Interlude – Unholy #2
“Motherfucker, Rack’s a miserable motherfucker, but for once he took his nose out of Donovan’s cockhole and aligned with Joe. If Rack hadn’t confessed to Joe that you motherfuckers intended to kill me, my boy, Joe…a bunch of motherfuckers, I might be dead.”
“I can explain—”
“No the fuck you can’t, so don’t waste your rancid fucking breath. I want to blow you the fuck away, chop you into tiny pieces, and dance in your fucking blood. ”
“Your trail of bodies and gifts of body parts sent a very effective message.”
“And your miserable motherfuckery sent me a very effective message. You can try to take me, my sons, and the Scorpions down, but we will always rise again.”
Sharper tugged at his collar.
Folding his arms, Cee Cee glowered. “I don’t suffer fools or fucking traitors.
I’ve never been a good motherfucker and will never be one.
But Joe tried to be good for my sister. He tried to go straight.
” He visibly gnashed his teeth together.
“You motherfuckers sent him away, knowing Kimber needed help. I will never fucking forgive that. You and your lover are eviler than I can ever dream of being. Rack did the right thing for once and he begged me to spare Donovan’s life and yours to keep that old fuckhead happy.
Don’t make me regret rewarding his good fucking behavior. ”
“You killed his second son.”
“He’s lucky I didn’t kill Junior,” Cee Cee said flatly.
“Did you make him suck your cock?”
“I’m not you .” Cee Cee looked Sharper up and down. “I’m not attracted to cocks.”
“Only little girls.”
“Please, motherfucker. My definition of young girls is sixteen and up. You, fuckhead, go for children. Men. Boys. Dogs. Donkeys. Geriatric demons. A fucking trifecta of animals, humans, and devils.”
Joe’s groan signaled the end of the conversation Marion wished he’d never heard.
Cee Cee glared at Joe and kicked him again. “I can’t fucking believe I’m about to say this, but I wish Kaleb Paul was here.” Gun still in hand, he sat on the bench against the wall and contemplated Joe in brooding silence.
Marion wasn’t sure how to proceed. His idol had greatly disappointed him, a bullet was lodged in the wall, blood from a stranger’s shoulder wound leaked onto the floor, and Joseph Foy was drugged up and lovesick.
And his own life was on the line. Hoping to stay amongst the living, he cleared his throat.
“Please take this elsewhere, gentlemen. I need my beauty sleep.”
Cee Cee snorted. “You couldn’t sleep that much in one fucking lifetime.”
He knew what he was. Short, fat, and jowl-y, with poor eyesight. “That is a low blow, sir.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you think it is,” Cee Cee retorted.
Joe sat up and blinked owlishly; he mumbled.
“Aren’t you feeling better, Joe?” Sharper asked.
“Motherfucker, does it look like he feels better?” Cee Cee demanded, then nodded to Osti. “Get the fuck out.”
Osti glanced at Sharper, who gave him permission with a single tilt of his head.
“He needs the bullet wound seen to.”
Although Marion knew what to do, fuck Sharper Banks . During his time on the run, he’d had his share of scrapes, wounds, and bruises.
Sharper walked to where Cee Cee sat on the bench and dropped next to him. Joe remained on the floor, his head hung.
“I know you’re trying to protect him for Kimber, but you can’t. That sniveling cunt and their baby bitch are his weaknesses,” Sharper argued. “Men fucking fear him, but they’d laugh in his fucking face if they saw him now.”
Cee Cee heaved in a breath, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his knees. He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Motherfucker hasn’t talked to me in fucking years. Ever since I reaped the rewards of my bet.”
“You didn’t come for him. You came because of Kimber.”
“I came because of Joe . I came because I admire him as a fellow president. I’ll always remember getting the call about my sister.
I fucking regret barring him from her services.
It left him even more vulnerable to cunts and you two motherfuckers.
” His glare chilled Marion. “I came because, despite how I fucked over him, he had the fucking decency to warn me you motherfuckers planned to kill me. He beat the fuck out of Rack and took out a few motherfuckers himself. He didn’t need me.
My sister loved him because he was good and kind and fair.
I came because he’s always treated cunts with respect, and, outside of Kimber, they’ve always taken advantage of him. ”
“You will not refer to the female sex as such in my exalted presence,” Marion sputtered. As a girl dad, the disrespect was a travesty. For them, he’d lose his life in their defense.
Cee Cee raised his gun. “I can always erase your fucking presence.”
“We might have to kill him anyway,” Sharper said with a shrug. His jaw had swelled. “He knows too much.”
Lifting his head, Joe squinted. “Can’t kill Marion,” he mumbled. “My friend.”
The two men exchanged glances, looked at Joe, then glared at Marion.
