Chapter 14 Crypt
“What do we know about this fucking cult?” I asked, concerned that Tilton’s death and The Sect of Primordial Light was gonna cause problems for the club. Worse, they would target Rylee and my new baby.
“They’re religious fanatics with powerful and rich men giving them deep pockets,” Xenon informed us. “I’ve been following them for years, ever since they went after Heather and Spook.”
Spook? I turned his way. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story, brother, but the cult was the reason I was kidnapped and groomed as a boy. I only escaped because the motherfucker who took me grew bored as I got older. He got careless, and I escaped.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry.”
“It’s way in the past now. But Heather was taken as a little girl, much like Rylee. She wasn’t as lucky.”
“I hope we reaped all their souls.”
“We did,” Grim assured me.
I was so new that I didn’t know a lot about the members yet. But each day, I learned more, and I spent time with each of them because we were all family now.
“Back to the cult,” Rael cleared his throat, “I’ve had Xenon digging into their connections with local politicians and people with power and influence, especially in Nevada.”
“If we find those connections, are we letting our Reapers loose?”
Grim pounded a fist on the table. “If they’ve been touching, selling, or harming kids or innocents, yes.”
No one said a word to contradict him.
“How do we keep our kids safe?” I wanted to know if anyone else had any ideas because I was about to stay awake twenty-four seven and let my Reaper guard the house every night. No one was touching my girls.
“If you stay vigilant,” Spook advised me.
“Pay attention to your Reaper,” Mammoth added.
“And never trust anyone in a fucking black robe,” Exorcist snarled.
Black robes?
Grim folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. “We all know they like to wear those black robes with yellow suns on them. They’re ready to perform a ritual if you see them. Count on a child being somewhere close.”
I wanted to vomit.
My Reaper grew agitated. He stirred beneath my skin like he wanted to jump through it.
Grim stared into my eyes. “Calm.”
In an instant, he listened to Grim. I was surprised until I realized Grim and his Reaper were the first Grim. He held the authority to keep us all in line. My Reaper listened because he recognized Grim as the leader.
Church ended, and we left the chapel. I wasn’t in a good headspace after hearing more bullshit with that cult. It made my Reaper anxious. I wanted to find a soul to reap and send to Lucifer and calm my Reaper. He was making me feel wild and reckless.
Hunt.
He just kept repeating the word over and over.
“Fine. Where?” I asked aloud, not caring if anyone stared at me because every single member had a Reaper inside them, too. I bet they were all assholes.
Vegas.
That was too fucking far. I didn’t want to leave Rachel and Rylee alone for that long.
He’s there.
“Who?”
Trey Burrows.
I froze. “You sure?”
Yeesssss.
He dragged out the last word like he was a snake.
“Fine.”
If I left now, I could find Trey, reap his soul, and be home for dinner. Sounded real fucking good to me.
I didn’t say a word to any of my club brothers or Grim as I left The Crossroads. When I merged onto Hwy 95, I realized one of them had followed me. It wasn’t Hannibal.
Exorcist pulled up beside me and ticked his chin my way. He was one of the members I hadn’t gotten to know yet. From what I’d seen, he was one of the older members, and he got fucking cranky in the bar sometimes. But I didn’t mind if he wanted to ride along with me.
Hell, I’d never turn down a club brother.
He stuck with me for the entire three hours it took to ride from Tonopah to Las Vegas. We entered the City of Sin on a mission. My Reaper told me exactly where he felt Trey’s presence, and I headed there without delay.
Exorcist didn’t say shit to me until we parked our bikes outside one of the casinos. I didn’t bother to look at the name. It didn’t matter.
“Whose soul is it?”
“Trey Burrows.”
“What the fuck did he do, brother?”
“He raped and beat my sister,” I growled, stomping away from my bike.
Exorcist was practically bouncing out of his skin. He chuckled, and it sounded fucking sinister. I still didn’t know what skill he possessed when reaping souls, but after the reverse memory thing, I figured out that all of us had a skill unique to our Reaper.
We entered the casino, and I caught Trey’s stench as he sat at one of the slots. I wasn’t in the mood to fuck around after the long drive, and retribution for Michelle had taken far too long.
Exorcist grinned as I walked up to Trey, and he lifted his head, eyes widening when he saw me. “Remember me, asshole?”
