Pope
Inside, my leg is shaking, my heart is pounding against my chest bone so hard it feels like it’s leaving a crack every time it beats, and my hands are driving me crazy with itchiness. On the outside, I’m motionless and calm. My brothers around me are feeling the same, I know they are. There still hasn’t been any word from Danny. Cas and Sparky have been sending him messages for hours and nothing has come back. I focus on Cas’s finger tapping against the table in a steady rhythm. It all that’s keeping me here.
Tap, tap, tap, eventually my pulse, my heart, they both beat in time with the taps and I’m able to breathe without feeling like my chest is caving in on itself.
Then, the taps stop and Cas jumps up from his chair and my focus is gone.
“Enough waiting, if he had plans on reaching out to us he would’ve done so by now.”
“What now?” Slade asks.
“Let’s have some fun with his brothers,” he grins, rolling his neck.
I’m the first one on their feet and I’m fucking ready to go.
“You better not tell me I can’t go,” Ricky grunts beside me, “I feel fine now.”
Kyla and Sally kept a close eye on him last night and reported back he was okay. To look at him now, he looks the same as he always has. I wouldn’t stop him from going and when Cas nods, I’m glad. He travels in the van with the prospect and everyone else rides to the Mill. I tell myself this is one step closer to Oak finding peace and that it doesn’t matter if Danny hasn’t answered our messages because he will eventually.
Cayden and Kyle are both awake and it fills me with much pleasure to see the college kid trembling at the sight of us and Cayden fighting against his restraints. They’re now tied to chairs, sitting back to back to each other. I settle myself into the shadows as Cas rips off the tape from their mouths.
“Welcome,” he begins, “Welcome to the last day of your lives if your brother doesn’t make contact soon.”
Kyle’s petrified and his fear feeds into my soul. He believes every word Cas is saying.
“How much do you know about your brothers?” he asks him.
“He doesn’t know anything, let him go,” Cayden growls.
I want to smash my fist into his jaw for speaking out of turn.
“It’s a shame he’s gonna die and not know why then, isn’t it,” I say, from the shadows.
“Please, I haven’t seen my brothers in months. I don’t know what they get up to,” Kyle whines.
“I want to believe you, I really do, but I don’t,” Cas tells him.
However, I do believe him. Before Cas goes on, I’m at his side.
“I’m sure he’s speaking the truth, he was shocked as shit that his brothers wanted to party with him when we picked him up,” I say, leaning in close and keeping my voice low.
I lean away and Cas changes tactics. He walks around and ends up dragging a chair in front of Kyle. He sits and studies him before he speaks.
“Danny took something from us that can never be replaced. He took our brother’s life. He tied him up, beat him and shot him in the stomach, then to finish him off, he put a bullet in his head.”
Cas leans back and takes out his cigarettes, lights one and blows the smoke in the kid’s face.
“Now, we’re not men who go around kidnapping people or killing them without just cause, but you can bet your fuckin’ ass we will annihilate everyone who gets in our way avenging our brother.”
“I didn’t even know your brother,” Kyle pleads.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s trying to scare you.” Cayden tries to comfort his brother but it clearly isn’t working.
“Did he kill their brother?” he asks back.
We all remain quiet.
“They took Melissa,” he finally responds.
None of us allow a show of truth to his words.
“I saw her a few days ago, she was fine and she said nothing about being kidnapped. Did Dan really kill someone?”
There’s a fire in Kyle’s soul and it’s not us who is fanning the flames.
“Cay, did he do what they’re saying?” he demands.
Ever so softly, and against his will, he mutters one word. “Yes.”
He physically pales and this is the moment we can use him against his own family. Cas digs in further.
“Before he murdered Oak, he killed many men because he wanted what they had. Today, he could get you killed, all because he doesn’t care about you, not enough to call me back when I told him I had you.”
“Don’t listen to him, if Dan knew they had us, he would come.”
Cas pulls out one of their phones and holds it up to Kyle’s face so he can read clearly.
