CHAPTER 3

During the following week, Bray and the guys had been spending more time with Baron and they discovered they had a lot in common. One night after Bray set the crawfish trap, the men all sat outside of Baron's house drinking beer and talking.

"Baron, you seem like a nice guy…what brings you to our neck of the woods?" Bray swigged at his beer with intrigue. Baron hung his head in shame with a reflective look on his face. He swallowed the last of his beer and crushed the can in his hand.

"I got into some trouble and had to split…" Baron looked at Bray's face to see if that answer would suffice, but all three men were obviously curious.

"No need to hold anything in…we're all brothers here!" Bray waved his arms in the air as Harper and Rowan nodded in agreement. Baron rubbed his chin as he nodded his head.

"Ok…uh…I killed a man…" The circle went quiet as they all waited for Bray's reaction.

"Is that all?!" Bray's laughter bounced off of the trees around them and the rest of them gradually joined in, Baron being the last.

"Is that all? That's not the reaction I was expecting." Baron grabbed another beer feeling more at ease now that his secret was out.

"Well…he must've done something to deserve it…"Bray put his hand on Baron's shoulder and waited for more info.

"He beat my mom…he was my stepdad." Baron clenched his fists as he recalled the story. "I started noticing bruises on my mom when I went to visit her. One day I stopped by unexpectedly and saw him slapping her around. I lost it and choked him out until I felt his body go limp."

"Wow!" Bray seemed excited by the story. "What did you do with the body?" Bray's thirst for the gory details was written all over his face.

"I had a friend who worked at the dump. He helped to toss the body there. I needed to get away. So I drove the furthest I could, saw a sign in town for a house for rent and took it." Baron finished another beer and crumpled the can before throwing it to the side.

"Well, sometimes the only way to rectify a situation is to perform a cleansing. Some people don't deserve to walk this earth…ya know?" Bray looked at Rowan and Harper, and they got up and walked away from the circle. "I'd like you to join me on a little ride this weekend." Baron nodded his head accepting the invitation, but it was clear something else was on his mind.

"Sounds good…but I have to make a stop on Saturday night." Baron put his hand on Bray's shoulder as he chuckled to himself.

"Ahh…that firecracker from the bar? I understand. I'll even join you for a drink and we can go from there." Bray ended the conversation and started back towards his house with a deep respect for Baron. He had the ability to handle himself. He was starting to see why he was drawn to Baron. Everything happens for a reason.

As the week came to an end, Bray was lying in bed with Leilah on Friday night when he told her that Baron would be joining him and the guys in pursuit of another cleansing that night.

"Are you sure he can handle this, baby?" Leilah stroked Bray's hair as he laid his head on her chest.

"Yes, my dark beauty. He's capable of doing what must be done. He's ready." Bray kissed her stomach before getting out of bed and getting dressed. "But we have to make a stop at the 'Last Call' first." Bray shifted his eyebrows up and down letting Leilah know it was for Baron's sake.

"He's going back for that girl?!" Leilah held her chest as her heart was warmed to think of how the stranger had sparked Baron's interest.

"No man is an island, love." Bray kissed her forehead after he was fully dressed. "You stay just like that…I'll finish with you when I get back." He winked at her as he walked out of the bedroom and out of the house to go pick Baron up.

By the time the men got to the bar, it was about 11pm and the bar was packed with bikers, a few hipsters and some fresh faced 21 year olds, but Baron couldn't help but notice that Ivy's car wasn't outside.

"Just be patient. She'll be here." Bray sipped at his sole beer for the evening as Baron had barely touched his whiskey because his attention was locked on the door. While sitting at the bar, a drunken man in his early 20s bumped into Baron spilling his beer all over him.

"Hey! What the hell is your problem?!" Baron stood up and grabbed the man by his collar.

"Fuck you!" The younger man tried his best to get in Baron's face. He was clearly experiencing a case of beer muscles. Bray put his hand on Baron's shoulder to calm him down.

