by H. R. Owen
And fuck love.
callen
I should have told Callen all about me and my past when we first started sleeping together. But now, I’m sitting on the floor of my old apartment with a man I thought was a poor, innocent homeless man, lying beside me. Dead. Another man’s life taken by my hands. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it because I did. It’s been a long time since I used my wires, and it gave me a rush, just like when Callen and I are together. The part I didn’t like was Callen walking in and seeing the old me. The woman who gets a thrill out of taking lives.
I know he understands that part because he gets the same thrill. But now, Callen will no longer see me as the innocent angel I was pretending to be. Callen told me not to go back to the house that was very quickly becoming my home, but I can’t stay here anymore. Not now that the people who hired me to kill Bates know where I am.
“Holy shit! What the hell happened here, Dahl? I was only gone for twenty minutes,” Harmony asks in a shocked tone.
“Fucking Vince. That’s what happened. He’s had one of his men watching me for months now, and when you left, he came charging in asking me about Bates. I think they know Harmony. About me letting him go. Fuck! Callen walked in right when I was choking the life out of him and told me not to go back to the house. He thinks I killed Bates, and he doesn’t want to see me again.” Tears roll down my cheeks as I tell Harmony what’s just happened.
“Oh my God, Dahlia, I’m so sorry. We need to go tell Callen where Bates is. He’ll understand. I’m sure he will.” Harmony comes to my side to comfort me.
“I don’t think so, Harm. You should have seen the way he looked at me. He’ll never see me the same way again,” I tell her.
“Come on, I think you need to take me to Bates. If Vince already thinks he’s alive, he’s already a dead man out there all by himself. At least if he comes home, he’ll have all of us here to look out for him,” Harmony states.
Harmony packs up a few bags of clothes and items she thinks we might need for our trip to find Bates. I sent him off to a small town about a forty hours’ drive from here, so it’s going to be a long trip. Especially, since I can’t drive, and neither of us have a car.
“Okay, girl. Get your crying ass up, we’re going,” Harmony demands.
“How the hell are we going to drive forty odd hours with no car?” I ask.
“Car’s on its way. Holy shit, forty hours? Was it necessary to send him that far away?” she quizzes.
“You know it was, Harm. It was a big risk not killing him. For all of us. You know how dangerous Vince and his men are.”
The sound of a car’s horn blasts from outside the window.
“That’s our car. I called in a favor with an old acquaintance. Let’s go before he gets the shits and drives off,” Harmony orders. She grabs the bags and pulls on my arm to get me moving, yanking me through the front door and kicking it closed behind us.
Once we’re out the door, I freeze. “Harmony? The body. I need to call for clean-up. I think I still have a few numbers,” I whisper to her.
“Already done. One of the prospects from Hunter’s club is here to take care of it. They’re both here now. They will sort it out,” Harmony explains. “Hunter? As in big tattoo artist Hunter. Sleazy biker that’s far too good looking for his own good?” I ask.
“That’s him,” Harmony says on a breath.
We arrive at the car parked on the curb out the front of my apartment. A nice new pickup. At least we get to ride in comfort. Harmony opens the door on the passenger side and tells me to get in while jumping up and down in a hurry. I think she’s more excited to see Bates, than frightened of the fight we may have coming with bringing him home.
Jumping up into the seat, I notice that there’s no-one in the car. “Where’s Hunter? Who’s driving?” I ask Harmony as she steps away from my door and closes it behind her. The driver’s side door opens, and she hops up onto the seat. “Me,” she tells me with a cocky grin on her face.
“No fucking way,” I yell, trying to pry the door open.
Harmony’s the craziest driver in the world. She’s too fast, she skids around corners and slams the breaks on to slow down and stop. Harmony’s fucking terrifying, and she knows it. I think sometimes she only does it to fucking scare me, but the woman’s a bit on the crazy side.
“Just sit back and relax, Dahlia. If it’s a forty-hour drive. You bet your ass we’ll make it in thirty,” she states as she pulls the pickup out from the curb spinning the tires and swerving all over the road.
