All Blues

by Marie Wathen

  I nearly growl, thinking about him pursuing Angel lecherously, like he does all the other women that he fucks and then dumps. Decks doesn’t do relationships, and he spends all of his time at night clubs seducing women who are agreeable with his womanizing ways. That’s not Angel, and I will not allow him to take advantage of her current situation.

  “I’m not sure why you’re coming to me with this,” I say, my statement coming out louder than I intended.

  “Because, you’re the closest thing that I have to a brother,” he claims while smiling.

  Every muscle in my body goes rigid with a feral need to slaughter. I ball my hands into painful fists in my lap, trying not to leap over the large desk in front of me. Hostilely, I suggest, “Perhaps, you should give her some time to sort out everything that is going on with her boyfriend.” He nods, his eyebrows pinching in while he studies me closely. “Wise told me that they’ve been together for a while. I don’t know her well, but what I have noticed of their behavior together at Holidays’, it seems like his guess of them being locked up tight is accurate.”

  He studies me seriously for a few beats. “You think that I’ll treat her like all the others?” I don’t respond, so he continues, “Angel is gorgeous as hell, and there isn’t a man alive who wouldn’t want to hook up with her.” I swallow hard, feeling my blood pressure skyrocketing with his claim. “But, I’ve gotten to know her over the past few months, and a one nightstand with her isn’t a possibility. She is better than that bullshit.”

  Never thought that I would ever admit it, but Decks is right. I am such a piece of shit for doing to Angel exactly what I want to kill Decks for being known for. She damn sure deserves better than me, but it will never be Decks. Not as long as I am alive.

  Chapter Ten

  After work, I detour to Holidays’ needing a drink before facing my empty house alone. Feelings of jealousy roll through me, wishing that I had a couple of children and a beautiful wife like my best friend, Jude. Never before meeting Angel, have I ever had that notion. After seeing her standing in my den and taking her to my bed, my lavish, stately home has become the loneliest place on this godforsaken planet. More than anything, I want her here. I would give everything to have her greeting me at the door with a look on her face that reveals how much she needs me at that very moment too.

  That is not true, the ‘rational’ right side of my brain screams at me. I can’t give up the one thing that has driven me for the past two years because of a woman that I know absolutely nothing about. Dammit, if that detail doesn’t tick me off too.

  Decks claiming that he wants Angel, not just for satisfying needs, but to make her his woman, makes me want to beat the hell out of someone. Bar fights don’t usually help resolve problems, but if some dumbass puts a pool stick in my hand tonight, I could wreck the fucking place.

  I park my Bentley in the back, and then enter through the rear door. The Friday night crowd isn’t too thick because most everyone is out of town celebrating Labor Day. Easily, I quickly spot North propping on the edge of the bar flirting with a couple of groupies.

  “Excuse me, ladies,” he says to them before stepping toward me. Offering a hand, he says, “Blues, didn’t know that you were joining us tonight.”

  We shake quickly, and I tell him, “Nah, I’m just here to have a few drinks, North.”

  “That’s chill, man.” He turns toward the ladies, wrapping an arm around one woman, the taller of the two brunettes, and placing a kiss against the side of her head. “Ladies, meet my brotha, Blues.”

  North’s woman and her friend grin at each other wickedly before turning their bright smiles at me. “I’m Arana, and this is Sera.” the other brunette says sliding onto a barstool on the other side of North, directly in front of me. Her eyes rake up and down the length of me, and then she professes seductively, “I know who you are.”

  “Is that right?” I state, catching the bartender’s attention before ordering, “A round of whiskeys.”

  “I don’t drink that shit,” Arana claims, crinkling her nose. “I’ll have a mojito.”

  Snobby bitch. The defiant tone in her voice feels like the strike of a Louisville slugger against my head. Accepting my drink, I shoot it, and then immediately ask for another. After several more rounds, North leaves us to play a set, and Arana drags me out onto the dance floor. The booze works its magic, settling my hostility about Decks and Angel. A part of me feels liberated and the tightening in my chest eases a bit. Immediately, Arana becomes aggressive with her hands, pulling me against her roughly so she can press her wiggly hips against my dick. Her eyes zero in on my mouth, and she licks her lips.

