by LC Lehesaho
"You're everything to me, did you know that? Just whenever you're ready, call me and I'll come and bring you home, okay, baby?" Tiger says so softly, that it melts my heart.
But I promised myself that I will think this through.
"Don't hold your breath."
"Ouch. You're really not letting me out of jail."
"We both need a pause and you know it," I say, convincingly. Not sure which one of us I'm trying to convince the most: him or me. "Focus on something other than me for a while. When was the last time you painted?"
"Really? You want me to paint while you're there sucking the fucking kangaroo's dick?"
Anger heats my blood, and I almost see red. "You didn't just say—"
"I know, I know, sor—"
"You're a fucking asshole, Tiger. Have a nice run."
36
"I'm going to Purgatory, anyone coming with me?" Bear asks, gulping down his whiskey shot in our shared kitchen.
"Me!" Falcon shoots her hand in the air and jumps up. "I'll go change, wait for me, dickhead."
"Make it fast, bitch," Bear retorts, grabbing a grape from the bowl and throwing it at the back of her head as she goes. Falcon gives a middle finger over her shoulder without bothering to look back.
They're all acting like everything is cool.
It's not fucking cool.
Two motherfucking days since I last saw Cobra, and all that time, she's been with him. That's the longest time we've been apart since I moved here. I can't even sleep because I see her fucking him against the wall beside Purgatory every time I close my eyes. And it's killing me. Now she's sleeping in his sheets, his arms around her at night, and who knows what fucking else. I've been trying to tell myself that she's just hanging out with him and sleeps on the couch, but my mind is filled with all kinds of images that are far from just hanging out.
"I'm coming too," I grunt to Bear, and tap a pack of Lucky Strikes on the table, getting one cigarette out. Puma's head snaps in my direction from his phone, and based on the sounds it’s making, he was playing Bubble Shooter again. He's lifted his legs to the table, balancing on two legs of his chair like always. I know, if Cobra was here, she'd have knocked him over already.
"C'mon." Bear waves his hand, pulling the cigarettes from his jeans pocket while he starts walking to the doorway. "Let's go for a smoke before F is ready."
I get up, placing the cigarette between my lips, and grabbing my phone from the table and stuffing it in my back pocket. Not that I've been staring at it like a maniac, waiting for a text. Or a phone call. Or fucking smoke signals or something.
But nothing. I haven't even texted Cobra because she wanted space, and for once in my life, I'm trying to respect her request. Truthfully, I'm so wired up about it that I almost killed a mailman today because he said hi to me.
"Dude."
Keeping the heavy sigh inside, I cock an eyebrow at Puma. He just stares back at me with his green eyes, that has a lovely reddish shade—he's high as fuck. I stare back, waiting for him to say something like, are you sure it's a good idea or think about it dude or something as stupid as fuck. He's been the Tony motherfucking Robbins of his own life for the last few days, trying to coach me to get past her. Like I want to get past her. What an idiot.
"You got something to say or what?" I grunt at him because the fucker just keeps staring at me.
"Take it easy, 'kay?"
I almost roll my eyes at him, but instead, don't react at all, just squeeze the lighter in my hand and walk out of the house, my body aching. Feels like I've been running an endless marathon. Every muscle in me is wired around-the-clock. I’m sure I have an arrhythmia and lung cancer in my future, so maybe all this will be over soon because my body is telling me that I'm about to die.
Bear is leaning his back against the railing, eyes on his phone, as I step out. He doesn't bother to look in my direction when he talks. "How's it going?"
I light up and crouch down, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. "Fine." I take a long drag from the cig. "You?"
"Great."
Silence lands between us, but I can see Bear has stopped the scrolling. Takes a moment until he opens his mouth again.
"Tiger, I know we don't... you know, speak about stuff a lot, but…" He drops his hands down and turns his head to look at the garden. "I..."
I have no fucking clue what he's about to say, but it's nothing good based on the distress he oozes. "Well, spit it out, man."
"Rose is pregnant."
My eyes almost bulge out of my head at his statement. "Holy fuck, really? Pregnant? Your baby?"
