ground though, even as Ado grabbed my arm again.
“It’s okay,” Cole called out. “That’s what we want, boys. Shows character. Strength. And love.”
“Oh, I’d love a piece of Tinsley Ditkiss,” Bain said.
“That ass,” Cole said. “Right?”
Cole was the ringleader who set up Tinsley before. And he made a comment about her ass. I was
going to break his jaw and make it so he couldn’t talk for a little while.
 “This is where you ask me what I want,” Cole said.
“Fuck yourself,” I said.
“Okay. So I’ll tell you what I want. Claire.”
I laughed. “Claire?”
“You heard him,” Ado said.
“She’s a little old for you, right?” I asked. “Plus, my father is fucking her.”
Cole grinned. “Jokes, huh? I’m going to make it simple, Pres. We need to make sure Claire stays
out of our business. And out of our fucking way. And if that means something drastic has to happen…
then it will. But you’re going to help us.”
“Tell him what happens if he doesn’t help,” Bain said.
“Do I really have to?” Cole asked.
“No,” I said.
“I’m going to tell you anyway,” Cole said. He picked his phone up off the concrete floor. “That
video… well… there’s more. We’ve been watching her. Tinsley Ditkiss. So fucking beautiful. And
we know how much she likes bad boys. And since we’re the baddest…”
I swallowed hard.
I had to swallow the anger.
I couldn’t pour anymore gasoline on this fire.
“There is no response needed,” Cole said.
He snapped his fingers.
Bain and Ado unleashed on me.
Throwing punches faster than I could absorb them. Dropping me to my knees.
When they let my arms go, I tried to fight back.
But I fucked up.
I fucked up really good.
“Okay, we’re good,” Cole said.
I took a breath and looked him in the eyes.
He grinned. “Does this count as breaking the Rulz?”
I spit a chunk of blood at his shoe.
He stepped forward and twisted his toe into it.
They all walked away, disappearing into the faded darkness of the empty warehouse.
I stayed there on my knees, breathing heavily.
I nodded.
Looks like the war for Tinsley isn’t over just yet.
 Chapter 5

K ip danced around the middle of the ditch, blood on his mouth, sweaty, but he was smiling.
Having the time of his life. Getting the relief he needed.
Which was good to see.
How he and Maverick ended up at each other was beyond me, but it was a hell of a fight.
Maverick was quick, an ode to his skills on the football field.
Now, throwing punches at Kip probably wasn’t the smartest move since Maverick needed his
hands to catch passes from Brando. But I wasn’t the goddamn football coach, so I didn’t care all that
much.
They walked around each other a few times, talking shit to each other.
Anything said and done in the ditch was meant to be left there.
Of course, we were the Rulz which meant the rules of the ditch didn’t apply to us.
So Maverick throwing verbal shots at Kip would come back and haunt him soon enough.
My fingers were interlocked tight with Tinsley’s. She was used to the fights. Just proved how
much she belonged at BFH. Her body was against mine and nothing in the world could feel so right.
I had thrown what happened with BC to Barr and Kip. They were sworn to secrecy to keep it
from Tinsley until I worked through it all in my head. Cole was running rogue from his crew.
Normally that wouldn’t bother me but the video of Tinsley did. It was more than likely a weak threat.
A way for them to push at me and try to get me off balance. Thinking Tinsley was a weak spot, which
wasn’t true at all.
Kip threw a right hook and caught Maverick in the cheek.
Everyone cheered.
Maverick jumped at Kip, almost damn hugging him.
That meant Maverick was out of gas.
Kip shoved him away and Maverick kept his arms at his sides. Not even trying to defend himself.
Kip lifted a fist and Maverick dropped down to his ass.
He hit the ground hard and went back to his elbows. Looking up, taking deep breaths.
Kip stepped toward him and Barr walked out, whistling.
“That’s it,” I said to Tinsley.
“Good for Kip,” she said. “He won.”
“He always wins.”
“True,” she said.
“We should get out of here,” I said to her. “Find something else to do.”
 “What? Leave the fights? You never leave the fights, Pres.”
“I’m over it, sugar. I want to get you home. Alone. Give you a better reason to scream and cheer.”
She smiled. “I was yelling Kip’s name though… that could get awkward.”
“Oh, you’re bold,” I whispered. “I might take you into the ditch.”
“Please,” Tinsley said. “I’d kick your ass in ten seconds.”
“I’d let you. Just to get you on top of me.”
“See… it always goes back to that.”
“I don’t hear you complaining, sugar,” I said.
Brando helped Maverick to his feet.
Maverick nodded to Kip as a sign of respect.
Barr lifted Kip’s arm and everyone clapped for him.
Then Kip ripped his arm free and walked toward Maverick.
“Fuck,” I said.
“What’s happening, Pres?”
“Maverick’s going to learn a hard lesson.”
Kip grabbed Maverick’s shoulder and spun him around. A second later, Kip slammed one more
fist to Maverick’s jaw, sending him to the ground. He was out cold.
The crowd gasped.
Brando moved toward Kip but Barr was there. He grabbed Brando’s shirt and shoved him back.
Barr pointed and gave a stern warning of what would happen if Brando came forward again.
“Can’t talk shit to us,” I said to Tinsley. “Fights or not. We don’t tolerate it.”
“Wow,” Tinsley said. “You really do make up your own rules, huh?”
“Come on, let’s go check on Kip,” I said.
We pushed through the crowd as Kip came over.
Barr made sure Brando got Maverick out of the ditch.
“Had to,” Kip said as he wiped his face with one of his white shirts.
“I know,” I said.
“What did he say to you?” Barr asked.
“That Pres stole my girl,” Kip said.
“Oh, I’ll go wake his ass up and knock him out again,” I said.
“Let him go,” Tinsley said. “Lesson learned.”
The three of us stared at her.
It was strange the way she could speak and we’d listen. Almost like a lion tamer. This beautiful
girl moving around a cage with three pissed off lions, and she was able to crack her whip and keep
things in line.
“Yes, boss,” Barr said.
“Fuck,” Kip said. “I need a drink. Wasn’t sure how that one was going to turn out.”
“Who’s next?” I asked. “We’re thinking about heading out.”
“What’s that about head?” Barr asked.
He looked at Tinsley and winked.
I punched his shoulder. “Hey.”
“Please,” Tinsley said. “Let him dream all he wants. He’ll never know how good it is.”
“How good is it?” Kip asked.
I curled my lip at him.
“Ten seconds and done,” Tinsley said.
 I looked at her. “What?”
“Oh, that is good,” Barr said.
“I’m going to break some jaws soon,” I warned. “And I’m not fucking kidding.”
“Come on,” Tinsley said. “It’s a joke. You have to laugh at it, Pres. It wasn’t all that long ago the
three of you were okay with being with me. Did you forget that?”
“These guys?” I asked. “Never. There was no chance at all. You were always mine. From the
second I saw you.”
“Then why are my lips stained with her desire?” Barr asked.
Kip laughed and grabbed Barr’s shoulder. “Before you keep talking, let me go throw some cash
down on you and Pres fighting.”
Barr started to laugh too.
I wasn’t in the mood to laugh at all.
Even when Tinsley dug her fingers into my ribs, trying to tickle me.
I just looked at her and winked.
“Pres! You fucking pussy! Get out here!”
The voice boomed over everyone else’s.
I turned my head.
“Fuck,” Tinsley said.
Someone was going to die tonight.

I stood at the edge of the ditch and saw Malcolm standing in the middle with his arms open.
“This guy?” Kip asked.
“What the hell is this?” I asked. “Did you two set this up?”
“That’s the guy you beat up for bumping into me that night at the beach,” Tinsley said.
“Yeah, I know who he is,” I said.
“Let’s go, asshole!” Malcolm yelled at me.
He waved his middle fingers at me.
“I think he’s drunk,” Barr said.
That statement was proven true when Malcolm tried to take a step and stumbled.
“Get him out of here,” I yelled. “Now. Someone get him out of here.”
“Too fucking afraid, man?” Malcolm yelled. “You stupid pussy.”
I gritted my teeth and stepped forward.
Tinsley pulled at me. “Pres…”
“I’ll get him,” Barr said.
He walked into the ditch but Malcolm wasn’t having it. He jumped back and cleared his throat
and then spit at Barr.
Nothing actually came out other than some dribble down his chin.
“Get out of here,” Barr said. “You’re drunk. You fucking moron. You want to get your ass killed?”
“He won’t do shit,” Malcolm yelled. “Weak. Fucking. Pussy. Motherfucker.”
“I’ll go knock him out,” Kip said.
“Wait,” I said.
Barr turned his head and looked at me.
 “Don’t look at each other,” Malcolm yelled. “Don’t be fucking weak, Pres. Let’s do it. Let’s
fucking do it.”
I looked at Tinsley.
She sighed. “Dammit.”
“Sorry, sugar.”
I stepped into the ditch.
I felt the tension of everyone as they waited to see what I was going to do.
“Pres…” Barr said, but stopped when I looked at him. “Okay. Have at it.”
I approached Malcolm.
He kept stepping back as I got closer.
“You’re fucking weak and stupid,” he yelled at me.
I kept my pace slow. I didn’t make a fist. I didn’t lift a fist. I just slowly walked toward him.
“You think you’re tough,” he said. “Fuck you. Fuck your girl too.”
He laughed.
The ditch was in complete silence.
Malcolm stepped back and bumped into someone. He jumped, turned, realized it wasn’t Barr or
Kip, and then turned back at me.
That’s when I had a fist ready for his face.
I hit him so hard he flew into the crowd. They threw him right back at me. I grabbed him by the
shirt and lifted him off his feet.
“Please, god, no,” he muttered, already crying.
I tossed him to the side and he stumbled into more people.
They did the right thing again by throwing him back to me.
I punched him again and took him down.
But I wasn’t done.
I dropped to one knee and made sure that when Malcolm woke up tomorrow, he’d realize the pain
in his head and face wasn’t from drinking too much.
It also didn’t help that I was thinking about Cole too.
BC.
Their bullshit.
The video of Tinsley.
That they wanted something from Claire.
I brought my right fist back again and someone stopped me.
It was Kip.
“We’re good,” he said to me.
I came out of my daze and stood up.
Everyone watching was in shock.
I flexed my fist and showed it to everyone.
A clear and silent message.
Once again… do not fuck with the Rulz.
I walked out of the ditch and went to find Tinsley.
She was with Barr way over at the top. She didn’t want to see what I had done.
The fire inside me was burning hot.
Really fucking hot.
I walked toward her and she was hugging herself.
 “Feel better?” she asked.
I picked up just a little bit of a cocky tone.
With the hand I had used to silence Malcolm, I touched her chin.
“No, sugar, I don’t feel better,” I said.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re in danger, Tinsley…”

“TWehishadwasTinsley
not the way we wanted to do this, love,” Barr said.
surrounded as she listened.
She looked in shock and ready to cry. But she kept her composure.
Down in the ditch there were cheers from the current fight.
“They’re full of shit,” Kip said. “Especially if Cole is acting alone.”
“He’s not alone,” she said.
“But it’s not BC,” Barr said. “If they find out, they’ll take them out.”
“But we can’t say anything,” I said. “Not that I would anyway. We take problems on. Face them.
Solve them.”
“At my expense?” Tinsley asked.
“No, sugar,” I said. “We’re going to protect you.”
“They recorded me,” she said.
“That will get avenged, girl,” Kip said.
“Until then, we will be careful,” I said. “They gave it all away. They thought they tricked me…”
“They did,” Barr said.
“Fuck off,” I snapped. “They spilled everything to me. Coming into this town? Wanting to take us
on? Without the approval of BC?”
“You have it all figured out, huh?” Tinsley asked. “Yet I’m the one who is the target. Again.
Remember that, Pres?”
“You’re safe here,” Kip said.
“I’m not safe anywhere,” she said.
She turned and I went for her.
When I touched her arm, she turned and pushed at my chest.
“Feel better?” I asked with the same cocky tone she had given me.
“No,” she said.
I touched her arms. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. They’re doing something wrong. And
whatever Claire’s purpose is, it’s in their way. They think they can push at her through you. It won’t
work.”
“That’s why you went to town on Malcolm?”
“Maybe.”
“You’re worried.”
“I’m pissed,” I said.
“What’s your plan, Pres?”
“The same thing as always. To keep you safe. And in my arms.”
She shook her head. “Why do I trust you?”
 “Because I’m always right,” I said. “And you have me, Barr, and Kip. I wanted to talk to you later
about it.”
“You’ve known for how long…”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “It hasn’t been that long either. I’m running it through my head.”
“I can’t take any more of this, Pres. Every time I think it’s going to calm…”
“It’s going to calm,” I said. “I promise. I-”
“Shit, Pres!” Barr yelled.
I looked back and then heard people yelling.
A second later, people were everywhere.
Running for their lives.
“Shit, we’ve got cops,” Kip said. “We have to get out of here.”
“Cops?” I asked. “Since when do the fucking cops care about up here?”
“Calm, huh?” Tinsley asked.
I pulled her close and kissed her.
I started to make out with her too.
She pushed away. “What are you doing?”
“Go with Barr and Kip.”
“What?”
“Go. Now.”
“What are you doing, Pres?” Kip asked.
“Saving everyone’s ass for the moment,” I said. “Keep her safe.”
“No worries,” Kip said.
“Pres!” Tinsley yelled.
While everyone ran away from the sound of the police sirens I was going right toward them.
They better have something stronger than cuffs to hold me back.
 Chapter 6

I thought maybe a movie star was going to climb out of the back of the car.
I mean, it was a fair thought.
Judging by the way the car had a police escort.
Two black SUVs in front of it.
The police didn’t seem bothered that I was actually there though. Two officers stood with their
hands on their weapons, their other hands outstretched at me as though they had magical powers to
keep me away.
So I stood there, respectful, truthfully just wanting to know what the hell was going on. There
were plenty of wrong doings up at the ditch. Shit that could get a lot us into serious trouble, but that
wasn’t the point. Anything we did at the ditch was our business. Things rarely went too far. It was all
our way of burning off some steam. Living in this world of money and perfection, not to mention all of
us knowing that our parents weren’t the people they claimed to be… that took a toll. And the thing
was, it wasn’t even about secrets. It was about the shit standing there in plain sight that never made
sense until now.
The driver of the car raced around the back door and opened it.
My father stepped out of the car.
Now my fullest attention was on the scene.
The first thing I thought… Mom’s dead.
My heart sank a few inches as I swallowed hard.
I debated with myself as to why the escort if Mom was dead, but knowing the way my father was,
it wouldn’t have surprised me. He was waiting for it to happen so he could play the victim. He could
be the mourning widower and use it to his advantage.
My hands curled up into fists.
My father approached slowly, his shoes way too fancy to be walking on dirt, sticks and leaves.
“Jerry, come here,” he said as he curled his finger over and over.
Jerry…
One of the top cops in town.
A big wig.
Shorter than my father. Much rounder. The kind of guy that probably dreamed of being a cop and
made it happen, but somehow stepped into the shit pile called my father.
“You have your men ready to attack my son,” my father said. “I mean, was there a crime up here?”
“Trespassing,” Jerry said. “I mean, you know, technically. Plus, we never know what we’re
walking into. There’ve been stories about up here…”
My father slipped his hands into his pockets.
He was dressed like he was heading to a boardroom.
And his eyes were the kind of evil where he would take pride in shutting a company down to
watch employees suffer without paychecks.
Which was the kind of shit he did my entire life.
And in some sick way, my mother tried to balance that out.
“My son is up here doing the same thing as me,” my father said. “Smart kid. I mean, smart man.
He’s a man now, Jerry. Did you know that? Can’t believe how fast time flies right by.”
I didn’t say a word.
I just stood and stared.
All I cared about right then was that Barr and Kip had Tinsley far away from this scene. I needed
her safe.
“In other words, give us some fucking room, Jerry,” my father barked.
Jerry gave a hand signal and all of the officers went back to their vehicles.
My father then began his walk toward me again.
“I just want to know two things, Preston,” he said.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Are you drunk? And… are you high?”
“No,” I said. “To both.”
“I believe you, Preston,” he said. “I mean, we have to trust each other, right? Father and son.
Parent and child. And even beyond that. Two adults. Right? That’s the big thing for you now. You’re
an adult. You know…” my father laughed. “You know, I remember when you were three. And all you
wanted was for your mother and I to call you a big boy. That was the thing then. You wanted to be a
big boy so badly.”
My lip curled.
I wasn’t going to fall into his family memory trap.
Because I had the real memories.
Not the cut up ones he had. The ones where he could take a few years and piece it together into
one decent memory to tell everyone. So he looked good. So we looked like a happy family.
“What do you want?” I asked. “You found me. Good for you. Is Mom dead?”
“Well, well,” my father said. “That’s harsh.”
“What? It’s not like you care.”
“It’s not like I care,” he said. “Why don’t we take a walk for a second, Preston? Have a little
father and son time? A walk through the woods.”
I looked at Jerry. The police cruisers. The black vehicles.
I wasn’t sure I had a choice in the matter.
And that was one thing I didn’t like…
If you tried to put me in a corner, I was going to attack to get out.

H e walked right to the top of the ditch.

He grabbed the pole of one of the tiki torches and gently shook it, testing to see how well it
was placed into the ground.
“My grandfather used to take me hunting,” my father said. “I hated it. Seemed so pointless. Walk
through the woods or sit all day waiting for a defenseless animal to stumble across your path. And
then you kill it.”
“That sort of seems like something you’d enjoy,” I said.
My father laughed. “Come on, Preston. I’d rather go face to face. If I’m going to kill something…
I’m going to look it in its eyes…”
That’s when he turned and faced me.
My father was about the same height. And he was about the same build. A handsome businessman
with a ruthless record. Then again, what would you expect from a man whose wife was dying of ALS
while he was traveling the world, fucking other women?
When I looked into his eyes, I thought about Claire.
The fact that he was sleeping with her. The fact that she was sleeping with him. Knowing what
was happening at home. Claire was just as ruthless. Whether it made her feel strong, powerful,
whatever… it was a shot against my mother. A woman who could not defend herself.
I thought about what happened with Cole.
He wanted to go after Claire so bad…
I grinned.
“Are you facing me to kill me?” I asked.
“My own son?” my father asked. He gently patted my cheek. “I’m not going to kill you. If there’s
too much death around you, you look cursed. But a little death is good.”
“Like the death of your wife?”
“Exactly. See, you get it.”
“And that works for you,” I said. “The sad and secretly lonely man who has been dealing with a
dying wife… it’s like you beg for them to fuck you.”
My father smiled. “You and I, Preston. If you didn’t have so much of your mother’s hippie
heart…” He shook his head. “She was so beautiful. And I had her for so long. But, that’s not why I’m
here.”
“I’m still waiting for you to tell me why you’re here.”
“This place fascinates me. What do you do down here?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Ah, come on,” my father said. “Let’s check it out.”
He walked down into the ditch.
When he got to the middle of it he took off his suit jacket and placed it on the ground. Then he
rolled up his white sleeves. He slowly turned, taking it all in.
I walked down into the ditch.
“Amazing here,” he said. “I can feel the energy. What you do here. It’s pretty obvious, Preston.
And that’s okay. I just hope you can enjoy it before I fill it in and finish the land off.”
“What?” I asked.
My father looked dumbfounded. “What do you think I’m here for?”
“I don’t… know…”
He grinned.
I shook my head. “No.”
My father pointed at me. “There’s a lesson in life you need to learn, son. A really hard lesson. So
my advice is to listen really fucking close right about now.”
 He put a hand to my shoulder.
He squeezed.
I stared.
“When you get what you want… or you get too much at once… you lose focus, son. Everyone
claws to get to the top. Then they get there, they look around, and they smile. Or laugh. Or celebrate.
And the second they take their focus off of it, someone is there to take them down.”
“And your point?”
“I’m not a fool, Preston. And I’m not mad at you for it. I know why she did what she did. Her way
of protecting herself and her son. You were always her baby. I wanted to have a big family, Preston. I
wanted a bunch of kids. Boys. Girls. Take big vacations. Go sailing as a family. But your mother
wanted one perfect precious baby boy. And she got it. That was it. She wanted you as her little surfer
baby and all that shit. I guess I’m starting to ramble, huh? Point is… I know everything. You’re her
prince. And the prince gets everything. So it’s only fair I get something out of it too.”
“And what is it that you want out of it?” I asked.
“I mean, I have to take care of myself. I’ve given everything to my family. That’s the part you
won’t see, Preston. The part you refuse to see.”
I shook my father’s hand away. “If you have a point, make it. I have somewhere to be.”
“Exactly. What’s the name of thebeautiful young woman that’s living with Claire. T… Tanya…
Tess…”
“Tinsley.”
“Tinsley,” my father said, snapping his fingers. “Tinsley. That’s right. This tragic story of a young
woman. Her mother messed up on drugs. Almost dying. Then Claire swooping in and sending her
mother to a fancy rehab center. Taking Tinsley in. And leave it to my son to take to her. That’s your
mother’s heart right there at work.”
I felt my lip starting to curl.
My fists were balled up even tighter.
“Calm down a second, Preston,” my father said. “I’m not here to talk about Tinsley. I’m here to
talk about you being distracted. Taking your eyes off the prize for a second. To teach you a lesson.”
“I’m still listening.”
“Good. Because I need you to walk away. Now.”
“Now?”
“You’re trespassing.”
I laughed. “Excuse me?”
“That’s why I brought Jerry. To make sure this doesn’t go the wrong way, Preston.”
“What would go…”
“And my investors are here,” my father said. “So last thing I need is some father and son
squabble. I bought this land, Preston. I own it. I’m going to tear everything down. Fill in this little
hole of yours. I’m going to put up some condos. Townhouses. Rentals. Not sure yet. But I am looking
forward to watching it all happen.”
“You bought the land,” I said.
“That’s right,” he said. “And if I find anyone up here ever again, I will press charges. To the
fullest extent of the law. As a reminder too, son, I own Jerry. What I say to him, happens. This is what
happens when you get what you want and you lose focus. You’re too busy watching your mother die
and falling in love with Tinsley. Damn shame too. Women aren’t meant to be obsessed over. They’re
more like items. They serve a purpose. Then they can be placed on a shelf.”
 I didn’t respond.
He was trying to get me pissed.
I was already pissed.
But I knew how to swallow it down.
“Lesson learned, son,” my father said. “Never take your eyes off what you want. Ever.”
I slowly nodded. “So you bought the land. You did all that to prove a point to me.”
“Shows how much I care,” he said and he started to laugh.
He backed away, slipping his hands into his pockets again.
His suit jacket on the ground.
Sleeves rolled up.
He looked evil.
He was evil.
And I was a part of him.
I came from him.
“You can try and pretend this isn’t eating you alive right now, Preston,” he said. “But I win. I
always fucking win.”
“Enjoy it,” I said. “Hope you don’t take your eyes off the prize for a second either.”
I turned and started to walk out of the ditch.
“Hey, son,” my father called out.
I looked back. “What?”
My father grinned. “Maybe you could do something to distract me…”

I opened the door to the guesthouse and Tinsley was sitting on the kitchen counter.
Her feet dangled off the edge.
Barr on her left.
Kip on her right.
A clear glass with amber liquid in it.
The second she looked at me, she dropped the glass, jumped off the counter, and ran to me.
“Shit,” Barr said. “That’s expensive whiskey, love.”
The glass shattered as she dove into my arms.
I hugged her tight, breathing her in.
“Pres… what was that…”
“Shh,” I whispered. “It’s okay. Nothing happened.”
I put her on her feet and kissed her.
She tasted like the truth. Whatever that meant.
What I knew was that kissing Tinsley and being near her… that was the only reality that mattered.
Barr cleaned up the broken glass and the whiskey.
“You should wring the towel out,” Kip said.
“And drink pieces of glass?” Barr asked.
“It’d make you a man,” Kip said.
“A stupid man,” I said.
Tinsley had her hands locked tight to my shirt.
 “Care to fill us in?” Barr asked.
“You’re not going to believe it,” I said.
“Try me,” Kip said. “That was hectic. Everyone is a little spooked about the ditch now.”
“We look weak,” Barr said.
“We can fix that,” I said.
“How do you fix that?” Tinsley asked.
I looked down at her. “Do you really want to know?”
She sighed. “You’re going to beat someone up, aren’t you?”
“Only someone who deserves it, girl,” Kip said.
“And who deserves it?” she asked.
Her heart would forever try to find the good. And I loved her for that. Tinsley Ditkiss, the
daughter of a junkie who just wanted everyone to get along.
“There’s always someone who deserves it, love,” Barr said.
“Tonight was for show,” I said. “My father.”
“Your father?” Kip asked.
“Will was there?” Tinsley asked.
“He bought the land,” I said. “He showed up to prove a point to me. To try to look tough. He
knows what my mother did. He knows there’s nothing he could do to stop what’s happening. His way
of laughing at me. At us. I don’t really give a shit what he does with the land. Or the ditch.”
“Except making us look weak,” Barr said.
“Which I said we will fix,” I said.
“Why the cops then?” Kip asked.
“For effect,” I said. “Once he told me his plan, he had the police show me the way out of there.
And if anyone goes near it again, they’ll be arrested and charged.”
Kip shook his head. “Fuck.”
“A push for power,” Barr said.
“We will handle it,” I said. “Nobody got arrested tonight. Everything was for show.”
“And now what?” Kip asked.
“Now you two leave.”
“Right,” Barr said. He looked at Tinsley and winked.
“Out,” I ordered.
“So if I go up to the ditch right now I’ll get arrested?” Kip asked.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I said.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Barr said.
“Fuck that,” Kip said. “Fuck your old man. He thinks he’s going to do this to us?”
“Kip,” I growled.
“Hey,” Tinsley said. She broke away from me and touched Kip’s arm. “I know what that place
means to you. That’s probably where you went to relieve anger after…”
Kip nodded.
It made sense.
The girl Kip loved died. And all he knew was to fight. To let that anger out.
The ditch was like a second home to him.
“Just don’t do anything stupid,” Tinsley said to him. “Please. There’s so much happening right
now. I’m scared.”
“Don’t be scared, girl,” Kip said. “Ever.”
 “We’ve got your back,” Barr said.
“And I’ve got your ass, sugar,” I said.
Tinsley looked at me and rolled her eyes.
I walked Barr and Kip to the door and they left.
When I shut the door I made a fist and put it against the door.
I lowered my head.
Tinsley touched my back. “Pres…”
“I’m here,” I whispered.
“I’m sorry. Doesn’t matter if you get along with him or not, it’s still family.”
“It’s not just that, sugar,” I said.
I turned and Tinsley reached for my face. “What is it then?”
“Before I left, he made me an offer.”
“An offer?”
“Yeah.”
“What kind of offer?”
I touched Tinsley’s wrists and pulled them from my face. I scooped her up and kissed her. Making
out like two idiots at the front door of the guesthouse. But it was the only way I could wash away the
night.
“What happened?” she whispered to me in between kisses. “Because whatever it was, you didn’t
tell Barr or Kip.”
I nodded. “You’re too smart for your own good, sugar.”
“Pres…”
I laughed.
I stole one more kiss.
Then I told her my father’s offer.
“He wants me to fight him.”
 Chapter 7

I slipped my hands around Tinsley’s waist and pulled her close to me.

Mine.
Simple.
Defining.

Gi and Iris looked at me. They both swallowed hard at the same time. They were both terrified of
me. Of Barr. Of Kip. Of the Rulz. And that was how things were meant to be. And I didn’t mind
whatever Tinsley told her best friends about me. About us. The only truth they knew was the truth they
saw.
“Don’t mind me, sugar,” I whispered. “Keep gossiping.”
“We’re not gossiping,” Tinsley said. She elbowed me. “We’re talking.”
“Right,” I said.
“There’s a small issue with Vicky,” Tinsley said.
I curled my lip. “What now?”
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Gi blurted out.
“You sure about that?” I asked her.
Gi’s face turned a bright shade of red.
Iris slipped her hand into Gi’s hand.
I laughed.
I broke away from Tinsley and slammed my shoulder against the lockers and stared at both Gi and
Iris.
“Does it have anything to do with Tinsley?” I asked them.
“No,” Iris said.
“Not at all,” Tinsley said. “If it did, I would take those bitches down.”
I grinned at Tinsley.
I looked back to Gi and Iris. “Who are they bothering?”
Iris nodded to Gi.
Gi turned red again.
“So why don’t you take those bitches down?” I asked Gi.
“I’ll get there,” Gi said.
“No, you won’t.”
“Pres,” Tinsley said.
“No,” I said. I pushed away from the locker and towered over Gi and Iris. “You won’t get there.
But I can get you there. I can send those two running for their lives. Is that what you want? Want Vicky
in a corner, pissing herself, scared? I can make that happen. But you need to do it yourself.”
Gi nodded. “It’s…”
“We have a plan,” Iris said. “No offense, but we were talking without you here.”
“Nice attitude,” I said. “Feeling tough now around Tinsley?”
“Pres, what the hell are you doing?” Tinsley asked me. She grabbed my arm.
I didn’t back away though.
Iris was fighting hard to stand up to me. But she knew the reality of the Rulz.
Gi, on the other hand, looked ready to cry.
“What did she do?” I asked.
“Found out something about me,” Gi said. “Stupid thing I did at a party a long time ago. But
something embarrassing.”
“You have two choices then,” I said. “Get ahead of it by owning it. Make it yours. Change the
story. Turn it into something boring. No matter what it is.”
“You don’t get it…”
“Don’t cut me off,” I said to Gi. Her eyes went wider. “I’m not done yet. You get ahead of it. Or
you do something to top it. Something crazier. To show everyone how fucking wild you are. And
when that happens, she’ll realize she’s fucked up. Then you make your move. Shut her up.”
“I told her that,” Iris said. “To own it.”
“And what are you going to own, Iris?” I asked with a grin.
“Hey,” Tinsley growled as she shoved my shoulder. “I’m standing right here. Whatever stories
you have…”
I backed away and showed my hands. “Just curious. That’s all. I’m used to seeing Gi hiding in a
corner, damn near in tears. And I’m not used to seeing Iris with her shirt on.”
“Fuck you, Pres,” Tinsley said.
She tried to step away but I grabbed her hand. “All for fun, sugar. Right? We’re just talking.
Chatting. Gossiping.”
“We better get going,” Iris said.
“Yeah, you should,” I said. “But not Tinsley.”
“Oh, really?” she asked me.
“I’m going to go own it,” Gi said. “It was a stupid dare at a party. I had too much to drink. And
you know what? There wasn’t anyone else there worth going near. So I took matters into my own
hands. That’s not on me. That’s on the pencil dick losers at BFH. If someone wants to try me, they can
find me.”
“You sure about that?” Tinsley asked Gi.
“And if that bitch puts a cucumber in my locker again,” Gi said with a smile, “I’m going to make a
salad with it. Then jam the fucking fork into her hand so hard, next time she goes to give some pencil
dick loser a hand-job, she’ll see the scars.”
“Now you’re talking,” I said. “You’re welcome. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to steal my girl
away for a little surprise.”
Gi and Iris looked to Tinsley.
She nodded. “Go. I’ll catch up with you later.”
They walked away shoulder to shoulder, lost in conversation.
Tinsley slammed her hands to my chest. “What the fuck, Pres?”
“No… it’s pronounced you’re welcome…”
 “No. If Gi actually does that…”
“So what? She needs to stand up for herself. I know exactly the rumor. I was at that party when it
happened.”
“Did you see…” Tinsley shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
“I didn’t see anything,” I said. I touched her chin. “Does it really matter?”
“Gi said all the guys there have a pencil dick.”
“Well, Gi’s a liar,” I whispered. “Obviously.”
“Obviously,” Tinsley said as her cheeks turned a shade of pink. She then quickly changed the
subject of me by asking, “So what’s this surprise?”
“We’re bailing on class to do something crazy.”
“Is this the kind of crazy I like?”
“You’re the kind of crazy I love, sugar.”
“Yeah, I know, Pres. And that’s crazy in itself. That I actually know you love me.
I brushed my lips to hers. “Just trust me.”
Tinsley laughed. “The fact that I do trust you, Pres, makes all of this even more crazy…”

I felt her digging at my sides, wanting me to pull over.

