Little Bird (Caged #1)

by M Dauphin

  “I was uh… I was napping. It’s too bright.” He forces a chuckle and looks around the room then takes Bronson in his arms. “Ready to play, big kid?”

  “I want to race again!” Bronson scurries down and across the living room to the TV.

  Luke shoves his hands in his pockets and looks at me. He hasn’t reached out to touch me. He hasn’t smiled at me. Nothing. And that’s unusual for him.

  “So what, an hour or two?”

  I land my eyes on Bronson and keeping my hand on my gun, I slide my other hand in my back pocket so he doesn’t notice.

  “You know what? I can just take him. It’s fine.” I head for Bronson.

  “What? No, he’s good. We’re fine. I’ll… I’ll get some light in here and shit. It’s good, go take a break.”

  “I don’t need a break,” I growl. “He’s my responsibility, he’s just been asking to see you since we left the other day. You probably shouldn’t have gotten him so attached.” There’s definitely something going on and the excitement I felt that we were going to see him has turned to anger that I stupidly thought we had built a friendship and I could put some trust in him.

  “I want to spend time with the kid, okay? Go do what you have to, we’ll be fine, Megs.” He smiles at me but it’s not a true Luke smile.

  “Yeah,” I mutter and walk up behind Bronson kissing his head. “Okay. Thanks.” I look at Luke again. “Why do you look like shit, Luke?” I quietly ask while heading to the door. “And you’ve missed your run the last two days.” I pull it open and glance around, trying to see if I notice any suspicious cars I might have missed on my way over. I was too busy acting like a damn psycho worried he was fucking some woman when I should be worried he might try to kill me.

  “I’ve been under the weather,” he mutters rubbing his head and resting his hand on the top of his mussed up hair. “I can’t run when I’m sick.”

  I almost roll my eyes. He doesn’t seem like the type of guy that gets sick that often, and me and Bronson didn’t get sick. He’s fucking full of shit.

  I push open the door because I need distance between us in case he tries something.

  “Ya know.” I head backward down the steps. “If you got shit to tell me, you can just tell me so we’re on the same page. I’m not your fucking girlfriend or anything, if you got other chicks, you just gotta tell me.” I shrug. “If you have other problems. Just tell me because… well.” I turn around so my back is to him and take the last two steps, my hand on my gun that’s visibly sticking out of the back of my jeans. “We’re in the same business, and sometimes business gets tough.”

  “See ya in a few, Megs,” he mumbles then closes and locks the doors.

  Nothing’s out of the ordinary when I return, and I make sure to scope for any unusual vehicles. As I get out, Alice is staring at me, watering her grass next door.

  “Megan!” She waves me over and I inwardly groan but head toward her. “My granddaughter is staying the night,” she boasts.

  “How nice.” I have no patience for this fake shit tonight.

  “How about that sweetheart comes over and plays with her for a little bit? Just in the kiddie pool?” She points toward her yard and I almost decline, but it was my stupid idea to try and give Bronson a normal life.

  “Sure.” I nod. “Let me just see what him and Luke are up to.” I knock on the front door but pull open the screen because the door’s cracked. “Bronson?” I call out, slowly entering, expecting to have to dodge gunfire.

  “Birdie, be quiet!” Bronson whispers from somewhere in the dark room. “We’re playing hide and seek and I’m hiding!” By the time he’s finished talking, he’s ousted himself and Luke is walking into the room.

  He smiles at Bronson then glances over at me, and the smile immediately falls. “Hey, that was fast.”

  “I said an hour.” I shrug, finding it eerie they’re just playing. “Bronson, you want to go swim with Mrs. Springer’s granddaughter for a little bit? She invited you over.”

  “Can I, Luke?” he asks in excitement and I furrow my brows because apparently I’m not in charge anymore.

  Luke chuckles and looks over at me expectantly. “Can he?” His eyebrow quirks up and I see the Luke I know underneath the unshaven, probably unshowered mess.

  “Yeah. Go. Thirty minutes,” I grumble with authority as if I ever put his playtime on a time frame I actually stick to. “Uh… I guess just pull off your shirt and you can wear those shorts. Let’s go see if Alice has sunscreen.”

