Ashby Holler by Jamie Zakian Read Free Book Online Page A

air. Her gaze never left his, but she could feel a hundred other eyes on her. Without a word, Sasha turned and walked to her little room above the garage.
     
    ***
     
    Otis revved the engine of a rumbling semi as Sasha hurried down the stairs. Twenty minutes was not enough. One could only suck down two joints in that time, and she needed far more narcotics to regain normal operational status. Her eyes kept to the gravel as she walked to the idling semi, ears blocking out whispers. She should be fuming. Cartoon smoke should be streaming from her every orifice, but it wasn’t. The fact that she wasn’t angry bothered her more than the humiliation. The piece of her that harbored dignity must have shattered. That, or she was just too numb. Either one would get her eaten alive.
    After climbing back in the truck, and once they left the compound, Sasha turned to face Otis. “So what’s this really about?”
    “What’d you mean?”
    “You don’t need help unloading. There’s a forklift at the warehouse.”
    Otis glanced at Sasha, his eyes stern. “Candy’s got loose lips.”
    “So I’ve heard.”
    The chuckle that flowed from Otis’s mouth twisted Sasha’s stomach, and that lovely visual of Candy going down on him popped into her mind.
    “That’s not what I mean.” Otis shifted into seventh gear, glaring at her again. “She talked about you, a lot, the way a chick talks about a dude she’s into. Except you’re not a dude. No matter how hard you try, you can’t change what you are.”
    A light shiver quaked Sasha’s shoulders, but she couldn’t tell if anger or fear was the culprit. “And what am I?”
    “Just a little girl who likes to play with all the other little girls.”
    Sasha moved back until her side hit the door. Fear. The shiver was caused by fear. “What are you gonna do?”
    “What? You mean, like, tell Ellen?”
    When Otis looked at Sasha, she nodded as words failed.
    “Nah. Ellen would throw you in the cellar this time. I don’t want to see you hurt. That’s why I nominated Dez.” His hand fell to her knee, and he squeezed. “You have some tough choices to make, kiddo.”
    “I know what I want,” Sasha said. She’d spent many nights pondering her choices. “The club is all that matters to me, my whole life. I just wanna do right by you guys. You’re my family.”
    Otis rubbed Sasha’s leg before releasing his grasp. “Then you better straighten up, if you know what I mean.”
    “No more of that shit,” Sasha said. “Women, men, fuck all that. It’s just club business from now on.”
    “That’s not gonna work either.” Otis parked beside the warehouse, cutting off the truck’s engine. “Club members have fun. If you’re not having fun, Ellen’s gonna know something’s up.”
    “So, what? I just slut around until I find the magic cock?”
    Otis snickered, turning to face Sasha. “Maybe. I got one right here you can try.” He grabbed his crotch, grinning.
    “You dirty old man,” Sasha said in an even tone.
    “Old.” Otis’s hand dropped from his lap, his smile fading. “I’m only thirty-eight.”
     
    ***
     
    A hush had claimed the compound by the time they returned. Otis climbed from the semi and into his pickup. After a quick nod, he drove off, leaving Sasha alone in the empty lot.
    She walked toward the garage, noticing a light in her bedroom window. “Vinny,” she said, hurrying across the lot. She took the steps two at a time, stopping to smooth down her hair before opening the door. When spotting Dez on the corner of her bed, she choked back a groan.
    “Excuse you,” Sasha said in a sneer, holding her hand out to the open door.
    Dez grinned, rising to his feet.
    “Leave,” she said, since he was too dim to pick up on her hand gestures.
    The frost melted from Dez’s stare as he walked toward Sasha. He grabbed the door, his chest brushing against her arm. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said, slamming the solid slab closed.
    “What the fuck, Dez?