Sex & Mayhem 02 The Devil's Ride (9 page)

They eventually set out, and Luci found that
holding on
to the back
made him feel less than safe, even though he could sense how
proficient Tooth was at handling the bike. There were no
unnecessary movements.

They had a system that Luci would pat Tooth on the
shoulder depending on which turn they needed to take. The chill of
the wind was getting to him despite the hoodie and being so close
to Tooth now had an awkward quality to it after what Luci
had done at night.

The trip through the empty streets of the rundown
part of town was smooth. When they approached the tiny one-floor
house Suzy lived in, Luci pointed to it over Tooth’s shoulder. He
could only hope that nothing would happen to her and that the Nails
would talk with their lips instead of fists. Especially
since Suzy’s car was in the
driveway.

Bell led them past her home, and stopped in front
of an abandoned house nearby. They quickly dismounted, and Priest
sent his son along with Blitz to approach Suzy’s place from the
back,
so she couldn’t
run. As the two disappeared in the bushes, the rest of the group
made their way to the front of the house. Luci knew it only had
three small rooms so she didn’t have anywhere to hide if things got
violent. Don and Father went ahead, already ringing at the door
when Tooth’s meaty hand fell on Luci’s shoulder.

“I’m watching you.”

“Oh, my God!” Luci squealed in surprise. “Jeez!
Don’t do that, you creep.” He pulled the hood on his head in a
useless attempt for some protection.

Father groaned and rang again, and again, his
shoulders stiffening.

Don spat out the butt of his cigarette. “Hey, Suzy,”
he called out calmly, “we just came to talk to you.”

There was no answer.

“Maybe I should try?” Luci suggested and took a few
steps closer to the door.

Priest gave him a long look, which could mean
nothing and everything. “Go on.” He took a step to the side and
pointed to the door.

Lucifer swallowed and knocked. “Suzy? It’s me,
Lucifer. I’m here with these guys. They won’t hurt you.” He hoped
so.

When nothing happened, Don sighed and started typing
on his old Nokia.

Father sneered. “There’s no helping it,” he said and
kicked the door. It just bounced off, and only a quick grab onto
the frame saved him from falling through.

“What the fuck,” muttered Don, staring at the narrow
corridor, with broken remains of a glass vase scattered around a
loose bouquet of flowers. The house was completely silent.

Luci went in with caution, looking around the dirty
walls. Tooth followed him close by, and Luci could feel the eyes on
his back. Adrenaline coursed through Lucifer’s veins when glass
crackled under his combat boots.

“Nothing here!” Bell yelled from the back of the
house.

Don stepped into the kitchen, followed by Father,
who grumbled beneath his breath. The stale air filled Luci’s lungs,
and despite the sounds of rummaging coming from all around, the
house seemed oddly quiet. As if time
had stopped between its walls.

Luci slowly walked down the corridor, watching Milk
and Bell pull out drawers from a cabinet and dumping their content
to the floor. There was a half-eaten pizza on the coffee table, and
next to it, a bowl of almost completely brown apples. It looked
like Suzy left in a hurry, but it wasn’t because of them.

Luci looked at
the open door to her bedroom, occupied mostly by a
queen-size bed and a large antique wardrobe, with little space left
around them. The curtains were drawn, and so the light came through
the fabric, coloring the room in deep yellow. Luci walked in,
hardly breathing. She wasn’t underneath the bed, was
she?

Tooth seemed to have the same idea because he
kneeled next to it and looked beneath the mattress with a sigh.
“Did she leave town?” he asked absentmindedly, but Luci wouldn't
answer that. How could he know?

With a bit of a slump in his shoulders, Luci
opened the
adjoining
door and stared at the dark shape of his head in the small mirror
over the sink. His hand went to the light switch, but what he saw
in the white light made his stomach churn. Blood colored the floor
and walls, the stench filling his nostrils like an old, clotted
scab. He tried to back away from the pink tinted water in the
bathtub, ignore the brown stains on the white tiles, but the smell
was making him dizzy, the memory of his mother’s brain on the wall
all too vivid.

His eyes rolled back and he was gone.

