CHAPTER 5

As Leilah progressed into the last months of her pregnancy, she participated in less of the cleansings. The group had taken to utilizing Ivy as bait for their victims. She would go to the same bars she had scouted out her own victims and would follow careless drunks as they left. Harper and Rowan would take out their tires and Ivy would come along to "rescue" the distressed drivers. That particular night, Ivy was on the phone with Leilah as she followed her unassuming target from the bar.

"Be careful out there, girl." Leilah was taking deep breaths into the phone.

"Don't worry…" Ivy looked into the passenger seat to see Baron's switchblade and slipped it into her pocket. "I'm packing reinforcement. You just concentrate on taking it easy. That baby is gonna show her beautiful face any day now!"

"She's not supposed to be here for another month, but it feels like she's trying to make her appearance a little early."

"Oh I know…she's gonna show up when she pleases. You just be ready, Mama!" Ivy hung up with Leilah as she saw the car in front of her swerve and careen into a ditch. She pulled up behind them and slowly got out of the car. As she walked towards him, she could see Harper and Rowan tucked behind the trees across the road. The man driving the car got out shaking his head as he tried to figure out what went wrong. "Hey…need some help?" Ivy had her hands in her pocket, pulling her leather jacket open so the man got a good look at her breasts.

"You must be my guardian angel!" The drunk man tried to be cool as he staggered towards Ivy. Harper and Rowan looked as if they were ready to lunge at any time.

"I just might be…looks like you have a flat."

"Yeah, I have a spare in my trunk. I could fix it if I can get my car out of this ditch."

"Well, I happen to have a friend who owns a tow truck. He's actually at my house right now. We're having a little party." Ivy moved in closer to the man to give him a closer look at her "goods".

"A party huh?" The man reached out to stroke Ivy's side and she saw Harper and Rowan starting to come out of the woods but held her hand up to tell them she was okay. "Maybe I should call for roadside assistance and I can follow you back to your place once my tire is fixed."

"You could do that…" Ivy moved closer and bit back her contempt as she stroked his face. "Or you could come to my place, have a drink with me and my friend can come get your car later…when we're done partying." Ivy winked at him. He quickly snatched the keys from his car and followed Ivy back to her car.

"A 4C Spider, huh? This is a nice whip you have here." He climbed into the passenger seat and Ivy made the engine roar.

"Yes…I call her the Black Widow." She gave him a sexy smirk as she sped off down the road towards Baron's house.

Since Leilah was far into her pregnancy, the group had done the majority of their cleansings at Baron's house. Bray's tow truck was parked in the driveway next to Baron's bike as they pulled up and the man quickly staggered out of the car. When they opened the door, Baron and Bray were sitting in the living room having a beer.

"Hey Ivy…I see you brought home a friend!" Bray was putting on his best drunk act to appeal to the already drunk stranger.

"Yes…this is my friend…." Ivy snapped her fingers as she looked at the man for his name.

"John..." He extended his hand to greet Bray as he presumptuously hung his other arm around Ivy's waist drawing an annoyed look from Baron.

"John this is my friend Bray, the tow truck driver I told you about and our friend Baron." Ivy stood back as he greeted both of the men. "Let me get you a beer, John." Ivy walked into the kitchen as Baron and Bray talked to John in the living room.

Ivy emerged with a beer for John and one for herself. She sat on the couch next to John and he put his arm around her.

"Cheers, John!" Bray lifted his beer to John and Baron reluctantly followed suit. John guzzled the beer as he pulled Ivy in closer.

"So how about we get this party started?" He thought he was whispering to Ivy, but he said it loud enough for Baron and Bray to hear.

"Oh in due time, my new friend…in due time!" Bray lifted his beer again as Baron rolled his eyes.

Within 10 minutes, John started to shake his head as if he was trying to shake off his buzz. Bray, Baron and Ivy carried on their conversation as normal until they saw John starting to slump over on the couch. Baron walked over and stood in front of him wielding his favorite hammer.

"What's the matter, John? You'll never be able to handle Ivy if you can't hold your alcohol!" Without warning to Ivy, Baron swung the hammer, bashing in John's skull as Bray laughed like a maniac. John's blood splatted all over Ivy as she shook her head at Baron.

"That never gets old!" Bray put his beer down and joined in on the fun by sticking his knife under John's chin and thrusting it up into his skull as if he were merely killing a crawfish. Ivy went to Baron's bedroom and got the antique hatchet he bought her for her birthday and started hacking at John's lifeless body as she thought about him putting his hands on her. Bray finally slid the hacked up body from the couch and took out his phone to call Harper and Rowan to bring the saw in to finish the disposal process, but as soon as he took out his phone, he saw that Leilah was calling him. She said she was having contractions and the baby was on her way.