I had a good pace going, testing to see how fast I could go on my ride before she got nervous.
The first few times I took her for a ride, she would get nervous too easily. But she eased into it.
Trusting me more and more. And I think it helped that as I took the same roads, she knew what to
expect.
Every single road, turn, bend, I had it all memorized.
I slowed and pulled to the side of the road.
I already knew what Tinsley wanted to do.
Well, what she wanted to see.
I killed the engine on my ride and watched her hurry off the motorcycle and raced to the guardrail.
She loved looking down the cliffs to the ocean. Where the waves were impossible to get to because
they smacked right against the jagged and deadly rocks.
The view was perfect.
And I wasn’t talking about the ocean either.
Watching her marvel over the ocean made me shake my head.
There was no silencing my mind.
The racing thoughts about BC and Claire. Or the fact that my father bought some land just to be a
prick to me. Or that he offered me to fight him for the land. That meant he went through all that trouble
to get investors to want in on a project for the land only to have him say if I beat the hell out of him
right there in the ditch he would give up the land.
But watching Tinsley… damn, that made it all worth it.
“We have to go, sugar,” I called out.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said.
She turned and her hair danced all around her.
She strutted back to the motorcycle and pointed down the road.
I looked back and saw the black SUV.
 Barr and Kip were following us.
Just in case.
I wasn’t a fan of it but I understood it.
“You don’t like your escort?” I asked her.
“Are we in danger, Pres?”
“No,” I said. “Get back on.”
A car came around the bend, speeding. It slowed as it approached me and I stood up to block
Tinsley.
Just in case.
I recognized the car but it didn’t stop.
I watched the car disappear around another bend and I shook my head.
“Who was that?” Tinsley asked.
“Just Elijah,” I said.
“Up here?”
“You don’t want to know, sugar,” I said.
“Thought he would be gone by now.”
“Not yet,” I said. “He’s got himself dug into a deeper hole than he ever thought possible. A part of
me almost wants to feel bad for him.”
“Almost, huh?” she asked.
“But then I remind myself who he is, who his brother was, and that all those pieces of shit down
in HCH deserve everything they get.”
I winked at Tinsley and she laughed.
We got back on the road and I refused to pull over again.
We arrived at what looked like a normal looking house a short while later.
I pulled up a freshly blacktopped driveway and admired the laid back look and feel to the house.
There were no signs out front. Nothing that would give away what we were doing. The house had a
ton of land, which was needed.
On the opposite end of the land, where Tinsley couldn’t see, would give away what this place
was.
A woman stood on the porch, waiting for me.
Wearing a blue checkered flannel, holding a coffee cup in her hand, brown curly hair pulled back
in a messy way.
“What is this?” Tinsley asked me.
I took her hand and ignored her.
“Preston,” Sarah called out to me.
“Sarah,” I said. “Place looks great.”
“Getting there,” she said. “Is this…”
“Tinsley,” I said. “Tinsley, this is Sarah.”
They shook hands, Sarah smiling, Tinsley concerned.
“A while back, Sarah saw this place as a project,” I said to Tinsley. “Nobody believed in it. Or
her.”
“Except your mother,” Sarah said.
Tinsley looked at me. “Your mother…”
“And that’s a damn shame, Preston, what’s happening to her,” Sarah said. “Before she… got
really bad… she told me not to visit. Not to watch it happen.”
 “I know,” I said.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Was hoping you’d help me with something, Tinsley,” Sarah said.
“Okay…”
“Help with a feeding.”
“Feeding?”
I laughed. “She’s nervous as hell.”
“What am I feeding?” Tinsley asked.
“I’ll be right back,” Sarah said. “You two sit up here. Get comfy. Get your cameras for all your
pictures and social media garbage.”
Sarah went inside.
Tinsley grabbed my arm. “Pres…”
“My father said no,” I said. “My mother said yes. Then she went behind his back and financed this
place. It’s not a money maker. At all. But the land. The purpose. What it all does. It matters. In a
greater sense.”
“Meaning?”
The door opened and when Tinsley turned her head, she covered her mouth as she gasped.
Sarah came out to the porch carrying a baby tiger.
“That’s what Sarah does up here,” I said.
Tinsley looked back at me. “What… how…”
“I can talk for hours about my life,” Sarah said. “My love for animals. My travels. Where I’ve
worked. What I’ve done. But I doubt you want to hear about it. So why don’t you feed Jenny here and
we’ll call it a day?”
“I get… to…”
“It’s really cool, sugar,” I whispered to her.
“You’ve done this?” Tinsley asked me.
I laughed again. “Yeah. My mother used to bring me up here. I’ve fed tiger cubs. Lion cubs.”
Tinsley started to jump up and down. “This is crazy.”
“Told you,” I said to her.
I leaned against the railing as Sarah gave Tinsley instructions on what to do.
She sat on a bench and when Sarah gave her the playful tiger cub, she started to cry.
“Don’t laugh at me,” Tinsley said. “It’s just…”
“I get it,” I said.
Tinsley cradled the tiger cub but Jenny wasn’t having it. She was jumpy and playful, pulling at
Tinsley’s wrist, wanting the bottle of milk.
When Jenny started to drink the milk, Tinsley let out an ooohhh sound that made me laugh again.
I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I laughed so much. When I felt so happy. Even with so
much bullshit floating overhead.
Sarah stood and watched, not overbearing at all. That was what made Sarah so cool. She was
calm all the time. She trusted everyone. She trusted the animals. And they trusted her.
Tinsley stroked the orange and black on Jenny’s back.
She looked at me and opened her mouth wide.
Oh. My. Fucking. God. she mouthed to me.
I nodded.
After Jenny finished the bottle of milk, Tinsley put the bottle down and Jenny started to gently paw
at Tinsley.
Sarah sat down and reached for Jenny, rubbing her fingers to her head.
“You’re more than welcome up here anytime,” Sarah said to Tinsley.
“Thank you,” Tinsley said. “I… my head is spinning…”
“I bet,” Sarah said.
“I have a million questions.”
“And Sarah has a million answers,” I said. “She loves to talk.”
“Should I tell her the story of how you got scared when a lion cub ran toward you?” Sarah asked.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I said. “I know nothing of that. And I was a little kid.”
Tinsley looked at me, her eyes glowing with happiness.
“I’m going to take Jenny back inside,” Sarah said. “But you can stay and help if you’d like. You
can meet Bobby. Another tiger cub. And then you can meet Amra. She’s my queen of the jungle up
here.”
“Tiger?” Tinsley asked.
“Lion.”
“Lion… holy shit…”
Sarah laughed.
She scooped up Jenny and went into the house.
Tinsley jumped up and started to dance her feet on the porch. “What the hell… was that…”
I pushed from the railing and slipped my hands to her waist again. “I take it you like?”
“Pres, that was amazing. I just fed a baby tiger!”
“Yes, you did.”
“I love you. I mean, not just for this. Not because you can make this happen. I mean, just… you
know…”
“It’s okay, sugar,” I said.
I kissed her to steal the rest of her jumbled up words.
Then we spent the next couple hours with Sarah and a few of her other animals.
When it was time to leave, Sarah and Tinsley hugged like they had known each other their entire
lives. Which was just the effect of Sarah on everyone that she met. She was infectious and cool as
hell. In fact, when I was little I had a crush on Sarah. I dreamed of growing up, being rich, and
traveling the world with her as my wife.
I held Tinsley’s hand as we walked to my ride.
I nodded to Barr and Kip, who were still sitting in the SUV behind us.
They had been up here many times.
Today was for Tinsley.
A chance to be free. To get away from BFH.
Because I knew what hell was waiting for all of us.
I’d let her have her day, her pictures, and her story to share.
But tomorrow morning…
I’d have to let reality sink its claws hard into her.
I was going to fight my father… and make it so he could never hurt anyone I loved ever again.
 Chapter 8

I stared into her eyes right before she arched her back. When she did, my hand slipped and moved
along the perfect curves that made up her body. She knew that was the move that ended me.
Seeing her hair sprawled across the pillow. Listening to noises she made under control and
noises that just happened no matter what. The taste of her skin, gently laced with sweat. The way she
dug her nails into my back.
Everything about Tinsley wanted to end me.
Both good and bad.
My fingers spread wide across her back and I dipped my head down to her chest. I grunted as I
ran my nose across her left nipple. She let out a yelling cry as my mouth closed over her skin. I pulled
back and kissed. Releasing my hold, moving to the other side of her chest.
Her hands race from clawing at my back to pulling at my hair, wanting me to stay at her chest.
Forcefully pushing me to the edge, knowing there came a time when I wouldn’t be able to hold
back from finishing any longer. And Tinsley was a fucking master at fucking with me over it.
My left hand was balled up tight into a fist and pressed against the bed.
Together we were perfect. Every desire and need showing itself without hesitation. Which made
me love Tinsley even more.
I kissed up to her neck and then looked down at our bodies coming together. Over and over again,
her nails digging harder into my hair as I moved harder at her.
I lifted my head as her back crashed down to the bed.
I bent my left elbow and pressed my chest to hers.
Our lips touched but we didn’t kiss.
Goddamn, sugar…
That’s when I could no longer hold myself back.
Tinsley bit at my bottom lip and sighed into my mouth.
I began to kiss her against the wild rush of our bodies.
She broke the kiss and buried her face into my neck, making noises that sounded like words from
a different language.
I guided myself away from her body with ease and care.
She was on her left side, me behind her.
Under the covers together, our bodies touching, knowing damn well that temptation wasn’t far
from gone and far from being quiet.
I kissed her shoulder and wrapped my arm tight around her.
 I made a fist and she began to run her pointer fingertip across my knuckles.
“Are you sure?” she whispered.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m more than sure.”
“It sounds crazy, Pres.”
“Because it is crazy.”
She stopped at my middle knuckle and pressed. “He’s your father.”
“Are you a fan of his now?” I asked. “Do you secretly want him and Claire to get married. If that
happens, would we be step-”
“Stop,” Tinsley said. “Don’t finish that sentence. Ever.”
I laughed. “What’s your worry, sugar?”
“I don’t get it. He’s doing this to get back at you?”
“Power, Tinsley,” I said. “And plus… there’s a lot of history there between me and him. Things
that happened my entire life. Things he had done to my mother all her life.”
“But it was her decision.”
“What is this?” I asked.
Tinsley turned her head. “I’m scared right now, Pres.”
“You think I’ll lose the fight.”
“No. The opposite. I think you’ll do something crazy to him.”
“I’m going to prove a point, sugar,” I said. “That’s it. I honestly don’t give a shit what he does
with that land. It’s not about that.”
“It’s about your mother.”
“It’s about everything. Before my mother really got sick I told her I would take care of things. And
I believe she knows sometimes you have to do shit that looks crazy.”
“Well, this is beyond crazy.”
“Crazier than feeding a baby tiger?” I asked.
Tinsley smiled. “That’s why you did that. You rotten prick. You did it to have something to throw
at me. Nothing can compare to that.”
“Do you really think I’m that shallow?” I asked.
“Not sure…”
“Ouch, sugar.”
“I’m just playing,” Tinsley said.
She wiggled her hips at me and quickly moved my hand down to her hip. I engulfed her hip and
slid my right leg over her.
Her cheeks turned red. She swallowed hard.
“Tired yet?” I whispered.
She just grinned at me.
“Change of subject,” she said. “Sarah… with the tiger… how does that happen?”
“Told you. Because of my mother. I think she wanted a way to get away from the rich life. And
then at the same time, she wanted to use the rich life to help. It’s really cool what Sarah does up there.
She cares about the animals. And my mother being the beach bum she was, they fit together. I was
always up there.”
“Playing with baby tigers,” Tinsley said. “This tough and brutal guy playing with baby tigers.”
“You know what happens to baby tigers, right?” I asked.
“What?”
“They get bigger and stronger. It was a good place to find fear, face it, and get rid of it. Knowing
that at any second one of those animals could tear me apart.”
“Well that just ruins the experience for me,” Tinsley said. “I imagine them as little cuddly pets
forever. Or even if they get big, they’re still cuddly. Like imagine coming home from work and a tiger
comes to the door to say hey.”
“Tigers don’t talk, sugar,” I said.
“Oh, god, no shit,” she said. “I didn’t… you know what, never mind.”
“I love when you get annoyed with me.”
I lowered my lips to hers.
Tinsley hurried to touch my cheek. “Yeah, you’re really fucking annoying me right now, Pres. So
you better do something to fix it.”
I pressed my body tighter against hers.
“Don’t worry, sugar, I think I have a way to fix it…”

I finally put Tinsley to bed.

I sat on the edge of the bed wearing nothing but jeans when the bedroom door opened.
As I jumped up, I cocked back a fist.
“It’s just me,” Kip whispered.
I lowered my fist.
This living arrangement is not fucking working.
“Need to talk to you,” Kip whispered. “Where’s your fucking phone?”
My phone was on the dresser next to the TV. I had no desire to deal with my phone or anything on
it when I had the chance to be alone with Tinsley.
I swiped my phone off the dresser and I followed Kip out of the bedroom.
He went right to the front door and outside the guesthouse where Barr was waiting as he smoked a
cigarette.
“Half naked,” Barr said. “Fully pleasured?”
“Is that why you’re here?” I asked.
“Since you don’t read texts anymore,” Kip said, “I’ll fill you in. Cole is on the beach looking for
you.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked.
“Nope,” Kip said.
“Got a call about it,” Barr said. “I’m sure Cole got in touch with you.”
I finally looked at my screen.
I had more than one text from him.
Looking for a swim. Looking for a wave to ride.
“We should beat the shit out of him,” Kip said. “Then drag his half dead ass over to Mac so he
could deal with it.”
“I’ll go talk to him,” I said.
“Play into this?” Barr asked.
“We need to protect Tinsley,” I said.
“And we do it the right way,” Kip said, cracking his knuckles.
“And we will,” I said. “He’s trying to get us pissed. If we attack him, it looks like we’re attacking
BC. Cole wants BC to get involved in our shit again. Think about it. It makes sense. And all he wants
is Claire to back off. We can bury that way.”
“Damn,” Barr said. He dropped his cigarette and stepped on it. “This is too much grown up shit
now. I miss the days of fighting first.”
“We’re not punk kids anymore,” I said. “We’re not the Rulz anymore either. It’s all different
now.”
“Because of Tinsley,” Kip said.
I looked at him and he stepped back, showing his hands.
“You know it’s the truth, Pres,” Kip said. “And I’m not saying it’s a bad thing either. At all. It’s
just reality. You have a lot to lose. You never did before. Think about it.”
“Yeah, I don’t need to think about it,” I said. “I need to make it all work.”
I took two steps and Barr blocked the way.
“Take it easy there, Pres,” Barr said. “You’re not going alone.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not,” Kip said.
“You two are going to stand right here and watch the guesthouse,” I said. “Just in case this is
another trick from Cole. And if anyone from BC shows up here, I expect to find them floating in the
pool when I get back.”
Barr grinned and grabbed my shoulder. “You got it, Pres.”
I walked away, this time for good, and this time alone. I went back into the guesthouse and snuck
into the bedroom to get my shirt. I stared at the silhouette of Tinsley under the covers and nodded.
I knew what needed to be done.

I cruised through the streets way too fast, but it felt good. It was the only sense of relief I had for
what was building up inside me at the moment. And everything Kip had said was right. If Tinsley
wasn’t around…
I hated myself for even thinking it.
She was here. And she was here forever.
BC… Cole… wanted to try to take a stand. They were waiting for me to throw a punch and start a
war. But I could see beyond it. Way beyond it.
When I got to the spot where Cole said he’d be, I walked down to the beach and he was there.
This time he was alone.
Even still, I looked over my shoulders a few times to make sure it wasn’t a trick.
Better yet, if Cole was dumb enough to send Ado and Bain to the guesthouse, Barr and Kip were
going to make them pay.
“I never understood the point of it,” Cole said to me.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“The beach. Why it matters. Why people give a fuck. It’s just fucking water. Nothing ever
happens.”
“Stick around and see what happens,” I said. “I almost drowned someone in the ocean once.”
“Yeah?” Cole asked.
“Yeah.”
 “Too much of a pussy to finish the job?”
“No,” I said. “Facing death changes a person. Better to be alive and know how easy it is to die.”
“That’s not a bad answer,” Cole said. “I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe make a few beach trips.”
“What the hell do you want here?” I asked. “I’m very interested in it. So much so I came alone.
Told Barr and Kip to hang back.”
“I just felt like a stroll on the beach,” Cole said.
“Go take a stroll back to BC. Because I’m not going to keep letting you show up here without
leaving bloody. No matter what that does here.”
“You still haven’t heard what I wanted,” Cole said.
“You made your point clear.”
“But you don’t know what it means,” Cole said. “How important this is to me.”
“To you,” I said. “Not to the rest of BC?”
“I guess that was a slip on my part. Oops. I meant to say this is what BC needs to have happen.”
I rubbed my chin. “Amazing that you don’t have all of BC showing up to talk. Or better yet, just do
what you need to do with Claire. You’re going in the wrong direction, Cole.”
“No, I’m not. I’m taking down the Rulz along with Claire. To make it very fucking clear that a
couple letters don’t define me. Or define what I do.”
I laughed. “So you’re turning on BC. You want to do your own thing. Which means you’ve gotten
yourself into a little bit of trouble. That tells me all I need is time.”
“Time?”
“Let shit work itself out,” I said. “You won’t do anything to Claire. You’re trying to shake me up,
figuring by now I would have jumped you. Or at the very least have me, Barr, and Kip show up to toss
you around. Not going to happen. So enjoy the beach. Enjoy the view. Take in the sights. The sounds.”
I grabbed Cole by the shoulder and pulled him toward me. “But let me be very clear to you… I don’t
need BC to take you down, Cole. I don’t really know what you’re doing or not doing for them. This is
BFH. I am the Rulz. And I take it since you don’t know much about the ocean, you’ve never really
swam in it before. Which could work out. But I’ll make it so the ocean is the last place you take a
breath.”
I pushed away from Cole and walked away.
“It’s not going to end the way you think,” Cole called out. “Just letting you know, Pres.”
“I actually agree with that,” I called out without looking back.
I had no fucking reason to look back at Cole.
My eyes scanned the beach just to make sure nobody was waiting to come out of the shadows and
jump me.
Nothing happened.
When I got back to my motorcycle, I noticed something on my ride.
A cellphone.
Sitting on the seat.
I picked it up and looked around.
It was some cheap phone.
Some crappy burner phone.
The background of the screen was of me and Tinsley.
I went into the images and saw a video.
Myself and Tinsley.
Walking along the beach.
 Hand in hand.
Talking and laughing.
I slammed the phone on the ground and stepped on it.
I walked to the edge of the beach but I couldn’t see Cole anymore.
So he didn’t come alone.
I rubbed my jaw and played things out in my head.
The ‘new side’ of Pres… it was about to give way to the ‘dark side’ of Pres… for good.

T insley was asleep.

She had no idea what had just happened.
Her phone screen lit up and I looked to see it was a message from Iris.
A picture of an eggplant emoji and the hand emoji giving the okay sign.
I grinned.
I moved her hair out of her face and kissed her cheek.
She deserved to be lost in a sweet and sexy slumber.
Out in the kitchen of the guesthouse, I jumped up on the counter and sat there.
My phone next to me.
I wasn’t exactly sure who Claire was or what her reach or power was. But a little heads up could
squash this entire thing. Unless something happened to her. Of all the shit Tinsley had to go through in
life, Claire was the one person that always seemed to show up. Even if she wasn’t exactly the best
person in the world, she still mattered to Tinsley.
I gave Cole props for having something in place that looked good.
But he stepped into BFH. Onto the beach. He had his guys sneak around to take pictures and
videos of Tinsley.
It was all fun and games and looked cool. Like some kind of fucking TV show.
Except I was the one who was going to write the ending.
I grabbed my phone and called my father.
“Little late for a phone call, son,” he said, answering the call.
“Tomorrow night,” I said. “Just us.”
“Father son bonding time,” he said.
“That’s right,” I said.
“Will, who is it?” a woman’s voice asked.
I knew it wasn’t my mother because my mother could no longer fucking speak.
So my father was in bed with some random woman.
That’s why he took my call so late.
Just to try and get to me even more.
“I better go, son,” my father said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The call went dead.
I tossed the phone to the counter and jumped down.
I flexed my right hand and studied my knuckles. I pictured Tinsley’s fingers dancing across my
knuckles when we were in bed together. No clothes. No worries. Just us and some love.
That’s what I was fighting for.
That’s what I was going to win.
No matter how bloody it got, and no matter how many people got hurt in the process.
 Chapter 9

I had no intention to see Claire or be at Claire’s house. The idle threats from Cole weren’t going
to make me run to Claire and run my mouth. I was able to think beyond what Cole was trying to
do. The second the Rulz started doing favors for anyone like Cole or BC then the game would
change for good. If Cole wanted to take down Claire, hurt her or scare her, it was up to him to do it.
Of course that in itself presented a tricky balance because of Claire’s connection to Tinsley. And
hell, maybe Cole pulled me into this plan for that reason. Out of respect for Tinsley.
Not a fucking chance…
The relationship between Claire and Tinsley was simply leverage.
I walked along the edge of the pool and stared down at the water, going through every possible
thought I could find. My mind replayed memories. Ones with Tinsley in the swimming pool. Or sitting
on the edge with Gi and Iris. Watching Tinsley slowly becoming herself in this world of money and
power. Every little thing about that kind of life amazed her. The size of the pool. The temperature. The
color of the water. The fact that there was a pool itself.
I stopped pacing and saw Tinsley coming outside from the kitchen.
Claire stood in the kitchen, wearing a fancy looking women’s suit. Holding a martini glass.
Looking like she was ready to rip the beating heart of a man right out of his chest. I wondered if she
knew what my father was up to. If she knew I was hours away from actually fighting the man who
created me. Or maybe by now my father had moved on. Used Claire for what she was good for and
was with someone else.
That was the logical answer.
And if Claire had the mean streak and street level capability I had heard about, then I hoped she
would finish burying my father once I started it up at the ditch.
Tinsley opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.
“Where did you swim before here?” I asked.
“What?”
I pointed to the pool. “You didn’t have a pool, did you?”
“Oh, yeah, we had a pool.”
“You did?”
“You know those plastic ones?” she asked, smiling. “With like crooked dolphins and crabs
printed on the inside? Where you’d get grass in the water in about four seconds?”
I shook my head.
“That’s right,” she said. She patted my chest. “Rich boy.”
 “Not funny,” I said.
“One time, Ruby’s mom’s boyfriend got a pool. It was this inflatable one but it was big. Not a real
pool but not a cheap pool. Kind of in between. That was fun.”
“What happened to it?”
“Ruby’s boyfriend at the time got high and wanted to do wrestling moves on his friend. That guy
had a crush on me and was trying to show off. So Ruby’s boyfriend tried some move and the guy hit
the side of the pool and busted it. Water… everywhere…”
“Losers,” I said.
“It was kind of hot,” I said. “Ruby’s mom’s boyfriend came running outside in his undies. Chasing
after all of us. That guy who was trying to impress me? He stopped and tripped Ruby’s mom’s
boyfriend. To save me. I thanked him properly later on that night…”
I slowly touched Tinsley’s arms. “Thanked him properly?”
She started to laugh. “You’re easy.”
“Excuse me?”
“That guy was a loser,” she said. “He didn’t do anything to help me. He slid in the water and fell.
When Ruby’s mom’s boyfriend caught up to him, he started to cry. Ruby and I ran, laughing our faces
off because her boyfriend tried to fight her mom’s boyfriend and lost. It was a crazy night for sure.
Ruby ended up getting grounded for a month, but I would sneak over and we’d hang out all the time.
Why are you asking me this?”
“Do you miss Ruby?” I asked.
Why the fuck do you care about her past life, Pres? Her life before BFH means nothing to
anyone or to the world. It’s all just memories.
“I don’t know if I do or not,” she said. “She and Amelia were like best friends to me. Then
everything got weird when I came here. I guess in a way I decided to be greedy for once. And if you
didn’t like that, then kiss my ass.”
“They were jealous of you,” I said. “Makes sense.”
“You still didn’t answer my question… why are you asking me this?”
I moved my right hand to her chin. “Maybe because I want to know everything about you, Tinsley
Ditkiss. I’m here for the present. I know the future. So maybe I’m curious about the past.”
“You know the future?”
“Yeah.”
“And what is it? Where’s your crystal ball, Pres?”
“You are my future, sugar,” I whispered. “And I’m yours. Truthfully, I was looking at the pool and
just wondered what it was like for you. I’ve never had a day in my life where there wasn’t a pool.
And probably plenty of other things. I was thinking about you in the pool. Knowing how cool it was to
you to have a pool when you never did before.”
“So you really do care,” she said. “Wow. I’ll make sure nobody finds out that truth.”
“That’s why I love you, sugar,” I said.
I pulled her close and kissed her.
It was just a quick kiss because behind Tinsley the door opened and Claire came outside. She was
without her suit jacket now, showing off a killer curved body that would send any half decent
businessman missing his wife into a tizzy of temptation.
“Don’t mind me,” Claire said. “Just leaving these here for you, Tinsley.”
Claire carried a vase with a dozen white roses in it.
I lifted my eyebrow as Tinsley patted my chest again and walked to table.
 “Claire. Wait.”
Tinsley plucked one of the white roses from the dozen and then gave the vase back to Claire.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Give them back,” I said to her. “He’ll understand what it means.”
“You know…”
“I know who gave these,” she said. “You two were talking real estate, right?”
Claire looked at me for a few seconds, then back to Tinsley.
“Should I tell him you said hello at least?” Claire asked.
“No,” Tinsley said. “He knows what it means.”
“Okay,” Claire said. She looked at me again. “Preston.”
I nodded to Claire.
Still fucking my father while my mother is slowly dying?
I figured the grin on my face could ask the question better than I ever could.
With Claire gone, Tinsley came back to me, carrying the single white rose.
I pointed to it. “Still doing that, huh?”
“He still wants back in,” she said. “Or in to begin with? I’m not sure how to word it.”
I swallowed hard. “I don’t trust him, sugar. The shit he and Claire are doing is not… legal…”
“I know,” Tinsley said. “You can call me crazy, Pres, but somewhere in my mind and my heart I
keep thinking about the fact that I have both parents alive. Maybe they’re not exactly well but they’re
alive. My mother is still clean. She’s actually living for once. I kind of hope she stays where she is.
Or maybe she can go to school or something for recovery. Help others. And my father… well, if he’s
really doing some bad things, then it’ll catch up to him. He’ll either get killed or go to jail. In a way I
should probably try and enjoy some time with him. But I’m not going to make it easy.”
I covered my hand on her hand as she held the single white rose. “You belong here, sugar. And not
just because I love you. And not just because I would lose my mind if you weren’t here. Think about
everything you just said. Think about all you’ve done. You’re the most important person here. And
whatever you need to do with that rose, and all the other roses, I support you. I’m in your corner.”
I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her hand.
“I want to do something,” she whispered.
“Like what?” I asked.
Tinsley side stepped and walked to the edge of the pool. She threw the single white rose into the
water. It gently hit the water and floated.
“You wanted to do that?” I asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah. Saw it in a movie or show or something. I think if it was red,
the color would bleed. I’m a simple girl to please.”
She looked back at me and winked.
I slowly eyed her up and down.
Shoes, jean shorts, t-shirt.
A dream already for me.
“You know what… I want to do something too,” I said.
“Like what?” Tinsley mimicked.
“Saw it in a movie or show or something,” I mimicked right back.
Tinsley laughed.
I jumped toward her and pushed her into the pool.
W hen Tinsley popped up out of the water I thought she was going to literally jump up and out of
the pool. She looked that pissed off.
I slipped my hands into my pockets and stared down at her.
“What. The. Fuck. Pres.”
“Move to the left, sugar,” I said.
“Why?”
I leaned and fell forward.
Tinsley screamed and jumped out of the way as I slammed into the water.
Yeah, this wasn’t really my thing, but screw it. There was enough tension and bad shit to go
around for everyone to have seconds and thirds. Plus, I was just a little while away from fighting my
own father. The sun was beginning to set. There wasn’t much daylight left. Then I’d cruise up to the
ditch and handle some really personal business.
So what was the big deal of a little swim… with all my clothes on…
I put my feet down to the bottom and pushed myself up.
I stood up out of the water and felt my clothes clinging to my skin and weighing about fifty pounds
each.
Tinsley looked more surprised than pissed.
She jumped toward me and I reached for her. I pulled her across the water and picked her up so
she was eye level with me.
Her dark hair dripped with water and her lips tasted sweet with a touch of chlorine.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my body.
I walked backward through the pool, eyes locked to hers.
“Since when does Pres jump into a pool with his clothes on?” she whispered.
“Since he fucking felt like it, sugar,” I said. “Is that a problem?”
“Not at all.”
We kissed again.
And again.
And again…
I lowered us down into the water. Right to our chins.
With each passing minute of kissing, it started to get darker out.
It was the time when I felt most alive.
At night. With Tinsley.
“Hey, sugar,” I said in between kisses. “I made you wet. Really wet.”
“Tough guy,” she said.
“I bet if I touched somewhere else…”
“Stop,” Tinsley said. “Don’t ruin this.”
“Ruin what?”
“This. This is fun. This is… like forget about everything else happening.”
“That’s why I did it,” I said. “Forget everything.”
Tinsley bumped her forehead to mine. “I hate this stuff. That it’s still going on.”
“What did you expect?” I asked. “This isn’t a book. It’s not like you get to the last chapter and it’s
all over. It’s life. But at least we’re doing something about it.”
 “Fighting your father?” she asked.
“Fixing things that are wrong,” I said.
“And I can’t be there?”
“No, sugar. I don’t want you to see anything.”
“But you’ll come here when it’s over?”
“Yes. I’ll be here. I promise.”
“And when you get here…” Tinsley licked her bottom lip. “We can swim again… right?”
“I’m sure we can do that,” I said. “Just a swim?”
“Is it ever just a swim with you, Pres?”
“Never,” I whispered.
Our lips gently touched.
“Holy fuck, Pres is swimming.”
I turned my head and saw Barr and Kip standing outside the pool.
Barr smoking. Kip in his classic sleeveless shirt.
“She pushed you in?” Barr asked.
“Tried drowning him,” Tinsley said. “Couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’d miss him too much.”
“You’d miss something, girl,” Kip said. “But… you never had the rest. Yet.”
“Never,” Pres said.
Kip jumped forward and tucked his knees, slamming into the water.
“Ah, fuck it,” Barr said. He flicked his cigarette into the air and dove forward into the pool.
Now it was the Rulz with Tinsley. All of us clothed. In a pool.
But Tinsley was in my arms.
Where she belonged.
“What are we talking about?” Barr asked.
“Tonight,” I said.
“Worried?” Barr asked.
“I am,” Tinsley said.
“No need, love,” Barr said. “Worst case, we all jump in.”
“No,” I growled. “You two do not step in on this. Ever.”
“Hey, is that a flower in the water?” Kip asked.
“Yeah,” Tinsley said. “Pres deflowered me…”
“Oh, don’t start that again, girl,” Kip said. “Do we need to go through that…”
Tinsley cheek’s turned red.
I chuckled. I pulled Tinsley tighter.
It was fucking amazing how everything played out with the four of us.
“So nobody is going to tell me what the flower is about?” Kip asked.
“Do I tell him the truth?” Tinsley asked me.
She winked so Kip didn’t see.
Barr saw.
He grinned.
I nodded. “Fuck. If you think you should.”
Tinsley turned, putting her feet on the bottom of the pool, but she didn’t move away from me. I
held her against my body, my hands playfully moving under the water, feeling her clothes stuck to her
skin.
“Before Claire lived here,” Tinsley said. “Did you know the people who lived here?”
 “Shit,” Barr said. “Yeah. You’re talking about Kerri.”
Tinsley nodded.
“Who’s that?” Kip asked.
“You don’t remember Kerri?” I asked him.
Kip lifted his eyebrow. “What does that have to do with the rose in the pool?”
“Man, you’ve been hit in the head too many times,” Barr said. “She died here.”
“In the pool,” Tinsley said. “Drowned. She fell and hit her head and couldn’t move. She was in
the water, staring up. Watching the sun hit the water.”
“Can’t imagine going like that,” I said.
“The rose thing came from her mother,” Barr said.
“Her mother?” Kip asked.
“Yeah,” Tinsley said. “Her mother blamed herself for not paying attention more. So each day for a
month straight, her mother would put a white rose in the pool. And she’d cry.”
“She thought about killing herself,” Barr said.
“But she sold the house instead,” I said.
“Which made sense,” Tinsley said. “But Kerri missed her mother.”
“White rose…,” Barr said.
Kip looked at the rose. “What does that mean?”
“I didn’t put the rose there, man,” Barr said. “Neither did Pres or Tinsley.”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Kip said.
“Happens all the time,” Tinsley said. “I’ll come out and there will be a rose floating in the water.
I used to clean them up but stopped. Usually by the next morning it’s gone.”
“If I was getting Tinsley flowers it wouldn’t be one fucking rose,” I said.
Kip looked around at all of us. Then he turned and moved toward the white rose.
I looked at Barr and nodded.
Barr grinned and snuck up on Kip.
He grabbed Kip by the shoulders and screamed, “Don’t touch my rose!”
Kip lunged for the side of the pool and jumped out faster than I’d ever seen in my life. He was out
of the pool and running toward the house as the rest of us laughed.
When he finally turned around and realized what was happening, he looked pissed.
“Fuck you,” he said. He pointed at Tinsley. “And you, girl. What the hell?”
Tinsley kissed her hand and blew it at Kip.
He swatted at the air. “No way.”
“That was pretty sad, man,” Barr said as he walked to the steps and climbed out of the water.
“That was a good story,” Kip said. “You should write it down. Sell it. Fuck.”
“Someone is afraid of ghosts, huh?” Tinsley called out.
Barr dug a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and squeezed the water out of them. “Shit. I ruined
my cigarettes.”
“Moron,” Kip said.
“I need to get some before the fight,” Barr said.
And just like that, everything came rushing back.
Tinsley put her head back to my chest. She turned her head and I looked down at her. She
frowned.
I nodded.
It was time to settle this for good.
 Chapter 10