His body was heavy, and he could hardly move a
finger, as if he were immersed in thick jelly. Cool, fresh droplets
rained on his face, making creaks in the muddy darkness around
Luci. He could smell coffee and spice, right next to his nose,
radiating from warm fabric. He slowly opened his eyes, unsure of
where he was.

The first thing he saw
was shapely lips framed by a bushy dark beard.
They opened, and teeth dug into the pink flesh. “Luci, are you
back?”

“What a little pussy,” Bell said somewhere behind
him.

“Shut your face, Bell!” Priest raised his voice.

“Y-yeah. Where are we?” Luci uttered when his eyes
met Tooth’s. Now that he was awake, he was getting more sense of
the situation. There was water on his face, and the steady warmth
around his shoulders was bound to be Tooth’s arm. Had he
fainted?

Tooth’s eyes narrowed. “Suzy’s house. Do you
remember?”

Luci nodded and rubbed his forehead. His life was
becoming a steady stream of embarrassing events. “I’m fine, I
remember, I just
… in the
bathroom…” He groaned, unsure of how to communicate that he had
this reaction to blood sometimes. Bell was right. He was a
pussy.

Tooth let out a sigh. “I think you need a breath of
fresh air.”

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.” Luci got
up, still a bit dizzy, but already getting excited that this might
be his chance for escape. But his hopes died the moment he thought
that.

“Milk, make sure he’s okay,” said Tooth, slowly
getting to his feet.

Milk nodded and gestured to the door, winking at
Luci. A deep breath of unpleasantly stale air was enough for Luci
to follow him. He wanted to be the fuck out of this house, but he
still turned around to have another look at Tooth. He’d caught
Luci. He must have stood close behind. A silly tingle spread in
Luci’s chest against his better judgment, but when Milk poked him
in the spine, it was time to go.

It was
all too bright outside after exploring the dim innards of
Suzy’s house, so he squinted and sat down on the
driveway.

“Is Suzy dead?” Luci asked when Milk sat down next
to him.

Milk scratched the bridge of his enormous nose.
“No idea. Who knows, maybe we weren’t the only ones she owed money
to,” he said, crossing his legs. In this position, his knee brushed
against the side of Luci’s thigh. It could seem accidental if
there
weren’t so much
space for him to occupy. Luci had more than enough experience with
‘straight’ guys not to at least try to take a hint.

“I was really scared when I saw all that blood. I
feel a lot safer with you around,” he lied to stroke Milk’s
ego.

And there it was, a glint of interest in
the
gray eyes. Milk
grinned at him and sat up straighter, cracking a knuckle. “I heard
it’s common for guys to have this reaction to blood when they’re
not used to it.”

Luci chuckled and gently poked Milk with his
shoulder. “I bet you’re used to this shit.”

Milk shrugged, and his eyes inadvertently slid over
Luci’s thighs. “It’s no biggie. A man must be tough to be a Coffin
Nail.”

“I hope this doesn’t offend you,” said Luci just to
cover his ass, “but I find that kinda hot.”

Milk’s mouth stretched into a wide smile, and his
knee started making small circles, massaging Luci’s thigh through
the fabric. “No
offense
taken. You’re pretty for a guy.”

Luci winked at him. “I’m discreet as well. I think
that’s why guys are happy to fool around and experiment with me.
Blond hair and a mouth that never lets a secret slip.”

Milk bit his lip, watching Luci with a slight flush
coming to his cheeks. “Is that an offer?”

Luci laughed and hid a part of his face behind his
hand, pretending he was shy. “It could be,” he whispered. Milk was
okay looking, but most of all, he could be a ticket out of the club
if everything went well. Just needed a bit of… guidance. And Luci
needed an ally.

Milk opened his mouth to speak, but a cry of triumph
coming from inside the house shut him up. All the other men exited
the building with wide smiles, and from the way Bell’s rucksack
sagged to the ground, they must have found the drugs. Tooth was the
first to pull off a pair of latex gloves, and he stuffed them into
his pocket, walking Luci’s way.

“Found it,” he told Milk, who hummed a joyful
melody, getting up to his feet.

