Hunted

by Lourdes Skye

  His mind replayed the conversation from the start. Spike had mentioned the name Ivan Nanchas. Barney fed that name into the car’s computer. A long rap sheet came up on this guy. He was apparently, as dirty as they come. He had a hand in everything, money laundering, human trafficking, drugs, fire arms and he was wanted in five countries. If the United States got their hands on this asshole first, he knew it would be a wrap for him. They’d no doubt throw him under the jail.

  Looking up at a noise from outside, Barney watched a lady walking down the street with her two kids. Shame, she was oblivious to the knowledge that the real monsters were only a few doors down from hers. A movement from across the street had him snapping his head to the right. Damn, he thought for a minute that was Weasel’s ass. He would’ve surely arrested him and thrown him in the back seat. However this guy was like Houdini, he seemed to disappear in the night. Settling back against the smooth leather of the driver’s seat, he closed his eyes and continued to listen to the exchange going on in the house.

  Well, I guess he isn’t as hungry as Hard Up was,” Lydia laughed. “However they’ve been here for a long time.”

  “Some people like to chill at bars. Maybe their home life is unsettling and they need to get away from it all.”

  “Perhaps. I guess I can’t really complain none. The more they drink the more money the place makes. That means the better raise I’ll get.”

  Jace shook his head laughing. He really liked it here. Mickey was like a grandfather to everyone and Lydia was just a sweet fool. She always kept the atmosphere light and lively with jokes. And the usual drunks weren’t bad either. Being a bartender you got to meet all kinds of people. People just felt at ease sitting at the bar, drinking and telling their life’s story. Some stories were really sad, some happy and some funny. It was the sad ones, however that stayed with you. Jace so many times wanted to be able to do more than just be an ear to listen or shoulder to cry on. The truth of it was, life has its ups and downs. For some, the downs may be harsh. It was the getting back up, that was what really counted. Often he’d advise them: have a drink today but go out and do something to change your situation tomorrow. Then he’d think back to his own life. Thank god he had the guts to get up and leave Octorian. Had he not, he probably wouldn’t be alive today. He thought about Ruslan, Octorian’s cousin. He’d been a big help in his plans of escape. He hoped Octorian never finds out. He also hoped Ruslan could get the hell out before Octorian turned his fist on him.

  A handsome middle aged man sat down at the bar.

  “What can I get for you?”

  With a sigh he answered, “A scotch on the rocks.”

  Octorian’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed Jace. Look at him smiling, flirting, and tossing his blonde hair from side to side like some slut. He grind his teeth as thoughts overlapped each other in his head as to what all Jace and the man could be talking about. His hand squeezed the glass he was holding. How dare Jace embarrass him like this! Smiling up to these commoners.

  “You okay dude?” Rocky asked, watching the different expressions cross Octroian’s facial features.

  “Yeah, I’m just tired of all this waiting. This place stinks and I’m dying for some real food.”

  Rock shrugged, the food was fine by him. And as far as the stink goes, he didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary. He wondered if his deodorant was wearing off. Very inconspicuously, he lifted his arm and took a whiff. Nothing there. Just then Octorian nudged him. “Look, he’s moving.”

  “Got it. Don’t forget, meet me at the side of the building.”

  The heavy door closed and Jace looked up at the sky. Inhaling, he marveled at the sight and sounds of city life. Ah, to be a free man again, this was beyond anything that he’d dared to dream. His mind drifted back to last night and this morning. Wow, he’d never known sex could be like that. Cobra was definitely a big boy. Even now he could feel the remnants of their loving. This was that good pain. He knew he was blushing just thinking about the things they’d done to one another. He wondered how his day was going. In all honesty, Jace was somewhat nervous about this meeting that he was to have. This Spike guy sound dangerous. Cobra told him that his phone would be off so there was no use in calling. He sighed, looking up at the darkened sky and the millions of stars. Jace was so captivated with the sky, he failed to hear the side door open until it closed, hard.

  “You got a light?” the bald headed guy asked as he approached him.

