The Lucky Bullet

by H. S. Strickland

  “Jones, you know I can’t tell you that man. You know I won’t break her trust like that. She told me that last night because, for some reason she trusts me. I won’t break her trust like that fucking ass hat did. I’m sorry. Just give her time, okay man?” Cade muttered with defeat in his voice. I hadn’t realized that by putting my trust in him last night that I would be causing a rift between them.

  I walked out of the hallway and entered the kitchen before they could say anything else. I didn’t want them fighting. I first walked over to Cade, and stood on my toes to give him a hug. I pulled at his neck, so he’d bend his head.

  I whispered in his ear, “thank you.”

  He pulled his neck back and the look in his eyes told me he understood what I meant. I walked straight to the coffee pot and grabbed a cup and started to pour myself a cup before I looked at Mace.

  He looked at me with an unreadable facial expression. He shook his head as if to clear it then asked “Forget something babe?”

  I looked at him in confusion. I glanced down at myself making sure I had pants on. When I saw that I did I looked back up at him. He had a smirk on his face as he crooked his finger at me, beckoning me to come to him. I was a little scared of what he was going to do when I walked over to him, but did it anyway. Once I reached him he tugged the strings on my robe and positioned me to stand between his legs. He leaned up a little and pulled my robe collar until our faces were lined up. He touched his mouth to mine, his head tilting upwards. The kiss started off slow and sweet before his tongue swept across my bottom lip, prying my mouth open. I opened willingly, savoring the taste of his tongue; it tasted slightly spicy, with a hint of coffee. Faintly he groaned, but I was too lost in this kiss to take note. It just turned me on even more.

  He pulled me into his lap so my legs were around him and the chair then deepened the kiss. I was getting more turned on than I have ever been before. Holy shit, I've never felt like this. Trying to urge the kiss to something more I shifted against the massive erection I felt right under my pussy. I started to move against his cock, but I heard a throat clear somewhere in the background. I ripped my mouth away from his, panting heavily, and looked into his eyes. They were swirling with desire, mirroring my own. I looked behind us at Cade. He looked slightly uncomfortable, but smug as well. I jumped off of Mace’s lap, feeling my cheeks heat up, but Mace didn’t let me get far. He hooked an arm around my waist and tugged me back down on his lap.

  I was sitting in Mace’s lap drinking my coffee while they finished their conversation, something about their cases. I just sat there and thought about last night, and opening up to Cade. I felt freer now that I had told somebody. It felt good to let go of everything that I had kept bottled up for years. After Mace and Cade were done talking, I got up and got ready to go get Liam from Nanny’s. While I was getting ready my thoughts drifted off to the kiss Mace and I shared. I had never reacted like that to anybody. I had never been with anybody other than Luke, and it was all forced. I didn’t know why I allowed him to pull me into his lap, and why the hell I humped him like a whore. I had no answers for any of the questions I was asking myself, so I continue getting ready.

  I looked at Mace and cocked an eyebrow, “You ready for a ride, baby?” I asked.

  He just raised an eyebrow at me. I jumped in my 'Stang and cranked her up, loving the way she sounded, deep and throaty. He slid in the passenger seat and threw his seat belt on. I tossed my baby in reverse and raced down the street toward Nanny’s house. I looked over at Mace after we had made it a mile or so down the road and he looked a little scared. I laughed at him and he looked over at me.

  “Woman, watch the damn road! You are going to kill us!”

  What he didn’t know was, back in high school, I raced cars like these every weekend for about two years. I slowed down a little, weaving in and out of traffic.

  I looked over at him, “You don’t have to worry about me killing us, I used to drag race back in high school for about two years. I am queen of fast cars, honey.” He looked skeptical, but remained quiet the rest of the way to my Nanny’s house.

  As soon as we pulled up in the gravel road my Nanny lived on, Liam was already racing out of the house screaming “Mommy!” He came running full force at my legs, almost knocking me down when he reached me.

  I bent down and hug him saying, “Oh baby boy, I’ve missed you so much.”

