ASH: a bay falls high novel Read online

  “I am too,” I said. “What does this have to do with the tattoo shop.”

  “You found a thing you’re good at,” Belle said. “I think that’s sexy. I like watching it. I mean it. The drawings. The sketches. It’s a whole other side of Ash.”

  “You like the mystery, don’t you, angel?” I whispered.

  “Of course I do.”

  I slid out of the back of the SUV and pulled Belle closer to me.

  We started to kiss.

  A real kiss.

  Her kisses tore through me like they were their own emotion.

  That’s why I needed her close to me.

  To create the balance I could walk on.

  As far as punching Uly’s guitar… that was more for fun than anger.

  When he got drunk, he acted dumb.

  Last time we taped him to Hil’s couch.

  This time, I punched his guitar.

  It happens.

  I kissed Belle like tonight was our last night together.

  She slowly slid her hands down the front of my body and pushed herself away.

  I curled my lip, needing more.

  She was an endless drug and I had an endless need.

  From the day I met her…

  “We should do something crazy, Ash,” she whispered.

  “I can think of about ten things right now,” I said.

  “No, save that crazy stuff for later,” she said.

  “What are you thinking, angel?” I asked.

  “Let’s leave everyone here,” she said. She smiled. “Fuck everyone. Right? Leave everyone here. On the beach. Drinking. Thinking we’re here. Leave their bags. Whatever else.”

  “No,” I said. “Let’s just go. We’ll take everything with us. See how long it takes for Uly and Hil to call.”

  “My money is on Mara,” Belle said. “She’ll freak out and call me first.”

  “True.”

  “Vera loves this stuff,” Belle said. “The ocean and stars and everything.”

  “Okay, let’s go,” I said.

  Belle smiled and hurried to the passenger seat.

  I shut the back door and smiled too.

  I loved when Belle showed her crazy side.

  When I got into the driver’s seat, she leaned across the seat and grabbed my shirt.

  We kissed again, wild and hard and deep.

  I could taste the booze on her tongue and had to be careful she didn’t accidentally get me drunk.

  I started the SUV and backed up to turn around.

  I pulled out to the main road and started to turn right when I saw the flicker of a set of headlights right across the road.

  I hit the brakes.

  Belle put her hands to the dashboard.

  “Ash?” she asked.

  “Get down,” I ordered.

  “Why?”

  “Just get down,” I growled.

  Fun turned into survival.

  Brooks Crest was here.

  * * *

  I sat and stared across the road.

  I could see the big vehicle parked off the road, facing me.

  “Belle,” I said. “Climb through the back and go get Uly and Hil. Send just Them. Do not send Mara and Vera.”

  “What is this?” Belle asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But if BC is snooping around, it can’t be a good thing. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  “Hurt? For real?”

  I looked down at Belle. “Listen, angel, I want you to realize something with BC. Whatever you think I’m capable of… and Them is capable of… multiply that by two hundred times. Okay?”

  Belle nodded.

  She slithered her way into the back of the SUV.

  She opened the back and got out, shutting it behind her.

  My eyes looked at the side mirror and I saw the glow of her cellphone as she used that as a flashlight.

  I waited and watched.

  The last of BC I heard was when Mac had some shit going on with Barr. Which was another reason the East vs. West was such a problem. The fact that Barr had been part of BC and had so much to do with Mac and the way things were there.

  But to have any issues with us? With Them?

  Not a chance.

  Unless BC was here to ask about the Rulz.

  Now that would have been an interesting conversation to have.

  I heard a knock at the back window and I opened the driver’s side door and slid out.

  I met Uly and Hil at the back of the SUV.

  “What the fuck is this?” Hil asked.

  “I was going to leave you here,” I said.

  “What?” Uly asked.

  “As a joke,” I said. “But then I saw some lights. And I saw Mac’s face.”

  “Mac…” Uly said.

  “Mac,” I said.

  “BC Mac?” Hil asked.

  “That’s right. Across the road. Just sitting and watching.”

  “Fuck this,” Uly said.

  He opened the back of the SUV.

  “Uly, wait a second,” I said.

  “Fuck this,” he said again.

  “I’m with Uly,” Hil said.

  They were drunk. Acting tough.

  “What the fuck are you going to do?” I asked.

  Before they could answer, they each had a guitar in their hands.

  “How many guitars did you bring?” I asked.

  “Can’t trust you anymore near guitars,” Uly said.

  “Let’s go,” Hil said.

  They hurried toward the front of the SUV.

  I cut around to get in front of both before they ran into the road, did something stupid, and got hurt. Or killed. Because if anyone thought for a second Mac wouldn’t run one of us over and keep going, they were wrong.

  Mac was fucking crazy.

  All of BC was fucking crazy.

  We walked into the road.

  “Let’s talk, motherfuckers!” Uly yelled.

  I gritted my teeth.

  “Let’s go!” Hil called out.

  The door to their SUV opened and I watched as Mac stepped out.

  Inside the SUV, the lights came on and there were at least three guys with him.

  That meant it was four on three. At least.