"No worries, my friend…" Bray patted Baron on the back as he sat back down on his stool. "I feel we may see that young man again real soon…You need to focus on your lady friend right now." The young man staggered away to rejoin his friends at the other end of the bar and Baron tried his best to sip at his drink to calm his nerves.

Somewhere around 12:30, the door opened and Baron's heart nearly stopped as Ivy walked in. She was wearing her tough leather jacket and a pair of tight jeans, just as she had the night they met. Baron turned to alert Bray of Ivy coming into the bar, but when he turned to Bray, he only saw an empty stool and he was nowhere in sight. Ivy walked directly to Baron and sat on Bray's empty stool.

"Well hello there stranger…." Ivy motioned for the bartender to come over and ordered a glass of Merlot. "I told you all you had to do was look." She swept her auburn hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear to give herself a better view of Baron.

"How do you know I wasn't just having drink or waiting for friends?" Baron sipped his whiskey as he got caught up in her smile again.

"You're right! You could've just been having a drink or meeting friends, but you and I both know that's not true." She turned on her stool and looked directly at him, catching him off guard.

"Nothing gets passed you, does it?"

"Not usually…I'm a very perceptive woman…" She sipped her wine and giggled as Baron stared a hole into her. The second he broke his gaze from Ivy, he noticed Bray standing by the door gesturing for him that it was time to go.

"Look, I gotta go, but I'd love to find a time when we'd be looking for each other at the same time…" Before Baron could finish, she wrote her name and number down on a bar napkin and slipped it into the pocket of Baron's vest.

"I'm not working tonight…if you're up later, give me a ring."

"I might just do that…" Baron patted his pocket as he walked away from her and joined Bray outside.

The clock in Bray's tow truck said it was 1 am on the dot as they slowly crept up the road. Bray saw Harper and Rowan walking on the side of the road and gave them a nod.

"Baron, I think it's time I informed you of my mission…you see, your story about ending your stepfather's miserable existence is kinda what I specialize in. There are douchebags that aren't fit to lick my boots let alone walk this earth." Baron slowly turned his head to look at Bray. "Take this guy for instance…" Bray pulled up behind a Honda pulled over on the side of the road. "He has such disregard for human life that he has chosen to get behind the wheel even though he's clearly drunk. He doesn't care because he'll most likely kill some innocent person driving home from work and he'll walk away with a few scrapes and bruises…unless we stop him." Bray put the tow truck in park as the same disrespectful young man from the bar opened the door of the Honda to throw up.

"That's the dude from the bar…" Baron craned his neck to get a better look at his face as the young punk threw up on the side of the road.

"Yes…the entitled, spoiled little bastard from the bar…don't you think the world would be a much better place if it were cleansed of scum like him?" Bray pulled out his knife from the side of the door and handed it to Baron. Baron flashed back to how drunk his stepfather had been the day he was trying to beat his mom to death. He became enraged all over again and the recent memory of blatant disrespect from the young man at the bar only fueled his rage.

"This isn't my style…" Baron handed the knife back to Bray and looked down to grab a leather handled, 16 ounce straight claw hammer from the floor. "This is more my speed."

"I understand, everybody has their own taste. You have yours…" Bray took the knife in his hand and ran his fingers along the blade. "This is mine." Bray and Baron hopped out of the truck and approached the man who was now dry heaving next to his flattened tire. "Need a little help?" The man raised his head to see them and immediately picked up where he left off at the bar.

"What do you assholes want?! I don't need your help! I'm outta here as soon as I call AAA." He sat on the hood of his car as he tried to raise his phone to get a better signal, but he had no luck.

"Such contempt for me and my friend…I think you need to be taught a lesson, son." As soon as Bray got the words out, Baron rushed to the front of the car, smacking the man with the claw of the hammer. He hit him with such blunt force that the hammer was lodged in his skull, between the eyes. "Oh shit!" Bray was pleasantly shocked at Baron's quickness. He didn't wait for an exchange of pleasantries. He struck quickly and with brute force.

The two of them drug his body back to Bray's tow truck and positioned the body between them as they drove back to Bray's house to complete the disposal. There was no beer can or hubcap from Baron's first cleansing. He didn't need mementos. The tingling sensation he felt every time he'd hold that hammer was all the reward he needed.

