Sex & Mayhem 02 The Devil's Ride (31 page)

“Fine. I still have to dry my hair. See you
then!”

“Bye, I’ll get you your favorite one,” said Rick
before hanging up.

Lucifer took a deep breath and left the cat alone.
Maybe he could talk to Rick about his situation by making up a
hypothetical construct.

As he walked past the bed, he kicked the box under
it with a snarl.

Tooth drove down the highway with his mind
feeling like a tangle of worms
that wanted to devour one another. Nothing stuck, nothing made
sense, his body was alternating between hot and cold, and the dull
ache in his gut became more prominent with each mile. It was like
being hungover, only without the physical pain, because the
drilling sensation was all in his mind, and so was the light
nausea. What was he to do about Luci? He knew he shouldn’t think of
him that way, but the only thing that really kept him from making a
move the night before was the fact that Luci had been drunk, so in
a way he should be grateful to Bell.

He needed to get rid of some steam fast. The last
thing he wanted now was to look for someone new, so he just
contacted a hookup from a few months ago. The guy was available,
and on his way to the motel as well.

Tooth got the keys, messaged the guy the room
number and slumped on the bed as soon as he went inside. Normally,
he’d have electric charges building up beneath his skin in
anticipation, he’d lay out all the things he brought with him,
smell the leather, change, but today he
hadn’t even taken any clothes to wear for the
scene. The room that would usually feel like a dark, exciting
place, a bit anonymous and dirty, now seemed lifeless. Tooth wasn’t
sure what to think about it.

He was so out of it, that when his phone rang he
could barely remember where he left his bag. When he grabbed it,
Lucifer’s name on the screen made him pause. Two heartbeats later,
he forced himself to press the green button. “Hi?”

“
Hey… I
…
Where did you go? I thought we’d go shopping for Manson,” Lucifer
asked, but in Tooth’s mind it was one big ‘why did you leave
me?’.

Tooth’s eyes strayed to the big black dildo
he
’d placed on the
nightstand and pictured the kitten in its place.
Fuck.
“Sorry, I thought we’d have to
go in a few days because Priest said we have everything in the bag.
We can go tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure, I suppose.”

There
were no questions, no good-bye. Just silence. Tooth
swallowed, leaning forward to look at the gray carpet.

“Are you on club business?” Lucifer finally
asked.

Tooth cleared his throat. “No, I have two people to
meet.”

“T-two?” Luci uttered as if it came as a big
surprise.

Tooth frowned. “Yeah, might as well do all the
business at once
so I
don’t have to split my days into pieces.”

Luci gave a low laugh that sounded all but amused.
“Yeah, I mean, why fuck one guy, when you can do two. Does it last
you for two days that way?”

It was like getting a slap in the face. “What?”

“I doubt you’ve taken stuff from your box for a
business meeting. Not trying to be in your business or whatever.
What do I care? I’ll get a friend to drive me to the pet store.
Thanks. Bye.” The annoyance wasn’t even hidden anymore. What a
bitchfest.

Tooth stared at the wall in front of him, feeling
icicles flood his bloodstream. “What friend? And I’m
not
fucking two guys!”

“Or two friends.”

Tooth gritted his teeth. What was this fit of
jealousy? “What the fuck? Why are you behaving like that?”

“‘Cause it pisses me off! You go off to fuck two
guys, and I can’t even get to suck your cock? Fuck that!”

This conversation shouldn’t be happening over the
phone. Tooth dragged his hand down his face and looked at the
dildo. Did he really want to stay? No. He was so not in the mood it
almost made him nauseated.

“We’re gonna talk in an hour.”

“No we’re not. I’m going out,” said Lucifer and hung
up like some drama queen.

Tooth got off the bed. He had no time for this
bullshit. There was something he needed to do first, but once
he
got his hands on
Lucifer, the brat was gonna be sorry for his behavior. How dare he
look through Tooth’s things and judge him when Tooth had never once
judged Lucifer? It made his head spin, and he knew he needed to get
himself in check before he mounted the bike. He dropped the key to
the surprised receptionist and rushed across the parking lot,
talking to his contact at the police. Fortunately, the guy could
meet him sooner than the hour they’d initially agreed
to.

