Hunted

by Lourdes Skye

  “Fine, I’ll take one.”

  Damn, cutie hadn’t lied. The drink was really good. Perhaps the best he’d ever had. “This is really good.”

  “Want another?”

  “I’ll get one before I leave. Hopefully I’ll get your name with it.”

  Jace watched as he walked back to his table.

  “Oh my god, was he hitting on you?” Lydia asked as she came back to the bar. “He is a fine piece of man.”

  Jace laughed. In the few hours that he’d been at the bar, he knew he found a friend in Lydia. She’d guessed right off that he was gay. Between all the guys who had hit on him since the doors opened, she’d give him the rundown on what type of person they were. He told her repeatedly that he wasn’t looking for anyone. She just shrugged and said, “Well there’s nothing wrong with a plaything.”

  He simply laughed.

  During the course of the night Jace eyes seemed to fall upon Cobra quite often. The fact that dude flirted with him, told him that he was either gay or bi. He wondered if the guy sitting at the table with him was his boyfriend.

  “Uh, I thought you said you weren’t looking for someone,” Lydia teased as she hip bumped him, catching him eyeing the hot guy from earlier.

  “I-I.”

  “Mm, I told you there’s no harm in a little fun.”

  Jace shook his head. For me, there’s a lot of harm should Octorian ever catch up to me. “It’s not on my menu,” was all he said as he returned to making drinks.

  “So, what happened?” Barney asked sometime later when he caught his partner eyeing the bartender for the umpteenth time.

  “Nothing. I think he’s shy.”

  “Maybe he’s one of those types who likes to be chased.”

  Cobra chuckled. “More so they like to be caught.”

  Just then a small group of guys came through the doors. Barney and Cobra scanned the crew thoroughly. Damn, still no sign of Spike. The guys looked to be fairly young, beginning to mid-twenties. The ring leader, a tall guy, about 6 feet 185 pounds or so, ash blond hair and green eyes, sauntered up to the bar and leaned against it. The others formed an arch around him and loud laughter and bantering was heard as they ordered drinks.

  “Hey, how old are you?” ring leader asked. “You look too young to be slinging drinks in this dive. Why don’t you come back with us to a private party. We’ll make sure you get paid twice whatever they’re giving you here.”

  His friends laughed.

  “Better yet,” he leaned further over the counter. “Your pretty little ass could make a few grand tonight. A few blow jobs and your pockets can be fat come morning.”

  Now his friends were belly-rolling with laughter while one made the sucking impressions using his finger.

  Jace’s cheeks turned bright red with humiliation at their crude suggestions. Lydia immediately came to his aid. “Why don’t you and The Breakfast Club, beat it. You’re already drunk and making complete fools of yourselves.”

  “B-itch, ain’t nobody talking to you,” one of the guys gave the impression of a street thug.

  “Asshole, I’m talking to you,” she countered. “Get out!”

  Dude grabbed the mug of beer and tossed it at her. It would have splashed in her face had Jace not grabbed her and shield her with his body. Instead the beer splashed all over his chest, drenching his shirt.

  Cobra was at the scene in no time. He grabbed dude by the collar of his shirt, “I think the lady asked you to leave.”

  “Who the hell are you? Get off me!”

  “I’m the guy that’s gonna kick your ass up and down the block if you don’t take your little friends and get lost,” Cobra growled in his face.

  “Fuck you man!”

  Cobra smirked, “No…you can’t.”

  “Alright, time to clear out,” Barney flashed his badge. Together they ushered the crew out of the bar.

  “Thanks Jace,” Lydia said.

  “No, thank you. You were the one who came to my defense.”

  “They’re rich snobbish assholes who come in here every now and again and like to start shit. The blonde, his name is Roger Dudley. Complete asshole.”

  Jace was trying to wipe the beer from his shirt when Cobra and Barney emerged.

  “Go in the bathroom and rinse it out, then stand under the hand dryer. It’ll be good in no time. I’ll go to the back and see if I can find a Bullet shirt that fits you. Mickey said he was ordering more.”