"It's time for the baby!" Bray yelled, startling Ivy and Baron as they continued to cut the body up before Harper and Rowan got there. "I'm going to go get Leilah and take her to the hospital!"

"I'm gonna go home and clean up. Then I'll jet to the hospital to be with you guys!" Ivy was positively giddy as she pulled out her car keys and walked towards the door.

"Baron, you Harper and Rowan can finish this job, can't you?" Bray was half way out the door and smiling from ear to ear.

"Sure, Bray you go ahead. We'll clean up and then we'll go pick up Ivy so we can all ride to the hospital together." Baron shook Bray's hand and gave Ivy a kiss before going back to cutting up the body.

Ivy sped back to her place in record time. She wanted to be there for her best friend as she welcomed her first child into the world. Just as she slipped her clean shirt over her head, she heard a knock at the door. Assuming it was Baron and the guys coming to pick her up, she whipped the door open, but it was Kevin.

"Hey Kevin…sorry I was just on my way out. Can we talk later?" Ivy put on her leather jacket and made sure she had everything she needed.

"No….we need to talk now." Kevin came into her room and pushed the door, but didn't close it all the way. Ivy finally turned her attention to him as he slowly walked towards her. "I've been patient…I've waited for so long thinking my turn would come."

"What are you talking about, Kevin? I don't have time for this."

"You don't have time for me, but you have time for that asshole boyfriend of yours, don't you?!" Kevin's eyes were bloodshot red and Ivy looked on with a mixture of confusion and slight fear. "I've helped you get rid of bodies…I even gave you connections to push the paperwork through to transfer that guy's car into your name after you killed him, but it was never my turn!"

"Your turn for what?!"

"All I wanted was to love you…to feel your body against mine, just once!" He pushed her against the wall and kissed her, making Ivy gag. "Well, now it's my turn!" Kevin pulled out a gun and pressed it into Ivy's stomach. Standing in a state of shock, Ivy put her hands up showing Kevin she wasn't going to put up a fight.

"Kevin…calm down…we can talk about this."

"No more talking! You were supposed to be mine!" Kevin shook as he held the gun against her body. "You're gonna give me what's mine right now!" He tore her shirt with one hand and quickly choked her against the wall. "Put on some music! Light some candles…I want the full experience!" He kept the gun pointed at Ivy as she slowly walked around the room obeying his commands. She put on her mix CD and put her hands back in the air. "Now kiss me!" Kevin lunged at her shoving his tongue down her throat, as tears started to stream down her face. Suddenly, he pushed her down by her shoulders and unzipped his pants before shoving his dick in her mouth. Holding the gun to the top of her head, he fucked her face as she gagged at his smell. Wanting her to continue, he laid back on her bed and held her head in place. Her eyes shifted over to the side of the bed where she kept her hatchet. "Don't try any bullshit or I'll blow your fuckin head off!" Remembering Baron's switchblade in her pocket, she devised a plan as she pretended to get into sucking his dick. She did her best to make him cum as she sucked, slurped and swallowed him before making her way to his balls. Just as he was about to cum, he let his hands fall to the side and Ivy knew this was her chance. She quickly pulled the switchblade from her jacket pocket and stabbed him in the stomach. As he screamed, she reached for her hatchet and climbed on top of him. She gave him one good whack in the head before he put the gun to her stomach and fired. She screamed out in pain as she gave him a few more whacks before falling over on the bed next to his lifeless body.

"Fuck!" Ivy tried to stand but she fell back on the bed gasping for air. Her blood saturated the white t shirt she was wearing and she felt herself getting weaker, so she just laid back on the bed as the tears fell from her eyes. "God, please forgive me…" She closed her eyes just as Baron came to her door and saw the bloody scene.

"Ivy!" He ran to her and grabbed her limp body to see the gunshot wound. "No, baby come on…." He slapped her face lightly to try and wake her up, but he knew he was too late. He held her while sobbing like a child as the love of his life succumbed to death in his arms. As he held her body, "The Dreamer" by Amigo the Devil started to play on her CD mix. He looked down at the bottom of the bed and saw his switchblade that Ivy used to try and defend herself. He grabbed it and wrapped his arms around Ivy as he felt her body getting heavier. With tears streaming down his normally stoic face, Baron kissed Ivy on the cheek before dragging the blade across his wrist and let it fall on the bed as he wrapped his arms around her body. "I love you, Ivy." He pulled her back as they laid in each other's arms for the last time until the life left his body. He could only hope that he would meet her in their next lifetime and time would be much more kind to them than it had been in this life.