T he words really hadn’t sunk into me yet. And for good reason. I didn’t want to be distracted
by the words and what they meant. Because they were so far out of the norm. But that’s how
my entire life was.
I’m fighting my father.
I stood at the top of the ditch and looked down at him.
He stood in suit pants, fancy shoes, and a white t-shirt that was tucked in. If there was one good
thing I could say about my father it was that he kept himself in great shape. His arms were aged but
they were cut with muscle. The death stare in his eyes was probably the same he gave when sitting at
a table negotiating a deal. He had the capability to go from rotten asshole to a soothing person in a
second.
And I am him…
That was the part that maybe pissed me off the most. When I found pieces of him inside me.
“This is fucked up,” Barr said before he sucked on his cigarette.
“I like it,” Kip said.
“Both of you stay here,” I said. “No matter what happens. You do not come near the ditch until the
fight is over. And one of us walks away.”
I looked to my right at Barr.
He nodded.
I looked to my left at Kip.
His eyes were blue and showed a sense of truth that Barr could hide.
Wondering what to do if my father got the upper hand and took me down and kept me down. And
kept going…
I nodded to Kip.
He nodded back.
There was nobody else at the ditch.
No bets to be placed.
No money to win.
No reason to have a drink or cheer on a fight.
This was all personal.
If I won the fight, my father would kill the purchase of the land. Which I really didn’t give a shit
about. Same for him. This was about power. He knew my mother screwed him over and that I was
going to get everything. And I knew my father had never once kept his dick in his pants. The cheating
thing wasn’t because my mother was dying of ALS. It was long before that. My mother may have been
a pretty hippie surfer girl but she was a force. And she was the force that challenged my father for
years.
I loved her for that.
I missed her for that.
She was alive. But believe me, she wasn’t living at all.
That was the rage I needed right then.
I needed to step on that hornet’s nest and let it all out.
I walked up to my father and he put a hand out.
“Easy, son,” he said. “We can do this the right way. It’s not my first fight.”
“No?” I asked.
“Man has to let off steam,” he said.
“Thought that’s why you fucked other women?” I asked.
“No. I fuck other women because your mother isn’t up to speed anymore.”
He smirked.
I threw a right fist.
It smashed against his jaw.
I did not feel any better at all.

S o I kept going.
Punch for punch, thinking about everything that had ever happened between myself and my
father. Living out something of a dream that a lot of people probably wanted to do.
And I had to hand it to him.
He knew how to fight back.
And he knew how to goad me.
Letting me get a few punches in on him to start the fight. Stepping back like he was really feeling
the hits.
I made the small mistake of pausing for a second to see where he was at.
That’s when he attacked back.
That first punch was probably one of the most shocking things I ever felt.
I had been punched more times than I knew how to count.
But this was… my father.
William Levilitz.
The great businessman. The ruthless businessman.
I threw a left but he blocked the punch and hit me in the gut. I grabbed his shoulder and he hit me
again. I fell into him and he hugged me tight.
“Don’t quit on me yet, son,” he whispered.
He pushed me back and swung again, hitting me in the face.
My head snapped to the side and I side stepped.
I turned and put my fists up. I licked my top lip.
Blood.
I nodded to him. “Got a little mark on your eye.”
 “Just a scratch,” he said.
“What do you want out of this?” I asked.
“Same as you, son.”
I moved at him and we went for another round of punches.
For a little while I forgot who it was.
It was just a fight.
It was me focused on where the punches were coming from and how to miss them, block them,
and then return with a harder punch. It almost became a sense of a dance between me and him. When
I’d hit him, he’d groan. Then he’d smile. In a sick way it was almost like he was proud of me. The
only time I ever saw him proud of me. Not that he would ever admit it.
When my father started to sweat and tire out, I knew I had him.
I backed off for a few seconds. “Call it?”
“Not yet, son,” he said.
“You know, if this goes well, you might die before Mom does,” I said.
His lip curled. “You little shit…”
He rushed at me.
I knew somewhere inside his black heart he did love Mom. But in the same twisted way he
forever wanted her to be hippie surfer girl. He didn’t want her to age. Change her hairstyle. Learn
about business. Be smarter than him. He wanted her to give him six kids - three boys, three girls -
and never look different.
Because my father was an asshole.
I swung my right hand with all my force and when it connected to his nose, I knew that was it.
He fell to his knees right on the spot.
I changed my stance, my right foot back a little.
My father’s white shirt was stained with blood and dirt.
He looked up at me.
My left hand grabbed the shoulder of his shirt.
I nodded.
I brought my right hand back.
The only way to end the fight was to… end it.
Knock him out.
Leave him out cold in the middle of the ditch.
Let him wake up and realize what had happened.
My father took deep breaths and nodded to me.
He knew.
I knew.
“Son… I love you.”
My right fist shook with fury.
He shut his eyes.
I pushed at his shoulder and backed away.
He opened his eyes and stared at me again.
“You can take the land,” I said. “I don’t give a shit about it. I never did. You’re just pissed you
lost everything. You fucked everything up. And you think fighting me will fix that? Not a chance.”
My father slowly climbed to his feet. He started to laugh. He grabbed his right ribs and groaned.
“Shit,” he said. “That was good. We needed that, son.”
 “Yeah. We did.”
“I don’t want the land,” he said. “I wanted your attention. Need you to know it’s all okay. I’ll be
okay. I am okay. And what your mother did was right. It was the right thing to do. I wouldn’t have
done the right thing. I would have fucked it all up.”
I balled up my fists and watched as he slowly approached me.
His face beat up.
He smiled.
The same kind of smile he probably gave to some woman when he needed to get off.
“And you’re right about everything else, son,” he said. “I’ve always been the way I am. I love
women. I love their company. And while it doesn’t make anything right, I have never given myself to
anyone but your mother. And you might not believe this, but she knew. She understood. As long as I
came home to my family, she was good with it. As long as I took care of my family, she was good
with it.”
“Using your money to get what you wanted,” I said.
“What else is money good for, son?” he asked.
I sucked in a slow breath. “So now what?”
“Nothing,” he said. “She’s going to die, Preston. My wife is going to die. Your mother is going to
die. And when that happens, at the very least, you and I should be there to honor her. No matter the
bullshit. It should be about her.”
I blinked fast and kept myself stoic.
Slowly, my father reached for me.
He touched my shoulders.
Then he slid his hands to my back.
He hugged me.
He fucking hugged me.
“I’m proud of you, son,” he whispered. “Takes a real man to do what you’ve done.”
I slowly moved my right hand and touched his back for a second.
The hug ended right there and he held my shoulders again.
“My only advice is next time don’t stop,” he said. “Don’t be a pussy because of your feelings.”
My father patted my shoulders and stepped back.
He rubbed his jaw and turned away.
“Hey, Dad?” I called out.
I hadn’t called him Dad in years.
He turned, just as surprised as I was.
I swung one last right and hit him so hard in the jaw he went down for good.
I had no choice… I was my father’s son…

T insley and I held hands in silence as I drove my SUV home.

She had jumped at me, touched every cut and bruise on my face. She gasped when she saw
my hands. She asked a million questions and I answered none. I just kissed her and that shut her up.
“I can’t believe Kip fell for that joke,” she said.
I smiled. “Yeah.”
 “He really believed that, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said. “He’s tough as nails but afraid of scary stories.”
“That’s good to know,” Tinsley said. “I mean, think about what we can do when Halloween
comes. Or just in general. I wish I knew that earlier.”
“You’re damn vicious, sugar,” I said.
“No. Vicious would be finding out what Barr is afraid of. And what you’re afraid of.”
“You already know what I’m afraid of.”
“I do?” she asked.
“Yeah, sugar. Losing you. That’s the only thing I’m afraid of.”
Tinsley sighed. “That’s so cheap. But it’s so fucking good too, Pres.”
That shut her up again.
When we got to my house, I held her hand as we walked through the main floor. The house was
dark and quiet. But there were at least ten people in the house. That was always the strangest part of
living the way we did. The house was never empty. Someone was always working on something.
Whether it was maintenance, construction, food, medical, whatever, there was always someone there.
“When are we going to patch you up?” Tinsley asked me.
“Little while,” I said.
“Can you talk about it now?”
“Soon,” I said.
I pulled her close and kissed her head.
I broke away and pointed to my mother’s room.
Tinsley nodded and waited.
I entered the room and one of the nurses was sitting there.
Watching TV. Reading a book.
“Hey, Preston,” she said, standing up.
I honestly didn’t know her name.
I nodded to her.
She then saw my face and her eyes went wide.
I guess rich boys like me weren’t supposed to look like they had been in a fight.
The spoon wasn’t always silver… sometimes it was dirty and bloody.
“Can I have a minute?” I asked.
“Of course,” the nurse said. “I’ll be right outside the door.”
I walked to the bed and Mom was asleep.
She slept a lot. Which was kind of funny in a way because she never used to sleep. She lived and
loved life and wanted to be awake. She wanted to see the sunrise and the sunset. She wanted the
waves. The adventures. The sand. The seashells. She loved going to see Sarah and the exotic animals.
It was about life for her. Nature, animals… goddamn hippie…
I touched her hand and slipped my fingers to her wrist.
I felt her heartbeat and I swallowed hard.
Sometimes I wished she would let go. Fight to go. Be free.
“It’s going to be okay, Mom,” I whispered to her lifeless body. “I can take care of everything.
Everything you’ve done for me. I promise I can take care of it. That includes him. There’s no need to
worry or fear. Things are okay. And I will never let him near what you don’t want him close to.” I
swallowed hard again. “I hope you’re dreaming right now. I hope you can still dream. And I hope
you’re dreaming of tigers and the ocean and waves that can’t hurt you and whatever else you’ve ever
wanted in life. Goodnight, Mom. I love you.”
I kissed her hand and left the bedroom.
The nurse went back inside and I went to Tinsley.
I scooped her up into my arms and walked her outside.
She touched my face. “Pres…”
“I kicked his ass,” I said with a grin.
“I still can’t…”
“You don’t have to,” I said. “It’s done. In a way, we understand each other better than ever.
What’s his is his. What’s mine is mine. That’s the end of it. In a really fucked up way, sugar, he does
love his wife. That will be the last tie for us. And whatever happens then happens. I know the truth.
And I don’t regret anything.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Pres,” Tinsley said. “I hope things calm down now.”
I didn’t respond.
Just wait until you hear about Cole… and BC… and the videos…
“I just want to go back to earlier,” Tinsley said. “Being in the pool. Messing with Kip.
Laughing…”
“I don’t,” I said.
“You don’t?”
“No. I don’t want Barr and Kip here. I want it to be just us.”
“Well, it is just us, Pres.”
I brushed my lips to hers. “Sorry about your phone, sugar.”
Tinsley gasped.
I ran forward and jumped into the air, her body locked tight to mine.
She screamed and I laughed.
We both hit the pool water at the same time.
What could I say…
I loved it when Tinsley was wet for me.
 Chapter 11

T insley bounced on the bed on her knees. Without her hair pulled back, it danced all around.
And without wearing anything under the hoodie that was once mine, her chest did the same
dance as her hair. It also didn’t hurt the fact that she was wearing jet black panties and
nothing else on the lower half of her body.
“Are you really not going to be there?” she asked. “Are you going to be afraid of someone? That’s
not a good look on you.”
I rubbed my jaw and stood up.
She was going for the low blow and there was nothing I could do to stop her.
Not to mention she was right. In a way.
“Sugar, it’s not that simple,” I said. “I’m still getting this sorted out. You don’t quite understand
how ruthless BC can be. And, no, I’m not afraid of them. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Tinsley stopped moving. “So this is on me? You’re going to blame me for this then.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You literally just did, Pres.” She moved from the bed. Standing there looking like a messy
dream. “You just fucking did.”
Tinsley walked to the bathroom and paused at the open doorway. In a quick move, she peeled the
hoodie up over her head and threw it behind her. The hoodie landed in the bedroom. She stepped into
the bathroom. There was a perfect tan line of where her bathing suit top would have been if she was
wearing one.
My hands balled up into tight fists.
I managed one step before she started to turn, only to slam the door shut and lock it before I got to
see anything.
I hurried to the door and grabbed the handle as though my touch would magically unlock it.
She was playing tough.
Really fucking tough.
And to think it wasn’t all that long ago I stood behind her and whispered in her ear to forget what
she saw me doing to someone in the ocean. And then I warned her to get the hell out of BFH before it
was too late.
I nodded.
I appreciated the move.
She was beautiful and not afraid of anything.
Which was good and bad.
 I put my hand to the door.
“Whatever you have to do, sugar,” I said. “Enjoy yourself.”
My move was leaving the bedroom but not the guesthouse.
She could be alone but not alone.
Before I could get to the kitchen and get a damn drink I heard noises outside the guesthouse. I
couldn’t tell if it was a laugh or a scream.
I ripped open the front door of the guesthouse to find Barr standing there with a cigarette dangling
from his lips. The smoke rose up into his face and climbed up over his head. He looked at me and
nodded.
Straight ahead in the pool were two girls.
One in a bright bathing suit, the other in a black two piece that hardly qualified as a bikini. And
then there was Kip, standing at the edge of the pool in his jeans and white sleeveless shirt, flirting
with them both. And they were eating it up too. Loving the attention from the Rulz.
“Something to have fun with,” Barr said.
“You sure about that?” I asked.
“Jealous there’s not three?” he asked with a wink.
“Which one is yours?” I asked.
“Who gives a shit? It’s all the same at the end of the night to me.”
“Romantic.”
“I’m not here for romance, Pres.”
I rubbed my jaw again.
Tinsley was topless in the damn bathroom, pissed at me. Trying to strong arm me into a party on
the beach that I had no desire to go to. If we showed up, the entire vibe would change. It would
become our party. We’d make the rules. We’d control everyone. Which was how it always went.
More than that, it would keep any outside bullshit from happening.
Unless Cole decided to do something stupid.
“Visiting out of town,” Barr said. He pointed his cigarette at the two girls in the pool. “They
heard about us. We’re kind of celebrities in a way.”
“Good to know our reputation doesn’t stop at BFH.”
Barr laughed. “We already knew that.”
I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled for Kip.
He walked to us and cupped his hands under his chest.
Holy fuck he mouthed.
I looked to the pool again.
I nodded.
“Guess you fell in love,” I said.
“I’m good with that,” Barr said. “I’ll take the one with the full piece bathing suit. I like that she’s
covered up. More mystery. More to unravel. Makes it interesting.”
“Works for me,” Kip said. “I want to get right to the point.”
“Of course you do,” I said.
“What’s his deal?” Kip asked Barr, referring to me.
“Who knows anymore,” Barr said.
“I’m standing right here,” I said.
“We know,” Kip said. “These two beauties behind me are taking a quick dip and then we’re
heading down to the beach. Catch a little surf and then… we’ll see…”
 “There’s a party going on tonight,” Barr said.
I gritted my teeth. “Yeah. I heard about that.”
“Might as well crash it, right?” Kip asked. “Show up and keep things under control.”
“I’m not a fan of that idea,” I said. “Not with this Cole thing going on.”
“That’s on you, man,” Barr said. He grabbed my shoulder. “That we should just take head on.
Beat those three pieces of shit into nothing and throw them over to Mac. A reminder of what happens
if one of them steps out of line.”
I nodded. “Yeah. You’re probably right, Barr. This is now on me.”
“No, it’s not,” Kip said. “It’s always us. The Rulz. Don’t forget that.”
“I was hoping to calm things down for a minute here,” I said. “Give Tinsley a chance to breathe.”
“Maybe if you took a break from being on top of her, she could breathe,” Barr said.
“He climbs off, I climb on,” Kip said.
I moved toward Kip and Barr grabbed my shirt. “He’s fucking around, man.”
Kip jumped back and playfully laughed. “No, I’m not, Pres. Remember… she chose me first.”
“I’ll fucking kill you, Kip,” I warned.
I heard giggling and looked past him to see the two girls in the water at the edge of the pool.
Knowing right where to stand and how to stand so their tits were resting outside the pool.
In a different life Barr and Kip wouldn’t have stood a chance here.
With the snap of my fingers I’d have the two of them out of the water. Another snap of my fingers
and they’d be out of their clothes.
They both stared at me.
I pushed Kip out of the way and approached the pool.
I towered over them more than I normally would have.
They looked up at me.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked.
They both nodded.
“You’re not from around here,” I said. “Everything you’ve heard is true. And yet at the same time,
it’s all a lie. You can’t imagine how real it is. This isn’t a fucking game. Understand?”
They kept nodding.
I bent my knees and lowered down.
I reached forward with both of my hands. My pointer fingers touching their jaws.
Their mouths fell open as their bottom lips quivered.
“We are the Rulz and that’s not just a name, sugar. Do not fuck around. But feel free to fuck…”
I stood back up and walked away.
I heard them both sigh behind me.
“Real smooth,” Barr said.
“Just warming them up for you,” I said.
“Don’t need your help with that,” Kip said.
“Yeah,” I said. “Because your hillbilly sleeveless look really gets them wet.”
“They’re soaked already, man,” Kip said. “They’re in the pool.”
“Wow,” I said. “Kip knows how water works.”
The guesthouse front door opened and when I saw Tinsley, my heart stopped for a second. I
pictured her rushing outside, topless, looking for me.
She was clothed though.
Super short jean shorts and a tight tank top that left nothing to the imagination when it came to her
curves.
She looked right at me. “I’m leaving.”
“Oh yeah, sugar?” I asked. “Where to?”
“The fucking beach party,” she said.
She threw the hoodie at me that she had been wearing.
Just another little jab at me.
I clutched it tight in my hand and all three of us watched Tinsley strut away.
She paused at the pool and laughed.
She looked back. “Make sure you clean the pool before I get back. The whole glitter and whore
thing makes the water cloudy.”
The two girls in the pool made a noise, but before they said anything Tinsley looked at them,
showing them her middle finger.
I slowly smiled.
“Fuck, she’s brutal,” Barr said.
“Maybe it’s a good thing she ended up with you, Pres,” Kip said. “You might not make it out of
this alive.”
I looked down at the hoodie in my hand.
I nodded.
Tinsley was beautiful and brutal.
And I wasn’t going to make it out alive… I was in this thing for the rest of my damn life.

I kept my distance and left my presence to do its job.

There was a big fire, plenty of drinks, a few guys playing guitars, and more than enough people
hanging on the beach for a damn cool night. It was so cool that the big dare of the night was to go into
the water. To freeze your ass off for a few seconds before running back out.
Of course, Barr and Kip worked that angle perfectly to get their girls into the ocean. They came
running out, screaming like a shark was after them.
Tinsley had her hip glued between Gi and Iris.
Which was fine.
It was sort of cute to watch her try and be pissed at me.
She kept looking at me, curling her lip, then going back to her drink.
There was something genuine about it.
Real.
A little bit of a hint that our lives could somehow be normal.
Even though my hands and face still had the truth of the fight with my father.
That was a darker sense of reality. But it was done. I stood my ground. I handled my business.
“Have a drink with me, man,” Barr said.
He handed me a cup. I took a sip. It was straight whiskey. I threw the cup back and chugged it all
down.
I tossed the cup to the sand.
I looked at Barr as he stood there, a flame dancing at the end of his lighter.
He was frozen in place, trying to light a cigarette.
 “That kind of night?” he asked.
He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag.
I waited for Kip to join us. “Man, that one is a little crazy. I might have to find a way to ditch her
for good.”
“Send her my way,” Barr said. “I can handle both.”
“We need to attack,” I said.
They both looked at me. “What?”
“I want to take Cole out. Fuck what he wants. I’ve ran it all through my head. I thought I could
silence it for the sake of Tinsley. Knowing he’s using her to get to me. He thinks he’s got power. And I
let him think it even more by playing into his hand. I want to bury him in the sand and leave his head
sticking out. Watch the tide do the rest.”
Barr exhaled smoke. “That’s dark.”
“Let’s fight them,” Kip said. “Celebrate you saving the ditch.”
“Then Cole will crawl back to Mac and start shit,” Barr said.
“I don’t even want to talk to Mac,” I said. “Fuck him. This is personal.”
“Let’s enjoy the night and talk tomorrow,” Barr said.
“Nothing to talk about,” I said.
“Pres…,” Kip started to say.
I looked at him and he shut up.
He nodded.
Barr nodded.
I then set my sights on Tinsley.
She was staring at me again.
I curled my lip and started to walk toward her.
She finally stepped away from Gi and Iris.
She dropped her cup to the sand and lifted her hands.
Like we were going to fight.
When I got close enough to her, I slowly grinned.
She did the same thing.
If this was true love then it really was fucking crazy.

T insley wiped her mouth with the sleeve of the hoodie.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I sat on the edge of the bathtub and shook my head with a big smile on my face.
We were back to where we started.
She was wearing nothing but the hoodie and the same black panties from before.
On her knees, over the toilet, showing off what kind of night she had been having.
“It was that last drink, huh?” I asked.
“Fuck off,” she groaned.
“I could have told you to stop, but I didn’t want to get in your way, sugar. Hate to see you lock
yourself in a room again to get away from me.”
She slowly looked at me. “Why don’t you go screw one of those whores then?”
 I leaned toward her and touched her chin. “Not my type.”
“Oh, but I am?”
“Sexy, drunk, puking everywhere?” I asked. “I’m hard as a rock…”
“I hate you, Pres,” she said.
“I know you do, sugar. That’s why I’m here though, right?”
“I think I’m done, okay? I just want to go to sleep…”
Her chin quivered and she looked ready to cry.
I stood up and grabbed a washcloth for her to wipe her face with.
She slowly moved and sat against the wall in the bathroom.
Her head bobbed left to right as her eyes fought to stay open.
I sat down on the bathroom floor across from her.
“I’m going to fix all of this, sugar,” I said.
Tinsley’s eyes fluttered. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. One fight at a time though. I don’t want you to ever get hurt.”
“Yeah? Well… maybe you should fight the vodka then… because…”
I laughed. “Okay, sugar. I’ll go break some bottles later. In your honor.”
“My hero,” she whispered.
I stood up and scooped Tinsley up off the bathroom floor.
I carried her to the bed and got her settled and tucked in.
My lips brushed her cheek and let out a breath.
“You don’t know how much I love you, sugar,” I whispered. “You are a pain in the ass. It’s like
you’ve lived here your entire life and you’re spoiled. And yet I can’t look away from you.”
“You’re an asshole,” she said with her eyes shut.
“Oh?”
“You never came after me.” Her eyes opened. “When I locked myself in the bathroom. Why didn’t
you kick down the door? Why didn’t you scream at me?”
I stared into her eyes. Her drunk and pretty eyes.
“Next time I’ll move the entire fucking house to get to you,” I whispered. “But I knew you’d cool
off and come back out.”
“And I did, Pres. Wearing nothing but panties. And you weren’t here.”
“That I will regret for the rest of my life.”
“Good. You should. Asshole.”
I kissed her cheek again. “Close your eyes, sugar. You’re going to feel like hell in the morning.”
“I know,” she said. “Fuck.”
Tinsley then let out an ooohhh sound and jumped.
She slapped at the blankets.
“My phone.”
“I’ll get it,” I said.
I dug through the covers and her pocket to get her phone.
“You can look in the morning,” I said. “It’s nothing important.”
“Who was it?”
I looked at the screen and swallowed hard.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Good,” she said.
A few seconds later, Tinsley was asleep.
I stood up and carried her phone through the room, reading the text message over and over.
Tinsley let out a cute little drunk snore.
I looked back at her.
I shook my head.
One fight at a time?
That was no longer possible.
 Chapter 12

“W hat are we doing here, man?” Barr asked as he twirled a cigarette like a drummer would a
drumstick.
“It better be fucking good,” Kip said.
“I’m sure you both enjoyed your night,” I said. “I just gave you an excuse to get the hell out of
Crazy Land.”
“My bus pass is still good there,” Kip said.
“Fuck, I was just getting started,” Barr said. “Played half a song on the piano and then…”
“So that’s part of your routine now?” I asked. “All those years of trying to hide that about
yourself. And now, what, you keep a keyboard in the trunk?”
Barr grinned. “No offense to you, Pres, but thank Tinsley for that.”
I curled my lip. “Oh yeah?”
“I guess I was a little blind to the effect music could have on women,” Barr said. “Even the
saddest and slowest classical song… if you do it the right way… a cigarette between your lips, glass
of whiskey on the piano, smoking and drinking while playing… looking intense…”
“I just picked a fight with someone,” Kip said.
“Who?” I asked.
“What the fuck does that matter?” Kip asked, curling his eyebrows down.
“Yeah, right,” I said. “Doesn’t matter.”
“She wanted me to fight someone. To see if I was as crazy as she was.”
“Well, since we’re on the topic of crazy…”
I slid Tinsley’s cellphone across the counter for Barr and Kip to read.
They bumped shoulders together, probably thinking it was a naked picture of Tinsley. Which if it
was they would never fucking see it.
Assholes.
Barr looked at me.
Kip looked up a few seconds later. “Is that…”
“Yeah,” I said. “Tinsley’s out cold right now. She wasn’t feeling so good before.”
“Ah,” Barr said. “Got too drunk. No wonder you’re pacing the house here.”
“I’m pacing the house over this message,” I said. “You know she’s going to want to go.”
“Of course,” Barr said.
“You know I’m going to take her.”
“Always,” Kip said.
 “You know I’m going to try and talk her out of it.”
“Without a doubt,” Barr said.
“You know I wanted you both here to hear what you think,” I said.
“Not like you give a shit though,” Kip said.
“This hits home for her,” Barr said.
“She’ll never get away from that place, will she?” I asked.
“You can change homes, man,” Kip said. “But where you come from is where you come from.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” I said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to change. Which I can’t
do. I fucked things up with the Cole situation. I don’t want to fuck this up too. There’s no way I can let
her go alone.”
“Then we all go,” Barr said. “Give her the protection she needs. Imagine rolling up there with the
three of us. And her. She’ll be like a princess climbing out of the back of the SUV, you know?”
“Before we all go on a road trip, can I just swing back through the house and see if my little crazy
is still sleeping?” Kip asked.
I swiped my hand across the counter and grabbed the phone. “This is one where I go alone.
Unless you two feel like backing me up and convincing Tinsley not to go.”
“Not to go where?” her voice asked out of nowhere.
I turned my head and saw her shuffling from the bedroom, wearing the comforter from the bed.
Her hair was all messy on one side. The side she slept on.
“Sugar, it’s too early for you to be awake.”
“I heard you all talking,” she said.
“Look at you, love,” Barr said. He started to slow clap. “A fucking mess yet still so beautiful.”
“Just for the record, girl,” Kip said, “if you had made the right choice, you’d never have to wake
up alone. Or find your guy talking to two other guys instead of being inside you.”
Tinsley yawned and groaned.
I made a mental note to punch Kip in the mouth later.
“How do you feel, sugar?” I asked.
“Like I drank too much and threw up,” she said.
“That’s about what happened,” I said. “And you should still be sleeping.”
“Why are you three awake and talking?” she asked.
“Life,” Barr said.
“Thought you two had your dates picked out,” Tinsley said. “What happened? Whiskey dick?
Little ones couldn’t get hard?”
“For the record,” Kip said, pointing at Tinsley.
“There is no record,” I said. “Nobody wants to hear about what you did or didn’t do.”
“I second that,” Barr said.
“What’s going on?” Tinsley asked again.
Barr put his hands flat to the counter.
Kip looked at me.
I slowly slid my arm around Tinsley and hugged her. “Listen, sugar, you got a text message a little
while ago. Heard your phone go off and I looked. You asked who it was but you were too far gone to
talk about anything. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t Cole fucking around again.”
“Which we’re going to handle, love,” Barr said. “No need to worry about that at all.”
“I wasn’t worried to begin with,” Tinsley said.
“Good,” Barr said with a wink.
 “So what’s with my phone then?” Tinsley asked, looking up at me.
I slowly slipped the phone into her hand.
All I could do then was wait.