After hacking the body carefully and throwing it in Bray's graveyard, Baron went back to his house to clean up and call Ivy, but Bray was on a high he'd never experienced before. He had always enjoyed the "dance" leading up to a cleansing, but it felt great to have Baron add a more direct approach to their mission. The diversity made him positively giddy. Bray showered and invited Harper and Rowan into the house for a celebratory drink. Both of them had showered and joined Bray, having the time of their lives as they relived the events of that night.

"Men, we've recruited another brother this evening. He knows the importance of cleansing this earth and he's prepared to do so whenever necessary. Let's drink to the expansion of our unit!" The three men shot whiskey and pounded beers until almost 4 am when Leilah came out of the bedroom wearing a black lace nightgown. She had joined them in a few drinks after they disposed of the body, but the excitement of the evening was making her even more aroused than usual. "Behold my queen!" Bray staggered over to her and pushed her against the wall, kissing her neck and fighting the urge to break the straps of the "see through treat" she had been saving for him. Harper and Rowan were both drunk, and couldn't take their eyes off of her.

"I think you're embarrassing the guys…" Leilah said, as she sauntered into the living room and stood in front of them, giving them a full display of the reason she had Bray wrapped around her finger. The closer she got, the more Harper and Rowan fought to keep from looking at her. Noticing their diverted eyes, Leilah decided to have a little fun. "I don't think they like to look at me, baby." She turned to Bray, who was thoroughly enjoying the way she was making his loyal followers squirm.

"Did you hear that, fellas? The queen doesn't think you like looking at her…Now, I know her beauty is blinding, but if she wants you to look at her…you look!" Bray held his position leaning against the wall behind Leilah. Harper and Rowan brought their eyes up to Leilah as she slid one strap from her shoulder. Her eyes went to Rowan who had a more than impressive bulge growing in his pants. Leilah turned and got a nod of approval from Bray before walking over to Rowan and sitting on his lap.

"Your eyes…among other things…" She grinded on his erection. "Give you away every time, Rowan." He struggled to figure out what to do with his hands. "Let me help you out." Leilah stood up and sat back down, straddling him, placing his hands on her ass. He let out a moan and Bray continued to stand back as if he were enjoying a peep show. "Is that better?" She gently kissed his forehead as she rocked from back to front, letting him feel her through his pants. Just as Rowan began to grab onto to her ass voluntarily as she grinded on him, she turned her attention to Harper who was sitting right next to him. "And you...you never show any emotion! I bet there's nothing I can do break you down…is there?" Leilah shot a look at Bray, who was now sitting in a chair across the room with a huge smile on his face. She took his continued approval and reached over to rub her hand over Harper's crotch to feel that he was very excited, even though he had a terrific poker face. "Oh! Wow!" She laughed hysterically at how large he was as Bray just sat stroking his chin. Rowan had broken his barrier of apprehension and was now gently kissing Leilah on the neck as he moaned in her ear, while she continued to grind on his lap. She leaned over and unzipped Harper's jeans fully exposing a long, hard dick. She was awestruck at first, but that only lasted a few seconds before she bent down to take the tip in her mouth. He tried to maintain his composure, but feeling the soft lips that he's secretly fantasized about around his dick was driving him crazy. His head fell back as she eagerly sucked him into her mouth making Rowan jealous. Bobbing her head up and down had him grunting like a monster.

"I think he likes that, my queen…don't stop." Bray had his hand in his pants, slowly jerking off as he watched the love of his life pleasing his two loyal followers.

"Do you like it?" Leilah looked up at Harper as she took him all the way into her mouth, making him cry out and hold the back of her head in place as he hit the back of her throat. When she released him from her mouth, she sucked the tip before popping it out. "I asked you a question!" She shoved her head back down on his dick making him cry out again.

"Yes! Yes I like it! Fuck!" Harper fought the urge to lift his hips and fuck her face the way her throat was begging him to, but he didn't want to overstep his boundaries. She pulled her head up from him and sat back up to turn her attention back to Rowan.