Bear shrugs, his massive shoulders stretching the fabric of his tight black T-shirt. "I dunno, maybe. She's not sure, but I'm the number one candidate."
"Fuck, that's like..." I get up, running a hand through my hair. "That's huge. A fucking baby. Is she—I mean, are you guys going to, you know, keep it?"
Bear nods while taking a smoke and speaks while keeping it in. "She doesn't want an abortion." Blowing the smoke out, he turns his almost black eyes to me. "No one else knows, and they don't have to know. Not yet."
My brows pop in bewilderment. "Why the fuck did you tell me?"
It's not like we're the best of friends, we're brothers and live in the same house, but that's about it. We're not close.
He flicks the butt of the cig to the ashtray with a serious look on his face. "I needed to tell someone. Dad will freak-out and start some baby hyping, so no fucking thank you. Wolf would nag me about whether I need to marry Rose or some shit, and Puma... well, he hates me. Falcon hates babies, and Cobra was my first option to talk to, but she's not home, so... it's you."
"Oh, so you're telling me 'cause there's no one else? Cool, man."
"No, you were my second option, pay fucking attention, dumbass."
We stare at each other for a while, and I bet he's thinking what I'm thinking. Should I hit him in the face or not?
I decide not to do it this time.
"What do you think about it?" I ask because I don't know what else to say.
Bear gives a nonchalant shrug. "I dunno. I haven't had time to think about it 'cause Rose told me today. It's only in the beginning, so..."
"You two together?"
"Nah." He shakes his head, but it's sort of a nod too. "Kinda. We've always been open, and I don't want it to change. I'm not... I don't want shit like that."
"Christ, you're a cold guy, bro." Now I roll my eyes. Shit like that?
Bear scowls at me. "Don't start some hypocrite bullshit. Rose fucking knew what she got herself into when she started to fuck me on a regular basis."
I can't help but wipe my face when I listen to this asshole. "Did you say fuck you on a regular basis? That's like... the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. It's called a relationship, dickwad."
"We're not in a fucking relationship! Fuck buddies, permanent booty call, or whatever. We're not a couple and never will be. No strings attached." He grits his jaw. "I should've waited until Cobra was back. You're a fucking idiot."
I let out a sarcastic snort. "Well, you certainly attached some strings with Rose now." His irritated look makes me restrain myself a bit. "Sorry, you're just... it's a baby, man. I can't believe that you're so... careless about it."
"I didn't say I don't care, thank you very much. I don't want Rose, that's all. She's fun to fuck and hang out with every now and then, but that's it, nothing more. Besides, she doesn't want anything else with me either, so I'm not the bad guy here."
"Yeah, we're all saints."
"Gosh, how the hell does Cobra put up with you? You're annoying as fuck."
Feels like he punched me in the gut with those words. Apparently, she doesn't put up with me. My free hand clenches into a fist at my side, and I take in such a long inhale of smoke that I feel my brain and lungs exploding. It stings and burns, and I hope it would at least pop a vein in my brain.
Bear sticks his hands in his pockets. "Why are you two fighting by the wa
y? Or is she finally fed up with listening to your shit?"
"None of your fucking business," I snarl at him and throw the end of the cig away. "Maybe you should be focusing on your daddy skills rather than sticking your nose places where it doesn't belong."
The door opens behind me, and Bear shuts his mouth when he's just about to counter.
"You ready, wankers?" A chirpy voice is accompanied by heavy steps. I glance at Falcon when she stops beside me, and yeah, she's wearing the over-the-knee boots with ridiculously high heels. The black leather theme from the boots continues in her skirt, which is barely covering her ass, and well... she's not wearing a shirt. At all. Just bras with shitloads of straps. Her black bob swings as she tilts her head to the side and blows a chewing gum bubble. "Well?"
I turn my gaze to Bear, who does exactly the same, meeting me eye to eye. We share a silent what the fuck moment, which eases the tension between us. It's good; I'm not in a mood to break his skull right now.
