Page 29 of Nave (Henchmen MC: Next Generation #14)

Nave

Church was just about wrapping up.

Ruin and Croft were already on their phones, texting the club girls. Spike and Cain had probably already rounded up several women at the bar, ready to come back and party.

So it was momentarily completely silent in the clubhouse when my phone’s ring sliced through the air.

I knew.

Somehow, I knew.

It was in the way my hairs all stood up, how my stomach rolled. Even before I saw Kit’s name on the screen.

“Kit, what—”

“Get here,” she cut me off. “Now.”

I heard the sound of her gun cocking before she ended the call.

My fucking blood ran cold.

I was up and on my feet, reaching out for who was closest to me—Dezi—and dragging him with me toward the door.

“What’s going on?” he asked as I charged into a run.

“Something with the girls at the homestead,” I told him as I jumped on my bike. “Something that had Kit cocking a gun.”

I saw the seriousness overtake Dezi’s face for just a second before I peeled off.

It wasn’t a long drive. But the miles felt long with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company.

Despite knowing that Kit had a gun, that she knew how to use it, that she was a good shot, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she lost the gun, if she got knocked out.

I thought Lolly would be safe there .

I put not only her in danger, but Kit and Ariah. I would have to answer to Lorenzo, Bethany, Tig, and Kenzi if a single hair was out of place on their daughters’ heads.

Fucking Ben.

And it had to be Ben.

Nothing else would make Kit react like that.

We’d been so damn careful.

No cameras. No web footprint. She always had a disguise on in public spaces that had cameras.

Could we have missed one? A camera at the park that day we’d gone? One in the clubhouse during one of the parties?

Who knew.

It didn’t matter.

What mattered was the fact that Lolly and the girls were in trouble. That I had to get there. Before something awful happened.

I pushed the bike faster, ignoring that little voice in my head that belonged to my mother, begging me to drive safe, to wear my helmet, to not take any unnecessary risks.

The roads that time of night were blessedly empty, allowing Dezi to easily speed up beside me as we got closer to the homestead.

My heart was punching my ribcage as I turned up the unlit driveway, saying a silent prayer that I wasn’t too late, that Ben hadn’t gotten his hands on Lolly again.

When I neared the clearing, my headlights cut through the dark.

And there they were.

Kit and Lolly, slowly making their way up toward the clearing.

Kit’s arm was around Lolly. Lolly was cradling her hand to her chest, her eyes telling the story of her terror.

I flew toward her. I wasn’t even sure I kicked out the kickstand, that my bike didn’t immediately topple over.

It didn’t matter.

All that mattered was Lolly.

I wasn’t sure I took a breath until I felt her against my chest, until she was wrapped in my arms, safe.

“It’s going to be okay,” I assured her.

Against me, she was shaking like a leaf. A sad sob caught in her throat, and a moment later, her hot tears wet my shirt.

“What is going on?” Ariah’s voice asked, appearing behind me.

Lolly tensed, pulling out of my arms, tears still wet on her cheeks, to turn and look at Ria.

“I… I didn’t take your dogs out,” she said, her voice wobbling.

“Oh,” Ria said, gaze sliding around the scene: Lolly’s tear-stained face, her dirty shirt, Kit’s nightgown-clad body, the gun in her hand, my presence, Dezi’s as well. “That’s okay,” she said, making her tone more placating. “They’re fine. Are you okay?”

Lolly’s good hand raised, trying to wipe at her face, only to realize how dirty her hand was.

Another sad whimper escaped her.

“It’s okay!” Ria assured her, moving forward.

“That’s fine. Anything dirty can get cleaned up, right?

Why don’t we go and wash you up, okay?” she asked, moving in at Lolly’s side to wrap an arm around her.

She led her away, keeping up a one- sided conversation in that sing-song tone until they disappeared inside Ariah’s house.

“What happened?”

“Come on,” Kit said, turning to walk back from where she came.

It was only then I realized she was barefoot.

Once she was past Ria’s house and sure she wouldn’t be overheard, she started talking.

“I was asleep when the dogs woke me up. As soon as I was awake, I heard this awful shrieking and scratching at the door. I grabbed my gun and ran out there to find Edith at the door. She was frantic. And she still had her leash attached,” she explained.

“I figured Lolly must have taken her for a walk. And something happened. I put Edith inside and just… ran. It wasn’t long before I heard the struggle. Some asshole had just knocked her onto all fours, then whipped her over onto her back. He came over her. And I just… shot.”

On that last part, she waved a hand outward toward where a body was sprawled on the ground.

“You’d have been proud of her. She was going to stab the bastard with a screwdriver. I just moved first.”