“As you can see, thanks to technology these days, it says he read the text six hours ago and still we haven’t heard from him.”
“It’ll be a trick,” Cayden hisses, straining his neck to look around to his brother.
“It’s a fucking iPhone and it clearly says he’s seen it,” Kyle spits backs.
I’ve seen technology develop and while most of the time it can be a problem, sometimes, it’s a blessing.
“Getting to you was easy pickings, nothing about this sits well with us but at the moment we’re not thinking properly, that could be disastrous for you or it could save you. All we want is your brother. If he wants to be the man he’s acting, then he should do the right thing and give himself up to us to save you. I guess time will tell if you live or die because of him. I don’t want to hurt you but I will.”
“I want to hurt him,” I mutter.
Cas laughs and Kyle looks like he’s close to pissing himself.
“In our club, we attack to defend what’s ours. We live our lives away from everyone else and we prefer it that way. Your brother attacks on the offense, for power he can’t handle, he wants a club of men he can’t control, men he sends to their deaths for his pleasure. It’s not surprising he doesn’t give a shit about you, he doesn’t know how to.”
He leaves Kyle to shake in his seat and drags the chair around to Cayden. Cayden’s not so easily scared. His jaw is set tight and raw anger flares in his eyes.
“Tell me where Danny is.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
I flex my hand into a fist and take a step closer.
“You must’ve known it would come to this, that you wouldn’t have lived long after Oak come back to us dead. In case you didn’t, you should’ve known we wouldn’t stop until everyone around you connected to his death would die themselves. Your brother doesn’t have a club, he wouldn’t know the meaning of loyalty or brotherhood, he can’t see past his own gain. So, tell me where he is so I can put an end to him, I might even let you live if you cooperate.”
I’m hoping Cas is playing with him and he will die either way because if not, I’m not good with letting them walk away.
I want to destroy them all.
“Okay, let’s try this again, shall we?” Sparky says, joining Cas, “My president is gonna ask you a question, if he doesn’t like the answer you give, I’m gonna cut off one of Kyle’s fingers and after his digits, if you’re still being a cunt, I’ll start on his toes.”
This is more like it.
“Where is Danny?”
He looks torn, Kyle is his weakness. Danny can’t be his if he’s going to give him up for his younger brother.
“Start with his pinky, Sparks,” Cas orders.
This is how a club should be, brothers not having to speak to one another but still know what’s going on.
He’s calling his bluff, but I want him to say nothing, for now. I want to hear his cries as he loses his little finger. Watch the wetness seep down his jeans as he pisses himself in fear, he’s been close for a while but with a blade coming to hack you apart, he’ll piss himself eventually.
Sparky pulls out his knife and it gleams in the light flicking from the light overhead. He can barely take one step before Cayden is trying to lunge at him.
“Don’t, I’ll tell you where he was.”
I step closer again, wanting to hear his next words as clearly as I can.
“I don’t care where he was, I want to know where he is now,” Cas growls.
“I won’t be able to tell you that, he knows you have us so he would’ve moved on for sure. He was staying at the Moonlight Motel. He only stays at motels now.”
It’s not what we wanted to hear, but it’s good enough. It gives us a solid lead to go on. Cas stands at takes a look around, he settles on Ricky and I, then Slade, then Sparky. Every Lost Soul gives the nod in agreement with however Cas decides to proceed.
“His fingers are safe for now. Ricky, Sparky and Noah will stay and keep you company, be nice to them and they won’t have to kill you before I get back.”
I want to stay, slice them both up until they choke on their own blood and tell Cas they tried to escape. Yet, I can’t. One, I wouldn’t lie to my president, and two, I want to be there when we hunt and search every motel and find that fucking cunt, Danny.
Violence is taking up every thought I have and I feel dangerous. Very fucking dangerous.
“They need to be tied up like Oak and Sparky were.”
Everyone looks at me, I didn’t realise I had spoken out loud. Still, it’s only right.
A huge grin spreads across Sparky’s face and he boasts, “Leave it with us.”