Page 25 of The Crowing of Hell

“Maybe, but I’d make Clive pay every which way possible!”

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I spent another hour with Lola, bringing her round, and then left her with Mattie. Lola was a good kid—strike that—woman, as she had four kids after all. Her teenage years had been lost in a torrent of abuse and bullshit. Now, she was struggling to find her place in a strange and unknown world. Clive had kept Lola locked up, and she’d not tasted the outside world for years. Lola was faced with the daunting task of making her own decisions and finding her own way.But she wouldn’t do it alone. The Trusts would be there every step.

As I left, Lola appeared strong enough to send the guards away, which meant I’d done my job. On speaking with Mattie, I discovered she’d already pulled the footage and sent it to the two liaisons who had attended while Rooster and I had been travelling. Clive’s days were marked, and he wasn’t going to be missed by anyone. Lola is better off without him. As were the children.

I walked through the doors leading to the carpark and found Rooster outside as he talked to a couple of guards. At first, I worried he was trying to get details on Lola, but I was gratified when I heard them speaking about any additional security the shelter might need. I’d not named Lola, as it was attorney/client privilege, and the information I’d given could be matched to at least twenty of the SD Rebirth Trust’s current clients.

Rooster offered a smile as I waited for them to finish their conversation, and then he led me to my courtesy car.

“I’ll be glad when they pay out on the insurance. I hate loan cars, I’m never comfortable in them,” I said as Rooster opened my door.

Happily, I slid into the seat and let out a sigh of relief. Lola hadn’t meant to, but she’d jarred my ribs when she tackled me. With my headache and other pains, I just wanted to hide and let the world pass.

“How is the pain?” Rooster asked.

“Bad,” I muttered.

“Okay, change of plans,” Rooster said, typing in a zip code into the sat nav.

Tiredness swept over me, and my eyes closed. I didn’t even have the energy to reply.

Rooster

Kenny looked like shit. She was pale, and her lips were almost white from where she was biting them in pain. Her brow was creased as she clearly fought off a migraine, and she was leaning away from her broken ribs.

Annoyed, Rooster realised Kenny hadn’t been looking after herself. And he hadn’t saved her life for her to be foolish.

Rooster headed for Hellfire and his home there with the boys. His had been one of the first built and adjusted for his disability. It was the little things, like slippery floor tiles, that could send him crashing down or step stairs with not enough foot room for his prosthetic to place properly.

Apache and Rock had done a brilliant job of designing a two-story house with a huge basement. And they’d added things like a discrete elevator for a wheelchair and handrails in the bathroom, and everything was at a height he could reach. Climbing on shit to grab stuff out of reach was long gone, and Apache and Rock had considered every factor.

He appreciated they had given him a home with afew minor adjustments. Rooster was just as grateful to Tiny, who’d provided all his gym equipment and made sure it suited an amputee. Tiny even took a college course to refresh his trainer skills around disabled individuals. Then Tiny had devised a training programme for Rooster.

Rooster had received his prosthetic eight weeks after he lost his leg. The fact he had one that people would kill for wasn’t the balm it was meant to be. Rooster knew Phoe had pulled out all stops to get him the best, and he appreciated it. And he had pushed his physiotherapy to start walking as soon as possible.

He’d beaten all expectations, but Rooster suffered phantom limb pain and never told anyone.

Rooster would lie awake in bed some nights, gritting his teeth to stop him screaming out in agony. Some doctors claimed it was in the patient’s head. Rooster would tell them to go back to fuckin’ school because it certainly wasn’t.

Rooster let Kenny sleep as he steered his thoughts away from the bitterness that lie just under the surface. He tried not to be resentful, but he couldn’t help it. Out of everyone, only he had lost a limb that day, although Clio had lost her womb. They should have connected over their losses but hadn’t. Rooster respected Clio, of course, but he’d not become close to her like Diesel had.

Hellfire’s gates came into view, and Fanatic opened them as he slowed to a crawl. The prospect’s expression amused him. Rooster scowled as he saw Fanatic whip out his phone. The little shit was nodoubt informing Chance that Rooster had arrived in a cage and with a woman. For that, he’d make Fanatic go pick up his bike. That would teach him to tittle tattle.

By the time he had parked up outside his drive, he could see Chance already heading down the wooded path that led to his and Clio’s home. Despite the distance, he recognised Chance by his size.

Rooster whipped his phone out and dialled.

“Turn around and ask Clio for some women’s PJs and spare clothes,” Rooster said as Chance answered.

“What the—”

“Just do it.” Rooster sighed, and Chance cut the call.

Rooster undid Kendara’s seatbelt and placed weight on his amputation. There was no pain or discomfort, so he felt okay doing what he did next. Kenny wasn’t a tall woman, about five foot four and slim, although she had an ass, and her boobs certainly caught the eye. He bent down and lifted her.

Before taking a step, he leaned his weight on his leg again to check. Quite happy he could carry her, Rooster walked up to the house and entered. There was a downstairs guest bedroom, so Rooster headed there, and juggling Kenny, he managed to pull the covers back and place her gently down.