  “Uh no, sorry I don’t smoke.”

  “Good for you. It’s a nasty little habit I picked up. Been trying to quit.”

  “Yeah, Jace nodded; people say, one day at a time.”

  When dude was but a few inches from him, he looked up. Jace’s eyes widened as he noticed this was the guy at Hard Up’s table. Suddenly the air around him felt tight.

  “Well I’ve gotta get back inside.” Jace took a step forward. The man placed his booted foot in his path, stopping him.

  “Come on, you can spare a few minutes for some friendly chat.”

  Jace didn’t like nor trust the look in his eyes. “No really I have to go.”

  As Jace made a move to step around the man, Rock threw a left punch, which grazed his jaw. Jace recovered quickly as he didn’t receive the full impact of the blow. Now bouncing back on the balls of his feet like Cobra showed him, Jace ducked and punched the man in the stomach.

  “You little fucker, was that supposed to hurt me,” Rock taunted.

  “Look, I don’t want any trouble.”

  “Too late boy, you’ve found it,” Rock kicked him in the gut. Doubled over as he was, Jace couldn’t deflect the next punch, which hit his jaw, causing him to see stars. Rock pulled out a spray bottle and pointed it at his face. Panic unlike any before, set in. Who was this dude and what did he want? Just as his finger pressed own on the knob, Jace held his breath and punched straight forward. Dude gasped and coughed. He’d punched him in the throat. Not giving him time to recover, Jace swept his knee like Cobra showed him and ran back into the building.

  “Son of a bitch!” Rock bellowed as he held his aching leg.

  Octorian rounded the corner and entered the alley. “What the hell happened?!”

  “Your fucking husband got the drop on me.”

  Octorian was shocked. “Jace?”

  “You have another husband I don’t know about!” Rock snapped, clearly pissed at having been bested.

  Octorian stood shock still, looking at the bent over mercenary. How the hell did Jace best him? Every time he attacked Jace, all he did was cry and try to run. The one time he tried to fight back, Octorian damn near broke his arm and his body. He couldn’t get out of the bed for three whole days. That taught him. And now to hear that he fought back and actually got the better of a man who makes his living through violence, this was just too much.

  “Where is he?”

  “He ran back into the bar. I’m pretty sure he’s telling someone what went on out here. I suggest we leave right not.”

  “But dammit, we didn’t get him.”

  “We will.” Rock looped his arm around Octorian’s neck as the other man assisted him out of the alley. Jace must’ve learned those moves from someone. He knew for a fact that the pretty man was no fighter. That could only leave one possibility, he was entertaining someone who did possess such skills. Someone who shared some skills with him. He wondered if he was paying for those lessons with blowjobs. He’d choke the fuck outta him if he ever learned he had another dick in his mouth besides his. Jace was his and he was going to take pleasure pounding that fact into his head, before he let Rock have his way. In any event, when he returned to Atlanta with his tale of a cheating, thief of a husband who wind up getting killed by his drug addled lover, the blue bloods would feel his pain and lend their financial support. Never fuck with the bull, you’ll always get the horns.

  “What’s wrong?” Lydia asked at the flush expression on Jace’s face as he ran past her and down the hall to the back office. She
and Jetson witness his hasty flight back into the building. His face was pale white like that of a ghost.

  “Jace, you okay buddy?” Jetson voiced. He too was concerned for the pretty little bartender.

  “I-I-someone tried to a-attack me in the alley.”

  “Oh my god!” Lydia breathed.

  Jace sank down into the nearby chair in front of Mickey’s desk. The old man happened to be in the restroom at the moment. Jetson left, then returned within seconds with a bottle of water. “Here drink this.”

  After a few swallows Jace felt himself calming down.

  “What did this person look like?” Jetson asked.

  “Uh, he-he was the bald-headed guy from Hard Up’s table.”

  Jetson looked confused.

  “My god, I should’ve known something was shady about those guys,” Lydia scorned herself.