  He leaned up and gave me kisses all over before tugging me toward the front door. He looked back up at Mace and thought for a minute then said, “I guess you can come too. You need to meet my Nanny!” Tugging on his hand as well. When we got to the front door, Nanny was there waiting.

  “You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady. First off, who is this tall drink of water? Second, why did your brother rush over here to drop Liam off at an ungodly hour, then leave out of here like his pants were on fire?” She demanded, with a hand cocked on her hip. Well, I guess Mace gets to meet my Nanny now.

  Chapter 11

  Mace

  It had been a couple of days since Ray’s house got trashed. Nothing else happened since then, thankfully. Araylia was still staying with Cade, and it was starting to fuck with my head. I didn’t mind her being close with someone, I was glad she could open up to someone, but I wished like hell it were me. She hadn’t said anything about what that ass hat of an ex did to her. She had only talked to Cade. She and Liam were coming over in a little while to have dinner with me. I was excited to be having dinner with her, but I didn’t want to be excited. The last time I was excited about something, I came home to a dead family. That was the last time I ever got my hopes up. I remembered it like it was yesterday, it haunted me everywhere I went.

  I was peddling home on my bike; I had just talked to a recruiter for the Marines. I really wanted to go into the Marines when I turned 18, which was only two years away. I was only two houses away from ours, but I could tell something was wrong, I could feel it in my gut. My gut feeling was right when I rounded the corner and saw the ambulances and police cars. I started peddling faster, feeling the burning in my lungs, the burning in my calves and thighs. When I reached our house I threw the bike down and went running. The police caught me at the last second when I was five feet from the front door. I fought as hard as I could, but my 16 year old scrawny body was no match for five police officers. They took me down and held me to the grass. I started screaming for somebody to tell me what was going on. One lone police man looked down at me, he said “Son, you don’t want to go in there and see that...” Everything slowly started sinking in, something was horribly wrong. I looked to my left and saw two stretchers with bodies on them, covered by body bags. I started thrashing, screaming at the top of my lungs. There were only two body bags to my left. I wanted to know where the third one was. I was so exhausted, tired to the bone. I just wanted to find my sister. When I got tired I quit thrashing, I looked to my right. There was some sort of bag there, almost a trash bag, but not quite. I stared at it for a long time, I don’t know why. I just felt the urge to keep staring at it. I saw another official bring something to the bag. When I saw what he was putting in the bag I started screaming all over again, I couldn't stop. I didn't even know I was screaming anymore, eventually everything went black.

  I snapped out of my nightmare when I heard the doorbell ring. With sweat glistening my forehead, I opened the door to a smiling Ray and an antsy Liam. I mustered up a smile and pushed the door open wider to invite them in. Araylia must have known something was wrong, her smile started to fade a little while she pushed Liam into the house. She asked me if she could put on a movie for him, I nodded and went back to the kitchen to finish stirring our food.

  Ray came back a minute later, and didn’t waste any time, “What’s wrong? When we walked in, your face was as white as a Casper’s,” she said.

  I pushed off the counter and stalked toward her; I bent down and lightly touched my mouth to hers. She sighed and pushed closer to me, wrapping her arms around my neck
. I deepened the kiss, tracing her tongue with mine. She tasted of chocolate and mints, it was a wild combination but I couldn’t get enough. I hoisted her up on the kitchen counter, taking everything she was giving me. I started to slide my hand toward hear ass when I heard footsteps. I pulled away fast because I knew Liam would be in here in three...two...one...

  “Mommy, are we gonna have dinner with Mr. Mace yet? I’m hungry.” He complained. Ray looked at me and quirked an eyebrow.

  “It's almost done buddy, just got to wait on it to warm up some more.” He looked up at me with a curious look on his face, and I knew what was next.

  “Are you my mommy’s boyfriend? She has never had a boyfriend, she needs one. She’s always at work or with me.” He wrinkled up his nose, thinking. I looked at Ray.

