Caught in the Devil's Sheets (12 page)

I take two big hits and exhale handing the pipe over to him. “You want to tell me what’s wrong?” he asks, aware that something has been bothering me this whole trip.

I
don’t
want to talk about it. “Nothing. I just got a little claustrophobic in there with the quiet.”

“I can take it from here.” he offers.

But I don’t want him to think I can’t handle it. “It’s cool, I just need a bowl.” I smile, taking the pipe back and taking another hit. The bowl is small and already out. I clear the ash and pack one more. I have a lot I’m trying to drown out right now.

Odin reaches a hand out and pushes my red curls away from my face, staring into my eyes. The strength to push him away isn’t there. The strength to do something sexy and lure him in isn’t there either. Reason, Inner Teenager, and all my other inner voices seem to be napping. I stare back at him blankly. I hope he doesn’t see how beat down I feel right now, but I have a feeling he’s looking right through me.

Odin leans forward, I think to kiss me. Something inside me snaps, pulling my face away from him.

“I’m not a whore,” I say, calmly, unoffended, but definitively. My hair has fallen out of his hand and he’s looking up at me, his blue eyes longing.

“I never thought you were,” he says raising his hands up defensively. “I think you’re distressed and looking for something solid. No one could blame you.” He’s right, but in this moment I feel like he’s just trying to get something from me. Sex. In what world does hot, domineering, well-to-do Odin, care about me. No one cares about me, not even Billy.

“I’m not a distressed whore,” I use his word against him. “I’m married Odin,” I say firmly. But deep down, I’m bluffing as I try to convince myself.

“I respect that,” he says, shifting his weight to his other leg, still squatting and looking at me for more reaction.

Thank God he doesn’t try again. I don’t how long the faithful house wife inside me can shoot him down. I take another hit off the pocket size pipe and pack him another few snaps. I stand to stretch as he smokes.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive? It’s almost that time. I’ve had more than enough sleep,” he says, standing and stretching his long arms out. His shoulder muscles pop underneath his shirt.

Are you sure you’re married?
Pure Desire has awoken from her nap and is salivating at the idea.

I’m sure
, Reason shoots her down. I don’t want to get mixed up in anything that’s not worth my emotion. If I leave Jaime, it’s going to be for Mr. Absolutely Right. He’ll take care of me physically and emotionally, and he’ll care more about me than anyone ever has. Until then I’d just assume keep my status as a faithful wife.

I toss Odin the keys. Now that I’m pleasantly stoned, I think I’ll take a nap. I put my baby sock back into the suitcase and get in the car.

Odin takes a piss in the grass before ducking into the driver seat. A small part of me wishes I had led Odin on a little further. It’s flattering to be sought after, even if I don’t do anything about it. It’s wrong, but it makes me feel wanted.

I put some music on and lay my seat back a few inches. Everything is foggy, except for my memory of Billy. It stays fresh in my head no matter how hard I try to just forget.

When I stir awake, we’re less than an hour from home. I feel quite refreshed and in a different mood. I’m anxious to get to the hospital and see what the hell is going on. I check my phone and I have a couple messages from Kelli and from Rick, but no real news.

“Want me to drop you off at the hospital before I return this car to Enterprise?” Odin asks.

I had kind of forgotten we wouldn’t be bringing it back to the normal dealership. “I should probably have you drop me at the dealership so I can get my car, and pay off my hefty fine for totaling the last one,” I admit reluctantly. Jaime is going to be so fucking pissed.

“I already took care of it,” Odin says nonchalantly.

What?
“What do you mean you took care of it?” I’m almost speechless as I gape at Odin.

“It’s no big deal. It was dark and I should have been driving.”

“No, it was my mistake I—”

“Don’t worry about it Lila. Money isn’t a big issue for me. I’m just glad we’re alive.”

I really don’t know what to say. “Thank you.”

Chapter 10
Revelation

Devil’s Cut

As Odin pulls away from the dealership, his mind is spinning.
Did I really just come onto Lila, and did I really just get rejected? Of course she’s not a whore, that’s what I like about her. She remains faithful and is strong regardless of being treated like shit.

Odin can only imagine her potential as a submissive, given she was well-taken care of. He tries to regain himself, knowing she’d never agree to be with him, especially if she found out about his past.

Instead his mind sets on Sergio Velasquez.
Who the fuck does he think he is?
Odin drops all his bags at the Club before returning the rental. Micah is there with Felix shooting pool alone when Odin comes in.

