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CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
*Zane “Father” - Chaplain*
Iwatch from the corner of the room as Brodi carries in the trauma kit from his bike, unclips the straps, and gets out all the tools he needs to fix Baylor enough to get him out of here.
The man lying beside him is unidentifiable, his face nothing more than a swath of meaty blood.
Kal immediately went to the room Vee warned the victim was locked in. Took him a few minutes to break the lock, but only half that time to scoop her up and get her body in the backmost part of the van. After hooking Bay’s bike up on the trailer, Coty stays posted at the door the entire time, keeping a lookout for any… visitors.
I watch Brodi closely, looking for answers in his expressions. He works fast, skilled, but panic and concern still crease his features. I had no idea he was so good at things like this. As scattered as his attention seems to be usually, I would have never pegged him to excel in something that requires so much focus.
His revealed specialty reminds me about mine. I take a deep breath and stumble forward until I am on my knees opposite him. His eyes flit up to mine briefly. I slowly lift my hands to Baylor’s head and place them on his forehead, one on top of the other, then I whisper a quiet prayer, both for Baylor and for Brodi.
Brodi swallows hard and gives me a thankful, curt nod as he wraps up the freshly cleaned and cauterized wound. Whether he believes in prayer or not has little importance. Sometimes all the power of prayer takes is the illusion of its effectiveness. His tense shoulders relax as he looks over his shoulder at Kal. “Vee was right. In-house job. Let’s get him to the condo. Far as I can tell, it looks worse than it is, but we need to get him stripped and completely clean before I can tell for certain. Pretty sure most of the blood around him is from John Doe over here. Hard to tell for sure, but my guess is Bay passed out from the pain not the blood loss. Vee tried to cauterize the wound. The knife must not have been hot enough, but it helped.”
Kal gives him a sharp nod. “Victim is alive but needs to be taken to the ER. Curbside drop and go.” A collective breath of relief cycles between everyone. “Can you drop her first?” he asks Brodi.
Brodi gives Bay another good look over before deciding. “Yeah.”
Kal, Brodi, and I work together to lift his body and carry it out the door. While we situate him into the middle row, Coty approaches, eyes still watching the street and nearby houses closely. “This place needs to burn.”
Brodi agrees. “Coty is right, the entire place is a fucking cesspool of disaster. We gotta burn it.”
Coty looks at me and jerks his head toward the back of the van. I follow him around, leaving Kal and Brodi to finish making sure Baylor and the victim are ready for the trip. Coty opens the trunk, pulls out a filled gas can, and shoves it into my chest. “Set the body on fire, first. Then the bedroom door and the stove. Vee fucked with them; his bloody fingerprints are on the knobs.” He peeks around the back of the van toward Kal and Brodi. “Best to stagger. I can leave first, ride straight to the condo and make sure Kio, Chaz, and Lace are tucked in before you arrive.”
I gape down at the gas container in my hand, tottering backward. He slams a hand down on my shoulder, insisting on my rapt attention. “Look, kid. No one starts out a killer; that life is learned. Just like anything else that comes unnaturally, some pick it up easier than others. Some have a natural aptitude for it, most must adapt. Those who adapt often become the best.” Coty squeezes my shoulder once and turns away. Leaving me to learn how to become the best.