He was already approaching his bike when his
hookup arrived, making him swear in his mind. The guy was an
average looking twenty-something with a big smile. He got
out
of his car and
already waved at Tooth.

It took several long strides to meet him. “Listen,
I’m very sorry, but I have a family emergency,” said Tooth, knowing
how stupid that sounded. But what was he supposed to say? ‘I
decided I didn’t really want to meet up and then this teen who’s
crushing on me got out of control?’

“
Oh, man… I’m sorry. Anything I can help with?”
asked the hookup, but Tooth assumed it was just politeness. All
this guy ever wanted was nipple clamps, a big black
dildo
, and getting
slapped in the face. And then to have a beer together. He was a
nice guy.

Tooth shook his head. “No, but thanks. We’ll be in
touch,” he lied, because there was just no way he’d call him for
the next few months after this.

He rushed to his bike and hit the road as quickly
as he could. It took twenty minutes to get to the secluded street
he
’d arranged to meet up
with officer Snapp, but it was a huge relief to see him in front of
the police car already. With no one in sight.

The guy was a buff Asian who smoked more
cigarettes than Don. Or at least the same
number. More importantly, he was more than happy
to sell intel and was Tooth’s go-to guy.

Tooth stopped his bike and walked over, leaning his
upper body on the roof of the police car. His muscles were stiff
with worry, but as much as he needed to check in on yet another of
Lucifer’s stupid plans, he wanted information. “Long time no
see.”

“Exactly. I was beginning to think you were done
with this wild-goose chase.” Snapp threw the cigarette butt to the
ground and stomped it.

Tooth’s breath rasped. “Not in a million years. What
do you have for me?” he asked.

“
I’ve got copies of two cases. One’s a hooker found
without an eye.” He showed Tooth a folder and raised his eyebrows.
“It could just be violence, but it could be a lead. And the other
is some
real shit from
two months ago. A girl’s body, still unidentified, had a missing
liver and heart. A rare blood type, too.”

Bile rose in Tooth’s throat, and he walked around
the car to join Snapp. With a discreet gesture, he pushed a bundle
of cash into his hand. His whole body was getting hot. “Any
leads?”

“We have DNA from who we suppose is the murderer of
One-Eyed Betty. That’s what we call her.” He chuckled and hid the
cash. “But there are no matches in our databases.”

Tooth spat on the ground. “What about the other
one?” His fingers longed for the copied case files.

Snapp passed them to him as soon as Tooth held out
his hand. “Not much. Just that it really fits with the other cases.
Young, fit, rare blood type. She had a big debt to her ex-husband,
but that’s about it.”

Tooth’s eyes snapped up. “Was he investigated?”

Snapp backed off by half a step. “Yeah, but if he’s
involved, he’s not talking.”

Tooth bit his lip. “Is someone watching him
now?”

“No, there’s not enough resources and not enough
reason to have him watched.”

Well, there would be from now on.

Tooth sighed. “Is his data in the file then? I’ll
have one of my men see what he’s up to.”

“All there.” Snapp nodded at him. “Should I keep an
eye out if something new pops up?” The question was a formality.
They’d had this arrangement for five years strong.

Tooth nodded and slowly made his way to the bike.
This didn’t solve anything, but he would get one of the guys on the
case. No lead would be left unexplored, even if the police lacked
‘resources’. “See you next time.”

Snapp waved at him and got back
into his car. Now Tooth could carry on to
his other problem. When Snapp disappeared behind the corner, Tooth
already knew Lucifer wasn’t home. He had the right application on
his smartphone to check on the boy whenever he needed, and so far
it had proven useful. There was nothing like a hidden
tracker.

But Luci
fer wasn’t far away either, nor was he moving. The location
was just down the road from the club, so God only knew what he was
doing. Maybe just hiding somewhere to be a brat.

