Sex & Mayhem 02 The Devil's Ride (8 page)

“Nothing’s gonna happen to you as long as you follow
the rules. I can promise you that,” said Tooth. He once again
pulled out the bundle of keys and, to Luci’s dismay, locked the
door.

“What are the rules then?” Luci took a deep breath
and looked up into Tooth’s eyes. It would be a lot easier to deal
with a man less handsome.

Tooth showed him the bed and leaned his back against
the wall. He folded his arms across his chest, exposing them in all
their muscled glory. “Don’t run. Don’t disrespect anyone. Don’t get
into fights, neither verbal nor physical. Do what you’re asked for.
And do your schoolwork.”

Luci slowly sat on the bed. He would not put up with
this shit. “What fucking schoolwork? I wasn’t lying. I’m nineteen.”
He clenched his hands into fists on his knees.

“But you quit school, haven’t you?” Tooth cocked his
head and gave his beard an absent-minded pull. “Your father wants
you to do evening classes.”

Luci didn’t even
care when his nails dug into his skin. “My father
can go fuck himself,” he hissed. This was the last straw. He needed
to go. School was one of the reasons he didn’t want to get found by
the police once his mom died. He only went to school not to worry
her. Since that wasn’t good enough, and she killed herself anyway,
he didn’t want to visit that hell on earth for one more
day.

“You can try discussing this with him after we see
what happened to Suzy,” said Tooth, sipping some of the warm
coffee.

Luci began combing his hair with his fingers. If he
were to escape, he needed to play it cool. “Can I have my phone
back?”

Tooth shook his head. “Will you be ready after
breakfast? The ladies are making scrambled eggs for everyone.”

“I don’t have my proper comb, so I’m just gonna look
like shit until I get one. When can I get the phone back?”

Tooth frowned. “There’s one in the bathroom. You can
use it. And if you’re desperate, we can go to buy a few things for
you after you take us to see Suzy.”

“
Who are ‘the ladies’? Hangarounds?” Lucifer got
up, understanding that no answer about the phone meant a ‘not now’.
He fished a hoodie
out
of his bag. A sudden sadness came over him when he saw that his bag
was almost empty. He had close to nothing.

“Yeah. They’re really nice. Mostly.”

“Let’s go then.” Luci pulled his hair back into a
bun, because with all the tangles in it he looked so shitty he
didn’t want to even look in the mirror. He stood in front of the
closed door with his back to Tooth. He didn’t have to wait long to
feel the immense warmth radiating off Tooth’s body when he joined
him, reaching his hand through Luci’s personal space to open the
door.

“So, my brother, is he a big deal in the club? Makes
daddy happy?” Luci looked up at the tattoo on Tooth’s arm. The
black and white design depicted a simple cross with a date from
twelve years back and a ribbon with the name Tracy tangled around
its longer arm.

The door opened. “He’s brash and hasty, but a good
road captain. Why?”

“Just gathering intel so I know what to tell the
police.” Luci pouted and raised his eyebrows as they walked out. He
knew it was a tight rope he was walking on.

Tooth gave a low sigh. “Better not repeat that in
front of the others. They might not be as understanding of your
sense of humor.”

“
Not like you, right?” Luci straightened up to seem
taller, but Tooth still towered over him. “After all that bonding
we’ve done at night?” Would he be able to squeeze some humor
out of Tooth? It would lower
the man’s guard.

“You don’t want any bonding. So far you’ve been
nothing but obnoxious,” said Tooth, walking to the staircase. There
were voices of several people coming from downstairs.

Luci’s lips parted, and he crossed his arms on his
chest. “Whatever, we don’t have to talk then. You’re so rude. All I
did was offer a friendly blow job.”

“I’d keep the friendly blow jobs to yourself as long
as you’re here.” Tooth led him down the stairs, and already, the
smell of eggs and toast made Luci’s mouth water.

Luci was done with the stupid conversation and
looked around the room Tooth led him to. It was strangely homely.
Bustling with people, a big kitchen with cupboards and proper
cookware around a massive wooden table where men sat with their
plates. All of Luci’s
cockiness dispersed when everyone in the room went silent.
Priest looked up at him from above his food, as if he could see
right through Luci.

