by Maz Maddox
“Can you...count to three?”
The sigh that escaped him was the most annoyed sound I’d ever heard.
“One,” he grumbled, lining the needle up. I took a breath and shut my eyes. “Two.” He slammed the needle through and I yelped as searing pain jolted through my chest. “Three.”
“Son of a bitch!” I howled and made the mistake of looking down. Seeing a needle through my nipple seemed to turn up the volume on the pain and I hissed through my teeth in agony. Baha slid the needle through and slipped the loop in its place, screwing the little ball back together.
“Goddamn that fucking hurts. People do this on purpose?”
Baha wiped off his hands and stood, pulling his phone from his pocket and tapping on the screen.
“I’m going to call Royal and get a rendezvous set up. We’ll test to make sure that bug is working before we send you in.”
The pain in my chest was slightly overshadowed by the icy dread in my gut.
“When I get there and find Dalton, what are you going to do?”
“Kill everyone there,” he said easily, like he was answering a question about the weather.
“Oh.”
I guess it was about as good a plan as any. Meet up with the bad guys, find Dalton, and hunker down while Baha cleans house. Normally, I wouldn’t be an advocate for violence against human life, but I wasn’t about to tell Baha how to do his job. Plus, I was so damn sick over Dalton’s wellbeing, that I didn’t really care what happened to everyone else.
Especially if they hurt him.
Hold on, Dalton. We’re coming.
DALTON
My head hurt like a son of a bitch, but it had nothing on how bad my wrists ached.
The zip ties were way too tight, and my elbows were screaming as I tried to adjust my arms around the back of the chair. Dry blood was caked to my face, pulling as I wiggled my nose from the itch just on the inside of my left nostril.
These guys were old school thugs that lacked imagination. I had been here a couple hours and I had yet to be waterboarded or properly tortured. Didn’t they watch movies? Did they think the long wait was going to freak me out?
Well, that was a decent tactic. It didn’t work on me though. Being alive for millions of years teaches you some types of patience. I might get antsy as hell sitting too long or waiting for a movie to start, but I’d gladly relax while waiting to be tortured.
I had already tried my normal tricks to get out of being captured, but these thorough bastards made wiggling free impossible. The room they kept me in had windows covered with plywood, which likely meant we were in an old, abandoned building somewhere. It smelled like dust and old wood, and the only sounds I could hear were the scuff of footsteps above me.
There was no doubt they’d opened the empty fossil case that was in my mangled car and realized I had played them. I also knew that Simon was long gone now, flying miles away from here. Baha would keep him safe until he made it home, and Simon would be free to live his life. The thought of him being happy and safe is what kept me from allowing white hot panic from flooding my veins. This would be the perfect time to rediscover the ability to change shapes again. Changing into a snake and slipping away would be really fantastic in situations like these.
The creak of an old door swinging open got my attention, and King Shithead Hyena made his way into the room, flanked by two other random jackasses.
“Hey, guys.” I looked them over but kept my focus on Hyena. The hate in that man’s eyes was real and bone deep, about as deep as my teeth went when he slapped Simon at the hotel room. I made sure to show my teeth when I grinned at him.
“You’re very proud of yourself,” Hyena mused, a little too upbeat for my liking. It was likely he was just in a great mood because he was going to drive spikes under my nails or attach a battery to my balls.
“A little bit,” I admitted. “Did you get my picture? I was worried it blew away from the explosion.”
Hyena ignored me and grabbed my hair, jerking my head back so he could loom over me.
“Kinky,” I croaked.
“They may not believe me about you, but I plan on showing them what you really are.” His sandwich scented breath was hot on my face, and I cringed.
“Oh?” I tried to turn my head away from the stench, but he squeezed my scalp with his fingers. “You’re about to make me never want a ham sandwich ever again.”
“I figured if I cut little pieces away from you slowly, eventually I’d trigger something that would make you turn. Bring out the beast in you.” Little splashes of spit landed on my cheek as he spoke and I whined.