  “What the hell are you doing with my man?” Twisting around, I find Lourdes standing with her arms crossed while she stares down Arana. “Get your nasty claws off him.”

  Ready to fight, Arana pulls out of my arms, and I let her go willingly. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Your skanky smell better not have rubbed off on him, or we are about to have a problem. Because, I am the woman who will put your ridiculous ass six feet under if you ever come within a hundred feet of my boyfriend again.” She steps up to Arana, jabbing a pointed nail into her collarbone, which makes Arana wince, and then Lourdes growls, “Are. We. Clear?”

  I pull Lourdes’ arm away, escorting her out the door. “That was unnecessary.”

  “Why are you here without me and what the hell were you doing letting that bitch rub all over you? Who wears cheetah anyway? Cheap, imitation nobody, thinks that she can touch what is mine. What a hobag!”

  After crossing the parking lot, we stop at Lourdes’ car and I jerk open the door. “Go home.”

  “Do not speak to me that way, Ethan.” Her eyes blaze and she runs a hand around to the back of her neck, gripping fiercely. “What the hell was that? Are you screwing around on me with that sleazy whore?”

  Because I am irritated with her bossiness, frustrated since I haven’t had sex for too damn long, and because I know that the one I want will soon be screwing another man, I’m not in a very good place to deal with Lourdes’ shit right now. But mostly because I am drunker than I have been since I was in college, I blurt, “This is bullshit. I can come to this goddamn club, or go anywhere in the hell that I want without your permission. You don’t fucking own me, Lourdes.” I hold up a hand in front of her face with my thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “I am this damn close to ending it with you because of your bitchiness.” She drops her hand, and her upper lip twitches, like she is about to fire off a nasty reply, but I cut her off. “Get the hell over yourself. I am not fucking her or anyone.” I exhale loudly and add, “Because I have committed everything to you.”

  Her face morphs instantly, a smile streaking across her lips and her eyes twinkling happily. “Really?” she asks softly. Propping my ass against her car, I nod.

  Grabbing my head, she presses her mouth against mine, moving hungrily. I thread my fingers into her long blonde hair and tilt her head, giving into my needs and renewing her faith in us. Her hands fall from my hair, sliding down my neck and over my shoulders. All alone in the parking lot, we devour one another like our tastes might very well be our last meals in this life. I release my grip on her head and rub both hands down the middle of her back, drawing her closer and removing all space between us. Visions of another woman invade my intoxicated brain rapidly, but I shut that shit down immediately. Angel can’t ever be mine again, but Lourdes can be. Lourdes moans deeply in her throat before pulling away and dropping her head back to give me full access to her neck. She wants this desperately, and I need it. I could love her for just tonight, securing my position and finally earning Nelson’s complete trust.

  “Ethan,” she purrs, panting roughly while spearing the back of my arms with greedy claws. “Take me home.”

  Kissing her neck, jaw and lips for another minute, I slow my fervent assault and then stare into her blue eyes, rolling with lust. Silently, she pleads for me to finish back at my place what we’
ve started in a darkened bar parking lot. “I’ll leave my car and you can drop me back in the morning.” She nods with a smile, and I pull open the driver’s door, allowing her inside before I stumble into the passenger seat.

  After arriving at my house, I ask, “Would you care for a drink?” Staggering into the den, I step behind the bar and take a canter of Kentucky whiskey from the shelf before reaching for a tumbler and filling it.

  “Cristal, if it’s chilled.” Should have known that she wouldn’t join me in a simple glass of bourbon, I think. She sits on a barstool, studying me. I reach into the wine cooler and manage to uncork the champagne bottle without spilling any of the bubbly. “Mmm,” she moans, accepting the crystal flute with a proud smile set permanently on her red lips.