There was a total of five men in the kitchen, and
that included Bell, who stared at Luci like a wolf ready for
carnage. The tension dispersed the moment one of the two women, a
heavily pregnant redhead, waved at him. “You must be Luci. I heard
you didn’t have any supper yesterday,” she said, putting a generous
helping of scrambled eggs on a plate.

Luci pointed
at himself. “Me?” He looked around, wondering who could
have possibly said a word about him, and his gaze landed on
Priest.

“Yeah, you,” Bell snarled at him. “We’re not gonna
starve you and make you even more dainty.”

Luci squinted at his
half brother. “Shut the fuck up.”

Priest downed his coffee and got up.

“Everyone shut up and eat. We’re about to set out
soon,” growled Tooth, but a second later, his face softened, and he
stepped closer to the stove. “Haven’t seen you for a while, Kat,”
he said to the redheaded woman, who handed him a full plate.

“I’m busy preparing everything for the kid. You know
Milk spends almost all his time here,” she said and kicked a chair
occupied by a young blond biker, who was on the lanky side in
comparison to the other members. The only thing that seemed out of
proportion about him was a broad nose, far too big for his narrow
face.

“Come on, babe...”

Tooth snorted. “Sorry, we should give him back just
in time.”

Luci’s body was stiff, and he felt out of place in
this new crowd. Two girls looked at him as if he had two heads, and
Priest on the other hand avoided meeting his gaze.

Luci grabbed a cup of coffee to have something
occupying his hands, but Kat quickly took it away from him. “This
one’s lactose-free, you can take the other one.” She put the cup in
front of Milk.

“I have stuff to do, I’ll meet you guys in an hour,”
Priest said and made his way for the door.

Luci just stood there, disappointed, but he wasn’t
even sure what he’d expected.

The other girl, a pretty brunette in a black mini
dress
, handed him the
remaining eggs, but didn’t say anything, quickly reclining in the
lap of a bald guy, whose pronounced Adam’s apple made Luci think of
a vulture. Judging from the patch on his cut, he was a prospect.
Still, a potential catch, Luci supposed.

Tooth’s
gaze followed Priest out of the kitchen, as he chewed on
toast, but he didn’t say anything, looking as grim as
yesterday.

Only with the food in front of him, Luci realized he
was in fact hungry. It was strange to have it made for him. He
always had to care for himself. Only Rick ever helped him out.

“Will you be staying here longer?” the brunette
asked from Prospect’s lap.

“We don’t know yet,” said Tooth for Luci. He cleared
his throat “Everyone, this is Luci. Milk is my enforcer, and Kat’s
his wife. You know Beelzebub.” He then gestured to a pudgy old man,
who sat in the corner with a big mug of coffee. He had thinned
white hair growing at the sides of his head, and he wore it tied
into a ponytail, completely ignoring the fact the top of his head
was as bald as a cooked egg. “That’s Don, our secretary. Then,
Blitz the prospect and...” He stopped when his fingers indicated
the brunette in Blitz’s lap, obviously not sure what her name was,
but she quickly introduced herself as Angel.

“Hi,” was all Luci managed to utter before one of
the girls butted in.

“‘Lucy’? That’s your name? Is it short for
something?”

“It’s just Luci,” said Tooth before Luci could even
open his mouth.

Great, so he didn’t even get a say in
that
? He faked a
smile and munched on his eggs. It was nice to get some protein.
Rick would always say it’s healthy.

“He’s going with us today, isn’t he?” Milk eyed him
with a cocky grin.

Luci couldn’t have been more lost.

Tooth shoveled more food into his mouth and nodded.
Don watched Luci from across the room, constantly tapping his
fingers on the table.

“Can’t we just ditch him somewhere afterward?” Bell
groaned, but it was obvious that he knew the answer to that.

“I wish,” Luci mumbled. He’d rather give lapdances
than be here. Everywhere he turned was an unfriendly face.

“I don’t think Priest would want that,” Don said,
never looking away from Luci.

“Shame that he didn’t stay,” said Blitz, cheerfully
drinking his coffee. He didn’t seem to know what the situation
was.

Tooth cleared his throat. “No, we can’t. The quicker
you get used to it the better.”

