Page 40 of Carver

Carver wasn’t sure how much of the conversation he heard. Even more, he had no clue of knowing how much he understood. It was apparent Gideon was smart despite his silence. He said more without words than some did with hours to talk.

He disconnected the call, not only because he needed to get to the NightShade offices quickly, but he also needed to check on Gideon. Once the phone was back in his pocket, he leaned forward a small amount.

“I need to go take care of something. You’ll stay here with the men. When I come back, I’ll explain everything.”

Gideon nodded.

“Who do you want to stay with you? Trix or Hex? Doc and Fury are probably deep into a poker game, but I can get them for you if you’d like.”

The boy reached over and tapped his arm twice. Hex it was.

“Be good for him. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Before he could rein himself in, Carver pressed a kiss to Gideon’s forehead and stood. He nearly staggered as a blush hit the boy’s cheeks.

Turning away, Carver practically ran from the room. Slayer made as if to stop him, though from whatever expression Carver wore, he chose not to.

After notifying Hex he had to leave and getting Slash to ride with him, the pair took off for the NightShade offices. He didn’t know how close the other men were. With his bike and speed,he managed to make it there far faster than he suspected anyone else could.

Taking the elevator up, Carver and Slash made it to Tank’s office in no time. “I hear you need some muscle,” he boasted.

Tank smirked. “Should have known you’d be first. They’re at the warehouse.”

At the address he rattled off, Carver turned to go back downstairs. He understood why they couldn’t give the location over the phone. Still, he was frustrated to know he’d have to make another trip to finally get to the man in question.

When he and Slash revved their bikes again, a car screeched to a halt across the lot. A couple in head-to-toe black climbed out. It was obvious at first glance this was Preacher, and the man sent to help him.

Carver threw them a wave, then sped off with Slash on his tail. Rather than go inside, the others climbed back in their vehicle and followed them. He didn’t blame them for taking the easy way about it. Besides, it wasn’t like they’d beat him inside the warehouse either. Carver would get the first lick at this piece of shit no matter what.

He’d earned the name The Butcher long ago. Though he didn’t do a ton of grunt work anymore, he knew how to deliver pain to those who deserved it.

After parking the bikes out of sight of the main road, Carver and Slash climbed off. Carver was removing his tools from his side bag when the car that followed them parked near though not too close. When the men climbed out, he called out, “Which one of you is Preacher?”

The bigger of the two nodded. “That’s me. You’re Carver.”

“Usually yes. Tonight, I’m The Butcher. Come watch me have some fun.”

Carver busted through the door with a confidence no one would miss. The others followed him as Slash stayed outsideto keep an eye open for any law enforcement. He doubted they would show up, but he never let his guard down.

He was too far away to note who the person was being beat to shit. Not that it mattered. The bastard deserved this much and more.

Orion stood slowly, turning to face us. “I see you all arrived at the same time. Guess you'll have to duke it out.”

Carver laughed as he slung a bag down on the ground. He opened it up to produce an array of tools with very sharp edges.

The man who came with Preacher had a similar bag that he pulled out. They glanced at each other and looked at their weaponry with a shared smile.

“I think my boy just made a friend. Crazy life we lead, huh?" Preacher said.

Something about the words made Carver shiver. Could these men be the alternate universe version of him and Gideon? Would his sweet boy ever want to come with him when he had to play his role as Butcher?

Carver shook his head. That was a pipedream. His boy was too traumatized for such. Maybe they could talk about it one day. He never envisioned anything like this though. It was too unrealistic.

Takeshi and Ronan, more of Tank’s men, took off toward the door, leaving Orion alone with the three murderous fools and the asshole they had their sights on.

“Whatever you do to him, make it hurt. We've also got a cage you can put him in for a while if you get tired or need to run to get food or something.” Orion motioned to the device at the side of the room. All three men nodded in understanding. “I'll leave you to it.”

The minute the door closed, his calm façade dropped. He stepped closer to the man bleeding out on the ground and kicked him hard.

“Jackie Varr, you sick fuck. How perfect is it that you’re now under my watch?”