Page 52 of Callum

“When?” Grant is all business, his questions sharp in the silence of the woods. Dusk in these woods is that special time between. It’s when the creatures that roam in the day and the ones that rule the night cross paths, for better or worse.

“Not long,” Maddock takes a hard left, stepping over a fallen tree before suddenly stopping. “Call came in just after eleven.”

I stop next to Maddock, looking down my nose at the two men currently tied up in the pit at my feet. They’re hogtied and gagged, but I can hear the soft screaming sounds coming from their mouths even from this distance. The cavity they’re currently occupying is approximately ten feet deep and at least as wide, with several piles of fresh earth dotted around the outer edge for additional sound dampening.

“Did you already have this hole in the woods, or is this something you dug specially for these useless cunts?”

Maddock’s loud laugh bounces off the trees around us, one large hand slapping against my back. “It’s more fun if you don’t know.”

“Focus,” Grant growls from his spot on the other side of the opening. “What do we know?”

“John Barrett and Derek Caldor. They’re MACs—faithful lackeys of the Father, but nothing to write home about. Clearly,” he adds, gesturing to the two men on their sides at the bottom of what will become their grave.

“What did they do?” Lachlan’s genuine curiosity draws my attention. He’s squatting on the other side of the hole, watching the men squirm with a sharp smile on his face.

“Found them snooping around the Warehouse. My guys were going to let them go about their business until they busted out this,” Maddock bends, digging something out of the tree we’d just stepped over. It’s a black backpack, which he tosses toward Grant. There’s a beat of silence while Grant unzips the bag, looking at the contents inside.

“Mother fuckers,” he snaps, dropping the bag at his feet before crouching next to the edge of the pit. It’s always a toss-up what Grant will do when he gets this angry. Odds are, he’ll shoot the poor fucks where they lay, but there’s always the chance he’ll drag them from the depths to kill them with his bare hands. “Did he put you up to this?”

There’s a riot of noise from the men, but none of it can be understood around the gags in their mouths. Leave it to the Father to choose weak-willed fuckbags as his loyal subjects.

Grant looks up, a vicious sneer marring his face. “Bury them.”

“Yes, Boss,” we all speak in unison, knowing now is not the time for jokes. Whatever was in that bag pissed Grant off, and I’m unwilling to poke at a pissed-off MacAlister. Grant stands, kicking the backpack into the hole before turning to stomp away.

I hear Merrick release a breath when Grant moves out of earshot. “He’s a scary son of a bitch when he wants to be.”

“No shit,” I agree, searching the ground around us. How the fuck did Maddock dig out this much dirt without a machine? “What’s in the bag?”

“Bugs.” Maddock moves around me, sliding two shovels out of the hollowed-out tree. I raise a disbelieving brow at him when he tries to hand me one.

“Absolutely not.”

“Yeah, it’s full of listening devices. I destroyed them all before bringing—”

“No,” I interrupt, shaking my head violently from side to side. “I don’t give a shit about the bugs. I’m not filling in a ten-by-ten hole by hand while wearing a bespoke suit.”

Maddock’s shoulders shake with laughter as he steps toward me, forcing the shovel into my hand. “Yes, you are, or I’ll put you in the hole with them.”

“Come on, Doc! It’ll be fun,” Lachlan smiles brightly, snatching the other shovel out of Maddock’s hand.

“Are you really going to pretend you didn’t miss this?” Maddock asks from where he’s shoulders deep in the hollowed-out tree again. He comes up with two more shovels, handing one to Merrick, who looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.

Lachlan’s smile only grows as he digs the first scoop of dirt from the closest pile. He drops the contents of the heaping shovel into the pit, little clumps of black soil raining down on the men who are now very clearly begging for their lives. I can hear cries of “please” and “help me” from here.

It’s annoying.

“How are we going to explain this to the Father?” My eyes snap to Merrick digging his shovel into the pile closest to him. “He has to know they’re here.”

“Oh, shit.” Lachlan stops mid-scoop. “He’s gonna know it was us.”

Dirt rains down on the men again, and I turn to the pile behind me only to find Maddock stabbing a shovel into it. “Grant will think of something. Now get back to shoveling, or I’ll put you all in the hole with them.”

Fair enough. I shift my grip on the shovel, pressing the scoop into the opposite side of the pile between me and Maddock.

After the screams of the men have been muffled into nothingness, the only sounds left are the harsh scrapes of metal against rock and the ragged breathing of four men doing manual labor. Eventually, I hear Maddock chuckle darkly at my side. I stop to look at him, a questioning eyebrow raised. He meets my gaze with a wide smile.

“Welcome home, brother.”

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