by Alexa Anna
“There’s other jobs.”
“I’ve really got to get back to work. Who knows what those drunks are up to now.”
Jake
Luke and I spend the next few hours nursing a beer each, since we’ve got to stay sober, in a dark corner of the bar, a seldom-used booth away from the regulars.
One guy who looks like an artist comes in, eyes the regular crowd, and heads back out the door, but for the rest of the night, people only leave, with no one else coming in.
“Weird place, huh?” says Luke.
I nod.
“He’s probably broke,” I say. “That’s the motive for Jim. But I just don’t understand the business side.”
“Yeah,” says Luke. “I mean, we don’t know what these guys are up to.”
“We know they’re dealing,” I say. “Heroin, and crack.”
“Yeah,” says Luke. “I guess that could be the main motivation… but people like that just usually stick to one thing… It seems strange that they would get involved in kidnapping. That’s a whole different business altogether.”
I shrug. “They seem reckless,” I say.
“But something about it just isn’t adding up,” says Luke, frowning. “I don’t like the feeling of this all together. I mean, I just have that feeling, you know?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I have it too. Something’s not right. This feels like a mission back in the military that’s about to go wrong.”
Luke nods. “Not much we can do about it, though, right?” he says.
I shake my head. “Not unless you have any ideas.”
He shrugs.
Finally, the last of the regulars leaves, heading unsteadily out the door into the night.
“You boys having fun?” says Lexi.
“Not as much fun as we could be having,” I say, eyeing her up and down. She’s wearing a short skirt today that shows off her legs and a halter-top. “You dressing to impress? It’s still freezing out.”
Lexi laughs. “I guess so,” she says. “I guess I had the feeling I’d be seeing you two again.”
“Well you were right about that,” I say.
“Come on,” says Luke, getting up from the booth. “We’ve got to get you back to our place, Lexi.”
“What’s the harm in having a little fun first?” I say. “It’s not like Jim’s coming back.”
Lexi nods. “He’s always out all night, wherever he is.”
“We’ve got to get out of here,” says Luke.
I know this mood of his. He’s convinced he’s right and there’s nothing any of us can do about it.
“Well I’m staying here,” I say. “Lexi?”
“I want to stay,” says Lexi.
“We need to go,” says Luke again.
“Come on,” says Lexi, making a kissy face with her mouth and sticking out her breasts. “Don’t you want to have some fun?”
It’s obvious what she means.
“We can have fun at our place,” grunts Luke. “Don’t you realize what’s at stake here?”
He’s speaking to the two of us. He knows damn well I know what’s at stake here.
“Head on home without us if you want,” I say.
“Fine,” says Luke, moving towards the door.
Lexi watches him with forlorn eyes.
“You taking the car?” I say.
Luke nods at me, turning his head around just briefly.
“What an asshole,” I mutter.
“He just wants the best for me,” says Lexi.
I nod. “That’s true,” I say. “He just gets like this… there was a tough mission once….”
“In the military?”
I nod. “We lost half of our guys,” I say, cringing at the memory. It’s not something I like to think about. My heart rate starts to accelerate just thinking about it.
“What happened?” says Lexi, her eyes wide. She can see my reaction, sense that it’s a delicate subject. But I know that she cares… about me and Luke. It’s been a long, long time since anyone’s cared about us in that way.
“I… I don’t know,” I say. “We made a mistake, I guess. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. But we should have left the area. That’s why Luke’s leaving now… the memory probably haunts him too.”
“I can understand that,” says Lexi. “Is there anything I can do?”
She’s bending over me, pushing her body against me. I’m still seated on the leather cushioned bench, the ancient leather cracked and dirty.
I try to push her away gently, avoiding her mouth against mine, turning my head.
“He’s right,” I say. “We really should get out of here. Come on, we can still catch him before he drives home without us.”
“But don’t you want to have some fun?” says Lexi.
“I’m not stupid enough to say I was right,” I say. “Luke was right and I was wrong. Come on, let’s go.”
But she’s kissing me now, her mouth pressed against mine, and her breasts pushed against my chest.
I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but I can’t help it. Her body feels so good, so right. Her body erases the pain, pushes the memory of the bloodshed far, far away. She fills me with a warmth that I haven’t felt in so long.
I know I shouldn’t be doing this. It’s dangerous.
Also, there’s not like a special rule or anything, but Luke and I never don’t share.
“What’s the harm this one time?” whispers Lexi throatily, as if she’s reading my thoughts.
Her hands move towards my cock which is raging hard in my pants and she starts to unzip my fly, unbuckling my belt.
My cock comes out, her delicate hands around it.
Her hands are moving up and down on it, and we’re kissing, making out heavily.
She smells delicious. She smells like sex, like her body. She smells like the warmth that she gives me.
My cock takes over. I need to be inside her.
I forget everything. I forget Luke heading back to the apartment alone. I forget the danger we’re in.
Her head starts moving down my torso. She pulls up my shirt, exposing my torso and my abs. I help her take the shirt off, pulling it over my head.
