“Are you okay?” Leet asked. She smiled at me as we walked to her car.

“Yeah. I don’t know. I don’t want our kids to have the kind of relationship that my father and I have, you know?”

“Our kids,” Leet teased, her cheeks pink.

I flushed. “You know what I mean. Of course I see myself having kids with you. And marrying you. I see all that stuff.” I cringed. I was making such a fool of myself.

She bit her lip and smiled at me, the same way she looked at that damn cat when he did something she thought was cute.

“Come here,” I muttered. She wrapped her arms around my neck. I leaned down and kissed her, my fingers sneaking under her jacket and trailing over her warm skin. I kissed her again, my mouth searching hers.

I could stand here all day and kiss those fucking lips.

“Mace, I can’t wait to have your kids. I think—.” She stopped. “No, I know you will be an amazing father. We don’t always follow in our parents’ footsteps. You’re proof of that. Sometimes we learn from their mistakes and that makes us better, stronger.”

I grinned and kissed her again. She always knew just what to say.

“You’re pretty fucking special, Leet.”

“Yeah?” she chuckled, her mouth on mine. “Then I guess that makes you one lucky guy.”

THE END.

Epilogue

Mace

Fucking stupid piece of crap.

I threw the spanner across the floor, pissed. Newspapers spread all around me, I was sure if Leeta knew I was fixing my bike inside she’d have a fit.

I jumped up as the front door opened, Leets voice ringing through the unit. Oh hell no. She walked into the kitchen and stopped, her mouth falling open as she took in the greasy mess.

“I promise I’ll clean it,” I began, “It’s just it was raining outside and I have no idea what is wrong with the fucking thing.” Instead of the yelling and screaming I’d been expecting, she simply laughed and shook her head. I smiled. This was yet another reminder as to why I was planning on marrying this chick.

That’s if she says yes. Yep, I hadn’t asked her. Soon. I wanted the timing to be perfect.

“Yeah, I thought you were supposed to be the Gandhi of the bikes,” she teased. I glared at her. Not helpful right now. “Anyway, don’t you have to pick up Cash in like twenty minutes?”

Fuck. I had completely forgotten. Today was his release date and I had totally forgotten. What an asshole. Leet sighed, pushing me toward the bathroom, hitting me on the ass.

“Go, I’ll clean this mess up.”

“Are you sure?” I said, stripping my clothes off and jumping under the shower.

“Well you can’t leave him waiting there. You’re supposed to be helping him out so he doesn’t just wind up back inside after a week, or a month.”

I didn’t reply.

No amount of help was going to keep Cash out of jail. I already knew that. You can’t wipe out fifteen years of crime without a shitload of effort and hard work. Two things my brother wasn’t capable of.

But, Leet loved that I was playing the good brother by helping Cash get back on his feet so I wasn’t about to burst her bubble.

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t want him to end up back in prison, or worse, dead. I just knew the odds of him getting mixed up in his old life ware pretty damn high.

#

Kissing Leet goodbye, I took off in her car toward the prison. We’d kept the lease going on my place, which Leet had insisted on paying for the next three months, so he had somewhere to stay, and if he wanted to work, I was more than happy to give him a job. Not that I expected him to show.

I knew the routine pretty well now. This was Cash’s third stint in prison, and every release he was going to change. He was going to do better. Work hard. Stay out of trouble. But things always ended up back where they started. Why would this time be any different? I loved my brother, but there was only so much of his bullshit I could take.

Cash

Un-fucking-believable. Was it too much to ask that he pick me up on time? This wasn’t a fucking dentist appointment. It was only his brother getting out of prison after three years away. You’d think that would be reason enough to make an effort, but apparently not.

I kicked my backpack along the ground, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

I’ll tell you what though; it was fucking awesome to be out of that place. The air smelled different on this side of the fences. Fresher. I walked up and down the small carpark, waiting, thinking about what my next move was.

Mace was so hell bent on fixing me that it was a joke. I was like his little girlfriends pet project, and Mace followed right along with her. Like the number of times I’d let him down in the past meant fuck all.

The thing was, this was how my life went, and I’d accepted that. I’d play hard, get caught, do the time and let the cycle start all over again. Did I like it? Didn’t matter. It was never going to change, no matter how many houses, jobs and courses they lined up for me.

I caught sight of a Toyota Corolla spinning into the parking lot. I could make out Mace behind the wheel. He screeched to a stop, dust flying everywhere.

“Fuck I’m sorry, man. I lost track of the time,” he muttered, walking around to meet me. He stuck his hand out, the gesture awkward at best. I chuckled and shook it.

Yeah. We definitely weren’t close, Mace and I. That was probably not helped by my making his life a living hell as a kid. All he ever wanted to do was follow me around and fix those damn bikes. I made it my mission to make every day a nightmare for that kid. Beatings, verbal abuse…you name it, I did it. The only thing we’d had in common was protecting our sister.

And then she was gone.

“It’s cool.” I threw away my butt and grabbed my bag, loading it into the back of the car. “Lets get the fuck out of here.”

#

“So, any plans now your out?” Mace asked, trying to fill the silence that had lasted since we’d left the prison.

“The first thing I’m going to do is drink a few beers. What do ya say, bro?”

“Sure,” he replied with a sigh. Like spending time with me was a chore. “Leet will meet us later for dinner, so until then, I’m yours.”

“Okay then,” I grinned, “Diamonds it is.”

Mace groaned and shook his head. Diamonds was a strip club where most of the dancers were known for having rather loose morals. Slip them a twenty and it would buy you almost anything.

“Cash,” he paused, as if rethinking what he wanted to say. “Will this time be any different? Do you actually want to keep out of prison, or is this all one big game to you? If I’m wasting my time, let me know.”

I laughed. He had some balls, asking me that. Did I want to change? Of course I did. I’d never tell him, but I was jealous as fuck of Mace. He had everything I wanted. But I was smart enough to know that I’d fucked my life up a long time ago, and nothing short of a miracle was going to change the track I was on.

“Dude, I’m a criminal. Take after me old man. It’s gonna take more than you and that sweet little girl of yours to change that, okay?”

I sighed, feeling bad for shitting all over his attempt at helping me.

“Look, I appreciate what your trying to do, but I think I’m beyond help. Just drop me off at Diamonds and go home to Leeta.”

He pulled into the parking lot of Diamonds, and waited as I climbed out.

“Wait,” he said, pulling out his wallet.

“I don’t want your money, dude.” I shook my head.

“Yeah? Then how do you plan on getting home? Or paying for the blowjob you’re obviously here for?” he challenged. I laughed and reached over, snatching the fifty from his grasp.