  I hear Luke clear his throat from across the room and look up at him. “It’s um… It’s eight at night, Megs. There’s no way he’s going to get sunburned right now.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and waits for me to respond, but I don’t, because he’s right, and I’m too annoyed with him to admit it.

  “Come on.” I take Bronson’s hand and plaster on the face-numbing smile. “You sure he’s okay? I’m just going to grab a bite to eat at Luke’s.”

  “He’s fine, dear, go ahead.” Alice waves me away and when I look at Bronson, a real smile spreads my lips at the fun he’s having with her granddaughter already.

  When I head back to Luke’s front door I snicker because he closed it. He fucking thinks I’m just going to go away! I head to the back of the house and on my way, make sure my silencer is on my gun then walk through the back door. Fuck knocking. Lifting my gun, I find him sitting in the dining room with his head in his hands.

  I keep my distance but he looks up, no surprise when he sees my weapon, and I notice his eyes study it a minute.

  “Fucking talk. Now!” I grit out, and will not hesitate to fire.

  He sighs and rolls his eyes. “Put the gun down, Megs. This isn’t what you’re thinking.” He lifts an eyebrow at me but I don’t budge. “Look. Mine is out and on the table. Unloaded and everything,” he says showing me the empty casing. I’m not going to shoot you.” His tone sounds like he’s too tired or defeated to put much effort into anything.

  “I can’t promise the same courtesy. Fucking tell me what the hell is going on. Right now, Lucas.” I circle the table, not taking my eyes from him. “Where is he? He on his way here?”

  “What? Who the fuck are you talking about?” He’s looking at me like I’ve lost my damn mind as he stands from his spot at the table.

  “Jasper,” I growl. “Stop playing fucking stupid. I’ve been around Jasper too long, in this business too long, not to notice something’s going on. You look like… like you’re worn down. What’ve you been doing for him and what do you still have to do for him? Did you tell him about the kid, Luke? Huh?” Rage starts to make me tremble that he’d betray me when I thought we were building up a trust between us.

  He fucking acted like he liked Bronson! He’s got that little boy so wrapped and I don’t know how he broke down some of my guard. But I think he’s told Jasper and I will take them both out before they hurt Bronson.

  “What?” The look on his face slowly morphs into anger. “You really think I’d fucking rat you out like that?” he snarls. “I’m a lot of things, Megs, but I’m no fucking rat.”

  “You’re a fucking lackey for Jasper, Luke!” I shout as this rage is about to explode. “The only person you wouldn’t rat out is Jasper. I’m not fucking stupid. I know how this works and I’ve played the game for seven years. How the fuck do you think I got where I am today?”

  “I think you took a liking to being the whore to a powerful man. I think you like the money and that’s why you let him leave you scarred and battered. And for what? A new fucking car? That’s a fan-fucking-tastic thing to be proud of.”

  I snicker and push the switch to the safety down. I see mine and Luke’s relationship going one of two ways. He dies. Or we work together. At this point in the game, there’s no going our separate ways.

  “Cars and money.” I chuckle aiming my gun a little higher. One shot between the eyes. “I’ve continued being his whipping post and whore for the last five years because I will be sit
ting where he is soon. I will kill Jasper, Luke. He’s mine to kill.”

  The laughter that comes out of him is full of shock.

  “You really think you’re going to kill him, Megs? You think that’s the plan to fix all this?!” He narrows his eyes at me before he starts pacing like a wild man. “Megan, how long do you think it took Jasper to realize you were lying to him?”

  Now I narrow my eyes at him and he cocks his head, giving me a look like I’m stupid.

  “B.K., Megs. How the fuck long did you think it was going to take for Jasper to figure out that you lied about him, huh?!” He shoves a side table over and a string of curses comes from his mouth. “Goddammit! Who the fuck lies to Jasper? He’s a fucking madman!”

  The rage pot has spilled and I storm him, grabbing the collar of his disheveled shirt and shove him against the wall while snarling, “It was your fucking marks that started this! I would sooner have Vig killed than…” I can’t say it out loud. “B.K. Vig is expendable. Fuck B.K.! I couldn’t tell him it was you that did it.”

