Page 24 of Like An Animal

THE SHADOW

“ D o I really have to be here, man?” I hear Tiernan’s voice long before I see him and it’s enough to piss me the fuck off.

He’s still on my shit list. However, if I’m able to work this deal out without any bloodshed, I won’t be able to kill him. Rock, meet hard place.

My woman is more important than a little petty revenge.

“The meeting is with all of us, scaredy cat,” someone says.

“I’m not scared! Why would I be scared of Borza?” Tiernan’s voice squeaks and I smirk. He should be scared of me. Everyone should be.

“Bitch, Sorcha told me how you jumped when Bron messed with you by saying he was right behind you. You squealed like a damn pig.”

“Fuck you, man! And fuck your girlfriend for telling you about that. I can’t help that I danced with his sister ONE TIME and he has hated me ever since. For fuck’s sake, I’m married now. You don’t think he’ll still be pissed, do you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Do you think your wife would be very happy if she knew how much you used to whore around?” That one was definitely Finn.

“Ugh. Fair point.”

“You know he can hear you, right?” Massimo speaks up as they walk into the warehouse we chose for this meeting.

Their heads snap around and I notice two of them are missing.

I see Rian, Tiernan, and Finn, but where the fuck are Eoghan and Colin?

I was specific about all of them being present.

And why the fuck is Francine here and who is the extra person in tow?

There’s supposed to be five Bastards, not seven.

“Jeremy!” Francine waves before she bounces over like a damn child and throws her arms around me. I blanche at her for a minute, completely fucking confused.

Why the fuck is Francine Gray hugging me?

I don’t hug people. The only person I have ever hugged, that I can recall at least, was Bronwyn and even that was few and far between. It’s something reserved for special occasions.

Because of the shock, I gently pat her back and she pulls away. “It’s good to see you. We were all worried when you and Bron disappeared.”

What the fuck is happening here? I had a few classes over the years with Francine, mostly electives, but we were never friends. I didn’t have friends outside of my boys and my woman.

I ignore her words because what is there for me to say?

I glare daggers at Tiernan and watch as the fucker cowers like a little bitch. If I’m the only person in the world he fears, it brings me immense satisfaction to know I haunt his dreams. He should fear the day I make good on my promise to gut him like a pig.

“Where are the others?” Massimo speaks up for me as Finn makes his way over to us, his friends close behind. “Our request was specific. Trust me. If Jeremy didn’t want any of your brothers here, it would be party boy over there.”

Finn doesn’t speak for a minute, his facial muscles tensing, before he looks up to me. “Colin is no longer a Bastard and Eoghan… he’s unreachable.”

“And, the newbie?” Massimo presses, probably already knowing the questions I would want answered.

Finn snaps his head around, looking truly confused until his gaze lands on the big guy with long dark hair and bright green eyes.

He stands out like a sore thumb. The only one he doesn’t tower over is Rian and that’s just because Rian is a beast in his own right.

Still, the newcomer is half a foot taller than Rian and is bulkier than Finn.

“Oh, you mean Damien?” Finn turns back to face us. “He’s one of us. He’s an honorary Bastard. He’s earned that spot ten times over. I doubt you haven’t heard of him, even from wherever you’ve been.”

Heard of him?

Francine bounces toward the Damien dude before placing her hand on his arm, but he just looks down at her hand like it offended him.

“Jer, this is Damien King.”

That catches my attention. Everyone has heard of Damien King, but he can’t be the infamous Halloween Killer.

The north portion of this country was on high alert two years ago when he escaped and went on a killing spree in Wisconsin. Before then, it had been well over a decade since anyone had heard a peep from Damien King–partly because he was in prison.

“You mean the Damien King?” Massimo presses, but I stay silent.

Damien remains silent as he pulls his arm away from Francine who barely notices, but flashes a big smile. “The one and only. And don’t worry about him. He’s just a big ole teddy bear now.” Damien looks at her like she’s the biggest idiot he has ever met.

But, he doesn’t say anything.

Not a single word.

It’s the strangest thing because I’m usually the most silent person in a room, but he is tied with me for that position. Even Tiernan and Rian have been whispering back and forth.

Not the serial killer though.

“Don’t be offended by him not talking. Damien doesn’t talk,” Finn offers casually.

“How do you communicate with him if he doesn’t talk?” Massimo asks and I slam my elbow in his side.

That was fucking rude. He used to dodge similar questions about me when we were kids so he fucking knows better.

Finn narrows his eyes at Massimo, before eyeing me skeptically.

“He’s not blind, dumb, or deaf, asshole.

