Page 34 of Condemned Soul

the other side of the yard.

Willow is standing by the clubhouse door and when I look across at her, she shakes her head with all the disappointment she’s got for me.

“You did good.” Ruckus interrupts our stare off, gives me an encouraging slap on the back, and when I look back up to see her again, she’s disappeared.

“It don’t feel fuckin’ good,” I growl, following him into the barroom, unwrapping the tape from around my knuckles and throwing it onto the bar in front of me.

“I get that, but you got a lot to prove to him. He doesn’t trust you,” Ruckus reminds me.

“Don’t see the point when he’s gonna be dead soon.” I seethe through my teeth as I watch the president of this club stroll inside and take his seat in the corner like it’s a fuckin’ throne. He’s got his two ass-lickers either side of him and about four needy whores worshiping the ground he walks on.

“Rocko and Saint are gonna dump the kid outside the hospital.” Dev joins us, nodding his head at the blonde behind the bar and looking every bit as pissed off as I am.

“He was just a fuckin’ kid. Same age as Asher.” He grips the edge of the bar in frustration.

“Chill, Dev.” Ruckus looks between us, reminding us both to keep it together.

“Chill? Are you kiddin’ me? Things are gettin’ outta fuckin’ control around here.” I can hear how angry Dev is from his tone, and once I’ve knocked back the tequila, Blondie just poured me, I scan the room looking for Willow. Her seeing me like that was not something I wanted to happen, and now I need to speak to her to explain that what she just saw wasn’t the real me. Dev is right, things are outta control here. Cliff knows why I’m here, or at least he thinks he does. He’s constantly playing games with me to test my perseverance and beating the crap outta that kid was just the latest in a long line of shit he’s put me through to prove my loyalty.

“We haven’t gotta hold out for much longer, we just have to keep our cool. He wants us to break.” Ruckus waits until there's no one around us before he attempts to keep up our spirits.

“You heard anythin’ from Wrath?” Dev asks, keeping his voice low.

“Nothin’ since last week.” Ruckus shakes his head.

“And I’m assumin’ Jimmer still hasn’t got his answer from Raze.” Dev rolls his eyes.

“We ain’t supposed to know about that shit.” Ruckus throws him a warning look and reminds him to keep his voice down. In this place, you never know who’s listening.

“There ain’t no way Raze is gonna come back here, too many bad memories.” Sasquatch's deep growl is just a whisper as he joins us.

“We gotta think positive.” Ruckus knocks back his beer, remaining focused.

“Well, it’s hard to be positive when we’re not gettin’ anywhere. Cliff is gettin’ worse, it’s almost like he knows what’s goin’ on and is tryin’ to expose the club so we all go down with him.” Dev cracks his knuckles as he stares across the room at our so-called leader.

“That’s exactly what he’s doin’.” I follow his eyeline to where Cliff and Rex have a girl, around Willow’s age, dancing for them. They howl to themselves as they throw bar nuts at her and order her to eat them off the floor like a fuckin’ dog.

“Jimmer needs to shut this down and he needs to do it fast.” Dev shakes his head before he knocks back his shot.

“Polly, have you seen Willow?” I ask the only whore that Willow ever speaks to around here. She’s kind and likes to take care of people. Kinda like Marilyn, except she gets on her knees and sucks cock like a crack pipe.

“I think she went to her room.” She smiles at me sadly.

“Her room? What do you mean, her room?” I get up from the stool I’m resting on.

“Cliff asked me to make her one up a few days ago. Apparently, he wants her to have her own space around here.”

“She doesn’t fuckin’ belong around here.” I push myself off the bar and start heading for the door.

“Whoa, where ya headin’?” Ruckus grabs my arm and holds me back.

“You know exactly where I’m goin’.” I shrug him off.

“C’mon, don’t be an idiot.” He shakes his head.

“I gotta speak to her, what she just saw?—”

“Was what her father wanted her to see. Tawk, he’s warned ya to stay away from her.”

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