Page 27 of Scythe’s Salvation (Imperial Knights MC: Roanoke, VA #2)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

Scythe

I finally break down and explain the gifts that many of the Cedar Creek brothers, as well as some of the old ladies and kids, live with since she’s bound to figure it out at some point.

Chance was over the moon when he realized it was Dragon who talked to him while he was in Tim’s office.

She didn’t seem overly concerned because our gifts are what allowed us to bring her and Chance home.

Right now, however, we’re in our basement where we conduct interrogations, standing around that fucker’s body, which has been strung up by chains so his toes barely touch the floor.

“You won’t get away with this,” Tim slurs, his face battered and bruised.

“Oh, but we will,” Brick replies as Dragon’s dark chuckles reverberate through the soundproofed room. “And just saying, we’ve made sure that your widow will be taken care of as well.”

“She’s not a widow if I’m still alive,” he sneers.

It would probably have more of an impact if his eyes weren’t nearly swollen shut, and he wasn’t covered in bruises, as well as several broken bones.

I laugh in his face since I’ve been the one who has been primarily responsible for his injuries, although Rael took some of his anger out on the man as well.

“Ah, but the question is, for how much longer?” Rael asks, causing Tim to scream like a little bitch.

Part of me doesn’t blame him since he relishes in wearing ghost-like paint on his face, almost like the singers from KISS.

I definitely wouldn’t want to come up against him in a dark alley and I consider myself as badass as the rest of my brothers.

But Rael and the rest of the Graven Bastards are in a league of their own.

“We’ll eradicate you assholes,” Tim screams. “We’re everywhere and what we’re doing won’t be shut down!”

“Oh, it will. It might not end with your little group we found, because we know there are more of you, but rest assured, the Imperial Knights will root y’all out and end you.

No one is a slave to another, and we’re not going to tolerate the way you subjugate women and children.

It won’t happen on our watch,” Brick advises.

He looks around at us and asks, “So, what do y’all think we need to do? ”

“Personally, I’d love to chop his dick off and shove it up his ass, but that won’t help Tamara,” I reply. “They’re supposed to go to court tomorrow, so whatever we’re going to do needs to happen.”

I refuse to allow my woman to deal with this piece of shit any longer.

Thankfully, Dragon and Wrecker worked their magic on Chance, so his memories of when they were taken are fuzzy and skewed.

But my woman? I wake up to her screaming in her sleep, the nightmares holding her captive and that needs to stop.

Not because I’m losing rest, but simply because she deserves to have peace.

“What if we…,” Dragon begins as he whispers to the rest of us so that Tim can’t hear.

As a group, we nod once Dragon lays out his plan to ensure that Tim Jones enters Hell.

With everything in place, we leave Tim hanging there to make his peace with his god, although I’m pretty sure it’s not the same one who created the universe.

Granted, I’m not religious by any stretch of the imagination, but at some point in my past, back when I was still a kid who had people that gave a shit, I remember several Sunday school lessons, and the being I learned about then?

Didn’t condone raping women, or using them to breed a superior race, or any of that shit.

Yeah, Tim’s gonna get what he deserves, and it won’t be a trip through the Pearly Gates.

“You good, sweetheart?” I ask Tamara as we settle in for the night.

It didn’t take me a lot of convincing to have her move into the small cabin I’ve got on our property, and Chance is positively over the moon at the fact his friends are always around.

While I love the home she’s built, knowing there are possibly others who might have Roanoke in their sights has me needing to keep them safe.

Being surrounded by my brothers is about as safe as I can make things for the time being.

“Yeah, just worried about court tomorrow,” she murmurs, her head on my chest. “What’s going to happen when Tim doesn’t show up?”

She may not be aware of what our plans are for that fucker, but she knows he’s been a ‘guest’ of the Imperial Knights ever since the day we rescued her.

I smooth back her hair, tucking some loose strands behind her ear, my heart pounding almost painfully in my chest as I remember finding her that day.

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mumble, my knees hitting the floor next to the cot that Tamara’s currently tied to.

Her eyes are unfocused and glazed, and one look tells me that she’s very, very sick.

That, plus the putrid smell coming from a bandage that’s taped to her side let me know that if we don’t get her help and quickly, she might not make it.

“Chance,” she moans, her head moving from side to side. “Mommy’s sorry, so sorry.”

“I’ve got you, babe,” I tell her, wrapping the blanket around her body then scooping her in my arms. “Hold on, we’re getting you help.

” I’m unsure if she can hear me; her delirium is so bad, but talking to her helps to keep me grounded, so I say, “Our boy’s a rockstar, Tam. He helped us find the two of you.”

“Help Portia,” she mumbles. “Scythe, I need you, I’m scared.”

She continues to ramble as I carefully carry her out to the club’s SUV, barely stopping my growl when Banshee holds his arms out for her until I realize that there’s no way I’d be able to climb inside with her in mine.

Nodding my thanks, I get in and he hands her back to me.

I’m so focused on her as she continues to ramble that it’s not until we reach the clubhouse and Saber’s right there with a gurney that it dawns on me that she’s safe once again, and so is my boy.