  “Who will watch the bar?”

  “I’ll send Mickey out here.”

  Jace waited till he saw the old man come from the back before heading off in direction of the men’s room. There, he stripped off his shirt, pumped some of the liquid hand soap on it and began scrubbing it under the flow of hot water. Great, now he’d be flaunting a floral scent for the rest of the night. As he stood under the hand dryer, the door opened and closed.

  Cobra stood back admiring the scene. Jace currently had his shirt off and his hair had come loose from the ponytail. He could now see that it hung past his shoulders and looked like spun silk. The slight muscles moved in his back as he stood under the dryer drying the shirt he’d worn earlier. Though he was slim, he was nicely toned, not boney. The perfect twink.

  “You okay?”

  Jace stiffened at the voice. It was like smooth warm whiskey. “Uh yeah, I’m good,” he shifted so he could watch the man.

  To Cobra, Jace’s stance was like a frightened rabbit ready to bolt. He walked over to the sink. “I came to wash my hands and I wanted to see if you were alright. From where I was sitting, I couldn’t tell if more than the beer touched you.”

  Lydia had been right. The velocity of the dryer was so much so, that it had his thin cotton T-shirt dried in minutes. Quickly he pulled it over his head and headed for the door.

  “Hey,” Cobra grabbed Jace’s arm before he could bolt.

  Almost violently the boy wrenched his arm free, “Let go of me!” Jace damn near roared.

  With his hands up in a surrender formation, Cobra stepped back. “Whoa, I just wanted to ask you your name.”

  Jace’s crystal grey eyes roamed around the bathroom as if he was expecting a monster of something to jump out from the unknown.

  “W-Why do you want to know my name?”

  “Okay-let’s keep it real. I’ve already flirted with you once this evening. I think it should be obvious I find you attractive. And besides, I’ve already told you my name.”

  Jace swallowed. “Jace. I have to get back to work.” And just like that he was gone.

  What the hell, Cobra thought. Shaking his head, he opened the door and returned to his table.

  “Any progress?” he asked Barney.

  “No. Maybe Spike likes to keep late hours or maybe tonight isn’t one of the nights he’ll come here.”

  “The door says it closes at 2am. It’s only 12:25. We’ll wait a little longer then call it a night.”

  For the remainder of the night, Jace felt eyes on him and knew that the cop named Cobra was watching him. He didn’t know what the guy saw in him. He only wanted to know his name and he all but had a bitch fit in the bathroom. Sheesh-the guy probably thought he was on drugs or something. He was so messed up.

  Finally the clock hit 2am.

  After cleaning down the bar and the glasses, Jace called a cab and left. Lucky for him, Cobra had been in the bathroom when he left. Lydia had told him she’d lock up. It wasn’t until he was back in his apartment that he allowed himself to relax. After a quick hot shower, he curled up in his bed. His last thoughts before closing his eyes, was of a sexy brown-eyed cop.

  5

  Eight o clock sharp, found Vince knocking on Octorian’s bedroom door.

  Fuck. “What is it?!”

  “The cops are here to see you.”

  “I’ll be right down. Oh and Vince.”

  “Yeah boss?”

  “Seat them in my office.”

  “Yes sir.”

  With a sigh, Octorian r
olled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. He so didn’t want to deal with that arrogant Magee but hopefully they had some information that he could pass on to Prynce. In truth, he had more confidence that Prynce would locate Jace before they would, anyway. After a quick shower, he dressed in designer pants and a Polo shirt.

  “Ah, what do I owe the pleasure of your company so early in the morning, gentlemen,” he greeted as he sat behind the desk.

  “We told you we’d be back.”

  “Indeed you did. Have you any news on Jace?”

  Magee sat forward in his chair. “Yesterday we recovered a cell phone from the hotel. Upon having it professionally analyzed, we discovered that it is indeed Jace Vanderhuff’s phone. The only fingerprints on it was his and the last call was made to your phone earlier on the day that he supposedly disappeared.”

