Page 63 of Savage

It’s 10:00am when I hear the van, and the roar of bikes as Prez, and the rest of the boys pull in the drive. Indie’s sleeping soundly so I slip my arm out from beneath hers and ease off the bed, shoving my legs into my jeans and throwing on a fresh shirt. I snag yesterday’s clothes from the pile on the floor, along with Indie’s. They’ll all have to be burned. She was covered in blood and brain matter when I threw her in the shower last night. I shake my head. I really need to stop shooting fuckers at close range in front of her.

I head downstairs and meet Prez as he’s entering the kitchen. “You okay, kid?”

“Yeah. Indie was a little shaken up, and the old coot wouldn’t take any of the morphine last night. I haven’t seen him this morning, so he’s probably dead by now.”

“Speak for your fuckin’ self, you little fuck,” Country shouts from the hall. I turn to see him exiting the gym, arms full of loot: wallets, police baton, and One Eye’s cut.

I turn to Prez. “Jesus, the fucker doesn’t die, and he has supersonic hearing?”

“Yeah, I’m fuckin’ Batman, kid. I’ve already been for a run, taken out a couple bad guys, and made Gotham City safe again this morning while you lazy bastards slept the day away. Though by the way you two was screaming last night, can’t say I blame ya.”

I roll my eyes. Country sets his loot down on the kitchen bench and begins emptying out the wallets. “You mind if I keep this shit, Prez?”

“Baton and gun gotta stay with the body, Country. They’re police issue; we don’t want no one asking questions about where they came from. Burn the cards, but you can have anything else.”

“What do we do with the bodies?” I ask.

“I got a chainsaw out back. We’ll chop ’em up, weight ’em, and dump them in the dam. It’s far enough away for no one to go lookin’.”

“Even One Eye?

“He’s a traitor, ain’t he?”

“And Squeals?”

“I gotta go tell the kid’s poor girl that he died protecting an innocent woman. He wasn’t patched, but he’ll have a club funeral. I’ll see to that. I already called Shady. He’ll be here later to pick up Squeals’ body.” Shady was another freelance healthcare practitioner that the club had on speed dial—if by health care you meant freak of nature who liked to play with dead things. He worked the crematory near the clubhouse, and for the right amount of money he’d happily fire up the machine after hours. We call him Shady, because he’s shady as fuck. What other man do you know that sits alone in a crematorium jacking off to the scent of burning bodies?

Come to think of it, Crazy would probably go in for that shit.

As though he’s reading my mind Prez says, “I got Crazy out in the paddock setting the cop car alight. Fucker’s like a kid on Christmas morning.”

I hadn’t seen the cop car last night, which means he must have parked it at the back of the house while I was out.

“Listen, kid. We searched the Cop’s house this morning. Found a secret room hidden beneath the garage. He had a fuckin’ shrine dedicated to your old lady. Pictures, hair, teeth, video tapes stacked all neatly in a row. I haven’t seen anything like it before. And she wasn’t the only one. There’s a whole slew of bitches they been doing this stuff to. Sickest fuckin’ shit I ever saw. I removed any trace of her, got our goddamn tape back too.” He takes a deep breath and then says, “I found your priest. He’s yours if you want it. Otherwise, I’ll pull Tank from junkie duty and send him—”

“I want him,” I say, resolutely. The need to destroy this fucker burns through my veins like acid. I want so badly to meet him face to face and put him to ground knowing he hurt what was mine.

“You have to take me with you,” Indie says from the lounge room. I didn’t even see her come down the stairs. “You promised me, Daniel.”

“Yeah, I know,” I say, shaking my head as she comes into the room wearing another of Mia’s expensive outfits, this one a silk sundress. It’s the first time I’ve seen her in a dress, and I immediately want to take her back upstairs and remove it.

“You sure you’re ready for that, darlin’?” Prez asks.

Indie glares at him, her eyes glinting with bloodlust. It’s a good look on her, but I know better than any that that kind of hunger comes at a cost. “I’m sure.”

“Babe, you don’t need to go. I can put that fucker to ground and you never have to see him again.”

Turning to me, she frowns. “I have to do this. I thought you understood that?”

“I do,” I say, avoiding her angry gaze. “Doesn’t mean I have to fuckin’ like it.”

“I need to do this, Daniel.”

“You can’t take the bike. Too noisy; too fuckin’ showy. Cops are already watching the club for her.”

“What do you mean they’re watching the club?”

“They’re watching every fuckin’ club. That’s why I wanted her arse inside and away from the fuckin’ windows.”

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