“God, dude, seriously. I’d rather you shock my balls than make me keep smelling your breath.”
“Instead, I’m going to make you watch as I gut your little boyfriend in front of you.” My aching brain rattled in my head as he shook me, his voice going from amused to vicious.
“Good luck with that, hot shot. He’s miles away now.” I grinned. “Wanna try again?”
“Is he?” He grinned wide, showing me a little piece of lettuce stuck to his teeth. Ugh, God. I gagged. It was official, I’d never eat a sandwich again.
“Oh my God, I’ll tell you the missile codes! Just please get a tic-tac!” I begged. “And floss!”
“Your little shit stain of a boyfriend is on his way here. He says he knows where the fossil is and is willing to trade it for your life,” he practically sang. “Lucky, lucky me.”
“Bullshit.” I laughed. “That bluff is weak.”
“I can’t wait to watch you suffer as you listen to his screams. He looks like he’s a cryer too.” He cackled. “Is your little bitch a cryer?”
Anger surfaced too fast for me to control, so I snapped my jaws at him and let a growl rattle in my chest. While I probably shouldn’t have let him get to me, watching that bastard stumble away in fear was worth it. I openly laughed at him, pulling on my restraints and baring my teeth in mockery. One of my molars was knocked loose as he came back with an impressive hook, and I spat blood to the floor.
He had to be bluffing. Simon was gone. He was safe. Baha wouldn’t have let him stay back here.
While my rational brain was agreeing with me, my gut was coiling like a wounded viper. If Simon came here, I didn’t know how the hell I was going to keep him safe. My head swam in pain as I got struck again, my vision fading into hues of black and white. My hearing was muffled and soggy.
I tried to spit out a “fuck you”, but my lips didn’t seem to want to move.
I passed out hoping that when I woke, I wouldn’t see Simon in this nightmare.
Chapter Sixteen
Simon
My heart was thumping against my chest so hard, I was worried it would burst out of it in full Alien fashion.
I had been so focused on letting my imagination run horrible circles in my head, that I jumped in alarm when Baha tapped my shoulder. I jerked around to see him holding a phone out for me, which I took and held up to my ear.
“Hello?” I asked in confusion, since Baha didn’t think to explain anything to me.
“Yo, Simon. It’s Royal. I’ve heard a lot about you, man.” Maybe it was Royal’s smooth, friendly voice, or the fact I could hear a smile on his lips that helped ease the brewing heart attack building in my chest.
“Good things, I hope.” The attempt at friendly banter was cloaked in my obvious dread, but he laughed anyway.
“Dalton never shuts up about you. He sent me pictures of y’alls road trip so far. I was told it was your idea to bust into Dino World. Very nice.”
“He’s a bad influence.” I sounded a little less rattled that time around, and even got a bit of a smile to form.
“Ha! Understatement of the fucking year, my man. Alright, I’m going to give you a run down of how this is going to go. That ring on you makes it to where I can see your location and can track it in real time. You ever order food from Uber?”
“I don’t use them because of their shitty busin
ess practices. I’ve used Door Dash though.”
“Right on,” he said around a laugh. “But you’ve seen the tracking map, right?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” I rubbed my forehead. “I understand what you mean.”
“Good. I’m going to let Baha know where you’re going so he knows where to find you. He also can hear you speaking, so he’ll be able to listen in on what’s going on. Alright?”
“Y-yeah.” I swallowed and flexed my hand, which was shaking.
“Take some breaths, Simon.”
I inhaled slowly through my nose and exhaled, shutting my eyes. “This is so insane.”
“Sure is. But most of the shit with the team is. We got your back.”
I let out another long breath and nodded. “Thanks, Royal.”
“You bet. Rendezvou is set. Let Baha know I’ve sent the location to his phone. You need to show up at this place alone. No weapons. They will pat you down.” He cleared his throat some and softened his voice just a touch. “You need to be prepared that Dalton might be roughed up when you see him, ok? These guys aren’t playing around and Dalton blew up their cars. They probably smacked him around at the very least.”