  McBride winced at his partner’s words and the look on Vanderhuff’s face. Damn, did he have to un-nerve the man so?

  “Again, I don’t particularly care for your tone Detective.”

  “And I don’t particularly care to be involved in a game of bullshit and chase!” Magee snapped back.

  “What my partner is trying to say is that,” McBride quickly cut in. “Is that we’ve accessed your husband’s bank records. Did you know that he had a separate account?”

  “Of course I knew that. It was before he and I got together. Money from his modeling days.”

  “Uh huh. Did you also know that for the past five weeks, he’s been making withdrawals every Wednesday? Each amount was never the same. Five thousand here, three thousand there, ten thousand here, that type of thing. All in all, the amount taken out adds up to seventy five thousand dollars. Now why would he take out that much money?” Magee asked.

  “I have no idea.”

  “Was you or he being threatened, blackmailed?”

  “No.”

  “And as of yet there’s been no ransom note or phone call?”

  “No.”

  Magee looked him in the eye. “Mr. Vanderhuff, what did you do to drive your husband to such desperation?”

  That’s it. Octorian was out of his seat so fast that the leather chair toppled over. Foam was damn near gathering at the corners on Oct’s mouth as he pointed a finger at Magee. “Fuck you. You’re just a two bit cop with a nasty attitude. What you make in a year, I spend on a pair of shoes. So take your jealous judgmental ass and get the hell off of my property!”

  Magee snickered. “I may be that but guess what. My wife isn’t hiding money and hauling ass out of town to get away from me. And as for the jealous part, fat chance. From what I’ve seen of you, I don’t blame your man for leaving. What I’d like to know, is what took him so long.”

  At that Octorian lunged for Magee. McBride stepped in, pushing Octorian back. To Magee, he ordered him out to wait in the car. With him gone, he turned back to Vanderhuff. “I apologize for my partner. I’ll speak with him. However, there’s some truth to what he said. Everything points to your husband leaving you of his own free will. If that’s the case, that isn’t a crime and we can’t treat it as such. If things should change, such as you get calls or a ransom note, give us a call. Until then, there’s nothing more we can do.”

  “Of course you can’t. You probably have no more than a GED education. How either of you made detective is beyond me. I don’t think you can find a crayon in a Crayola box.”

  Before McBride did something that would have him losing his pension, he walked out.

  “So, what did asshole in there say? He’s calling the Captain to report my insulting tongue.”

  “Nah. Actually, I was going to give you the riot act for being so rude to him but then he said some shit that pissed me the fuck right off. So fuck’em. Let him find his own husband. The man is probably long gone, grateful that he escaped that jerk.”

  “Now you finally admit that he’s an asshole?”

  “I never said he wasn’t.”

  “Did you see how his eyes nearly bulged out of his head?” Magee asked.

  “Yeah and who could miss the spittle flying from his mouth. Dude has some serious anger issues.”

  “I wonder if he turns green.”

  McBride laughed at his implication to the Incredible Hulk.

  Octorian sank down in the chair after snatching it up off the floor. The detective’s words only proved that Jace did indeed leave him. They said this was no longer a police matter. Maybe they were right. Jace was his husband, his responsibility and his mess to clean up. At this point, it was best that the police take a back seat in this case. As a thought filled his head, he picked up the phone and called Vince into his office.

  “You rang?” Vince asked as he popped his head in the door.

  “Yeah. I need some information from you.”

  “Like what?”

  “What’s that guy’s phone number that you said served in the military with you? The one that you said do special jobs, for the right pay.”

  “You’re talking about Rock Mercer.”

  “Yes, him.”

  “Uh, boss, Rock isn’t the most stable of guys. I mean, he has an un-natural thirst for violence and mayhem. It’s why he was discharged from the military. Boss, Rock is—.”

  “None of your concern. Just give me his contact information.”

  With a deep sigh, Vince approached the desk and wrote down his phone number and address on a sticky note. Before he walked out of the office, he said, “I hope you know what you’re doing, getting involved with Rock.”

