Lost Pretty Boys

by Kailin Gow

  “I can’t believe you came all the way back here, but I sure am glad to see you. I don’t know what I’m doing and I need your guidance.”

  “That’s what I gathered from your phone call.” He pinched my chin between his thumb and index finger. “I couldn’t let my little girl go through something like this without her father to guide her.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  He nodded then his gaze dropped to my forearm. “I see you’ve succeeded in getting the angel mark.”

  I looked down at my arm. The angel mark glowed like a radiant tattoo. I knew how rare it was, and how privileged I was to have it.

  “Despite that marking, you won’t be able to unseal this portal.”

  I glanced back at Asher. “But we’ve done so much to be able to save Braxton and Moore. John, we can’t just give up now. Isn’t there any way you can open it?”

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

  “But Brax and Moore… I can’t just abandon them.”

  “I’m not suggesting you give up doing what you can to save your friends. You’ll just have to use a different portal.”

  “Well, it’s not as if portals are just lying around anywhere and everywhere,” I said, unable to conceal my disappointment.

  “No, but there is a little known portal out in Nevada. It’s been dormant for centuries and has seen little activity for thousands of years. You should be able to slip through without attracting much attention.”

  “Really?” I clasped my hands together. “That would be perfect. Where exactly? How do we get there? How long will it take?”

  He calmly set his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Look, how ‘bout you guys hop in my car and I’ll drive you out there?”

  “Would you?” I said. “That’d be great.”

  With his hand still on my shoulder, he turned me around to face the street. “My car is just there.”

  I looked at the sporty red convertible parked behind my car. “Cool car.”

  “It’s all I could rent on such short notice,” John said with an amused grin. “Come on, you guys. Let’s go.”

  Asher and I got our things out of my car and shoved them into the sports car’s tiny trunk.

  “So where in Nevada is this portal, exactly?” Asher said as he got into the cramped back seat of the car.

  John eyed Asher a moment before looking at me, a slow, sly grin crawling up his lips. “Las Vegas.”

  “Las Vegas, huh.” I smiled and suddenly felt giddy. “Sin City. I guess it’s only fitting there’d be a portal to Hades around there somewhere.” I got into the front passenger seat, thrilled with the adventure to come. “I’ve never been to Vegas.”

  John took the driver’s seat, backed out from behind my car and we were off. The streets that had been so bogged down moments ago were suddenly clear and before long we were on the interstate heading out of the city.

  “So, you say this portal has been dormant for years,” I said as we cruised down the highway at a comfortable pace.

  “Yes. It’s been there since the days cave people and dinosaurs roamed the earth, but it has been used very little over the past two thousand years.” His eyes on the road ahead, he smiled. “Every once in a while there will be a strange and mysterious occurrence around Vegas. People tend to attribute these occurrences to aliens.”

  “Aliens?” Asher called from the back seat. “Do you mean you're taking us to Area 51?”

  John laughed. “You catch on fast.”

  “Makes sense,” Asher said with a knowing nod. “The portal opens filling the sky with a strange glowing light and when people make a fuss and question the source, they just point to Mars.”

  John laughed again. “Relying on human beings’ naiveté has its perks.”

  “Not to mention their lust for anything from out of this world.”

  “The important thing,” I interjected, “is that we won’t have to worry about students coming around and asking questions.”

  “How long do you figure it’ll take to get there?” Asher said. “I’m already getting cramped back here.”

  “We’ll stop in L.A. for the night. We can grab a bite to eat and pick up a few things for the remainder of the journey. Tomorrow morning, we’ll head out to Vegas.”

  “Well,” I said. “The sooner we get there, the better. I’ve already lost a lot of precious time as it is.” I looked to John. “The angel marking ritual must have knocked Asher and I out for quite a while longer than I’d thought. I mean, how long does it take to get here from Italy?”

  “A dozen hours or so.”

