King's Barber

by M. D. Gregory

  He shrugged, but I didn’t miss the sadness in his eyes. KC always did this when I went off on my next assignment. He stayed with Dad while I dealt with my target. I’d worried that being here for so long while protecting Luke would have an effect on him, and I was starting to see I’d been right to be concerned. KC ducked his head and took the fork off me again, before gathering the rice and then shoving it into his mouth. Dropping the utensil, he ran his palm over his bare arm, shivering.

  I sighed and gripped one of the rolled-up sleeves of his green Henley, yanking it down to his wrist and muttering about using clothing correctly. “KC….” I crossed my arms. “Why did you ask that?”

  “Because you’re bored.” He licked the excess food off his mouth and sighed. “You don’t like sitting around doing nothing, and that’s exactly what this gig is. The only reason you took it was because of the money that guy offered you.”

  “And because of you,” I admitted. “You’re my son, and protecting Barber meant I could spend more time with you.”

  “But you are bored.”

  “With the job? Yes. Being here with you? Never.” I ruffled his red hair and smiled. “I love you.”

  He cocked a grin at me, his cheeks flushing. “I love you, too, Pa.”

  Dragging him into a hug, I kissed his temple. KC never got the love he needed from his real mother, and he deserved a family, so I’d given him one. Me. And I didn’t regret a second of the time I spent with him.

  He shoved me with a laugh. “This touchy-feely crap is too much.”

  I grinned at him as the bell rang. Glancing at the door, I heaved a sigh. “Be on your best behavior.”

  “I always am.” He poked his tongue out at me. “Don’t do any hand grabsies under the table while I’m eating, all right?”

  I rolled my eyes and gestured to the food. “Dish out dinner,” I said, before I strode toward the front door and opened it. Luke greeted me with a wide smile, mischief dancing in his eyes as he shoved a bottle of rum in my direction, and my attention went straight to what he was wearing. He actually looked presentable for once in a powder-blue shirt and black suspenders with silver buckles. His black pants melded with his thighs, not too tight to split, but a perfect fit. If my mouth watered at the sight of him in those clothes, I wouldn’t admit it.

  “I was going to buy you some flowers, but you didn’t look like a flower kind of guy. So I bought you a drink instead.” He didn’t wait for me to respond, simply pushed his way past me and headed toward the kitchen. I rolled my eyes as I slammed the door shut and followed him. He was already in a conversation with KC about bikes by the time I got into the same room as them, and KC still hadn’t put food onto the plates.

  “She runs smoother than she did before you touched her. You’re a miracle worker, kid.”

  KC stuck his chest out in pride and his grin could have broken his face, it was that wide. “Thanks, Barber. It didn’t take much. I gave her a complete checkup, and I don’t think you’ll have any more troubles anytime soon. I like bikes. My grandpa taught me how to work on them.”

  “He a biker?” Luke leaned his elbows on the island, reaching out for the fork KC had abandoned and digging it into the rice and chicken before shoving the food into his mouth. I huffed, my gaze straying to the table I’d set out so nicely. Clearly that was for naught. I was surrounded by animals.

  “Not like you, but he’s an outdoor kind of guy. Likes hunting and trucks. We got my uncle’s old Harley we’ve been working on since I met Grandpa, though.” His eyes danced with excitement as he went on to tell Luke all about the bike. I knew nothing about motorcycles, so all I could do was steal the food out from between them and dish it onto plates. Luke tried to steal another forkful, but I slapped his hand and glared.

  “Eat at the table like civilized human beings,” I snapped, but he just laughed and nearly bounced to one of the chairs at the dining table, KC right behind him. Shaking my head, I grabbed a couple of cans of Coke out of the fridge to enjoy the rum with before I went back to the table, where the two of them had already begun to eat. It was no wonder they got along so well. They were like two peas in one pod.

  I rolled my eyes as I sat down and passed a Coke to Luke. “Welcome to our home again, Luke.”

  Luke grinned, flashing me straight white teeth as he took the can. He poured rum into the tumbler I’d already set out before dumping Coke into the glass, sloshing some over the edge and onto my nice tablecloth.