  “Yea, well. The night after, you spent the night here and completely forgot to tell me about Jasper fucking you mere hours before you crawled in bed with me? We went down there. I was fucking livid, Megs. I thought… ‘how could she?’ I thought we fucking had something! I’m a fucking killer, Megan. You said it yourself! How goddamned stupid have I been to fall for a girl like you?! It wasn’t until we watched hours of videos and you never showed on the fucking screen that your fate was sealed. B.K. is alive, but you won’t be for too much longer if Jasper has anything to do with it.” He hangs his head, not even attempting to get out of my grasp.

  “I didn’t fucking crawl in bed with you,” pathetically mutters from me as I let his shirt go and take a step back unable to look at him. “You know what I am to him. I do what I have to do or I get hurt worse than complying. You wanted me in your fucking bed.” I pull out a chair and sit. “I would have rather been here than forced to do what I did.”

  “I know what you were to him,” he says pushing himself off of the wall. “You have to run.” Taking the chair next to me, he looks me in the eyes. “I got the fucking kill order that night. It’s not a pretty one, and I’ve never seen him this…. this emotional about any of his girls.”

  “I’m not just one of his girls!” I scream with offense, but holding that little tidbit of information over his head is the last thing I should be doing. Me being more than just one of Jasper’s fucks will not impress this man. “And soon I will be sitting on his fucking throne with his head as a footstool.” I get to my feet and look at him like he’s pathetic. “You run, Lucas. I’m not afraid of Jasper or you. You got the order. Try and do your job.”

  He stands glaring at me then a chuckle starts to emerge from his lips. Soon he’s in full-blown laughter before he cuts it off immediately and storms toward me. His voice low, his eyes dark, and his fists clenched.

  “I would never kill you, Megan. Why the hell do you think I’ve been holed up here the past few days?! I can’t, for the life of me, figure a way out of this! I can’t run, because he’ll still have you killed… I can’t fucking kill you because… Fuck, I just.” He screams and kicks over the chair. “I can’t fucking kill the woman I love!”

  A look of disgust twists the angry features that were plastered to my face. What the fuck did he just admit to?

  “Love?” I roar before barking out condescending laughter. “You’re a weak man.” I’m shaking so hard I can feel it in my chest. “Pathetic. You’ve followed my cookie crumb.” I throw back my head and laugh so he doesn’t see the tears. I will not admit to feeling even an ounce of respect for the man. “And now you’re eating out of my hand and that’s why you won’t do your job. If Jasper really knew who you were, he wouldn’t have hired you. He only employs clones. You’re weak—”

  He grabs my arm and jerks me toward him. “So you’re a clone of him, Megan?” he screams at me. “You’re delusional if you’re even trying to deny whatever this is that’s between us!” He shakes me before he continues his rant. “I’m not a fucking clone, Megs. I was raised with him. I watched my parents get murdered with him right next to me. I wasn’t cloned, Megan. I am who I am because he fucking took me in and gave me a life that wasn’t the system. Now I’m faced with either killing the woman I’ve fallen so fucking hard for or the man I consider my brother.”

  My eyes go wide. I hadn’t realized they were that close.

  “You don’t love me, Lucas. You’ve fallen in love with your first taste of freedom. Have you ever been away from the life you’re used to? Have you ever gotten close to another human for reasons other than killing them or a quick fuck?” I pull out of his grasp on my arm. “You don’t love me, Lucas.”

  “Goddammit!” he growls, tightly grabbing my arm and yanking me back toward him. “I fucking love YOU!” he screams before shoving his lips to mine and I fire before thinking.

  With a grunting scream he shoves away from me and yells, “Fuck!”

  I don’t know why I fired. His stupid fucking words and the stupid fucking feelings that zapped through me from that kiss scared me! It’s instinct to kill what tries to hurt me and he may not physically hurt me but telling me words like that and fucking meaning it! Fuck him!

  Not until I see the blood seep through his fingers holding his thigh do I realize the monumental mistake.

  “Sit down!” I blurt and shove the chair behind him. “Fuck, Lucas, you stupid fuck!” I drop to my knees and quickly rip open the hole in his jeans caused from the bullet and see the wound pumping blood.

