Page 22 of Pyro

“She’s nineteen Chase. An adult. I can’t ground her.”

“Don’t see why not. She has a brother she needs to look after. By the way, good luck with that hellion. That little shit is fast, has a mouth on him, never shuts up and refuses to bathe.”

“Cameron is a six-year-old little boy, Chase. He’s supposed to be that way. You are acting weirder than usual. Why?”

Getting to my feet, I paced. “I don’t want her or that kid here. She makes me nervous.”

“She?”

“Both of them,” I quickly amended.

“How so?”

I was about to respond when an ear-piercing scream reached my ears, only to be followed by the sudden crash of my door being flung open and the subsequent tackle from a muddy, mischievous six-year-old.

I was going to throttle this kid.

I swear I was.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I yelled as I tried to peel the varmint off me. Covered in mud from head to toe, Cameron clung to me tightly. So much for being clean. Now, I was as dirty as him! Getting a good grip on him, I held the brat at arm’s length and scowled. “Jesus Christ, kid. What in the hell is that smell?! Boy, just what in the hell did you get into this time? Do you purposefully find the most disgusting shit to play in or are you just gifted?”

“The mean one is chasing me!”

“What?”

Just then, Bailey rushed in, her too covered in mud as fire shot from her eyes. King leaned back in my chair, quickly covering his mouth to hide his laughter. Me on the other hand, took a step back, yanking the kid behind me. “Now Bailey, he’s just a little boy. You can’t kill him even if he deserves it.”

“He’s a demon!”

I nodded. “Yes. That is true, but he’s a harmless demon. A dirty, aggravating demon that means no harm.”

“He found Scribe’s manure for the greenhouse and thought it was a dirt pile. Before we could stop him, he started running for it. When I tried to grab him, that little shit threw manure at me!”

Groaning, I pulled the brat out from behind me and glared down as I growled, “You played in shit!?”

“Thought it was a gigantic pile of dirt. Didn’t smell the shit until I was in it. Could happen to anyone.”

King lost the plot and roared boisterously.

Bailey narrowed her eyes at him, then me, before she silently threatened violence before storming away.

“Kid, ifshe retaliates, you are on your own.”

Cameron gulped. “She’s scary.”

“You have no idea,” I quipped.

It took me, King and Scribe to wash the brat. In the end, we just hosed him down and called it a day. Cameron Hobbs really didn’t enjoy getting wet. At all. My gut was telling me there was something deeper rooted in the why, but until I got myself clean again, I really didn’t care.

By some miracle, by the time I stepped out of the shower again, the brat was finally out like a light. I threatened death to anyone who dared wake him before morning. That kid was a menace to society, and I just knew this club wouldn’t survive him.

Taking my seat in church, I reached into my clean sweatpants for a pack of gum. Popping the small cube into my mouth, I sighed.

I’d always loved gum. Didn’t know why.

I didn’t care much for sweets but give me a good pack of gum and I was happy.

“Alright everyone,” King said, walking in closing the door behind him. “Let’s make this quick. Don’t know how long the kid will sleep. From what Skylar told me, he doesn’t sleep for long. Maybe six or seven hours at a time.”

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