Page 65 of Rascal

“This didn’t just happen!” Chey said, pulling Angelina into a hug. Chey checked her over and kissed her face before sighing in relief.

“Oh crap,” I began laughing as we closed in. No, this had taken at least ten minutes. The prisoner—I couldn’t tell if it was Kira—was a mess. Her clothes were obviously torn by the dogs. Red and purple paint covered her, and her feet were encased in what looked like quick-drying cement. Her hands and ankles were tied; there was a gag in her mouth and a beanie pulled over her head.

Clumps of hair led away from her, and I realised the kids had been dragging her. Each of them carried some sort of weapon. The woman jolted again as I saw a toddler zap her with a cattle prod.

“Where the hell did you get that from?” Rooster growled, grabbing it. The kid held on, and Rooster sent him a stern glare. “Link, son, I love ya, but if you…” Rooster howled as Link hit the button and zapped his father. Rooster wailed in a high-pitched tone and shook like he’d been electrocuted, which I guess he just had, and Link quickly let go.

“Yo…ur f…f…fuck…ing bro…bro…ther...s!” Rooster forced out.

Kenny bent down and checked Link over before patting his head. “At least it wasn’t me this time.”

“Alright, enough of the loony bin show. How long has she been here?” Chance demanded.

The kids all swapped glances.

Chance growled.

“Well, it happened like this. She came through the gate. Idiot cut a hole in it and saw us. She said she was from the department for children,” Isla began.

Chance turned a severe gaze on his daughter.

“Oh God, they attacked someone from Child Services!” King gasped as I laughed. Holy crap.

“No, don’t be stupid,” Angelina sneered at King. “We’d have buried her before anyone knew she was here.” Celt gave Isla a resigned shake of his head as King paled. “She tried to take me. That’s nobody from that hellhole.”

Should I be amused that they called Child Services a hellhole or the fact that a six-year-old kid had threatened to off someone and bury them?

“The guys went and got weapons, while we kept her occupied,” Brax said.

“Why aren’t I surprised?” Kenny demanded.

Chance shook his head in disbelief.

“Link tripped her over, and we sat on her,” Olivia added.

“Dax might have thumped her head into the dirt a few times; we were playing whack-a-mole,” Louisa Mae said. Chance glanced at his son, who grinned.

“Then we came back and tied her up,” Isla continued.

“And threw paint on her so it stiffened and she couldn’t run away,” Olivia explained.

“The cement?” Chance gritted out.

“That was my idea,” Campbell, Big Al’s son, admitted. “If people do bad stuff, they get concrete boots and are thrown in the river.”

Big Al closed his eyes as Tati whacked his stomach. “Too many gangster movies!” she hissed.

“But the lake was too far, and we got hungry. So, we sent Mia Charlotte in to fetch you,” Finn explained as if this was all logical.

“Nope, not dealing with this,” Chance said. “Call the damn police. I’ve had enough.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m going for breakfast,” Willow replied.

“We’ll wait for the cops,” Diesel and Tiny said.

Chance nodded an agreement.

The Holy Terrors began marching towards the clubhouse, but they all kicked dirt over their victim. Chance removed the beanie, and I saw it wasn’t Kira. I’d no idea who it was, but she was a mess.