Sex & Mayhem 05 Red Hot (31 page)

Monster continued talking about the plan and ignored all the other digressions whatsoever. “When you get Paxton to eat the spiked pastry, Jack’s gonna pretend to eat her out on camera.”

Lucy shook her head. “Wow, what a great plan, you’re gonna try and shame her sexuality. ‘Cause it’s
so
bad to have sex.”

“It’s not about it being shameful to have sex! She’s the one blackmailing
me
for fuck’s sake, and I’m the one who’s supposed to have qualms?” Jack spread his arms. “It’s about her doing it with a Nail, don’t you get it? With
me
actually, ‘cause she won’t be credible if she’s seen sleeping with a guy like me. Her fight against us would look personal.”

Loki cringed, but Jack continued digging a hole for himself.

“And for the record, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with getting fucked. If a girl likes it, she should go for it. I’m not judging. People should do what makes them happy. Maybe it feels good, or fucking great. I mean… I wouldn’t know. But it could,” Jack finished flatly, and licked his lips as Sam and Monster looked at each other with slightly raised eyebrows.

It was high time to wrap up the conversation, because it was going downhill fast.

Lucy smirked, and drilled Jack with her gaze. “So you’re saying getting fucked feels good?” She wanted to say something else, but Monster got to his feet, and one long look from him somehow managed to close Lucy’s mouth.

Monster cleared his throat. “Candy, how long until you have the pastry ready?”

“Uh, ten minutes,” she muttered, retreating to the safety of her 1950s-inspired kitchen.

Monster nodded. “Jack, I have a spare T-shirt in the van. You can have it. Lucy, botch your makeup a bit so that you look like a convincing crier, all right? We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

Loki bit his lip. “Can I do something before we go?”

Monster frowned at him but his eyes trailed to Jack.

“I’m gonna be so glad when this day ends.” Jack grabbed Loki’s arm and pulled him away. “We gotta talk.”

Loki followed him like a sheep, mentally prepared for a red hot argument. But even so, he couldn’t stop feeling elated that Jack didn’t want him to cover the tattoo. The two of them were in this together.

Jack stopped just down the corridor, as soon as they could talk without anyone overhearing a whisper.

“You’re not going. There’s more than enough people already.” Jack’s words knocked Loki right off cloud nine.

“Of course I’m going!” hissed Loki, searching for Jack’s gaze. “I want to help you.”

“We don’t need you there. You have a fucking hematoma on top of that. What if you pass out, like you did in the car?”

Loki stared at him, taken aback. “Oh, so out of all those people, I’m the only one you don’t need? Your third wheel? Me?”

Jack looked straight into his eyes and grabbed his hand. “Out of all those people, I’m most worried about you.”

That softened the blow a bit, but it didn’t mean Loki would just give up on going. “I know, but I’m worried sick about you, too. I wanna be there, just in case.”

“With the plan being what it is… you don’t wanna be there. It’s gonna get ugly.”

“What can possibly happen? It’s all of us against one.” Loki bit his lip, but his mind was racing. He’d be worried sick waiting for Jack to come home, and unable to do anything in case things went wrong. “Come on, every champion needs someone to pass him the ball from the sidelines.”

Jack groaned and pulled his hand away. “I don’t want you there when I fake-eat pussy.”

Adrenaline shot straight into Loki’s brain. “I wanna be there. I can’t just sit here like Candy, all doe-eyed, and wait for my man to come back.”

“You shoulda become an outlaw then.” Jack crossed his arms on his chest, and even now Loki’s eyes wandered to the dark nipples. Lucy had been right - they were distracting as hell.

He exhaled, knowing he needed bigger guns. “If you won’t let me come, I’ll tell everyone who dented your side,” he said, nodding at the still-fresh scar on Jack’s body. He found it strange that it was him who put it there, like it had happened in some alternative reality.

Jack’s eyes went wide. “You have a death wish or something?”

Loki swallowed and stepped forward, lowering his voice. “I don’t want to be on the sidelines.”

“Fine!” Jack hissed at him and stomped off.

Loki watched him disappear in the doorway to the living room. He knew he was playing with fire, but he couldn’t let it go, be more worthless to this mission than Candy, who at least made the croissants.

Chapter 32

Jack refused to talk to Loki for the remaining minutes in the house, but Loki knew his man would eventually come around. The big, fragrant T-shirt was a bonus.

