by A. E. Via
“Later.” Michaels whispered and pulled Judge’s beard until his mouth made contact with his again. It was too fast a kiss to enjoy so Judge snagged Michaels’ arm and yanked him back into his chest when he went to leave. The abrupt move made Michaels laugh a rich throaty chuckle. He licked Judge’s top lip first and whispered seductively. “So fuckin’ greedy,” right before he graced Judge with one more kiss, this one a second longer than the other and hurried around the corner a second before Switch appeared at the bathroom door with a towel wrapped low around his waist.
Switch’s voice revealed his aggravation when he spoke. “When are we going? I’m done with this shit, for real, man. Just take me to jail already. I don’t even give a fuck anymore.”
“That’s the spirit.” Judge said dryly, shoving Switch back towards his room with his arms full of his clothes. “You just sit there until I tell you I’m ready to go.”
Judge slammed the door and was walking back through the living room when his phone buzzed on the table in front of the sofa. He’d never forgotten about his cell. He could’ve missed calls last night. But everything seemed to take a backseat when it came to Austin Michaels. Judge was smiling when he bent and picked up his phone. His mood perked up even more when he saw it was Linda. He slid the green receiver over. “Hey, Linda.” He said sounding happier than he had in years.
He listened as Linda cried into his ear. His smile sliding off his face like mud. He could hear what she was saying but he didn’t want to believe it. Please. Not right now. Judge dropped the phone at the second insistence that he get to the hospital right away. He only had a little time. How the hell was he going to get to get there fast? It was almost five hours to Gainesville. Judge closed his eyes and tried to take a breath, but it was hard. He felt like his soul was being sucked out of him. His father was dying. Dying. And he was in this hotel, laid up with a man instead of handling his fucking business. Judge was getting angry. How could he be so stupid? If he’d did this on his own, and not taken Michaels with him, he’d have had Switch in Atlanta already. If Michaels’ rogue ass wouldn’t have stuck his face in the line of fire, they wouldn’t have had to make an emergency stop and they’d be just outside of Gainesville right now. This couldn’t be happening. Now he wasn’t going to be there to hold his father’s hand for his last breath. Judge choked at the thought. He’d fucked up big time. Never-a-fuckin’-gain. He ran his hands through his hair, looking left and right, completely disoriented as he rushed to throw his few items back into his duffle bag.
Michaels came out the room fully dressed. His smile was as wide as Judge’s was just a few minutes ago. “God called, he said we’re all clear to head back to Atlanta. So we can hit the road and be -” Michaels stopped when he saw Judge hefting his bag. “Did God or Day call you too?”
Judge didn’t answer. He whistled for Bookem but forgot that he was closed inside Switch’s room. He went and burst through the door, urging Book to come with him and of course he did. Switch was looking confused but he didn’t move of the bed.
When he marched back into the room to throw Bookem’s dog bowl and food in his bag, Michaels finally grabbed him and turned him. Judge glared and Michaels threw his hands up as if showing he wasn’t a threat. “Babe. What is going on?”
Judge bristled even more at the term ‘babe.’ “I gotta go. Tell God he can send someone for you or you can rent a car and take the bounty back to Atlanta, I have to get to Gainesville right now. I don’t have time to sit here and fuckin’ play anymore.” Judge fumed.
Chapter Thirty-three
Michaels was trying to keep up. He’d only left the room for a couple minutes and when he came back, Judge was frantic and furious. Looking in the room at Switch, nothing looked out of the ordinary there.
“Whoa, whoa. Playing. Judge is it your father? I’m so sor -”
“Save it.” Judge cut him off.
Michaels had seen firsthand how much Judge’s father meant to him. Of course he was upset but he wanted to show Judge that he could be there for him.”
“Gainesville is on the way. Let me drive you.” Michaels turned to get his stuff but Judge’s next words pierced his heart like a hot blade cutting through butter.
“No. I’m done with you.” Judge had said it with such venom but he paused at the door as if he hadn’t meant it to sound like it did, and oh how Michaels hoped he didn’t. He hurried over to him determined not to let the embers simmering between them fizzle and burn out before the fire even got started. He knew he had feelings for Judge and he was positive the man was feeling for him too, but they were venturing into unchartered waters… and it was scary, but Michaels always looked fear in the face and flicked it off.
He was running and wincing as his bare feet moved over the rough asphalt. He tried to keep up with Judge while he dialed his Sargent’s number. As soon as Syn picked up, he barked that he needed immediate transport and that Judge had a family emergency and disconnected the call. Judge had lifted the back seat and let Bookem in and threw his bag in the front seat when Michaels reached him and tried to calm his racing heart.
“Judge look at me, please.”
“I gotta go. I have no time. None!” Judge yelled, slamming the passenger door hard enough to knock the few remnants of the side mirror he had left to the ground.
“I’m so sorry about your dad, babe. I am. I will be in Gainesville as soon as I drop Switch off, I promise. Not a second later.” Michaels saw Judge shaking his head ‘no’, but he kept talking. “You don’t have to go through this alone.”
“That’s right! Alone! That’s how I do shit! That’s how I handle my business. Alone!” Judge yelled and shouldered past Michaels over to the driver side. “If I hadn’t had got caught up in your immature bullshit I’d have been where I was needed.”
Michaels staggered back like Judge had punched him in the chest. Immature. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, trying to be mindful that Judge was hurting, extremely. “I understand you’re mad… and scared. But you can’t tell me you weren’t into this!” Michaels’ tone was elevating but not from anger or fear, but from hurt too. Judge was hurting the hell out of him and he didn’t like the feeling. He wanted it… no, he needed it, gone. Michaels pointed back to their room. “Think about ten minutes ago, Judge. Think about how you felt when you looked at me, just ten minutes ago.”