  “You two stay here, Jetson said; I’m going to search the alley. See if this guy is still around.”

  “Oh sugar, you have a nasty bruise on your cheek. Let me get you some ice.”

  When she left, Jace took out his phone and called Barney.

  Barney looked at his ringing phone. Jace.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Th-there was a guy here. He tried to spray me in the face with something. I don’t know-it was a can of something. He tried to grab me but I–I fought him off. Cobra showed me some moves this morning,” Jace babbled.

  “Whoa-calm down. Someone came inside the bar and tried to attack you?”

  “No, I was on break. They followed me out of the side door. They had an aerosol can.”

  “Calm down. I want you to think hard. Have you ever seen this guy before?”

  “No-no I’ve never seen this guy before. But the guy he was with, he was in here yesterday.”

  “Listen to me, I am with Cobra now. I’m going to leave my post to come and get you and take you back to the house.”

  “Wait, I don’t want him in harm’s way. I can stay here till closing and go home with Travis and Jonah.”

  “No, trust me on this. My partner cares for you. If I didn’t come and get you to safety and he found out, I’d never hear the end of it. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  Lydia returned with the makeshift icepack. Holding it up against the bruise, she whispered, “The bastard. If he comes here again I’m going to dump a whole pitcher of beer over his head.”

  Jace smiled. As feisty as she was, he could picture her doing just that.

  “Jetson filled Mickey in on what happened. He says for you to go ahead and take the rest of the night off. We got the bar.”

  “You guys have been so good to me.”

  “Jace, we’re all family here.”

  He returned her smile. Nonetheless he couldn’t help the gnawing feeling inside that he may have just brought hell to their doorstep. Before coming here, he’d read about the random violence. Perhaps this was simply another case. However, something inside of him wondered if Octorian had a hand in this. Cobra had said that people with money could hire out and have things done for them. Perhaps this guy was hired. In any event, he was shaken to his core. God only knows what was in that can. If the guy had succeeded there was no telling what ill fate might’ve befallen him. And the thought of never seeing Cobra again, sent a cold chill down his spine. Jetson, peeked his head in the door. “There’s a guy named Barney out here looking for you.”

  “Hey, you okay?” Barney asked.

  “A lot better now that you’re here. Let’s go though, I don’t want to leave Cobra without cover for too long.”

  Barney smiled, he hoped the kid stuck around. It seems Cobra found himself a good one this time. Barney led him out to the car. His eyes were carefully scanning the streets, looking for anything that didn’t fit. He noticed the ice pack Jace was holding against his face. Damn, Cobra wasn’t going to like that.

  “So again, how did you get away from the guy?”

  “This morning Cobra showed me some moves. He said he wanted me to learn a few quick ways to defend myself should I need to do so. God, I never imagined I’d be using them so soon.”

  Barney chuckled. “So, he’s already showing you those funky karate moves, huh. Yeah, he must really like you.”

  Jace blushed.

  Barney walked him up to the unit and made sure it was all clear. “Do you need anything else while I’m here?”

  “No. I’m good.”

  “Just to be safe Jace, I would call out of work tomorrow. I have your description of the guy. I’ll run it through the database and see what comes up.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Wait, uh Barney, do you know when Cobra might come back?”

  “It’s hard to say. Right now he’s working his magic, trying to get accepted as one of the guys. From what I’ve heard so far, he’s in. Try not to lose much sleep worrying about him. Trust me, he can take care of himself if he gets into a sticky situation.”

  Jace locked the condo down after Barney left. Stripping off his clothes, he journeyed into the master bathroom, where he ran the jet tub. Adding some scented liquid soap, he climbed into the bubbly water. Everything inside of him prayed that that attack had nothing to do with Octorian. Though he was now legally free of the man, he didn’t aspire to ever see him again. Laying his head back, he let the bubbles and heat of the water, take him to a place of nirvana.

  Octorian assisted Rock into his suite at the Waldorf. He was thoroughly disgusted with Rock’s performance tonight. Upon entering the suite, he all but dumped him on the couch.

