Page 84 of Ashes to Ash’s

I turned to his dad now that our son was out of earshot. Time to scare the living hell out of this motherfucker.

My hand shot out, grabbing Dennis’ throat as I pushed him against the living room wall with a dull thud. Cal was right beside me, ready to back me up, but I knew I had this under control. This part was really fucking easy.

“Ren belongs to us now. Do you understand what that means?”

The man spluttered a bit, and Cal tapped my shoulder.

“Maybe let him breathe enough to answer?”

“Aw that’s the boring way,” I replied, grinning back at him. I swear this fucker didn’t even try fighting. He just let me hold him there, trembling in my grip. What a pussy.

“Did you beat him?” The man’s eyes widened and he mouthed the word no. I wasn’t sure I believed the fucker, but I pushed my original point again.

“He’s ours now. Do you get that? You don’t look for him, you don’t talk about him, you don’t even think about him. He’s no longer part of your life. You’ll never see him again after today.”

The man gagged, and I loosened my grip just a touch, but suddenly the knife was in my hand and brandished firmly in front of him. Whoa, I never even realised I’d reached for it, but there it was.

“Jesus, Ash!”

I glared at Cal over my shoulder, because rule fucking one, we don’t tell people our names! Had he learned nothing?

“As I was saying. You’ll forget about Ren, right?”

The man nodded. “Is… you’re not really from the church, are you?”

Cal snorted. “The ‘church’ as you call it is gone, and their evil deeds are finished. Ren’s safe now with us. You’re going to retrieve his birth certificate, and any other official papers you have relating to him. Ash, you’ll have to release the fucker to do that though.”

I hadn’t even thought of this stuff, but it was wicked smart of my baby, wasn’t it? Of course Ren would need all that shit if he wanted to do anything legally. I mean, we could probably forge a whole bunch of shit, but why work so hard, if there’s an easy way?

“I’ll release him, but if he tries to run, or call for help, he’ll be doing it from a head that’s no longer connected to his body.”

Dennis gasped, shuddering in my grip as he tried shaking his head, begging me to release him.

“Do you trust him?” I asked Cal, who shook his head.

“Shall I stab him a bit, just to keep him compliant?”

“No! Please,” Dennis gasped, and I tightened my grip again. It was nowhere near as much fun doing this to someone I didn’t want to fuck. Later I’d do it to Cal, so I could relive this sense of power, and get off at the same time.

“What’s happening?” We both looked over our shoulders at Ren, who held a small backpack, and cradled the gold watch in both hands with reverence. Thank fuck this grandfather hadn’t been a shithead like his own child.

“We’re just getting to know your dad, kid.”

“I thought we weren’t killing them.” Them. Them? Fuck. The wife! What if she’d seen us and legged it? How did I forget about her?

“Where’s your wife?” I asked Dennis the dick, and he released a ragged breath that turned into a cough. Ugh.

“Shopping. Uh… the supermarket.”

Good. We’d be gone before she returned, and save Ren the pain of seeing her too.

“Get the papers now. Take too long, and I’ll show you how this knife feels when it’s shoved up your ass.”

Dennis practically wailed with panic, and ran from the room, and I watched Cal follow him, just to make sure he wasn’t calling for help. I turned to Ren, crouching down in front of him.

“We’re just making sure they stay away from you, and don’t give us any trouble, kid. You’re our family now.”

Ren’s lip trembled as he stared back at me. “What if you get tired of me?”