Pope
“What do you make of Dex?”
I opted to drive the truck over to the Mill so Rick didn’t have ride with the prospect in question, looks like he wants to talk about him though.
“Do you think he’ll make the cut?” he adds to his first question.
I take a minute to think it over. When we vote a prospect into the club, word normally goes around the brothers and that’s when I think seriously about my vote. Dex is a little like Ricky when he was prospecting. He’s strong and reliable, always ready to put the club before himself and he doesn’t question anything. I like him as much as I like anyone.
“I don’t see why not,” I mutter, “Why do you ask?”
“I didn’t give him the time of day before the blast, I’ve got to know him a bit since he’s been driving me everywhere. I’ll vote him in when the time comes.”
His response doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen him giving the prospect the time of day.
“Ky was telling me you’ve decided on a big wedding.”
This makes him smile. When Kyla was born I dreaded her growing up, the thought of boys wanting her and putting their slimy fucking hands on her, it wound me up to no end. But when Ricky has that goofy ass grin on his face when he speaks of her, I don’t have anything to dread.
“I want everyone to see my ring going on her finger, watching her become my wife.”
The pride in his voice gives me hope I won’t have to destroy him for ever hurting her. With that amount of love, it can’t be possible.
We arrive at the Mill and the conversations dies out. Everyone else is already here and we walk straight in to the sight of Cayden strung up to the rafters. It’s a beautiful view of a dead man still breathing.
“Pope, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been telling our new friend about your soft touch. I think he wants to find out for himself,” Cas says, moving away from Cayden to let me by.
I stride over and stop so close to him, he can feel my breath on his face.
“I’ve been waiting for this, I’m going to make you hurt real bad.”
Oh, it feels good to say it to his face now and be able to follow through with my promises.
His eyes remain staring down at the floor, but I don’t need him to look at me, as long as he hears me, that’s all I care about.
“My brother here, has his own cemetery where he takes the men we dispose of. Guess where you’ll be by the end of the week, because that’s how long it’s gonna take us to kill you, fuckin’ days,” Sparky laughs, taking much pleasure installing fear into him.
“Oh yeah, I have a special place waiting for you, down deep in the ground so I can throw your brother on top of you and you can rot for eternity together.”
He slowly looks up and if I were a weaker man, it would send a chill down my spine. However, I’m not a weaker man and it does nothing to me.
Blood trickles down from the corner of his mouth and from the indent in his side, he has a broken rib or two. When Cas told me Cayden was free game, I tooled up before leaving the cabin. Keeping Oak in the fore front of my mind, I yank the hunting knife from my belt and lightly drag the tip down his chest.
I wait for the go ahead from Cas. The anticipation rises, and not a breath can be heard. A storm is hovering above us and all I’m waiting for is the first drop of blood to fall, to seep into my pores and stain my skin with his death.
“Cut him up, brother,” Cas says, low and clear.
Tipping his chin up with the blade, he watches my mouth curl and hears me say, “With pleasure.”
Every swipe across his chest is measured to inflict pain but not kill. We don’t want him bleeding out and dying on us before we’re ready, but it will hurt him every time he breathes in too deeply, every time he moves. From now on, he will never experience another minute without pain in his life.
He tenses his jaw and hisses through the pain, until, I stop and tilt my head, scrutinizing where his weak spot will be.
Gripping onto his hair, I pull his head back and apply the blade across his forehead and down and around his cheek and jaw line.
His blood drenches my hand and the blade slips from my grip. I go to pick it up and carry on, but Cas stops me.
“Let’s not get carried away,” he murmurs, and I have to fight myself to listen.
“Yeah, save some space for the rest of us,” Sparky laughs, taking the knife from me.
I must be losing my touch, the first time he flinches is when Sparky gets too close to him.
“Everything we’re gonna do to your brother, we’re gonna do to you first,” he threatens.
He digs the knife into Cayden’s thigh and leaves it there. The prick’s roar sets off Kyle and Cas jerks his chin at Slade and Ricky, silently telling them to take him into the old office. They haul him up to his feet and he disappears after getting an eyeful of his brother. It strikes me odd that he doesn’t seem to care. He isn’t yelling at us to leave him alone, he looked away and said nothing.
“Tell me about your brother,” Cas starts up again with Cayden but a phone rings from the table and everything stops.
It’s one of their phones, which means, it’s Danny.
“This better be your fuckin’ brother,” Cas growls and picks up his phone, “Look who finally decided to get in touch,” he says, showing us the screen.
He answers it and puts it on speakerphone.
“Nice of you to call us back, wanna say hello to your brothers?” Cas says smoothly.
“Not really, I know you haven’t killed them…”
“Whether they live or die is up to you,” Cas cuts him off.
A chilling chuckle floats down the line.
“They’re fucked then, going after my family won’t get you me.”
Is he for real? I thought I could be a cold-hearted bastard, he takes it to a whole new level.
Cas is stumped for a second, he gets over it and says, “Maybe we should pick up Melissa again, you were more inclined to give us what we wanted when we had her.”
“You won’t find her, she’s long gone.”
“Any last words you’d like me to pass onto your brothers? Cause if you don’t take their place, they will die…today.”
This is it, one way or another, someone is dying very soon.
“Do you think they give me loyalty, Cay would sell me out if he had the brains and Kyle don’t even know me. I look out for myself. Did you honestly believe I gave a shit about them, that I would’ve traded myself for them? Face it, you have nothing to use against me. If you want me, Cas, come and get me yourself.”
The line goes dead and the Lost Souls are left speechless. He fights for a patch but not his brothers, I don’t get it.
Cas walks outside and myself and the brothers follow him out. No one says a word for a full minute before I ask, “What’s next? Cause that cunt has nothing but his sister who we can’t find, to use against him.”
Cas exhales loudly and turns his back to us, muttering, “Fuck knows.”