Ashes Drift Past Tomorrow by Xavin Dusk 63

Posted by ADMINMMADMIN, ? Views, Released on January 31, 2026

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Ace

Four years later…

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I PULLED MY bike up to the Quinn beach house and slid the kickstand down. I hadn’t seen my family since I left, and as much as I missed them, I wasn’t particularly sure I was ready for the barrage of questions I would inevitably have to endure.

But I’d promised. It was the fourth of July, after all, and the beach was a tradition.

“Uncle Carter!”

I looked up, unused to being called anything other than “Ace.” I forced a smile as Jeremy, my nephew, rushed toward me. My eldest brother, Josh, had been married for over eight years now and had three kids. The rest of the Quinn brothers were still single and happy to be.

“Hey, bud. God, are you like twenty now?”

Jeremy laughed, hugging me and releasing me quickly. “Seven… but I’m totally a stud.”

I ruffled his hair. “Said like a true Quinn.”

“Are you and Uncle Aidan really in a motorcycle club now?”

“Yeah, bud, we are.”

I had just become a full patched member of my club, which meant (for me, anyway) I had more freedom and money to do what I liked. I’d been a prospect for three years, having needed an outlet between tours, then as the tours became shorter, but the missions became more intense, it was my saving grace. A few of my “brothers” had been in similar situations and knew when to push and when to back off.

Aidan was still a prospect, and he’d probably become a full patched member eventually, but I didn’t know when. Aidan always did what I did, even when we were kids, he was my constant shadow, so it was no surprise he followed me into the club, but he was young and still trying to find his place. He’d decided to become a vet, and since he was a huge horse fanatic, he’d been training and riding horses for a few years now, and I wondered if that would trump his desire to become a full- patched member. Time would tell, I guess.

I could fix, drive, and fly pretty much anything, which meant I was guaranteed employment in any one of the club’s businesses, and now that I was a patched member, I was let in on every part of the businesses… legal or not so legal.

“Gram’s been totally freaking out. I heard her tell Dad that if you crashed your bike, she’d hurt you.”

“Well, we better get inside then.” I grabbed my stuff and followed my nephew into the house.

“CarCar,” my mother cried, and pulled me in for a hug. “You made it!”

She pulled away and patted me down as though to check for injuries.

“Hi, Mom,” I said, and smiled, kissing her cheek awkwardly. “I made it and I’m fine.”

“It’s bad enough Jaxon and Matt chose dangerous jobs, but now you and Aidan are riding motorcycles? I just don’t know where I went wrong.”

Still all about you, Mom, I thought in frustration.

“You didn’t go wrong,” I said. I disengaged from her as soon as I could, unable to stand even the briefest of embraces.

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Her face fell, but she quickly recovered, plastering on a gentle smile and stepping back a little. “Your dad and brothers are on the deck.”

I nodded and sidled around her, moving toward the back door.

“Thank you, honey.”

I turned and smiled. “You’re welcome, Mom.”

She took a deep breath and made her way to the kitchen. I escaped her look of sadness and stepped onto the deck.

“Carter!”

My father’s booming voice startled me for a second, but I recovered and smiled. “Hey, Dad.”

Unlike my mother, my father gave me space. Perhaps a bit much, but no less appreciated. My uncle Ken had served in the Gulf war back in the nineties and returned changed which had affected my father deeply. They’d once been close, but he’d returned with PTSD, then ultimately died from the cancer that had stemmed from his time in the Middle East.

I never knew the details surrounding Ken’s issues… I’d been too young, but my father had been apprehensive about me joining the military. Although, he’d been a little more open to me joining the Air Force. What they didn’t know, was that I’d been recruited into the AFST, and trained as a para–rescue jumper, and had just completed my second mission… and it shook me.

Melanie, Josh’s wife, walked toward me, smiling in greeting. “Hey, bud.”

“Hey, Mel.”