"Let's go, ho, before Dad sees you," Bear states and heads for his Dodge, which is our ride tonight from the obvious facts—I have a Yamaha and Falcon has two-seated AMG, so... we're probably going to die tonight.
What a fucking shame.
“11 minutes” by YUNGBLUD booms from the speakers when Bear hits the gas and the demonic Challenger roars, giving us a sick gut punch as the horsepower takes over. Music is so loud there's no chance of talking in the car, which suits me just fine. I'm still kind of shocked about the baby, and partly anxious as fuck about the fact that the clock shows it’s after ten p.m., which means Cobra is probably snuggling with Aussie. I feel the urge to tell Bear to make a pitstop at Aussie's place, so I can shoot the guy, but that would lead to questions I can’t answer. There's no doubting the fact that I will kill him one day, but what day, that's a completely different matter, and I won’t go with anything as easy as just using a bullet. Nah, he's going to get the five-star treatment with skin-peeling and all.
I'm such a fucking generous guy.
The lights are flashing on the dance floor, and there are girls on every pole tonight. None of them are professionals, of course, because Purgatory is a nightclub, not a strip club, but they seem to be practicing very hard for future careers, based on how they slide their pussies against the poles and wiggle their asses at the guys.
"See something you like?" Bear asks me. He is sitting in an armchair on the opposite side of our private balcony. There's a blonde chick sitting on his lap, grinding herself against him, and Bear massages her right breast casually while sipping his whiskey with another. If I didn’t have a straight view between her legs thanks to her skirt, I'd say she's fucking him, but there's no dick in sight, so... dry-humping it is.
I shake my head to his question. "Nope."
"How 'bout this one?"
I give the chick a once over, and yeah, she has curves, but... "I'm fine, have fun."
Bear shrugs, "Whatever." He pushes the chick off his lap, twists her around, and jerks her onto her knees in front of him. She giggles, clearly enjoying his rough handling, and without hesitation starts to open his jeans. Bear smirks and winks at me. "You'll come around, bro."
This is not the first time he’s done shit like this. Once when we were at our other nightclub, he fucked one girl in the same booth we were sitting in with Puma and Falcon. Puma was mad as hell, but Falcon found it extremely funny.
Me? I just don't give a shit.
Bear threads his fingers through the blonde's hair, and based on the movement, the chick has a mouthful of dick at the moment. My own dick twitches awake, ready to join the party, which makes the anger rise up from my spine because the only mouth I want to fill is probably already sucking someone else. And it's not that chick opposite me. Nope.
The lips I want to see wrapped around me are five minutes away from here.
I take a swig from my Goose and arrange myself better in my jeans, getting a wicked grin from Bear when he sees my move. He gives the chick a nudge to her knees. "Get your ass up."
She obeys, and with a glass in his hand, Bear jerks her skirt up, revealing her wet pussy for me, while she continues to suck him. "Fuck her."
I don't know if I should laugh or do as he says. Both seem like valid options right now. She's not wearing underwear, so everything is on display, shimmering at me like its calling me toward the light.
But it's not her pussy that catches my attention. I get up, leaving my glass on the table, and walk around it to face them. Bear looks genuinely surprised as I stand behind her and slide my hand up her thigh to her ass and give it a squeeze. She wiggles it for me like she's begging me to fuck her.
I trail my hand higher to her rolled-up skirt and press my groin against her ass, making her wiggle even more. But the bitch has another thing coming.
When I'm sure I saw right, I lean forward and give Bear a meaningful look as I replace his hand in her hair with mine. I pull her off his dick, and with one fast move, swing her to the low table, her back making it crack as she lands on it with force. The table holds together, still in one piece, luckily. I place my knee to her throat and a hand over her mouth, shutting her up. She swings her hands at me, bucks, and kicks, but there's no chance for her to get out of my hold.
"Fucker, what the hell?" Bear growls, standing up and putting his dick back in his pants.
"She has a wire in her skirt." I nod toward her waist. "I'm sure it's a bug."
There's the chill Bear, who annoys everyone with stupid jokes and snarls, and then there's the other Bear, who is the one no one wants to cross. This Bear, who now looks at the chick with bloodlust in his eyes, is the latter.