K ip dove at the door and put his back to it.

“Move,” Tinsley ordered.
“Can’t do that, girl,” he said.
“I’ll hit you.”
“Have at it.”
Tinsley threw a punch through the comforter and cracked Kip in the mouth.
“Oh, shit,” Barr yelled.
The comforter fell from Tinsley’s body, leaving her wearing nothing but a black tank top and
black panties.
I gritted my teeth, wanting to rip out both Barr and Kip’s eyes.
Kip licked his bottom lip and stayed cool.
“I’ll do it again,” Tinsley said.
“No, you won’t, sugar,” I said.
I slipped my arms around her waist and pulled her away from Kip.
She swung and kicked at me, so I let her go and spun her around.
She slapped me across the face.
Which was fine.
Barr picked up the comforter. “Hey, love, put this back on. Take a breath.”
Tinsley looked at him with fire in her eyes. “Fuck you.”
“Sugar, it’s going to be okay,” I said.
She looked at me. “Fuck you, too.”
“Tinsley…”
“She’s going to die because of me,” Tinsley said. “Because I left town.”
“That’s not true,” I said.
“Yes it is,” she yelled back at me. “It’s… I just have to get there.”
“I know you do, sugar,” he said.
Tinsley swallowed hard. “You don’t want me to go.”
“Of course I don’t,” I said. “I don’t want you to leave BFH. But I understand who you are and
why you’re going to do this. You want to go save her.”
“Ruby was my best friend, Pres.”
“I know.”
“It doesn’t matter what happened to us. I left. I looked like this rich bitch. She took offense. She
was jealous. I would have been the same way. To get out of that place? And I never… I never called
her. I never texted her.”
Tinsley’s eyes filled with tears.
I hugged her and kissed the top of her head.
She broke the hug a second later.
She sucked in a breath. “I need some air. I need to think.”
 “Okay,” I said.
I nodded to Kip and he moved from the door.
Tinsley grabbed for his hand. “Sorry about your lip.”
“You hit like a girl so it’s okay,” Kip said. Tinsley opened the door and my eyes went wide when
I saw the girl with the black bikini from the pool standing there. Wearing a white sleeveless shirt.
Kip’s shirt. Wearing nothing else. Which was made very evident by the poke, poke against the shirt at
her chest.
“What the fuck is this?” she asked. “You’re half naked. With all three of them? What kind of
fucking gross kinky shit is this.”
“Shit,” I whispered.
Tinsley didn’t hesitate for a second, she wound up and punched the girl in the face.
Tinsley looked back at us. “That, I’m not sorry for.”
She walked forward and lifted her fist again.
The girl hurried to drop to the ground and put a hand up.
“Stay on your back, bitch,” Tinsley said. “That’s where you look best.”
“She just kicked your girl’s ass,” Barr whispered to Kip.
“Is it wrong that I’m turned on right now?” Kip asked.
“Clean this up,” I said. “And get her out of here.”
I chased after Tinsley as she stood next to the pool, hugging herself.
The early morning hours were still cool.
Almost cold.
I wrapped my right arm around her and pulled her close.
“I should be mad at you for looking at my phone. Even if I was drunk and told you to,” she said.
“And I should be mad that you didn’t wake me up. Or shake me from being so drunk and dumb that I
couldn’t even talk about my best friend…”
“Are you mad at me, sugar?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“I have to go, Pres,” she said, looking up at me.
“I’m coming with you, Tinsley.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. We’re going to find her together.”
“You’ve never… I mean, you don’t know Ruby…”
I touched Tinsley’s chin. “She matters to you. Which means she matters to me. Whatever she’s
going through, she needs someone like you.”
Tinsley nodded. “I can’t figure you out, Pres. Whether I really love you as much as I think I do. Or
if it’s a mix of love and hate. Or…”
I kissed her. “Don’t think, sugar. Just feel. Now go get dressed. We’ll load up on coffee and get
out of here.”
“Right now?” she asked.
“Do you want to go back to bed?”
“No. I won’t be able to sleep.”
“Then we’re out of here.”
Tinsley and I turned.
She pointed to the girl on the ground. Kip was crouched in front of her, grinning, probably trying
to tell whatever dumb joke was needed to get the girl off her ass and back into his bed.
“What about the whore?” Tinsley asked.
“She’s not my whore,” I said. “What the fuck do I care?”
“Did you just call me a whore?” Tinsley asked.
“Not a whore but my whore.”
“Pres?”
“Yeah, sugar?”
Tinsley jumped to her toes and kissed my cheek.
She moved her lips to my ear.
“Don’t make me kick your ass.”

S he was sound asleep, curled up in the front seat of the SUV.

I had just crossed the border to her old town and I reached across the seat and slipped my
hand to the back of her neck. As I gently squeezed to try and wake her, she began to groan. She moved
her head and let out a long sigh.
I pulled my hand away and made a fist.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered with her eyes shut.
“Sugar, if I keep doing that and you keep making those noises, I’m going to have to stop. And pull
over. And throw you into the backseat.”
Tinsley’s eyes opened. “That… made you…”
“We’re here,” I said.
Tinsley sat up and stretched. “Sorry for falling asleep.”
“Don’t worry about it. You needed the sleep. It’s still kind of early here. Where are we going
first? Meet up with Amelia?”
Tinsley looked at her phone. “Not yet.”
“Okay. Am I just driving in circles here then?”
“No.” Tinsley looked at me. “Take me to the apartment.”
“The apartment?”
“Where I used to live. I want to see it.”
“The building?”
“The apartment itself, Pres.”
“How the hell are you going to get in there, sugar?” I asked.
“Does that matter?”
I opened my mouth but held back.
I shook my head.
And I drove.
Tinsley rattled off the directions on where to go. When to turn.
And when I pulled into the parking lot and looked at the shitty building, my hands gripped the
steering wheel tighter.
I couldn’t imagine living in that place.
It wasn’t fair to Tinsley that she had to endure that kind of life.
If anything, seeing that building just proved to me how much I needed to take care of her. Spoil
her. Make her that rich bitch that everyone hated.
“I want to see something,” Tinsley said. “Just trust me.”
I turned off the SUV. “Let’s go, sugar.”
I held her hand as we walked into the building.
The first smell that hit me was harsh.
A mix of everyone’s apartment on the first floor along with dusty walls, dirty carpets, cheap air
fresheners that were plugged in and burned out, not to mention just the overall smell of something like
wet, dirty clothes.
Tinsley led the way and stopped at a door.
“Right here,” she said.
“What are you going to do? Knock?”
“Nope,” she said. She crouched down and lifted a faded welcome mat. “Look.”
There was a silver key under the mat.
“Are you kidding me?” I asked. “A spare key under the welcome mat to the apartment.”
“There was nothing worth stealing,” she said.
Tinsley stuck the key into the lock and turned it.
The key worked.
“What if someone lives here?” I asked.
“Oh well,” she said. “This place is so fucking scummy… who cares, Pres?”
I put my hand on hers.
We turned the doorknob together and opened the apartment door.
The place was a hollowed out shell of an apartment. No furniture. Pieces of the carpet cleaner
than others, showing where furniture used to be. A jagged piece of a cable wire sticking up out of the
floor like a snake poised to attack. The heavy smell of heat and dust. The dirty carpet gave way to a
small patch of dirty linoleum in the kitchen. The drawers and cabinets were open, cupboards bare.
Tinsley opened the fridge and coughed.
“No power,” she said. “And there’s stuff in there.”
She covered her mouth.
“What are we doing here, sugar?” I asked her. “Huh? You know where you came from. And you
know you never have to go back there. Ever. I understand that before it was scary. You were living
with Claire and you weren’t sure of anything. But that doesn’t matter now. Whatever happens to
Claire, you have me. I’m going to take care of you for the rest of your life, sugar.”
Tinsley stepped to me and grabbed my hands. “I want to show you something, Pres.”
She moved from the kitchen and down the hallway, pausing at a door.
When she opened it, I saw it was a large closet. With three tiers of shelves all along the walls.
Tinsley stepped into the closet and pointed to the floor.
“Right there,” she whispered.
“What?” I asked.
She looked back at me. “That’s where I found my mother. I walked home from class… and I came
home. Instead of hanging out with Ruby. If I hadn’t come home, Pres, she would have died. And if she
had died…”
“No, sugar, don’t do that to yourself,” I whispered. “Don’t think about what if.”
“I have to,” she said. “I found her here. I thought she was dead. And I was relieved, Pres. I was
happy. I called for help and I just stood here…” Tinsley blinked fast. “I wanted her to be gone. But
she survived. Like she always did. But this time… this was the time Claire showed up and brought
me to you…”
I stood next to her and held her hand. I squeezed it tight. “There’s a lot of shit that happens in life,
sugar. I know our lives are very different. We grew up very different. But in some ways we were the
same. I grew up seeing the destruction of money. You grew up seeing the destruction of no money. My
mother loved me the same way Claire loved you. I can never take away what happened to her. Or
what brought you to me. But what matters is that you’re with me, Tinsley. And your mother didn’t die.
And she’s clean. And she’s happy.”
Tinsley looked up at me and nodded. “Thank you, Pres. For being here and listening to me.”
“Always. And we’re going to find Ruby. And we’re going to help her.”
“Okay. Can we get something to eat? I think I’m feeling better.”
“Anything you want, sugar.”
I pulled her to get out of the smelly closet.
She stopped for a second.
She smiled at me.
“Wait,” she said. “One more thing…”
Before I could say a word, Tinsley coughed and spit at the spot where her mother had overdosed.
Then she looked at me and smiled.
We left the apartment, locked the door, and put the key back under the mat.
In my SUV, I held her chin and kissed her.
I wanted to tell her she would never have to deal with that part of her life ever again.
But that would have been a lie.
We were just getting started in this shithole she used to call home.
 Chapter 13

“J ust so“So?”
you know, Amelia and I weren’t very close,” Tinsley said.
I asked.
“I don’t know how awkward this will be.”
“Sugar, this isn’t about being awkward. It’s about your other friend. She’s in trouble.”
“Right. Sorry. Just… I appreciate you being here.”
I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m here. I’m not leaving.”
“There she is.”
The town was rundown. Like some kind of forgotten world.
We were standing at the edge of a parking lot outside my SUV. I could feel the worry and tension
pouring from Tinsley. Which made sense. Her life had changed so much and this place was nothing
but a memory. A living memory she could step into and remind herself of what was.
The girl walking toward us had one hot pink earbud stuck in her ear. She had the longest hair I
ever saw on someone. Pulled up and back, the ponytail down the front of her body, bouncing off her
hip. She was in a faded jean jacket with a low cut white shirt under it. Large, gold hoops hung from
her ears. She looked tired. And she looked around like she was scared.
I let Tinsley’s hand go so she could run to the girl.
Amelia.
They hugged and both started to cry.
I just stood there, watching it.
Old friendships.
That was a part of life I never knew.
There were never friendships. That kind of stuff was always far gone from me. Other than meeting
Barr and Kip and coming up with a common goal of who we wanted to be, friends weren’t needed.
Friends were a problem. A burden with nothing but issues.
Kind of like what I was staring at.
“Where is she?” Tinsley asked.
“I’ll tell you everything,” Amelia said.
“Here,” I called out. “Get in. I’ll drive around so we can talk in private.”
It was a hell of sight to be opening the back door of the SUV and having Tinsley and her friend get
inside.
Before I shut the door, Amelia looked at me and stuck out her hand.
“Amelia.”
 “Pres.”
“You’re the rich guy who stole Ti.”
“That I am,” I said.
I slammed the door and walked around the SUV.
I drove out of the parking lot and cruised the streets slow, listening to the conversation.
“Okay, it was Garcia,” Amelia said. “He got crazy, Ti.”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
“He tried to get involved with dealing.”
“Drugs?” I asked.
Amelia looked at me.
“You can trust him,” Tinsley said. “Believe me… we need him.”
“You need me,” I said, winking at Amelia.
“Yes,” she said. “Drugs.”
“Shit,” Tinsley said. “When did that start?”
“A while ago,” Amelia said. “He got in over his head with it. He was making a little money for
fun but then it got serious. He must have went into someone else’s territory and it got bad. He got beat
up really bad. Was in the hospital.”
“What?” Tinsley asked. She grabbed Amelia’s hand. “What else happened?”
“That was just the start. That world is dark. And the slope is very steep. I lost her, Ti. This is my
fault for letting it happen. I should have known. Or seen it.”
“What?”
“The guy her mother started seeing… he was bad.”
“Bad as in what?” I asked. “Drugs again?”
“Bingo, dude,” Amelia said. “This isn’t fucking Silver Spoon Street here.”
“I never said it was,” I said. “But if you don’t tell us where Ruby is soon, we won’t be able to get
to her.”
“I’m getting there, dude,” Amelia said. “Shit. Chill.”
“What happened with Ruby’s mother’s boyfriend?” Tinsley asked.
“He was somehow tied to Garcia too. They hate each other. They were always arguing and
fighting. Which was fucked up to see. And poor Ruby… she was just in the middle. I should have
seen it coming…”
“Seen what?” I asked.
“That she was hiding it. That she was involved too.”
I pulled to the side of the road. I turned around. “Involved how?”
“Using that stuff,” Amelia said.
“Fuck,” Tinsley said. “I thought she was just in trouble. This is… big trouble.”
I looked at Tinsley.
It had to have reminded her of her mother all over again.
“When I noticed it I thought she was just having fun. Partying. You know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Tinsley said.
“Then it got worse. I tried to… I don’t know. I tried to talk to her. To yell at her. I tried to be
mean. Then nice. I tried to get her to come with me. To sleep at my place.”
“She’s still living at home?” I asked.
“Was,” Amelia said. “Her mother’s boyfriend made a pass at her.”
“Oh god,” Tinsley said.
 I curled my lip. “A pass at her…”
“Yeah. He wanted to screw her. Told her she was a younger, hotter version of her mother. And
since there was nothing wrong with it, why not?”
“How old is this piece of shit?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s the best part,” Amelia said. “He’s only twenty-two.”
“What the fuck,” Tinsley said. “So Ruby is twenty. He’s twenty-two. And her mother is… what,
thirty-nine?”
“Fuck ages,” I said. “Did Ruby go with this guy?”
“No,” Amelia said. “After that happened, she came with me. I thought I finally had a chance to
save her. I had her all set up in the basement. Her own spot. Bed. Everything. The first night we
stayed up and watched a movie. We ate so much junk food we got sick. It was actually…” Amelia
laughed. “We laughed because she threw up from eating junk food. Instead of… other stuff.”
I turned forward and started to drive again.
I kept my ears wide open though.
“What happened then?” Tinsley asked.
“The next night she took off. I tried to look at all the normal hangouts for her.”
“What about the bad spots in town?” I asked.
“The entire town is a bad spot, dude,” Amelia said.
“He means the really bad ones,” Tinsley said. “Where the really bad people go to…”
Amelia shook her head. “I think it’s Garcia. I think he’s lying. I think she’s with him at his
apartment.”
“Wait,” I said. “Garcia has an apartment?”
“Yeah. Third floor of this shit building. All the windows are blacked out and shit. It’s not good.”
“Give me directions,” I said.
“You can’t just show up,” Amelia said.
“The fuck I can’t,” I growled.
“Pres, wait a second,” Tinsley said.
She reached around the seat and touched my arm.
“I just thought I should call you, Ti,” Amelia said. “Since you did this with your mother, you
know? You’d know what to do and say to her. To help her. Say something to save her. Because I can’t.
I’m scared…”
Amelia buried her face into her hands and cried.
I looked in the mirror at Tinsley.
Holding Amelia.
“Here,” Tinsley said. “Stop here, Pres.”
I looked, and saw a small pizza place attached to a gas station that looked like it had been shut
down for ten years.
“Seriously?” I asked. “You want to get fucking pizza?”
“Yes,” Tinsley said.
“I could eat,” Amelia said. “I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”
I gritted my teeth and didn’t say a word. I couldn’t imagine a world where I wasn’t able to fucking
eat when I was hungry.
When I collected myself, I shut off the SUV.
I turned and curled my lip at both Amelia and Tinsley.
“This better be some damn good pizza.”
I t was some damn good pizza.
Well, maybe not the best, but the lady who ran the pizza place made it the best.
Her name was Joanie and she looked to be about two hundred years old. But she was fast, funny,
and didn’t miss a beat.
The three of us sat at a sticky booth. It was a bright and ugly orange color booth with what once
was a perfectly clean white table. There were leftover stains from markers. Phone numbers. Bad
words. Pictures of body parts that were worthy of an eyebrow raise.
“Are you going to need to shower after this?” Amelia asked me.
“Excuse me?” I replied.
“Rich boy. This is out of your element.”
“I’m not like that,” I said.
“Amelia, he’s here to help,” Tinsley said. “Turn the attitude off.”
“Hard to do,” she said. “Look at this place. Everywhere. You got out. For free, Ti. And you got a
man. With money. Shit…”
Tinsley lowered her head.
“Look at me, Amelia,” I said. “And listen carefully. You don’t know what Tinsley has been
through. And she doesn’t have money. She works for everything she has.”
“She working you?” Amelia asked. “What does she do? I bet I can do it twice as hard and fast.”
“Fuck you,” Tinsley snapped.
She pushed Amelia right out of the booth to the floor.
Joanie popped up and almost came over the counter.
I stood up and put a hand out. “She fell. We’re okay.”
“Not here,” Joanie warned. “Oh, sonsabitches… not here…”
I looked down at Amelia as she was on her ass. “You’ve worn out your welcome with me. Stand
up and leave. We’ll find Ruby and help her.”
Amelia’s eyes filled with tears. She looked at Tinsley. “I’m sorry I said that stuff. I didn’t mean it.
I’m… jealous…”
“Do what Pres says to do,” Tinsley said. “Let us find her and help her.”
“I’m scared for her,” Amelia said. “Scared for me. Scared for everything.”
“Stop being so damn scared,” I said. “Do something about it.”
“I’m sorry,” Amelia said. “Oh god I’m so sorry.”
Amelia started to cry again.
I sat back down and grabbed another slice of pizza.
Tinsley looked at me.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Pres,” she whispered.
“You want to clean up both of their lives?” I asked. “Fine. Give me the word, sugar. I’m more
worried about the one that’s missing. The one that’s hooked on drugs. The one that really needs our
help. Not someone who is being jealous.”
“You don’t get what it’s like,” Tinsley said. “To live this life. To feel like you’re never going to
get out of it. It’s the same thing each and every day. And it’s not that easy to just do something about
it.”
 I gritted my teeth.
I looked down at Amelia as she sat on the filthy pizza shop floor.
Tinsley had a goddamn hold on me. One that made things fun and wild, but one that I wondered if
it would eventually bring me down.
I stood back up and then crouched down.
Amelia looked terrified.
“You finish all your classes and shit?” I asked.
“For the most part,” Amelia said.
“You’re graduating, right?”
“I think so.”
“If you left this town, would you ever look back?”
“Never,” Amelia said.
“I’ll get your number from Tinsley. I’ll find something for you. Okay?”
“Something…?” Amelia asked.
“I’m not just some rich piece of shit, Amelia. Things have fallen into my lap. Things have been
given to me. But if I don’t give a damn and work at it, then I lose it all. You might be changing
bedsheets at a hotel or you might be printing reports for orders, who knows. But it’s something.”
Amelia swallowed hard.
She looked at Tinsley.
Then she looked back at me.
“Don’t say anything else,” I said to her. “This isn’t about you. Don’t be so damn greedy.”
I stood up and offered my hand.
I helped Amelia to her feet.
“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” she said. “Wash up for a second.”
She walked away and Tinsley jumped up and grabbed my arm.
“Don’t say anything either,” I warned.
“You might have just saved her life, Pres,” Tinsley said.
“Yeah. I picked up on that. Who would have thought… the Rulz out there saving lives.”
Tinsley laughed. She slipped her arms around me and hugged me.
I wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
The little bell above the door rang.
I didn’t pay that much attention to it.
At least not until I heard Joanie say a word that could change everything.
Gun.

I pushed Tinsley away and turned.

There were three of them.
Punk teenagers. Probably our age. Eighteen or nineteen.
The first guy had a gun and the other two were the muscle, ready to fight.
“Who the fuck are you?” the first guy asked me.
“Just trying to pay for my pizza,” I said. “Then I have some things to take care of. Are you really
here with a gun. What are you going to get out of this place? Fifty bucks?”
 “Fifty more bucks than I fucking have,” he said.
“That’s weak, bro.”
“Empty your fucking pockets then. That your ride out front? We’ll take that too. Hell of a lot more
than fifty bucks.”
I nodded.
I stepped toward him.
The guy with the gun.
“You little assholes, you leave,” Joanie shouted. She had a rolling pin in her right hand, waving it.
“I’ll hit you so hard you’ll think you’re babies again and you’ll be shitting your pants!”
I appreciated Joanie’s attitude.
One of the guys didn’t.
He jumped at the counter and Joanie screamed.
She stumbled back and fell into the counter.
She dropped the rolling pin and yelled in pain, grabbing her back.
“That’s enough of that,” I said as I grabbed the attacker by his shirt.
He turned and swung at me.
I got out of the way of the punch but I was far from being out of the way from the guy with the gun.
“Pres!” Tinsley yelled.
“Pres,” the guy with the gun said. “Pres, Pres, Pres. Why don’t you put your hands up?”
I showed my hands. “Just don’t hurt Joanie.”
“We know Joanie,” the guy with the gun said.
“You know her?” I asked.
“We’ve been here three times this week,” the third guy said. “You don’t know where the fuck you
are. You’re some fancy clothed motherfucker thinking… what? You going to buy this block and turn it
into stores?”
“I’m just getting pizza with my girl,” I said.
The guy with the gun looked at Tinsley. “She looks familiar. She used to live here.”
My eyes looked around, I knew I had to make my move.
The guy with the gun was looking at Tinsley.
That’s when I attacked.
My left hand grabbed his wrist and moved the gun out of the way of everyone. My right hand came
forward and I smashed it as hard as I could off his jaw.
The other two guys dove at me, which I figured they would do. But I kept a tight grip on the guy’s
wrist holding the gun.
Tinsley screamed.
I turned my head and saw her coming toward the scene.
“No!” I yelled at her.
She stopped.
Which surprised me.
She never listened to me.
A smile then climbed across her face.
I turned my head back just in time to take a punch to the jaw.
But then I smiled too.
Barr and Kip were opening the door to the pizza place.
I slammed the gunman down on the table and he let out a breathless cry.

counter.
My fist came down to his face three times before I picked him back up and threw him into the

Kip and Barr had the other guys down on the ground, pummeling them as though we were up at the
ditch enjoying a night of fighting.
Behind the counter Joanie kept yelling at us to stop.
Tinsley and Amelia were huddled together in a booth, watching the scene unfold.
My hand gripped the gunman’s shirt tight and I pulled him nose to nose.
“You ever come back here again and I’ll bring everyone I know,” I said. “Money. Power.
Everything possible. Understand me?”
The gunman nodded.
I threw him across the pizza place to the door.
“Come on, man!” he yelled to the other guys.
Kip looked back at me.
I nodded.
He backed off the guy he was taking care of.
Barr stepped away from his guy.
The two scrambled to their feet, diving toward the door.
The gunman then looked at Amelia. “You coming?”
Amelia pulled herself from the booth and started to run.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked. “You called them? You set this up?”
Amelia didn’t say a word.
I blocked her path.
“Is Ruby actually in trouble?” I asked.
“Yes,” Amelia said. “She’s going to die if she doesn’t get help. I’m sorry for this. It’s just…”
“You wanted to rob me and take my ride,” I said.
“I guess I’m not getting a job, huh?” Amelia asked.
“Get the fuck out of here,” I said.
“Wait,” Tinsley said.
She was standing behind Amelia.
She turned Amelia around and threw a right fist that exploded Amelia’s nose open.
Amelia cried out.
The gunman took two steps and Kip was there to punch him in the gut.
“Everyone out!” I ordered.
The three guys and Amelia stumbled out of the pizza shop.
Joanie finally came from behind the counter.
She put her hands to her head. “Look at my place! Look what you did! You rotten people! You
terrible rotten people!”
The place was a mess.
I reached into my pocket and took out all the cash I had on me.
I put it into Joanie’s heated hand.
“Sorry,” I said.
She looked at the money and then at me.
She smiled big.
“I love you!” she yelled. “Come back anytime! Anytime!”
I grabbed for Tinsley’s hand and we got the hell out of there.
“What are you doing here?” Tinsley asked Barr and Kip.
“Coming to this shithole alone?” Barr asked. “Not a chance, love.”
“Something told me there would be some fighting,” Kip said.
He kicked the air and made a weird noise.
“Thanks for showing up,” I said.
“No, here’s the real question,” Barr said, “what are we actually doing here?”
“We need to save Ruby,” Tinsley said. “You know that already.”
“This is for real then?” Barr asked.
“We’re going to track this junkie down and get her clean,” I said.
“I have a more important question,” Kip said.
“What’s that?” Tinsley asked.
Kip grinned. “This Ruby chick… is she hot?”
 Chapter 14

I had been involved in some crazy things in my life. I had seen dangerous situations. I had been in
fights. I had seen weapons.
But when we pulled up to the apartment building where Ruby was supposedly staying, I
realized I was holding the steering wheel tighter than normal. We had no clue what we were walking
into. If Ruby was okay or not. If Ruby owed money to anyone or not.
Hell, we didn’t know if Ruby even wanted to be saved.
Which would be the hardest thing to face.
Because that would just bring back all the shit with Tinsley and her mother.
To me, her mother never wanted to be saved.
She was forced to be saved.
And only then did something in her fucked up mind finally click and she stayed clean.
Clean.
What a word.
Tinsley’s mother was clean but she was far away.
She was in some hippie community and could never leave. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that
if Tinsley’s mother ventured into the real world, she would fall prey to her demons in a heartbeat.
I backed my SUV into a parking spot on the opposite end of the parking lot.
Barr sat in the backseat and casually had a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
Kip was in the backseat too and looked ready for a fight.
“What do we do now?” Kip called out.
I was still assessing things.
“I’ll go knock on the door,” Tinsley said.
My hand grabbed her hand. “The fuck you will, sugar.”
“What?” she snapped at me. “She was my best friend, Pres. If she sees me…”
“What?” I asked. “If she sees you and wants to leave, what happens?”
“Pres is right, love,” Barr said.
“I’ll go up there,” Kip said. “Make it look like I’m looking for something. Get a head count and
feel the place out.”
“How are you going to get out?” Barr asked.
“I’ll say I forgot my cash in the car,” Kip said.
“No way,” I said. “That’s an easy trick. I have a different idea.”
“Which is?” Tinsley asked.
 “I need to know what Ruby looks like,” I said.
“Just say if she’s hot or not,” Kip called out. “I can take it from there.”
“What are you going to do?” Tinsley asked.
“You’re going to stay here,” I said. “Climb into the backseat. Get down. We’re going to go take
care of this.”
Tinsley put her hand on mine. “Pres…”
“What?” I asked.
“This isn’t… this isn’t the ditch. Okay?”
“I never said it was, sugar.”
“This is real. This is… dangerous. You coming here is really sweet. Same for the other two. It
means a lot to me. But this isn’t some rich guy thing. This is for real. If Garcia isn’t alone up there… I
mean, there are people who will kill and not think twice about it. There are people who don’t mind
jail. Who aren’t afraid of being in prison for the rest of their lives. People who will do anything to
avoid jail time.”
“Hey!” I growled.
Tinsley jumped and closed her mouth.
“We’re fine,” I said. “Get in the back, sugar.”
I got out of the SUV and waited to meet Barr and Kip.
“This is madness, man,” Barr said.
“No shit,” I said.
“If we pull this off,” Kip said, “you owe us. I mean, I don’t know what Tinsley is made of… but
it’s got to be whiskey laced honey dripping from her…”
“I’ll feed you to these people, Kip,” I warned.
“We have to focus,” Barr said. He stepped forward and took the last drag of his cigarette. He
flicked it away. “We have to think… like them.”
I looked at Kip and nodded.
This kind of situation brought back old memories for Barr.
When he was part of BC.
He looked around the parking lot.
“I don’t see many vehicles here,” he said. “So I think we’re safe. I don’t think this is an active
place.”
“Meaning?” Kip asked.
“I don’t think there’s going to be fifty guys with guns ready to take us out,” he said.
Just hearing that statement made me take a deep breath.
“Then let’s move,” I said.
“We go through the door together,” Barr said. “Then split. Everyone look around and be smart.
Any sign of trouble and we bolt. We meet back at that pizza place.”
“Got it,” Kip said.
I grabbed both Barr and Kip. “No matter what, Tinsley is our first priority. No offense to Ruby,
but if there’s a choice to be made…”
“It’s always Tinsley,” Barr said.
“Agreed,” Kip said. “Unless Ruby’s hotter than Tinsley.”
Kip grinned and winked.
“I hope this chick is dead ugly,” Barr said.
“I hope we find this chick alive,” I said. “For Tinsley’s sake.”
 That was enough to get them both to be quiet.
We took Barr’s lead as he approached the apartment building. Just the way he walked, with
cautious swagger, was enough that I shook my head. There were stories in his head and heart I knew
nothing about. Things he had seen and done while at BC.
Barr tore open the apartment building door and started to climb the steps.
He pointed to Kip and I showing us where to go and where to look.
The place smelled like shit.
Literally.
The smell instantly began to haunt me.
Barr opened the second door landing.
There was one more set of steps.
Barr threw his arms out and stopped us from walking.
He looked back at me, his eyes wide.
I looked forward and shut my eyes.
There was a young woman on her side, on the steps… her eyes shut.

