17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Revenant
“The big man’s here,” Hush announces, his body covered in sweat, blood and who knows what else.
The brothers who have the stomach for this shit are all here.
Hush. Coyote. Fog. Gallows. Me. The brothers who didn’t leave the war behind them when they came home.
Coyote slaps me hard on the back, but I barely register him.
My mind is elsewhere. It’s on a hard, wooden pew at my grandparents' church listening to granddaddy preach about good and evil.
About heaven and hell. About what becomes of sinners.
Granddaddy said God would forgive all men who were repentant. That’s the difference between me and God. I’m not here to forgive. I’m here to tell them their time has run out and send them straight to hell.
My slow, steady footsteps lead to the first of three men. His face is unrecognisable, beaten so badly his nose has collapsed and his mouth is void of teeth. His breathing is wheezy, labored, but that’s none of my concern.
“There is no forgiveness from me,” I murmur, palming the knife my grandaddy gave me. “Whatever waits for you outside of this room won't be mercy.”
The Wolf says nothing. No repentance. Just sobs. Bargaining to live. Begging. His pleas fall on deaf ears. His life ended as soon as he was dragged into this room.
I breathe in the scent of fear, my eyes closing at the tang of tears, piss and shit, the underlying metallic smell of blood that covers his body thanks to Hush and Coyote’s handiwork.
“You chose your path. Every choice brought you here. I’m not here to judge you.
” I grip his hair, roughly pulling his head back.
“Look at me,” I growl, jerking him, his head lolling side to side.
“Give me your eyes, sinner.” His eyes crack open, offering me his gaze.
I want to be the last thing he’ll see before leaving this world.
“I’m here to tell you your time has run out.
Make your peace.” My knife glides over the Wolf’s throat, his blood spilling down his chest before I’ve finished my cut.
My head hangs, gaze on my boots as the Wolf’s blood hits them. I stare as it pools around my boots, ignoring the sobs from the Wolf beside the condemned. He twists and turns as he hangs from the ceiling, his beaten and bloody body no match for the chain he's suspended from.
“There is no forgiveness from me,” I begin, my gaze on the second man. “Whatever waits for you outside this room won’t be mercy.”
“Please, please,” he wails, “please, I’ll tell you anything you wanna know!”
“You’ve already done that, you fucking pussy,” Hush growls.
“I - I can find out more! Just, let me go and I can get you anything you want!”
Gallows’ brow raises momentarily before he dips his chin at me to get on with it. A smile plays on my lips but not for long. Gripping the Wolf by his hair I stare him down until his gaze is on mine.
He lets out a sob and I wait, like a coiled snake. Silent. Patient. Waiting until his eyes are on mine. “I’m here to tell you your time has run out. Make your peace.” My knife finds his flesh, tearing one last sob out of him before the only sound in the room is the gurgling gasp of death.
Turning my attention to the last man, my head tilts, taking him in. His silence is deafening. No begging, no pleas for mercy. Only stone, cold silence.
“There is no forgiveness from me.”
He whimpers, his body convulsing as tears spill over his bloody, swollen cheeks. The sound grows more and more hysterical until his head tips, not tears, laughter, wracking his body as he hangs from a rusty chain from the ceiling.
“Crowe said you’d be here at the end.”
“What?” I ask, noticing my brothers straightening at his words.
“He said if we’re dumb enough to be caught by the Saint’s, Revenant would be the last thing we see.
” I glance at Gallows. “Crowe has a question for you.” He wheezes, his body filling with enough adrenaline to fuck with me.
I’ve seen it before, the body’s last fight before I send him to hell. “You still think you’re the shepherd?”
“What does Crowe fucking care?” Coyote growls, slipping his scalpel between two of the Wolves ribs.
The man screams in pain before going limp, head lolling, ready to pass out, but he doesn't. Instead he looks at me, a tiny slit in his swollen eyelid showing a glint of satisfaction. “Better keep an eye on your sheep, shepherd.”
His words are like a kick to the fucking chest, almost stealing my breath, “What did you just say to me?”
He grins a gummy smile and panic grips my gut and twists mercilessly. I don’t recite scripture. I don’t complete my ritual. Instead I take my knife and draw it slowly across the Wolf’s throat, one ear to the other. I don’t wait to hear him take his last breath. The only thing I care about is Sunny.
Dropping the bloody instrument I run from the barn, bursting into the common room full of my brothers, relaxed, not a care between them.
“Anyone seen Sunny?” I bellow, letting my gaze shift around the common room, not seeing my woman. I don’t hear her either, which worries me. The only place she is ever calm and quiet is in the peaceful silence of her father’s church.
“Yeah, I saw her outside with Bubbles. Said Jubilee asked her to move her ride,” Hollow says over his shoulder, his hand in Diamond’s hair as she blows him.
