Nash: A Rough Romance by Piper Stone (book series for 12 year olds txt) 📕

“Tell me about Raunchy Ride,” I said, trying to avoid the memories from overtaking my already fried brain.

“It was a fucking shithole when I walked in. There was even a damn cage in front of the band, if you can believe that. Rough crowd. Spent a bunch of bucks renovating. Got rid of the asshole regulars and hired decent bands. It’s slowly turning around. Like I said. It’s now a destination.”

“A destination, huh? Well, maybe I’ll need to check it out,” I said, barely able to hear my voice.

“Yeah, you will.”

The freshly fallen snow did little to hide the magnificence of the ranch, although it was much larger than I remembered. “Everything seems different.”

“Hawk’s been working on the place nonstop. He’s got some damn good help though, including Mustang.”

I tensed again. “So we’re all back together.” The last conversation I’d had with Mustang had been one of the reasons I’d left without telling the others where I was going, not that I’d had a single clue. I doubted the man had any desire to see me again.

“With the exception of Vader. No one has heard from him.”

“Yeah, well, he’s got his reasons.”

“Do you know something I don’t know?” Scorpion asked, shooting me an odd look.

“Nope. But don’t we all?”

He hesitated, his eyes glassing over. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m going to give you a piece of advice. Let the shit go. No matter what you have to do, find a way. If Mitch or whatever her name is can help you do that, then keep her in your life. If she’s nothing but a way to avoid releasing your anger, then let her go.”

“I keep telling you that she doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Yeah, so I’ll give you another piece of advice,” he said as he pulled up in front of the main house, a place that gave me bittersweet memories. “You keep trying to tell yourself that then maybe one day you’ll believe it. But that won’t be until you’re all alone, wondering what the fuck happened to your life.” He shifted the gear to park, cutting off the engine immediately then turning to glare at me. “I could have ended up that way and I have no doubt that’s where you’re headed.”

I waited as he yanked off his seatbelt, climbing out and slamming the door. All I could do for a few seconds was stare at the house. The difference wasn’t striking, although there was a swing hanging from the ceiling of the front porch, the recently painted front door covered in a beautiful wreath.

The house had been given a woman’s touch.

Maybe both Hawk and Scorpion deserved the happiness they’d found.

That wasn’t something I deserved.

As I climbed out of the truck, I took a whiff of the cold air, allowing it to fill my lungs. There was nothing like clean Montana air.

By the time I made it onto the porch, the door remained open. I shifted closer, peering inside.

“You coming the fuck in or do I need to extend a personal invitation?”

Hawk’s voice was gruff, although I’d recognize his teasing tone anywhere. I couldn’t help but grin as I walked inside, immediately impressed by what he’d done with the place. Hawk stood with his hands in his pockets, his green eyes managing to shimmer in the limited lighting. I might be a badass soldier, but I could smell happiness from a few hundred yards away.

And Hawk was living large.

For the first time since I’d returned, a pang of envy embroiled my system.

“You look good for a world traveler,” he said as he approached, yanking me in for a bear hug.

I was able to glare at Scorpion.

“So I told him what the hell you’d been doing, including your stint as a mountain man,” Scorpion said as he laughed.

I heard the sound of boots thumping against the polished wooden floor. When Mustang entered the room, I pushed away from Hawk. We stared at each other for a full minute. Then I stuck out my hand.

Mustang took a deep breath as he approached.

Then he did exactly what my instinct had told me he’d do if we ever saw each other again.

He threw a hard right hook at my jaw.

Chapter 12

Reaper

“You’re not going to talk to me that way, Reaper. I don’t give a fucking shit what you think happened. I know what I did was the right thing to do.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why is Snake dead? We could have saved him if you would have listened to me.”

“Jesus Christ. You think you’re some big killing machine? Then why the hell did you hesitate to pull the trigger, slaughtering that bastard before he bombed the prison? Huh? You want to explain that to me?” Mustang snapped as he got in my face. “I think you need to look into the mirror, buddy. You’re the reason Snake is dead. You!”

He’d been the only man to watch as I froze for an entire ten seconds, long enough for the insurgent piece of shit to toss a grenade into the building holding Snake. As he sneered at me, a moment of rage took over, spots floating in front of my eyes.

Without thinking, I took a swing, catching him square just below the eye.

“You motherfucker chicken shit!”

“What the fuck did you do that for?” Scorpion barked as he pulled me off the floor, snarling at Mustang.

I rubbed my jaw as I stared at Mustang. The anger and venom in his eyes were quickly replaced with little more than disdain that I’d showed up after several months.

“He knows exactly why,” Mustang said, a hint of remorse in his voice.

“Yeah? Well, that shit isn’t going to happen in my house,” Hawk snarled as he moved in front of Mustang.

“I deserved it,” I said quietly.

Both Hawk and Scorpion glanced back and forth between us, both men hissing under their breaths.

“We’re going to get something straight right now. What happened on that mission is done. Do you hear me? Done. Period. Get your heads out