“FBarr
uck, she’s dead,” Kip said.
jumped up the steps and stuck his fingers to the girl’s neck.
“There’s a pulse,” he said.
“Leave her be,” I said. “We have to find Ruby.”
Barr looked back at me. “How many girls are here, man? What the fuck is this?”
I shook my head.
I had no idea what it was.
What had I gotten myself into here.
Trying to help Tinsley.
Kip stepped over the girl and looked up the steps. “What are we doing?”
“I’ll go,” I said. “This is my thing. You two can see if this girl is okay or not. Call an ambulance
or something. I don’t know.”
There was a loud squeak from a door and Kip crouched down.
“Hey Ruby!” a voice yelled. “Where the fuck did you go? You down there, bitch?”
Barr looked at me again.
I looked at the girl on the steps.
I bent my knees and touched her cheek.
“Hey, Ruby,” I whispered. “Can you open your eyes?”
“You down there, cunt?” the same voice yelled.
Kip looked back at me, his lip curled.
I put my finger to my lips.
“Yo, Garcia, she down there?” another voice asked.
Barr held up two fingers.
At least two guys were up there.
I nodded.
I kept gently shaking the girl’s shoulder.
 I needed to know if it was definitely Ruby or not.
“I’m going to kill that whore,” Garcia’s voice said.
“Nah. She’ll be back. Can’t live without you.”
They laughed.
“True,” Garcia said. “If she runs out to Hoppy again and tries ratting me out…”
“She won’t,” the other voice said. “Come on. Let’s get shit in order. Party soon. You’ll find
someone tonight.”
The door squeaked again.
Then it was silent.
“I think it’s just them,” Kip said. “We can take them.”
“If there’s drugs there’s weapons,” Barr said.
“First things first,” I said. I touched the girl’s face again. “You have to wake up. Or else Garcia
will kill you.”
The girl’s eyes popped open and she sat up.
Her mouth opened to scream but Barr put his hand to her mouth.
She burst into tears and kicked her feet.
I felt like an asshole as I grabbed her legs to keep her from hurting me.
“Listen, girl,” Kip said as he crouched next to her. “We’re here to save you. Tinsley is outside
waiting.”
She turned her head.
Barr took his hand from her mouth.
“Tinsley?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Kip said.
“Hey, are you Ruby?” I asked.
She looked at me and nodded. “Yeah.”
Barr let out a long breath. “Fuck. Okay…”
“Listen to me,” I said to her. “Tinsley found out you were in trouble. We’re here to get you out of
here.”
“How can I believe you? Garcia has tried this before. Tricking me.”
“No tricks here, love,” Barr said. “But there’s no time.”
“I can’t leave… I can’t…”
“Yes you can,” I said. “Whatever he’s doing up there, you can get out of it. Get away from it.”
“Who’s up there right now?” Barr asked.
“Just Garcia and Polk,” Ruby said.
“What the fuck kind of name is Polk?” Kip asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “Do they have guns? Drugs? What’s up there?”
“This is Garcia’s hideout,” Ruby said. “There’s stuff there but nothing… not like his other place.
But he has people coming over. Soon.”
“That’s why we have to leave,” Barr said. “Get you out of here. Get you to safety.”
“Can’t,” Ruby said. Tears fell from her eyes. “He’ll come for me. He’ll send people.”
“The fuck he will,” Kip said.
He stood and went up two steps.
“Kip,” I growled. “Wait a second.”
“Maybe we should,” Barr said to me.
I looked at Ruby. I touched her cheek. “Listen to me, Ruby. You’re going to wait for us at the door.
I have a big SUV out there. Parked. Tinsley is in there waiting. If you feel safe, run like hell. If not,
wait.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked me.
I stood and nodded to Barr and Kip.
“We’re going make sure nothing happens to you.”

“IHe’ll made
do it,” Barr said.
a fist and pounded on the door.
“Who is it?” Garcia’s voice yelled.
“We found Ruby,” Barr said. “Brought her back to you.”
The lock popped open and when the door opened, Barr kicked the door. He dove forward and had
his hands on Garcia. Once again, seeing Barr act like that reminded me of what he had done in his
life.
Kip looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.
He ran into the apartment.
I ran after him.
As Garcia yelled in pain, Polk dove for the dining room table, which was full of bottles of booze.
He had a gun sitting on the table.
Fuck.
Kip grabbed Polk and pulled him away. I got my hands on Polk and threw him against the wall.
I put my forearm to his throat.
I looked at Barr. “Get him up too.”
Garcia’s nose was bloody as he picked him up.
“Who the fuck are you guys?” Garcia asked.
“We’re the ones telling you the truth,” I said.
Barr held his arm to Garcia’s throat.
“We know everything,” Kip said. “Every fucking thing you do. Your hideout here. Your main
place. All the streets.”
“Shit,” Polk said. “Who sent you?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. I pushed away from Polk. He kept his hands against the wall. “We’re
from above.”
“High above,” Barr said. “Hired. Got that?”
“Is this because of Hoppy?” Garcia asked.
“You tell me,” I said. “Your work is sloppy. Fucking messy as shit. You’re going to bring all of us
down.”
Polk looked at Garcia.
They were both afraid.
“I wanted to kill you,” Barr said.
“But we were told not to,” Kip said.
“So here’s the deal,” I said. “We found Ruby on the steps. She was quick to talk. Too quick.”
“I hate that cunt,” Garcia said. “She got hooked on the supply. I didn’t want her to rat. You
know?”
 “I know,” I said. “That’s smart. But she’s a problem.”
“We’ll fix it,” Polk said. “I swear, man, we’ll fix it.”
“No, you won’t,” Barr said.
“We will,” Kip said. “We’re taking her.”
“Shit,” Garcia said.
“We have to figure out how much she knows and then make it so she’s gone,” I said. “Understand
me?”
“Yeah, man,” Garcia said. “Fuck that bitch, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Fuck that bitch…”
I nodded to Barr.
He backed away from Garcia and then threw what had to be the hardest punch I’d ever seen in my
life.
Garcia was knocked out before he hit the floor.
“Jesus Christ!” Polk yelled.
Kip charged at Polk and pinned him to the wall. “You touch that gun on the table or even think
about following us, we’ll make one call. And you know who is going to show up then. And you know
it won’t be a fucking punch to the face.”
“Got it,” Polk said. “Oh, fuck, I’m going to throw up.”
“Go,” I said.
Kip let Polk go and he ran to the bathroom.
We heard him gagging as he threw up.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said to Barr and Kip.
We left the apartment with Polk puking and Garcia still out cold.
“That was fucking crazy,” Kip said like an excited kid on Christmas morning.
Barr was quiet, taken back.
I followed them down the stairs to the door.
“She’s gone,” Barr said.
“Fuck,” I growled.
Kip tore open the door and started to jog toward the SUV.
I grabbed for Barr’s shoulder. “Hey.”
He shook me away. “Fuck off, Pres. Not now.”
Barr fumbled to get a cigarette and light it.
I rubbed my jaw and walked to the SUV.
“Got her!” Kip shouted when he opened the backdoor.
Ruby had listened and went to the SUV.
She was curled up in Tinsley’s arms, crying.
She had tears streaming down her cheeks.
She looked at me. “Thank you.”
I reached into the SUV and touched Tinsley’s hand. “Anything for you, sugar.”
“We better get out of here,” Barr said as he slammed the front passenger door.
I nodded in agreement.
I got into the driver’s seat and drove away.
Never wanting to see that apartment building again.
Never wanting to see where Tinsley used to live ever again.
I barely made it two blocks before Kip pulled himself up in between myself and Barr.
 “Hey,” he said.
“She okay back there?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” he said. “She’s not all that fucked up. But she’s going to feel it if she’s not going to find
anything to take.”
“That’s her problem,” Barr said in a cold voice.
Kip looked at me.
I nodded, saying let it go.
Kip nudged my arm and grinned.
“What?” I asked.
“Ruby… she’s pretty hot."
 Chapter 15

B arr stayed in the SUV while Kip and I went into the pizza place. Again.
When Joanie saw us, she dropped the mop she was using to clean up the blood from
before and studied us. Then she pulled out a long knife from her apron. The poor woman was
too old to be living this way. But for me, I could only save one person at a time.
“Pizza,” Kip said. “That’s it. Lots of it. All you’ve got made.”
I whispered to Kip to give her all the cash he had on him.
When Kip did, Joanie put the knife away and reached up for his face and started to kiss his
cheeks.
Of all the damn things Ruby wanted… pizza.
It was annoying but it was worth doing. Whatever it took to get her to calm down, eat real food,
and then we could figure out what in the hell we were going to do next.
The first step (after pizza, of course) was to get the fuck out of this town and stay gone for good.
Kip slid into the backseat and I got into the front seat and drove off.
“I’m going to miss Joanie,” Ruby said.
“Me too,” I said through gritted teeth.
I didn’t ask where to yet because I wasn’t some fucking junkie chauffeur.
I got out of that town and was about halfway to BFH when I found a side road that was safe
enough to pull over at.
My SUV smelled like junkie tears and greasy pizza. I made a note to myself to get a new SUV
when this was all said and done. That note went along with about ten thousand others.
I opened the driver’s door, jumped out and walked to the back of the SUV.
I stood there alone, sorting through those ten thousand thoughts.
Until Tinsley joined me.
She bit on her bottom lip as she inched toward me.
“Sugar,” I whispered.
“Pres,” she whispered.
I put my hand out and she slid her hand into mine.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” she whispered.
“I do,” I said.
Tinsley got close enough to touch my face. “Listen to me quick. While we’re alone.” She
swallowed hard. “Ruby was my best friend for like… forever. I can’t even begin to tell you the
stories…”
 “You can begin at the beginning,” I said.
Tinsley laughed. “Yeah. Right. That’s a good place. She’s just… everything. I mean, even if I
never talked to her again after today I would still be okay with everything. She was there with my
mother, Pres. So many times. And I was there with her mother. The things her mother used to do. And
even Garcia. He was just the boy that lived across the street. I had no idea what he had become. I
feel… guilty.”
“Guilty? How can you feel guilty, sugar?”
“I wasn’t there, Pres. For any of it. I was swept away. Claire picked me up that day at the hospital
and that was it. I promised myself I wouldn’t let anything change, but it did. I met you. And Barr. And
Kip. And everything ended up changing. She got lost. She probably had nobody to turn to. I mean,
look at Amelia. That stupid fucking bitch.”
I rubbed my thumb along her hand and her fingers.
My head continued to spin.
Tinsley brought me comfort and a sense of peace.
But that didn’t mean I could just let certain things go.
“Pres?” Tinsley asked.
I looked at her. “What?”
“What do you have to say? You said you knew what to say right now. Please. Say something right
now.”
I touched her chin and then held it like I always did.
I offered my lips to her lips.
“That was good,” she whispered after the kiss.
“Yeah it was, sugar,” I whispered. “But this next part you won’t like at all.”

I ripped open the back of the SUV.

I dove into the back and flipped down the third row of seats.
Kip and Ruby turned to look at me.
Barr leaned to the middle of the front seat, a cigarette in his mouth.
“The Rulz,” I said. “Out here. Now.” I pointed to Ruby. “You. Back here. Now.”
“You said you weren’t going to hurt me,” Ruby said.
“I never fucking said that,” I said. “And if I did, oh well. You’re used to being lied to. Used up.
Right?”
“Pres!” Tinsley yelled as she punched at my arm.
I looked at her and curled my lip. “Don’t.”
“Do what he says, girl,” Kip warned Ruby.
Barr was already out of the SUV, coming to my side, his stinky cigarette smoke floating all around
us.
Ruby showed her hands as she started to climb into the back of the SUV.
Her clothes were oversized and ragged. Her black shirt hung off her body, showing me for a split
second that she wasn’t even wearing a bra. I turned my head out of respect as I shook my head. Her
jeans were filthy. Dirty. Stained. And I didn’t even want to know what some of the stains were.
She sat at the back of the SUV with her feet dangling off.
 Her once white shoes were beat to hell. The left shoe had a hole in the side, showing that she was
wearing pinks socks.
She was a mess.
Part of me wanted to scream at her and ask how the fuck she let this happen to herself and her life.
But that wasn’t my business.
“What are you going to do?” Ruby asked.
I had Kip on my left. Barr on my right.
Tinsley was on the other side of Kip.
I stepped toward Ruby and she flinched.
“What do you think we should do?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I didn’t do anything to you. I didn’t hurt you. I don’t even know who
you are.”
“We’re the Rulz,” I said. “Any questions about that you can throw at Tinsley. I want to know more
about Garcia. And that fucking moron he was with.”
“Of course,” Ruby said. “I’ll tell you anything.”
“That’s a problem,” Barr said.
“It is?” I asked.
Barr side eyed me and nodded. He smoked his cigarette so calm and cool as he closed in on
Ruby.
“Look at me, Ruby,” he said. “That right there… so quick to tell anyone everything… that won’t
work. That’s how you’ll end up getting hurt.”
“You work for them?” Ruby asked.
“No, love,” Barr said. “We don’t work for anyone.” He reached out and tucked some of Ruby’s
hair behind her ear. “Just be careful with that. Rats can hide but they’re easy to find.”
“Except with us,” I said. “You have to tell us everything we want to know. So we can keep you
safe. All I want to know right now is this… will Garcia come looking for you?”
Ruby shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
Kip took his turn and sat next to Ruby. He put his left arm around her. “Hey. Listen to me, girl. Do
you owe Garcia anything?”
“No,” she said.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Positive,” she said.
“Could be anything,” Barr said. “Money. Stuff. Favors. Sex…”
“Shit, Barr,” Kip said.
It looked like there was a flash of jealousy in Kip’s eyes.
“He’s right,” I said.
“No,” Ruby said. She jumped down from the SUV. She looked ready to cry again. “I didn’t mean
for any of this to happen. Okay? Everything got out of hand.”
“Now you’re a junkie,” I said.
“Pres!” Tinsley yelled.
A second later she was right in front of me, blocking my way to Ruby.
She looked ready to kill me.
Which was fine.
It was needed.
She was protecting her friend.
 “It’s okay, Ti,” Ruby said. “He’s right.”
Tinsley stepped back and stood next to Ruby and grabbed her hand. “What are you trying to do to
her?”
“Getting everything in order,” I said.
“To protect ourselves,” Barr said. “And you, Ti.”
Tinsley looked at Ruby. “Are we safe?”
“What did you guys do to Garcia?” Ruby asked.
“Made him think we were high above him,” Kip said. “The other guy threw up.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “He’s such a pussy.”
“So you don’t owe anything to anyone?” I asked again.
“Nothing,” Ruby said. “I swear.”
Tinsley looked at me.
I watched her shut her eyes for a second.
She then threw her right arm across her body and grabbed Ruby’s hair.
“Oh, shit!” Kip yelled.
Tinsley pulled Ruby back to the SUV and held her down in the back.
“Look at me,” Tinsley growled. “Look at me, Ruby. What the fuck were you thinking? Huh? You
want to die? You want to end up half dead in a closet like my mother? After all we’ve been through in
life?”
“I’m sorry,” Ruby cried. “I got lost in it all…”
“You need to swear on your life that nobody is going to come after us,” Tinsley said.
“I swear on my life,” Ruby said.
“How fucked up are you? How bad is it?”
“It’s not that bad,” Ruby said. “You’re hurting my hair.”
Tinsley backed off of Ruby.
I slid my hands to her waist and pulled her against me.
I felt her body shaking.
Ruby collected herself and looked at us, crying again.
There wasn’t an ounce of remorse going through me. She needed to know how serious this was
and how serious we were.
“You’re going to clean yourself up, love,” Barr said. “And stay away from that town.”
“No matter what it takes,” Kip said. He approached Ruby and touched her back. “We’ll get you
some fresh clothes and shit, okay? Get you cleaned up. But no more junk.”
“Ever,” Tinsley said.
Ruby nodded. “I know. I only… it doesn’t matter. Garcia doesn’t matter to anyone. He’s nothing.
Believe me. Nobody is going to give a shit about him. Even if he tries to say something, nobody will
care.”
Barr and I looked at each other.
He nodded.
I had to take Ruby’s word and Barr’s judgement on this.
I tightened my grip on Tinsley’s waist and pushed her toward Ruby.
“It’s all good now, girl,” Kip said. “We just needed to know what this was. You’re going to be
okay.”
“I’m sorry, Ruby,” Tinsley said. “For the way everything happened. I thought my mother was dead
in the closet. And then a friend of hers… she took me in. My mother went to rehab. She’s clean now.
And I just…”
“We kept her for ourselves,” I said.
Ruby looked around at us. “Who the fuck are you guys?”
“The Rulz, love,” Barr said. He flicked his cigarette away.
“You’re like the guys I would dream about to come and save me,” Ruby said with a weak laugh.
“Wishes come true, girl,” Kip said.
“Except Pres is all mine,” Tinsley said.
Ruby looked at me again and I winked.
“Where can we take you, love?” Barr asked, getting things back on track.
“Straight to rehab,” I said.
“No,” Ruby said. “I can’t afford that. I can’t do that…”
“You have to go somewhere safe and quiet,” Tinsley said. “You can’t come to BFH. It’s too much.
And I’m already living in Kip’s guesthouse.”
“Which I’m willing to kick her out of if you want it, girl,” Kip said.
“Wait,” Ruby said. “So you’re banging this guy” - she pointed at me - “and then you’re living with
this guy” - she pointed at Kip.
“Yeah,” Tinsley said.
“What about this guy?” Ruby asked, pointing to Barr. “What does he do for you?”
“I save the junkie best friend from an early death,” Barr said.
“Noted,” Ruby said.
“We still need an answer,” I said. “Where are we taking you?”
Ruby bit at her top lip. She started to nod. “I know where I have to go…”

I t was a hell of a drive.

At least a good hour north.
Which was good.
The more distance the better.
In the backseat - the way backseat - Ruby and Tinsley sat facing each other, talking, laughing, and
telling old stories. Most of the stories they’d get halfway through and just start laughing. They laughed
so hard they cried a few times.
With each mile we put between Ruby and that town, she seemed to calm a little.
I had no idea what she had been taking, but soon enough the urge would crush her. She was far
from being in the clear of anything. But if she could get somewhere safe and quiet and stay there, she
would be okay.
“What’s your take on it?” I asked Barr.
Kip popped his head forward, between Barr and I.
“I think we’re okay,” Barr said. “She’s right about Garcia. He’s way down on the list of people
we should worry about. Even if his guys showed up, it’s not like we took anything. We just roughed
him up.”
“And took his girlfriend,” Kip said.
“They won’t care about that,” Barr said.
“I appreciate what you both did,” I said. “This isn’t our thing. I don’t want this to be our thing.
But…”
My voice trailed as I heard Tinsley burst into laughter.
Her laughing made me smile.
“She makes it worth it,” Barr said. “We get it.”
“She’s good for you,” Kip said.
We arrived at some small beach town about thirty minutes later.
The houses were small and all looked the same. There was a sense of calm through the town. The
kind of place you’d never hear about unless you knew where to look. Where the main street in town
had a store with everything you needed.
Ruby rattled off the directions to a house and when I pulled into the gravel driveway, the tires
crushed the rocks and spit them out behind me.
There was an old ass looking car sitting close to the house.
I parked the SUV and looked back.
“This is it,” she said.
“How long has it been?” Tinsley asked.
“A really long time,” Ruby said. “I hope she’ll take me in.”
“She will,” Tinsley said. “Your mother caused this. Not you. I’m sure she’s been waiting to hear
from you.”
“We’ll make sure you get in safe,” I said.
Ruby and Tinsley hugged one more time. They both started to cry.
Then Ruby moved quick.
She dove over the seat and had her new bag with her. We had stopped at a store to let her pick out
some clothes and whatever else she wanted. Just to give her a chance at starting over.
She was on the backseat on her knees, reaching back to open the door, her eyes locked to Kip’s
eyes.
“See you around,” she said to Kip.
“Yeah, girl,” Kip said. “Take care of yourself. I mean it.”
“Wouldn’t hurt to have someone check up on me once in a while,” Ruby said.
Kip grinned and winked. “I’ll see what I can do. I kind of have my hands full with Tinsley.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Tinsley said. “He’s all yours, Ruby.”
“We’ll see,” Ruby said.
She slid out of the seat and Kip leaned toward the open door.
Before he could say something romantic or stupid, Ruby slammed the door on him.
I looked at Kip. He was still grinning.
He nodded. “Definitely hot.”
We watched as Ruby approached her grandmother’s house.
Ruby’s mother had gotten into a big fight with Ruby’s grandmother years ago. Ruby’s mother
wasn’t the cleanest person in the world and Ruby’s grandmother couldn’t watch it anymore so she left
and stayed away.
My guess would be they’d reconnect and her grandmother would apologize for the years lost.
Then Ruby would confess everything. And just like that… a new home. A new life. A second chance.
Ruby knocked on the door.
When it opened, a tall, skinny, older woman stood there. She quickly covered her mouth and
started to cry.
She then fell to her knees.
 “Shit,” Barr said.
Ruby fell to her knees too.
They both embraced one another.
“She’s okay,” I said.
“Just shocked as hell,” Kip said.
I turned my head and looked at Tinsley. “What about you, sugar… are you okay?”
“I think so,” Tinsley said.
Ruby and her grandmother got to their feet and went into the house.
The door shut and that was it.
It was officially over.
Ruby was safe.
Tinsley was happy.
I let out a long breath and backed out of the gravel driveway.
Not even a mile down the road my phone rang.
It was my father calling.
I ignored the call.
I grinned.
Calling about the ditch and what was going to happen next. My best guess was that he promised
his investors the land and he wanted to make a deal with me over it. Since I kicked his ass and a deal
was a deal…
When the voicemail popped up on the screen I had to listen to it.
I had to hear the worry in his voice.
After the day I had…
When I heard his voice playing in my ear, I curled my lip.
But then… my lip stopping curling.
I steered the SUV to the side of the road.
“Pres?” Barr asked.
“What are we doing?” Kip asked. “Do you have to take a piss?”
I tossed my phone across the seat at Barr.
“What the fuck?” Barr yelled.
I looked at him. I turned my head and looked at Kip.
Then I looked at Tinsley.
“What’s wrong?” she asked me.
My lips moved but it took me a few seconds to find the words.
“My mother is dead.”
 Chapter 16

I stood next to the pool and slipped my hands into my pockets. The pool was calm and quiet. As
was the ocean that sat just beyond the pool. The perfect kind of wealthy paradise most people
would kill for. That sense of ease in life. Not a care in the world about money. As though money
truly did fix every single problem.
Not that this was a problem.
It was life. It was death.
In a sense it was relaxation and peace.
Finally.
If there was one thing my mother deserved more than anything else in the world it was that. We
never talked about what happened after death but if anything did exist out there, I hoped she was
surfing somewhere. Running on the beach, screaming with laughter, talking to the waves and the
clouds, and that she would never feel an ounce of the pain she felt while she was alive.
Toss all that forced happy bullshit aside and everything else was much simpler.
My mother was dead.
I shut my eyes and lowered my head.
Behind me stood Barr, Kip, and Tinsley. In a strange way it was like looking at the new version of
the Rulz. I pictured the way Tinsley sprang into action with Ruby. And the same with Amelia.
Knowing when to be kind. Knowing when to be a bitch. Knowing when to attack. That was how
things got done and how you survived.
Because on the other side of survival it was… this.
This empty feeling. This questioning feeling. My mind wanting to be really pissed off, yet at the
same time wanting to throw memories at me. Wanting me to talk about how my mother used to wake
me up early to go for walks on the beach. How she’d somehow manage to get things packed up and
we’d disappear for the day to go on an adventure. How she never let the flaws of my father and the
hell in our house rattle her soul for a second. How she managed to look at me and always smile, or
laugh, or tell a joke, or tell a story about the water and mythical creatures… all the while knowing
that her husband - my father - was somewhere fucking some woman.
And there was a moment when my mother first got sick that I wondered if things would change.
That maybe her illness would provide some sort of asshole wakeup call to my father.
Nope.
Nothing would change him.
I slowly turned and looked at my real family.
 Family.
Fuck.
I was getting soft.
I needed to go find someone and beat the hell out of them.
As I approached Barr, Kip, and Tinsley, I saw tears running down Tinsley’s cheeks.
She was fucking beautiful. Beautiful and sweet. Her heart made of something more precious than
diamonds and gold and even the stars in the night sky.
She was holding hands with Barr and Kip but not in the same way she held hands with me. There
should have been jealousy pouring through my veins but there was something about knowing the girl I
loved was protected by the friends I trusted.
Tinsley broke away from Barr and Kip and ran toward me.
She jumped into my arms and threw her arms around me.
I wrapped one arm around her and gritted my teeth tight.
Barr and Kip approached slower.
Each put a hand to my shoulder and squeezed tight.
“I’m so sorry,” Barr said. “You knew it was coming but that doesn’t matter. Know that, Pres. It’s
okay to feel everything.”
“Shit,” Kip said. He cleared his throat. “I don’t even know what to say. Something poetic about
time and life. I don’t fucking know. Like the seconds move like the waves to the shore… and we stand
there and…”
“Hey, Kip,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“Shut the fuck up.”

I stared at the door to the bedroom but I wasn’t ready to go inside it yet. To see it empty. To see it
void of life. Knowing that sooner or later it would go back to what it was before my mother got
sick. I’d have it gutted and remodeled and it would stand as a guest room. A guest room that would
probably never get used. Because that’s how most of the houses in BFH were designed to be. Big.
And unused. Hell, the only people that used all the rooms in these houses were the ones hired to take
care of the house.
I placed my hand flat against the door and sucked in a breath.
“Here, this’ll help,” Barr said as he stepped up next to me.
He had a flask in his hand. A cigarette between his lips.
I swiped the flask and took a drink.
Whiskey.
Probably not the best thing to drink at the moment, but fuck it.
Barr took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke at the door.
“She’d kick my ass knowing I was smoking in the house,” he said with a grin.
“Yeah, she would,” I said.
“Anything you need,” Barr said. “Anything. Just say it.”
“Is Kip alone with Tinsley right now?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
 “That’s probably not a good thing.”
“I think he’s still trying to write a poem for you,” Barr said. He laughed. “He gets uncomfortable
in situations like these.”
“Yet he could beat the hell out of someone and not think twice,” I said.
“That’s because he loves you, Pres,” Barr said. “I think we all have some wires that have been
cut or crossed. But when it comes to this… the Rulz… it’s important.”
I drank from the flask again.
Then I laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Barr asked.
“If she actually would have known you two, she would have liked you,” I said. “Both you and Kip
leave quite the impression.”
“Hey,” Barr said, grabbing my shoulder again. “I did play piano for her. Remember that?”
“You were half drunk and hitting on her,” I said.
“So?”
I shook my head.
Barr nodded. “Shit, Pres, if things would have worked out, you’d be calling me Daddy right
now.”
He patted my back and walked away, leaving me with the smell of his cigarette smoke.
I laughed because if I didn’t I was going to go after Barr and break his jaw.
In a kind way though. If that were possible.
One more drink from the flask and I turned my back on the door and went into the kitchen.
Tinsley was on the counter, her feet dangling, kicking front and back.
Kip had his hands on the counter, one on each side of her, blocking her in.
“Just give me something I can use,” Kip said.
“No,” Tinsley said. “You’re not getting the dirt on Ruby.”
“It’s not dirt,” Kip said. “Dirt is… dirty. Like something bad. I want something good. Like…
icing.”
“Icing?” Barr asked.
“Yeah. Like icing on a cake. That’s good, right?”
“How about you just text her and make sure she’s okay,” I said. “Make sure her and her
grandmother are getting along. Make sure she’s not feeling it too hard and thinking about going back to
that town to find that asshole.”
“I could do that,” Kip said. “I prefer icing though.”
“Then we’ll go get you a fucking cake,” Barr said.
“I don’t want a cake,” Kip said.
“Just the icing,” Tinsley said. “Duh.”
Barr touched his chest. “Duh, love.”
I walked toward Tinsley and she put her foot up and kicked Kip away.
I took his spot and scooped her up into my arms.
With her I felt some kind of comfort. And enough love that I could figure out how to get through all
this shit.
Because it didn’t just begin or end with my mother’s death.
It went much deeper than that.
I heard the echo of a voice and felt the tension grow from Barr, Kip, and Tinsley.
When my father appeared in the kitchen, he was on the phone.
 “Let me call you back,” he said. “My son is here.”
My son…
My father ended the call.
He looked around the kitchen.
“I’m glad you’re all here,” he said. “I mean it. It means a lot to me. To Preston. And to my wife.”
His chin started to quiver.
Tinsley slipped her hands to my chest and gently pushed at me.
I broke away from her and approached my father slowly.
We both nodded at each other and next thing I knew his arms were around me. Hugging me like a
father would hug his son. He even started to weep. I made fists and hit them against his back, feeling a
razor blade like feeling pushing up my throat.
“I miss her already,” my father whispered.
“Me too,” I whispered back to him.
He broke the hug and let out a growling ahh sound and wiped his eyes.
He swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
“We all knew the ending here,” he said. “Doesn’t make it hurt less.”
Barr and Kip were stone faced.
Tinsley’s cheeks were flushed.
“I’d like to say something,” my father said. He reached down and took the flask from my hand. He
helped himself to a drink. “There are things I can never really talk about. The way certain things are
perceived versus reality. I’m not an idiot here. None of you want me here. Barrington, Kipton, you
want to come over here and punch me in the mouth. And hell, I probably have earned that.”
Kip cracked his knuckles. “In that case…”
Barr put his hand out and stopped Kip.
“I’m not even going to say something about you smoking in the house, Barrington,” my father said.
Barr took a drag and didn’t say a word.
“And Tinsley,” my father said with a grin. “I can only imagine what you think of me. And of
Claire.”
My blood heated. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that I love you all,” my father said. “Everyone deals with grief in their own way. I
hope none of you experience what I have. She was the complete opposite of me. This gorgeous beach
beauty who didn’t need to give me the time of day. And I could have loved and left. But she got to me.
She won. She always won.” My father laughed. “Oh, shit. She always won. When she got the
diagnosis…” My father rubbed his jaw. “She told me to live. She told me to go find love. She told me
to be happy. We both understood in that moment that time really was the best and worst thing in the
world. I offered so much money…” He shook his head. “There was nothing to be done. I tracked
down doctor after doctor and set up so many goddamn appointments for her. Until she finally sat me
down and told me to stop. Told me to let her go. Told me to…” My father looked at me and blinked
fast. “I could never let her go. And I could never let out my goddamn anger and pain. So I handled it
in other ways. Ways that probably look wrong to you. And ways that are wrong. But hear this… even
in front of your friends, Preston. I never loved anyone else. I never came close to it either.”
My father hung his head and started to cry.
I looked back at Tinsley.
Her eyes were wide with surprise.
I touched my father’s shoulder and he nodded.
 “I’m sorry,” he said. He quickly collected himself. “We’re going to have a small ceremony for
her. We can go see her and say goodbye, if you want. Then she’s going to be cremated. She wanted to
be placed at her favorite spot on the beach. In the water. And… yeah. That’s sort of that.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Okay,” my father said.
He opened his arms again.
I nodded and let him embrace me in another hug from him.
“It was good to see you all,” my father said. “I’ll leave you get back to what you were doing.”
He left the kitchen, calling back the person he had been talking to.
I stood there with my fists balled up tight.
“Shit,” Barr said.
“That was weird,” Kip said.
Tinsley touched my back. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t respond to her.
I slowly turned my head and looked down at Tinsley.
“Pres…”
I walked away.
I heard Barr tell Tinsley to just wait.
I was going to be gone… but not for good.