  Octorian looked at the door long after Vince left. Out of all the men who worked for him, Vince was the one he respected the most. Vince had served his father for five years before his parents died in a plane crash. So in a way, he inherited him as well as the family’s fortune. He was the only one who he’d allow to talk somewhat out of term to him. Anyone else, they’d better remember their place if they wanted to remain employed. Though Octorian respected him, that respect wasn’t enough to stop him from making the call.

  He hung upside down from the pull-up bar as he cleaned his M203. The ringing of the phone had him flipping over onto his feet. Looking at the phone he noticed it was an unknown number. “Hello?”

  “Hello is this Rock Mercer?”

  “Who’s calling?”

  “My name is Octorian Vanderhuff. Vince Garrett gave me your number.”

  “Vince Garrett, what’s he up to?”

  “He’s still riding security for my household.”

  “Security huh. Well if he gave you my number, then you must know what I do. You’re calling me because you have a situation that you need a solution for.”

  “Yes.”

  “Give me the details.”

  He told him about how Jace took off and left him. He embellished the story a bit by adding that Jace stole money from him.”

  “I don’t do any babysitting and I don’t play fetch. My specialties lay in another area.”

  “Yes, I’m well aware of that.”

  “What exactly do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to stand by for now. I have someone out looking for my husband as we speak. Once I have all the details, I’ll clue you in. And then, I’d like you to neutralize him. A dead husband is most acceptable than a run-a-way one. His sudden departure is putting me in a bad light, business wise.”

  “I understand Mr. Vanderhuff. Just tell me when and where you need me and I’ll be there.”

  “That’s nice to know. I’ll be in touch soon.”

  The first print of the day, reported that another tween, Shelby Wright age 12, was taken from Bedford Sty sometime between the hours of 5pm and 8pm last night. The New York Times reported that the girl was rumored to have been coming home from the local YMCA when she disappeared. No sooner than Cobra and Barney walked into the 41st Precinct, someone tossed a newspaper on their desk.

  “The snake and the dinosaur are in the house,” Officer Johansson teased, making fake snake hissing sounds. It was a known joke aro
und the precinct ever since the two became partners. The guys joked about Cobretti’s nickname Cobra and Barney being the famous purple dinosaur.

  “You guys are so full of shit. Y’all need new material if you’re attempting to be comical,” Cobra said as he sank down onto his chair. He picked up the paper and read through the article about the missing girl. “Shit!” he growled throwing the paper down on the desk.

  Barney picked the discarded paper up and read through it. “Perhaps this is what Spike was engaging in as to why he didn’t come to the bar last night.”

  “Bastard. I can’t wait to get my hands on him.”

  “So I guess that means we’ll be back at the Bullet tonight.”

  “We’ll be there every night until this asshole comes in.”

  “Damn partner, we really need a break in this case.”

  “Something tells me it’s coming soon Barn.”

  Jace slept till noon.

  This time his dreams had been filled with Octorian bashing in his face. Only this time, the sexy cop kicked in the door, barged in the room and handed Octorian his ass. As twisted as it may seem, it was nice to see Octorian on the other end of someone’s fist for a change. He’d woken up right around the time that the cop pulled him into his arms and laid the smackdown of all kisses on him. Instead of shaking and in a cold sweat, Jace woke up sporting wood and wishing he could return to the dream for the finale.

  When it became apparent that he wouldn’t be returning to sleep, he decided to take a shower, dress and find something to eat. He didn’t have to be back at the bar until 4pm. He found himself looking forward to it.

  Weasel rang the bell of the brownstone located on Kane Street in Brooklyn. The door was opened by a large man bearing a scar just under his left eye and disappearing under his chin. Rumor had it that he used to be a MMA fighter. Never made the title, but a contender none the less. From his square jaw and massive build, it wasn’t hard to detect the Russian in him.

  “What the hell are you doing here Weasel?” he stared the smaller man down.

  Weasel stepped to the side. Dude reminded him so much of Bull, he didn’t dare get too close to him.

  “Uh, I came to see Spike.”