Page 14 of Cuckoo (Devil’s Murder MC #7)

“ I don’t know about this,” Lou complained as we arrived at my house. “Seems a bit reckless to come here without Cuckoo.”

“He said I could get a few things I needed since I’m staying with him,” I reminded Lou.

He tsked. “He meant going with backup.”

“You count as backup,” I argued. “That cane is vicious.”

He smiled. “Stop winning me over.”

“I thought I already did,” I quipped.

He laughed as we pulled into my garage, and the door shut behind us. We opened the doors and exited the SUV we borrowed from the club. It had dark tinted windows, which helped to disguise us, but there wasn’t any mistaking of who we were once we stopped at my place.

“There’re two prospects out there. We’re not alone.”

“Still makes me anxious.”

Yeah, it made me anxious, too, but I wasn’t going to stop living life. I told Lou how I felt.

He sighed. “I can understand and respect that, Katrina.”

“Just Rina.” I wasn’t sure why I said that until I had a memory of my mother saying my name. It flitted across my thoughts in a whisper. “Rina Rossi.”

“You remembered.”

“Just now. Yes.” I turned to him. “You used to call me that. You, Dad, and Mom.”

“We did,” he confirmed.

We walked into my kitchen, and I paused, leaning against the counter. “Somehow, it makes me feel closer to them.”

“I wish you would have had more time with them.” He leaned heavily on his cane, and I helped him to the living room, where he could sit on the couch as I packed a couple of bags.

“Me too, Lou.”

“Uncle Lou,” he insisted.

“Only if you call me Rina.”

“Done.”

My phone vibrated as I walked upstairs, pulling it free from my pocket. “Hey, Rain.”

“Baby, tell me why you’re not at the clubhouse.”

“Because I took Lou and two prospects to my house to pack a couple of bags. I need things, especially new underwear, since you like to rip them from my body before you fuck me.”

“Katrina,” he groaned. “You can’t say shit like that while I’m riding my bike. I’ll fucking crash.”

“Don’t crash. Be careful.”

“Sweetheart.” He sounded frustrated. “You should have waited for me.”

Maybe. “I didn’t know how long church would take, and I’m wearing dirty panties right now.”

“Do they smell like my cum?”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk about sex while you’re riding.”

“Well, you forced my mind into the gutter. Now it’s stuck.”

“I think it was already hanging out there.”

He laughed. “Yeah, okay. You got me, angel.”

“I’m going to put you on speaker while I change.”

“Shit. I’m missing that?”

“Well, get over here. Make it quick so we can have a quickie.”

“Babe. Lou is there.”

“I’ll close the door.”

“Damn. Now I’ve got a hard-on.”

I giggled as I stripped and pulled on new undies, leggings, and a long T-shirt. I wanted to be comfortable since it was hot out. I slipped on running shoes and then opened my Samsonite luggage, loading it up with clothes, shoes, and essentials. Within minutes, I had everything packed up.

“I’m nearly done.”

“Wait for me. Don’t leave yet.”

“I won’t. Lou is probably going to need help.”

“Yeah. I won’t be long.”

I kept him on speaker as I carried the luggage downstairs and parked it outside the door that led into my garage. Just as I turned around, the doorbell rang. “That was fast.”

“What? Katrina?”

“I’m coming!” I shouted, skipping toward the door.

“Babe! Don’t answer it!”

Too late. I swung it open with a smile, staring stupidly at the man who stood in front of me. How did the gas company tech end up here again?

“Can I help you?”

He whipped out a gun and pointed it at my chest. Move back and let us inside,” he ordered.

Us?

If someone had told me that my enemy would have come out of hiding, and he would be the same pathetic asshole who showed up to my mother’s dinner.

“Carmichael?” Shocked, I didn’t move.

“Let us in, bitch.”

They forced their way in as I heard Cuckoo shouting my name.

I stumbled as Carmichael shoved me. My hip slammed into a table, and everything crashed to the floor.

“Rina!” Lou yelled as he pushed to his feet, whipping his cane around. “Leave her alone!”

I missed there was a third man who entered my house until he said my name. It was the way he said it, calm, but like he’d known it for years. Of course, he had. He’d been a close friend of the foster father we knew.

My gaze swept over him, noticing the shirt he wore with a logo I had seen on multiple occasions as a child. A sword with a golden halo. Always worn over black.

The Sect of Primordial Light.

A cult that believed children were objects to be owned and used. God. They found me. They found us.

My Rain couldn’t take this. It would break him further.

“What do you want?” I asked, feeling far calmer than I looked.

“Ah. So smart.” The man smiled, and it made my stomach roil. “I remember that about you. Sharp-witted. Beautiful. Soft. Sweet.” He licked his lips. “Do you remember me sticking my fingers inside you?”

What!?

“Do I haunt your nightmares?” His laugh was sinister. “We always collect our strays.”

Oh, God.

“You and Rain belong to us.”

I took a step backward, shaking my head. No. He couldn’t be one of the men who tried to violate me. But I wouldn’t know. They all wore black robes and dark masks. The cowards concealed their features.

“You won’t get away with this. We know who you are.”

The Sect member chuckled. “We’re legion. Millions. You will never subdue us. Our god gives us strength, power, and the luck to persevere.”