“He...blew up their cars?” I croaked.
“Mm-hm,” he hummed. “Just...know that. Might be hard to see. But he’s a tough bastard.”
Worry stabbed into my already pounding heart and made my stomach tighten. I nodded, swallowed then weakly added, “Yeah, ok.”
“See you soon, Simon. Get our boy back.”
Royal disconnected the call and I shut my eyes for a moment.
I can do this. I can do this.
To summon courage, I allowed my thoughts to drift to Dalton grinning at me from behind the dimetrodon. It was right before I kissed him, his grin wide and mischievous, his bright, blue eyes dancing with delight. I had never wanted anyone so badly in my life than in that moment. This chaotic, sweet mess of a man with bubble gum pink hair and a tree star tattoo, who took me on a cross country road trip filled with tourist traps, safe houses and misdemeanor crimes.
A man who saved my life. Twice.
Made me feel safe despite the world crashing down around me.
And gave me the best sex of my damn life.
Oh. And was a fucking dinosaur. Can’t forget that.
I was ready. More than ready.
“Royal said he sent the location to your phone,” I said to Baha as I handed his phone back. “I’m ready if you are.”
He looked me over once and gave a nod. “Let’s go.”
The drive wasn’t far, but it felt like a damn lifetime. I was dropped off at the meeting location, which was a very plain gas station a little off the highway. There was a real sense of roiling panic in my chest at seeing Baha disappearing around the corner, leaving me alone in front of an EZ Mart.
I waited much longer than I should have before I was finally approached. Two men slipped out of a truck and came over to me, demanding I go with them. I had expected them to be in SUVs, but then I remembered what Royal had told me.
When I walked over to their truck, which was off white and covered in dried mud, I was shoved against the bed and told not to move. One of the men gave me a full pat down and jerked up my shirt, hunting for any wires. Ice trailed down my spine at my chest being exposed, but they didn’t linger on it before I was ordered into the back.
If they had figured out the ring was a tracking device, they didn’t let it show.
The drive was bumpy and long, and more than once I thought about jumping out of the bed to run screaming for help. But the long stretch of country road didn’t leave many options for me to turn chicken shit, so I sat in the back and waited.
After some time, we pulled into an old, abandoned property that looked like it might have been an old government building back in its heyday. It was a relic of the 60s, mostly swallowed by weeds and a dying tree that was leaning on it for support. The windows were boarded up, with graffiti tags painted over them, and the boxy, basic shape of the building spoke of its drab existence. Whatever town the building had been used for was either too far away to be seen, or the entirety of it picked up and left.
I was ushered inside by the arm, flanked on either side by the two men. I was hyper aware of everything around me, but also so narrowly focused that I felt like my vision was tunneled. Through the double doors, the empty building had enough light streaming in from a massive hole in the ceiling to allow dust particles to float through it like a winter wonderland of dirt. It smelled old and musty, and our footsteps echoed in the empty space.
The man standing inside to greet us was immediately recognizable by his scowl and wounded arm. But what sent a cold chill down my spine was the long scar wrapping around his throat. I remembered him staring down at me in the hotel, and again pressing a gun into my temple back in the lab.
I finally was formally meeting Hyena.
“Andrews,” he said, his voice lifting like he was happy to see me. “Glad you could join us.”
“Where’s Dalton?” I was surprised how level I sounded, despite feeling like I might piss myself.
“Where’s the fossil?” He sounded so casual, like we were old friends having a nonchalant chat about long work days.
“I’ll take you to it after I see him. Alive.”
“How do I know this isn’t bullshit? That you actually have the fossil?” Hyena checked his nails on his good hand, picking at a hangnail with his thumb.
“Why the hell would I come here empty handed? You’d know I was lying the moment I took you to the location. If you think I brought the police into this, don’t you think I would have played that card way sooner? Like before you tried to murder us?” I waved my hand around me. “You think I’d willingly go into a death trap without a way out?”