It took them twenty minutes to drive all the way to Paxton’s house. Just like Jack’s it was located by the beach, on a picturesque hillside, with the nearest neighbor’s windows shining in the dark far enough for them to feel safe about their mission. With everyone but Lucy banned from the front seats, the drive passed on Sam’s banter with Jack.

They all sat in the back of the van when Lucy went off to Paxton’s house with a bag of croissants and a sob story about one of the Nails hurting her. She wore a wire, so they could keep tabs on the developing situation, and so far so good. Lucy was in the house, and in the shaky picture from a tiny camera attached to her button, they could see Paxton chew on her lip in a sparsely decorated living room. There were stacks of boxes in the background, and it almost felt as if she hadn’t unpacked since her last move, which according to Monster was over a year ago.

Paxton put a glass of water in front of Lucy and sat back in the armchair. “Do you need medical attention?”

“No, I think I’ll be okay, I just want it to be over.” Lucy sobbed and Loki had to admit that her acting was top-notch. “I overheard Red Jack bitching about you liking croissants over donuts, so I brought you some. He’s such an ass.”

Sam snorted in the darkness, the pale light of the monitor giving the side of his face a white sheen. On the screen, Paxton raised her eyebrows. “Crude and unappetizing. Like all of them are. I’m sure you know much more about it than I do, considering your profession. No offense.”

“Yeah, I do it for the money, but I wouldn’t let any of those guys in my pants. And God knows, they try. Every freaking day. And the abuse they hurl at me if I don’t want to suck their dick…” Lucy made a gagging sound, and the picture shifted to the table, as she changed her position slightly.

Paxton’s voice was still very clear. “I don’t have anything against a woman in your profession, but I am sorry when I see some of you girls go through all that abuse in a place where you aren’t safe. What happened now that you decided to talk to me?”

“Their new prospect got drunk and all of a sudden he thought he could just do whatever he wants. He chased me, pulled my hair, slapped me. I just got on my bike barefoot and told myself enough is enough.”

“And no one came to help you?”

“They were away. I was just hoping to crash here, since you’re a female cop. I felt really unsafe. Some of my girlfriends had bad experiences at the station. I got these as a thank you in advance sort of thing.”

“That’s very nice of you. Where did you get those at this hour?” asked Paxton, and Loki chewed on his lip, nervous from just listening to the conversation. If Lucy fucked this up, she’d be in big trouble.

And there it was. Hesitation. “From the drive-thru Starbucks a few blocks away.”

“Didn’t know they have such nice croissants. They look like they just came out of the oven.”

And just like that, the van became ice cold.

“Shit,” muttered Sam as they watched the shaky picture of the glass of water on the table.

Jack bit his lip. “What can she possibly suspect her of?”

“Depends on how good Paxton is. There are cracks in Lucy’s story. Not good at all.”

Lucy continued. “I know, right? I was surprised to see them so fresh and lovely at this time. Maybe they reheat them, or something. I’d try, but I don’t do gluten. Maybe you can tell me if they’re any good.”

“Clever girl,” whispered Monster, propping himself in front of the screen. Even Loki felt his heart beat superfast when he listened on. This was the battle for Jack’s survival.

Paxton chuckled, and after a bit of rustling, she was on the screen again, relaxed in her armchair. “Come on, you had a terrible night. Treat yourself.”

“No, it’s not about that. I’m one of those weirdos who are allergic to it. I would love some nuts if you have any at home.”

Paxton leaned forward and tore open the packaging, revealing the pastries. They looked too good to be true. “Come on, it’s just us ladies here. I don’t mind it if your stomach makes some funny noises. You know you want to.”

“She’s onto her,” whispered Monster.

“How do you know? She doesn’t have her bad-cop voice on.” Jack shrugged, but the frown he was sporting proved he didn’t really disagree with Monster.

Lucy laughed. “Okay, but I’ll only have one if you do. It’s nice to talk to someone so understanding, and you know, a woman, like me.”

“That croissant looks too artisanal.”

“Are you saying Candy’s baking’s not right?” growled Sam.

“I’m saying that out of all the people here, no one thought that those pastries are too good looking for what they should be,” growled Monster.

Paxton got up. “Dig in, I’ll make a coffee for myself first,” she said, walking up to the open plan kitchen.