“Bubbles? Unless she’s beating Bubbles’ ass again, that don’t make sense,” Ledger growls, arms crossed over his chest.
“Just telling ya what I saw, brother,” Hollow replies before throwing his arm over Amethyst, pushing her head down to join Diamond’s in his crotch.
“Something ain't right,” Mercy murmurs, stepping up next to me on one side while Prez stands on my other, frown on his harsh face.
“Prospect!” Gallows barks.
“Which one?” Brake smirks.
“The fucker that watches the security feeds.”
“Grail!” Brake yells, the prospect jumping to attention as soon as his name leaves Brake’s lips.
“Yes, Prez?”
“Check your feeds. Look for Sunny.” Grail stares blankly at Prez. “The crazy brunette.” Gallows ignores my growl.
The prospect pulls out his phone, fingers flying over the screen while my gut tightens and my balls draw up. Something ain’t fucking right, especially when Grail’s eyes widen.
“Shit,” he murmurs.
“What the fuck is it?” Gallows growls.
“Last time cameras caught her she was following Bubbles into that old garage out back.” His eyes dart to Prez. “‘Bout two minutes later a car leaves with Bubbles in the passenger seat.” He hesitates, licking his lips. “Split’s driving.”
“Who the fuck is Split?” Cedar asks.
“Grail is the security prospect, Cobb was the gate prospect, and Split is that nervous looking one that’s always on toilet duty.” Ledger counts out on his fingers.
“I’d be fucking nervous about being on toilet duty, too,” Brake mutters, jerking when Mercy slaps up him upside the head.
Gallows stares at him before turning back to the prospect. “How long ago did they leave?”
The prospect glances at me before looking at Prez. “Just after Revenant went into Hush’s office. So, around an hour ago?” the prospect says.
That fucking bitch Bubbles knew where I was going. I passed her skanky ass riding Split’s cock on my way to pray over those undeserving fuckers. She knew she couldn’t get to Sunny with me there so she waited and used Split to help her in whatever her bullshit plan is.
“You claiming Sunny, brother?” Gallows murmurs while my brothers bitch about Bubbles and Split.
“I can’t.” Gallows raises his brow. “Not when she claimed me first.”
A slow smile tugs at Gallows’ lips before slapping his big fucking mitt on my shoulder. “Fuckin’ A.”
“Whatever happened to no Ol Ladies?”
Prez rolls his eyes. “If she’s crazy enough to threaten fucking Amos Crowe and claim your ass, then she’s all good in my books.”
I open my mouth to reply when Grail calls out, “Rev! The Pastor’s here.” He taps something on his tablet. “I’ve opened the gate.”
Throwing a puzzled look at my Prez and VP I head toward the door but I’m stopped in my tracks when a beautifully restored ‘71 F-100 slides through the open gate kicking dust and gravel in our faces. There’s a beat of silence before a pissed looking Pastor Richards shoves open his door, storming this way.
“What the hell kind of pastor is he?” Jubilee asks, wide eyed.
The pastor ignores him, shooting me a glare. “Why the fuck is Sunny ten minutes across town when she is meant to be here for her protection?”
“Wait, how do you know that?” I ask, desperate to know what he knows.
He scowls at me, taps something on his phone and holds it up too fucking close so I have to lean back so I can read his Life360 app.
“You share locations?” Ledger asks Pastor Richards.
“I have a wife and five kids and none of them have impulse control. So yes, they share their location with me so I don’t go mad thinking terrible shit has happened to them,” Pastor Richards snaps.
“Wait, if Sunny has her phone why hasn’t she called for help?” Jubilee asks.
“What do you mean ‘called for help’?” the pastor seethes.
“It seems one of our club sluts and a prospect have taken her.” Gallows steps in, which I am fucking thankful for.
I’ve only just claimed Sunny, I can’t fucking tell her father, a man I respect with every inch of my being, that his fucking daughter got kidnapped on my watch. Pastor Richards’ gaze takes in all of us before landing back on Gallows.
“Did she get on with this prospect and club slut?” His eyes narrow.
“Um, no?” Brake answers when Gallows and I hesitate.
Richards runs a hand down his face, letting out a growl. “She won't call if she thinks we’ll stop her.” We all stare at him. “My daughter is very…passionate about people she doesn't get on with. She inherited my wife’s temper. Homeschooling was…easier.”
“Ah, homeschooled!” Brake says, clicking his fingers. “That actually explains a lot about Sunny.” We all stare at him until he rolls his eyes and mumbles, “Sorry.”
Richards stares at him for a beat longer, before turning back to Gallows. “What’s going to happen to the people who took my daughter when I get her back?”
“When I get her back I will be giving them their last words.”
Sunny’s father stares at me, unwavering before his lips tip up. “Well, you better hope you get to them before Sunny does.”