Page 8 of Coal
“Fine,” her mother throws her hands up in the air and turns to us, holding out her hand first to me when she notices my patch, “Hi, I’m Moira. I live over the road next to Butcher.”
“Nice to meet you,” I reply, giving her hand a quick shake, very aware of the large glaring man watching us like a hawk.
“I own the bakery that you passed when you rode through this part of the city. Pop in tomorrow, and I’ll have some pastries put aside.” Turning back to Butcher and Mikayla, she tells her daughter, “Come on, young lady, it’s bath and bed for you.”
“Kay, bye,” she turns and presses a wet kiss to Butcher’s cheek before allowing her mother to take her.
We watch until they disappear into the house over the road before cracking up. Even Butcher’s lips are tilted up at the edges.
“How do you ever say no to that?” Copper wants to know.
Butcher shrugs, and his eyes have lost their hard look. “I don’t, which is why she gets away with murder with me.”
Sean laughs and slaps his nephew's shoulder, “I have to go, lad. Are you good here?”
Butcher nods, assuring his uncle, “All good, Uncle Sean.”
Sean turns back to me. “I’ll see you lads tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Sean,” I reply. We wait until he disappears down the road, then move to our sleds and grab our gear. Turning towards Butcher, I tell him, “Appreciate you letting us stay here. Happy to reciprocate if you’re ever near us.”
“Thanks,” Butcher nods. “Good luck with Kelly. Watch your backs. He’s not a good man. Very wealthy and very powerful, but bad to the bone. You have my number. Call me if you need anything.”
Taking his warning and his offer at face value, I say, “Thanks, and we will if we need to. Don’t want to drag you into anything if we can help it. Especially as you seem to have responsibilities living next door to you that could be used against you.”
Butcher nods. “Okay, have a good night.” On those words, he leaves us and jogs over the road towards his house, his dog following alongbehind him before they both disappear into it as silently as he arrived.
“Interesting character,” Copper comments, walking past me towards the house we’ll be staying in.
“Very,” I agree, following him.
“Deadly,” Brass comments from behind us. “Yep,” Iron agrees. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s been in the military.”
“Not all wars are fought in the military,” Bolt remarks, surprising me with his insight.
“Very true, brother,” Blue agrees quietly. “Some are fought from the time you take your first breath.”
His comment makes me wonder about his history. For the most part, I didn’t pry into the new brothers’ lives. I knew the Cursed Skulls wouldn’t have sent me prospects that couldn’t be trusted. Blue wasn’t wrong, though; we’d seen it time and again. Recently it was brought home to us again, knowing one of our own had suffered. Chains’ son had lived it until Maestro had found him and brought him home. It made me grateful for the parents I’d been born to and the childhood my brothers and my sister had had.
Butcher had more than stocked the house with just basics. After a quick bite to eat, we found our beds. We were getting up at three in the morning so that we could get to the Kelly property early and set up while most were still asleep to do our recon. We weren’t due to meet him until tomorrow mid-morning.
***
Not wanting to wake up our neighbours, I have my brothers push their sleds to the end of the road before we start them up. It was a great time to ride with hardly any traffic; we make good time. About a mile from the Kelly property, we pull over. Sterling had given us coordinates for somewhere to hide our sleds. Iron gets off his sled and searches up and down the side of the road, looking for the track we need. Sterling had told us it was hidden. He must find it because he jogs back to us, “Found it, Pres.”
“We’ll follow you,” I tell him. We don’t waste time and soon are hidden amongst a dense copse of trees. Behind us, Brass and Bolt are using a branch to wipe away our tracks. It won’t fool anyone who knows much about tracking, but it will do for what we need.
“We need to take turns staying with the sleds. All except for Blue.” Turning to Blue, I see he’squickly and efficiently putting his rifle together and is nearly done. “Do you know where you’re going?” I ask him.
“I do, Pres,” he confirms. “Sterling and I checked on the images he could find. I’ve got my phone, but it’s on silent. We need to discuss a better way of staying in touch on assignments.”
“We will,” I assure him. “Do you need a spotter?”
“Nah, not for this,” he confirms.
“Okay, head on out. Let me know when you’re set up.”
“Will do, Pres.”