“We don’t have a way to pull her out though,” Jack hissed and started pacing in the tiny space at the back of the van. “Maybe we should just call her. Tell her to take off under some pretence?”

Monster took out his phone right away. Within an endless ten seconds of waiting, Lucy already picked up one of the croissants. She dropped it on the plate the moment her cell phone rang.

“Just a sec, this could be important,” she said to Paxton, who switched on the coffee machine and slowly moved toward the table. “Hello?”

Monster lowered his voice, but with the van as quiet as it was, they could hear every word. “Tell her your sister’s got an emergency. She’s very sick. Just excuse yourself and try to get her out of the house. We’ll go from there,” he said, already pulling out his gun.

“Oh, okay, oh God, that’s horrible. Thank you. No, thank you,” Lucy said and disconnected, but they still heard her on the microphone. “I’m so, so sorry, but my sister’s daughter’s ill. She’s so worried. I have to go to her. See you tomorrow then?”

Loki was in the middle of a relieved sigh when the whole bus stiffened again. There was a gun barrel pointing at them on the screen. At Lucy.

“Eat the damn pastry.” Paxton’s voice was ice cold, her face completely calm.

“What the fuck? She can’t do that!” growled Sam.

Jack was frozen, watching the screen without breathing.

“W—what is this about? Oh, my God. I don’t know what I’ve done wrong, but I’m sure it’s some misunderstanding,” Lucy whispered.

“Stuff that croissant down your throat,” whispered Paxton. “Do it, or I’ll blow off your fingers one by one.”

Monster sat up, his face slack. “What the fuck,” he whispered, not sounding calm for the first time since Loki met him.

“That bitch is out of her mind.” Sam ran his fingers through his mohawk.

“No, please, I told you I’m allergic…” Lucy whined, but when a shot rang through the mic, she started crying and they could see Lucy reach for the croissant.

“What do we do?” asked Loki, and Monster shook his head.

“There’s a chance she’s gonna calm down when Lucy’s done with the pastry. The drug won’t work immediately. That’ll be our chance,” he said in a tight voice as they listened to furious munching and sobs. The image of a stoic Paxton trembled on the screen.

“Eat it up. You’re here to extract information from me, aren’t you? You’ve fallen out of favor and need some leverage? I’m not gonna give you that,” she hissed.

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lucy sniffed, but when they saw her wipe crumbs off her fingers, Paxton slapped her. The sound was so shocking, all the men in the van inhaled at once.

“Now the other one. You’re gonna eat all four, you lying piece of scum!” Paxton yelled and slapped Lucy again.

“Oh, God, why are you doing this? You’re the police... I’ve done nothing wrong,” whimpered Lucy as the dark, stoic figure of Paxton moved off the screen. Seconds later, Lucy gave a pained groan, and the picture shook again, showing Lucy’s knees.

“You think you can trick me, you biker slut? How do you even know where I live, huh?” hissed Paxton. There was another slap, and Lucy’s knees pressed together as she screamed out in pain. “You’re gonna eat it. Now swallow.”

“Paxton’s fucking mental,” Jack hissed and pulled out his gun as well. “We gotta do something. The bitch slammed my face against the table on the raid. Fuck knows what she’ll do at home.”

“She can’t have more than two of those croissants. Were going in,” said Monster, shaking his head even as he was standing up. “I don’t know how, but we need to.”

Sam opened the back of the van and jumped off into the darkness. “I’ll find the backdoor.”

Monster followed, and Jack was right behind him. He turned to Loki. “Keep to the back. I mean it.”

Loki nodded, but followed nevertheless, taking each step blindly, led by the pale blue color of the T-shirt Jack was wearing. Only now, moving over unknown terrain, which could send him tumbling to the ground any second for all Loki knew, did he realize that he had no weapon. He was just there, a liability with no purpose other than making the van more packed. It wasn’t like he could provide medical attention to Lucy. Or to Jack for that matter, if he got shot.

They approached from the front of the house when Monster pointed to the windows. Jack and Loki crouched under one, and Monster under another. Lucy’s pleading was loud enough to be heard outside and as much as Loki thought of her as a mean bitch, the hopeless sounds sent chills down his spine. He didn’t want her anywhere near Jack, but he’d never wish her any serious harm. The choked screams and sobs were pushing holes in his skin and crawling underneath, pulling at strings he never wanted to remember.