  She had her head bowed and I could see around her curtain of hair that her cheeks were reddening. After a few seconds she looked at Liam and said, “That’s not true baby, I see Nanny and your uncles all the time. Mommy doesn’t need a boyfriend; I want to spend all my time with you.” She hopped down from the counter and gave him a kiss on the head.

  “Yes. I am your mom’s boyfriend, buddy. Are you okay with that?” I asked. Both of their heads snapped up fast at the sound of my voice.

  Liam spoke first, “Oh! That’s awesome! Does that mean I can ride your motorcycle? I really want to ride it. I want one when I get as big as you are!” He exclaimed.

  His mother looked over at me and gave me a death glare. I knew I was in trouble with that one, but there was no point in lying to him. He was going to find out sooner or later, might as well make it sooner.

  “You have to ask your mama if you can ride, bud. I can’t make the decision on that one.”

  Liam looked toward Ray with a pleading look on his face; he began bouncing up and down on his toes with his hands folded under his chin.

  Ray sighed, “Maybe in a little while baby, why don’t we eat first? Go in the bathroom, wash your hands and get ready for dinner, okay?” She said. He looked at her and pouted at little then ran to the bathroom to wash his hands.

  “I want to know what was wrong with you when I got here. Don’t think I don’t know that kiss was to stall.” She quirked a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me. I just looked at her, I have never told anyone what happened, and I didn't want to start now.

  “Nothing just had a flashback to some stuff I don’t want to remember.” I grunted out my answer.

  Her eyes softened and I knew she understood. She wasn’t going to press me for answers. Which I was grateful for. I wasn’t going to talk about that, at all.

  I got out three plates and made them for us. I had made my mother’s recipe of Parmesan chicken. We talked about Liam, and what he liked and didn’t like. What his favorite foods were, his favorite toys and shows. Just anything about Liam, I learned for the 20 minutes we sat at my dinner table. He was such a unique little boy, I could see why Ray loved him so much, I had only met him a couple of times and I was already in love.

  Ray wanted to do the dishes so I left them to it while I went to get the bike out. During dinner Liam asked Ray again if he could ride again, and she relented. He was one happy boy. I got it out from under the bike cover, and straddled my baby. Turning her on, I waited a minute for it to warm up. I thought about having Ray and her son in my house, eating dinner with me, doing my dishes. I liked the thought of having both of them in the house. It comforted me for some reason. I knew to go with my gut and that’s exactly what I was going to do. Just go with the flow.

  I liked Ray, she was an easy person to be around, plus she was sexy as fuck. God, I just wanted to bury myself in her already, but I had to wait till I knew she was comfortable with it. I was a somewhat patient man, I could wait, but when I did bury myself in that pussy, she was going to know who was fucking her. She was going to enjoy it, and immediately come back for seconds. I knew once I had one taste of her, there was no way I was going to be able to stop. You could just tell that about her.

  I went back in the side door off the garage, and into the kitchen to get Liam. They didn't see me, so I stood watching them for a minute. Liam was on the counter, drying the dishes for his mama. They were signing some silly song about washing dishes. Araylia was swaying her hips a little bit, shaking her ass, turning me the fuck on again. Dammit. This woman was giving me the worst case of fucking blue balls. I must have groaned or made some noise, because Ray screamed and turned around so fast that I didn’t even see her do it. She was standing in front of Liam, who was on the counter, in a defensive stance. She had the plate held out in front of her, like it was going to protect her.

  When she saw it was me standing behind them, she visibly relaxed. I stared at her with a question mark written all over my face, I was sure. I slowly walked toward her, noticing her cowering a little. I took the plate out from between us, and looked down at her. I took her face between my hands, noting how small her face was next to my big hands, “it’s okay babe, nothing is going to hurt you while I'm here.”

  She looked up at me and blinked a few times, as if to clear her vision. Her cheeks immediately flushed a bright red. She looked up at me and whispered, “I’m so sorry...”

  I went to respond, but she turned to Liam and asked if he was ready to ride. He looked around, as if he didn't know what just happened, and had a bright smile on his face. He reached up to his mom so he could get off the counter. I reached around Ray and grabbed Liam under the arms and hoisted him on my hip. “You ready to have an awesome ride, little dude?” I asked.

