Chapter Four

Priest

I'd messed up big time.

I couldn't get the image of her face as she stormed out of the cabin, out of my head. No matter what I did, it was there, a constant reminder of my greatest failure.

To make matters worse, Scribe was looking like he wanted to scalp me. And for some reason, I knew he was capable of that, all because he kept glaring at me from across the room, cleaning his nails with his trusty knife.

"You hear what happened last night?" Gunner asked, taking a seat next to me at the bar.

"No."

"Enigma and Sugar got into a huge fight. Words were said and she left."

Yeah. Too bad that wasn't the half of it. Apparently, it was a full moon last night, because my brother wasn't the only one having his ass handed to him.

"Thought she was supposed to stay here, where it's safe."

"King went to talk to her, but he came back without her. Guess she's gonna stay at her place. He's on the phone with Mike right now."

I nodded, not really paying attention.

It wasn't that I didn't care, because I did.

I just had other things on my mind.

Like how I was going to apologize to Phoebe.

"Cameron, I don't have time today," Skylar moaned as she walked out of the kitchen, her brother Cameron hot on her heels. "Now stop dallying or you are going to be late for school again."

"But, Sissy, it's important!"

"Ask Scribe or Frank. They enjoy doing the school thing."

"I can't this time," he whispered, looking down at his shoes.

If that wasn't a big indicator that something was seriously up, I didn't know what was. Since I'd met Cameron in West Virginia, that kid had been nothing but the biggest pain any of us ever saw. The kid never shut up. He always had something to say, and once he got started on the Bettys, it was game over. The only ones who could tolerate the kid were Frank and Scribe and that was only because they let the kid get away with murder.

Gunner chuckled, so did Banks and Pyro, who were still drinking their coffee. At the mention of his name, Scribe smirked, sitting up straighter, ready to come to his buddy's rescue if needed.

"Fifty bucks, he's in trouble," Gunner whispered.

"Not taking that bet. I already know he's in trouble. Look at him. Kid can't even look at his sister."

Everyone looked on, eager to hear what Cameron had done this time. Uniquely gifted in the ‘ Hold My Beer' department, Cameron never let any situation pass him by.

If it was something he couldn't or shouldn't do... he did it anyway.

"Sissy, it's just a small get together at the school, right before class starts. Please come."

Skylar groaned.

"Fine. Who is going to be there?"

"Um...you, me and Principal Kellerman."

Banks roared with laughter.

"What did you do now, Cam?" Pyro asked, trying to hide his smile.

"Kinda showed the class the live version of nature's natural selection," the kid muttered. "It was an accident. I swear!"

"Oh, this is gonna be good." Gunner turned on the stool, giving the kid his full attention. "Come on, Cameron. Lay it on us. Whatcha do?"

"Fine," the kid huffed as his sister glared at him. "You know Fred, right? Fred the Bullfrog? He's my classroom's pet. Well, he's been looking kinda lonely lately. Not eating all the flies and crickets like he should. So, I got to thinking he needed a friend, someone to cheer him up. But it ain't easy finding another bullfrog, so I found him the next best thing—Lenny."

"Who or what the hell is Lenny?" Pyro asked.

Cam grinned. "Lenny is a lizard."

"Oh damn." Banks laughed, shaking his head. "I know where this is going."

"Finish your story, Cameron." Sklyar huffed impatiently.

"Well, I introduced Lenny to Fred before class let out the other day. And well, when we all showed up for class yesterday morning, Fred was gone. No one could find him, and Lenny had a really big belly."

"Oh no." Skylar sighed, covering her face.

"Yep." Cameron nodded animatedly. "Lenny ate Fred. But apparently Fred didn't sit well, ‘cause right before lunch, Lenny puked him back up. Legs and all. It was really gross. I didn't see what the big problem was. None of the boys minded. They thought it was kinda cool. But the Bettys... well, they started crying, and then all hell broke loose. Now, Mr. Kellerman wants to have a sit-down chat, but he won't tell me what about."

Standing, Scribe looked at me and smiled. "You know what, Sky. I think Priest should take this one. He hasn't had the privilege of a Cameron fun-filled day yet, and since he's not got anything else on his plate today, I think he would love to help you out."

"Really!" Skylar beamed at me. "Oh, that would be wonderful, Priest. I really do have a lot to do today. Would you mind?"

I was going to kill him.

Literally kill him in his sleep.

He would never see the birth of his child.

Glaring at the annoying fucker, I stated, "I would love to help, Skylar, but Cameron said it had to be you."

"Oh please." Skylar sighed, reaching for her phone. "Mr. Kellerman won't care who shows up, as long as someone does. Let me call him so he knows it will be you."

Before I could stop her, she was already walking away, talking into her phone.

Scribe moseyed over to the bar and whispered close so only I would hear, "Serves you right, fucker. And when you're done smoothing things over at Cameron's school, you better smooth things over with my sister."