Bray and Leilah made it to the hospital just in time. Their baby girl was ready to make her entrance into the world and she was coming quickly. The doctors helped Bray coach Leilah as she pushed through a natural birth. Harper and Rowan were outside in the waiting room. Baron convinced them to drop him off at Ivy's and to go ahead of them to the hospital. He would just ride to the hospital with Ivy after she was dressed. They sat nervously twiddling their thumbs like proud uncles, waiting for an update from Bray.

About 3 hours later, Bray appeared in the waiting room, telling them to come see their new niece. The doctor allowed them to make a brief visit after the baby was cleaned off and resting in Leilah's arms.

"Come on in guys! Meet Destiny Lee Wyatt!" Leilah beamed as she looked around the room and the men who were normally monsters, gushed over the baby girl who would rule their world from now on. After fawning over the baby for a few minutes, Leilah noticed her best friend wasn't there. "Guys, where's Ivy and Baron?" Harper and Rowan looked at each other and shrugged.

"You know those two, they might've gotten side tracked…if you know what I mean!" Bray laughed loudly as he stroked Destiny's hair, but Leilah had a serious look on her face.

"No…I know Ivy and she wouldn't miss this…" Leilah looked at Bray who was helpless under her power.

"Boys, how about you go see what's keeping Baron and Ivy...if it'll make my beautiful queen and princess happy. Take the F250 in case they need a ride." Bray barely looked at them because he was so consumed with his new baby girl.

"Ivy is in room 13. Tell them to get their asses over here to meet their new niece!" Leilah giggled as Bray kissed her forehead. Harper and Rowan didn't hesitate when getting Bray and Leilah's orders, and quickly went to the truck to head to Ivy's rooming house.

When they got there, the door was still open and they were greeted with the sight of their friends' bodies laid on the bed. Each of the men shed silent tears as they assessed the situation and went in to action. They wrapped their bodies up in the blankets from Ivy's bed and carefully set them in the back seat of the truck. They came back to get Kevin's body, breaking his bones and using the hatchet to fit him in a few trash bags before tossing him in the bed of the truck. After cleaning up the room, they took the bodies back to Bray's house to deal with them. Not wanting to dampen Bray and Leilah's mood, they dug two separate graves for Baron and Ivy, giving them a respectable burial. They buried Ivy next to the rose bush in Bray's backyard that she always admired and laid Baron right by her side. They angrily disposed of Kevin's body the way they had all of their other victims, tossing his body in the mass grave pit. After burial, the two men cleaned up and headed back to the hospital as they tried to figure out how to tell Bray and Leilah what had happened.

Harper and Rowan sat in the waiting room again until Bray came to get them to look at Destiny through the window, laying there with all the other newborn babies.

"Isn't she beautiful, boys?" Rowan put his hand on Bray's shoulder drawing a confused look from him. He looked up into Rowan's tear filled eyes and felt what he was going to tell him. His head shot to Harper who also had tears in his eyes.

"They're dead…"Harper tried to keep his voice from trembling as he uttered the words.

"Baron and Ivy?!" Bray put his hands on the glass as he cried, mourning his friends. "We'll wait til tomorrow to tell Leilah…let her rest." The three men stood there watching baby Destiny in a cloud of mixed emotions. They thought they had become immune to death, but there was no way to be prepared for losing a part of their family.

The next day, the sun was shining brightly as Leilah woke up to her newborn baby. Bray was sitting in a chair across the room watching her as she slept.

"Hey baby…" Leilah sat up and looked over at Destiny sleeping.

"Good morning, my beautiful queen." Bray was able to flash a smile as he saw Leilah and the baby, but she could tell something was wrong.

"What's the matter, honey?" She studied his face, but couldn't figure out what was on his mind. "What time did Ivy and Baron get here last night?" As she mentioned their names, Bray just turned his gaze to the floor. "Bray….look at me!" Bray walked over and sat on the edge of the bed to look into his beloved's eyes. He bit back the words, wanting to delay Leilah's sadness as long as he could.

"They're gone, Leilah…" Bray looked away as Leilah slowly processed what he meant. Tears filled her eyes as she fell front into his shoulder for comfort. "I know, darling…this is tough. God might have taken our friends back, but he gave us Destiny for comfort." Leilah looked at the window to her room where she saw two buzzards swoop down and land on the tree near the window. She lifted her head to look at Destiny before cracking a slight smile through her tears. She knew that was Ivy and Baron's way of welcoming their niece into the world. Bray held her in his arms trying to be strong for Leilah and their daughter.