“So, will I get a bonus for the kid?” he asked,
walking over to Bell and Priest.

All Luci wanted was to be alone and not deal with
this shit anymore. “What about Suzy?” he quietly asked and
looked
at Tooth for
answers.

The dark eyes narrowed, and Tooth shook his head.
“No idea yet. Someone must have taken her.” He looked back at the
house. “Priest? Let’s have Prospect call the police and talk to
them. We don’t want this pinned on us in case the neighbors saw
us.”

Bell whistled loudly and shook the backpack with a
big grin as he got on his bike. “Tonight we party!”

Luci went over to Tooth’s bike in silence, as his
mind rolled over the things that could be now happening to Suzy.
They weren’t besties or anything, but she was the nicest
stripper/drug dealer he’d ever known. Caught between Blitz’s
protests, Tooth’s scent, and the sideways glances he was getting
from Milk, all he could think of was the search for a way out. And
he knew just how to get what he needed.

Luci spent most of the day locked up in Tooth’s
room, bored out of his mind. His dad barely said a few words to
him, but that wasn’t all that surprising. Priest probably
considered his younger son a disappointment in comparison to Bell.
At least the thought of the evening party had him excited. Not
because he was looking forward to playing pool and drinking, but
because it could be a perfect opportunity to run. Milk seemed
interested enough for a secret fling, so it could be Luci’s chance
to get out of the compound. He just needed to make the blow job
really good.

He also spent lots of time struggling with Tooth’s
shitty brush, but did manage to get his hair into some kind of
order. He put on a black pair of skinny jeans and took his time
scrutinizing the big welts on his ass. The memory of the beating
blurred into something different when Luci thought about the toys
in the box that he didn’t dare touch anymore. Would a spanking of
that sort be something Tooth did to a lover? The bruised skin Tooth
left him with created a strange connection between them. Or just a
fantasy in Luci’s sick little kinky mind.

When the door opened, it was the relief of the
century. Luci was getting so sick of being chained up like a
cow.

“You hungry?” asked Tooth, as he strolled inside
with a grim expression. Did this guy even know what a proper smile
was?

Luci gave him a silly grin, trying to fraternize.
“Why? You got some
protein
for
me?”

“There’s fried chicken in the kitchen,” said Tooth,
ignoring Luci’s flirting. “I could get you some before I go.”

“You think I’m ugly, or are you really that
straight?” Luci asked casually and stretched.

Tooth rolled his eyes. “I need to go. Are you hungry
or not?”

“I am,” he said just to get out. “You’re not just
gonna leave me here, huh? I don’t even have my cell phone.”

Tooth frowned. “There’s nothing for you to do. And I
won’t be longer than two hours anyway. You’ll get to go to the
party.”

“I’ll find something. I’m just so sick of this room.
You got the gates, right? There’s no way to leave. I promise I’ll
be a good boy,” he tried with a smile.

Whether it was the smile, or maybe Tooth simply felt
generous, Tooth got someone to follow Luci around the compound. The
guy didn’t want to even squeeze Luci’s hand when they were
introduced so at least he didn’t have to worry about someone
breaking into his personal space.

Luci took some of the fried chicken on a paper plate
and started exploring the compound with his shadow keeping at a
distance. He tried to remember the sequence of the corridors in
case he would need it in the future. Where the windows were, which
doors had locks on them. He ventured out to the backyard surrounded
with buildings from each side. Far across from where he stood was
the gate to freedom. Thick black bars, opened electronically each
time guests arrived. He slowly made his way along the walls, but
stopped halfway to the gate, completely dumbfounded when he heard
loud bleating. His eyes drifted to the left, between two buildings,
where in the middle of a small inner yard stood a black goat.

Luci frowned and looked over his shoulder at his
bodyguard who leaned against the wall with a cigarette. It didn’t
look
as though he was
getting any answers out of that douche, so he made his way toward
the animal. It was quite the beast with big white downturned horns
that curved at the ends.

“
Hi there
.” He slowly approached the furry goat, unable to recall
when he’d last seen a farm animal in real life.