I pulled him up off the ground by his shirt and swung again.
My hand crushed the bridge of his nose.
He was reduced to nothing but groans of pain.
“Get up,” I growled at him. “Get the fuck up and fight me. Now. Take a fucking swing at me.”
He stared at me and tried to say something but he had nothing left.
I let him go and stood up.
The ocean waves smashed to the shore with force.
That only fed the anger that surged through me.
I looked to my right and saw Kip holding the other one.
Marcus and Keith.
They were snot nose douchebags who thought they owned the world.
Typical BFH attitude.
We never had any business with them. No issues. No dealings. Nothing.
Which was part of the problem.
Or maybe for them it was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I didn’t need any reason to fight someone other than the desire to take a swing and see what would
happen.
Marcus thought it was fun to strut across the beach like a drunk fool, calling out the Rulz over and
over, laughing as he did so. And when Barr told him to cool it, he said smoke this bitch, and put up
his middle fingers. Keith jumped in front of Marcus and pushed him back. He apologized to us and
said Marcus had had too much to drink and had something happen with his girlfriend.
I appreciated the honesty, but the door was already open.
 Now Marcus mumbled to himself with his face covered in blood and sand.
I nodded to Kip and he shoved Keith toward me.
Keith put his hands up. “Come on, Pres. I didn’t do anything. I’m sorry about Marcus.”
“Hit me,” I said.
“No.”
“I said to fucking hit me.”
“I’m not going to hit you. I know you’re pissed off. I know you’re sad about your mother…”
I went after Keith.
He tried to dodge me but I grabbed him.
He panicked and took a swing at me. Hitting me in the lip. I tasted blood.
I nodded.
“Let’s go for a swim,” I said.
Keith yelled as I dragged him into the ocean.
I punched him to shut him up and then threw him into a wave.
I went after him again and held him under the water.
My grip tight on his shirt as he swung his fists and kicked, desperate to get out of the water.
The waves slammed into my arms and body but I didn’t give a shit.
The water splashed to my face and I tasted the saltwater mixing with my blood.
“That’s good, Pres,” Barr said from next to me as he chopped his hand down to break my hold on
Keith.
I looked at him, ready to fight him.
“It’s okay,” Barr said.
I showed my hands and backed away.
I walked out of the water and saw Marcus on his hands and knees.
Keith thrashed his arms as a wave tossed him to the shore.
Kip was waiting for me with the flask.
Barr had already refilled it twice for me.
I threw the flask back as I walked from the beach to Kip’s SUV.
I sat in the backseat as he drove us back to his place.
My clothes were still wet when I went into the guesthouse to find Tinsley.
Barr and Kip told me they were going to stay close in case I needed anything.
I locked them out of the guesthouse and found Tinsley in the bedroom, pacing back and forth.
“Pres!” she cried out.
She jumped into my arms and then jumped out of my arms.
“You’re soaked,” she said.
My mind flashed to images of Tinsley seeing me for the first time ever. When I was taking care of
some business and holding someone under the ocean water to send a message. Of me seeing her. Me
waiting to see if she would come back to the beach. Which she did. Me slowly approaching her and
whispering a warning to her. A warning that she didn’t listen to.
“Let’s get you out of these wet clothes,” she whispered.
My hands grabbed her by the waist and I pulled her close.
“Or not,” she whispered.
I picked her up and carried her to the bed.
Her cheeks turned bright red as my hands began to explore her body.
I ripped the dry clothes off her body and peeled the wet clothes off of my own.
She put her arms around me and dug her nails into my back.
I buried my face into the crook of her neck and smelled her sweet skin.
I threw my body forward at her - inside her - and let out a long breath.
I shut my eyes.
Just to keep the tears from falling.
 Chapter 17

I walked into BFH and the entire place went silent. Everyone just stopped. Completely fucking
stopped. Lockers were open. Books in hand. People in mid conversation with their mouths open,
leaving half a word hanging from their mouth. The hallway was full of people with nobody
daring to move.
Just all eyes on me.
I had Tinsley on my left, her small hand desperate to hold my hand as tight as she could. Barr and
Kip on my right.
This was because they all knew my mother was dead. And yet nobody had the nerve to say
something to me. Because they didn’t know what was going to happen. The cuts and bumps on my
knuckles proved that point. Anyone that looked at me the wrong way or if I just felt like it… were
getting crushed.
So silence was the only way to stay safe.
I walked forward and anyone in my path moved out of the way.
People looked at me and nodded.
They frowned.
Their eyes were worried and sad at the same time.
I got to where I needed to be without a sound.
It was an interesting moment to walk through, that was for sure.
I walked Tinsley to her locker and then we shot over to Gi and Iris.
The hallway started to pick up its normal pace again. But it was very quiet. I could feel something
like tension in the air and I hated it.
“Hey, Gi,” Tinsley said. “Iris.”
“Hey,” they both said.
They both swallowed hard.
I gritted my teeth. “Look. Just fucking say it.”
“We’re sorry about your mother,” Iris said. “Like… so sorry.”
“It’s so sad,” Gi said. “I…”
She stopped.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Everyone just act normal now,” Tinsley said.
“She’s right,” I said.
“Let’s get moving,” Barr said.
 “I kind of like everyone bowing down to us,” Kip said.
I leaned down and kissed Tinsley on the cheek. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”
Tinsley leaned into me and nodded. “See you later, Pres.”
I walked the hallways with Barr and Kip.
The Rulz.
We also had power in BFH.
People always moved for us. If not, we moved them.
But the sudden silence and the looks and everything else…
It finally got to me.
I saw some guy standing at his locker with his arm around a girl. His locker was open and he
kissed the top of her head and whispered something into her ear.
It could have been anything.
But that was it for me.
I sidestepped and grabbed his locker and slammed it as hard as I could.
He jumped back and pulled his girl toward him.
Everyone watched intently to see what I was going to do.
I made a fist with my right hand.
I brought it back.
“What did you say to her?” I asked the guy.
“Nothing,” she said.
“I didn’t ask you. I asked him.”
“I told her I loved her,” the guy said. “That I couldn’t imagine losing her.”
I nodded.
Then I swung my right fist.
The girl screamed. The guy shut his eyes and winced.
My fist slammed against his locker, thundering through the hallway.
My knuckles burned with fresh pain.
I didn’t talk to another person for the rest of the time I was at BFH.

I f the bullshit from BFH followed me, it came in the form of flowers. I had never in my life seen so
many flowers before. The small ceremony for Mom was a handful of people and a billion flowers.
They were arranged in some parts. Scattered in others. Floral arrangements stacked on top of one
another.
I was sure most of the flowers were from people that worked with or for my father. Just showing
their love and support for him. For the man they either feared or respected. And even those who hated
my father’s guts… they probably sent flowers too.
When I saw Sarah standing alone, I had to go check on her.
She saw me and burst into tears.
Instead of hugging me though, she went for Tinsley.
They hugged and cried as I stood there.
Barr had already told me he had a flask ready for anything I needed.
I appreciated that and I appreciated he and Kip being there to keep their eyes open for anything
off. In my mind I was far from settled. Far from settled with my mother’s death. Far from settled with
what happened with Ruby. And far from settled with what had happened with Cole.
Barr and Kip were my eyes.
Tinsley was my heart.
I was just there as a body.
“Oh, Pres, get over here,” Sarah said.
She threw an arm around me and pulled me close.
She cried hard.
“I never got to see her again,” she said. “I never said goodbye to her.”
Sarah broke away and grabbed my shoulder.
“It’s okay,” I said.
“Look at me. I’m a fool. You should be upset.”
Tinsley took Sarah’s hand. “Don’t worry. Let it out.”
“I can’t believe it,” Sarah said. “I swear a week ago I told myself to come see her. I knew she
would have been mad at me for it. She never wanted…” Sarah waved a hand. “I have to stop.”
“Don’t,” I said. “Say it. I want to hear it.”
“She didn’t want me to see her sick,” Sarah said.
“She didn’t want anyone to see her sick,” I said. “She knew who her friends were. Who loved
her.”
“Oh, Pres,” Sarah said. “I’m so sorry. You’re too young for this. She’s too young to be… gone.”
Sarah took a breath. “I’m older than her.”
I was probably supposed to say something but didn’t.
Tinsley broke up what could have been an uncomfortable silence.
“How are the tigers? And lions?” Tinsley asked.
“Perfect,” Sarah said. “Come visit. Soon.”
“I have an idea,” I said.
Sarah and Tinsley looked at me.
“Why don’t I bring a little bit of her… ashes…” I stopped and cleared my throat. My fucking
mother is now reduced to nothing but fucking ashes. “Why don’t I bring some up there to you,
Sarah? We can put them somewhere. Since she loved your place so much.”
“I agree,” a voice said from behind me.
I turned and saw my father.
“Will,” Sarah said.
She probably knew enough about my father to know who he was. After all, he was the one who
didn’t want to help get Sarah the land she needed. Of course, he probably found a way to smooth it
over by talking about land, value, financials, and all that business bullshit.
My father stuck out a hand and Sarah took it.
“Thank you for being here,” he said. “She always loved you. She loved the animals. Even if I
didn’t.”
He patted Sarah’s hand and then walked away.
I kept my distance during the ceremony.
It was all words. I wasn’t even sure if those words even mattered. The cliché stuff spouted at
funerals. Nothing my mother would have ever said or wanted to be said about her.
When my father took his turn to speak, he dabbed the corners of his eyes with a white cloth. He
took frequent breaths and even more pauses. I had no doubt that what he was saying and feeling was
real. He felt it. He loved her. And losing her - forever - hit home hard. Maybe he and Mom had an
arrangement that allowed him to sleep around. That wasn’t my business. I just knew all the truths.
From the small picture to the bigger one. I knew what my mother had given up to be my mother. Only
to have her life come to a sudden end the second she was diagnosed. Everything after that moment
was just her dying.
So I didn’t need to stand up in front of strangers and say something. I didn’t need to cry in front of
everyone either. She had been dying for a long time. I had already felt what I needed to feel.
The moment the ceremony ended, I grabbed Tinsley’s hand and walked away.
Behind me, one of my father’s guys made the announcement about the post funeral gathering.
This was an excuse for my father to have a party. To drink. To mingle. And knowing him, he
would use Mom’s death as a way to make a deal or two.
When we got to Kip’s SUV, he and Barr climbed into the driver’s seat and passenger seat. As I
reached for the backdoor, Tinsley slammed her hand to the window.
I looked at her.
“Are you okay?” she asked me.
“How am I supposed to answer that?”
“It’s okay to be in pain, Pres.”
“Okay then.”
“Okay then,” Tinsley said. “Ass.”
“Love you,” I whispered.
“Love you too,” she said.
We got into the SUV and Barr already had a cigarette lit. He turned, grinning, flask in hand.
I grabbed it from him and took a drink.
“Tell me we are not going to that gathering,” Kip said.
“It’s for his mother,” Tinsley said. “You fuck.”
“We’re not going, sugar,” I said. “That’s a business thing for my father.”
“Then where are we going?” Tinsley asked.
I took another drink. “To talk to my lawyer.”

I t was all papers.

Papers that controlled everything in my life.
With each signature made, it was something my mother once owned that now belonged to me.
I kept drinking.
I kept signing.
The lawyer’s name was ironically Preston.
He was tall, skinny, wore glasses that looked clear so you almost thought he wasn’t wearing
glasses at all. He expressed his condolences for my mother’s passing.
As it turned out, my mother had this situation planned out long before she was diagnosed with
ALS. She wanted to make sure everything she owned went to me. Without a question. He even told me
she came to see him after her diagnosis and laughed with tears in her eyes that she felt she jinxed
herself.
That hit me in the goddamn heart.
 When I got back to the house that was now officially all mine, I had a stack of folders that I tossed
to the kitchen counter.
Behind me was still Barr, Kip, and Tinsley.
I was responsible for so much now. Property. Buildings. Businesses. And people.
All the while I was still trying to figure out how the hell my mother was dead. There were
moments when reality didn’t seem like it was enough to accept. It was all there and made sense. She
was sick. She was going to die. She did die. End of story. But that wasn’t good enough.
I turned and Ti was right there, throwing her arms around me.
I picked her up and hugged her tight.
Barr and Kip joined us, hugging me from the side.
It was too many people hugging me at once but I appreciated it.
I threw my elbows out when I needed the goddamn hug to end.
Barr and Kip backed off.
I kissed the top of Tinsley’s head.
I heard the front door open and slam shut.
My father was at the house.
The house?
My house.
He wasn’t alone either.
There was a guy in a suit with him.
He walked into the kitchen and stopped when he saw me.
“Preston,” he said.
The man with my father was holding a leather bag.
“Can we get some privacy here?” my father asked.
“No,” I said. “Nobody is leaving. This is my house now. My kitchen. Nobody is leaving. Unless I
say so.”
My father laughed. “You didn’t take long to settle in, huh?”
“Anything we need to talk about, we can do it right here,” I said.
“Preston, you’re not getting the house. Or anything else she promised you.”
“Too late,” I said. “I signed the paperwork.”
“Preston, this is my lawyer,” my father said. “Don’t make this awkward.”
“How so?” I asked. “What happened to the father, son routine we had going?”
My father curled his lip. “Don’t do this…”
“Do what?” I asked. “Take what’s mine? You fucked things up. She took care of those things.
Behind your back. While you were inside countless women.”
“You son of a bitch,” my father said. “Don’t make me bury you.”
“How are you going to do that?” I asked. “The papers are all signed. There’s nothing you can do
but try to scare me. You wanted to buy that land at the ditch just to prove a point. You wanted to fight
me. I had the chance to destroy you…”
“But you didn’t, son,” my father said. “You’re weak. Like your mother was.”
Tinsley gasped.
Barr grabbed my shirt. “He’s working you.”
Kip looked enraged.
“What?” my father asked. “We can’t speak the truth here? She needed me to survive. I made the
hard decisions. All the damn time. I gave into her once in a while. Like that fucking zoo that Sarah
wanted. What a disaster that was. That land was worth much more. And that’s you, Preston. You’ll do
the same as her. You’ll lose everything without me.”
“I was waiting for this,” I said. “All the hugs. The tears. Playing your cards right. What you said
at the funeral today. The set up. The flowers. The gathering afterwards. It was quite the show.”
“That was for your mother,” my father said.
“No, it wasn’t,” I said. “There wasn’t a single thing there she would have liked. It was all for
you. Because you know she screwed you harder than any of the fucking whores you screwed while
she was dying.”
My father’s eyes filled with anger. His lips fluttered as they curled up, then down, then up.
“I’ll go after you,” he said. “For everything. I’ll build a case and drag you through court for the
rest of my life.”
“Glad I’m young and fit,” I said. “I’ve got a long life to go.”
My father laughed. Then he pointed to Tinsley. “All depends on what your dumpster whore has
given to you.”
I threw my elbow and knocked Barr out of the way.
I dove at my father who didn’t even try to move.
My left hand pulled at his tie as my right hand smashed against his mouth.
He fell back and crumbled to the kitchen floor with a whining groan.
I looked at my father’s lawyer and he stepped back, grinning.
The front door to the house exploded open again.
This time with police officers.
“Right there,” my father’s lawyer said, pointing at me. “He physically attacked my client. That’s
why I called. He’s been making threats too.”
“What the fuck is this?” Kip yelled.
He ran toward me and one of the officers put his hand to his gun.
“Kip, stay back,” I said. I looked back at Tinsley. She covered her mouth as she cried. I looked at
Barr. “Keep her safe.”
Barr nodded.
My father kicked himself back and leaned against the cabinet.
He started to bawl his eyes out.
“I just wanted to see my son,” he cried. “I wanted to hug him and tell him I love him. He
threatened me. And attacked me. I didn’t know what to do…”
I had two cops against me, one pulling my hands behind my back.
“I’ll be in touch real soon, Preston,” my father’s lawyer said.
The police slapped handcuffs to my wrists and dragged me out of my own house.
I looked back one last time to see Tinsley leaning into Barr as he had his arm around her. Kip
stood in the doorway of the kitchen, staring down at my father like he wanted to kill him.
I walked out of the house.
Under arrest.
And my mother was still dead.
And I still loved Tinsley.
And everything else going on…
Maybe with some time alone I could figure out what the fuck to do about it all.
 Chapter 18

“IThat
want to talk to my son!”
was the voice I heard bellowing from the hallways.
That was the last voice I wanted to hear as I sat in a room with no windows. Just four dark
colored walls, a steel table in the middle, a single light hanging above that. The chair I sat in was
made of steel. I was no longer in handcuffs as I sat at the table, waiting for whatever was next.
It made sense now why I wasn’t thrown into a jail cell.
When I asked what the hell I had been taken away for, it was simple. I punched someone. It didn’t
matter if it was my father or my best friend, I punched someone. I assaulted someone. I attacked
someone.
In a way it was the most ironic thing I ever heard.
My reputation had been built on punching people.
The Rulz was formed and stayed strong based on the fact that if you got out of line near us we
were going to beat you down to teach you a lesson.
I guess the difference was those who took their beatings… they were honest to themselves.
My father?
Nothing about him was honest.
Nothing.
The door to the room opened and he came walking in with two officers behind him.
In typical William Levilitz fashion, he was the one calling the shots. The two officers behind him
had weapons. Actual guns. And they were the ones flustered by my father.
“Leave the room,” my father ordered them.
I looked at the officers and shrugged my shoulders. “Still think I’m the bad guy here?”
“Now!” my father ordered.
The two officers left the room and my father stood with his back to the wall. Arms folded. His left
eye was puffy. That meant my punch had really done its job. One punch managed to bust his lip and
make his cheek swell all the way up to his eye.
Maybe the best punch I had ever thrown.
“Now do you understand, Preston?” he asked, his voice suddenly calm.
I ignored him.
“You aren’t ready for this,” he said. “You’re too emotional for everything. You have a big heart.
Just like your mother. Which is fine. But not in this business. One comment about your girlfriend and
you’re punching me? What do you think happens out there in the real world?”
 I looked at my father. “Do what you have to do.”
“That’s what you want?”
“That’s what you want,” I said. “Not me. She knew all along who you were. She was stuck.
Trapped. And instead of letting it ruin her, she set up a future that would destroy you. You thought you
picked up some hippie chick to turn into a trophy wife… but you know what? You messed with a
vicious bitch.”
“You just called your mother a bitch.”
“Yes I did. A bitch that I’m proud of. Because she took it all from you. And there’s nothing you
can do about it. And the funny thing is… you can keep doing what you’re doing. You’re still wealthy.
But you’re stupid. You can’t take a loss and walk away. That’s why you’re going to exhaust yourself
trying to hurt me. When you can’t hurt me.”
“You really think that?”
I stood up and the steel chair scratched the floor. “I know it. Because the house is mine. In my
fucking name. Not yours. And you entering the house… that was illegal to do. I have the security
footage to prove it. You just opened the door and walked in. I thought you were an intruder. So I
defended my house. Myself. I hit you.”
My father curled his lip. “The heart of your mother and the balls of your father.”
I shook my head. “Wrong again. My father has no balls.”
He pushed from the wall and moved toward me.
The door opened and the two officers entered.
One got between us.
“Will, you can’t touch him,” the officer said, facing my father.
“I want him locked up,” my father said. “Assault. Throw everything you can at him. Let him sit
and rot overnight before he can call his lawyer. Bend every fucking law you can. You got that? And if
you get fired for it, I’ll hire you as security for one of my companies. Pay you twice what you make
here.”
“Hope it was worth it,” I said to my father. “Hope all that pussy was worth it. You lost her a long
time ago. You lost me a long time ago. You have nothing and nobody. Except those who come with a
price tag. Remember that the next time you’re inside someone. She’s only letting you there because of
the money you left on the nightstand.”
My father growled and pushed to get to me.
“Will!” the officer yelled. “I will arrest you if you put your hands on me again.”
“I said to take him away,” my father yelled.
“Can’t do that,” the other officer said. “He’s free to go.”
“What?” my father and I both asked at the same time.
“Someone is here for you,” the other officer said to me.
“Bullshit,” my father said.
“Too late, Will,” the officer between us said. “Let the lawyers handle it now.”
My father stomped toward the door.
He stopped and looked back at me one last time. “You know what… this could be good for you,
Preston. Teach you how to live. But you’re the one with the regret. Not me.”
“How so?” I asked.
“I was with her,” my father said. “I told her it was okay to let go. I said what I had to say before
she passed. And do you know what she wanted? Her last, dying wish…” My father swallowed hard.
“She wanted to see you. But where were you, Preston? Huh? You were hanging out with your friends.
And that girl. That girl who has no family and no future and nothing for you. She’ll do nothing but drag
you down. And I say that from experience as a man who married someone just like that. Your mother
wanted to say goodbye to you and you weren’t there.”
My father left the room and I felt a swell of anger and guilt crush me.
I lost my balance and bumped into the table. I tried to reach for the table and the two officers
were there to catch me. I latched onto one of their arms tight, squeezing and pulling, trying to keep
myself in one piece.
“Come on, you’re out of here,” one of the officers said.
“Who?” I asked. “Who is here for me?”
“A woman named Claire.”

C laire stood at the front waiting area of the police station, pacing back and forth like she was
guilty of something. Almost like a sinner walking into a church and looking around, wondering
how long it would take for a bolt of lightning to strike their ass.
When she saw me, she hurried to me and grabbed my wrists.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
I pulled my hands away from her.
She stepped back, showing her hands, realizing getting too close to me wasn’t a good idea at the
moment.
Especially Claire.
“Tinsley called me,” she said. “She was really upset. Crying her eyes out. She said you got
arrested for attacking your father.”
“Are you here because of me or because of him?”
Claire nodded. “Okay. I deserve that. That’s a fair question to ask. Can we get out of here and I’ll
give you a ride back home. We can talk on the ride.”
“Okay,” I said.
I left the police station as a free man. Which made me laugh to myself.
That entire thing was for show.
My father wanted to pick a fight that he thought he could win. He goaded me into physically
fighting him at the ditch just to see what would happen. And I had him. I had the chance for that one
last punch to end it all. And he threw that father loves his son bullshit at me. And I was dumb enough
to buy into it. Even if I didn’t actually believe it, I bought into it. I saw most of this mess coming, but
there was just something…
“I want to clear the air on a lot of things,” Claire said.
I rubbed my chin. “I’m not worried about the air being clear.”
“I am,” Claire said. “I’m sorry about your mother’s passing, Preston.”
I curled my lip. “Yeah. I keep hearing that.”
“It’s the truth though,” Claire said. “There’s some stuff that just doesn’t make sense in life. That’s
one of those things.”
“Are you a doctor?” I asked.
“What? No.”
 “Then why talk about it?”
“Because it sucks,” Claire said. “You can hate me. You can call me every name in the book. You
can grab the wheel right now and crash us so I get killed. I wouldn’t blame you for any of it. That’s
the air I want to clear. I’m not going to try and win you over, Preston. It’s obvious Tinsley is madly in
love with you. And I know you love her. I think that’s great. She deserves for once to have someone
take care of her.”
I gritted my teeth and looked out the passenger window.
Claire paused for a little bit but then kept talking.
“Look, I’m going to just say it. I was fucking your father for a while.”
I slowly turned my head and stared at Claire.
“Fuck it,” she said. “There’s nothing to hide. You knew it. Tinsley knew it. Everyone knew it. And
I didn’t give a shit about it. We had an arrangement. We both loved other people who weren’t there
for us.”
“Your boyfriend or husband dying from ALS?” I asked.
“Not even close,” Claire said. “He just lives far away. And he wants me to come live with him.
But I can’t leave here. I’ve got commitments. So when your father and I met, it made sense. There was
no bullshit around it. No flowers. No gifts. We would talk business and then…”
I nodded. “Well that’s good to know. What’s it feel like to know while my father was burying
himself inside you, my mother was losing her life? Each day losing herself… becoming this… this…
thing… unable to talk. Unable to walk. Unable to really move. Just waiting for the moment to come
when she knew she was going to finally die.”
Claire drove, staring forward.
I stared intently, watching her blink.
A tear leaked from her right eye and ran down her cheek.
I laughed. “That’s all you’ve got? Tears?”
“He never talked about her once,” Claire said. “Or you. To me he was just this man and nothing
else. And what’s done is done. I can’t go back and change anything. That’s the way life works.
There’s only forward.”
“Yeah, right,” I said. “Forward.”
We were in silence for the rest of the drive back to my house.
Claire’s one tear dried and that was the end of her sorrow.
Was I really that mad at her? Probably not. She was rich and scummy just like the rest of the
people in town. No problem stabbing each other in the back or fucking each other’s spouses, no
matter what.
“You care about Tinsley?” I asked her as she drove up the driveway and I watched the mansion I
inherited appear from the horizon.
“Of course I do.”
“I mean it, Claire,” I said. “Do you really care about her? Like the way a mother cares for a
child? I’m talking love. Not money. Not favors to her junkie of a mother. I’m talking real feelings.”
“Yes, Preston,” Claire said. “I care about her like that. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have taken her in. I
could have just shipped her mother to rehab and then written Tinsley a check to send her off into the
world. I meant everything I ever said to her. I wanted her to come here with me to get a chance to
breathe. To not worry about anything. And look how it turned out. Might have been the smartest
decision I ever made.”
“Thanks for getting me out of there,” I said as I opened the door to her SUV.
 I climbed out and slammed the door.
I stared up at the house and shook my head.
Before I made it to the front door, it opened and Tinsley, Barr, and Kip were there.
Tinsley dove at me and threw her arms around me.
I hugged her tight and took a deep breath.
It was the true calm before the storm.