  “Explains why the sun is already so low,” I said, feeling the pressure to get to Brax and Moore as quickly as possible. Shaking my head I clasped and unclasped my hands repeatedly.

  With a soft, paternal sigh, John set his calm hand over my fidgeting ones. “Don’t worry. We’ll get there in time.”

  “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t…” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

  “Died,” Asher said. He reached over to put his hand on my shoulder. “Listen to John and stop worrying. We’ll get there in time. Besides,” he went on, patting John’s shoulder with his other hand. “I’m sure John here is thrilled with the prospect of spending some time with his daughter.”

  “You bet,” John said.

  I looked over my shoulder at Asher. He was such a wise and sensitive soul, and he always had the right thing to say.

  He leaned closer. “Quit looking at me like that,” he whispered, his gaze suddenly wicked and wild.

  “Like what?” I said innocently although there was no mistaking the look in his eyes.

  “Like you want to kiss me,” he said softly, his breath brushing against my ear.

  “Look at this nut coming up behind us,” John said, his eyes on his side mirror. “He’s towing half a house and passing everyone like he’s in a small car.”

  Barely registering John’s words, I smiled at Asher. The sound of his voice and the warmth of his breath were enough to send a bolt of pleasure through my body.

  “I told you to quit it,” he said between his teeth. “Your eyes are smoldering. That flame in your eyes… if you don’t stop, I might just have to kiss you right here in front of your father.”

  “Here he comes,” John let out, half appalled, half thrilled. “He must be going eighty miles an hour, the nut.”

  “I don’t mind,” I whispered to Asher.

  “But your father…”

  My father is distracted, I wanted to say, but I simply kissed the rest of Asher’s argument right off his lips as my father ogled the truck driver beside him. Asher closed his eyes and leaned into me before finally pulling away.

  “I think I like this new Lux,” he said, his eyes dreamy and his lips hungry. “I don’t think I could love you more.” He cupped my chin in his hand and gazed so intensely into my eyes that I actually shivered. He set a final kiss on my forehead before sitting back.

  “And there he goes,” John said as the truck swung in front of us and continued dangerously down the road. “Did you guys see that?”

  “It is horrible,” I said with a deep nod.

  John smiled. “And don’t think I didn’t see that,” he said with a knowing grin. “I might have been caught up in this crazy guy’s driving, but I saw you guys.”

  “Sorry, sir,” Asher said, sitting back sheepishly.

  “No apologies necessary. I was a young man once. I remember taking the risk of kissing a girl when it wasn’t the ideal circumstance.” He tapped the steering wheel. “Are you kids hungry?”

  I thought back to the few bites of Mom’s toast I’d had so many hours ago. “We haven’t eaten all day.”

  “I could go for a burger.” Asher turned to wink at me. “Although I’m really hungering for something entirely different.”

  I was so happy to see him back to his old self. I’d missed the bad boy on the sleek motorcycle. “I’m glad to see you're okay; that you're r
eally okay.”

  “I’m really okay,” he said reassuringly.

  Chapter 6

  After a brief and greasy meal which consisted of burgers and fries purchased through a drive thru of a fast food joint, they headed to Hollywood. The ride was quiet and uneventful until John brought the car off the freeway and turned onto a small and rather questionable street.

  “Stopping for another burger, John?” I said. Taking a good look around, I knew we were not stopping for food. The streets, strewn with trash and decorated with walls and walls of graffiti, were uninviting. What in the world could we be doing in such neighborhood?

  When he pulled up in front of a seedy looking bar, however, I glanced back at Asher who tried to hide a concerned frown as he shrugged. “What the hell is going on?” I mouthed, not wanted to upset John with my questions.

  John killed the motor and, dumbfounded, I watched him get out of the car and head to the chipped door with the blacked out window. His hand on the grimy door handle, he turned expectantly to us.

  “Do we really have time to stop in for a drink?” I said with nervous laughter as I reluctantly got out of the car.