Fuck, I’m going to die in this car, and I’ll never be able to make things right with Callen.
After about twenty hours of being on the road, I’m so tense and frightened for my life. I made Harmony pull over about ten times so that I could get out of the car and relax for a few minutes. “Stop fucking stressing me out, Dahlia,” Harmony spits, finally getting sick of my fidgeting.
“Here,” Harmony says reaching into her bag and pulling out a small bottle of pills. She takes both her hands off the steering wheel to open the lid, which only makes me tenser, then she grabs my hand and places two white tablets into my palm. “They’ll help you relax. Don’t worry, they’re nothing bad. Just take them, you’re stressing me out, and it only makes me want to drive faster,” she spits.
I pop the tablets in my mouth and swallow them down with a sip of water. It doesn’t take long, and I already feel calmer. So calm I can feel my eyes slowly starting to close. Then, the memories come flooding back to me as though I’m reliving the day it all happened.
I had just been ordered to kill a man that was off limits. Unfortunately, the man who ordered the hit would have me killed if I didn’t go through with it. He didn’t want his men involved because of the ties that Bates had. So, I drove out to the big old lake house where Bates had apparently been hiding out, to find him waiting on the balcony.
“Dahlia, please don’t do this,” he begged.
I had the plan all worked out with Harmony and Bates the day before I arrived. I would shoot off some blanks, and he would drop as though I’d killed him on the spot. I never used a gun to kill, so I was hoping Vince’s men would believe it. I was sure there was at least one of them hiding out watching the whole thing go down, so we had to cover every angle.
As I walk closer to the balcony, Bates came downs the stairs to beg for his life. “Please, Dahlia… please don’t do this,” he begged.
“I-I’m sorry, I have to do this,” I tell him as I pull the trigger.
Bang.
Bates drops, his body hitting the stairs, covered in fake blood. Making myself cry was the hardest part, but sure enough, I got those tears rolling down my cheeks. Dropping to the ground, I throw the gun down beside me and plant my face into my hands.
The sound of heavy boots thump as one of Vince’s men come out from behind the worn-out shed which sits to the side of the house.
“It’s done. Clean up’s on their way,” I tell him on a sob.
He gives me a hard nod then heads up the driveway as a black car pulls in. Opening the door to the passenger side, he looks back, and a smirk covers his face.
He got off on seeing how upset I was but joke’s on him.
We did it!
Now Bates has to disappear.
“Dahlia. Wake up. Dahlia…” I hear a voice as I’m pulled from my dream.
“I’m awake,” I say in a groggy voice. “What the hell did you give me?”
Harmony lets out a slightly wicked laugh. “Just a couple of Ambien. Don’t worry you’ll feel fine soon. I can’t stand watching you squirm around because of my driving. I’m a perfectly capable driver, I just like to go fast,” she explains.
“Where are we? How long was I sleeping?” I ask as I sit upright in the car seat.
“About an hour away. You slept for a pretty fucking long time. Probably all that fucking you’ve been doing with Callen. He looks like he could wear a woman down.”
“Harmony?” I snap. “Ho
w long was I sleeping for?”
“I’d prefer not to tell you, you know, because you’re already terrified of my driving,” Harmony laughs that wicked laugh again.
I look over to the time and notice that it’s only nine o’clock. “Harmony. You turned a forty-five-hour drive into a thirty-six hour one. That’s it, there’s no fucking way you’re driving back. You crazy woman,” I shout.
Harmony starts laughing so hard that tears run down her cheeks, and I begin to follow suit. Even in the most serious of moments, she always manages to make me lighten up.
Harmony slams the brakes on and my body jerks forward. We’re sitting in the car parked out front of the house where Bates has been hiding out the last couple of years. Harmony just can’t control herself, and she’s jumping out of the car before I know it and running toward the house.
“Harmony, wait,” I yell out behind her.
