Page 55 of Condemned Soul

“What’s goin’ on, Prez?” I ask him again, softening my voice, and trying my best not to sound scared.

“Consuela spoke to me briefly when she came to fetch me. Everythin’ she told you is true. I’m here of my own free will. I’m not havin’ any of my brothers bein’ locked up. The deal is done. They get to live their lives,” he admits, flicking his ash into the ashtray and waiting for my response.

“Are you crazy?” my words come out all weak and raspy.

“Are you really asking me that question?” He laughs at me again, but I can tell it’s all a front. “Look, Rogue, I get that no one is gonna get this to start with, it’s why I told no one about it till it was done. But you’ll understand, eventually.”

“I understand, now,” I tell him, feeling all kinds of emotions that I don’t wanna be feeling. Usually hurt and anger is a lethal combination for me, but there seems to be a calmness in the atmosphere surrounding us, one that makes me really think about what this man is doing for everyone.

“I thought they’d sent ya here to try and change my mind,” he admits when we’ve both been silent for far too long.

“Nah. I wouldn’t do that, even if they wanted me to. Us stubborn assholes have to stick together, right?” I pull together a smile for him despite all the fear and pain inside me. “Don’t mean it doesn’t hurt though,” I admit, figuring he deserves that much outta me at least. I sure as hell ain’t gonna let him see the tears that are fighting to come.

“Careful, you're almost soundin’ like you're gonna miss me.” He winks.

“I am gonna miss you.” I stare back at him, hoping he knows just how much I mean that.

“I was never gonna be the man responsible for havin’ Grimm taken away from ya. You two are fuckin’ weird as shit, but you complete each other.” He blows out a cloud of smoke around his grin and it makes me laugh a little.

“Does it have to be this way?” I ask, quickly turning things serious again. I’ve dealt with a lot of blows in my life, but this one is cutting real deep.

“Unfortunately, it does. And I need ya to help everyone else come to terms with it. You may be bat shit crazy, Rogue, but you have a clever way of thinking, you never let your emotions get in the way of logic.”

“You're jokin’, right? You should ask your bitch buddy how we got here.” I laugh through the tears that are still threatening to break.

“She told me.” He nods his head. “And I’d expect nothin’ less outta ya. But Consuela’s not our enemy, and no more treatin’ her like one. All this would have happened anyway, and that's down to Cliff and his actions. Kathrine has allowed me to control this. Without her, everyone would be goin’ down.”

“Kathrine, huh?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t get it twisted, Rogue.” He shakes his head.

“Hey, I never said anythin’,” I hold my hands up in defense. “Who am I to judge the old man gettin’ his kicks from a special agent?” We both laugh and when the laughter stops, I ask him a much more serious question.

“What d’ya need from me, Prez?”

He smiles at me as if he expected it to be coming.

“I always knew you were special, Rogue. If you had a dick, you’d have a cut and every one of my brothers know it. I need ya to stick around, keep that garage runnin’ because Skid is gonna have enough shit on his hands with a kid comin’. But, above all that, I need you to keep everyone safe. Keep ya crazy in its cage until a time comes when it’s needed.” He smiles at me and I look up at those bright lights and hope they will help contain my tears.

“You got it, boss.” I eventually look back at him and nod my head. Then standing up, I lean across the table and place a long, lingering kiss on his forehead.

“You're special too, you know that, right? Not many men would have given a troubled, psychotic kid like me a job.”

“What can I say, good mechanics are hard to come by.” He’s still smiling as I pull away.

“Thank you.” I get a little overwhelmed when I figure these could be the last words I ever say to him. Prison will not be a safe place for a man like Prez, and he knows exactly what he’s getting himself into.

“And when you get inside that jail, you give ‘em fuckin’ hell.” I pull myself together because he needs to know that this feisty, little bitch that he has a soft spot in his heart for, ain’t gonna be letting him down.

“Laters, Prez.” I blow him a kiss before turning my back and walking away, and I manage to hold my tears until I get past the guard on the other side of the door.

Consuela is waiting by the security desk and I hate the look of pity she has for me as she steps toward me.

“Don’t.” I hold my hand up as a warning when she goes to touch me.

“I’ll give you a minute.” She opens the door to outside and gestures for me to head out.

She comes out to the car ten minutes later and I wipe my sleeves over my eyes to get rid of my tears before we make the journey back to her house. I leave her gun in her glove compartment when she pulls up in front of my car and instead of getting out, I sit with her in silence.

---