I shake my head.
“You tell us. It was fucking weird for sure, and Kaci didn’t seem to know what was going on either.”
Sean shakes his head again, staring at his beer.
“To be honest, your guess is as good as mine because I only met the guy once, and it wasn’t exactly pleasant. Notunpleasant either, but that asshole always gave me the creeps.” He shakes his head again. “You know Mike Stott’s the founder of a church in Vegas right? It’s called Sanctuary and I think the congregation’s still pretty small.”
I nod.
“Kaci told us.”
Sean sips his beer again, his eyes going thoughtful.
“Well, this is a lot of postulating on my part, and there’s nothing concrete to back my words, but Mike Stott gives me some major cult vibes. Like he’s trying to be the next Warren Jeffs.”
I squint.
“Are you kidding me? The Warren Jeffs who’s in jail?”
Sean nods.
“Yeah, the dude who was setting up twelve-year-old girls to be ‘married’ to fifty-year-old dudes, and each man has like thirty wives too. I think Jeffs himself had multiple wives, not to mention dozens of kids. He basically ruled his cult with an iron fist, and needless to say, once they were discovered they were totally disavowed by the regular Latter-Day Saints.”
“So Jeffs is behind bars now?” Brent growls.
“Yeah. Like I said, the fucker was arrested for ‘marrying’ underage girls. Last I heard, the asshole’s serving a life sentence.”
Still, I squint.
“Yeah, but is Kaci’s dad going down the same road? I mean, doesn’t he see that this Jeffs dude is in jail? Obviously, this particular path terminates in a dead end.”
Sean shrugs.
“If your thing is underage pussy, my guess is you’ll do anything to get it. But have you guys witnessed him doing anything illegal?”
I shake my head.
“Naw. Like we said, we just saw Mike Stott that once, and we didn’t even meet him. As soon as Kaci saw her dad with Miss Little House on the Prairie, she rushed us out of the restaurant because she was super-embarrassed. Hell, I would be too if that were my family.”
Sean whistles.
“Shee-it.”
Brent grunts.
“Fuck me.”
With that, we slump into silence because where the hell is this going? Most men date saucy young women with lush curves and a sweet personality. But somehow, we’ve gotten ourselves involved with a feisty cocktail waitress who appears to be related to a cult leader with a taste for underage women. Not only that, but Mike Stott could have something even more nefarious up his sleeve … and goddamn, if we’re going to let him bury us in his special brand of shit.
9
Kaci
Pretty much the only time I dress modestly is when I’m going to church. Of course, ‘modest’ is relative because for me, it just means that I’m not wearing a super-short skirt with a halter top that shows off my big boobies. Instead, I have a white blouse on with only the top two buttons undone, and my skirt comes all the way down to mid-thigh. Not only that, but sleek penny loafers decorate my feet, instead of the usual glittery platforms that I adore.
After all, clothes matter and my dad would kill me if I showed up to his church looking like a skank. As a result, I keep things normal out of respect for Mike, but also out of respect for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
With another long sigh, I climb into my small car and drive to Sanctuary. I don’t love Sanctuary’s services, but what can you do when your dad’s a founding member of the congregation? Besides, it’ll be over soon. The sermons are generally pretty short, and I like some of the folks I’ve met there.