  I saw the glow of a cigarette and then it was tossed through the air. It hit the ground with embers scattering for a second.

  And Mac just stared at us.

  Uly and Hil had their guitars up like they were part of the baseball team.

  It was silent.

  The sound of the ocean with its forever rushing waves was behind us.

  “Get the fuck out of here,” Uly finally said to break the silence.

  “You want to fuck with BFH?” Hil asked. “Go visit the other place. Not here. You don’t want it. Trust me.”

  Mac lit another cigarette.

  He didn’t say a word. Because most times Mac didn’t have to say a word. If he had something to say, shit would have been a lot crazier.

  After two drags on the new cigarette, he got back into the SUV.

  The door shut and the vehicle sped forward.

  For a second I pictured the SUV slamming into a drunk Uly and Hil. The two not under the right mindset to get the hell out of the way. Wanting to stand their ground with their guitars as weapons.

  Mac cut the wheel of the SUV and went down the road.

  Uly and Hil turned and threw their arms into the air, holding their guitars.

  “Fuck you!” Uly cried out and he started to laugh.

  The brake lights came on and the SUV stopped.

  “Shit,” I said.

  “Good,” Hil said. “Bring these fuckers back right now. I want to know what they want.”

  “We should go ask,” Uly said.

  I looked around.

  The girls were back on the beach.

  Belle, Mara, and Vera.

  I didn’t want them in danger.

  But then again, we were Them. We were the danger. And wha
tever the fuck BC thought they were doing here…

  “You’re right,” I said.

  I flexed my hands and started to walk.

  “Ash?” Uly asked.

  “Let’s go find out,” I said. “I’ll just casually ask Mac what he wants. After I break his fucking jaw for showing up here.”

  “Fuck yeah,” Hil said.

  I took the lead that was somewhere between a fast walk and a run.

  When I got close enough to touch the back corner of the SUV, Mac drove off again.

  “BOOOOOO!” Hil yelled as he cupped one hand to his mouth.

  This time Mac didn’t stop.

  He just kept going until the red lights of the SUV were gone.

  We stood in the middle of the road, Uly and Hil with guitars.

  Me with fists.

  “What was that about?” Uly asked.

  “Who knows,” Hil said. “Probably just snooping around. Fucking assholes.”

  Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

  “Ash?” a voice called out.

  I turned my head and saw Belle.

  Standing with Mara and Vera.

  Looking at us.

  “Let’s go,” I said. “We have something to do.”

  “You mean someone,” Hil said.

  “I’m taking all of you home,” I said.

  “Come on, Ash, the party is just getting started,” Uly said. “I still have another guitar here for you to break.”

  “If I break that guitar, Uly, it’s going to be over your head,” I said.

  I walked back to my SUV and Belle grabbed my hands.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” I said.

  I made sure she didn’t ask anything else by kissing her.

  She knew nothing was something and sometimes something was bad stuff about to happen.

  Chapter 5

  I sat and sketched just to kill time.

  Ale had some of his music blaring through the entire shop. He and Iggy had seniority over everyone else so when they decided to jam to some music you knew to shut your mouth and let it go. Iggy was into old music from the seventies. Some of the rock stuff was good. Some of it was really out there though.

  But Ale had an obsession with hair metal.

  Every song was fast, loud, screeching about guitars, booze, and motorcycles, and had fast guitar solos in it.

  Again, it didn’t bother me at all.

  Because if Hae got her hands on the sound system in the shop, she’d put on some kind of weird music that she said was supposed to fuck your soul into submission. And she had no problem dancing to her own music, wandering through the place with her hands in the air, hips thrusting left to right, sometimes even taking it too far, wanting to take her clothes off for the full effect.

  “Hey, kid,” a rough voice said from behind me.

  I turned and saw Iggy standing in the doorway.

  He looked rugged as hell.

  Like he hadn’t slept in days.

  A leather jacket over his shoulder.

  “Iggy,” I said.

  “Your buddy Kyan showed me your work,” he said. “That coverup ink. That was some good shit.”

  “I just sketched it,” I said. “He did the ink.”

  “Yeah but you could have,” he said. “Time to get your ass moving if you want to hang around here.”

  “What does Rocco think?”

  “Fuck Rocco,” Iggy said.

  There weren’t many people in the world who could say that and get away with it.

  But Iggy could.

  Iggy could say anything to anyone.

  I’d seen him go toe to toe with Tin and have him back down. Tin even patted Iggy on the shoulder and apologized.

  Fucking Iggy.

  “Look, kid, I’m telling you something here,” he said. “I’ve got a piece coming up this week. It’s a back piece. Fucking massive thing. I know the guy from another life…”

  Another life meant when Iggy was in a motorcycle club and walked the line of crime… or just lived on the other side of it until he decided not to do it anymore.

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Iggy said. “What I’m saying is that he can take two at once. It’s a good piece for you to work on with me.”

  “Work on with you…”

  “That’s right,” Iggy said.

  I stood up. “Iggy, you work alone, man. That’s your thing.”

  “Fuck off, kid,” he said. “Don’t try to get into my head. Listen to what I’m saying.”