She sucks on one of my nipples, one hand on my abs. They flex involuntarily, rippling.
Her hair shines as her head moves down. I just see the top of her head as her mouth wraps around my cock. My cock disappears inside her beautiful mouth. The pleasure’s intense, coursing through me. She gives blowjobs like… like no one else in the world.
A weird thought runs through me: I don’t want anyone else’s mouth ever around my cock. Not ever.
Wait, what? What does that mean.
Shit, I’m falling for her, aren’t I?
This was just supposed to be sex.
No time to think about that now. I can’t even think. My cock and my desire are overtaking me.
I lift up her shirt, to find that she’s not wearing a bra. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before. Her nipples are hard. I lean in as best I can in the position and suck her nipples, cupping her breasts with my hand.
She’s bobbing her head up and down on my cock.
It’s so intense I think I might come right now, pouring my come into her delicious mouth.
But I need to fuck her.
She lifts her head up and smiles at me, a delicious smile drenched in desire and lust. “I need you inside me,” she whispers.
She gets up from her knees and I get up too. She gets onto the booth, ass up, just wearing her skirt and her long socks, with her shoes still on, all laced up.
I pull her skirt up around her, flipping it up. She’s not wearing any panties. Her naked round ass stares me in the face.
I grunt as I push my cock against her ass.
I fumble in my pocket for a second. A moment later, the condom is on, and my cock is pressing against her pussy.
She moans as just a fraction of my swollen cock head enters her. I remove it, teasing her. I push my cock agains
t her clit now, ever so gently, as she moans again. I rub it, holding my cock in my hand at its base, in gentle circles, making her go crazy. Her breasts are smushed against the old leather of the booth bench, and she squirms ever so slightly.
Finally, I plunge in, slowly.
I try to go slow, but she’s crying out for me to go faster. I fuck her fast and hard, standing up at first and leaning down, pointing my cock down and into her. Now I fall on top of her on the bench, supporting myself as best I can on my arms, but now I’m pressed into her body, thrusting into her.
She moans, and cries out. “In my ass.”
I take my cock out. Some lube from my pocket… hard to get out… but it does the trick.
My cock sinks into her. So fucking tight. So fucking warm and tight.
I thrust, and thrust again.
She moans, writhing with her orgasm.
I come along with her, continuing to fuck her all the way through it, thrusting until the last drop has blasted out of me.
My cock is still hard when I take it out of her.
We’re still for a moment.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” I say. “We should have gone with Luke.”
“Aren’t you glad you did, though?” she says.
“You’re like a devil woman or something. What have you become?” I say this last line with laughter in my voice.
“You know you like it,” she says, as we get up. She leans in and kisses me as she puts her shirt back on and straightens her skirt, flattening it down.
“We’d better get out of here,” I say, grabbing my phone. “I’ll send a text to Luke to see what’s up.”
“Won’t he be mad?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Just in terms of strategy it’s not ideal, but he…”
There’s a sound at the door.
“Shit,” says Lexi, a frantic look coming into her eyes.
I put my hand up to signal for her to be quiet.
I pull my jeans up in a split second, without time to buckle my belt. My hand goes to my holster. The gun handle in my hand makes me feel better. I draw my gun and hold it, pointed, towards the door.
There’s a scratching sound. It doesn’t sound like a lock pick. Sounds like a key.
I move so that Lexi’s behind me and a pillar that supports the roof. Looks like a foundational pillar, not just pure wood, so it’ll stop a bullet if it has to. The pillar blocks most of Lexi, but not me. Half of my body is sticking out from it. I position myself so that my vital organs are behind the pillar, my gun arm straight and level. My breathing is calm. My mind is clear.
My phone starts to ring.
What fucking timing.
Luke
The car’s rattling around. It’s not doing too good, after all those crashes, all that driving chaos.
The night is dark and there’s no one out here in The Downs.
I’m angry, but I can control it. I let it overtake me back there in the bar, but I’m not letting it overtake me here. I take a deep breath, inhaling sharply, and I let my mind clear itself of all the emotional debris that has piled up there over the years, on countless missions, in countless dangerous situations.
With my mind clear, I realize I didn’t do the right thing. I should never have left them. That’s actually worse than…
Even though it’s dangerous to stay back in the bar, with what we suspect Jim capable of, it’s going to be a hell of a lot safer if I’m there too. I’ll be able to help them.
I grab my phone. Shit, they haven’t called to ask for a ride back. I hope that means they’re still OK.
I give both their cell phones a call, but there’s no answer. Hopefully that just means that they’re having sex and that they’re not in some horrible situation.
I pull the handbrake as I’m driving down the road at top speed, pulling off the famous J-Shape maneuver, in which the car spins around 180 degrees. The tires squeal and skid and my body’s pushed over to the side as the car spins. There goes a couple inches of rubber, probably. But we go through tires pretty fast anyway.
I’m facing the other way now, my foot still on the accelerator, racing down the streets back from where I came, back to the shit hole bar where I just hope to find Jake and Lexi alive.
