Sex & Mayhem 02 The Devil's Ride (44 page)

Luci imagined being a part of the van. Still,
unmoving. If Tooth wanted to hurt Rick, Luci needed to be there and
prevent it. He wouldn’t be able to do that if he stayed. It seemed
there were only two men in the van as it started forward, but he
couldn’t hear much through the sound of the engine. He put a hand
under his head to protect it from the unpleasant rocking, but other
than that he tried to learn as much as he could. It made him
shudder to think Tooth would hurt Rick out of spite. That wasn’t
the man he knew. What were Tooth’s intentions then? Sadly, all he
was getting were scraps of conversation. What hit him though was
the eerie lack of an easygoing tone. Tooth spoke coolly, with
purpose, while Bell was clearly getting increasingly agitated.

All Luci knew was that he needed to take care of
the situation. Make some peace between these guys. When the van
finally stopped, he listened to the steps of Bell and Tooth
leaving. He exhaled
,
unsure what he was supposed to do. What if Tooth and Bell did
something to Rick? The one encounter he’d witnessed had made it
clear Tooth could easily overpower Rick, much more so with Bell to
help him.

It felt like forever before the van stopped. Luci
had his gun, to have some leverage in case it was needed, and
slipped out of the van after a few minutes. They
’d parked in the back, a place employees
used when they wanted to keep the front parking lot for the guests.
But when he was about to take a step toward the Vanilla, shots
erupted inside, and as much as he wanted to run over there and help
whomever might need it, he completely stilled with fear. With his
breath hitching, he ran behind the van and hid there.

A lone car sped down the street, leaving Luci in
the horrendous silence, broken only by yet another round that sent
shivers all the way down his spine and left him in paralyzing fear.
Tooth was in there, and so was Bell, who
’d just recently started accepting him as a part
of the family. He had to find the courage in himself and go. Even
if it was Rick who got shot, he needed to know
now
. He couldn’t just stand there like a scarecrow in
the middle of a field.

He took one step and then another, even though his
shoes felt like made out of lead. A few steps later it was only
iron, so he forced himself into a jog until he reached the
backdoor. He had locked himself out here so many times the
owner
had actually told
him where he had the spare key. Luci retrieved it from underneath
an ugly concrete vase that doubled as an ashtray, and with the gun
trembling in his sweaty palm, he opened the door as quietly as
humanly possible.

It was quiet inside, deserted. The premises would
have been cleaned by now, and neither the girls nor the other staff
would show up until the early afternoon. But then there was a voice
he knew, higher pitched than usual, screaming.

“The kid’s not here! We’ve been set up,” growled
Rick, and his barking voice was accompanied by the loud sound of
smashing glass. “No, the cameras are switched off. I need to get
out of here.”

Luci ducked and slid underneath a table used by
the employees during their breaks, in case Rick wanted to leave
through the
backdoor. He
stilled by the wall, breathing the stuffy scent of chemicals used
for the floor. His heart beat like crazy. What the fuck was
happening?

“I don’t know if he’s aware! For fuck’s sake, I need
to go. At least the overgrown pitbull’s dead.” Rick emphasized the
last word with a spit.

Dead? Who was dead? Luci bit his cheek so hard he
drew blood. He couldn’t say a word, but his senses became
hyperaware as he tasted copper
on his tongue.

“I’m going. I’ll see you in half an hour. The usual
place,” growled Rick. It was followed by a staccato of gunshots,
which made Luci curl into a ball by the dirty wall.

His mind was sent into havoc. Who was
fucking
dead? What was happening? They
were supposed to talk to Rick’s sister, and he didn’t hear any
female out there. He needed answers, needed to find Tooth and Bell,
but what was he supposed to do with his gun against Rick and maybe
some other people who were just keeping quiet? His whole body
trembled with a pathetic sense of uselessness. He flinched at the
sound of a door slamming shut, and then, there was complete,
utter,
deathly
silence.
Where were Tooth and Bell? Why weren’t they talking? And just as
his heartbeat reached the point when it almost hurt him, there was
a gasp.

