AllFreeNovel
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I light a cigarette and inhale long and hard. “When we were locked up, we usually moved around in twos so that way we each had backup if it came to that. Leo kept us on a tight leash, and I struggled. Fuck, it was so fuckin’ hard being in there. One day, I didn’t wait for one of the brothers and went to the bathroom. I needed to be doing something, and so off I went. As soon as I walked into the showers, I knew something was wrong. By that time, I was circled and couldn’t leave. I had walked in on Masters raping some kid. He couldn’t have been older than eighteen/nineteen. I’ve seen some sick shit in my life, but that… it took everything I had not to throw up. Anyway, he stopped and turned his attention to me. They told me I hadn’t seen anything, but before I could think straight, I told him that sick shit was gonna be hard to forget. He took it as I was gonna snitch on him. He had his men hold me down, ripped my pants down, and then… he fuckin’ taunted me for what felt like hours. I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop them.”
I suck on the cigarette and drain it in two puffs. I toss the butt out of the window and exhale until the smoke is lingering between me and my brother.
“At that moment, I knew that if he… he raped me, there would’ve been nothing I could’ve done to stop it. I have never felt such helplessness before. It stuck with me, and I couldn’t shake it. When I got out, I thought I could put it behind me, and for a couple of days, I did. But then it kept coming back, haunting me.”
“Why didn’t you say anything to Leo? You could’ve taken your revenge in there.”
“Leo didn’t want us doing anything to give us longer sentences, and the last thing I wanted to do was spend a minute longer in there than I had to. And how do you tell your brothers that you just had your ass bared and held down…”
“Fuck, Mase, they were in there with you. They would’ve understood!”
I laugh. “You think I don’t know that? I couldn’t admit to anyone that that nearly happened to me. To me! I’m Mason fuckin’ Simmons!”
“Okay, calm down, brother. It’s done now, and it’s over.”
After another twenty miles, we’re changed, and tossing our clothes in the van, before setting it on fire. We jump in our truck and drive the rest of the way back to Willow’s Peak. I drop Myles at home and turn the truck around.
Myles waits on the curb. I stop and lower the window.
“You not going home?” he asks.
“I’ve gotta do something. I’ll be back soon.” Before he walks towards his front door, I say, “Thank you for coming with me.”
He nods. “Always.”
I pull away and drive to the club. The sun’s rising on the horizon, ridding a night of death into a new day.
The prospect lets me through, and I park up and count out ten grand in cash.
Digging out my phone, I call Leo. He’ll probably kick my ass when he sees the time, but if I don’t do this now, I don’t think I ever will.
“Yeah?”
“It’s Mase. I need to talk to you. I’m outside your house.”
The call ends, and I pocket my phone. I walk round to his place, and he walks out the door, pulling a hoodie over his head. I light a smoke and hand it over to him.
“Thanks? What the fuck’s goin’ on, brother.”
I pass him the money and tell him, “It’s the money I owe the club.”
He flips through the wad and shoves it in his back pocket. “Do I need to ask where it came from, or is it better I don’t know?”
“Myles and I drove to Green Creek last night. I shot a man and took his money. Oh, and the wife ended up dead 'cause she was stupid as fuck.”
“Okay, explain. Now.”
I look around. No one’s up and out yet, only us, but the fear of anyone overhearing has me saying, “Let’s go for a walk.”
Biting down on his bottom lip, he mutters, “I’m definitely not gonna like this.”
While we walk around the land behind the houses where my grandpa is buried, I tell Leo what happened when we were locked up and every detail from last night. He listens intently and doesn’t interrupt me. For which I’m grateful for.
“So that’s it.”
“Fuck, Mase. It would help if you had come to me. To one of us. We would’ve killed them all.”
“It’s done now, can’t change anything. Maybe I should’ve told you back then, but those words weren’t leaving my mouth, and now I don’t want them to leave yours.”