“My lips are sealed,” he promised, wishing he could squeeze money from them. He needed cash to run again. Obviously, he was traceable if Joe found him.
Cee Cee eyed Marion with dislike. “How attached are you to this motherfucker, Joe?”
“He’s my friend. We fucked two girls together in Vegas after losing a shit ton of money.
“Is that so?” Cee Cee smirked at Marion. “You do realize this motherfucker’s a priest?”
Nodding, Joe blinked. “It’s how I found him tonight. He wasn’t easy to track, but Char helped me. ”
Sharper beamed a smile. Cee Cee rolled his eyes.
“She make you lick her pussy for the favor?” Sharper asked, his breath hitching.
Joe stretched out. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “I didn’t want to. I can’t remember why.”
“Probably because of Mortician,” Sharper said sourly.
“Who him?” Joe asked, sinking so far down the drug pit he couldn’t formulate correct speech.
Flat on his back, he stared at the ceiling, his shoulders shaking and tears streaming down his face.
“I can’t do this no more,” he sobbed. “Gotta get clean. I wouldn’t have lost her if I was clean.
I coulda fought that cunt and won custody of my baby girl. ”
Sharper snapped his brows together. “What do you mean by get clean?”
“That’s obvious, fuckhead,” Cee Cee said with a snort as Joe lifted his head and blurted, “no more drugs.”
“They help—”
Cee Cee sidled the minister a warning and Sharper snapped his mouth shut.
“Gotta get clean for my baby girl and for my boy.”
“Your son or mine?” Cee Cee asked quietly.
“You don’t like my son,” Joe said, his flow of tears lessening.
Sniffling, he swiped his cheeks. “He looks nothing like Kimber. I’ve tried to love him, but he took her from me.
” He burst into tears again. “ I took her from me. My cock. The only good that’s ever come from her death is my daughter and protecting my nephew. ”
A half smiled curved Cee Cee’s lips. “So, my son then.” His tone remained soft and solemn.
“He has her green eyes and black hair. Her brilliance. Joey only has you in him.”
“My genes?”
“Not even that. He’s just psychotic with a shopping addiction. The boy shops more than some bitches. Kimber must be horrified.” Joe wiped away his tears, then brushed an arm over his snotty nose. “I don’t even know where she’s buried.”
“How about you sober up and I’ll take you to her grave?”
“I can’t go to Richmond. Gotta get back to—”
“Her grave’s not in Virginia, Joe,” Cee Cee admitted. “It’s not far from your clubhouse.”
“Truly?” He sounded as awed as a child on Christmas morning.
“I wanted her to rest in peace. She could only do that near you.”
Turning to his side, Joe closed his eyes and curled up in a tight ball. “She loved me?”
“She adored you. Don’t doubt that. Even if you didn’t have my boy and your girl to clean up for, Kimber would want it. She’d want you to live a long and happy life. When it’s your time, you’ll be buried with her and finally find the peace you’ve missed since her death.”
“My baby girl gives me peace. She loves me. Her eyes always light up when she sees me. She trusts me and knows I’ll give my life to protect her.” He fell asleep.
Marion wanted to join him, but he remained silent, even more afraid if he moved or spoke, he’d die.
“Cee Cee, I promise you I will put him on the right footing, but we have millions of dollars in toys coming through. It’ll be easier to sell the moneymakers and dispose of the garbage without Joe underfoot.
Or even if he is, he’ll be more malleable.
I can even teach him what to do with the throwaways. ”
“You’re ruining him and frying his fucking brain.”
“Profits are down or haven’t you noticed?”
“Who gives a fuck? This is Joe. ”
“I’ve already suffered one obsessed motherfucker.”
“We made a fucking pact, Sharper. If it means nothing to you, it means something to me. We survived that hellhole because we were united. Besides, you’re the wealthy motherfucker.
You shouldn’t give a fuck if the club turns a profit, especially at the expense of Joe.
He’s a damn good president and he makes money for us without involving him in bullshit he doesn’t want to be involved in. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Marion could’ve answered that question. Sharper Banks was the devil. Throw holy water on him and he’d melt.
“Since your son opened the lab and became the club’s treasurer, things have gotten much trickier. If he thinks Joe is going through a crisis, he won’t be so focused. The club has started losing money. Sooner or later, it will affect your profits, too.”
“Keep the fucking money, then. I don’t fucking want it. Fuck it all. Keep all my profits. Take my name off all the documents. If it protects Joe, keep the shit,” he reiterated. “I failed Kimber. If I fail her motherfucker, that bitch will haunt me.”
“You’re going soft in your old age.”
“No, I’m remembering my loyalties in my old age.”