  “I still can’t believe that you let that little man get the jump on you,” he growled.

  “Oh you can’t. Well come over here and let me sweep your fucking knee and you see how good it feels.”

  Octorian had to get control of his temper. He needed Rock to finish this. Getting all reeled and pissing off his ally wouldn’t help matters. Striding to the bar, he poured himself a stiff drink. “Would you care for something?”

  “Whiskey would work right about now.”

  The men drank in silence.

  “Alright so now that we’ve established that your husband is the next karate kid, where do we go from here?”

  “Cute, real cute.” Octorian took another swallow before speaking again. “The original plan still stands. The only thing that has changed is how we will acquire him. Give me a few minutes to come up with a plan.”

  With dinner over and a tour of the operation, Cobra decided to call it a night. “Look, it’s late, I’ma get up with you guys tomorrow—.”

  “Oh no, that’s not necessary. You see we have a job in the morning. I already have a room picked out and prepared for you. You’ll stay here,” Spike told him.

  Damn, he hadn’t counted on this.

  “I assume you have another pair of clothing for me as well.”

  “We’ll pick you up something tomorrow. However, I can supply you with a shirt. The jeans, no one will notice that you had them on today. Anyway tomorrow job calls for casual wear.”

  “Can I know a little more about what we’re going to do?”

  Spike smiled. “We have another buyer, who requires immediate delivery. You and Tyrone will grab the merchandise and bring it back here. We’ll meet with the buyer later that day. Money will exchange hands and those low pockets you spoke of, won’t be low anymore.”

  Cobra smiled and nodded his head. “Sounds good.”

  “Axl, Spike called; show Cobra to his room.”

  They went up the steep staircase to the third level. Axl led him to the third door on the right. Cobra opened the door and took in his surroundings. “This is cool, thanks.”

  Axl nodded, then left him to it.

  Upon closing the door and locking it, Cobra did a sweep of the room. He was looking for listening devices, a.k.a bugs. When he found none, he went into the bathroom, turned on the faucet and sat down on the toilet. Taking out his cell phone he called Barney.

  “What’s up partner?”
/>   “What’s good with you? Have you seen any kids?”

  “Yes. Fucking pricks, they have them in the basement like caged animals.”

  “What time you pulling out?”

  “Not going to happen tonight. Spike has offered me indoor accommodations that are non-negotiable. He claims there’s a job tomorrow.”

  “Are you sure you’re going to be able to do that. To stay aloof and snatch a kid?”

  “I’ll have no choice. The good thing is that you won’t be far behind. The bastard buyer won’t leave the state with the kid.”

  “Yeah, you know we’ll be on that ass like paint on a wall.”

  Cobra chuckled at his choice of words. “Hey, did you talk to Jonah and Travis about Jace?”

  “Uh.”

  “Barney-what’s up?”

  Damn he hated to do this to him while he was undercover. “I picked Jace up from the bar an hour ago.”

  “What, why? What happened Barn?”

  “Calm down, don’t get your drawers in a twist. Some guy tried to attack him while he was on break. Your crazy karate moves saved him. He was a bit shaken up and called me. I knew you’d want confirmation that he was safe so I went, picked him up and took him to your place. He’s safe.”

  Cobra let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Thanks man.”

  “No problem. You know I always got your back.”

  “Did you get a description of this guy?”

  “Already ahead of you. I’ve fed his physical description to the database and am now waiting for a response.”

  “Alright. Again, thanks man.”

  No sooner he hung up from Barney, he called Jace.

  “Hey cutie, how are you doing?”

  “I’m good. Missing you but good.”

  Cobra chuckled. “Listen, this case has taken a turn. I’ll be here tonight and maybe all day tomorrow. I heard that you had some action. I also heard that you kicked ass.”

  Jace laughed, “I don’t know about that. I just did a few of the moves you showed me is all.”

  “Have you seen that guy before?”

  “He’s been to the bar a time or two. Maybe he was trying to rob me.”

  “Perhaps. Tell me what happened.”