  “It’s a little too early in the day for me,” Asher added.

  John opened the door and waved us in. Biting my lower lip, I entered the dark bar that reeked of stale beer and years of smoke that surely clung to every single surface, porous or not.

  I stood between Asher and John, my muscles tense as I scanned the large room. Five tough looking dudes were at the back of the bar, talking and laughing around a scratched up pool table. Three of them had long, dirty hair, while the other two were closely shaven with the clear emblem of a street gang razored into the short stubble. All five wore leather jackets emblazoned with the same emblem; a large and oddly spread eagle M over a definitely phallic i.

  “Oh, my God,” I muttered as I realized what the M truly represented. “That M is a woman’s legs.”

  “Yeah, and I kinda figured out what that ‘I’ stands for,” Asher said.

  “I mean, I’m no prude, but that is beyond crude.”

  The five men fell silent as they all turned to look at the intrepid trio. We must surely have looked out of place; Asher suddenly looking clean cut in his blue jeans and tight, but clean t-shirt, John in dark pants and a red button down shirt, and there I was with my black pants and my mother’s white dress. I’d never felt so out of place in my life.

  Feeling suddenly a little unsure, I inched closer to Asher and slipped my hand under his.

  “Get the fuck out of here!” a loud voice bellowed from behind the bar.

  Asher stiffened under my hand. “Why don’t we get out of here?”

  “John?” I whispered. “What are we doing…?”

  “Is that really you?” the bellowing voice went on. “I’ll be damned.”

  “I don’t like this, John. Let’s get out of here.”

  Instead of stepping back to the door, John took a confident step forward.

  “Damn it, John,” Asher hissed. “What are you doing? You’re gonna get us killed.”

  “Get your ass over here, old buddy!” The tall, hefty man emerged from the shadows and came out from behind the bar. “What the hell are you doing in Hollywood? Weren’t you in Italy?” He reached out to grab John’s hand in one massive grip. From under his tight t-shirt, his muscles pushed the thin cotton to its limit, threatening to burst through with every flex. After a few rough shakes of John’s hand, the big man pulled him in for an excruciating bear hug.

  “I got an urgent personal call and had to come home.” John shot a glance back at me.

  “This a friend of yours, Hector?” one of the gang members said with a hint of a relieved smile.

  The big man turned to the gang at the pool table. “You boys still here? I thought Bible study was over a half hour ago.”

  “Bible study?” I silently mouthed as I gazed up at Asher.

  His frown mirrored my confusion.

  “We thought we’d just hang out for a while.” One of the long haired ones came to Hector. “Hope you don’t mind, but we’d just as soon relax in a safe place today.”

  “Sure thing, Jorge.” Hector looked to the remaining four guys who’d quietly followed behind Jorge. “Mi casa es su casa. You can stay as long as you like. And since you are all still here…” He turned to gesture at John. “You may as well meet an old friend of mine; the reformer himself; John.”

  “You mean this is the John you’ve talked so much about?” Jorge said.

  “Yup. The man who cleaned me up. The man who helped me straighten my life out. The man who literally saved my life.” He clapped John on the shoulder.

  Jorge reached out to shake John’s hand. “It’s an honor, sir. We sure do appreciate what you’ve done for Hector here.”

  “I sure do owe him a lot,” Hector went on. With open admiration, he looked John up and down. “It’s been years. I’d almost forgotten what you look like, man. You look great.”

  “Thanks.”

  “And how’s the wife?”

  John didn’t answer, but turned to his traveling companions. “This is my daughter, Lux, and her friend, Asher.”

  Hector nodded. “Nice to meet you both.” His eyes remained on me for an uncomfortably long time. “I had no doubt. You look exactly like your mother. Just beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Turning a curious glance to John, Hector crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Were you deliberately averting my question or just in a rush to introduce your daughter to me?”

  John clasped his hands together behind his back. “My wife,” he said softly before clearing his throat. “My wife is in a coma. It’s not a pleasant topic these days.”