“Hey! How’d it go?” asks Micah, helping Odin with all the bags.

“Good, got your bag right here.” Odin hands Felix a black suitcase full of money.

“Right this way.” Felix leads the way to the safe room, and Micah closes the door behind them. Felix starts unloading the cash onto the head table. Odin decides not to tell the guys about the accident on the way out.

“How’s Lila?” Micah asks.

“Worried. Any news on Jaime?”

“Stable and recovering. Should be home in a couple days. Plenty of time for his trial,” Micah says, having talked to Rick earlier.

“What do we know about Sergio Velasquez?” Odin asks.

“Funny you should ask. What do you know?” Felix looks up intriguingly at Odin from the table.

“Enough to know it’s time someone goes and kicks his teeth in. I’m gearing to go do it myself,” Odin snarls through clenched jaw.

“I’ll ride with you,” says Micah, and Odin looks at him in surprise. “Call Cole and Damien. We’ll go pay Sergio a visit.”

“You know where we can find him?” Odin asks, and Micah looks to Felix.

“Kings have a hang out on Temple and Main Street. Affiliate owned, but you can probably get a chance to talk to him in private,” Felix says, not looking up from the money he is still sorting through.

“I gotta return the rental still,” Odin says to Micah as they head back out into the bar.

“Trade it for a van.” Micah tells him, and Odin knows he means to pick up Sergio in a hurry.

Odin trades the rental for a white utility van with no back windows and heads to Micah’s house, where Damien and Cole are waiting to get in on the action.

“What exactly do you know about Sergio?” Micah asks Odin when it’s just the four of them.

Micah, Cole, and Damien are Odin’s family. He trusts them with the information he has. But he can’t tell them what he doesn’t know for sure. All he can do is give them the facts.

“He went to Lila’s house and threatened her. He was looking for Jaime the day he turned up in the hospital. Can you believe that? Going after a woman?”

“Sounds like a bitch,” Cole laughs. “What do you think he wants Jaime for?”

“We’re about to find out,” says Micah, not wanting to hatch any illusions before getting to the source.

“I can’t wait to hear what Sergio has to say.” Cole anxiously hopes to catch Jaime engaging in shady business.

“What’s the plan?” asks Damien.

“You drive,” Micah tells him, and Odin tosses him the keys.

They all pile into the white van. Micah gets in the back with a duffel bag and as they pull away, hands each of them a gun. He doesn’t intend to shoot Sergio, but wants answers, and doesn’t want to take any chances.

The four of them head toward Main Street, and Sergio is standing out front by his bike. They wait for him to go inside before parking the van. Odin immediately hops out and walks up to the side of the building, taking a quick glance in. Seeing Sergio, he nods back to Cole in the passenger seat. Odin leans up on the side of the building where he can’t be seen from inside. Damien and Cole wait, both looking down at their cell phones so as to not be spotted.

About 20 minutes go by, then Sergio comes walking out and heads for his bike, unsuspecting. Odin walks up behind Sergio just as he is standing between his bike and the van. Micah slides the door open and pulls his gun on Sergio who turns immediately to face him.

Odin quickly steps up behind him, sticking a gun to his back. “Let’s go for a ride, Sergio,” he says, with a hand on Sergio’s shoulder.

Sergio lets out a nervous sigh. “Man, what is this?” he asks, as Odin shoves him into the van. Sergio’s hair is slicked back into a ponytail with several plastic ties holding it together every couple inches. He has on jeans and a black wife beater, and mostly religious tattoos cover his arms.

Odin gets in the van behind him, and shuts the door. Damien pulls out onto the road, Cole leading the way.

“How you been Sergio?” Micah asks with a smile, as if he doesn’t have a gun in his hand.

“What do you want?” Sergio is cocky.

“We want to know why you were so intent on finding Jaime the other day. Seems like the two of you got something going on perhaps the rest of us should know about.” Micah is still smiling, trying to keep the mood light.

“I just wanted to say hello. It’s been a while,” Sergio says with a huge fake smile, not fooling anyone. He acts like Micah won’t shoot him because of his affiliations.

While Micah would just assume not start any fires, shooting Sergio wouldn’t lose him any sleep.

In a quick motion, Odin uses the back of his gun to hit Sergio in the face, busting his nose open. Blood spurts through the air as Odin pulls his hand back.

“Fuck!” yells Sergio over the blood that immediately pools in his mouth.

“How ’bout you cut the shit and tell me what it is that’s got you so worked up that you threatened his wife!” Odin hisses, cutting right to the chase.