  I’ve shot plenty of people, I know what happens, and maybe some part of me wanted to hurt him before he could me, but now, now I feel like a monster.

  “You’re going to be okay.” I softly touch his face, leaving a bloody handprint before I dart to the kitchen.

  “I WAS JUST SHOT! A fucking!.. Motherfucking cunt muffin just shot me! For loving her!” he yells across the house. “God fucking… Jesus Christ… Fuck!”

  I wince at his words then bite my lip to keep from laughing. I think I’m more amused that I shot him. I start going through cupboards and drawers and find what I’m looking for. I dart back into the dining room and he scowls at me, then looking at my hands, he pulls his leg away.

  “What the fuck is that?”

  “Shut up, you dumb cunt muffin,” I snap at him, shoving his leg making him groan and grit his teeth.

  I pour the turmeric on the pumping wound and he lets out a painful growling noise but keeps it quiet.

  I look into his face. “I… uh. Sorry, but I need you to wait here. I have to run home to get something. The Turmeric will only slow the bleeding.”

  “Jesus, just get it from my trunk. Here,” he winces as he digs the keys out of his pocket and hits the buttons on the fob. “The black bag in the trunk. It’s got everything you’ll need.”

  I look at the wound once more and wince. First time I’ve ever felt guilty for shooting someone, but when he starts to growl because I haven’t moved, I dart out the door, going as fast as I can so no one notices my bloody hands and arms. Grabbing the black bag, I rush into the house, closing the door behind me and unzip it.

  “Lucas, I have to dig the bullet out. Is there something I can use to dig the bullet out with?”

  “There’s tweezers, I think. Fuck, other sharp… things. Jesus.” He hisses. “Just give me the goddamned bag before you hurt me anymore. I’ve done this enough, I can do it.”

  I raise my hands and take a few steps back, ready to be entertained while he tries to tend to his leg before he bleeds out. I could just help and this would go faster and he possibly wouldn’t die… but no, Mr. Big Shot has to do it all. I was only helping because I shot him.

  I watch him for a couple minutes and he’s getting slower and slower, sweat pouring from his forehead. When his head seems to nod like he’s about to pass out, the feeling of fear fills me and the sickening feeling has me rushing him and forcing him to let me
take over.

  “You’ve lost too much blood,” I tell him, digging the bullet out with tongs and a magnet. “And I’m not going to fucking let you die.”

  I look up at him and he smirks in his still groggy state.

  “It’s because you love me, isn’t it?” he mumbles and I shove the gauze in a little harder than necessary, making him grunt and release it in a chuckle like he’s trying not to kill me.

  “Sorry.” I take a second to give him a cocky smirk that’s usually on his cocky face.

  “My leg!” he snaps at me and I quickly get back to his leg.

  I still can’t believe she fucking shot me. And to top it off, the minute she shoved painkillers down my throat and the bleeding had stopped, she was out the door and gone. Gone! Now I’m hobbling around an empty house worried she’s gone for good and I can’t go out and find her like this. Not until the throbbing stops at least.

  My phone rings in the kitchen and I groan from the couch.

  So. Far. Away.

  Getting up, taking my steps slowly and carefully, I hear the ringing stop just to pick up and start again. By the time I make it to my phone, he’s called twice already.

  “What the fuck are you doing over there?” Jasper sneers over the line. “I found a replacement. It’s happening tonight.”

  I sigh and curse. “I’m in no position to filet someone tonight, Jasper.”

  The line goes silent for several long minutes.

  “She needs to go, Luke.” His voice is so calm it has the hairs on my arms standing up. “If you can’t do the fucking job, I can definitely finish her myself. She’ll look fantastic begging for me, covered in her blood on my white sheets.”

  Oh, bad fucking wordage, Jasper. Terrible.

  “This is my job, Jasper. You’ll let me see it through to the end. As soon as this motherfucking gunshot wound heals, I’ll be right on it.”

  “What?” he chuckles. “Who the fuck did you let get to you?!”

  “It’s your fucking fault, Jasper! They came after me for what you did! You’re lucky you’re still standing, man! You got me shot!” I’m breathing hard, and only partially because the hole in my leg is throbbing and probably pulsing blood at the moment. Even through the stitches.