  He looked up at me with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face, “Heck yes! I can’t wait to ride. Mom says I can’t get a motorcycle till I move out, but if I sweet talk her, she’ll let me get one!” I laughed at his exuberance. I told him to go wait in the garage. He jumped off my hip and ran toward the door. I turned around to Araylia. “Babe,” I grunted. She turned around and looked up, but was looking at a spot over my shoulder, not at my eyes.

  “Babe, look at me,” I said in a stern voice. She looked at me.

  “You have no reason to be embarrassed; I know what it’s like to be scared, okay? No matter what happens, you don’t ever have to be embarrassed around me. So don’t start hiding from me, get it?” I said softly.

  She looked up at me like she was seeing me for the first time. She ran to me and grabbed me around the waist. Hugging me tight. Squeezing me. Taking the comfort I was so willing to give to her. I felt my chest get tight. With what? I didn’t know. I felt that there was a vice around my heart. I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing back. I kissed the top of her head, told her there was wine in the fridge, and to have a glass and relax.

  She looked up at me and wrinkled her nose, “Do you have any beer? I would much rather have a beer.” I laughed at her and told her there was some in the fridge. She nodded and got on her tip toes, gave me the lightest kiss on the lips.

  She whispered there, “Be careful with my baby, okay? Precious cargo and all that.”

  I nodded then deepened the kiss. When it got good, I pulled away and walked away and out the door. I got Liam a helmet then strapped it on, put one leg over the bike, turned at the waist and picked Liam up and put him on the back. I explained to him to hold on tight to me, never let go. He just kept nodding his head up and down.

  Before we took off down the street, he looked at me and whispered, “Thank you Mason. For everything with my mommy, and taking me for a ride.”

  Chapter 12

  Ray

  I heard Liam and Mace take off out of the driveway. When I couldn’t hear the rumble of the motorcycle anymore I took a seat on the couch and sipped on my beer. I didn’t know why I freaked out earlier. It was beginning to wrack my nerves, always doing something around Mace. I didn’t want to be the freak girl he’s kind of dating. I had so many problems within my head and my heart that I didn’t know how long this would last with us. He would eventually leave; he wouldn’t want to stay with somebody who is so fucked up. I had so many
issues; there was no way to overcome all of them. What Luke did to me was unfathomable. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. I wished I could just forget everything that happened to me and go back to the Araylia before Luke. That would never happen though. The only reason I was grateful of Luke was that I got Liam out of it all. Liam had been my safe haven through everything.

  Every time I felt down or lost, I knew just holding my baby boy would make it better. I sat on the couch drinking my beer, just mulling things over in my head, till I heard the rumble of the motorcycle again. A second later I heard Liam’s excited voice and a smile in Mace’s voice as he replied to Liam.

  Liam rounded the corner and noticed me staring at the blank TV screen Mace had on the wall. Liam tilted his head to the side, and scrunched up his face like he usually did when he was thinking.

  Finally he looked at me with a bit of a brighter face; he crawled in my lap and plopped down. He leaned into my ear and whispered, “It’s okay mom, I’ll cuddle with you. Cuddles always make me feel better.”

  After he finished his sentence, he did exactly as he said, cuddling up to me and hugging me so tight. Bringing me back to the present, knowing I was safe, knowing that everything would be fine as long as I had Liam. He knew I had ‘episodes’ and he has never quit on me, never asked questions. Just cuddled up to me along for the horrible ride he took. I hated feeling like I was bringing him down with me, but his love is the only one that has brightened my day.

  After I had completely snapped out of my head, I looked around for Mace and saw him heading toward the mouth of the hall that holds his bedrooms. Looking puzzled I’m sure, I kissed Liam on the top of the head and followed Mace. He must have heard me coming because he turned around and looked at me.

  After a minute, he stated, “You’re staying here. Don’t ask questions, don’t tell me no. It’s not negotiable.”