Page 231 of The Monster and the Masochist

It always took a while with new people, but Logan, Ronan, and Dakota had caught on pretty quick, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard them bust in through the back door, bickering with each other the way they always did.

“Don’t just barrel in without a plan, Shorty! What the fuck? It could still be an active situation!” Logan’s voice echoed down the hall, and my lip twitched.

“What do you mean? There’s a dude with no face lying out in the hallway. I’m sure they’re done by now,” Ronan quipped back cheerfully. “Bet you’re glad you’re blind as fuck, eh, Ember? Trust me. You do not want to see what this guy’s brains look like.” Ronan cackled, and his sister let out a long, suffering sigh.

“Jesus, Ronan. Thanks for painting a damn picture for me.”

I bent down and carefully rolled the reverend’s body into a position that would make it easier for me to lift as the voices got closer.

“You think there are survivors?” Dakota asked. “I’m assuming that’s why Vox added Ember to the chat.”

Hoisting the reverend’s heavy ass body over my shoulder, I exited the office to meet the crew of killers as they approached.

“There he is! Hey Voxy!” Ronan beamed at me.

He was a good-looking dude, and he was dressed in clothes he clearly didn’t care about getting dirty. My smirk flattened as I realized he was holding a fucking chainsaw at his side.

Jesus Christ.

If we were planning on cutting up the bodies before we moved them, it was going to be even more of a bitch to get their guts out of the shitty carpet.

This was going to be a long-ass night.

Logan lifted his signature ballcap off his head and ran his hand through his hair as he eyed up the unconscious man I had slung over my shoulder. Plopping the backwards hat over his sandy waves, he let out a low whistle. “Man, I was wondering if this was who you were after when you dropped the pin. This guy’s been all over the news. We were thinking of coming out of retirement just to pinch his ass.”

I shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t currently weighed down by a comatose pedo.

“Where you taking him? He’s not dead, right? Of course he’s not. Why would you bother taping up a dead guy like that? If he’s not dead, can I kill him?” Ronan asked. Curiously, he took an eager step forward, as if he wanted to snatch the body from me so he had something to dig his chainsaw into.

I shook my head just as Cass came out of one of the ‘prayer’ rooms holding the hands of two of the survivors. The girl from the first room appeared to be the oldest, and she was clutching the third girl tightly with the hand that wasn’t securely wrapped up in Cassandra’s tight fingers.

“Oh hey! It’s the lawyer! Wasn’t expecting to see you here. Hey, do you know anything about real estate? Micah wants to open an animal sanctuary, but they’re worried it’ll count as a zoo, and they’ve been looking for someone to–ow!”

Ronan’s rambling was cut off by a sharp cuff to the head from Logan, who was glaring at him with a mixed look of affection and annoyance.

Cassandra frowned, blinking at Ronan in confusion.

“I’m sorry… who?”

Ronan beamed. “Micah. Can I tell them to call you for advice? It’s the least you can do, considering we’re apparently doing your wet work for you.” He held up his chainsaw as if to say, ‘See? See the things I do for you?’

“God, Ronan, would you shut up?” Dakota growled. “There are children here. They’re clearly terrified, and you’re waiving a fucking chainsaw around. Put that shit away.”

To our surprise, the oldest of the three survivors spoke up.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “You… You’re here to help us, right?” she asked, and Ember stepped forward, tapping the floor lightly with her cane as she moved.

“Yes. We’re here to help. How many of you are there?”

“Three,” Cassandra replied, and Ronan’s sister nodded, smiling warmly at the girls.

“Perfect, we’ll all fit in the truck. Do you three have somewhere safe to go? If not, we have connections with a wonderful shelter that’s great at helping people just like you.”

“Sarah has a mommy. But… Kara and I… We came here because we didn’t have anywhere to go. We thought… We thought it would be safe here.”

The brave girl’s eyes filled with tears, and I gritted my teeth in rage.

She reminded me so much of a young Naomi, and this whole conversation was triggering the shit out of me.