Page 45 of Like An Animal
“Do I really have to be here, man?” I hear Tiernan’s voice long before I see him and it’s enough to piss me the fuck off.
He’s still on my shit list. However, if I’m able to work this deal out without any bloodshed, I won’t be able to kill him. Rock, meet hard place.
My woman is more important than a little petty revenge.
“The meeting is with all of us, scaredy cat,” someone says.
“I’m not scared! Why would I be scared of Borza?” Tiernan’s voice squeaks and I smirk. He should be scared of me. Everyone should be.
“Bitch, Sorcha told me how you jumped when Bron messed with you by saying he was right behind you. You squealed like a damn pig.”
“Fuck you, man! And fuck your girlfriend for telling you about that. I can’t help that I danced with his sister ONE TIME and he has hated me ever since. For fuck’s sake, I’m married now. You don’t think he’ll still be pissed, do you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Do you think your wife would be very happy if she knew how much you used to whore around?” That one was definitely Finn.
“Ugh. Fair point.”
“You know he can hear you, right?” Massimo speaks up as they walk into the warehouse we chose for this meeting. Their heads snap around and I notice two of them are missing. I see Rian, Tiernan, and Finn, but where the fuck are Eoghan and Colin? I was specific about all of them being present. And why the fuck is Francine here and who is the extra person in tow? There’s supposed to be five Bastards, not seven.
“Jeremy!” Francine waves before she bounces over like a damn child and throws her arms around me. I blanche at her for a minute, completely fucking confused.
Why the fuck is Francine Grayhuggingme?
I don’t hug people. The only person I have ever hugged, that I can recall at least, was Bronwyn and even that was few and far between. It’s something reserved for special occasions.
Because of the shock, I gently pat her back and she pulls away. “It’s good to see you. We were all worried when you and Bron disappeared.”
What the fuck is happening here? I had a few classes over the years with Francine, mostly electives, but we were never friends. I didn’t have friends outside of my boys and my woman.
I ignore her words because what is there for me to say?
I glare daggers at Tiernan and watch as the fucker cowers like a little bitch. If I’m the only person in the world he fears, it brings me immense satisfaction to know I haunt his dreams. He should fear the day I make good on my promise to gut him like a pig.
“Where are the others?” Massimo speaks up for me as Finn makes his way over to us, his friends close behind. “Our request was specific. Trust me. If Jeremy didn’t want any of your brothers here, it would be party boy over there.”
Finn doesn’t speak for a minute, his facial muscles tensing, before he looks up to me. “Colin is no longer a Bastard and Eoghan… he’s unreachable.”
“And, the newbie?” Massimo presses, probably already knowing the questions I would want answered.
Finn snaps his head around, looking truly confused until his gaze lands on the big guy with long dark hair and bright green eyes. He stands out like a sore thumb. The only one he doesn’t tower over is Rian and that’s just because Rian is a beast in his own right. Still, the newcomer is half a foot taller than Rian and is bulkier than Finn.
“Oh, you mean Damien?” Finn turns back to face us. “He’s one of us. He’s an honorary Bastard. He’s earned that spot ten times over. I doubt you haven’t heard of him, even from wherever you’ve been.”
Heard of him?
Francine bounces toward the Damien dude before placing her hand on his arm, but he just looks down at her hand like it offended him.
“Jer,thisis Damien King.”
That catches my attention.Everyonehas heard of Damien King, but he can’t be the infamous Halloween Killer.
The north portion of this country was on high alert two years ago when he escaped and went on a killing spree in Wisconsin. Before then, it had been well over a decade since anyone had heard a peep from Damien King–partly because he was in prison.
“You meantheDamien King?” Massimo presses, but I stay silent.
Damien remains silent as he pulls his arm away from Francine who barely notices, but flashes a big smile. “The one and only. And don’t worry about him. He’s just a big ole teddy bear now.” Damien looks at her like she’s the biggest idiot he has ever met.
But, he doesn’t say anything.