  I winced but bit down on my tongue to stop myself from saying something scathing. KC gave me a knowing glance, his lips pressed together. They trembled like he was trying not to laugh. He ducked his head forward so I couldn’t see his face.

  Luke took a big swallow of his drink before dropping it back onto the table and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Ah, that’s good. I’ve been drinking on and off all day, but nothing tastes better than alcohol while you have company, right?”

  My insides burned hotter than the fires of hell, and it wasn’t out of need or passion. I was going to put a bullet into his head. No one would have to know. I could just tell his father I failed, and someone ended up killing him. My reputation wouldn’t take too much of a hit—it was my job to kill people, not protect them after all.

  He grinned at me as though he knew exactly what was going through my mind. “You look fucking hot tonight, Quain.”

  Laughter erupted from KC and his body shook so hard he nearly fell off his chair. I glared at him before I turned my ire to Luke. Forcing myself to smile, I said, “Thank you, Luke,” as politely as I could.

  Luke glanced at KC, a bold grin on his lips. The bastard knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to push me to my limits.

  “How about we eat?” I gritted my teeth and grabbed my knife and fork, my fingers clenching around the stainless steel as I imagined shoving the blunt blade of my knife into his jugular. It wouldn’t be difficult; I’d killed people with less.

  Luke and KC conversed some more about bikes as we ate the chicken and rice, but I didn’t miss the way Luke’s gaze kept coming back to me, staring longer than necessary.

  I hated that even though he was the most frustrating man I’d ever met, a part of me liked him watching me, which was irritating. Barber was an assignment, like every other one I’d taken on, but instead of killing him, I was protecting him. Sleeping with him was not an option.

  He’d switched to straight rum a few drinks in and had been downing the alcohol faster than I would have thought humanly possible. He’d drank much more than what he’d eaten.

  “What made you want to be a hairstylist?”

  Luke’s question made me startle and I glanced from my food to him, frowning slightly. I thought back to my younger days when I was eighteen and getting my cosmetology certification. I’d been so excited about the prospect of cutting and dying hair when I was a young teenager. I’d always enjoyed doing my own. Then life changed unexpectedly, and falling into the assassin profession was completely accidental. I didn’t regret a moment of my past, though.

  “I was always intrigued by hair,” I admitted truthfully, staring at him. He leaned forward, the interest clear in his gaze. He wanted to know about me and this was something we shared. “When my mom was alive, she’d let me try hairstyles on her. I’d learn how to do them and then practice on her. When I was thirteen, I told her I wanted to be a hairstylist, and she supported me. Encouraged me, even. So that’s what I did.”

  Until she’d died, taken out by a team who’d been hired to kill her. Truths came out I’d never expected. I still went to do my training because that’s what I thought she’d have wanted, but then revenge become too irresistible.

  I shook my head to clear the memories from it. The past didn’t matter right now. I’d avenged her death, and with it I’d started on a new career path.

  “You’re talented from what I’ve seen.” He took another big swallow of his rum, nearly chugging the entire glass in one deep swig, and nodded at my empty gl
ass. “You going to have any?”

  “No.” I grabbed some rice and chicken on my fork and sent him a look. “You’re drinking enough for both of us. Is that all you Kings do? Drink and fuck?”

  “And ride bikes, too,” he retorted with a wink. “I’m really good at riding.”

  I snorted and took my bite of food. When I’d swallowed, I said, “I’m sure you are.”

  “How do you know about the fucking anyway?” He raised his eyebrows curiously. “You been spying on us?”

  KC’s eyes widened and he glanced at me with concern. I merely shrugged. “It’s not hard to guess what biker clubs do. You’re all the same. Drink, fuck, party, and ride bikes.”

  Luke threw his head back and laughed. His black ink looked stark under the lights, the roses on his neck darker than what I was used to seeing. I was also never this close to appreciate the detail in his tattoos. Paris Deiters, his club brother, had done an amazing job with it, and I was almost tempted to reach over and trace the intricate lines on his skin. I’d even become enamored with the nose ring.