  Letting his arms fall to his side, Hector cast his gaze to the floor. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he grunted, obviously uncomfortable with the sudden turn in conversation.

  “This is quite a place you have here,” I said, hoping to bring a little levity to the situation.

  It worked. Hector let out an amused harrumph.

  “My father has never mentioned you before.”

  “My mistake,” John said with a proud smile. “Hector is one of the most feared, badass demon hunters I know. Nothing gets by him.”

  “What John seems reluctant to tell you is that I was going down a very dark path before I met him. I’d spent the last six years of my life running with a pretty tough gang. Somehow I thought it would make me tough; make me a man.” He huffed with regret and shook his head at the memory. “We sold drugs, dabbled in prostitution, extortion and all that shit, and when we all got on our Harley’s, you better believe we owned the road. Man, even the cops stayed out of our way. Yeah, we were a rough bunch of kids.”

  “I had a brief run-in with Hector and his gang a few years back,” John said. “He certainly knew how to play the tough guy; they all did. But I knew there was more to them than causing trouble and filling the town with fear.”

  “He turned me around.” Hector beamed as he playfully punched John on the arm. “He turned us all around. Ten years ago I was ordained and the men who’d once been gang members are all now a part of my ministry.”

  “That’s quite a turn around,” I said.

  “I’ll say.”

  “But why do you hang out here?” Asher said. “Why such a seedy bar?”

  “Yeah, and why the offensive emblem on those leather jackets.”

  “Mentally insane,” one of the shaved heads called out as he laughed out loud.

  “Guillermo,” Hector scolded.

  “Sorry.” His laughter subsided and his face reddened.

  “Indeed, our gang emblem isn’t very respectful of women, but it’s the emblem we had back in the day, and we had to stick with it in order to keep our cover.”

  “I understand.”

  “Don’t worry,” John said. “Most people don’t make that connection anyway. They see these guys coming and don’t bother trying to make sense
of the emblem.”

  Jorge came up behind Hector and patted his shoulder. “Look, we’ve got some homework to take care of. We’ll let you guys reminisce and get out of your hair.” He tipped his head back to his gang and led them out.

  “Thanks,” Hector called to them. “I’ll catch you guys later.”

  Nodding and waving, they all made their exit.

  “Now,” Hector said, visibly relieved to see the guys leave. “What’s going on? What brought you out to grand ole Hollywood? It’s surely not the glitz and glamour. I know you, John. You hate that kind of stuff.”

  “Right.” John scratched his head and looked down at his shoe.

  “And I know you enough to know this isn’t just a courtesy call.”

  “Is there anywhere we can talk?”

  “Sure. I believe you’ve never seen my office,” Hector said with a congenial smile.

  John glanced at me and Asher. “You guys take it easy. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  We watched to two older men disappear through a door behind the bar.

  “What do you make of that?” Asher said.

  “I have no idea. I’ve never heard of this Hector before. And this gang. Wow. Hard to believe they’re now all Bible toting good guys.”

  “Yeah. Did you see the tattoo on that one guy? Around the neck? I thought he was wearing a turtleneck.”

  “Kind of hard not to notice.”

  Asher looked around. “Does being an ex-member of a bike gang keep them from keeping this place clean? You know, I’ve known a few bikers in my time and some of them can actually be pretty clean and orderly. In fact, I once knew this guy who was obsessed with neatness.”

  “Cool,” I said with a complete lack of interest. My mind wasn’t really on analyzing the hygiene of a gang of guys. I wanted to know why John had brought us to this bar, and what was he talking to Hector about… in private. “Play any pool?” I said, looking for a distraction from all the questions in my head.

  Asher immediately reached for a carelessly discarded pool cue stick leaning up against the men’s room door and headed to the table. “Play? Honey, I’m a real shark.”

  “Really?” I said, intrigued. “You know. I’m pretty good myself.”