Fuck. Rick or no Rick, Luci slid out of his hiding
spot. Maybe the guys… he was sick to his stomach from speculating.
There was no time for this. He put the safety off his gun and
approached the main room of the lounge in cautious steps. It felt
like going through the maze with the awareness of the Minotaur
being after him. But the need to know what happened was stronger
than fear.

He wasn’t ready for what he saw as he entered the
club. It was a scene of destruction. The mirror and glass shelves
behind the bar had been completely smashed with bullets, and the
smell of alcohol mixed with that of gunpowder. In the rays of light
seeping through the blinds he saw fallen furniture, and in the
middle of it, on top of a broken table
, lay a person. Even in the shadows he would
recognize Bell’s massive body. Luci came up closer to see the
familiar stupid belt buckle with a horned devil.

“
Bell,” he whimpered, and his feet carried him to
his brother against the panic settling in his whole body. The well
known stench of blood reached out for his throat and wouldn’t let
go. Rick was gone and wouldn’t come back. Luci had to believe it.
But when he reached the outstretched body and got to see the head
hanging back, he dropped his gun and fought back the tears forming
in his eyes. Bell’s face
had relaxed into an image of disbelief, but the left eye
was rolled back under a gash in the forehead. Bell made no sound.
He didn’t breathe.

He was dead.

A sob choked Luci, and he cupped Bell’s cooling
cheeks, unsure what he could possibly do. “Bell…” he whined, not
even embarrassed by the sound of his own voice. How could this
happen?

It was all his fault. It was he who suggested they
should go and talk to Rick. From what he understood, it was him
Rick was looking for. But what about Tooth? Did he escape? Was he
somewhere else? Luci rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and looked
around the wrecked lounge with his heart beating all the way in his
throat. Even the blood couldn’t affect him anymore. He was dizzy,
walking through the club like in a hazy nightmare, but he couldn’t
allow himself to faint.

“Tooth? Tooth!”

His heart leaped when he heard a gasp from the side
of the bar, and then the voice he would recognize anywhere. “Luci?”
Tooth uttered hoarsely. The sound of something shifting pulled Luci
closer to the bar, over the broken glass and spilled alcohol.

Tooth lay on the floor covered by a shining layer of
the debris from the shattered counter, his chest moving up and
down.

Luci’s limbs got lighter as adrenaline pumped
through his veins. “Tooth! You’re alive! What happened?” He asked
in panic and kneeled in the glass without a second thought. There
was blood, but he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what was wrong. As he
ran his fingers over Tooth’s body, the frustration was so immense
he screamed.

He couldn’t see well, but every touch made Tooth
flinch, his powerful body fighting for breath. He forced his eyes
open and gripped Luci’s arm, trying to pull himself up. “Bell?”

“He’s d-dead,” Luci uttered. “It’s me, Luci, I’ll
get you out of here, yeah?” When he pulled away Tooth’s vest, he
saw a dark stain of blood on his side. This couldn’t be happening.
“You’ll be fine, sweetie, I’ll get you to the hospital,” he
uttered.

Tooth took a shaky breath. “Fuck... told you to stay
home, you little brat,” he uttered, trying to move using one arm as
leverage.

“I thought… I thought… fuck, it doesn’t matter. Come
on, I don’t just go to the gym to spy on you. I can help. Let’s
just get you to the car.” Luci tried to speak cohesively despite
tears dripping down his cheeks. He scooted down by Tooth and
grabbed him under the arms. The instant hiss told him he hit a sore
spot, but there was no way around it.

“
Maybe just
… let me lean on you. My head’s spinnin’,” muttered Tooth,
massaging the back of his skull. Before Luci could flinch away,
Tooth put his large hand over Luci’s face, filling his nostrils
with the smell of copper. Luci could feel his own weakness, eyes
rolling back, but he managed to fight through with the thought of
Tooth’s life in danger more sobering than any smelling
salts.

