Page 23 of Chained
“What do you do to us?”
“It depends. Nothing, if you’re not breaking the law.” Terry hoped that was true, although he couldn’t really guarantee it.
They reached the guest house and hurried up the stairs. Terry grabbed a few CDs at random so he’d have something to show in case someone stopped him. True, the CDs didn’t constitute a very good excuse for this detour, but he hoped that could be chalked up to the whims of a shallow wannabe actor. Edge watched him anxiously, his muscles tense, and seemed to relax when Terry led him back out onto the lawn.
“I didn’t come here because of you,” Terry said, keeping his voice low so they wouldn’t be overheard. “I don’t know if anyone at the Bureau even knows you exist. But the Bureau suspects that Whitaker’s fucking around with things he shouldn’t. I came here to find out whether that’s true. If it is, he’ll be… arrested.” Taken care of, more like.
Edge lifted his chin. “What do you think he’s doing?”
The idea left such a bitter taste that it was hard to get the words out. “We think he’s convincing his clients to sell their souls in exchange for fame.”
“S-souls?” Judging from Edge’s wide eyes, this was news to him. He seemed horrified. “Why?”
“I don’t know. He may be a broker for the forces of evil… or whatever it is that likes to acquire souls. Whitaker collects ’em, the evil forces make sure the clients make it big, and Whitaker gets all the power and money he wants.” Terry suspected that the power was just as important to Whitaker as the cash. If not more so.
“Oh.” Edge let out a shaky breath. “Will you tell your Bureau? Will they arrest him?”
“I’ll tell them, but I don’t know if I have enough proof. The fucker’s hinted at it, I’ve got circumstantial evidence, but I don’tknowhe’s guilty.” Except for the knowingness in his gut. But the Bureau didn’t care about Terry’s gut.
Edge clearly didn’t know what to make of this, and Terry could hardly blame him. But there wasn’t time for lengthy explanations; Terry needed to get the fuck out of here before Whitaker changed his mind.
“Come with me,” Terry ordered. “You can be free, Edge. The Bureau can help you. I’ll help you. Just come with me.”
“Can’t.”
Terry struggled to keep his voice quiet. “Why? You can’t be…. I don’t know all the things he does to you, but you don’t deserve any of it. You deserve your own life.”
“My brothers….”
“We’ll tell the Bureau about them, and they’ll get sprung too.”
Edge firmed his chin. “There used to be four of us. Four brothers. But Butch was… he didn’t obey.”
A chill shot down Terry’s spine, making him shudder, and his stomach balled into a knot. “What happened?”
“The boss beat him at first. Often. It didn’t help.” Edge looked straight ahead. “Then the boss neutered him.”
Oh, holy fuck. “Neutered. You mean—”
“That’s what people do with a bad dog to get him to behave.”
Terry didn’t know whether to puke or cry. “Edge—”
“I took care of Butch while he was healing. I saw exactly what was done to him. And I also saw it wasn’t enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Butch only got worse. Didn’t obey at all. Then one day he… hebitthe boss.” Edge’s voice rasped with the horror of the memory.
Although Terry didn’t want to ask, he did so anyway. “What happened?”
“The boss put my brother down.”
“God.” Terry almost stumbled down the stairs leading to the parking area. There was the IROC-Z, as promised, with the keys in the ignition. Then a thought struck him. “Tell that story at the Bureau and it won’t matter anymore whether that fucker is actually stealing souls. Jesus, Edge, they can get him for killing Butch.” It wasn’t exactly murder since Butch hadn’t been human, but the Bureau generally didn’t concern itself with small legal details like that.
But Edge backed up a step. “Duke and Holt. If I leave in your car, how long before your Bureau agents get here? Long enough for the boss to hurt them.”
Terry wanted to argue, but Edge was right. “Run and get them. They can come with us.”