I stood back in the same kitchen in the same spot looking at the same folders with the same papers
inside those folders that were causing all the fucking problems that rested on my shoulders.
As I sipped really expensive whiskey, the silence around me started to piss me off.
“Someone say something,” I growled.
“Ruby is alive and well,” Kip said.
I looked back at Kip. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Her and her grandmother are getting along at the moment.”
“Well that makes everything fucking worth it,” I said.
“What does that mean?” Tinsley asked. “Worth what?”
“Everything I lost,” I said.
“Pres, let’s get out of this house,” Barr said. “You and me. We’ll take a ride.”
“I don’t sway that easily, Barr,” I said. “I’m not some broken junkie chick.”
The words slipped out of my mouth too easily.
Fucking whiskey.
“Who are you talking about?” Tinsley asked.
Kip touched her arm. “Come here, girl. Come with me.”
“No,” Tinsley said. She shook Kip away. “Are you talking about me, Pres?”
“What do you think?” I asked. “Look at everything I’ve lost. And I never got to say goodbye to
her. Because of you.”
“Christ, man,” Barr said.
I looked at Barr and stepped toward him.
He didn’t back down.
Our chests bumped together and Kip got between us.
“No way,” he said. “I love a good fight, but not like this.”
“Fuck yourself, Kip,” I said.
I threw my shoulder at him.
He stumbled back, laughing, resisting the urge to punch me.
Tinsley saved his ass as she grabbed my shirt and pulled at me. “Say it again to me, Pres. I dare
you.”
I looked down at her. “Say what? That while my mother was taking her dying breath, I was
chasing your junkie friend around your shithole of a town? Right? Trying to save another piece of
scum from the trash they live in.”
“Fuck you,” Tinsley said. “You don’t mean that.”
“I fucking said it,” I snapped.
“Hey,” Barr yelled as he punched my shoulder. “Cut it.”
 I stepped back and made a fist with my right hand.
Before I could dive forward Kip was right there, fists around my shirt, holding me, nose to nose.
“I’m taking her out of here,” Kip said. “You want to hurt everything around you? Go for it. But not
her. We agreed to it. Remember? We take care of her. Always. Trash the fucking house. Burn it down.
Just don’t hurt her.”
I curled my lip and looked at Tinsley. She had her hands over her mouth and nose, her eyes
leaking tears.
Barr slid a hand around her shoulder. “Come here, love. He didn’t mean it.”
Tinsley walked away with Barr and Kip pushing away from me.
He pointed a finger at me.
I just stood, hands balled into fists. Wanting to fight. Needing to fight.
Tinsley’s cries echoed in the foyer as Barr opened the front door. Her knees started to give way. I
jumped forward a few steps but stopped.
She looked back at me.
It wasn’t a lie.
Who the fuck was I chasing around… some junkie girl… for what? To keep Tinsley happy so
she’d wrap her legs around me? I didn’t fucking do fucking favors for attention. If Barr or Kip wanted
that… they could do it.
The heavy door shut and I was alone.
Completely alone.
Which probably wasn’t true.
Someone was in the house.
Someone, somewhere.
Fixing a light. Changing an air filter. Checking the chemical levels in the pool. Cleaning a floor.
Doing laundry.
I put my head back and let out a scream that made my ears pop.
That wasn’t good enough.
I grabbed the bottle of whiskey off the counter.
I held it up and slammed it to the floor.
The thick glass shattered as the amber liquid spread like blood on the floor.
That wasn’t good enough…
I took the folders from the counter and went outside. With the flick of my wrist they were in the
pool water, soaked and floating.
That. Wasn’t. Good. Enough.
Back inside the house I looked down the hallway to the guest room.
My mother’s room. The room where she died.
That was my next destination.
I stood outside the room, staring at the darkness.
I wasn’t going to go inside.
I threw a punch.
My knuckles exploded with pain when I hit the door.
I stepped back two steps and punched with my other hand.
Then for the next however long, I beat the fucking shit out of the door.
Until my knuckles were gushing blood.
Until my skin was ripped raw.
Until sweat poured down my face.
Until the pain in my hands made it almost impossible to make a fist.
Until I finally collapsed at the door and slid down to my knees.
I then curled up into a ball and fell to the floor.
I finally found my one and only weakness.
I hated losing those I found a way to love and care for.
 Chapter 19

I slept for a few hours and wandered outside the house.

I called Preston (my lawyer) and left a voicemail, telling him what I did with the papers.
And that my father was ready to wage a war for the house and other assets. I was ready for a
fucking fight too. No matter what it cost. I wanted my father exposed as the piece of shit he was, and I
wanted to make sure he would have nothing to do with my life or anything to do with the memory of
my mother.
Then I sat near the edge of the property and watched the ocean.
The waves were forever soothing but they weren’t going to do shit at that moment.
My hands were swollen but I had regained feeling in them. I could make a fist, even if it did hurt
more than a little.
I shot Barr a text.
Just tell me she’s okay
He replied with a thumbs up emoji and I set my phone next to me.
From there I sat until the morning decided to come.
Inside, people were there making coffee and breakfast.
I had a plate of food, a cup of coffee, and left the house.
The door to my SUV was wide open.
On the driver’s seat a note was waiting for me.
Scribbled handwriting.
Haven’t forgotten what we talked about. Hope you haven’t either. Don’t make this worse than it
already is.
My hand curled around the note and I shook my head.
Today was the day Cole wanted to take a stand with me? To push at me even more? He had no
fucking clue what he was up against then. Even if I was going to do it by myself. Barr and Kip could
keep Tinsley safe. And whatever happened to me, it was just the way life went.
I climbed into the driver’s seat and grabbed my phone.
I thought about calling Cole and setting up a meeting.
He wanted Claire that bad? I could make that happen. Claire wasn’t a good person. She had a
dark side that kept her in town. That’s why she couldn’t leave and be with the guy she really loved.
That’s why she slept with my father. Both of them using their hidden guilt and pain as an excuse to get
between the sheets.
But Tinsley…
 I squeezed my eyes shut.
I had already crushed her heart last night.
The words I said…
And if she ended up losing Claire too…
My phone started to ring.
My lawyer returning my drunk fueled rambling call.
“Preston,” I said.
“Preston,” he said with a laugh.
“You got my message.”
“Not the first time I’ve gotten a message in the middle of the night like that.”
“You understand what I said?”
“I understand you were drunk,” he said.
“I was serious,” I said. “I want my father buried. I want whatever paperwork done that needs to
be filed to keep him away from everything. He comes near this house again and he’s done. If he tries
to file charges against me for hitting him, we pull the security footage from the house and show he
entered illegally.”
“Wow,” Preston said. “You really thought this out.”
“No choice.”
“You sure you don’t want to think about it?”
“He’s dead to me,” I said. “And how much of a fight could he put up over what my mother left
me?”
“He could fight all he wants,” Preston said. “He doesn’t have a leg to stand on Everything your
mother gave to you was hers. There’s not a thing your father can do. Especially since she gave it to
you. You’re the only child. He can be pissed and waste time and money on it.”
“That’s what I needed to hear,” I said. “There’s one more thing I need you to do, Preston.”
“Lay it on me, Preston,” he said with a laugh.
“The house.”
“The house. It’s yours. Of all the assets your mother left you, that’s the one that’s most rock solid.
With the business side of things-”
“Tinsley Ditkiss,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“A name. Tinsley Ditkiss. Write it down. Put her down as the one who gets everything if I’m not
around.”
“Not around… what are you talking about?”
“I’m just planning things out. Listen to me, on the business end, Barrington Richter and Kipton
Unser get everything. As far as the sale goes, I want that to Tinsley Ditkiss. But I want it quiet. She
cannot tell anyone about it. And she needs to leave this town.”
“You’re talking… wait a second here. I’m writing this all down. You mentioned the sale goes to
Miss Ditkiss. What sale?”
I turned my head and took a deep breath. “That’s the one more thing I need from you.” I started to
nod.
“What do you need?”
“I need you to sell the house… and give all the money to Tinsley.”
I stood at the top of the ditch and wasn’t sure the fate of the place.
Some fates you couldn’t control. Like the fate of my mother. There was no predicting that or
controlling it. That just happened.
But the fates I could grab, I was going to hold tight and make work.
That’s why my brothers were going to be taken care of if something happened to me with the Cole
situation. Same for Tinsley. She could get whatever the house was worth and get the hell away from
BFH for good. Live the life she always wanted, deserved, and dreamed of.
“Having us up here to finish what we started last night?” Kip asked as he walked up behind me.
A second later I smelled the smoke from Barr’s cigarette.
Barr stepped up to my left. Kip to my right.
“Cole left me a note,” I said. “He wants to do this. He thinks I’m going to give up Claire.”
“What are you going to do?” Barr asked.
“If I give Claire up, it fixes a lot of problems around here,” I said. “After all, she was fucking my
father while my mother was home dying. A little revenge without lifting a finger is an easy decision.”
“That would hurt Tinsley,” Kip said.
“I already did that,” I said.
“You didn’t mean that shit,” Kip said.
I looked at him. “What if I did? I mean, it’s the truth. Think about it. We were going after some
fucking junkie girl. Who has no purpose. No meaning. Someone we never met before. We put
ourselves in that apartment, fighting… drug dealers… for what?”
“Don’t say it was for nothing,” Kip said to me.
“Hey, look at me, Pres,” Barr said.
I turned my head. “What?”
“You’re all twisted up over a lot. Which is fine. You can’t lose it all now.”
“I’m not losing anything, Barr. I’m making the right decisions going forward.”
“Meaning?” Barr asked.
“I’ll take Cole head on. And I’ll make whatever decisions I need to. You two just make sure
Tinsley is safe and sound. If the worst happens, I have everyone covered.”
“What the fuck are you saying, Pres?” Kip asked.
I stepped forward and Kip grabbed my shoulder.
I turned and swung at him.
When my fist hit his jaw, the pain from the night before exploded through my hand.
I screamed and grabbed my fist.
“Ah, shit,” Barr said.
By the time I lifted my gaze to Kip, he was in the air coming at me.
We collided and went down to the ground.
Throwing punches and rolling, we ended up down in the ditch.
We broke apart and stood up.
Kip didn’t give me time to ask if he wanted to fight.
He swung.
He was ready.
It wasn’t a good look or a good thing.
 The Rulz imploding would fucking ruin everything for BFH. We were the reason why the war
between East and West had taken a break. We were the reason why HCH kept themselves at bay for
the most part. We were the reason why BC was quiet. With the exception of Cole and his outlaw
crusade.
Kip landed two punches to my face.
With each punch I threw in return, the pain in my hands grew worse.
It was one of the only times in my life I almost felt weak. Like I couldn’t keep up. Or I couldn’t
win a fight. And the entire time my heart pounded, begging for Tinsley to show up. To just see her face
one more time. To just hold her pretty, little chin one more time and kiss her. Tell her I loved her and
that what I said…
Kip’s right connected with my face again.
I let out a groan and stumbled back. My right foot twisted and my knee bent.
I was down on one knee in front of Kip.
I held up my fists and nodded.
Kip came at me and grabbed my shirt. He picked me up and I threw a cheap left hook to his ribs.
Then he wrapped his arms around me and I threw my arms around him.
“I’m so sorry you lost her, man,” Kip said. “Your mother was cool as hell. I’m so fucking sorry
she’s gone. But you can’t lose Tinsley now.”
“Fuck!” Barr’s voice yelled. “Fuck… you two…”
I pushed away from Kip and wiped my eyes.
Barr was charging full force down into the ditch.
He threw something into the air.
I realized it was a phone.
It was my phone.
It must have fallen out of my pocket when Kip and I were rolling down the hill.
I caught the phone and looked at the screen.
“We have to go,” Barr said. “There’s no fucking time.”
“What’s wrong?” Kip asked.
I tossed the phone to Kip and started to run.
“Oh, shit,” Kip said.
I only needed to read the text message once to memorize it.
Cole decided a note on the driver’s seat of my SUV wasn’t good enough.
Now your mother isn’t the only one you’ve lost.

M y shoulder hit the front door to Kip’s guesthouse and I was suddenly running into the counter.
The door had been left unlocked and I was moving way too fucking fast.
“Tinsley!” I yelled.
I looked around the house and then made my move for the bedroom.
It smelled like her.
The goddamn bedroom smelled like Tinsley’s skin. Her clothes. Her hair. Everything about her
that I fell in love with. Like ten million little things that just built themselves up so fucking high that it
was impossible for me to keep the wall over my heart from her.
 The covers were messy.
And there was no sign of her.
I ran into the bathroom.
There was a towel on the floor.
I picked it up.
It was damp.
It smelled like her shampoo and soap.
In the bedroom again, Barr and Kip stood there, staring at me.
“Did she sleep here last night?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Kip said. “I crashed on the couch.”
“I crashed on the floor next to the bed,” Barr said.
“Fuck,” I said.
I ran out of the house with Barr and Kip behind me.
“Get in my ride,” I ordered them.
Before Barr could shut his door, I started to drive.
“Holy shit, Pres,” he said.
“Her SUV is gone,” I said. “She’s driving somewhere.”
Or being driven somewhere.
I couldn’t take that thought.
If Cole wanted to fuck with me, that was one thing. If he wanted to take his stand against the Rulz
to show BC he was big and bad, that was fine too.
But Tinsley…
I gritted my teeth.
“Let’s just think for a second,” Kip said. “Or just call him. Tell Cole we’ll bring Claire. Then we
can…”
“What?” Barr asked. “Tell Claire what’s going on?”
“Think she won’t believe us?”
“Oh, she will,” Barr said. “And if she’s who I think she is, she will make the choice for us. To
save Tinsley.”
“Shut up,” I yelled. “Shut up and look. Tell me…”
I pulled the SUV to the side of the road and jumped out.
“Pres!” Barr screamed.
I started to run.
I heard both Barr and Kip yelling my name as I ran along the side of the road.
Tinsley’s SUV was up ahead, turned almost sideways, the passenger door open.
Kip caught up to me and then took the lead.
I pointed.
“I see it!” he yelled.
I yelled as I ran faster to catch up to Kip.
We got to the SUV at the same time.
Barr went to the driver’s side a couple seconds later.
“It’s still running,” Barr said. “And look…”
He pointed to her cellphone in the cupholder.
“Fuck!” I yelled.
I turned and ran my hands through my hair.
 “Why is this door open then?” Kip asked.
“I have no fucking clue,” Barr yelled. “I’m not a fucking detective. Where the fuck is our girl?”
I looked left to right and wasn’t sure what to do next.
When I got my hands on Cole…
I turned back to the SUV and saw Kip and Barr meeting each other at the front of the SUV, ready
to fight each other.
I grabbed the open door and started to shake it back and forth.
I wanted to slam the door shut as much as I wanted to rip the fucking thing off the SUV.
Behind me I heard something make a snap sound.
Like a tree branch cracking.
When I spun around, I had my fists ready for a war.
It was Tinsley.
Walking from the woods.
“Tinsley,” I said.
She looked at me.
And then she looked at Barr and Kip.
She ran to them, breaking down into tears.
She collapsed a few steps before them and they both picked her up.
They hugged her and looked at me.
She wasn’t missing… but I still lost her.
 Chapter 20

B arr pointed to the tea kettle on the stove as it let out a weak whine.

behind him.
I nodded to him.
He poured the boiling water into a white mug and then carried the mug to the counter

On the other side of that counter, Tinsley sat bundled up in one of my hoodies, Kip sitting next to
her, his hand gently rising and falling along her back.
I put my back against the fridge and waited as patiently as I could.
“It’s okay, love,” Barr said. “We’re here. We’re not going anywhere.”
Tinsley glared at me then looked down at her steaming cup of tea.
“But we do need to know what happened, girl,” Kip said.
Kip drove Tinsley back to the guesthouse. She had been curled up in the front seat and refused to
talk.
Not that I could blame her.
The entire situation had to have been scary.
Even though it wasn’t the first time Cole went after Tinsley.
Last time he pulled this kind of stunt, he made it seem as though it were us… the Rulz…
threatening her.
I reminded myself to stay calm and let Tinsley talk.
“I don’t even know what happened,” she said. “It was just so fast. I was driving down the street. I
was going to go visit Claire. I wanted to thank her for helping Pres…” Tinsley looked at me again and
then looked away. “I wanted to get some advice from her. Just life stuff. Girl stuff.”
Advice from the woman who has no problem fucking a married man whose wife is home dying?
“What happened when you were driving, love?” Barr asked.
I hated seeing Tinsley so afraid. It was my job to make her feel safe. To make her feel
comfortable. To make her feel loved. The kind of love that made all her worries and fears go away.
And I had fucked that up with one comment.
Truth or not, it didn’t matter.
My words were more powerful than anything my fists had ever done to someone.
“This SUV came up on me,” Tinsley said. “Really fast. I thought it was Pres. Thought he was
trying to do something stupid.” She looked at me again. “But it wasn’t Pres. And when I realized it…
it was too late. They were along side of me and they wanted to run me off the road. So I slammed on
my brakes and pulled over. I climbed across the seat and opened the passenger door and ran. I thought
about everything that had been happening. And everything that had happened before. You know?”
“You did awesome, girl,” Kip said. “That was a genius move.”
“I ran into the woods,” she said. “One of them came after me. Doe? Don? Maybe…”
“Ado,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said. “Him. One of them yelled ‘Go get her, Ado!’ and I ran faster. I could hear him
coming after me too. The sound of his steps in the woods.”
“You’re a smart one,” Barr said. “Damn, love. So smart.”
“Yeah right,” Tinsley said. “I didn’t know what to do then. I heard his footsteps go away. Like
fade away. You know? And then I just stood there and waited. I thought I heard your voices. All
three…” Her eyes met mine again and she looked so beautiful and sad. “That’s when I knew I had to
risk it. I had to come out of the woods. I didn’t want you to think I was hurt or taken or some kind of
crazy thing.”
Tinsley started to cry again and Kip slid an arm around her.
He pulled her close.
I pushed from the fridge and walked to the counter.
I put my hands on the counter and eased them toward Tinsley’s.
“Look, sugar, that won’t happen again,” I said. “Cole is trying to take a stand. He’s doing this
outside of BC. He thinks he can take over. He’s a dead man no matter what happens here. The truth is,
he wants Claire.”
“Claire?” Tinsley asked, finally addressing me.
“Yeah,” I said. “I don’t know what her deal is but she’s into some really dark stuff, Tinsley. I
don’t want you near her. I’m sorry if that pisses you off. My guess is it has to do with the same shit
that almost killed your mother and almost killed your best friend.”
Tinsley shut her eyes.
My fingertips grazed her hands but she pulled them away.
Her eyes popped open and she looked at Barr.
“Can you do something for me?” she asked.
“What’s that, love?” Barr asked.
“Play piano for me.”
“What?”
“I need to calm down. I can’t do that here.”
“Take her to the house,” Kip said.
Barr looked at me for approval.
There was no approval needed.
Tinsley was going to do whatever she wanted. And she was going to take stabs at my heart in any
way possible.
“I’ll stay here,” Kip said. “Figure this out with Pres.”
“Okay then,” Barr said. “Come on, love. Let’s go for a walk together.”
Tinsley made it a point to grab Barr’s hand too on the way out the door.
I turned and reached for one of the cabinets, knowing where the booze was.
Kip was there a second later, his hand shutting the door.
I looked at him. “You ready to fight again?”
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“Getting a fucking drink.”
“No you’re not, Pres. You need to be clearheaded right now. You think you’re losing her? If she
wanted to be gone, she’d be gone. She’s fucking torturing you on purpose. To see how long until you
break. To see if you really do love her the way you say you do. What do you think is going to happen
in there? You think she’s going to try to put a move on Barr? You think he’s going to let her? We all
love Tinsley. We all promised to protect her. But when it comes to her heart, it’s yours, Pres. Always
has been. Now let’s figure this fucking shit out.”
“What I said to her…”
“Heat of the moment.”
“Honesty.”
Kip stepped back. “Honesty? You really think that, Pres? You’re really going to let your father’s
words do this? Think about your mother. Do you think she wanted you there for that? Or do you think
she would want you with the girl you love, helping her, protecting her, showing her what a real person
does for someone they love?” Kip shook his head. “Maybe you should have a drink or two. Bury
yourself in a bottle. Barr and I will take care of this mess. I have no fucking clue where your balls
went, Pres. Tinsley sure as fuck didn’t take them.”
Kip left the guesthouse.
I was alone again.
I looked down at my hands. Swollen knuckles and scabbed cuts were evidence of what happened
last time I was alone.
My eyes lifted to the bottles in the cabinet.
I slammed the door shut and gritted my teeth.
Kip was right.
About Barr. About everything.
But there was one catch.
If I didn’t make it back from this, one of them needed to love Tinsley the way she deserved.

I opened the door to Kip’s house and heard the soft sound of the piano playing.
Through the large open floor plan I followed the classical music until I saw Barr sitting at the
piano, his back to a corner consisting of a wall and another wall of windows. Kip was there too.
Arms crossed, staring out one of the windows.
Tinsley was on the floor, curled up, sound asleep.
Barr looked at me and nodded.
I made a cutting gesture at my neck and he stopped playing.
He carefully stepped over Tinsley and smacked Kip’s arms, getting his full attention.
They both walked to me.
“Can’t take her to the guesthouse,” I whispered. “What about a couch, Kip?”
“She’s fine here,” Kip said. “Safe too. I’ll make sure of it. Someone will watch the room. I’ll tell
them she had too much to drink and I don’t want her leaving. It’ll be fine.”
“I’ll move her,” Barr said.
My right hand shot out and I grabbed Barr by the shirt.
I pulled him toward me. “The fuck you will. You put your hands on Tinsley ever again and I’ll
break both your hands so bad you’ll never play piano again.”
Barr grinned. “Glad to see you’re back.”
 I pushed him away and went to Tinsley.
I dropped to one knee next to her and carefully slid my hands under her body. As I lifted her, I
brought her body close to me. For a second, I shut my eyes, remembering just how right it all felt. Not
that I ever had a moment of doubt of what Tinsley meant to me, but carrying her through that room
made it very clear who I was and who she was to me.
As I placed her down on the couch, I leaned into her.
I buried my face into her neck and took a deep breath, smelling her hair and skin.
“I love you, sugar,” I whispered. “I’m going to fix everything. Because you are everything to me.”
When I started to pull away, Tinsley wrapped her arms around me and hugged me.
Her eyes were still shut so I had no idea who she thought she was hugging, but it was something.
I stood up and nodded to Barr and Kip.
We walked from the room to the front door.
“What’s the plan?” Kip asked me.
“Not sure,” I said. “Maybe do what I should have done at the beginning. Call Cole. Meet up with
him. And beat him until he thinks he’s going to die.”
“Works for me,” Barr said. He stuck an unlit cigarette between his lips.
“I’m in,” Kip said. “And if we play this right, we can get in touch with Mac. Let him know what’s
happening and that we took care of Cole. I’m sure he’ll want Cole and the others to handle their way
too.”
“Then that’s what we do,” I said. “Track down Cole. Head right into BC if we have to. That
would send one hell of a message.”
Kip elbowed Barr. “You good with that?”
“What the fuck do I care?” Barr asked.
“You know who’s still there…”
Barr curled his lip.
“Let’s get out of here first,” I said. “Let Tinsley get some sleep. I don’t want her to get involved
any more than she is.”
“Too late,” a groggy voice said from behind me.
I spun around and Tinsley stood a few feet away, swimming in my hoodie, looking still half asleep
but like a total badass.
“Sugar…”
“Don’t fuck this up more than you already have, Pres,” she said. “Wherever you three go, I’m
going with you. I’m not going to be left alone.”
I stepped toward her. Towering over her. “If that’s what you want to do, then you’re going to listen
to everything I say to do. Understand?”
“Oh, I hear everything you say, Pres,” she threw back at me.
I opened my mouth to throw something back at her when her phone started to ring.
She put up her pointer finger and slowly turned away to take the call.
I made fists, I had never felt so pissed off yet in love at the same time.
I didn’t need to worry about BC or any other bullshit stuff at BFH or in the world… Tinsley was
going to be the actual death of me.
Her beauty. Her heart. Her attitude.
Hearing her scream WHAT?! snapped me out of my romantic trance.
She then spun back around and had tears in her eyes again.
“What is it now, sugar?” I asked.
 “Someone is at Claire’s…”

C laire sat at the counter with a glass of wine that looked like it could hold the entire goddamn
bottle. She was calm and almost radiant as she sat there. Next to her was Ado. And he had a gun
on the counter. I pushed Tinsley behind me at the sight of the weapon.
“I have a visitor tonight,” Claire said. “This cute little thing with a gun.”
I walked behind the counter and stared at Ado.
He made no move to grab the gun.
Barr and Kip made sure to keep Tinsley behind them too.
She hated that, pushing her way to be seen.
Which I fucking hated.
“Sorry to bother you,” Claire said. “Didn’t want to get Tinsley scared.”
“What is this?” Tinsley asked. “Why are you so calm?”
“He’s not going to hurt anyone,” Claire said.
“That’s not my plan,” Ado said.
“Then what do you want?” I asked.
“To try and figure this out,” he said. “Cole is out of his element, man. Way out of it. Thinking he
could make a play that was never there.”
“And you went along with it,” Barr said.
“As far as I could,” Ado said. “I’m not worried about me. I don’t want Cole to hurt anyone.
Threatening you was one thing. I liked the idea of making the Rulz nervous. And no offense, but Pres
having a girlfriend made it easy.”
“You threatened Tinsley?” Claire asked.
“They tried to kill me,” Tinsley said. “They tried to run me off the road!”
“Pieces of shit,” Kip growled.
“Wait a second,” Ado said. “Cole wanted to do more than that. I convinced him that we could
grab her. And if we did, I was going to get her out of there. When she pulled over and jumped out, I
went after her. Not to hurt her. I wanted to help her. Get her to safety. But I couldn’t find her. So I shot
Cole a text and told him I was going to keep looking. He took off with Bain and I came here.”
“With a gun,” I said.
“It’s on the counter, man. I’m not going to do anything fucking crazy here. I want out of this shit.”
“Why even do it to begin with?” Barr asked.
“Already told you,” Ado said. “We wanted to push at you guys. Scare you a little. Then take it to
Mac and see what he wanted us to do. Show that we had force.”
“Cole wants to break away,” I said. “Or overrun Mac.”
“That I didn’t know at first,” Ado said. “So I thought if I could get to you guys I could take it to
Mac myself.”
“You’re just a fucking rat all around then,” Kip said.
“The worst kind,” Claire said. She sipped her wine. “The rat who rats and then rats on who he
ratted on.”
“Why are you so calm?” Tinsley asked Claire again.
But in a way we all knew why.
 We all knew Claire was deep in some kind of dark life. And the less we knew, the better.
It was the reason why Tinsley didn’t live with Claire.
Too dangerous.
“So what’s our plan, Ado?” I asked.
“Cole went back to BC to check in with Mac,” Ado said. “Just to keep up appearances. Then he’s
coming full force with Bain. He knows he fucked up by listening to me and not being able to grab
Tinsley. So his next play is here with Claire. He’ll do it himself. Then come after you hard. Or try to
convince Mac to do it.”
“And we’re just all fucking best friends now?” Barr asked.
“I could have been hurt,” Tinsley said. “You were coming after me.”
“I couldn’t say why,” Ado said.
“Let’s just wrap this thing up,” Claire said. “Make your plans and go.”
I walked around the counter and Ado stood up tall.
I didn’t hesitate as I punched him.
He fell into the counter and Barr quickly slid the gun down the counter, out of his reach.
I hit him two more times, sending him to the floor.
“You know what that was for,” I said.
Claire stood up and kicked her right foot right against his ribs.
Ado cried out in pain.
“You know what that was for,” she said with a smirk.
I looked at Tinsley.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“If you’re fucking around right now, Ado, I will put you in the ocean,” I said. “For good.”
Ado wiped his mouth and grabbed for his ribs. “I’m not fucking around.”
I walked away from him and exited the kitchen.
Barr, Kip, and Tinsley were hot after me.
“Pres,” Barr said.
“Wait up,” Kip said.
I didn’t wait up.
Once I was outside, Tinsley caught up and grabbed my hand.
That got me to stop.
Both of her hands squeezing my right hand.
“Pres,” she whispered.
“Sugar,” I said.
“Where are we going now?”
There was only one place to go now.
It was time to go visit BC and end this for good.
 Chapter 21

T here was no building for BC. There was a campus. A massive campus at that. Building after
building, each one looking a brittle, red color with a black tin roof, almost like an old
haunted hospital from some cheap scary movie. Each planted tree and blade of grass was
purposely put in its place to give a tough and threatening appearance. Inside the living quarters were
those who would have been in jail. Except their parents had checkbooks that could write a lot of
zeros at the end, which gave their little ones one last chance to keep things under control before
entering the real world for good.
Most were smart enough to listen. Smart enough to see what the future held. Some were smart
enough to just go with the motions and get the hell out of BC and either lived a good, rich life, or they
fell sideways and ended up in serious trouble for good.
Of course, that was what Brooks Crest was.
BC, on the other hand, that was a whole other world within the world.
They were nothing short of rich outlaws.
Not afraid to kill.
Because to them, they had nothing worth losing.
Kip sat in the backseat of the SUV with Tinsley, his window down, Tinsley hanging over him as
she looked out the window at the buildings.
“It looks scary,” she said.
“You don’t want to be there, love,” Barr said in a monotone voice.
“You really had to go here?” she asked.
Barr slowly nodded. “Yeah.”
“Do I want to know why?”
“Probably not, girl,” I heard Kip say.
Barr lit another cigarette and studied the buildings as I drove by the rest of them to get away from
the campus.
Cole wasn’t going to be strolling along the main walkway, carrying a bag and some books.
He was going to be hiding somewhere, waiting to make his next move. Thinking Ado was either
going to get to Tinsley or get to Claire. But Cole wasn’t stupid. If it took too long, he’d know
something was up. Ado knew that too.
All I could hope for was that Claire was as street savvy as she pretended to be.
At least for Tinsley’s sake.
“Maybe we should just reach out to Mac,” Kip said. “Let him know we’re here. Meet up and talk.
Play the aggressive angle.”
“I want to get my hands on Cole,” I said.
“Doubt Mac would listen to us,” Barr said. “Knowing him, he’d…”
Barr trailed off.
“He’d what?” Kip asked.
Barr opened the passenger door and tried to get out.
“Shit!” I yelled as I hit the brakes.
Everyone jerked forward but it saved Barr from hurting himself.
“What’s he doing?” Tinsley asked.
I looked back at Kip. “Stay with her.”
I parked the SUV in a spot that was far too open for my comfort and I got out to go after Barr.
He walked through the perfect grass to a cobblestone like sidewalk.
My hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
“Barr,” I growled.
He stopped, his cigarette between his lips, the smoke billowing up into his own face.
I looked around, trying to figure out what got his attention.
He had been with BC for longer than he cared to admit and talk about.
Coming here was a risk to begin with, but for Barr, it was probably like torture. All the memories
haunting him able to come alive. Ghosts I’d never see racing back and forth in front of his face.
He took a deep drag of his cigarette and then pointed to a massive tree.
“That’s one of the oldest trees here,” Barr said.
“Yeah?” I asked. “That’s good. I didn’t take you to be a tree guy.”
“It’s not the fucking tree, Pres,” he said. “It’s the initials carved into the tree.”
I shut my mouth and kept it shut.
My heart was pounding though. Dead set on finding Cole and ending this fight he started. Dead set
on making things right with Tinsley.
But I stood with Barr in silence, knowing that it wasn’t just me who felt some pain from the past.
“I don’t want to be here either,” I finally said to Barr. “And I appreciate you coming here with me.
With us. With Tinsley.”
Barr flicked his cigarette in the direction of the tree and we walked back to the SUV.
As he opened his door, we heard voices.
It sounded like giggling.
Drunk girl giggling at that.
We both looked and when I saw who it was, I gritted my teeth.
“At least you know she’s happy,” I said to Barr.
He shook his head.
It was three girls, two of them stumbling down the sidewalk. They were drunk, bumping into each
other, trying to play some kid game like don’t step in the lava or you’ll die kind of thing. The other
girl walked behind them. The prettiest of the three, no surprise to me when it came to Barr and his
desire for the prettiest one in the room.
“What are you going to do here, Barr?” I asked him. “You want to cut that scar?”
One of the stumbling girls fell and smacked her knee off the ground.
She cried out OW! and the other girl started to laugh so hard she fell down to her ass.
“Mel always took care of everyone,” Barr whispered as she tried to help the other two drunk girls
back to their feet.
 I didn’t know much about Mel at all. She was just another ghost of Barr’s past. But this was one
ghost I was able to see.
Mel lifted her head and looked right at me and Barr.
Shit.
I could feel every muscle in Barr’s body tighten.
They stared at each other for a few seconds before Mel’s face became confused.
Rightfully so.
Why the fuck was BFH in BC territory?
I didn’t say a word or do a thing. It was up to Barr to decide what he wanted to do next.
Mel quickly looked away.
I saw something that I knew Barr saw.
He stepped forward and I grabbed his arm.
“You do this and everything explodes,” I said.
He looked back at me. “You saw what I saw? Her eye…”
“Could be anything,” I said.
“But it’s not,” Barr said.
“If you’re sure, then let’s go. We can put the three of them in the back of the SUV and get out of
here. I’ll call Mac and we’ll let everything sort itself out.”
Barr curled his lip and shook me away.
He stepped back and climbed into the SUV and shut the door.
I looked to Mel again as she struggled to get the other girls to their feet.
The entire thing didn’t sit well with me.
“Pres, we have to move,” Kip said as he rolled his window down. “Have to protect what we
have so we don’t lose anything else here.”
I nodded and got back into the SUV and drove away.
Barr stared out the rearview mirror the entire time.

