“Yes, please,” I reply, watching Lyker’s widening eyes as he realizes there’s no way out of this unless it’s ablaze in pain and no glory.
I smell rather than hear the stream of urine as it happens, and I carefully step back as I glance down to see Lyker pissing himself from the hole Devon made.
“At least that part works,” I grunt. “Have some dignity, old man. You know you deserve this. This so-called ghost left you behind as a reminder of your crimes. If I cared enough, I’d be upset about not getting those answers, but you’re a blight in this world. I think it’s time to rectify that.”
“We got the human bonfire,” Burner says, coming back with gasoline and excitement in his eyes. Nothing makes him happier than lighting shit on fire. “Why don’t you step out, Prez. You really need shoes for this.”
“I didn’t want to track the blood everywhere,” I say absently, leaning down until all Lyker can see is me. “When you head to hell, I want you to remember my face, old man. Silence is just as bad as being the entire fucking problem, and this is how we deal with those who betray us.”
Picking my way out of the club house, I grab my socks outside the doors and begin to put them on as Burner douses Lyker’s body with the accelerant. There’s a lot of fucking alcohol in this building, and that gives me an idea.
“Empty some of the liquor to help it all burn,” I suggest. “We want the evidence of whoever left their mark here to be destroyed. This was an execution. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that shit, even if we don’t know who that is. All I care about at the moment is that they left Lyker alive for us.”
Devon and my men move in tandem, upending liquor over dead bodies and furniture, never thinking to take a sip for themselves. We have booze at home, and we’re working now. That’s one thing I’m glad to see: the men who are here are loyal as fuck.
The ones who are the problem children need to fucking go.
Devon walks over to me as a match is dropped over Lyker’s body, and the burning alpha’s screams punctuate his steps. The rest of our men walk out of the building as well, while Burner lives his best firebug life tossing burning matches around the room. His hoots and smiles making me chuckle under my breath as I finish putting my boots on, and as I walk down the steps, I realize someone even washed my fucking shoes.
My money is on Ransom having done it, but I have no idea when he had the time.
“Are you still feeling murderous?” Devon finally asks as we watch the building burn from the yard.
“Mmhmm,” I reply, waiting to see where he’s going with this.
“While I can’t kill Toad, I’m not against kicking out the other six men that make my life fucking miserable,” he says. “My money is on Toad shacking up with the RMs for a while to heal his leg wound and pride. You reminded me today that sometimes, bloodshed sends a message even if no one sees it.”
“Don’t we know people with a pig farm?” I tease him. “It’s fucking Illinois in the middle of nowhere, Devon.”
“Yeah, yeah. I actually do know someone,” he says. “Toad’s digging in deep with the Reaping Marauders, and the president’s daughter is a pawn.”
“We can’t save everyone,” I say, sounding uncaring. I’m not completely a dick, but I am more concerned with taking care of my own right now.
No one can ever call me altruistic.
“Let’s make sure the fire doesn’t show any signs of going out, and then we’ll head back to take out the trash,” I suggest.
“Hey, a little respect for the firebug, please,” Burner yells from behind me.
Turning, I see that he’s scaled the flag pole so he can watch the fire from the best perch like a proud papa. My smile dies slowly as I remember Marie crying because she hoped she was pregnant.
“It’s a rollercoaster we can’t get off,” Devon says, seeing how serious I just got. “I wish I could bring my brother back from the dead just so I can beat the fuck out of him. I know that sounds sadistic, but I’m so fucking mad at him.”
“He did the best he could with the information he had,” I say. “Devon, he knew he wasn’t going to make it. He wanted to be under the same roof as Marie when he died. I wasn’t going to fight a dying man. He was losing too much blood.”
“I didn’t say how I feel makes any sense,” Devon breathes. “Since I can’t beat the fuck out of Lore, I’ll do the next best thing and protect my club until I can kill Toad and the club he’s decided to fuck his way into.”
“What’s his angle?” I ask. “Does he want to rise through their ranks? That typically takes time.”
“He wants to take over what’s mine with their help,” he sighs. “I can’t prove it, but that’s what I think his plans are. He’s tired of playing second fiddle to me.”
“Then he’s not meant for the job,” I grunt. “Find yourself a second you trust and then promote him once Toad is dead.”
“Working on it,” Devon says. We’ve been talking quietly so as not to garner any attention, but now he raises his voice. “That’s enough, boys. Burner, put your chubby away. It’s time to go. Wilder and Ransom have an omega to get back to!”
Fuck yeah we do.
Chapter Eight