  “What made you want to be a biker?” I asked, grabbing the pitcher of ice water I’d put on the table earlier and filling my glass. Taking a drink, I hummed at the feel of the cold liquid sliding down my throat. No doubt I’d be driving Luke home because he wasn’t staying at my place again. I needed to be sober.

  “I didn’t until I got to the big NG and met King.” He flounced back against the chair like a relaxed man on vacation and shrugged. “Came here to live with my uncle and didn’t know what the hell I wanted to do with my life. Just knew I needed to get away from the old man. I ran into King at the tattoo shop.” He pointed at the back of his hand where he had his rose tattoo. I assumed that meant he’d had that inked when he went there. “Anyway, King and I started bullshitting, and he told me about his club. I was… I don’t know, seventeen or eighteen at the time. It got me curious about bikes and shit. He invited me to come over to the clubhouse, and I did. I fucking loved it. He made me a prospect right then and there and gave me a secondhand bike they were going to sell. Never looked back since then.”

  “What do you get out of it, though?” I grabbed my napkin and dabbed my mouth before I placed it on the empty plate. “The cops won’t leave you alone, people are afraid of you—”

  “That’s the exciting part about it. I can be whoever the fuck I want.” He laughed. “A fucking King. People piss themselves when they see me. They get out of my way.”

  “Okay.” I could understand that. Fear was a powerful motivator. I lived off the terror of others, too. Assassins and hitmen knew my name, and they knew to stay out of my way. No one was stupid enough to put a contract out on me, either.

  “And then you moved next door.” He leaned his elbows on the table, and I cringed. I’d be scrubbing grease and dirt from my tablecloth after tonight because as much as he’d tried to clean up, I noticed the stained patches of black hidden in his tattoos. Grease was never an easy substance to get rid of, no matter how much soap was used. “And you come into my shop with your little flounce—”

  “I do not flounce—”

  “—and bitch at me about my garbage and music.” His grin was feral. “And you know what I wanted to do to you, Quain?”

  I swallowed, glancing at KC, who cleared his throat and grabbed his phone, jamming earbuds in his ears.

  He waved his hand at us. “I’m listening to music and not hearing this conversation, at all, because I don’t need to know what you wanted to do to him.”

  Luke slapped KC on the shoulder and turned back to me, his eyes darker than normal. He made a production of licking his lips, and I felt thoroughly devoured without even a touch from him. “I wanted to bend you over my chair and fuck you until I could use you as music instead of the metal tunes.”

  I let out a breath, my heart racing. It’d been too long since I’d had sex. My job had become my life. One-night stands happened when I was out of town, but it’d been a long time since I’d left New Gothenburg—since before this assignment with Luke started.

  “You have a vivid imagination,” I drawled, attempting to appear unfazed. My skin tingled, though, and my cock twitched in my pants. I was not doing this in front of my son.

  “You been in many serious relationships?” he murmured with a smirk, a fiery expression in his eyes. “I’ve been a fuck-and-run type of guy—until I saw you. I could try things out with you.”

  “Lovely.” I rolled my eyes, but heat spread throughout my body. “Yes, to be honest, I had a fiancé at one point.”

  His expression sobered. “Really? What happened?”

  I heaved a sigh and hooked my fingers into the chain on my neck, touching the ring attached to it. “He was murdered.”

  “Shit.” He reached across the table and laid his hand on top of mine, and it was big enough to cover my own. The warmth of his skin ignited goose bumps along my arms. “I’m sorry.”

  “It happened a while ago. I’m over it. I wasn’t messed-up as much as I should have been, and I realized maybe I didn’t love him.” Loving Dean had always been difficult, and until I was ordered to take him down for breaking the rules, I hadn’t recognized he meant so little to me. I let go of my chain. “And maybe it’s time for you to go home.”

  Luke’s chuckle sent my nerves haywire, need prickling at me. “And I thought I was going to spend the night here.”

  I snorted. “Now I know you have a really vivid imagination. You are not staying here again. Not after last time. You can’t seem to follow simple instructions, Luke.”