He can hear everything you’re fucking saying.

He just doesn’t use his voice to speak.” Then, I look behind Finn and see Damien using sign language with the others.

They seem to be absorbing every word he signals.

I am, too.

I swear, if the dumb shit doesn’t stop with the even stupider questions, I’m going to bash his brains into the cement.

I let out a whistle to get their attention, specifically the attention of the psychotic killer with about as high of a body count as I have. He looks at me and narrows his eyes, his brows dropping to darken his features.

Using my hands, I sign back to him.

Feel free. He knows better anyway.

I didn’t learn sign language because I needed to know it. I learned it out of a thirst for knowledge. I don’t talk because I don’t want to. I don’t have anything worth opening my mouth over. It’s not a disadvantage or a disability, though it may look similar to Damien’s circumstance.

It’s not.

I take a single step back to let them know I’m serious. Massimo may be one of my best friends, but he’s also a major asshole half the time and I don’t put up with the ableistic bullshit.

Will I kill him for it? No, but I won’t stop them from doing it either.

“What did you say to him? Hell, what did he say?” Massimo asks, looking very freaked out.

I shrug, not giving him an answer.

However, Damien just stares at me as if he doesn’t know if I was being serious or pulling his leg. I don’t joke around, definitely not about killing people.

“Is he joking? He’s joking , right?” Tiernan suddenly speaks, looking around at the others like I’ve suddenly gone mad.

I haven’t.

I’ve been crazy for a long fucking time.

Massimo may be one of my only friends, but the amount of time we’ve known each other doesn’t matter. Anyone is expendable, except my woman. She can’t be replaced, which is why we’re here in the first place.

“He’s not joking, T,” Finn states, seeming as unsettled by what I said as everyone else…well, except Damien. He seems pleased at the idea of killing Massimo.

“Joking about what?” Massimo asks, completely freaked out.

“Letting him kill you for being an idiot,” I mutter.

“What?! Why would you do that?”

“Maybe because I lack a conscience or because you pissed me off by flapping your lips.” Does the reason really matter? It doesn’t change the action itself.

“We’re in Grove Hill, Jeremy. You know the rules and so does Damien.”

Then, I catch sight of the psycho killer pouting as if Finn just took away his favorite toy.

I shrug.

I’ve never been one for following the rules. I knew what the consequences were and I didn’t care. I still killed people in and around Grove Hill. I was just never caught.

“What was the point of this meeting?” Finn asks and I turn to face him.

“An exchange. I know you and your brothers use your disposable income to better your community and I’m willing to donate a large chunk of money to that in exchange for allowing Bronwyn into your town if she chooses to come here.”

I don’t know if she’ll ever want to, but it’s better to nip this in the bud now.

Finn’s brows drop thoughtfully. “We knew it wasn’t you that killed them. We had an inkling that it was probably her, but you just confirmed it. Just tell me one thing.” He rubs his chin, looking a mixture of irritated and exhausted. “Why did she do it? She knew the rules and what she was risking.”

I thought it was pretty clear that it was Bronwyn who killed David and Kathy. It was a well-known fact that I was at Xavi’s house when the murders took place. Dozens of people saw me there. However, I wouldn’t let her come here for any length of time without knowing she won’t be in danger.

“You really want her motive?” I’d like to know that, too, but I can only guess why she did it.

“Yes. A motive always matters.”

“Self-defense,” I explain, knowing it will sound strange.

His eyes widen. “Self-defense?”

“Yes. Think of the worst thing a parent could ever do to their child and multiply it by one-thousand, then double it. You have her motive. You couldn’t possibly understand what it was like living in that house.

Trust me when I say Kathy and David didn’t go through nearly the amount of torment they deserved. ”

Finn stares at me for a moment and I see the wheels turning. He’s putting the pieces together. He may not have the whole picture, but he is picking up what I’ve said to him.

“Give us a second,” he mutters before he walks over to the others, leaving me with Massimo.

“You were seriously going to throw me under the bus like that?” He nudges my shoulder, clearly pissed.

“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. What the fuck were you thinking? You used to get the same questions about me.”

He shrugs. “Sorry, man. Sure, I was stupid, but it was shocking. We’re in the same room as Damien fucking King. He’s a senseless killing machine. Anyone would be freaked out. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.”

“Then you should’ve kept your mouth shut. It’s going to get you killed one day. The only reason he didn’t kill you is because of where we are.” It wouldn’t have stopped me, but the audience might have. I’m psychotic, not stupid.

Massimo glares at me but doesn’t say another word. He stays silent, knowing it will serve him better than to mouth off any more.