He blinked, then stuttered a curse. There wasn’t time to duck my fist. I hit so hard I knocked him out of his seat. He tumbled to the carpet, out cold.
Good. I could torture him a bit until he woke up.
Exorcist picked Trey up and tossed him over his shoulder. Neither of us gave a fuck, and nobody stopped us. Maybe they didn’t think anything of it because this was Vegas. Shit happened here every single day.
“Where should we take him?”
We couldn’t ride with an unconscious man, so I gestured to the back of the building. “We can block anyone from seeing or hearing anything, right?”
“Yep.”
“Then why carry that heavy bastard far?”
Trey had gained weight since I beat him within an inch of his life, inflicting enough damage to land him in the hospital for weeks. It still wasn’t enough pain and suffering compared to what he did to Michelle.
And the motherfucker testified against me, sending me to jail on top of it. He pressed charges that only enraged me further. Now he would face two Reapers.
“Judgment has come, motherfucker,” I announced as Exorcist tossed him to the ground.
“We’re good. No one can see or hear us.”
“What about him?”
“If they do, they’ll think he’s on something and committed suicide.”
“Works for me.”
I unzipped my pants and pulled out my dick, pissing on Trey’s face to wake him up. He sputtered as I finished, tucking my cock back inside my jeans and zipping them up. “Wake up, asshole.”
He wiped the urine from his face and held up his hands. “Please. Don’t hurt me. If you want money, I can give it to you. Anything you want.”
Not good enough. It never would be because there was nothing he could offer me that would fix what he did to my sister.
I kicked him in the face and busted his lip open. “Stop sniveling.”
“What do you want?”
“August 14th. Twelve years ago. Dark. A casino in Vegas.”
He blinked.
“A pretty girl with gray eyes and hair the same color as mine.”
Trey frowned. “I don’t know.”
“She wore a silver dress with sequins.”
That did it. He paled.
“You didn’t leave any DNA, but you beat her while you raped her. Do you remember her name?”
He was trembling. “Please.”
“Her name!” I shouted.
“Michelle Bolin.”
“That’s fucking right. Do you know who I am?”
He shook his head.
“They call me Crypt. Because I’m the last motherfucker you see before you get sent to hell.”
Exorcist chuckled. “Goddamn, this is making me hard.”
Trey tried to crawl away from us, but I lifted my boot and slammed my heel on his back, holding him in place.
“What’s that thing you do, brother?”
“My little trick?”
“Yeah.”
Exorcist crouched beside Trey. “I rip souls from their bodies.”
Trey began to cry. Snot dripped from his nose as Exorcist shook his head. “Pussy. You don’t deserve shit after brutally raping so many women.”
“He doesn’t, but I do have a gift. I’ll use mine with yours.”
It took only a few seconds before he began to scream. The shrill cries only fed my rage. He didn’t care when Michelle screamed or begged him to stop. He just kept hurting her.
“You’ve been judged.”
“Condemned,” Exorcist added.
“And sentenced to die. Your soul now belongs to Lucifer. Enjoy hell, motherfucker.”
Exorcist continued to rip away his soul, slowly separating it like skin from his frame. It was torture. Agony.
But when I added the memories of Trey’s victims and began overloading his mind with the combination of their pain, sorrow, and fear, he began to convulse. His body spasmed and limbs flailed.
Spit gathered at his mouth and began to foam. Trey’s eyes rolled back in his head. He was so near death that I had to stop the images from repeating, and reluctantly opened the gateway to hell beneath our feet.
Exorcist sliced through his soul with his scythe. I slashed with mine until only the tiniest fragments remained. Every piece fell into the hellfire that awaited.
Lucifer’s laughter echoed from below, confirming we’d sent him an evil offering he would enjoy.
When the ground closed up, and it was over, I turned to Exorcist. “Thanks, brother.”
“Anytime. That was fucking intoxicating.”
“I’m going to ride home for Tonopah and stop at my sister’s house. She should know that he no longer walks this earth. He’s not a threat to her any longer.”
“Good idea.”
We hugged, slapping one another on the back before he walked away. It took a few seconds for me to breathe through the emotions churning inside me.
I finally headed back to my bike, hopped on, and rode to Tonopah. For the first time in years, I felt like I helped my sister. I got closure and justice.
Lucifer was right. It felt fucking good.