“Behind the scenes, your name is associated with the club now . Your kid isn’t your spitting image for nothing. Sooner or later, he’ll connect the dots. He has a fucking brain on him.”
Cee Cee sat a little taller.
Until Sharper said, “Both your and my ass are on the line.”
“Fuck, sometimes I really hate you, motherfucker.”
Sharper’s shoulders relaxed. “You hate me all the time, cousin.”
Cee Cee sighed. “You got three months to get the shit done, then we get him into fucking rehab. He wants that. I want that for him.”
“His baby bitch—”
“Forget that little cunt! ”
“Have you seen her recently?” Sharper asked, pulling a cell phone out of his pocket.
“I don’t—”
Sharper shoved the phone into Cee Cee’s hands.
Grunting, he glanced at the screen and widened his eyes. “Fuck! She’s gorgeous.”
Marion’s curiosity almost overruled his good sense.
“She’s tiny, isn’t she?” Cee Cee added, staring in awe and sliding his finger down the screen in an icky manner. She was a child.
“She’ll earn us a premium.”
Cee Cee shoved the phone back to Sharper. “Find another cunt. I’m making Joe’s daughter off limits.”
Sharper started to argue.
“We owe him,” Cee Cee said with impatience.
“ You owe him.”
“He’ll make more money for us in the long run than her cunt will earn in total.”
Unease slid into Marion. If he survived tonight, how could he alert Joe to what these horrible men intended for his baby girl?
“Your bitch shot him up, didn’t she?” Cee Cee asked, changing the subject.
“She’s a good pet.”
“She’s a fucking snake. You finally married right. A bitch to rule in hell with you.”
“You’ll be there with us.”
“Didn’t say I wouldn’t be. It isn’t as if I give a fuck, anyway.”
“Joe will be fine, Cee Cee. I will see to it that Rack looks after him. When he’s ready to retire, your boy will have his spot.”
“Tell your bullshit to someone else. I’m not this stupid, idealistic motherfucker.
” He nodded to Joe. “You think I’m a fucking fool, but I fucking swear before this little fat, holy motherfucker, if you or any of the motherfuckers aligned with you, fuck over Joe—or my kid—and don’t get this stupid motherfucker into rehab, I will fucking personally torture you.
And if I don’t do it because you’ve fucked me up, any one of my brothers, all of them , will have you begging to die before you do. Am I fucking clear?”
“Very,” Sharper said faintly.
Cee Cee brooded a moment, then snatched Sharper’s phone again and stared at it. He pressed his lips together, his gaze roaming from the screen to Joe and back again. He threw the phone between them. “If you touch this little cunt before she turns eighteen, I’ll still kill you.”
“We already have pussy buyers.”
“Not as of now, you stupid motherfucker. No matter his condition, he’s still her father.
He’d move heaven and hell for that little bitch.
And you’re taking his money and my fucking money as a bounty for her fucking life.
I intended to stop when she turned eighteen, but I’ll pay for as long as I need to if she keeps Joe grounded. ”
“Fine! I’ll cancel the sales,” Sharper gritted, then looked at Marion. He reached into his jacket.
Marion ran to the last pew and ducked in front of it.
“I would never desecrate a sanctuary,” Sharper called blandly. “I was only getting money to buy your silence.”
Crawling to the center aisle, Marion peeped around the pew. Sharper held out a wad of cash.
Marion stood and dusted off the knees of his pajamas. Joe’s eyes popped open, and he jumped to his feet. He glanced around, spotted his gun and grabbed it, pointing it toward… air.
“The Martians just landed their spaceship. They want to kidnap me.”
“Motherfucker, it would be better if they did kidnap you,” Cee Cee snapped .
Before Joe responded, Marion’s worst nightmare walked through the door. He’d know those dark, vengeful eyes anywhere.
God, he was about to meet his Maker. He hadn’t seen Freya in years, ever since he’d gone on the run. He had no idea the location of his four older daughters, all by different women, but his youngest…
Bert raised his gun.
Marion braced himself for the impact of the bullet. Instead, a hole opened in the center of Bert’s head. He stood a moment, then dropped to the floor. Still holding his gun, Joe walked to Bert, a little steadier on his feet.
Intrigued, Marion tipped forward. Joe fired three more times, once in each cheek, and the third to Bert’s chin.
Joe lifted a remorseless blue gaze to Marion. “Can you fix up Osti?”
Marion nodded. “I’m indebted to you.”
“Nonsense.” Sharper reached Marion and shoved the cash in his top pocket. “We’re indebted to you.”
“This motherfucker belongs to Red Rum,” Joe grunted.
“If you fix up Osti, I’ll make a call and clear the matter up for you…?”
“Father Wilkins.”