Page 1 of Entranced With the Hellhound

CHAPTER 1

IN DUE TIME

BLUE

“Mama, please. I cannot do this shit with you right now,” I grumble, picking up my necessities to put into my work bag.

“You watch your mouth! You don’t tell me what you can and can’t do!” She yells in a drunken slur.

“Listen, if you want me to give you money, I gotta go to work. I don’t have time to argue with you about getting Chauncey out of jail again. He didn’t have no business tryin’ to rob them folks store in the first place.” I shake my head at the thought of trying to get my mama’s no-good husband out of jail.

“Your daddy…”

“That man is not my daddy,” I cut off her words, narrowing my eyes at her.

My mama is fragile, and I try not to speak to her in a disrespectful way, but she knows good and damn well that I don’t play about her calling that fucker my dad. I only stayed the night over here because he’s gone. Now, she wants to badger me.

“You know I didn’t mean anything by it, sweetie,” she solemnly apologizes.

“I know, Mama. But you know I don’t play about that.”

Mama sighs, “I’m sorry, Blue.”

“It’s fine, Mama. But you know Jeffery Blue Anderson is my only daddy.”

“I know. I know. But Chauncey has tried to be there for you. But you’d rather hang out at that godforsaken clubhouse. You know I wish you didn’t put yourself in danger on my account. Please, stop going there. Please,” Mama pleads desperately.

Her words are a stab in the gut, but she knows as well as I do there’s no other way. I do my best to stay understanding, but we have the same argument at least three times per week, and I only see her four. I know my mama means well, but we both know the deal.

If I’m going to pay off my nursing school loans and the debts her husband racked up, then we need a safe way to get money fast. Working for the Hellhounds is the only way I know to do that.

Besides, I’ve been around the Hounds for as long as I can remember. My dad was a member, and my uncle and cousins still are. Yeah, their dealings are illegal as hell, but it is what it is. The Hounds are family, and I can trust them.

“Mama, we’ve been over this.”

I give her a pointed look, and she looks away in shame. I sigh. I love my mama, and I don’t want her feeling bad. It’s a cruel world, and life has not been kind to her. I know she’s done the best she can, but she can’t keep me from going to work.

“I know, baby. Just… just be safe. Okay?”

“Yeah, Mama. I’m always safe. No more beers for tonight, alright? I’ll make sure Aunt Delores checks on you this evening.”

“You’re not coming back again tonight?”

“No, Ma. I told you that I’m working a double. If we ever want to get out of this hole, I gotta work.”

My mom nods somberly, but I know she’s agreeing out of guilt. After all, if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have to damn near work every waking hour. But she’s my mama, and I will do almost anything for her. It’s partially my fault for not saying no in the first place.

However, I will always be the dutiful daughter. I feel bad that she was dealt such a shitty hand in life. I feel even worse for enabling her instead of getting her the help she needed when I was able. But the time for self-pitying is done. Now, I gotta do what I gotta do.

“I’ll see you later,” I say over my shoulder before leaving out the door.

Driving to work took forty-five minutes, and it was an act of God that I made it without an accident, because I sure as hell don’t remember how I got here. My mind has been on all the events that led me to where I am now in life.

I’ll never forget the day that we found out my dad had been gunned down in a turf war with a rival motorcycle club. It was the day that Mama truly stopped living. When my dad died, he took a piece of my mom with him.

My Uncle Tree got revenge for my daddy and the club, and he always made sure I was taken care of. But when Uncle Tree went to jail, we lost touch with that side of the family for a while. I’ll always be thankful to my Uncle for looking out for us when he could, and when he got out, he made sure we were good.

I hopped out of my car and ran my hands down my scrubs. I work at one of the busiest hospitals in Dallas. Duncan Memorial is by far one of the nicest hospitals in the area; however, working in the emergency room can be stressful as hell.