He takes a step closer, and the chick starts to kick toward him, which I have no power over now because I have my work cut out for me keeping her mouth shut, so this scene stays on the deck, and no one calls the cops.
"Kick one more time, and I'll rip your legs off, bitch," Bear says coldly, and her movements stop.
For a moment.
When he leans closer, reaching for the skirt, she kicks him in the arm. He grabs hold of her leg and makes a fast twist, and she screams against my palm with all she’s fucking got. It's so loud that I have no choice but to put my weight on my knee, which is on her throat, so no one will hear her over the music. It's loud, but so was she. Everyone probably would've been in on the situation because Bear broke her knee. It's pointing to the side at a very unnatural angle.
Then her movements stop completely.
"Fuck, did you kill her?" Bear gives me a disapproving look. "We needed to ask questions."
I move my weight off her, placing two fingers to her neck.
"Well, that was a fucking accident." I nod toward her skirt. "Get the bug."
Bear lets out an exaggerated sigh and fumbles under her skirt for a second. Then he pulls out a black wire which was apparently sewed into the seam, but there was a part that was visible, which was the thing that caught my attention.
"You could've waited until I was ready, you know?" he states, inspecting the wire in his hands.
"Like I said earlier, you're one cold guy—"
I'm cut off by the screaming that starts on the lower floor. We both straighten up to look down, my senses amped-up in a second.
A flaming bottle flies behind the bar, hitting the wall of alcohol bottles. The flames explode all over the place, and we both duck down, even though we're on the deck. The screaming continues as the hysteria takes over the club. Fire alarms go off, and sprinklers start to spray water from the ceiling.
"What the fuck?" Bear peeks down, waving his hand at me. "C'mon, we need to move."
I pull my gun out, making my way down behind Bear, who keeps his gun pointed in front of him. Gunfire comes from the front of the club, but I can't see shit. There are flames all over the place, spreading fast like a tsunami from Hell, and the sprinklers have no chance of putting it out.
"Can you see who's firing?" I yell at Bear over the fire alarms and screaming people.
"No! Where's Falcon?"
"I don't fucking know!"
Thick smoke fills the air, making it hard to breathe. Flames heat up the atmosphere, making it burning hot. My eyes water from the stinging smoke, but I keep going behind Bear. We need to find Falcon. There's no way we’ll leave her behind. Most of the people are already out, but I have a hunch that she's not one of them.
We get to the front, and I see a figure straddling another on the floor, and after squinting, I see a flash of a blade. I knew it.
"There!" I poke Bear's back and point past him toward Falcon.
He doesn't waste a second as he runs to her, me right behind him. She glances at us, a bloody knife in her hand. There's blood on her face, chest, hands... looks like she has slaughtered someone.
"We've been followed!" she screams over the noise, not bothered by the fire at all. One crazy bitch.
"Come on!" Bear hauls her up from the body, which she's been slashing, clearly gathering information better than the two of us did.
When we finally make our way out, I lean forward, resting my hands on my knees, coughing the smoke out. Both of them do the same and take a slight moment before we can speak. The gunfire stopped before we got outside, but I keep my gun in my hand, as does Bear.
There's plenty of people outside, probably more than there were inside because the fire department has arrived, and it's drawn nosy people to the scene.
"Let's move to the car." I wave my hand toward Falcon. "Cops can't see you like that." At that, just like I suspected, the sound of police sirens comes from the street. We jog past the crowd to Bear's Dodge, but before he clicks the doors open, a steel gray Audi TT stops behind it, tires screeching.
"Get the fuck in!" The voice wakes me up like no other. I spin around and meet Cobra's hazel eyes for a split second before she glances at the others.
Bear and Falcon are already running around the car and stuff themselves in the back seat from the passenger door. My heartbeat is drumming even faster than when we walked through the flaming club as I sit in the front seat. Cobra looks around, and casually, not drawing attention to us, eases the car out of the parking lot. She's so fucking smart. Bear would've hit the gas and channeled his inner Fast and Furious, getting everyone's attention.