The case file copies were burning through
his
clothes where he’d
stuffed them under his jacket, but this could wait. He didn’t want
Lucifer meandering around without supervision when he was like
that. At least the bike was a familiar presence between his legs,
steady and responsive to his wishes.

Unwilling to alarm Luci
fer, he left the bike at the compound and set out
on foot.

But the
farther he got down the street, the more he was sure that
Lucifer was sitting in a car with someone. Was it the ‘friend’ he
was talking about earlier? The vehicle was nothing fancy, a dark
blue sedan, but Tooth didn’t recall anyone he knew owning a car
like that. The two people inside seemed too busy to notice him,
talking and gesticulating, so he just ran over there and opened the
passenger's door with blood already boiling in his
veins.

Lucifer frowned and looked at him with eyes as wide
as the cat’s in his lap. Next to him, in the driver’s seat, was
none other than Rick with that ugly broken-nosed mug of his.

“
I’m busy,” Luci
fer said with a pout and bit into a pink frosted
donut.

Tooth’s eyes met Rick’s as he spoke, stiff, holding
onto the open car door. “We’re going.”

“
Luci, you don’t have to let him treat you like
that. You’re no one’s slave. I can take you away if you want. Cat
included,” Rick said in a calm tone and patted
Luci
fer’s
shoulder.

Just seeing that made Tooth’s skin crawl. This Rick
guy was making Tooth’s hands itch for dental forceps. “Lucifer. We
need to talk.”

Luci
fer
looked up at him with that mean-spirited expression Tooth knew all
too well. “Sure, I’m talking to Rick now. I’ll be back in a few
hours.”

If it weren’t for the cat, Tooth would simply yank
Lucifer by the shoulder and force him out of the vehicle, but
instead, he relied on Luci
fer not being stupid. “I asked you not to. Come
home.”

“Why not?” Lucifer raised his eyebrows.

“Exactly. What’s your problem?” Rick growled.

Tooth narrowed his eyes, leaning down to
Luci
fer and stared at
the other man without withholding any of his displeasure. “My
chair’s empty,” he said, knowing Lucifer would
understand.

Lucifer looked less than pleased, but he finally got
the point and moved. “I don’t wanna cause trouble,” he said to Rick
and got out of the car, holding the cat close.

Rick blinked and grabbed Luci
fer’s hand. “Is he threatening
you?”

“
No, I’m threatening
you
. Stay away from him,” hissed Tooth.

“I’ll deal with it, Rick, it’s fine,” muttered
Lucifer, and his hand finally slid out of Rick’s undoubtedly sweaty
palm. “Don’t worry, sweetie,” he added to his cat when the thing
started meowing.

“
No, it’s not fine!” growled Rick and left the car
with a loud slam of the door. But before he could reach
Luci
fer, Tooth stood
between them with his hand on the knife he was wearing underneath
the jacket.

“
Don’t you fucking dare!” Luci
fer pulled on his arm with one hand, as
the fucker in front of Tooth pushed him back.

“What kind of man are you, pushing a kid around?”
Rick yelled.

This assumption awoke a monster in Tooth’s chest. He
lashed out at Rick and punched his face so hard the guy fell
over.

“Fuck you, you fucker!” Rick cursed from the ground,
and Tooth hoped that broken nose of his just got another
fracture.

“Tooth! Stop! Do you need to go to the hospital?”
Lucifer whined to Rick.

Tooth put his arm around Luci
fer, feeling much better now that the boy
was there. He pulled him toward the compound, ignoring the guy
swearing at him from the asphalt.

“
Rick, I’ll call you, yeah?” Luci
fer said over his shoulder, but at least
didn’t oppose to being led.

Tooth squeezed his hand around
Luci
fer’s arm and
looked, of all things, at the clearly confused kitten. “What the
fuck are you thinking?”

“
What’s your problem? You can go meet
friends
, and I
can’t?” He wouldn’t even look up at Tooth.

“
He’s
not
your friend. Why would an adult straight guy who worked
with you at a strip joint meet up with you? He’s fishy.” Tooth
shook his head, leading Lucifer across the street.