Page 55 of Savage

While Doc Gibbons said he’d never recover his genius status and promise, even diminished, Earle was amazing. He’d become interested in baseball, ice hockey, and Harleys. His intelligence was surprising, considering he’d been drugged all his life. Doc Gibbons said there would be times when Earle’s mind might go blank, but it was merely a reset because he was absorbing so much information now.

Earle was delighted to come and live with us. He could have lived alone, but like me, Earle understood the importance of family, and the girls adored him. Earle was a huge, hulking mountain man, but his hair was now neatly cut and beard trimmed. His eyes sparkled once again, where they’d been a watery blue before. He’d lost some weight due to the strokes but was still tall and broad. And so gentle. So very gentle. I could see the boy he’d once been and loved Earle even more.

Grace was adored by Earle. She was his darling angel and spoiled with attention. The moment Grace opened her mouth, Earle was spellbound and sat there listening happily. They spent ages together cooking in the kitchen or watching a series they might have got hooked on, and it would have been easy to be jealous. But there was no room for jealousy. My heart was full of love, thanks to one woman who saw past my fears and saw me.

As each day passed, my love for Grace grew in many different ways. Because she was secure in my love, she blossomed in happiness. And I grew too; I smiled and laughed a bit more frequently. Grace had done that. We’d agreed to rent her house out and were already trying for a baby. I didn’t want to be an old dad; I wanted to play ball and catch with them.

While Grace had been reluctant, holding a few orgasms back worked wonders, and she soon caved to my way of thinking.

We’d been together for four weeks. And it was shocking how we fit so well. I understood my brothers and how quickly they’d fallen and vowed to never mock them again, as I had become pussy whipped too. But there was still some secrets I withheld from Grace. Such as Sandie trying to contact me again.

Warden Gayle Rochester had called to tell me they’d intercepted a letter another inmate had sent on Sandie’s behalf. Gayle informed me that the first part of the letter mentioned Earle being ill and not expected to recover. Sandie mentioned the money that Earle had inherited, reminding me she was entitled to some as Earle’s sister. It made me sick that Sandie was only interested in money and not his health. Well, screw her, Earle was recovering, and Sandie could choke in that hell hole.

It had made me wonder if Sandie had somehow managed to harm Earle from behind bars, but I’d never know the answer. It could have bothered me for the rest of my life, giving Sandie power over me, but I managed to let it go. With effort.

The second part of the letter mentioned the newspaper articles, and Sandie asked how much her silence was worth. I asked Gayle to pass on a message. And that was Sandie could do as she wished, because she had no power over me. And it was a power play that Sandie was trying to pull. More fool her. I hadn’t heard anything since.

I was also a full brother now. We were down to three prospects, and when Tye and Carmine were playing, poor Harley copped everything. Drake was considering looking at more candidates, but Rage was large enough already, and he was reluctant to trust newcomers with everything that still happened in the background. But that was quickly resolved when Cody and Christian, Drake’s twenty-two- and twenty-year-old sons, applied as prospects.

Cody had been accepted as prospect three years ago, but Drake had put it on hold because Cody had stepped up to learn how to run the Trusts with Phoe. Christian had joined his older brother and was now ready to become a prospect. The two of them wanted to relieve some of the pressure off of Phoe. Eighteen-year-old Jared and seventeen-year-old Aaron had also shown interest, so Drake would have his prospects come hell or high water.

Grace got her demon dog husky, a bitch called Echo. And yeah, Echo had slept on the bed after the second night. Grace couldn’t stand her sad howls.

Life was good, as good as it should be. And I doubted it would get better.

But four weeks later, I knew it could when Grace got a positive pregnancy result. Yippee-ki-ay.

Epilogue.

Rapid City.

People sat upright at three in the morning as a low rumble jolted them from their sleep. ‘Earthquake’ ran through their minds, and they soon settled back down. The quake hit a three on the Richter scale, causing some eyebrows to lift, but it was nothing to worry about. It was a minor quake, and there was no need to panic. South Dakota had plenty of small quakes. This one didn’t mean anything.

Aurora.

Klutz nearly came out of his skin as Aurora sat bolt upright. The quake woke him, and he’d been settling back down.

“The roads will run with magma, blood flows, death. The streets will fill with lava, and it’ll be the precursor to the end. The poisoned ones will attack within six months of the event. One will fall, several wounded, and life changes for the winners.”

Klutz scribbled down what Aurora was saying, and then his wife laid down and simply went back to sleep. Klutz picked up the phone and dialled Drake.

Drake had demanded to know whenever Aurora had a vision. This one was a doozy.

In the Black Hills.

The woman checked her equipment and nodded. Everything was happening just as she said. They’d laughed her out of the office, calling her a scaremonger and drama queen. But now she had the evidence, even if they wished to deny it. Rapid City was about to see an event it hadn’t met before.

Crawling back into her tent, she patiently recorded everything and sent it to the office. Of course, they’d sneer and disparage her, but she wanted a record.

When Rapid City ran hot with lava, she wasn’t having anyone point the finger at her. Nor would she stand by and let them say they weren’t warned. They had been told. Now she needed to somehow convince the officials in Rapid City that she wasn’t a crackpot. That lava was about to flow through its streets despite not having a volcano under it.

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