He was fucking delusional.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“You might want to think about that.” He looked at the gas tech, who had obviously used the uniform as a disguise. “Knock the old man out.”

I screamed for them to leave Lou alone, rushing forward to fight off anyone who tried to hurt him. “I’m not five years old anymore. Or even thirteen. You can’t control me!” My fists pounded flesh, and I kicked and fought like a madwoman.

One of them slapped me, and I tasted blood as I bit my lip. My frantic gaze swept over the doorway again, and outside, I saw the streetlights click on. Lanterns.

Carrions said to remember the lanterns. That I’d be okay. They would bring peace. Did that mean Cuckoo was almost here? I didn’t have to wonder for long.

Within a heartbeat, I heard motorcycle engines outside.

“Katrina!” Cuckoo roared.

And then everything went dark. The sky grew so dim I thought a thunderstorm had rolled in.

But no, I caught the flapping onyx wings of dozens of crows through my open doorway.

The murder swooped low and entered, cawing as they mobbed the three Sect members.

Their harsh croaks and rattles were a battle cry almost deafening to my ears, overlapping as it grew in volume.

I screamed as someone grabbed me, realizing Cuckoo had come through with them, and he grabbed me, tugging me against his chest as we stood in the center of the chaos. Not a single bird’s claws caught my skin or Cuckoo’s. Not a beak pecked at us.

All the murder’s rage was directed at the three humans that were being viciously torn into and savagely bled. The crows concentrated on the Sect members and their eyes, gouging them out to make their prey vulnerable.

I buried my head in Cuckoo’s chest as he led us from the living room, not the least bit surprised about the carnage.

The fear that had been conjured from meeting those men quickly morphed into relief. I was safe. My Rain was here, and he saved me.

“Lou,” I managed to cry, emotionally drained.

“He’s fine. Unharmed,” Cuckoo promised.

“I’m here,” Uncle Lou assured me. “Right here with Carrion.”

I opened my eyes, realizing I had squeezed them shut when I saw all the blood. “You’re okay.”

“Rina, he croaked.

Cuckoo released me as Lou opened his arms, and I rushed into them, allowing his warm hug to engulf me in the most parental and comforting embrace of my entire life.

“There, there. It’s okay now. You’re safe.”

I nodded and sniffled as he patted my cheek. “I’m glad we’re both okay.”

When he released me, I reached for Cuckoo.

He didn’t hesitate to wrap his body around mine, sheltering me as if the last few minutes had terrorized him.

In truth, it had been horrifying. Knowing these Sect members existed, that they wanted sex with children, and they never let their prey go was the scariest thing I’d ever encountered.

The flapping of wings had slowly diminished. All I heard now was the occasional flutter.

“Well shit,” I heard a male voice say. “I guess we missed the fun.”

“Rael,” Cuckoo breathed. “He’s a friend. A biker in an ally club.”

I clutched at his shirt. “Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t. If you want to see justice, come with me.”

I let him lead me into the living room, and I kept my gaze averted after I saw all the blood and feathers on the three men groaning on the floor. None of them could see since the crows had taken their eyes. All that remained were gouged sockets and claw-marked faces.

“I’m Rael. A Reaper,” he announced as he greeted me.

I saw black and white face paint that resembled a skeleton but was somehow more intimidating than I could describe in words. His eyes shone with a silvery sheen that spooked me more than Cuckoo’s.

Something about him wasn’t all . . . human .

“Would you like to see these men meet their fate?”

I nodded. No hesitation.

“Let me show you how a Reaper sends souls to hell.”

I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it wasn’t the spectacle that took place before me with the ground beginning to shake and the floor opening up, fissures popping with sizzling hot steam as hellfire burst through and heated the room.

My front door was no longer open, and I stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, as the Reaper and another like him quickly transformed. Dark robes billowed in a soundless wind as they rose off the floor. Each bony hand held a scythe.

“The Sect of Primordial Light will be hunted until every last member is destroyed.”

With that decree, the two Reapers swiped with their scythes and sliced the souls of the Sect members from their bodies.

I would never forget the cries of anguish and suffering, the pain so visceral it made the tiny hair on my arms stand up.

The cloud, tainted souls stunk and made my nose burn.

The filmy, greasy-looking images cried out, begging for a mercy they never showed and would never receive.

I watched as they were sucked into hell, consumed as laughter drifted up from below. I knew in an instant that Lucifer himself would welcome them and take charge of their eternal punishment.

The ground shook once more, and the fissures closed. Within seconds, the hole closed. The steam disappeared.

Only the husk of the three men remained. With a snap of his fingers, they burst into ash, sizzling on my floors before dissolving into nothing. No stench remained. No stain.

It was like they never existed.

The Reapers lost their robes and scythes, once more returning to their human forms. I finally was able to crack a smile, more in awe than anything else. How could such beings be real?

“It’s what we are,” Rael explained. “Now that you’ve seen. You help guard our secret.”

I nodded. “I’ll never tell a soul.”

“That agreement is binding.”

Yeah, I wasn’t risking an ending to my life like that.

Rael chuckled. “Your soul is beautiful. You have nothing to fear.”

Good to know.