"And what do you like?" She slid off his lap and knelt between his legs while unzipping his coveralls and forcing him to pull them down. His colossal dick sprang from his pants, pointing directly at the ceiling. A small drop of pre-cum was coming out from the way she was grinding on him earlier. She licked it away and he moaned as he looked away unable to handle what was happening. She gently sucked the head of his throbbing dick, knowing he was so aroused he could cum at any minute. As she took more of him in her mouth, she heard Bray moaning behind her as he jerked faster and faster. She sucked Rowan's balls for few seconds before she walked over to Bray and knelt between his legs. She pulled his hand from his pants and pulled them down further, freeing the girth that her body seemed to be molded to. Knowing he was about to cum, she sucked him off vigorously until he took over and thrust his hips into her face as he came in her mouth. Harper and Rowan were both jerking off as they watched the revered queen drink down the juices of their leader.

"I think we should take this party to the bedroom…" Bray extended his hand to help Leilah up and escort her to the bedroom while nodding for the guys to join them.

All of the men shed their clothes on the way to the bedroom, leaving Leilah as the only clothed member of the party. She sat on the edge of the bed and Bray pushed her back so she was laying down. Unable to help himself, Bray knelt on the floor and buried his face in her pussy, tasting the sweetness that had become a regular part of his diet since they met. With each lick and slurp, she moaned and her hips gyrated wildly. Without warning, she screamed as she came in his face and he slurped up every drop before standing to look at Harper and Rowan. The look on their faces made it clear that they were eager to taste her as well.

"Both of you should get on your knees and worship the queen…Rowan, you're first." Bray patted Rowan on the shoulder as his humble follower dropped to his knees and dove into Leilah's pussy in one fluid motion. He ate her like a starving man with his mustache and beard tickling her clit making her giggle in between the times when he had her crying out in pleasure.

"I'm gonna cum!" Leilah shook with the buildup of an intense orgasm until she came, holding Rowan's head and smothering him in her pussy as he gratefully thrust his tongue inside of her. Bray, who was sitting at the head of the bed, gave Harper a nod letting him know it was his turn. Harper pulled Rowan away by the shoulder and got on his knees in front of Leilah. He stuck the tip of his nose in her pussy first and proceeded to move his head in a circular motion to spread her wetness all around his face. Rowan devoured her, but Harper was truly worshipping her. Taking the time to kiss every inch of her flower, he eventually lifted her legs up towards her chest and ran his tongue along her asshole.

"Now, this is how you worship the queen!" Bray exclaimed as he started jerking off again, watching Leilah's eyes roll back while Harper savored her.

"Shit…" Leilah grabbed Harper's hair and guided his head as he opened his mouth wider, stimulating her clit and releasing his warm breath inside of her. "Fuck!" She gripped his hair harder as she pulled him into her pussy. Just as she reached one of the most incredibly orgasms of her life, he sucked on her clit while slipping a finger into her asshole. "FUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK!" Leilah's whole body shuttered as she squirted in his face. Bray laughed as she laid there lifeless as if the orgasm had killed her. He gave Rowan a nod and he pushed Harper out of the way, picking up her limp body, and lifting her up with her legs straddling him. He eased her down onto his rock hard dick and it seemed to jolt her back to life. Rowan heaved up into her while palming her ass. After 5 or 6 thrusts, he stopped knowing he was about to cum and he knew cumming inside of Leilah was strictly forbidden. When he stopped, Leilah got down from his grasp and pushed him back on the bed to ride him. She climbed onto him and he let his arms flop out to the side in complete surrender as she rode him like a wild horse. Seeing Leilah lean front onto Rowan, Harper decided to seize the opportunity and positioned himself behind her in preparation to enter her from behind. Rowan held her against his chest as Harper gently slid into her ass making her squirm and taking the guys even closer to ejaculation. Harper slowly eased his way in and out of Leilah as she cried out in excruciating pain that was slowly converting into immense pleasure. Hearing her cry out in pain seemed to turn Bray on even more. He stroked his dick harder as his eyes drifted to the ceiling while he listened to his friends fuck the woman he intended to make his wife someday. The moaning coming from the three of them let Bray know it wouldn't be long before Harper and Rowan would be cumming.

