Page 45 of Lost Soul

The cage Nyx will drive and we will protect all the way to Cannonville, is good to go, and the two of us are ready for a drink. We’re making our way towards the clubhouse but are stopped in our tracks when Prez comes storming out. He has a look in his eyes that I haven’t seen for years, and it puts me straight on edge.

“Church,” he yells, barging past Troj and knocking the beer clean out his hand. Shit’s gone down, that much is obvious, and I already feel the trickle of adrenaline in my blood, readying me for whatever that shit might be.

We follow him into church, joined moments later by the rest of the gang. Prez is stood at the head of the table, while all our eyes glance at each other nervously. Prez standing ain’t a good sign, not at all.

“Someone’s got Hayley,” he speaks calmly, and controlled, though his eyes are wild. I’m on my feet before he’s even finished his sentence.

“Who?” I shout.

“Tommy just called, blacked-out van took her and the bitch from school she’s been hanging out with lately.”

My heart stops, and my skin chills when I hear they got Maddy too.

“He kept back, followed them to some abandoned factory just outside of Pueblo,” Prez continues.

“Bastards.” The bones in my neck crack when I stretch it from one side to the other. My mind focusing on only one thing, Bastard blood wetting my knife.

If one hair has been touched on either those girl’s heads, I’ll slice open every one of them and spit on the hell seeking souls that crawl from their bodies.

“What we fuckin’ waitin’ for, Christmas? Let's go.” Troj is up now too, practically bouncing on his feet. He can smell the fuckin’ fight, and he craves it as much as I do.

“Tommy's got eyes on the place now. Arm up and let's ride out,” Prez tells us.

“Ye hah! It’s kill time, Screwy,” Squealer shakes his brother’s shoulders, and Screwy’s eyes light up like it actually is fucking Christmas.

Everyone rushes out, the thunder of bikes starting to fill the yard. Prez pulls me back before I saddle mine, smacking something inside my palm.

“You take care of that till Chop comes back, son.” I wait for him to walk away before I looked down into my hand, and I almost choke on the lump in my throat when I see the VP badge staring back up at me. It’s worn and faded, the same one my pa had stitched to his cut when he was VP of this Charter. And although I’m only stepping in while Chop’s away, I know this is Prez showing me that I have the potential to be his second man someday.

I have little time for emotions now though, and I quickly seat up. Skid nods his approval at me when I take my new position on the left side of Prez. We wait for Prez’s right hand, and when it lifts in the air and points forward, we follow our leader out on to the road. It’s time to rain a whole ton of shit on the Bastards for thinking they can fuck with our family.

The men eventually clear out the room leaving just the weasel guarding us. His phone rings not long after and he turns his back on us to walk out of earshot, I see it as my chance.

“Maddy,” I whisper.

She looks up at me, her eyes red and raw from crying. “Listen. I think I can untie myself,” I tell her.

“So what if you can? They’ll kill us if we run.” Her voice doesn’t hold a thread of hope, and it makes me furious.

“Maddy Summers!” I overexaggerate my voice. “Miss enthusiastic, glass half full, life’s one long ride on a fuckin’ fun cloud herself giving up… Nah ah. I don’t fucking think so.”

I stretch out my bound hands, crossing my fingers to make them as narrow as possible, then hook the thumb of my other hand between the ropes. I twist the opposite wrist, working against the rope to loosen it. It’s tight but not too taut for me to eventually make a gap that’s big enough for my thumb to fit through.

Gradually I start to pull the rope apart, my wrists on fire from the friction of the coarse rope rubbing against my skin. But feeling the knots loosen slightly on the other hand make it all worth it.

“Maddy, do you know who these men are?” I whisper, trying to distract myself from the pain.

“The older guy yeah, but I had no idea he was like your daddy and his guys.” She shakes her head.

“He’s not,” I keep my voice low. “He’s the guy who had my mom killed, he tried to get me killed too. He hates my father and the club. How do you know him?” I ask, and Maddy's face drops.

“My mom got herself into some trouble with him.” She lets out a long breathe, and the shame on her face tells me not to push any further. Not now anyway. She’s clearly riddled with guilt for being the reason we’re in this situation, and I need her strong now, we can talk when we’re out of this mess.

“Do you think they’ll find us?” she asks through trembling lips. And as my hand becomes looser, my heart beats faster, I haven’t come up with a plan for what I’m gonna do next. Whatever it is though involves taking the weasel out, and he has a gun now.

“My daddy will find us, and when he does every single man who was a part of this will die,” I assure her. Faith is already slipping away from her, and if we stand any chance of getting out of here alive, I’m gonna need her to have some fight.

“And then after the massacre, you and Jessie can go on that ride he promised to take you on,” I add, then watch a flicker of a smile battle through her sadness.

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