“She’s gonna kill her,” he whispered to Jack, crouching by the wall.

“Fuck.” Jack took one look at Monster, but before Monster could even acknowledge him, Jack smashed the window with one shot from his gun, and jumped right after the bullet.

To Loki’s right, the other window fell to pieces, and bullets drummed to accompany the screams. Somewhere behind the floating curtain, Jack was facing Paxton, who hated him most of all the Coffin Nails. She would aim at him first, shoot him in the head and claim she was only protecting herself. Everyone would believe her. It was her home. She’d kill Jack and face no consequences.

Loki jumped in. He was not about to live out the rest of his life in misery after getting a chance for a do-over.

Lucy’s hands were in handcuffs, and three of the four croissants were gone. She was crying and a complete mess, in a way Loki never seen the ‘Ice Queen Stripper’ be. “Help me!” she sobbed, only to get hit on the head by Paxton.

“You dirty faggot scum!” Paxton yelled and aimed at Jack. “I gave you a choice, fucker. Put your guns down or one of you dies. Or she dies. Whatever.” Paxton put the barrel of her gun against Lucy’s head.

Monster licked his upper lip, and Loki could clearly see his forehead glimmering with sweat. “If you kill one, you have no chance of surviving. You are outgunned,” he said, not lowering his weapon. Loki stared at Jack’s back, and at the gruesome scene in front of them. There was blood on Paxton’s knuckles, but the moment Loki noticed movement in the darkness behind her, he did his best to keep his eyes off Sam.

“I bet more people would be looking for a senior officer than for a biker slut.” Paxton poked Lucy’s head with the gun, prompting her to cry out again. In the state she was in, Lucy looked much younger than in her stripper makeup and heels.

Jack’s deep breaths were all Loki could hear, all he could focus on. He wanted to fall asleep every night and hear that sound by his ear.

Paxton screamed when Sam came at her from behind. He tackled her and struggled for the gun, but she was like a wounded animal, writhing and clawing for a way out. She didn’t even care who she was shooting when she pulled the trigger. Loki was already there, pulling Jack down to the floor when something wet sprayed his face. Some of it even splashed into his eye, and he fell to his knees with shock clouding his brain. The world around him was dragging in slow motion that made his insides constrict with an unpleasant heat that spread all over his right arm.

In the midst of the chaos, Jack was like a blur, jumping at Paxton when she managed to hit Sam with the barrel of her gun and get to her knees. Jack kicked the weapon out of her hand, and pushed her to the ground again. His hands squeezed around her neck, an unpleasant reminder of the one time when Jack tried to drown him. He felt like he did then, with voices coming to him like from behind a wall of water.

He raised his hand to pull up the shirt, eager to get the wetness out of his face, but something wasn’t right. He couldn’t properly squeeze the fabric with a hand that felt strangely stiff with a cramp that was becoming increasingly painful. He looked down, and all the food he had earlier rose in his throat. For a moment, he didn’t know what he was looking at. The odd, misshapen tangle of blood, skin and protruding bone didn’t feel like it belonged on his forearm. Covered in red, it resembled the hand of a fancy scarecrow. It did twitch when he tried to move his fingers, but even twisted, the convoluted meat lacked something important. Loki swayed on his knees, nauseated as his gaze followed a red trail, all the way to a scrap of raw meat and bone lying by the wall. Pain hit him like a sledgehammer, and as much as he tried not to be even more of a nuisance to Jack, a strange mewl forced its way out of Loki’s throat.

“Let go of her, Red!” Sam yelled and pulled him back. “I think Loki got hit!” He was right back with Paxton and cuffed her with the same handcuffs the crazy bitch had used on Lucy.

“Paxton!” Monster raised his voice. “Stop moving. We have your torture, threats, violence, and intention to lie in court recorded. Jack’s tape disappears, and ours will too.”

Jack looked up at Monster with his lips parted, but then his confused gaze went to Loki. “No. No. Nononono!”

Loki bit his lips, wheezing as he stared at the blood dribbling down from the thing that was a hand and yet everything about it was wrong. He was sick just from looking at it but couldn’t stop watching. Pain radiating from the battered flesh was rapidly gaining intensity, pulsing through his flesh along with blood, and tearing down whatever protected Loki from sensing it before.