I reached the stairs, took one last look at my father’s corpse, and sighed.Sorry, Dad. I’m sorry you never got the chance to learn. I’m sorry…
I hurried upstairs, closed my bedroom door, and for what I hoped was the last time in my life, got under the covers of my childhood bed and tried to fall asleep.
* * *
“Holy shit, this place is a fucking mess.”
At first, I thought those words had come from the deepest recesses of my mind, from a dream that I was slowly waking up to.
“Reapers really did a fucking number on this place, huh? We might be the only ones left in this club.”
But with each passing word, I came to recognize that the words had come not from my dream, but from two Fallen Saints that must have not been there the night before.The only ones left in the club... what else happened? What more did the Reapers do?
“Let’s find the boss. If he’s still alive, that is.”
I gulped. I did not recognize the voices of the two men. And knowing my father, if these were the typical types he recruited, there was no telling what they would do to me. Especially if and when they discovered my father was dead.
I got out of bed, rubbed my shoulder—Cole’s bandage and tourniquet had helped quite a bit—lightly walked across the hallway, and went into my father’s old room, finding a gun. I tucked it into my pants—I hoped not to have to use it. Sadly, I didn’t trust the Saints not to eat their own.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Colt, come and look at this fucking shit.”
A few seconds passed before Colt yelled, “Fucking hell!”They must have seen my father.
“Looks like the boss took it right in the gut,” the first man said. “Jesus Christ. This place…”
“Is ours for the taking?”
I had to take charge.
“Ahem.”
Colt and the first man looked up at me. At first, they looked surprised to see me.
“Lilly?” Colt said. “What the hell happened here?”
“What does it look like happened here?” I said. “The Reapers came in, a battle took place, and everyone you see is dead.”
“Christ almighty…”
“What are you two doing here?”
The two looked at each other like they expected the other to speak. Colt took the lead, but I could tell he was probably about to lie.
“We came in to see what happened,” he said, swallowing. “We got reports of the home being attacked, but we were defending the clubhouse, and... well, that place is gone too.”
“So everyone’s gone?”
Colt and the first man nodded.
“What are your names?”
“He’s Colt; I’m Jesse.”
“Jesse, Colt,” I said.
I intended to tell them to leave. I had first thought I’d just tell them to get the hell out so I could have the place to myself. I also didn’t trust that they wouldn’t start getting ideas with my father gone.
But then I remembered something. I had to manipulate them for something.
