Blind Devotion Read Free Page A

of
the world was on his shoulders.
    “Hey, man, does Devil want me?” he asked.
    “Nah, I’ve come to see you both.” In the background he
heard Mia crying. “She not taking it well?”
    Curse looked behind him, shaking his head. “No, she’s
not taking any shit well. She doesn’t want to have a burial until we’ve got the
whole body. I’ve told it would never happen. Gonzalez wouldn’t give it to us,
but she won’t budge. The girls were closer than sisters. This bond, it’s
killing her. I stopped her from seeing the head, but shit, this is killing
her.”
    Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Pussy stared
at the ground. “I should have come to see her the moment I knew.”
    “Pussy, don’t do this. I’m sorry I’ve not been there
for you. My woman comes first unless I’m needed for club business.”
    “I’m here to speak with Mia.”
    Curse’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t think that’s a
good idea.”
    “Let him in, Curse. He’s got a right to be here.”
    Looking over his friend’s shoulder, he saw Mia. She
looked a mess. Her raven hair showed she hadn’t even bothered to brush the long
locks. Her pale face looked drawn, and he saw the signs of the weight loss
she’d suffered through lack of eating in the last month.
    “Come in,” Curse said.
    Brushing past his friend Pussy went straight to Mia
and tugged her in his arms for a hug. She sobbed. Her body shook as he held her
tightly. “I’m so sorry. I miss her so much,” he said.
    Tears filled his eyes as he thought about Ashley’s
charming smile. Her life had ended way too suddenly.
    “I know, Pussy. She wouldn’t want you to be feeling
sorry. You didn’t do this.”
    “I shouldn’t have let her go.”
    “None of us should. We can’t blame each other.” Pussy
couldn’t stop the guilt. He knew deep down there was nothing he or the club
could have done. Ashley had been determined to go, and in turn, it had gotten
her killed.
    Pussy knew where the blame was. Staring past her
shoulder, he watched Curse walk into the kitchen. Any other time Curse would
have kicked his ass for touching his woman. This was not sexual, and both of
them were mourning a woman they’d both lost.
    Mia released him, walking into the sitting room. “I
know I look a mess.”
    Running fingers through his hair, Pussy took a seat.
    “Please, forgive me,” he said.
    “What? Why?”
    “I should have fought for her.”
    “Ashley wasn’t your old lady. She was always so
stubborn and thought she could do whatever she liked without getting hurt.”
Tears fell from Mia’s eyes. “Someone finally caught her.”
    He wasn’t leaving until he helped out his brother.
Curse deserved to have his woman back, and if Pussy could help, he’d be more
than happy about it.
    ****
    Sasha let out a sigh as she listened to her mother
apologize for embarrassing her stepfather. Kenneth Carmichael was a monster of
the worst kind. He made others around him feel small and incompetent. Sasha hated
him and would love to see the smile get wiped off his face.
    You’ll never see any smile getting wiped off any face.
    She started to frown. Reaching out, she felt along the
wall counting the steps until she had to turn a corner. Her life was confined to
the house and wherever Kenneth wanted to leave her. He controlled every element
of her life.
    Get out.
    Taking three more steps, she leaned down feeling the
bed. Running her hand across the bed, she took a seat and let out a sigh. She
recalled the trauma she’d suffered at Kenneth hands. Sasha had been arguing
with Kenneth over her privacy being invaded. He had just stormed into her room
as if he had a right to be there. Their fighting had turned aggressive. She
recalled him slapping her, and he slammed her against the wall, then thrown her
down the stairs.
    She’d banged her head on the way down, breaking her
arm and leg in the process. When she woke up in the hospital she’d not been
able to see. That was over four years ago.