“
Oh, God…” Luci whimpered. He felt so useless, like
such a waste of space. He
’d brought the only people who cared for him into a trap.
He shifted to let Tooth put an arm over his shoulders. His brother
was dead, and Tooth could be barely hanging on to life for all Luci
knew. His medical knowledge ended at using paracetamol. Tooth
flinched when Luci put the heavy arm over his shoulders and pushed
them both up, with Tooth helping him out by supporting himself with
the good hand. His body reeked of liquor and blood, and now that he
was weak and shocked, Luci had to drag all that muscle he had
always admired. It was tough, but he would make it. He would save
Tooth. This was the man he was supposed to share his future with.
They’d only found each other. This couldn’t be
happening.

Luci was rasping already as they reached the back
door, his muscles turning into a mass of burning pain. He would
make sure Tooth got to the hospital even if his knees were to give
up and his tendons break. He bit down on his bottom lip and pushed
the door open with his boot.

“Not far now,” he uttered through clenched
teeth.

Walking through the dark corridor had been a
struggle, but he knew the place by heart and pushed on, helping
Tooth walk. He tried not to get distracted, not waste any breath on
talking, but when they finally came into the sun, the scale of what
happened to Tooth was revealed. There were glittery shards of glass
sticking out of his flesh, and the flap of the leather vest shone
with blood.

“Tooth? Talk to me. How are you feeling? Where does
it hurt the most?” Luci had no fucking clue what he was doing. This
had to be what hell was like. He’d bring Harlow back to life if it
could help Tooth right now. His lover’s weight was just like the
guilt on his shoulders. Crushing.

Tooth’s head hung low, hair and beard obscuring
almost all of it from view. It seemed he was focusing on walking on
and not succumbing to pain, though his body was hard with the
tension. “Side... I have blood running down my thigh...”

“What?” Luci hissed and looked back at the pavement
they’d already crossed. They left a bloody trail and there was no
way to scoop that up and put it back in Tooth’s body. The van was
only meters away, but it seemed like an eternity of steps. And
where would he put Tooth? In the seat? With the van shaking as they
drove, it could only cause more damage. Not to mention the back of
the van, where Tooth could roll around if he lost consciousness.
Why? Why did this have to happen? Why did he have to be such a
stupid crybaby and know nothing about what to do?

Tooth shuddered. “We need to stop it. But it’s not a
limb... Can we use my shirt?”

“
Let’s try. I’ll put you down on the ground, okay?”
Luci’s mind was in complete chaos. He wanted to take Tooth to the
hospital, so they could get there quicker, but now it looked like
he’d have to call an ambulance anyway, which mean
t he’d lost a good few minutes! He wanted
to howl and punch something. He slowly helped Tooth lie down by the
car and fished out his cell phone. “I’ll just call 911.”

“Yeah,” nodded Tooth, scowling as he raised his hand
and pulled up his shirt. Hair was sticking to his face, but when
the fabric rose, Luci finally saw the main damage. There was a
bullet hole in Tooth’s side, and when he moved his body, more blood
seeped out.

“Oh fucking fuck, fucking fuck! I’m so stupid! I
shouldn’t have picked you up!” Luci rubbed his face, smearing even
more blood over it, but at this point, he must have gotten used to
it. He got his hoodie and T-shirt off. It would be better to use
his than to strain Tooth by making him take off his jacket.

Tooth clenched his teeth, pushing the flap of his
vest aside
, and looked
at the wound. “Fuck,” he muttered, pushing the bloodied fabric
against the bullet hole. He was moving with obvious discomfort, the
handsome face tense, with bulging veins on his forehead.

Luci grabbed Tooth’s hand, squeezing it hard when he
called 911 and informed them of what happened. They promised to
send an ambulance right away and advised him to dress the wound as
well as he could, but help couldn’t come quick enough. Each second
felt like forever.

“Was it Rick? Did Rick shoot you?” Luci asked when
he finished talking on the phone.

Tooth swallowed, blinking, and grabbed Luci’s hand.
“Fuck... I left my gun in there. You need to clean it off my
fingerprints...”

“I can’t leave you here,” he squealed, trying to
make his T-shirt into a makeshift bandage.

Tooth closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
“Luci... no one can know I used that gun. It’s not legal. Do it for
me,”
he
muttered.

Luci sniffed and nodded. “But you can’t die when I’m
away,” he ordered as he got up. If he did it quickly, he would
still make it before the ambulance came.