“You’re a badass, babe,” Dezi said, sauntering over toward the body, nudging it with his shoe once, twice. The third time was more of a kick, to be honest.

She really was a badass.

Kit’s aim was perfect.

One shot, dead center of the forehead.

Instantly fatal.

“See what happens when you pick on our girls?” Dezi asked Ben’s dead body. “Stupid fuck.”

I was busy looking at the rest of Ben.

And I could see that Lolly put up a hell of a fight. Not necessarily in terms of physical damage. But emotionally? Yeah, she’d done everything she could to fuck with him.

There was a stain on his shirt.

And mud streaked across his face. Mud that matched the stuff Lolly had on her hand.

“It’s compost,” Kit said.

“What?”

“On his face and Lolly’s hand. Compost. Literally mud, rot, bugs, and crap. What’s with the all-white outfit? He looks like he’s in a cult.”

“He’s a germaphobe.”

“Oooh. Go Loll,” Kit said with a little smile.

“I’m sorry you had to do this, Kit,” I said, looking at Ben’s body.

“Eh. He had it coming.”

“He did. But, still. If you need to talk about it…”

“I’ll keep that in mind. But I’m good.”

She was shockingly calm, actually. It was almost a little off-putting.

What the hell had she been through in the past to make her this calm in the face of chaos?

That was something I would need to ponder another day, though.

“Sooo,” Dezi said, wiggling Ben’s shoe with the tip of his own. “Any chance you’d let us bury him here? Got lots of room.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Back behind the orchard would be good. The ground is pretty soft back there.”

“Spades and shovels over here?” Dezi asked, but he was already sauntering off toward the small toolshed.

“This is the ex, right?” Kit asked.

“Yeah. He kept Lolly prisoner for years. She got lucky to escape and come here.”

“He’s the reason she’s, like, terrified of tech, right?”

“Yeah. He’s a hacker. Among other things.”

“Well, she’s fully free of him now.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Thanks to you.”

“I accept gratitude in the form of chocolate. Or coffee.”

Dezi casually strolled back, a shovel and spade dragging behind him.

But he dropped it down on the ground, then dropped into a squat beside Ben’s body.

Reaching down, he pulled off the rubber glove of his right hand. Then he reached into his pocket, producing a pair of gardening shears.

And cut off his thumb.

“What the hell?” Kit asked.

But then Dezi was turning toward me. “Here,” he said, tossing the digit.

I automatically went to catch it, but my disgust had me playing hot potato with it for a second before I grabbed it.

“The fuck?” I asked.

“Gonna need it if you wanna get back into the glass house,” Dezi said.

“Why are you taking off his clothes?” Kit asked.

“In case he has information about Lolly stored there,” Dezi explained.

“Trace evidence,” he went on, this time to Kit as he yanked Ben’s pants down.

“Gotta put it in the freezer,” he continued, again to me.

“I got this if you wanna get your girl’s wrist looked at. It was swelling like a motherfucker.”

Dezi had always been a surprisingly capable and observant bastard. Time had clearly not dulled that at all.

“It takes a long time to dig a proper grave,” Kit said. “I’ll get some shoes and help you.”

“How about you burn up the clothes for me?” Dezi asked when he had Ben completely naked. “Got a wheelbarrow?”

“Yeah. Just give me a sec.”

“Freezer, man. Gotta preserve the fingerprints.”

“Right,” I agreed, shaking myself out of my stupor. “Thanks, man.”

“Eh, feels kinda cyclical, don’t it? You and me getting into it. Now out of it.”

With that, he reached down to grab Ben’s wrists, dragging him up to a seated position, just in time for Kit to come up, lowering down the front of the wheelbarrow for Dezi to drop him into.

Wanting to check on Lolly, I turned and walked away, knowing Dezi could handle the body, even if it was my responsibility.

I rushed into her motorhome, grabbing a small plastic food storage container, stuffing the thumb inside, then hiding it in the back of the freezer.

I was going to be taking Lolly with me back to the clubhouse, but just in case she had reason to go into the freezer in the near future, I wanted to be sure she wouldn’t see the finger.

Finished with that, I made my way to Ria’s, greeting her two Anatolian Shepherds who were sniffing around out front before moving inside.

Inside, Ria had Lolly sitting at her dining table. She’d cleaned her up, as promised, even helping her change into fresh clothes. There was a cup of steaming tea set in front of Lolly, but she was sitting there holding an ice pack to her hurt wrist.

“Hey, babe,” I said after giving Ria a tight smile. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay,” she said, sounding far away.

“Yeah? How’s the wrist?”

“It hurts,” she admitted. She let me remove the ice pack so I could see the damage, but she flinched when I even ran a finger over it.

“Yeah, I think we have a little trip ahead of us tonight still.”