Vinny rushed around the front of the truck, standing behind Sasha. “That’s what he was doing?”
“Rolo?” Sasha glared down, the gun in her hand propped on her hip.
“Yeah, man,” Rolo said to the leaves below him. “Women like you ain’t never seen and eight-balls on tap. They said it could be my every day. All I had to do was…”
“Let them kill us and take our holler.” Sasha crashed the butt of her gun against Rolo’s cheek, knocking him flat to his stomach. “This was my father’s mountain.” She pointed the barrel at the back of his head, inching away.
“Get up,” Vinny said. “You’re going in the cellar, alive.”
“Oh shit.” Rolo hobbled to his feet, taking a small step. “I think I just pissed myself.”
“You’re lucky you did it out here, scumbag. You know, you always—”
Rolo bashed his forehead against Sasha’s nose, flashing the world to red. She staggered back, and he kicked Vinny in the nuts before taking off in a sprint.
Tears welled in Sasha’s eyes, rising up in attempts to soothe the sting of her face. She blinked back a watery haze. Vinny rocked on his knees while gasping for air, and Rolo ran across the hillside. Blood dripped down Sasha’s chin as she raised the gun. With one eye closed, she held her breath and pulled the trigger.
Rolo tumbled to the ground before the shot could echo down the holler. Sasha reached for Vinny, and he pulled away.
“You okay?” she asked.
Vinny waved for her to go, his eyes low.
“Not so great having all that crap between your legs now, is it?” Sasha said with a grin. She trudged through tall brush, toward the whimper beneath a patch of ivy.
“You shot me!” Rolo screeched, flopping onto his back. His chest heaved as he blubbered and wiggled in the dirt. “My leg! Shit, man.”
Sasha looked back at Vinny, who cupped his balls as he limped closer. The sun had slipped below the mountain’s peak, leaving only thin rays to light the trees around them. This was taking too long. She had shit to do with someone far more attractive than the loser on the ground at her feet.
“If I give you a bump, will you jump in the cellar all by yourself?” Sasha asked, only half-joking.
Rolo stopped squirming, the howls ceasing to flow. His shifty eyes calmed, flying to her. “Yeah. Two bumps, big ones.”
It might be hard to believe a man would jump to his death for a few lines of cocaine if Sasha hadn’t seen people do worse for much less. Rolo’s pleading eyes stared up at Sasha, and she almost unloaded her gun in his face. Instead, she dug through her pockets.
“Ellen probably heard that shot,” Vinny said, stepping beside her. “What’s up?”
“Hold this.” Sasha handed Vinny the gun and pulled a small vial from her coat. Rolo hopped up the moment he saw it, slithering forward. She poured a line of white powder on his palm, looking away as he snorted it up his nose.
“The other one,” Rolo said through gasps, wiping his blood-smeared nose and licking his fingers.
“Fucking gross.” Sasha bumped him another fix, cringing. “Your face could be an after-school special.”
Vinny chuckled, grabbing Rolo by the arm. “Come on, narc.”
They walked Rolo back toward the truck, stopping next to a metal storm door in the ground. Sasha fished a set of keys from her pants and unfastened the padlock. Hinges squealed as the door opened, and the stench of death wafting into the crisp air sent shivers down her spine.
Rolo cowered, staggering back. “Right, so—”
With a kick to the ass, Vinny sent Rolo plunging into the dark hole. After a second of yelps, a thud echoed from far below.
Sasha peered down, glimpsing only shadows. The seconds of silence provided a hint of relief. She hoped he’d died instantly. A broken neck was better than a slow death.
“Ahh, shit. Man,” Rolo said, his voice sounding so far away. “Sasha, throw down the blow. Come on, please.”
She tightened her grip on the vial. Stupid. That’s what she was for feeling sorry for that piece of shit. “Kill yourself with the bones down there, ‘cause we ain’t coming back. Asshole.”
Vinny closed the door on the screams that bellowed from deep within the mine’s shaft, and Sasha locked it tight.
“I think you should be my girl,” Vinny said.
Sasha waited for the butt of his joke, but he held a straight face.
“What head did he kick you in, ‘cause…?”
“I mean.” Vinny stepped closer, tucking the gun into her waistband. “If we pretend, it would throw your mom off your pussy stink.”
She giggled, walking toward her truck. “That’s a super romantic offer, but I’m gonna have to pass. You need to be more chill. You’re the one who’s gonna get me busted.”
Vinny followed Sasha to the truck, not saying a word the whole ride back. After parking beside the garage, she cut off the engine and turned to face him. His eyes were locked on her, a strange mix of icy warmth in his stare.
“Candy’s gonna get you caught,” he said in a bit of a huff. “With her bright red hair running up and down your stairs all hours.” He took her hand inside both of his, holding snug. “You need to be more chill. I won’t watch them stomp you again. It’ll go down bad.”
“Nah, you’re right.” Sasha pulled her hand away, patting Vinny on the arm. “I get it. I’ll be more careful. C’mon.” His eyes lingered on her. She didn’t look; she could just feel them. “My mom is probably flippin’ her shit right now.”
***
Sasha pushed open the door to the backroom, stepping inside.
“Well?” her mother asked, marching forward.
“I think we’re cool. He had this on him.” Sasha handed over the slim recorder then tucked the gun back into her mother’s holster. “He was gonna plant it in here.”
“Did you…?”
“Yeah, but there’s more.” Sasha sat at the end of the table, plucking a joint from the pile in the ashtray. Her gaze wandered around the empty room before the clink of a zippo lured her stare back. “Where is everybody?”
“Getting shit ready for Candy’s party,” her mother said, closing the zippo’s lid once Sasha sparked the tip of the joint. “You must be pretty close with her, to get her to do…that.”
“Not really.” Sasha could hear the sound of jeans rustling behind her, and the scent of Vinny’s cologne filled her lungs. “She’s just another trucker slut trying to fuck her way into the club, but that won’t work with me. No cock.”
“Hey! Watch your nasty mouth, girl.”
“Sorry, Mom,” she said, her sarcasm rolling out thicker than the smoke curling from her lips.
Ellen plucked the joint from Sasha’s fingers, taking a few quick hits. “So? You said there was more.”
“Rolo was working for Satan’s Crew, not the fuzz.”
“Shit.” Ellen sat on the edge of the table, hitting the bone again before handing it back. “Is that better or worse?”
Sasha shrugged, rising to her feet. “It’s a hell of a lot more fun to kill biker douchebags than pigs.”