"Ok boys, my turn." Bray pulled Harper back from Leilah and pulled her off of Rowan before laying down on the bed, and positioning her on top so she could ride him. Although having Harper and Rowan's massive endowment inside of her felt good, when Bray was inside of her, she felt heaven and earth colliding.

"Mmmm!" She sat up on Bray's dick and rode him in a trance as Rowan and Harper jerked off on each side of her. "Ahhh….Mmmm." Knowing he and Leilah were about to have another earth shaking orgasm, Bray gave Rowan and Harper permission to come closer to her as they jerked off. Sensing the two giants on each side of her, Leilah grabbed both of their throbbing erections in her hands, alternating as she sucked them off while she rode Bray.

"Show your gratitude her with your seed!" Bray started to thrust up into her while she rode him, rubbing her clit with his hand as he shoved his full length inside of her. Leilah jerked both Harper and Rowan as she flicked her tongue at both of their openings until a shower of their semen covered her face and Bray came inside of her. Leilah wiped her face and eagerly licked their sticky offering from her fingers. She swallowed their semen to show her acceptance of their offering. "Let the essence of our followers nourish the seed I've already planted, my queen. Our family will be complete soon enough."

Harper went to the bathroom to get a towel for her to wipe her face before Bray brought her close to his chest as she still shuddered from the unimaginable ecstasy she just experienced. Harper and Rowan quietly left the house and returned to their cots in the garage beaming with gratefulness for their leader sharing his beautiful goddess with them. Bray held Leilah until she fell asleep in his arms, completely satisfied as the fulfillment of their destiny grew within her stomach.

As Bray was sharing Leilah with Harper and Rowan, Baron had called Ivy and spent a much more modest night with her. To ensure her safety, she invited him to her place. When Baron entered the building and walked up the hall to her room, Kevin peeked out of his door with jealous tears filling his eyes as he saw the tall, dark stranger knock on Ivy's door. He knew something was different about this man. He wasn't drunk and Ivy always escorted her victims to her room personally. The fact that she gave him her address showed him that this was a man she might be genuinely interested in.

"Hey you…" Ivy opened the door and greeted him with the broad smile that had come to haunt his dreams. Baron walked into her modest room and looked around as she closed the door behind him, while getting a good look at him from behind. She was playing a mix of her favorite dark folk music and had lit numerous candles around the room to get rid of any residual smells of death that she might have become immune to.

"Nice place…" Baron removed his vest, standing there in a white v neck t shirt, jeans and his boots.

"Thanks…make yourself comfortable." Ivy walked to the side of her bed and kicked her hatchet further under the bed. Baron sat on her bed and it sunk down under his weight making Ivy bite her lip to imagine a man that size on top of her. She had opened a bottle of wine before he got there and she handed a glass of it to Baron.

"Thank you…" He sipped it even though he was a more of a whiskey man. "I guess you're relieved to have off tonight, huh?" Baron's curiosity about her "work" was something she knew she'd eventually have to deal with.

"Yes I am relieved. It's nice to relax without having to worry about…my work." Ivy sat next to him on the bed. "What about you? What do you do?" Ivy sipped her wine as she eyed him up and down.

"It's complicated." Baron gulped at his wine as he thought about the cleansing he had just done with Bray. "What about you? You never really told me what you do." Ivy's red lips parted in a sexy smirk that made Baron want to pin her to the bed and have his way with her.

"It's complicated as well…" She sat back on the bed as the sounds of one of favorite bands, "Brown Bird" filled the room adding to the tension between her and Baron.

"Well, I have all night…tell me about it." Baron stared directly into her eyes making her feel she could confide in him. He moved closer to her and wrapped his heavily tattooed arm around her waist.