  I down half the glass of liquor and then quickly top it off before rounding the bar and joining her on the other side. This is it. All that I have surrendered has led to this precise moment in time. This night I light the fuse that will burn a path, leading toward my goal. I will not break from my plans. This must happen. Incarcerating Nelson for the crimes that he committed and believes that he got away with are so much more important to me than how opposed I am to giving into the dark bitch’s physical desires.

  Through dying eyes, I shut out thoughts of a perfect angel and black out the world so I can focus on this coldblooded imitation. Studying Lourdes’ beautiful face, I force down my apprehension and assure myself that I can do what must be done.

  “God,” Lourdes sighs after taking a tiny sip. “I have been going insane.”

  Arching an eyebrow, I ask, “About what?”

  “Us, being together.” She glances up from the bubbles in her glass. “You’ve been turning me down so much. I thought that we were never going to get here.” Moving her eyes around the room, she remarks, “I can’t wait until we’re married. I have so many plans for this place.” She continues blathering about everything that she plans to change when she becomes Mrs. Ethan Sloane and I tune her out.

  “Let’s go to the bedroom,” I suggest, after she finally takes a break.

  Lacing our fingers together, I step down from my seat and she comes willingly. Together, we stroll, hand-in-hand casually, down the long corridor toward the master suite. Once inside, I shut the door and then lean against it. Cinching my arms over my chest tightly, I bite on the tip of my right thumb and watch her cross the room toward my bed. Deliberately, she walks slowly to the far side, swaying her hips exaggeratingly. Reaching it, she places her champagne glass on the nightstand and then turns to face me. Her hands begin a slow caress starting in her hair, moving down her long neck to the navy dress, stopping over her large breasts. Grabbing them, she squeezes while locking her eyes with mine.

  I glance from her to my crotch, silently praying that the defiant son of a bitch will wake the fuck up this time. Lifting my drunken gaze, I watch as Lourdes’ hands continue moving downward. She reaches the hem of her short dress, and then slower than the pace she used to walk earlier, she gradually inches the dark blue dress up and over her head, displaying every fit inch of her creamy flesh. She drops the garment onto the floor, leaving her standing in a black satin bra with matching panties and stark white heels.

  Dreading the next hour, and deciding that I need a minute to get my shit together before forcing myself to fuck her, I cross the thirty feet over to the bathroom. “I’ll only be a few moments,” I guarantee her, glancing back over my shoulder. Offering an understanding wink, she beams proudly and then spins around, so that I get a good look at the see-through material shaping over her ass.

  Shutting myself away from her for a couple of moments, I hope that I can get my obstinate dick up so that we can seal this deal. It’s the beginning of the end, and I can almost taste the sweet success that will be served once this damn cartel is closed up for good. I fish out a gold, square packet from my wallet and stare at it hard. Then I look at the piece of shit glaring back at me in the mirror. “Stop fooling yourself. You are just as bad as that player, Decks.” Shaking my head, I correct, “Worse.”

  As I am preparing to rip open the condom wrapper, I hear a blood curling scream coming from Lourdes. I toss the Magnum onto the countertop and rush back into my bedroom. Lourdes is still standing in the exact spot that I left her no more than two minutes ago, but her passion has been replaced with fury. In one hand, she holds a piece of paper that appears to have come out of an envelope because it is tri-folded. Her other hand is cupped over her mouth as she scans the words in a letter that I have never seen before. A discarded envelope with my name on it lies, open and shredded at her feet. I glance to the nightstand and notice that a stack of mail has been sifted through. She’s going through my shit now?

  “What happened? Why did you scream?”

  Her ice blue eyes lift, meeting mine with an evil glare. I close the distance between us quickly and reach out for the paper. She thrusts it at me, dropping her other hand from her mouth to snap, “What in the fuck does this mean, Ethan Sloane?” Disregarding her superior attitude, I read the three large red letters, embossed at the top of the page above my name. In my inebriated state, my mind can’t process the information fast enough. This time when she speaks, her voice is a demonic shrill as she demands, “When exactly where you going to tell me that you have gonorrhea?”