I probably drove him and Roxy, who worked steadily alongside him to save my woman, a little bit crazy, but if there was a chance she wasn’t going to survive? I wanted to be there for her.

Shaking my head to clear those memories, I reply, “If he doesn’t show up, I’m sure Albertson will push to have his case dismissed. In the meantime, you’re still healing, so let’s get some rest.”

“Okay. Good night, Scythe, I love you,” she whispers, already in that hazy doze that happens just before it’s completely lights out.

“I love you too, sweetheart,” I murmur, gently kissing her forehead before I settle in for some much-needed rest myself.

“Okay, brothers, are we ready?” Brick asks in the common room while the women fix breakfast.

Cries of “fuck yeah” ring out and I smirk, knowing that Tim’s time is almost up.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, that’s for damn sure.

While I’ll never profess to understand how Dragon’s gifts work, I know that as I go with Tamara to court, he and my brothers will take care of business.

Seeing Rael’s gleaming white teeth through his face paint, I hold back a shudder when it looks as though his appearance morphs into something so frightening, I would’ve pissed myself if I had anything in my damn bladder.

When dark eyes meet mine, I suck in a breath and realize I’m seeing his reaper.

After breakfast, I take Tamara to her SUV and help her inside. Albertson told us that Chance didn’t have to go so RiffRaff and Hawg are taking the majority of the kids fishing. My brows raise when I see Portia tagging along, her kids by her side.

She’s been very quiet since Brick brought her back and put her in one of the trailers with her kids.

I know that several of the Cedar Creek old ladies who came out of the same hellhole have taken her under their wing and I sincerely hope she’s able to come out of all of this as unscathed as possible.

Part of me wishes I could be there when shit hits the fan for ol’ Timmy boy, but my ol’ lady needs me more. I know the brothers will give me a play-by-play of what happens and that’s going to have to be good enough.

“Scythe?” Tamara asks as we head to town.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” I reply.

“I wanted to tell you something,” she says. “I never expected it, but you’ve managed to wiggle your way into my heart and my life. I love you and no matter what happens in court today, I wanted you to know how I felt.”

My heart constricts in my chest because she sounds almost fatalistic right now, as if she’s trying to grasp the fact that whatever the judge decrees will happen is sacrosanct.

What she doesn’t know is we’ll get a call, or rather, the judge will be notified of a tragic accident involving Tim that cost him his life.

Her fears are unfounded, but the brothers decided that the less she knew, the better.

Plausible deniability and all that shit.

“Good to know seeing as I love you too, Tamara,” I tell her. “You and Chance have made me realize what I was missing when it comes to having an ol’ lady and a kid.”

She snickers then says, “Ah, but you haven’t been around him when he’s in one of his moods. They don’t happen very often, but when they do, it’s like watching a hurricane cross through a state, leaving destruction everywhere.”

I snicker as I take her hand in mine. She’s been so lost in her thoughts, she doesn’t immediately see that we’re now at the courthouse. I park then tug her hand until she’s in my lap. “And when that happens, we’ll deal with it. Together. You’re no longer alone in this, babe.”

As my lips claim hers, I hear Dragon’s voice in my head say, “It’s done, brother. Your woman and son are safe.”

I hate not being able to sit with Tamara, but she’s at the table with Albertson. The bailiff has already called the courtroom into session, and Judge Connors, the same one who presided over Canyon and Egypt’s adoption is currently speaking.

“Counselor, where is your client?” he asks Tim’s attorney, who’s been surreptitiously staring at his phone.

“Your Honor, I don’t know. Perhaps we could get a continuance?”

“That would be a negative, Counselor. We already had to push this hearing back due to the injuries Ms. Fruge sustained in her accident.”

When Albertson was told that Tamara was missing, he got the court date changed, and when the judge’s secretary called to find out the reason, she was told that Tamara had been involved in an accident.

Thankfully, she was found shortly after that, and she was so banged up, it gave truth to the white lie Albertson told.

A police officer walks in and walks over to the bailiff, whispering in his ear. The bailiff looks at the judge and says, “Your Honor, I have information for you.”

“Well, get up here and tell me, I’m not getting any younger,” Judge Connors commands.

He listens to what the bailiff has to say then he glances at both the lawyers.

“It seems that your client, Counselor, has met with an untimely demise in the form of an auto accident on his way to court. Therefore, the petition will be vacated as he is no longer alive. Ms. Fruge, your attorney will receive the documents necessary that’ll show you’re Chance Fruge’s sole physical and legal guardian.

The DNA provided indicates that Timothy Jones was his biological father, and your attorney will assist you with filing whatever’s needed to ensure your son gets any benefits due to him.

Court dismissed!” he exclaims, slamming his gavel down.

As the bailiff calls for us to rise, he stands and enters his chambers.

She looks at me over her shoulder, her eyes wide as she mouths, “He’s dead?” I see the instant relief washes across her expression and right now, I don’t care if there are no benefits for Chance; I’ll always take care of my woman and kid.

Always.