She

gave me a quick hug and then headed into the house. My brothers walked toward me, almost in order of birth. Josh first, Matt second, Jaxon third (although he was fourth in the birth order), Luke next (third in birth order). All but Aidan and Jaxon hugged me, and just when I thought I’d lose my mind, they separated. I hated the close contact, but only Jax and Aidan knew the general extent of why.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in normal Quinn family conversation, food, and joking around, but it all seemed hollow to me. I felt disconnected. Even when we gathered on the sand for football, I moved through the exercise physically, but couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it like I used to.

Just before midnight, after my parents, Josh and Melanie and their kids headed to bed, Jaxon and I sat on the deck, beers in hand, watching the ocean under the light of the moon. Luke and Aidan were in the garage playing a game of pool (our parents had converted the space five years ago when they realized the house wasn’t going to accommodate the growing family) and we would sleep out there as well. Matt got a call, and being FBI, his off days weren’t always guaranteed.

“You wanna talk about it?” Jaxon asked.

“No.”

“You don’t deal with shit, it festers.”

“Thanks, Dr. Phil.”

Jaxon smiled. “First kill?”

“No.”

“Somethin‘ else first, though.”

“Just leave it, Jax,” I ground out.

“Gonna eat you up, Carter,” Jaxon said.

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I rose to my feet. “I’m goin‘ to bed.”

“You’re on the bottom.”

“Fuck you, I’m not.”

“Fuck you, you are,” Jaxon corrected.

“We’ll see.”

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I made my way into the house, ignoring Jaxon’s laugh as I brushed my teeth and walked into the room that had been designated as ours for the trip. Not much had changed. It still had two sets of bunks, Jeremy and his brother, Carl, in one, which left the other for Jax and me. Our niece was in with Josh and Melanie, but I figured we would need to either get a bigger house or expand this one or we’d run out of creative sleeping options.

Too tired to deal with Jax and my play for the top bunk, I fell into the bottom one, hoping the sleeping meds would work tonight… I’d doubled the dose.

***

The setting sun cast shadows over my unit as our team lead, Ducky, signaled us into position. Gravel crunched under my feet as I eased forward, rifle raised. The shadows before me morphed into the form of a person. The barrel of an assault rifle pointed in my direction. My heart raced. Now or never. I ducked low, aimed, and fired. The scream of a woman pierced the silence. Bile rose in my throat and I rushed forward to see who I’d hit, expecting to see a stranger. A familiar face stared back at me, however, the accusation in her eyes turning my legs to jelly.

“Carter?” Cassidy let out a tortured groan as she grasped her bloodied chest and fell to the ground. “Carter!”

I bellowed in agony as pain sliced through my leg, and my eyes flew open to find my mother looking over me, tears running down her face.

“Fuck,” I rasped, and tried to sit up.

“Honey? Are you okay?”

“Mom, back up a bit,” Jaxon ordered, and gently pulled her away.

“Boys, come here,” Josh called, and I grimaced to see my nephews rush past me, obviously frightened by my display.

I folded my body out from under the bunk and dropped my face into my hands. “I’m gonna go.”

“No, honey, please don’t,” my mother begged.

“Mom, I can’t be scarin‘ the kids with this shit.”

“We can sleep in the garage for the next few days,” Jaxon countered. “Aidan and Luke can bunk in here.”

“Please, Carter.” She wrung her hands and I knew she wanted to hug me. “Let us help.”

“No one can fuckin‘ help, Mom.”

“Watch your tone, son,” my father warned.

“It’s okay, Scott.”

“It’s never okay to talk to you that way, Sheila.”

“Sorry, Mom,” I said. “I think it would be best if I go.”

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“No,” she rushed to say. “Look, I get that this is hard, but you can’t get on your motorcycle at three o’clock in the morning when you’ve had next to no sleep. Can you give it until tomorrow and if you still feel like you need to go, then we’ll respect your wishes?”