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But the sound of retching kept filling his ears. Grinding his molars, he risked a glance over at Reese and…
What the actual fuck?
It wasn’t Reese at all.
It was Tessa.
How could that be? Where did she come from? She had no reason to even be in Tioga Pet Services. She had never once stepped through those doors.
And why the fuck was she throwing up? She didn’t witness Billy Warren being burned to death. She hadn’t even lived in Manning Grove at the time.
He had to be having another nightmare. Or he was so damn exhausted that he was having delusions.
“Yo.”
Easy jerked awake and blinked his eyes open to see Shade standing over him.
Jesus Christ.
He was still at Tioga Pet Services, still in the office, still in Cassie’s leather office chair.
No Tessa in sight, thank fuck.
Shade must be done with whatever he set out to do with his sperm donor.
It must be that time. Fuck him, Easy was about to relive that fucking nightmare all over again.
Shade’s clothes were smeared with blood. That meant Oliveira might not have much left in his body after the lingchi treatment.
Easy sat up and cleared the rough from his throat. “You’re gonna have to burn those.”
“That’s the plan,” answered Shade, like it was any other typical day.
“You done?” He had to be, the crematorium was far too quiet.
“Yeah, wanna get him loaded up and the furnace started before Cassie gets here.”
He glanced over at the clock on the boss lady’s desk. Seven.
Shit! He needed to get back to the bunkhouse, shower, change and then get his ass back here to start the first work day of the week.
Shade had cut it too fucking close.
Easy followed him back into the furnace area where his step stuttered and he came to a complete halt.
The man couldn’t be alive. No fucking way.
If he was…
Easy’s stomach rolled and he shuddered at the sight before him. He blinked several times to make sure he was actually seeing what he was seeing.
Every muscle on the man who hung before him was now exposed. Every damn one. On the plastic sheeting below him was a bloody mountain of flesh. Enough to make another person.
Jesus fuckin’ Christ.
He glanced quickly at Shade, but other than the blood on his clothes, he looked like it was just any other day.
Just any other fucking day.
Yeah, he never wanted to cross Shade. Not fucking ever. If he had to choose a punishment between Judge using The Punisher on him or the man standing next to him doing whatever he wanted, Easy would choose a blanket party thrown by the Grumpy Green Giant every damn time.
Shade had filleted every inch of skin from his father’s body. He only left his hands, feet and head alone. It reminded Easy of some of the fancy haircuts poodles had when they came in for cremation.
He was surprised Shade hadn’t scalped Oliveira, too.
“Gonna have to burn that… plastic.” Along with the pile of skin collected on it.
Shade said nothing. Probably because that had already been in the plan, like burning his clothes. Any evidence always got incinerated to ash. Even things like the burner phones they’d used up on Hillbilly Hill.
Once again, Easy considered the crematorium the best fucking purchase the club could make.
He took a reluctant step closer to what was left of the man hanging from the chain. Oliveira’s eyes were open but sightless, which was spooky as fuck.
Easy was dead wrong about Shade leaving the man’s face alone. His eyelids were gone. He forced the bile back down and whispered, “Is he still alive?” almost as if he didn’t want to disturb the man.
If he was conscious…
“Barely.”
“That gonna change before we load him up?”
When Shade didn’t respond, Easy knew the answer to his question. They were going to incinerate him alive.
Just like Billy Warren.
“We should gag him so he don’t scream like Warren.” All the hairs on Easy’s body stood as he relived that day all over again, this time while awake.
Every body they’d loaded into the large animal furnace hadn’t been breathing except for Warren.
Afterward, Reilly had walked away like it had been nothing. As if she’d gotten some perverse pleasure out of hitting that button and hearing the man scream in panic and pure agony.
Easy didn’t blame her after hearing what her ex had done to her. If something like that had happened to him, he most likely would’ve felt that pull for revenge, too. And had zero regrets.
He had no idea how those moments affected the rest of his brothers who’d been there since they never talked about it, but to this day Easy still couldn’t shake it. He was afraid if Edmund Oliveira was still conscious enough to scream, that it would only fuel his nightmares even more.
But, for fuck’s sake, Shade was family and he would do anything for Easy if asked. So, no matter how much it would bother him, Easy would do the same for his brother. No matter what it was.