"I don't know that I'm ready to do that…" Ivy broke away from his intense stare and looked at the floor where she spotted a tiny speck of dried blood she had failed to clean up from one of her victims. Taking a huge step, Baron scooted up on her bed and pulled her into him, spooning her.

"That's fine, you don't have to talk about it now." Baron closed his eyes as he smelled the floral aroma from her neck and "Danger and Dread" began to play.

Come on baby let me take your troubles away

Some mean old mama's got your head all in a horrible way

Still for all your crying and all your pain

He gently kissed the back of her neck letting his lips wander upon a star tattoo that bore her initials. She tried to relax into him, but the memories of all the lives she'd had to bring to a tragic end on that bed kept her from being able to fully release herself.

I've heard you wake up crying from the evils lying under our bed

You say there's no use trying to protect you from the danger and dread

Though this world is made of fearsome beasts that bark and bite

We born to put these creatures through one hell of a fight

May we feast upon the flesh of any fever that befalls you tonight

Feeling her tense up with the thoughts she was keeping from him, he pulled her closer, making her feel a security she hadn't felt in several years.

"Can you take me somewhere? Anywhere but here…" Ivy had tears welling in her eyes that she chastised herself for.

"Let's go…" Baron got up from the bed without even questioning her. He put his vest on and waited for her to put her shoes on and blow out the candles. He whisked her down the hall and outside to his bike. He hopped on and guided her as she climbed on the back. They sped down the dirt road towards his house as she rested her head on his back feeling a trust that she never thought she could find in a man.

A few minutes later, they pulled into his driveway and parked the bike. He took her hand and led her down to the moonlit Lafourche Bayou. He wrapped her in his arms and they stood in silence until she felt the words ready to explode unless she let them out.

"I had a rough childhood, Baron. My dad died when I was 10 and my mom remarried an asshole when I was 12." The same tears she fought back at her place resurfaced making her resent what she perceived as weakness.

"I'm sorry to hear that…my dad died when I was 18." Baron pulled her in closer as the stillness of the bayou lulled them into each other's history.

"I watched him rape my big sister for years and my mom always made it seem like my sister's fault…" Ivy let the tears fall as she rested in the arms of this stranger. "I can't believe I'm telling you this. I don't even know you."

"My stepdad beat my mom for a long time and she continued to protect him…we may not have known each other for very long, but we already have a connection. There's no judgement here." He kissed her on the neck while she continued to share her hurt.

"After my sister left home, he turned his attention to me when I was 16 and tried to rape me…" Her voice drifted off and she clenched onto Baron's arms. He just followed her vibe and squeezed her as they watched the moon dangling over the bayou. "He tried to pull my pants down as I was washing dishes one day and I was determined to defend myself even if my mom wouldn't…" She turned around in Baron's arm so she was facing him. There was a sadistic smile on her face through the tears that intrigued Baron. "My mom was at work and he came into the kitchen completely naked. Just as he pressed his disgusting dick against my back, I grabbed the sharpest knife in the butcher block, turned around and sawed his dick right off!" Ivy chuckled to think about that day and Baron fell more in love with her. "I wanted to make sure that bastard didn't have a chance to bring any other sick assholes into the world." She looked up into Baron's face and saw that he was biting his lip as if he wanted to take her right there on the banks of the bayou.

"You did what you had to do…that's one way to cleanse the world of assholes like him." Baron pulled her into his body as he once again thought about the cleansing he had done with Bray earlier that night. "We all do what must be done, when the time is right, but we'll talk about that later." He kissed her forehead before leading her back to his house to cuddle in his bed.

As the sun came up over the bayou, Ivy laid there wide awake after a night of inner conflict about revealing her biggest secret to Baron. She knew he was awake when he pulled her into him and kissed the tattoo on the back of her neck.

"Baron…I think I'm ready to tell you about my work…but it may change your perception of me. It's pretty…dark. Most would be shocked at what I'm capable of." She sat up in his bed and looked down at him as he gave her a sinister grin. This would make or break this new connection they had built, but she felt the need to purge. He simply sat up in the bed, and stroked the side of her body before folding his arms.

"Try me…"