Page 10 of Savior
“How late you been staying up banging Vanna after the Twisted Throttle closes?” he jokes. “Still reaping the benefits of your marriage proposal? I heard that’s a thing. The ring gets chicks hot… It’s after you actually marry them, when all the fun stops.”
I force a smile, shaking my head as I tell him, “You’re an idiot.” Though, if that’s what he believes, I’ll let him. The truth will only make him want to get involved… And I can’t have that. No one knows what I’ve actually been up to most nights. The new obsessive fixation that’s been festering inside, since I found that fucking letter…
Vanna’s been back to working days at the witch shop. Lately, by the time I get home after closing up the Twisted Throttle, she’s sound asleep, which makes the things I need to do, a little easier to pull off. I’m also relieved that she’s sleeping better, aside from it being a convenience. I hope it’s because she knows she’s safe. Jack’s dead and gone and can never hurt her again. Perhaps she sleeps soundly now, because she’s found contentment in making a life with me, and everything we went through, is behind us now.
Only I know, it isn’t. Not by a long shot. The Jar of Hearts letter, is proof that it isn’t. It’s my job to get to the bottom of what really happened to us. My duty to protect her. And there’s only one sure way I know, to make certain she’s safe.
What no one knows, is that I’ve been staking out the Demons’ Den. Keeping track of how late they stay. Their numbers on any given night. Waiting for Legion to show.
I’m on the verge of grabbing one of his men and extracting the information I want out of him… Which is why no one I care about can know I’m doing this. Not Viking. Not Axel. And certainly not Vanna. The only reason I haven’t grabbed Daniel, is because I don’t believe he’s got any idea about Legion’s involvement. Legion wouldn’t take that chance. Not even knowing that we hate each other. He’s too smart to take that risk. The more I think about my brother, the more I doubt Daniel is even aware of Lucinda’s involvement.
“I guess I’d be a little concerned, if I were you.” Viking goes on, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts once more.
“What?”
“I mean telling her about Lucinda. Vanna did shoot a guy...”
“I don’t want to talk about what happened at the cabin.” I dead the topic before he can even try to go there… again.
Since that night I woke up in a hospital bed, he’s tried to get me to talk about everything that happened. I won’t. It’s over and done. We survived. Jack didn’t. Vanna’s free. That’s all that matters.
The press plastered more than enough information about the events of that night all over the news, when Richard Blackthorn’s murder was uncovered in connection to Jack Nero. Stirred that shit up again. The rest of what happened that night… that shit can stay buried between Vanna and I. Nobody else needs to know the details of what we endured.
Besides…
“We’ve got bigger fish to fry, now. Jack Nero is pushin’ up daisies.” I look back at Viking. “We have another enemy that is very much alive.” Although I’ve been doing my own secret recon, several sets of eyes and ears are better than one. “What’s the intel on Legion? Did the Chrome Demons actual President show up yet?”
“Dude’s a fuckin’ ghost.” Viking says. “Unless he’s calling shots from the desert, it’s Legion, bro. That VP patch is faux as fuck.”
“Why would he wear it? We need to find out who he is. Why he’s got a fuckin’ hard-on for this MC.” Why Legion had a hand in what happened to Vanna and I… Not even Viking knows about that part. I’m beginning to wonder if this is less about the MC and a territory grab, and more about something personal between Legion and I. Though, I’ve never met the prick before he rolled into town, months ago. Never heard of any Legion in connection with any of the MC’s I crossed paths with, though briefly, out West years ago.
We had the property records of the Demons’ Den looked into. None of the names involved with the purchase of the building, or the oddly large parcel of land purchased around the establishment, lead back to Legion’s real identity, either. As it so happens, and I’m most definitely sure by design, nobody’s even seen Legion, since around the time of Preacher’s funeral… My gut tells me that it’s no coincidence. If he was actually involved with what happened to us… What could have happened to Vanna… He’d know he signed his own death warrant. He wouldn’t chance crossing my path. Especially not alone. The Demonic fuck has been keeping himself way off my radar for a reason.
“Maybe I should tell Jason about Mark 5:9…” I say, glancing back at Viking. “They declared Preacher’s death a suicide, yeah… The scene was completely clean… But maybe that specific passage would be enough for the cops to look into Legion and question him? Maybe Jason can dig up something on the slimy fuck?”
“I don’t know, bro. We could try…” Viking says. “But I mean, it’s a Bible. We called him Preacher because he used to be one. Would the cops really reopen the case because he apparently offed himself while reading his bible? I mean, you heard Jason yourself. No prints besides Preacher’s in that room. No signs of forced entry. No struggle. Nothing. Preacher offed himself, bro. Maybe Legion had a hand in forcing him to do so, but it wasn’t in person. Mark 5:9 is circumstantial, and weak at that… It only means something to us because we know Legion is up to something. The bible page could just be a fluke. A weird coincidence. The evidence is pretty thin, bro. Fuckin’ anorexic when you really think about it. Maybe we’re giving Legion way more credit than he deserves.”
“Maybe.” I halfheartedly concede, but I know that shit’s all wishful thinking. Legion killed Preacher because he failed to patch in his Demons, a backdoor way of taking over our town by infiltrating our MC, Trojan Horse style. Legion also had a hand in some way, with what went down with Jack Nero. I can’t prove it either exactly, but I can feel it in my gut. “I want to know who the fuck we’re dealing with. Fluke or no.” I say, getting up from the table. Viking rises with me.
“Dean…” Viking says, before I start for the door.
“What?”
“You’ve been slipping back into grumpy dick mode. I didn’t think that would be possible with your ring on Vanna’s finger.” He says, studying me. “Thought you’d stay up there on cloud nine, at least for a while. More than a couple of weeks, anyway.”
“What do you mean? I’m fuckin’ thrilled she said yes.”
He shakes his head, then says after a moment, “I’m sorry, bro.”
Viking never apologizes. What the hell is this? “Sorry for what?”
“Everything… For letting you down… at the cabin.”
“Viking…” My sigh comes out as more of a groan. I’m not doing this.
“I know some fucked shit happened there… I sat with Vanna by your hospital bed for hours. Watching her, watching you, breathe.”
I stare at him, surprised. “Vanna told you what happened in the cabin?” I find that extremely hard to believe. There’s no way she spoke to Viking. Vanna and I haven’t even brought up specifics to one another, in private. And at the time everything went down, Viking wasn’t exactly one of Vanna’s favorite people. Hell, he still might not be.