Sergio spits blood onto the floor. “Lila? Nah, that girls got it twisted. I didn’t say nothing to her.” Sergio isn’t trying that hard to lie.

Odin smiles a big ‘I’m-gonna-fuck-your-shit-up’ smile at him, then proceeds to hit Sergio in the face again and again. Sergio struggles to protect himself and fight Odin off, but Odin is quickly on top of him on the floor of the van, pistol whipping him in the side of the head. Odin puts his knees on Sergio’s hand once he has him disorientated enough to do so. Then he stuffs the end of his gun in Sergio’s mouth. Sergio’s face is bleeding profusely and he chokes over the gun and his own blood.

“You wanna keep up the bullshit act, or you wanna tell us what’s going on between you two?” Odin asks, calmer now that he’s taken out some aggression.

Micah sits back and observes Odin handling the situation.

Odin pulls the gun from Sergio’s teeth. “Why are you looking for Jaime?”

Sergio looks up at him, eyes searching for full consciousness. “He ripped off the wrong esé,” Sergio admits.

Odin prods his chin with the gun, bidding he go on.

“Sold him a bunch of blow cut with some bullshit powder. Wasn’t legit.”

“This ‘esé’ got a name?” Micah asks.

“Pedro Dominguez.” Sergio is full of information now that his face has been busted in.

“How’d Jaime and Pedro get acquainted?” Micah does the questioning now.

“I hooked them up. Been doing a little side business, being the middle man between Jaime and some of my heavy pocket customers who want blow,” he says, still choking over the mess of spit and blood pooling in his mouth.

“So, Jaime is dealing to Kings’ Affiliates?” Micah states to ensure he has what Sergio is saying correctly.

“Kings usually deal heroin,” Odin says to Micah, helping to make the connection as to why Sergio and Jaime seem to have teamed up.

“If Jaime’s selling coke to the Kings, he’s not in it alone,” Cole chides in from the front seat.

Micah and Odin are both thinking the same. Odin sits back in his own seat and helps Sergio back into the upright position as well.

“Anything else you care to tell us now so we don’t have to do this again?” Micah asks Sergio, handing him a bandana to wipe up his blood with.

Sergio shakes his head, burying his face in the bandana.

Micah gestures at Cole to have Damien head back to Temple and Main.

When they are close Odin looks Sergio deep in the eye. “If you got problems with Jaime, you handle it with him like a man! If you ever go near Lila again I will feed you your own teeth, stick you like a pig, and let your guts spill onto my boots before I blow your fucking brains out. Do you understand me?” His blue eyes are smoldering as he makes this promise clear to Sergio, who says nothing.

They drop him back at his bike as nonchalantly as they took him. Then they go straight back to Micah’s house to clean out the back of the van before returning it.

Later, Odin sets out to do the next thing on his list. Break things off with Samantha. He knows it’s going to be a grueling process. It always is, cutting a sub loose, in many ways like breaking up with a girlfriend only with so many additional strings attached. The apartment, the bills. He knows that Samantha is way more into him then he is her. He’d been using it to his advantage, to get her to do the things he wanted of her.

By the time Odin finally makes it back to his house, he’s exhausted. His fists are aching, and bloody. And now there’s no one to ease his tension. He heads upstairs alone for a shower. His muscles relax under the heat of the water. After all the shit he’s done just today, the one thing on his mind is Lila.
What’s she doing right now? What’s Jaime told her about Sergio?
Surely not the truth. Odin can’t help but wonder what keeps her from falling apart. Most women under so much pressure would break. He’d like nothing more than to be there when she does, to catch her, care for her, and piece her back together. To show her all the beauties of the Dom/sub alliance they could share.

Would she go for it?
Not likely, although she’s strong enough.
Surely she can take punishment and she’s loyal, even to her piece of shit husband. The only thing she lacks now is trust. Imagine how far her limits might push if she could only trust me.

Odin’s enthralled, the thoughts in his head consuming him. He wants her. That’s why he made the pass at her, but she rejected him, showing him all the more just how faithful she is. Little did she know her rejection only made him want her more. Part of him wants to call her now, but desperation isn’t the card he wishes to play.

Once out of the shower, he stalks into his room, pulling out his iPhone and plugging it in so he can text Lila. {Let me know when you want me to drop by with your share tomorrow. Hope you have a good night.}- Odin. He lies in bed a few minutes hoping for the instant gratification of a response. He falls asleep waiting.