She doesn’t even slow down, her feet becoming faster if anything. I see the front door of the house opening as I run to catch up. Harmony’s body goes stiff when a young woman with blonde hair opens the door. I finally catch up as Harmony pushes the door further open, knocking the woman out the way, and barges through.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize for Harmony’s behavior. “My name’s Dahlia, I’m here to see Bates,” I explain to the woman with the puzzled and slightly terrified look on her face. I’d be scared of Harmony too.
She lets me through the door and then comes the yelling I’d been waiting for. The house goes quiet all of a sudden, and I’m worried Harmony might have just done something stupid. I run toward the room where the yelling was coming from just in time to see Bates pinning Harmony to the bed, grinding on her and kissing her with force.
The blonde is standing beside me with her jaw dropped.
“Bates, you ass. Get off that woman,” she screams stamping her foot like a toddler having a tantrum.
Bates pulls his mouth from Harmony’s. “Sorry, Sawyer, but you need to get the fuck out of my house. Harmony’s my girl,” he says as he looks down to Harmony smiling.
Crack.
A loud whipping sound rings out as Harmony slaps Bates across his cheek. “I’m not your girl. Who the fuck is she? You couldn’t even wait for me?” Harmony spits out with tears rolling down her cheeks.
The woman standing beside me runs through the house swearing and slams the front door as she exits.
“I hate to interrupt, guys, but we have a few things we need to talk about,” I say as I clear my throat.
“Dahlia. It’s good to see you. I hope you haven’t come back to kill me again?” Bates questions.
“Not this time.”
After Harmony and Bates practically screwing in front of me, we all take a seat at the small dining table that sits in the middle of his kitchen. Bates disappears and fetches three beers out of the kitchen and places one in front of each of us.
“So… you and Callen, huh? How is he? God, I miss that angry bastard,” Bates says pulling out a seat and dropping onto it. I tell him about Callen and me meeting, and how badly I’ve screwed up with him.
Now it’s time to tell Bates about Vince’s men inquiring about his death, and the fact that he’s not safe anywhere. Harmony’s still scowling at Bates and hasn’t said a word since we sat at the table. He keeps returning her glares every now and then but doesn’t say a word.
Harmony looks away from Bates and mumbles something only he can hear.
Bates takes her and forces her to look at him. “Harmony. I’m really sorry. I never thought we’d see each other again. Sawyer is nothing to me. Please, baby? You know you’re the only one for me, don’t you? We can finally be together, I don’t need to hide anymore,” Bates begs.
“Fuck off, Bates,” Harmony spits at him.
I really need to get these two back on track. We have a long drive ahead of us, and I don’t know if I can deal with Harmony and Bates fighting the whole way back.
“Anyway, you two can fight later. Bates, you’re coming home with us. And then you can explain everything that happened to Callen. I can’t stand the way he looked at me when he thought I was the one responsible for taking his best friend’s life.”
“He’ll understand, Dahlia. He’s an asshole, but deep down there’s a good side to him. I’m not too sure anyone has ever seen that side, but I have,” he replies. Bates packs up his bags, and within minutes, we’re heading out the door.
“By the way. You’re driving,” I tell Bates, ripping the keys from Harmony’s hands.
Her face drops almost as though she’s offended, and so she should be.
Bates throws his bags in the back of the pickup and races around to the driver’s side. Harmony races for the back seat just so she can avoid Bates, which means I’m going to be stuck up front with the man who I was ordered to kill.
It’s going to be a long fucking drive.
The pickup starts up, and we’re on our way back home. Ready for a war to break out.
A war that I don’t really think we can win.
callen
I’ve spent the last three days at home, drinking nonstop until I couldn’t move. I still can’t wrap my head around the whole Dahlia being Garrotte shit. How could I not see it? I promised myself when I found Bates’ killer, I would torture them until they couldn’t take any more, and then slice their neck open. Now, I have no idea what to do.
The woman who made me feel for the first time in a really long time has deceived me. She took my friend’s life. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive her. I loved her, and now I know have to kill her.