There’s a car out front. It’s Jim’s.
Shit.
I get out, not even closing my door. My hand goes to my gun. The feeling of the steel against my hand is reassuring. My finger’s inside the trigger guard. My finger’s pressed against the trigger just right, right before the catch point. I’m ready to fire in a split second, as soon as my body reacts. We did reaction time tests in the military and given the right conditions I should be able to outgun just about anyone. But that won’t do me a fuck ton of good if there’s more than one guy, or if they happen to see me first.
I’m ready to die with my gun in my hand if I have to. I’m ready to die defending my best friend and partner, Jake, and Lexi, my…. Well, I’m not really sure what she is. But she’s something fucking important, that’s for sure.
I kick open the door and rush in.
Jim’s there, alone.
He’s facing Jake, who’s got his hand on his gun, pointed right at Jim.
“Freeze,” I shout. “Hands in the air, Jim!”
“I’ve been telling him that for five minutes,” says Jake, who can’t help but make a joke in a crisis situation. He’s halfway hidden behind a pillar, and I think Lexi’s behind him.
“Just calm down, everyone,” says Jim, turning partially around to look at me.
His hands are where I can see them but they’re not up in the air.
“Hands in the air!” I shout at him. I know all too well that people can be pretty fucking crafty with their hands, and with their guns. If he knows what he’s doing there’s no telling how much damage he could to do us. Not that I give a shit if he shoots me. I’ve been shot before and it’s not that bad. But he could easily shoot Lexi in the head, or she could receive a wayward bullet during a firefight that’s ricocheting around this shithole bar.
“Fine,” says Jim, sounding exasperated.
He slowly puts his hands in the air and turns to me.
“As I’ve been trying to explain to your friend here,” he says, his voice as sleazy as it’s ever been. He has this annoying habit of speaking out of the side of his mouth. “I’m not the guy you’re looking for.”
“You’re not?” I say.
I tell him everything we know about him. I tell him Rivers knows he’s up to know good.
“And just to make a couple extra bucks?” I say. “Don’t you have any morals? Just toss the bar to the creditors and take the loss, man. This is a shithole anyway.”
To my surprise, Jim grins at me. “I know it’s a shithole,” he says. “But it’s mine. It’s my bar and I don’t have much else. Listen, I’m not the guy you’re looking for. I don’t know who it is.”
“You have any proof?” I shout at him.
“It’s no good, man,” says Jake. “We’ve been at this for a while now.” His gun is still trained on Jim.
“I thought you were innocent until proven guilty in this country,” says Jim.
“Not in my book,” I growl. “Not in this case.”
The only thing I can think about right now is Lexi. I need her. I need her to be safe. Jake and I have to protect her from this asshole.
There’s a sound outside of screeching tires and engines roaring.
“What the fuck was that?” says Jake.
Jim just laughs. “Sounds like your friends are back,” he says.
“So you are with them?” I say.
“Definitely not,” he says. “For the hundredth time, I don’t have a fucking thing to do with them.” He’s starting to get annoyed.
I rush over to Jim and grab him, pointing my gun at his temple.
“You’re not going to be able to take me as a hostage because they don’t give a shit about me,” says Jim. “Let me get my shotgun a
nd I can help you defend this place.”
Jake heads to the front door and quickly bolts it.
“These bolts are shit,” he says. “They’re not going to last long.”
We can hear the gangsters shouting outside. They’re definitely here, and it’s clear they want to enter the bar.
One of them bangs on the door, shouting “Open up! Open the fuck up!”
I put my finger to my lips, motioning for everyone to be quiet.
I have to make a split second decision.
Jim is telling me that he’s not responsible for all this. If he’s right, we could be in real danger by not having a third man with a gun protecting us. If he’s lying, then I could be throwing away a good opportunity to take a hostage.
But then again, taking a hostage isn’t really my style.
“Go get your gun,” I growl, removing my gun from his head and giving him a little shove.
He scurries over to the bar from which he drags forth a huge old shotgun. It’s ugly but it looks like it’ll work. Even if he’s innocent of what we’ve been accusing him of, I still don’t have a good feeling about the guy.
The knocking on the door has stopped.
There’s silence on the other end of the door, which makes me nervous.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” whispers Jake.
“What are we going to do?” says Lexi, her voice frantic with worry. I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her close to me.
“It’s going to be OK,” I say.
“Not if we don’t get out of here.”
“Maybe they’re leaving,” says Jim.
I shake my head.
“They came for something,” I say. “And they’re not leaving until they get it.”
“We can’t fight them off,” says Jake. “Luke, there probably a dozen of them. There’s no way we have enough firepower.”
I do some quick mental calculations. Even considering that Jake and I are more experienced and probably better shots, he’s right.
“But what can we do?” I say.
“Out the back,” whispers Lexi, trembling visibility. “We can go out the back.”
“But it’s blocked off,” says Jim.
“In violation of all fire safety codes,” says Lexi. Apparently this is a sore point for her, since it’s kind of a strange time to bring it up. “But there’s another way out. The vents.”