  I nodded. “Got it.”

  “And if you fuck this up, he’ll crush your head under a truck tire,” Iggy said. Iggy turned to go, then turned back again. “And not a fucking regular pickup truck. You ever see those big ass dump trucks with the tires that are three hundred feet tall?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “That’s what he’ll crush your head with,” Iggy said.

  Iggy winked and walked away.

  Over the speaker, a high-pitched voice screamed ‘YEAH!’ as a song came to an end.

  I looked up at one of the speakers.

  I nodded.

  “Yeah.”

  * * *

  “So you’re going to be fucking famous around here,” Kyan said to me.

  Ale laughed as he ate a slice of pizza folded in half like a sandwich. “Iggy doesn’t do that for anyone.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” I said.

  “Nothing,” Kyan said. “You do what you’re told.”

  “Hey, Ash.”

  Tin entered Kyan’s room.

  “Tin,” I said.

  “This kid is going to be big time around here,” Kyan said.

  “Iggy wants him working on a piece,” Ale said. “With him.”

  “I heard,” Tin said. “Nice job.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” I said.

  “Yes, you did,” Ale said. “You got Kyan to break his dry spell. Hey, that’s why Iggy is doing this.” Ale snapped his fingers. “Iggy was plowing through cash at the strip club to cheer Kyan up.”

  “Hey, man, fuck off,” Kyan said. “I went with Iggy one time. And the place he took me… and the shit he’s into… no way. No fucking way. That was not… the music…”

  “He’s flustered,” Ale said.

  “What did you think it would be with Iggy?” Tin asked. “The women would sit with you, flirt and ask you about your day?”

  “Well… maybe,” Kyan said.

  “If that’s the companionship you want, there’s ways to find it,” Ale said. He pinched Kyan’s cheek. “Look at you. Showing all your emotions.”

  “I’m out of here,” Tin said. “Ash, congrats on Iggy. Kyan, congrats on breaking your dry spell. And Ale… when you’re done tongue fucking that pizza, maybe find something to do. Or better yet, head over to the convention center to meet up with Rocco. I want our booth to look like it should and not some fucking business setup.”

  “On it,” Ale said.

  Then he flickered his tongue into the folded slice of pizza.

  I curled my lip.

  I’m never eating pizza again.

  “Seriously, Ash, this is killer,” Kyan said. “That tattoo you drew was amazing. Looks amazing on her skin too. Actually, she looked amazing wearing nothing but that…”

  “I’m happy for you,” I said.

  “Man, and you’re still locking down with just one, huh?” Kyan asked. “All the freebies that wander through here…”

  “Freebies?” Ale asked. “Shit, man. No wonder you had a dry spell. Freebies. What the fuck…”

  I slipped out of the room as they started arguing over what was and wasn’t allowed when it came to flirting and looking for extra attention from someone who came into the shop.

  When I went to the front of the shop, I did not expect to see Belle standing at the glass counter.

  “Oh, yeah, it’s totally easy to figure out,” Lark said. She chewed on her pink bubble gum like she a
lways did. “When I was in high school, all I did was draw. I won a bunch of contests. Had a full ride somewhere too, but blew it off.”

  “Why?” Belle asked.

  “Why not? I don’t need to spend eighty grand to have someone hand me a piece of paper that says I can draw. I can prove that on my own.”

  “But she looks so good behind the counter,” Ale said as he walked from the back toward the front door.

  “Yeah, eat shit, Ale,” Lark called out.

  “Pizza first,” Ale said as he held up his slice of pizza and walked out the front door.

  Belle hurried toward me and jumped into my arms.

  I caught her and hugged her.

  Lark touched her chest and threw her head back like a fool to make fun of us.

  “Is that who I think it is?” another voice asked.

  That soft, sweet, conniving voice.

  Hae pushed her way to the front and put her hands together as she locked right on Belle.

  “Hey, Hae,” Belle said with a smile.

  “Hey, hey yourself,” Hae flirted back.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said. “Hey to everyone.”

  “What are we piercing today, Belle?” Hae asked. “I have a suggestion for you…”

  I put my hand out. “We’re good. No suggestions needed. We were just getting ready to leave.”

  “We were?” Belle whispered to me. “I just got here. I wanted to talk to you.”

  “About?”

  “You’ll see,” she said.

  “Oh, look at the tension,” Hae said. “And it’s not coming from their eyes either. Want to know where I feel it?”

  “No,” Belle and I both said.

  “Oh, fuck, Hae,” Lark said. “You’re being weird.”

  “Excuse me?” Hae asked, setting her sights on Lark.

  “I don’t care,” Lark said. “Why don’t you light some sage and wave it around and put on your horny music or whatever it is. Take a chill pill. You know what? Why don’t you and Kyan take care of each other? You two seem all pent up.”

  “His energy doesn’t work with mine,” Hae said.

  I grabbed Belle’s hand and walked her to the back of the shop.

  “Everything okay, angel?” I asked her as we walked.

  “Just take me somewhere where we can be alone, Ash.”

  * * *

  “It’s not breaking news… or maybe it is… I don’t know…”