“HKipe fucked us,” Kip said from the backseat.

was suddenly between Barr and me.
His blue eyes were spitting fire.
“What?” Barr asked.
“Ado. He fucked us.”
“Fucked us how?” I asked.
Tinsley squished her way next to Kip, putting herself between Kip and me.
“Claire’s in trouble,” she said.
“Claire?” I asked. “What? How?”
“She just texted me. They’re there.”
“Cole?” Barr asked.
“Yeah,” Kip said. “Ado fucking played us. Got us out of there. He probably called Cole and said
we were headed his way. So he darted our way.”
“I sidetracked us,” Barr said.
“No, you didn’t,” I said. I cut the wheel and turned the SUV around. “He wants to play this
game… then we’re fucking playing it.”
“Call Mac?” Kip asked.
“No,” I said.
“I’m with Pres,” Barr said. “I want to get my hands on them.”
“What about Claire?” Tinsley asked. “What do they want with her?”
“You already know that, sugar,” I said. “There’s a dark reality there…”
Tinsley let out a long sigh.
“It’s okay, girl,” Kip said. “We’ll fix this.”
“If they’re there,” Tinsley said, “then… what if they…”
“All I can do now is drive,” I said.
“What if she’s gone? What if they hurt her? What do they actually want? Money? Or…”
“Love,” Barr snapped. “Stop it. Cole is taking his stand. He wants to control BC.”
Kip moved away and slammed himself off the backseat of the SUV.
I drove as fast as I could.
That was the worst part of it.
Just being stuck in a goddamn vehicle knowing something was happening.
Just like that long drive after I got the call that my mother was dead.
The silence.
The pain.
The guilt.
The racing thoughts.
And while Claire wasn’t Tinsley’s mother, she was just about as close as you could get. I didn’t
want Tinsley to feel that kind of pain. Then again, she had felt that pain before. All those times she
found her mother overdosed, almost dead…
I turned my head for a split second and looked at Tinsley.
Fuck, I loved her so much.
I moved my right hand back and grabbed for her hand.
I squeezed it once and let her go.
Tinsley grabbed my hand then and squeezed it back.
That was good enough for the moment.
“We need a plan,” Barr said a few minutes later to break up the silence.
“No, we don’t,” I said. “We already have one. They want us to bust in and fight. That’s what we’ll
do.”
“You sure about that?” Kip asked.
“There’s one of two things happening here,” I said. “One… we bust in and they show their force.
Their power. They want it to be known that they are serious. Going after Claire hurts Tinsley and that
hurts me. But going after Claire means they are going after the streets too. That kind of move puts
Cole above Mac. We play it off. We tell them to take Claire. That we hate her.”
“What?” Tinsley yelled.
“Play the game, love,” Barr said. “Makes sense.”
“You need to say it too,” Kip said.
“Then we can attack them,” I said.
“What’s the other option?” Tinsley asked. “You said that was one. What’s two?”
I looked in the mirror and my eyes met hers.
“Two… they’ve taken Claire and we never see her alive again.”
I t was option one.
Which I figured.
Because that was the kind of person Cole was. If he really wanted to do something, he would
have done it without involving the Rulz. Getting me to meet him alone so he could have Ado and Bain
hold me was weak. Meeting me on the beach was weak. Threatening me with a note on the front seat
of my SUV was weak. Trying to run Tinsley off the road was weak. And then going after Claire
directly… weak.
He wanted attention and he was going to get it.
He knew nothing of the rage that went through my body and my mind and my heart as I entered the
house.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through Barr’s mind. Especially after seeing
Mel.
And Kip…
Kip was Kip.
If he wasn’t surfing, telling dumb jokes, or hitting on Tinsley, he was always ready for a fight.
Claire was sitting in the same seat with the same glass of wine.
Well, sort of.
The wine glass was broken in half, wine staining the counter and dripping to the floor like thin
blood.
Cole stood behind her, his eyes wide, telling me right out of the gate that he was messed up.
Getting fucking high and trying to make a play at BC.
Even still, we entered the kitchen with caution.
I hated that Tinsley was with us.
I didn’t want her to get hurt.
Or to see any of this.
Ado and Bain were on the other side of the counter.
I looked at Ado and curled my lip.
He smirked.
Fucking prick.
“You got what you wanted,” I said to Cole.
“I did,” Cole said. “But not how I wanted it. I gave you a chance, Pres.”
“I was on my way to talk to you,” I said.
“We know how you talk,” Bain said. “It’s well known that the Rulz don’t talk. They fight.”
Kip cracked his knuckles. “So let’s talk.”
Bain stepped toward Kip.
“Fuck,” Barr said.
Kip swung a long right punch and smacked Bain in the nose.
It was like Bain didn’t actually think it was going to happen.
Bain’s head snapped back, blood shooting into the air.
I jumped toward Claire, but she was already in action.
She threw an elbow and hit Cole in the gut.
He let out an oomph sound and turned just enough so I could hit him.
 I needed to keep an eye on the gun though.
As I tackled Cole to the floor, we began to wrestle.
“Tinsley, move back,” Claire yelled.
All I could hear were thuds.
Me fighting Cole. Barr fighting Bain. And Kip fighting Ado.
There was no way this ended quietly or peacefully.
Cole managed to get a cheap shot on me, kneeing me between the legs. It was enough that I kicked
back to get away from him. It was just an instinctual movement.
I crashed into one of the barstools and it tipped over.
Cole rolled away and got up to his knees.
I watched the gun as it slowly lifted up.
My hand reached for the fallen barstool, knowing it was my only chance. I wasn’t sure if it would
hold up as a shield or not. There was only one way to find out.
“Fucking prick,” Kip’s voice boomed.
A second later Ado was thrown over the counter and landed almost on top of Cole.
That gave me enough time to get out of the way of the gun and get to my feet.
Kip was standing on the counter like a wrestler on the top ropes.
I turned my head and saw Bain hit Barr in the jaw.
Barr took the hit and threw his head forward, hitting Bain.
Claire had an arm around Tinsley, whispering something into her ear.
From the corner of my eye I saw Cole trying to make a move.
He was going toward the sliding glass door.
Kip jumped off the counter and we both went for him.
As he swung his arm back holding the gun, I dove forward and punched his wrist.
The gun fell free as Kip tackled him.
There was one problem.
We both took our eyes off Ado.
I turned my head just in time to see Ado falling on top of me.
I put my arms up and he came down on me like he wanted to hug me.
“Just hang tight,” he whispered to me. “Mac is on his way. I didn’t fuck you over.”
Before I could say anything, Ado punched me in the ribs.
I groaned and punched him back.
Kip had Cole pinned down.
But Cole wasn’t going down that easily.
I had no idea where it came from, but a knife suddenly slashed through the air.
Kip fell back just in time, allowing Cole to get away again.
I turned, trying to throw Ado off me.
But Ado grabbed my shoulders.
I had no choice but to punch him.
He rolled off me and both Kip and I hurried to our feet to chase after Cole again.
“Barr!” I called out and pointed to Cole.
Barr tossed Bain aside and the three of us were going after Cole.
He threw the knife at me but it was a terrible throw. The risk wasn’t worth it though because Cole
managed to get the gun again.
It was the Rulz facing off with Cole and a gun.
 “Don’t do this,” I said to Cole. “You made your point. Be a man about it.”
“Oh, I am, Pres,” Cole said. “The plan was always the same. From day one. To take down the
Rulz. And I know how to do it.”
“It’s three on one now,” Barr said.
“And we don’t mind a dirty, unfair fight,” Kip said.
“I know that,” Cole said. “That’s why I came prepared.”
Cole smiled. Blood on his teeth. His face swollen.
The gun pointed at me.
I had to make my move.
No matter what.
It was up to Barr and Kip to take care of Tinsley.
I stepped forward and Cole made his move too.
Claire’s voice yelled, “Get him!”
Cole moved his arm to the side.
The gun was no longer pointed at me.
I turned my head, knowing already that the gun was pointed at Tinsley.
And that’s when Cole pulled the trigger.
 Chapter 22

T he Rulz were on the move.

Myself, Barr, and Kip all setting our attention on Tinsley, the three of us thinking some of
the same thoughts but plenty of different ones. What she meant to each of us. Everything that
had happened from the second we met her. And quite honestly, whether the other two liked it or not, I
met her first. And I made her mine. And mine meant forever.
So when I saw her standing right where she had been, a look of shock on her face, I didn’t know
what to think.
It took me a second to allow my mind, heart, body, everything to catch up to the scene.
“Tucker,” Claire said. “Shit.”
I looked down on the kitchen floor and there was Tinsley’s father.
He had taken a bullet for his daughter.
I lifted my head and looked into Tinsley’s eyes.
They were filled with tears.
The rest of the scene crushed me like a wave.
I turned my head and saw Cole and Bain already out the back door.
I made it two steps before Barr wrapped his arms around me and held me in place.
“Let it go,” Barr said. “He’s not getting far. Trust me.”
My eyes moved to Ado as he stood at the glass door that went outside.
He showed his hands. Keeping to his word that he hadn’t fucked us over.
“You all need to get out of here,” Claire said. “Cops will be here soon enough.”
My attention went back to Tinsley.
I jumped at her, over her father as he held his chest where the bullet had gotten him. I hugged
Tinsley and she let out a cry into my chest.
“It’s over,” I whispered.
I wasn’t sure if that was true or not.
But at least Tinsley was okay. She wasn’t hurt.
“This is fucking insane,” Kip said. “We need to go find Cole right now.”
“No,” Barr said. He pointed to Ado. “He will. Right?”
“Look,” Ado said. “I kept to my word. Mac is on his way. He knows everything. Just believe me.”
“Get the fuck out of my house,” Claire said. “Or I will make it so you never talk again.” She
stepped over Tucker. She meant business. “You have no idea what you brushed up against with me.
And you have no idea what Tucker was planning on doing to the three of you. And I have others
waiting. One fucking phone call and you can’t imagine the hell that will show up.”
Ado slid against the glass door and turned, scrambling to get out.
I looked down at Tucker. His hand shook as he covered what actually looked like his shoulder. At
least it was on the right side of his body. Not his heart.
Tinsley stared down at her father. But she didn’t speak.
“You meant everything you just said,” I said to Claire.
She turned, her face in a scowl. “Of course I did. And if you don’t get out of here, you’ll be
dragged into it too.”
“What… what’s going to happen?” Tinsley asked.
Claire walked to Tinsley and pulled her away from me.
“The cops will think someone broke in,” Claire said. “Okay? I was having a meeting here with
Tucker. Maybe something more. Right? I’ll get changed into something more relaxing and
provocative. Turn on the water works. It’ll be okay. He’ll get to the hospital. But you have to leave,
Tinsley. You can’t be here. This isn’t meant for you. Go with Pres. He’ll protect you. He’ll keep you
safe.”
I placed my hand to Tinsley’s back. “I’ll always protect you and keep you safe, sugar.”
Barr and Kip stepped up to Tinsley too.
“We all will, love,” Barr said.
“Let’s go back to the guesthouse, girl,” Kip said.
Tinsley nodded. “Okay. Yeah. Sure.”
I kept my hand at Tinsley’s waist as we started to walk.
Claire grabbed my arm and sank her nails into my skin.
We looked at each other.
Eyes burning for a hundred different reasons.
I nodded to her.
She nodded back.
Her world was dark.
But my world…
As long as I had Tinsley, there would always be some sense of light.

W e got away from Claire’s house but we didn’t get all that far before we saw two vehicles
blocking the road. I had told Barr to drive so I could sit in the backseat with Tinsley. She
was wrapped up in my arms but we didn’t say a word to each other. Which was fine by me. I’d take
the stolen moments for now.
Blocking the road was a large SUV and a car that was low to the ground, small, and had the
appearance of being super fucking fast.
There was no need to wonder who was driving the vehicle, because Mac stood outside the car,
smoking a cigarette. He had sunglasses pushed up to the top of his head, keeping his messy hair out of
his face. There were a couple others with him. All dressed in black, with their sleeveless leather
jackets, never afraid to make it known who they were and what they were capable of.
Barr stopped my SUV and got out without hesitation.
“Shit,” Kip said as he went after him.
 “Come on, sugar,” I said.
I didn’t necessarily want Tinsley to be exposed to BC more than she had been, but I didn’t want
her alone in my SUV. For all I knew, Mac could have been in on this the entire time and could have
someone slip into the driver’s seat and take off with Tinsley in the backseat.
Barr lit a cigarette and had no problems going toe to toe with Mac.
The history there was rich and really bad.
I pulled Tinsley forward and eased her toward Kip.
“Take care of her,” I said to Kip.
Kip put an arm around Tinsley’s shoulder. “I’ve got you, girl.”
“No need for the tension,” Mac called out. “This is a conversation without violence. At least I
hope.”
“That’s where you’re wrong already,” Barr said.
He wound up and grabbed his arm.
“I can understand the need there, Barr,” Mac said. “Heard you saw a ghost earlier.”
I felt Barr seething.
“Where’s Ado?” I asked.
Mac pointed to the SUV.
Someone opened the backdoor and reached inside.
Out stumbled a beaten Ado.
“Fuck,” Barr said.
“I appreciate what he did,” Mac said. “That’s why he’s still breathing. I mean, not breathing
through his nose, right? That’ll take a little while to heal.”
“You’ve got guys running wild on you,” I said to Mac. “You left a mess here. You think this is
going to go away?”
“Yeah, it is,” Mac said. “We’ve got Cole and Bain.”
“What do you mean by that?” Kip asked.
“Do you want me to open the back so you can see?” Mac asked.
There was a sense of dark and deadly honesty in his eyes.
I shook my head. “No. I want all of you out of my town. And if anyone so much as breathes the
wrong way or whispers Tinsley’s name, I will take BC down. You have no idea what I’m willing to
do to protect what’s mine and what I love.”
Mac nodded. “That’s fair, Pres. We have no issues here. You and me. BC and BFH. Everything
Cole told you was true. He was on his own. I knew it though. For a while. Watching him. Waiting for
him to make a move.”
“So you knew he was down here?” Barr asked. “You knew he attacked Pres?”
Mac grinned. “I was just curious to see what he could do on his own. What kind of balls he had.
And I wanted to see if the Rulz would finally break. Things have been changing around here, you
know?”
I watched the way Mac’s eyes moved to Tinsley.
I laughed. “Yeah, things have been changing. In a way that isn’t good for you.”
“So consider this my deepest of apologies. One of my guys got out of hand. And it’s been dealt
with.”
“Maybe not for us,” Barr said.
“Then I’ll leave Ado,” Mac said. “Peace offering. Do what you want with him.”
“Not interested,” I said. “But…”
 I stepped closer to Mac.
He oozed nothing but violence.
I wasn’t afraid even for a second.
We stared at each other, silently fighting to see who could be more cocky than the other.
“Barr,” I said. “Kip. I think we need to make sure we send a clear message here.”
“Finally,” Kip said.
Mac folded his arms and watched as I swung and hit the guy standing next to him.
Barr and Kip took their turns, going after two other guys.
It was quick.
But it served its purpose.
“Get the fuck out of here,” I said to Mac.
“Pres,” Mac said. “This little moment between us… we might have a bigger problem coming.”
“Fine,” Barr said. “You want to start that, then we’ll be ready.”
“Wait,” Tinsley called out.
Everyone froze.
Everyone looked at her.
She walked to the side of the road.
I had no idea what the hell she was doing.
Then I saw the rock in her hand.
A big one too.
Bigger than her hand. Heavy enough that she kept her other hand close by in case she needed both
hands to carry it.
Without hesitation, she ran toward the SUV and threw the rock as hard as she could. It smashed
right through the passenger front window.
“Now we’re done,” Tinsley said.
She turned and snapped her fingers and walked away with her hips cutting left to right through the
air. She climbed into the back of my SUV and that was that.
Barr flicked his cigarette at Mac’s feet. “Get out of our fucking way, Mac.”
“Since I’m heading back, Barr,” Mac said, “need me to tell anyone anything? Maybe a quick
hello? A little kiss on the cheek?”
Barr stepped forward and Kip pulled him back.
Mac and BC loaded up and drove away.
We stood in the middle of the road, the three of us trying to process what had just happened.
The Rulz…
I opened my mouth to say something to Barr and Kip but my words were stolen by the sound of a
horn.
I turned my head and Tinsley was in the front seat of the SUV, beeping at us. Waving her hands.
Wanting to leave.
“Better not piss her off more than you already have,” Kip said to me, punching my shoulder.
“I’ll drive again,” Barr said.
I stared at Tinsley, trying to fight the urge to smile.
Maybe it was no longer the Rulz.
Now it was the Rulz featuring Tinsley Ditkiss.
B arr and Kip refused to leave the guesthouse.
Tinsley didn’t want them to leave either.
She hugged them and thanked them for what they had done for her.
I told them if they came within ten feet of the bedroom door I was going to break their hands.
Barr smoked.
Kip drank.
I locked the bedroom door just to be safe.
Tinsley crashed down to the bed and let out a long breath. She put her face into her hands.
I kept my distance.
“Sugar, that was a lot at once,” I said.
Tinsley looked at me. “You think?”
“It’s been a lot too,” I said. “Because of me. Because of my life.”
“Because of things you’ve said,” she said.
“Yeah. That too. I need you to know something, Tinsley. What I said… I meant it in that moment.
And that was a bad moment for me. I tried hard to do everything I could for my mother knowing that
one day she was going to die. Which is strange because everyone is going to die someday. Right?”
“Well isn’t that just morbid?”
“But it’s true, sugar. And when that’s thrown in your face… not a lot of people think about it. I
watched it. I think somewhere inside me, I thought when the time came, something would happen. I’d
be alone with her. And she wouldn’t be feeling pain. Or maybe she’d get one last burst of energy and
become the old version of herself. It’s stupid to think that. But it comforted me for a long time. I just
pictured her being able to get up out of that bed and talk to me. To come down to the water with me.
Or tell me some crazy story that I could never be sure if it was true or not. That didn’t happen, sugar.
Not because of you. Not because of Ruby. Not even because of my father. That could never happen.”
“Oh, Pres…”
Tinsley stood up.
I put my hands out. “Wait. What I said hurt you. And I’m sorry that I hurt you. My father said
something to me about not being there when she died and I let it get to me. But the truth… which Kip
pointed out… she would have wanted me to be where I was. I mean, maybe not exactly like it was. I
don’t think my mother envisioned her only son fighting some drug dealers and helping a junkie… but
you know, I was doing what I felt was right. I was doing what I needed to do. Because I was doing
something for the person I loved. The person I love. I love you, Tinsley. And I would chase anyone
around the world for you. Anything you ever need or want… it’s all yours. I mean, me. Everything I
have. It’s all yours. Because without you, I don’t have anything. I don’t want anything.”
I reached for her hand and pulled her close to me.
Tinsley put her hands to my chest and let out a breath.
“I love you, Pres,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure you had time and space to figure it all
out.”
“Trust me, sugar, I’ve got it all figured out.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Then what’s the plan?”
 My hands moved to the back of her legs and I picked her up. I positioned her body against mine
right where I needed her.
Outside the bedroom I heard Kip burst into a fit of laughter. And I could just barely smell the
smell of Barr’s cigarette smoke.
Tinsley smiled. “Problem?”
“Never,” I said. I brushed my lips to hers. “I think we need a shower anyway.”
I walked her to the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind me.
I locked that door too.
I turned on the water and made sure it was on full blast and full heat.
My hands then set their sights on Tinsley.
Leaving her clothes in a messy pile on the floor. Leaving invisible kisses from her lips to her neck
down to her chest and then down some more…
Tinsley groaned and slapped her hands to the wall as I wrote her a love letter that I could never
possibly do by hand with a pen and paper. I made her hips dance without a single note to a song
playing. My hands traveled up and down her body, memorizing every inch of her skin, knowing that
time would forever work against us.
But that was okay.
I had right now.
I had the taste of her desire on my lips.
I gently kissed up her body, inch by inch, not stopping until I tasted her neck again.
Tinsley grabbed at the back of my shirt and clawed at it.
“I fucking hate you for that,” she whispered.
“Your body didn’t,” I said with a laugh.
I broke away from Tinsley and she stepped into the shower.
I watched her figure for a few seconds, grinning in a way I never knew I could grin.
Then I joined her.
I had to stay close to her to keep her safe… right?

C laire called just after breakfast to let Tinsley know that Tucker was going to be okay. I had been
on what felt like my fiftieth cup of coffee because after putting Tinsley to bed the night before I
went down to the beach and stood there alone to collect my thoughts.
Tucker had to have surgery but everything went as smooth as it could. He had feeling in his
shoulder and right arm, which was obviously a good thing.
That was the extent of the conversation. It was Tinsley who wanted to go see him.
I had no problem taking her to the hospital to see Tucker.
No matter what, the entire situation was a giant mess for Tinsley.
Her mother lived as a junkie for so many years. She never knew who her father was. He had been
just as messed up but had gotten clean and was now forever tied to Claire doing who knew what.
At the end of the day though, Tinsley had both of her parents alive.
Her mother was clean and still living the good hippie life. And her father had taken a bullet meant
for her.
I walked Tinsley to the hospital room door and stopped.
 “Go,” I said.
“Come with me,” she said.
“No, sugar. This is your thing. It’s your family.”
“Pres…”
I touched her cheek. “Tinsley. Go do what you have to do. I’ll be waiting right here for you. You
don’t have to do anything if you don’t want. Just coming here is enough. We can leave. Or you can go
in that room and thank him. Shake his hand. Whatever you want, sugar. Remember that. You’re the
strong one. You’re the strongest person I know.”
Tinsley sucked in a breath and nodded. “Okay.”
She entered the hospital room and I stood in the hallway by myself.
I stepped back and leaned against a wall and waited.
I ran through a bunch of random thoughts.
Everything from my mother passing away to what happened with my father to what happened with
BC.
When Tinsley emerged from the hospital room, she was carrying a dozen roses.
I lifted an eyebrow. “Those for you?”
“Yeah,” she said. She swallowed hard and laughed. “He made Claire bring them. In case I
showed up.”
“You took all twelve,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said.
Tucker always brought Tinsley roses. And she would always just take one. Her way of telling him
she appreciated the thought but she wasn’t ready to figure out their father, daughter issues.
I guess taking a bullet for his daughter changed that.
Tinsley shrugged her shoulders. “Claire called him to come over. To bring others with him. I don’t
even want to know what that means. He showed up and said he saw Cole with the gun… and when
Cole moved his arm, he just jumped in front of me. He said it was instinctual. A father’s love. A
father’s protection. He started to cry as he told me that. He wasn’t even really sure how he felt as a
father until then.”
“Wow,” I said.
“I appreciated the honesty,” she said. “So I took the roses this time. And I told him when he gets
released, I’ll meet him for breakfast or lunch or something.”
I touched Tinsley’s shoulders. “That’s good, sugar. Do me a favor and stay here.”
“Why?”
I opened the hospital room door and went inside.
Tucker sat in the hospital bed, looking tired.
He looked at me and nodded.
“I appreciate what you did,” I said to him. “Jumping in front of that bullet. If I lost her, I wouldn’t
have made it through the night.”
“I’m happy for her,” Tucker said. “And for you. That you two have each other.”
“I wasn’t done talking,” I said. I gripped my hands to the bedrail. “I’ll say it again, Tucker. I
appreciate what you did. And I think it’s admirable that she took the roses. All of them. And that you
two want to talk. Navigate these waters. But let me make something very clear. Whatever the fuck you
and Claire have going… keep it away from Tinsley. Anytime you two meet up, I’ll be nearby. Just in
case.”
Tucker’s eyes widened. “Hey, listen…”
 “I wasn’t fucking done,” I said. I moved my right hand and grabbed Tucker’s face. I squished his
cheeks so his lips made a fish face. “And if you ever hurt her… I swear on my life, man… if I ever
see her cry because of you. Or you lie to her. Or you try to cheat her out of anything in her life. Look
me in the eyes, motherfucker. I will make sure that it’s not your shoulder that gets fucked up.
Understand?”
I pushed Tucker’s face away.
His head snapped back.
I turned and walked out of the hospital room.
“Pres, what was that about?” Tinsley asked as I walked up to her.
I touched her cheek and then held her chin with my hand, like I always did.
I lowered my lips to hers.
I might have been in love, but I was still Pres… I was still the Rulz… and I was still going to
make sure everyone fucking knew that.
 Epilogue

S he stood with her feet in the water, the waves gently caressing them.
I approached with quiet caution, a smile unable to hide itself.
If there was one bad thing about Tinsley, it was that… she made me smile too much.
When I touched her hips, Tinsley let out a playful scream.
She tried to turn but I wouldn’t let her.
Instead, I pressed my body against hers.
I towered over her.
It was like the exact moment we first met.
The moment after she saw me on the beach first and I saw her later. When I gave her the chance to
get away from BFH.
But she was stubborn and beautiful and she stayed.
Now I had her all to myself.
And I had her for forever.
“I think you’re fucking crazy for staying,” I said to her. “After everything that happened. You just
don’t listen. You just don’t learn. Do you, sugar?”
“Nope,” she said.
“So no matter what can I say or do here, you’re going to just stick around. You’re going to be a
thorn in my side. You’re going to find ways to make me happy. To make me smile. You’re going to be
a pain in the ass to the Rulz.”
“Yes,” she said.
I spun Tinsley around and stared down at her.
“I think I broke Kip’s heart,” she said.
“Better than mine,” I said.
“He was really bummed I’m leaving the guesthouse.”
“He’ll get over it,” I said. “He’ll find someone new to bother.”
“Are you sure about this, Pres?”
“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life,” I said.
“You say that now. You’re just thinking it’s going to be nothing but us fooling around in bed.”
“Why else would we live together then?” I asked.
Tinsley pushed at my chest. “Don’t ruin this for me. I’ve never got the chance to pick out an
apartment before. Or my own couch. Or my own stuff.”
“It’s all yours now, sugar,” I said.
 “Pres. Are you sure about selling that house? That was your-”
“No it wasn’t,” I said. “My mother never wanted that house. She wanted a little cottage thing right
on the beach. Never got it. That’ll never happen to you. Anything you want, it’s yours. Anywhere you
want to live, we go. Just say the word, sugar.”
Tinsley let out a long breath. “You make it sound so nice and calm, Pres. So easy. Why do I feel
like there’s another storm or something?”
“Because that’s how things go,” I said. “Just like waves. They never stop. Some are big. Some are
small. But it just keeps going.”
“You know, you sound kind of sweet and soft right now,” she said to me. “And you’re smiling
again.”
I gritted my teeth tight.
I looked around.
We were alone on the beach.
“What?” Tinsley asked.
“I was looking for someone to go fight,” I said. “Make sure you realize that I’m the same person.
That the Rulz are the same.”
Tinsley lifted her fists. “Maybe you can come fight me then.”
“Oh yeah? You know we have a busy day. Sarah is waiting for us. And then we have to go see
what the apartment looks like. And there’s plenty of places in the apartment where we have to make it
our own.”
“Then I guess you better shut up and start fighting,” Tinsley said.
She started to playfully dance in the sand, throwing punches at the air.
I gave her a few seconds before I charged at her.
When I scooped her up into my arms, she let out a scream and started to laugh.
I ran right into the ocean, not giving a damn about our clothes.
Waves crashed against us as I held her tight against me.
“Are you going to hold me under the water, Pres?” Tinsley teased. “Make me suffer? Make me
beg for my life?”
She kissed my lips.
Over and over…
I growled in the back of my throat.
“Maybe I just wanted to trap you in the water to see if you wanted to make today even crazier,” I
said.
“How so?”
“We can go get married,” I said. “For the hell of it.”
“What?” Tinsley asked. “Are you…”
I dropped us both down under the water for a second and popped back up.
We were now soaked head to toe.
Tinsley quickly fought with her hair to get it out of her face.
She blinked fast and spit ocean water at me.
“Pres…”
“You’re the one, sugar,” I whispered. “You have me drowning. You have me begging. And it’s all
for the same thing. For you.”
“So I have to choose between hanging out with a baby tiger and baby lion… or marrying you?”
“I guess so,” I said.
“Let me think about it,” she said with a grin.
Tinsley wiggled her way out of my arms and walked to the shore.
I stood in the water, my clothes stuck to me, feeling heavy.
Tinsley stood in the sand and stared at me.
Soaking wet.
Absolutely beautiful.
A wave punched me in the back, making me take a step toward her.
Which I had no problem taking.
Walking to her and walking forward…
That was the only thing that ever made sense in my life.
 Want more #bfh?

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Imagine Us
Anna’s Dress
Let You Go
When I’m Gone
What You Don’t Know
Every Other Weekend
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 This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names,
characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental. (This also includes the cover image and/or cover model(s) appearing on the cover. The context of
this book does not in any way depict the personal life of said cover model(s). Image is licensed and used purely for fictional purpose
only.)

First electronic edition July 2019

Copyright © 2019 by Jaxson Kidman

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part of any form.

Copyright image iStock/DepositPhotos

Copyright cover Cosmic Letters