  Staggered, I choke and my eyes bulge out of their sockets as I repeatedly read over the CDC’s warning that I must refrain from sexual activity while undergoing treatment, and that I should notify my sexual partners of the disease that I am currently carrying. Stupefied, I can only offer her, “I don’t know…”

  “Is this some kind of joke?” Upon her asking that question, I recall Jude promising that before I had to actually fuck her, he would help save my ass.

  Biting back laughter, I turn my attention to her while nodding my head slowly, and then I reply, “I do. I have gonorrhea. Forgive me. I should have told you sooner, but I got caught up in needing you so badly,” I plead. Her rage eases a bit with my confession. “Fortunately, I caught the STD early enough that it is still curable.” I smile proudly, and her eyeballs pop out of her head. “The doctor believes that I should be fine by the end of year. The blisters have almost completely stopped weeping.”

  Acting as though she may vomit, she snatches up her dress, storms over to the doorway and before running out, she swirls around to say, “I don’t even want to think about how you got…that.” Her eyes narrow onto my crotch briefly. “But for your sake, you better inform the whore, who infringed upon our relationship, that if she comes near you again, I will kill her.”

  After hearing the entry door slam shut, I bust into a full belly laugh and then quickly dial my best friend. The bastard is a goddamn genius, and I owe him big time for that save.

  Chapter Eleven

  After the awkwardness with Lourdes a couple of nights ago, I decide to skip brunch at Nelson’s today and opt for a drive over to Jude’s instead. On the way over, I pick up a case of his favorite beer. It’s not much, but I gotta thank him for rescuing me from the colossal mistake that I nearly made with that evil bitch. The rewards would have garnered me the information that I desire, so that I can arrest Nelson and end it all in next to no time. However, the consequences would have been equivalent to living an eternity in hell with Satan as my lover. At every turn, I would have been getting fucked up the ass.

  Letting myself into the house, I walk down the hallway toward the kitchen, located at the back of the middle-class size dwelling where I find Jude marinating some steaks. Without the pretenses of my insufferable mafia boss role, I feel like that I can breathe.

  “Hey, man,” Jude says while grinding salt over a platter with the several two-inch thick porterhouse cuts. “You brought the libations.” He smiles down at the dark blue box that I’m holding, and then points to the refrigerator. “Just fit it in anywhere that you can find a place. Natalie bought out Kroger’s yesterday and it is packed full.”

  Doing as he instructed, I ask,
“You want one now?”

  “Does a fat kid like cake? Hell yeah, I do.”

  “It’s kind of quiet today.” I pop the top on two beers, placing one beside his workstation and turning my bottle up, immediately gulping down half.

  Smiling brightly, he resumes working while nodding. “Probably the quietest it has been in weeks.”

  “Where is everyone?”

  He chuckles, pointing toward his next-door neighbor’s house. “Nat sent the kids over to the Hathaway’s. Thank God, too. Daddy needs some alone time.” His dark eyebrows waggle.

  “And Natalie?” I ask, before bringing up the topic that I need to discuss with him alone.

  His eyes lock on mine understandingly. “Out in the backyard.”

  I clear my throat. “I met with Cecena the other night.” Aware of the inside relationship that I have with the district attorney’s office, he nods while continuing to meal prep. “Something is up. I have her guarantee that if Rad decides to run his mouth that she will contact me first, but she was adamant that he will not be a problem.”

  Jude glances up at me briefly before flipping over the steaks and asking, “What is your gut telling you?”

  My gut is screaming that there is some fucked up shit going on and everything is spiraling out of control. But, I can’t dump all of that unfounded shit on him, yet. Scrubbing a hand across the back of my neck, I reply, “He must be an informant. If so, the DA will turn on me to bring down Nelson. It would advance her career monumentally, and any smart person would jump at the chance.”

  “He could be,” he agrees nodding his head. “I’m not discounting your instincts, but I just don’t see him narking, man. Believe me when I tell you that he is a cool guy. He has been with Decks for over a year, and not once did I ever get the feeling that he was shady.”