  He scratched his jaw, his cheeks flushed with the buzz of alcohol. His face always grew redder after he’d been drinking. “I can. Ask King. I’m the perfect soldier.”

  I knew for a fact that wasn’t right, and I didn’t need to ask King. I’d seen Luke on numerous occasions do the complete opposite of what King had asked him to do. “Talk to this man, Barber” was the order, and then he’d go and kill the guy. “Get the money off him, Barber,” and he’d take a few fingers instead of cash. Then there was the mess he left behind. He was like a child playing in paint—except it was blood. What was strange was how handsome I thought he was while he was covered in the deep crimson liquid. It shouldn’t have been as hot as it was, yet I’d always grown hard watching him kill someone.

  “Come on, it’s time to get you home.”

  Luke groaned when I stood and walked to his side of the table. “We’re just getting started. I want to know everything about you. Your childhood. What kind of childhood did you have? Did you grow up here?” He gestured around him, and I assumed he meant Vert Island.

  “No, I grew up on the edge of town in a small two-bedroom house with my hunter dad and my scientist mom. Come on.” I reached over to tap KC on the shoulder, and he yanked his earbuds out, staring at me curiously. “We’re taking Luke home, and I’ll need your help. He weighs a ton.”

  Luke grunted. “Not a ton.”

  “He’s hammered.”

  “I’d like to be hammered—by you.” Luke laughed so hard the sound echoed around the room. I rolled my eyes, and KC chuckled. “Yeah, just a little,” he said as he pushed himself to his feet. Luke held up his hands, shaking his arm out of my hold. “Listen, I’m not drunk. I’m fine. I can hold my liquor. I’m just really tired. It’s been a big day.”

  “Yes, you can hold it, but that doesn’t mean you’re in the right mind to drive home, and I am not letting you stay here. That’s the quickest way to get yourself killed, when you decide to peek in on me sleeping again.” I seized his left arm and dragged him to his feet. He stumbled slightly, but KC pressed his hand to Luke’s chest to stop him from tumbling to the floor.

  “I’m fine,” Luke said.

  “You are not. Let’s go.” I guided him out toward the garage with KC taking Luke’s other side.

  I grabbed my keys from the hook in the kitchen on the way past and locked up the house when we went out through the door to the garage. KC already had Luke in
the back seat by the time I arrived at the car, and when we got into the front with me behind the wheel, he was snoozing.

  “How much did he drink?” KC asked in wonder, staring at Luke with wide eyes.

  “I wouldn’t put it past him to have started before he came to dinner. He probably hasn’t eaten much, either. He was really busy at work today.” I smiled as I pressed the Start button on the BMW and then reversed out of the garage. The drive from Vert Island to Luke’s home with his uncle in East New Gothenburg would have taken over an hour in the business hours of the day, but as it neared nine the traffic was light, and it took us just over half an hour instead. Luke continued to sleep until we reached the dirt driveway of his uncle’s home. If Luke asked, I could tell him that he’d given me his uncle’s address while he was half asleep.

  The yard was big for being near a city—filled with old junk, including cars—and it reminded me a lot of the Kings’ clubhouse. The closer we got to the house, the clearer it became. The house was more a shack made of wooden panels, with a small veranda out front and a light. A two-seater swing was attached to the roof of the veranda, and an older man and a young girl were sitting in it when we rolled up. To the left, in front of the house, was a bonfire raging high with flickering flames, seats surrounding it just far enough away to stop from getting burned if someone sat there.

  Luke jerked awake just in time. “Uh? Oh. Fuck. We’re home. My bike.”

  “You can come get it tomorrow,” I said as I turned off the ignition and stepped out of my low car. Opening Luke’s door, I grabbed his hand and hauled him out just as KC reached our side.

  Luke’s uncle Errol heaved himself off the swing and made his way down the short set of steps, his daughter right behind him. They were complete opposites in every way, with Errol being the older version of Luke. He was a wild beast with shoulder-length gray hair and a beard to match, until recently apparently. An array of tattoos was inked along his arms, which I got a good look at when he crossed them over his chest, and he had a mischievous grin, the same one Luke used when he was up to no good.