Bell got up and slammed his cup on the table. “A
fucking male hooker is the last thing we need here,” he snarled,
prompting an unpleasant silence in the room.

Luci lost his appetite but wasn’t about to look like
a victim. “How do you know? Maybe one of your buddies is dreaming
of me already?”

Tooth put his plate on the table, wiped his mouth
with a napkin and straightened up to look at Bell. The air froze as
if the kitchen was entered by an ice giant. “Shut your mouth.”

Kat looked between the three of them and cleared her
throat, hurrying out of the room. The moment she was gone, Don
casually lit a cigarette in his corner.

“
This is seriously the most
fucked-up thing that’s happened in ages.
I’ll see you outside, I’ve got enough of this shit already.” Bell
left his cup and plate in the sink and walked off.

Luci more than expected this sort of attitude, but
as much as he hid it, it still hurt. He wasn’t some piece of trash
to knock about from one place to the other. It wasn’t his brother’s
place to judge him, he didn’t know what Luci had to go through in
life.

“Anyone has anything else to say?” asked Tooth,
looking around the room.

The prospect and his girlfriend pretended not to be
there, and Don started making little smoke circles with a
smile.

“A male prostitute? Priest must be fucking
delighted.”

“Serves him right,” uttered Tooth before getting
back to his meal.

So this was it. Luci was a punishment for his dad.
His
mere existence was
enough to spite Priest. No wonder he didn’t want to talk to Luci,
and just left the dirty job to Tooth.

The girl in Blitz’s lap cocked her head to the side.
“But are you, like, gay, or gay-for-pay?”

Luci wanted to howl, but bit back all the nasty
remarks his mind began to spew. “I’m gay.”

“You don’t have to answer. It’s not her business, is
it?” asked Tooth, staring at the girl, who blinked, pressing back
against Blitz.

Don let out a hoarse laugh. “More drama than at my
home.”

Tooth could be imposing and scary, but having him
around as a protector made Luci feel kinda safe. At least he would
most probably not be strangled and dumped in some ditch by his own
brother.

As soon as they were done eating, Tooth took
Lucifer outside. Milk, Priest
, and Bell already stood by their bikes, discussing
something in lowered voices. Luci could only imagine what it could
be. All he wanted was to let Rick know he was fine. He wouldn’t be
able to go back to the Vanilla Lounge after all this, and he’d
probably need to leave the state altogether. He’d have to start his
life anew. Again.

Don was also there, with yet another of a
never
ending stream of
cigarettes. “Everyone ready?” he asked, walking over to a large
black bike.

Tooth sighed. “You’re riding with me,” he told
Luci.

Luci eyed the bike he got spanked on just yesterday
and groaned, but approached the beast in silence.

“Mom will find out, and she’ll go mental,” Bell
said, still arguing with Priest.

Priest showed his teeth, and the folds on his
forehead became so deep Luci half-expected his salt and pepper hair
getting a bit whiter from the sheer strain. “She won’t know if you
don’t tell her because none of the others would be stupid enough to
meddle in my family’s affairs!”

Luci listened on without looking their way. Maybe
having them argue at the right time
would be a good distraction when he needed to make
a run for it? Tooth pushed a helmet into his hands all of a
sudden.

“Put that on,” he said with a small smile and pulled
one on his own head as well. “How long will it take to get to
Suzy’s place?”

“
Twenty minutes?” Luci tried to put the helmet on,
but it was too small with the bun at the back of his head, so he
had to untangle his messy mop and then put it on. At least he
wasn’t
half-naked like
yesterday.

Tooth narrowed his eyes at the remaining men. “Are
we going? Luci says she can be out later during the day,” he called
out, and immediately, Milk went off to his own bike, joining Don,
who was already waiting for the others.

It wasn’t a big group, only six people, five
bikes, but when Luci sat behind Tooth, looking at the coffin patch
on the back
of Tooth’s
vest, he almost felt a part of it. Almost. He would never be good
enough to prospect for a club, even if he wanted to, which he
didn’t. He was more of a running type than a fighter. After some
hesitation, he grabbed the steel bar at the back of the seat. The
last thing he wanted was to get scolded for molesting Tooth in
public. It was as if anything Luci did was a step in the wrong
direction.