“I think your back is against the wall. People do stupid shit when they don’t have options left.” He sniffed and looked at me again. “Men get very desperate if they think they’re about to die. Or if they think someone they love is.”
“Bring me Dalton and I’ll give you the fossil,” I said through my teeth to keep myself from yelling. “I want this to be done.”
The bastard smirked at my frustration and gave a snort. “Go get the fuck boy.”
One of his lackies vanished down a hallway, and reappeared moments later dragging a limping Dalton into the room. He shoved him towards the center of the floor, which caused Dalton to stagger and fall, landing on his shoulder with a meaty impact.
“Dalton!” I ran to him as he groaned on the floor, trying to roll off of his injured shoulder. Dry blood covered his face, which was swollen from cuts and welts across his cheeks and eyebrows. Blood painted his teeth and his lip was busted, and his wrists were bruised and raw from the zip ties.
“Jesus Christ, what did you do to him?” I yelled, my anger rolling over the panic from seeing so much blood. No one answered, so I helped him sit up, holding him by the shoulders to keep him from swaying. One of his eyes was mostly swollen shut, but the other one tried to focus on me. A small smirk tugged at his lips.
“Hey, handsome.” Dalton’s voice was raspy and rough, strained from pain. “You probably...should’ve caught that flight.”
“It’s going to be ok,” I managed, my throat tight with rage and sorrow. “You’re not the only relic here.”
His one good eye blinked and I think he was trying to wink at me.
“Touching,” Hyena mocked dryly, nodding towards me to signal his goons. A pair of rough hands forced me backwards and to my knees in front of their boss, who casually slipped a knife out from his pocket.
“You know, I had a lot of time to think while the doctor was stitching up my arm,” Hyena mused, the blade of his knife unfolding with an audible snap. “I have you to thank for all that’s happened.”
My jaw ached from grinding my molars, but I kept teeth together so I didn’t yell as I spoke. “I’ll give you what you want. Just let us go.”
“You will be giving me
what I want, Andrews, but not before I take something to remember you by.” He waved the blade casually. “Ear? Nose? You do have pretty eyes, don’t you think?” Hyena glanced to Dalton, who growled.
“Touch him and I’ll kill you.”
I had never heard Dalton sound fierce before, but the ice that formed around his words gave me chills.
“Aw, clearly you’re not a man of vanity,” Hyena teased with a snicker. Tiny pinpricks of pain danced over my scalp as the man holding me to the ground grabbed my hair and forced my head backwards. With my face angled up the glow of daylight through the gaping hole in the ceiling made Hyena resemble an unholy figure of malice.
“You’d still fuck him if he was a cyclops, right?” The blunt end of the blade trailed down my cheek, curving up until the tip rested just under my eye. My blood froze as my heart staggered in my chest, my breathing sawing from my nose in panic.
“Back off,” Baha’s voice was a hammer, blasting through the room as he stepped forward from the dark, abandoned hallway. His dark eyes were fixed on Hyena, as was the rifle he had braced against his shoulder.
Hyena gave a snort and raised his hands in mock surrender, sweeping one hand around the room. “I think my men can gun you down fairly fast, friend.”
“You’d still be dead. Drop your weapons or I’m mowing you down.”
Hyena tossed his knife down. “My men have orders not to shoot who ever showed up to help. I didn’t think Simon would have the stones to come here alone. I was right.”
“Hey, he’s got giant stones, asshole,” Dalton shot back. “Don’t talk shit about my man’s stones.”
Heat flushed over my neck and face as I rubbed my eyes in embarrassment.
“This is what’s going to happen,” Baha growled. “You’re either going to follow my orders and we all leave here intact, or I’ll slaughter you and your crew.”
“Or.” Hyena lifted his finger. “You come with me and I don’t have my associate slit Andrew’s throat.”
“Or,” Dalton chimed in cheerfully. “You suck a dick.”