Since things had gone well with her birth, Leilah and baby Destiny were able to leave the hospital later that day. Harper and Rowan took the tow truck and the F250 home the night before and came back to pick up Bray, Leilah and the baby later that evening. On the way home, they explained to Bray that they couldn't figure out what had gone wrong leading up to Ivy and Baron's deaths. All they knew was there was another man and a gun lying next to their bodies on the bed. Bray wanted Leilah to take the baby home and get some rest, but she insisted on tagging along to find out what happened to their friends.

While Leilah and Destiny stayed in the truck, Bray and the guys went upstairs to Ivy's room. Rowan took her keys from her pocket before the burial, so they were able to get in and look around. Harper and Rowan did a great job of cleaning the blood up, but they were both filled with dread as they revisited the scene of their friends' deaths. As the men walked around the room trying to piece together the motive for their deaths, a young couple knocked on the door to get their attention.

"Excuse me….do you live here?" The woman was dressed in an expensive looking pantsuit and the man sported a sweater and khakis.

"No, this room belongs to a friend of ours." Bray engaged in conversation with the woman hoping to get some information.

"Well, have you seen this man?" The woman held up a picture of Kevin, and Harper and Rowan recognized him immediately. Harper elbowed Bray letting him know that this was the man whose body they found.

"Ah yes! What's his name…"

"Kevin, he's the manager of this shit hole, but he's also my brother." The woman looked around Ivy's room in disgust, making Bray want to slap her.

"Kevin! That's it!" Bray played along with the woman, but kept quiet enough to make sure he listened for any details.

"We're having car trouble. A couple of buzzards or something slammed into our windshield. We were on our way to New Orleans and my brother is the only person we know in this piece of shit town." The woman put the picture away and folded her arms in disgust with her surroundings. "No offense…"

"None taken, darling. This town isn't everybody's cup of tea, but you know what…I happen to own a garage a few miles from here. I can tow you back there, and you can call your auto club from there. Cell reception can be a little dicey here."

"Yeah, I've noticed. That would be very nice…but I'd really like to find my brother."

"I understand. Kevin is a good friend of our friend Ivy who lives in this 'shit hole' as you called it. It would be no problem to tow you back to my place. Hell, Kevin might even be there. You see, the love of my life just had a beautiful baby girl and we're having a small celebration tonight. You can have a drink while they come and take care of your car!" Bray threw his arms around Harper and Rowan as they smiled broadly.

"Well, we were gonna look for a place to go to dinner if we could find Kevin." The man spoke for the first time, with a tone of annoyance towards his brother in law.

"I insist that you come by, have a drink with us, and then you can be on your way to dinner with Kevin, once you get your windshield fixed." Bray stared at the man and woman with intensity in his eyes, but flashed his trademark charming smile.

"I guess it couldn't hurt…" The woman gave in and her husband gave her a stern look. "I'm just glad he actually has friends and isn't still sitting alone in his room drinking all day. Besides, I don't wanna sit in the middle of nowhere trying to reach our auto club." Bray chuckled to himself as he signaled for Harper and Rowan to walk ahead of him out of Ivy's room.

"That's the spirit! My southern hospitality wouldn't allow me to leave you two nice strangers stranded in the middle of the bayou. We'll have a great time! We're right outside in the big, black truck. I'll scoot home and get the tow truck and we'll be back in a jiffy to pick you up." Bray walked the couple outside where they saw Leilah waving while holding Destiny. The wife even walked over and greeted baby Destiny, making her eager to go to the celebration at the Wyatt home. "We'll be right back. Don't move a muscle!" Bray carefully drove off from the rooming house towards their house and Leilah looked at him with a knowing smile.

"What are you up to, Bray?"

"Me? I'm just helping out the poor sister and brother in law of the man who is responsible for us losing our dear family members." Bray chuckled along with Harper and Rowan in the back seat as Leilah made baby talk with Destiny. "Besides, it's never too early for baby's first cleansing!" Bray leaned over and kissed Leilah as he slightly picked up the speed. He took in a deep breath and looked up at the moon rising over the bayou and saw two buzzards flying to their nest in one of the trees. He couldn't help but to smile with tears in his eyes. Nothing could provide them with the healing they needed like a cleansing. With the birth of their first child, they were assured that their mission would continue long after they were gone. They might have lost some family along the way, but their destiny had truly been fulfilled.

**Thank you for reading "Dark Beauty"! I'd love to hear your feedback and please check out my other stories!**