Hefting his Spiderman backpack higher on his back, Cameron headed for the front doors. "Come on, Priest. I ain't got all day!"

Oh yeah.

I was definitely going to kill Scribe.

"What the hell do you mean he's suspended for three days!" I shouted at principal Kellerman. "I never heard of a six-year-old getting suspended from shit!"

"You tell em, Priest." Cam stood up, angry, arms crossed over his little chest. "And don't forget, I'm gonna be seven tomorrow. So, no more of that six shit."

Glaring at the boy, he quickly sat his ass back down.

I could handle this crap myself.

He'd already done enough.

"I'm sorry, Priest, but this is his third infraction this month. I was very clear with Skylar what would happen if Cameron messed up again."

"This month? We're only four days into the month!" I shouted, turning to Cameron. "What happened? You had a brain fart and behaved one day?"

"Nope, I had a dentist appointment." The brat grinned.

Ignoring the little shit, I turned back to the principal. "Throw me a bone here. What the hell am I supposed to do with him for three days? We all have jobs. Besides, it was just a damn frog."

"Fred wasn't just a bullfrog, Priest. He was an American bullfrog and a valuable member of the Rosewood Elementary. He's been with the school for over twelve years now. The entire school is in mourning. The teachers and students all want to hold a funeral."

"Cool!" Cameron piped up again. "Can I come?"

"NO!" Principal Kellerman and I shouted.

For all I knew, Cameron would give the damn frog a Viking funeral and set the damn school on fire.

Getting to my feet, I tried to keep a lid on the fury radiating within me.

Three fucking days.

THREE!

All because of some damn reptile.

Grabbing Cameron's backpack, which was still secured to his back, I headed for the door, dragging him behind me when Mr. Kellerman added, "I'll see you in ten days, Cameron."

"Wait a damn minute. You said three days."

"Yes. But Spring Break starts on Friday and Cameron will still be serving his suspension on Friday."

"That's just great," I barked, just when Mr. Kellerman added,

"And Cameron, you can pick up Lenny at the front desk."

"SWEET!"

The little shit ran out of the principal's office.

Chasing after him, I came to a dead stop when I saw him bent over a small cat carrier and whatever was inside was hissing.

Like fuck around and find out... hissing!

"What the hell is that?" I roared, pointing at the carrier as Cameron smiled up at me.

"This is Lenny!"

The kid had to be mistaken.

That wasn't just any lizard.

That was a motherfucking miniature dragon!

Counting to ten, I took a deep breath, reached for the handle on the carrier before pointing toward the door. After making sure he was secured in his booster seat, I placed the carrier in the passenger seat as the reptile hissed again.

"Keep it up, Lenny, and I'm going to turn your ass into a wallet."

Peeling out of the parking lot, I headed for town.

"So, what are we gonna do today, Priest? I got ideas if you can't think of anything."

Grumbling, I shook my head, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the jailbird as he continued to talk non-stop until I pulled in front of Beth's coffee shop. What I really wanted was to park my ass at the tavern and drink the day away, but apparently that was frowned upon when there was a minor around.

So, coffee it was.

Getting out of my truck, I held the back door open, allowing Cameron to jump down. Standing in front of me, he looked up at me, smiling like he didn't have a care in the world.

Rolling my eyes, I pointed to Beth's front door.

"Go on. Cause havoc."

The kid didn't need to be told twice.

Reaching for the carrier, I had just shut the driver's side door when I heard a loud whistle.

Turning, I saw Bailey walking across the street with Jessica.

"Was that Cameron? Why isn't he in school?"

"Kid got three days of jail time. Though, I'm thinking we're all going to be pleading for incarceration before his time's up."

Bailey frowned, asking, "What did he do?"

"Short version. Lizard killed a frog and the kid gets a three-day vacation."

"What?" Jessica gasped, confused.

Trust me. I was confused too and I was there.

Lenny hissed again.

"Oh my God!" Jessica gasped, bending down to look into the carrier. "Is that a bearded dragon?"

"Yeah," I groaned. "Meet Lenny."

"How in the hell did Cameron get a bearded dragon?"

"Who the hell knows. Amazon Prime?"

"Skylar is going to lose her shit." Bailey chuckled, looking into the carrier as Lenny hissed again just as Devlyn Never walked out of Beth's coffee shop.

"Hey, guys. What's up?"

I sighed. "Don't ask."

"Hey, Bailey. Isn't that Marlene?" Jessica muttered as a piece-of-shit rusted Ford Taurus rolled by with a mattress tied to the roof.

Bailey smiled. "Well, would you look at that? The club whore is doing Door Dash now."

Jess and Devlyn chuckled.

There was no love lost between Marlene and Bailey. In fact, Bailey made it her mission to personally reconstruct the woman's face every time they were near each other. Which was why King banned club whores from the club permanently.

He was tired of paying for their medical bills.

Knowing I couldn't leave Cameron alone for long, I excused myself and walked into the coffee shop.