I got off the sofa a few hours ago to get another bottle of scotch and ended up falling on the floor when I went to sit back down. I try to get up, but my legs just won’t work. I try another time, but no such luck. Feeling defeated, I roll over, so my back is flush against the cold, hard tiles and take a swig of the amber liquid that put me down here in the first place. Thank God, I can no longer feel anything because I don’t plan on moving anytime soon.
I hear a loud tapping noise, but I’m not sure if it’s real or if it’s the alcohol just messing with my head.
Knock. Knock. Knock. There it is again.
“Fuck off,” I yell out to whatever seems to be making noise.
“Callen, it’s me, Harmony. Please let me in,” a voice replies.
“Can’t. Drank too much. Can’t move,” I slur as I feel my eyes start to close.
Bang.
A loud noise pounds from somewhere slightly snapping me out of my unconsciousness. I hear voices closing in on me, so I try to open my eyes as much as I can manage. Looking straight up at the ceiling, I see Harmony and Dahlia standing over me and yelling. I must be dreaming. There’s no way Dahlia’s back here. I can’t understand a whole lot of what they're yelling about, but I’m pretty sure Harmony just called me an asshole.
Dahlia gets down on her knees and puts her hand on my cheek, and that’s when I realize I’m not dreaming. I can feel the warmth radiating from her touch.
“Dahlia, what are you doing here?” I moan.
“Callen? What the fuck did you do to yourself? All this over a girl, I mean she’s hot, but fuck, look at you. You look like you haven’t showered in a week. Shit! You smell like it, too,” a familiar voice rings out. Bates. Maybe I am dreaming.
Suddenly, a freezing cold gush of water splashes over my face pulling me out of whatever drunken stupor I’m in.
“What the fuck,” I yell as I jump up from the floor with heated rage running through my body.
Dahlia comes into view first, definitely not dreaming now.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Garrotte? I told you not to come back. How did you get in here?” I ask.
“I kicked your door down,” Harmony says as she lets out a wicked laugh.
I turn to face her, but my eyes get stuck on the person standing next to her. “Bates?” I mumble.
That’s the last thing that I remember before waking up in my bed.
/> My head’s pounding, and I feel sick. The smell that’s coming from me is probably the cause of it. I’ve never been one to get sick from alcohol, but then I’ve never spent days drinking either.
“Callen, thank fuck you’re awake. We’ve got a few things to sort out,” Bates’ voice pounds in my head.
“How is this possible? Garrotte killed you, I went to your funeral,” I tell him. “Well, that’s a long story, one I’m not telling you until you have a shower. You fucking stink, man. And don’t blame Dahlia for anything, she’s the reason I’m still alive,” he explains before leaving the room.
I don’t know what that means, but I hope to God it’s true. I still don’t trust Dahlia, but at least I won’t have to kill her.
Getting up from the bed, my legs are working again, but I still feel a little wobbly. Taking Bates’ advice, I decide to go clean myself up. Stripping off the jeans I’ve been wearing since I found Dahlia getting wire happy, I head into the shower and lather myself with copious amounts of body wash. I let the hot water rinse off the suds, and then I lather the wash all over me again. Standing under the water, I feel like I’m still intoxicated and in a dream world.
Bates is here.
Back from the dead.
How the hell is this real?
I hear someone tapping on the door. “What,” I yell.
Before I know it, Dahlia’s standing in front of me, her eyes glued to my cock. She bites her lip and my cock twitches and comes to life. How the hell does she get me so fucking hard?
“Fuck it,” I spit out, and storm out of the shower dripping wet and back Dahlia up against the bathroom sink. My hand wraps around her wrist, and I pull, spinning her around so she faces the mirror, her perfect ass on display for me. I pull on her waist with my free hand so her ass sticks out. My hand comes down on the side of her ass, leaving a red mark in its wake. Rubbing the red spot I leave behind, my hand tightens, squeezing her cheek with force. My cock becomes rock hard at the sound of her moaning, and the thought that she enjoys me being rough with her. Her hands grip onto the sink clenching around the edge as my hand flies up then slides onto her ass again.