Page 177 of Patching Over

“So, we took them, along with Grim and a few of his guys, of course,” I start.

“Let me guess, Rael wanted to play too?” he asks.

“When doesn’t he?” I snarl. I like the brother, but sometimes, I think he enjoys his ability a little too much. “Anyhow, Dragon created his illusion, so all the women and children left with minimal memory of why they were there. Then he had each of the fuckers there, including her parents, turn on one another and take each other out. Rael and Grim reaped their souls, so voila, no cleanup. Easy, right?” I question.

“But it wasn’t,” he whispers.

“No, no it was not,” I growl out. “Seems the women who escaped had just enough memory that they went straight to the police and filed complaints. We were already headed back home when we got a text from Hawg letting us know that the news was reporting that a ‘mysterious group of men’ helped ten women andfortykids escape an abusive situation. The problem is, there’s not a thing left of those assholes for the cops to interrogate, of course, sothey’resaying it’s obviously a case of mass hysteria.”

“I’m not seeing an issue,” Kracken admits.

“Normally, it wouldn’t be, however, remember the shit that our Cedar Creek brothers dealt with? Seems some of the men in those agencies are also members of the Fundamentalists of the Communion. When they got the news, they suspected that Dragon and his crew might’ve been involved.”

“Again, I’m sure y’all put something in place for an alibi,” he says.

“We did, this isn’t our first rodeo, asshole. However, right now, Dragon and Wrecker have been arrested on suspicion of being mass murderers. Technically, they’re right, but with no bodies at all, it’s hard to prove. Plus, Hawg and Beast, with Selah’s help, have been laying down a bunch of false trails. Normally, that’d work, but these fundamentalist fuckersknewwhich women were there, so the agency folks are raising a huge outcry.”

“Are y’all getting Dragon and Wrecker out?” he asks. “What do you need me to do? Bust some heads? Send in an anonymous tip? Just tell me and I’ll do it.”

I’m not sure he’s gonna like what I’m about to request, but it needs to be done. “Come home. We gotta have y’all home, Krack. I need all my people under one roof because I can’t take the chance that they’ll find out you’re out on your own and come after y’all.”

“We’ll hit the road today, Pres,” he replies.

“Safe travels. I’m sending Ban, Scythe, and Butcher out to meet up with y’all once you text to tell me you’re on the way.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY

Kracken

He disconnects, leaving me to stare at the landscape, unseeing, as I think about all the ramifications to our former brothers, as well as our new club.

“Fuck,” I growl out before heading back inside to start packing. I’ll let Moira sleep as long as possible while I get our stuff together and packed into the truck.

I’m drinking my second cup of coffee and turning over the bacon when her arms wrap around me, and she kisses me in the middle of my back. “Good morning,” she says as I pull her around to my side.

Leaning down to kiss her, I say, “Good morning,” against her lips.

“We have to go, don’t we?” she asks, looking around and seeing how clean everything looks.

“Yeah, sweetheart, we’ll eat breakfast, grab showers, then pack up the kittens, and head home. Some of the guys will be joining us halfway to follow us home.”

“We’re not safe,” she whispers, fear crossing her features.

“We are safe, Brick just doesn’t want to take any unnecessary chances,” I reply. “Now, you want coffee or juice this morning? I have the eggs warming in the oven already.”

“I’m going to have some juice and a soda. I’m not as crazy about coffee as you are,” she teases, moving away from me to grab a glass.

I watch her walk around the kitchen and smirk. She’s moving somewhat gingerly, but still, there’s a renewed sense of self-worth and self-confidence in her that wasn’t there before. And I helped give that to her. Seeing the bacon is finished, I put it on the plate then pat away the excess grease with a few paper towels before I take it and the pan of scrambled eggs to the table. She grabs the spatula and takes a portion of the eggs while I put multiple pieces of bacon on her plate before I fill mine up.

“Maybe we should take turns getting our showers,” she muses after taking a sip of her soda. “That way, I can be sure everything is cleaned up.”

“We’ll do it together, babe,” I reply. “Won’t take too long. Power’s still out, so we can’t wash the sheets, but I’ll leave a note for the caretaker so he’s aware. He told me he’ll come and get anything perishable, so we don’t have to worry about traveling with milk and what-not.”

She starts giggling, then asks, “How long is the trip home again?”

“Depends on how fast I drive,” I retort, which has her laughing out loud. “Typically, though, about six hours.”

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