Judge sighed climbing into his seat and Michaels hoped he had gotten through but he was wrong.
“That’s why I don’t look at men like that. It was a momentary lapse in my judgment that will never happen again. You had needs, I had needs, we caught each other at that time. You might not… but I should know better. Because fucked up shit happens, every damn time you think you can trust someone.” Judge sneered at Michaels. “You never wanted this anyway. You’re here to fix your fuck up and impress your Lieutenants. It was never about me. I was just -”
“That’s a goddamn lie and you know it!” Michaels yelled cutting off Judge’s craziness.
Judge slammed the door in his face and burned rubber out of the parking spot so fast, Michaels had to leap back to keep from getting run over. He watched Judge peel out into the street almost clipping a couple cars as he fishtailed between two lanes. He could hear Bookem barking loudly before the sound faded completely. It was done. His body muscles twitched like a thousand bees stung his heart. He squeezed his eyes shut at the knowledge that he’d never see Judge again.
His phone buzzed in his hand and when he saw it was God, he almost didn’t want to answer. When he connected the call, he told his boss about the phone call Judge had received - of course leaving out their lover’s spat - and he let him know Judge was already gone.
God informed him that Ruxs and Green would be there as soon as they could and to sit tight. The call ended and Michals rolled his eyes. Not Ruxs and Green. Hopefully they make it back to Atlanta without blowing up a neighborhood or supermarket first. Michaels got back to the room and pulled the door up but didn’t let it close. Cl
osing meant final. He didn’t want to accept that yet. He leaned his hot forehead against the cool metal of the door. He was on his third deep breath when he heard the clink of metal before he felt the plastic bag slip over his face. All the training in the world couldn’t prepare you for the actual feeling of someone trying to suffocate you. He panicked and grabbed for the bag that was cinched tight around his throat. He heard the shackles rattling on Switch’s wrist as he was slung back and forth like a ragdoll. He kicked out trying to buck death off of him as he was dragged further into the room. He uselessly grasped at furniture, at the wall. He knew he was losing precious time and oxygen. Switch slung and thrashed him back and forth like a crocodile with his prey. The bastard was strong and Michaels was getting weaker by the second. Switch flung him hard to the right, knocking Michaels off his feet, the side of his already bruised face hitting the corner of the wooden coffee table, like a boulder hitting the ground. He took that pain. Breathing was getting harder and harder as he sucked the plastic into his mouth, the bag inflating and deflating with every breath he tried to force in vain. He coughed hard, coughed out fear and regret, and quick on its heels was pain rising like lava out of a volcano while his lungs burned with need for air. Sweat drenched his face and his breathing became rugged…desperate.
His mind began to own the sensation of dread, of being alone, of dying young. His fate now controlled by someone else. In the blink of an eye he’d gone from feeling cherished to a man completely powerless.
“Die. Just die already.” Switch panted close to him. Close. Very close. Death whispered in his ear, told him he was in charge now. Michaels scrambled harder, fleeing from that dark voice. This was his last hoorah. With all the momentum he had left, he reared forward and thrust his head back as hard as could. The sound of a shrill scream barely registered in his thudding ears. He was a loose. Michaels scrambled to yank the bag from over his head and gulped and gagged while his lungs filled with oxygen. He was bent over spitting and choking on his own saliva when he was grabbed around his midsection and charged until his back slammed into the entertainment stand, knocking the little breath he had in his lungs back out of them. The few decorations that sat on top of the piece of furniture tumbled down around them. Switch was fucking rabid, he was snarling and growling at him while he fought to regain the upper hand. Michaels drove his elbow down onto Switch’s back, but knew he wasn’t doing enough damage. Switch punched him in the ribs and Michaels yelled out in agony, the name Judge on the edge of his lips. But there was no partner… only him. He saw the tall red vase that sat on a desk to his right, he grabbed it and took another hard hit to his sternum before he crashed that glass over Switch’s head. The man dropped hard at his feet. If it wasn’t for the muffled groan, he would’ve thought he’d killed him. He should.
Michaels’ blood boiled the longer he was able to catch his breath. Images of Judge filled his mind, of him fucking him and then leaving. Almost getting him killed. His vision blurred with bright shades of red and violet and his skin tingled like someone was poking at him with an electric wand. He kicked Switch in the stomach but it did nothing to quench his rage. He yelled out and kicked again, this time driving his heel down onto Switch’s jaw. The man was out cold but Michaels didn’t want to stop. He kicked until his bare foot started to hurt. He probably had broken toes now, but the liquid heat that flowed through his blood masked any pain he was feeling.
He went into his room, grabbed his 9mm off the nightstand and another set of handcuffs out of his jeans pocket and went back into the living room. Switch was in the exact same position. He heaved with exhaustion while he dragged Switch’s deadweight into the bathroom. He tossed him inside and cuffed each wrist to the plumbing behind the toilet.
Exertion leaving him fast, he stumbled out the bathroom, hitting the wall. He slid down the abrasive surface, his elbows propped up on his knees, gun hanging loosely in his hand, his head resting on his chest. Exhausted. His face burned, his head throbbed with each breath he took. A concussion for sure. His ribs sore and bruised. He was fucked up for real now. It felt just like he’d gone head to head with a murdering, desperate man that was fighting to keep his freedom.
Michaels head was still hanging low, his eyes heavy almost to the point of drifting when he heard the metal clanking of Switch’s cuffs. He snapped his head up and pointed his weapon in the bathroom. Aimed his own death maker right between Switch’s bloodshot eyes. “Blink, and my face will be the last fuckin’ thing you see.” Michaels hissed around the pain in his head. He sat right there on the floor in an angry-glare showdown. Not bothering to get some ice for his head, a cloth for the blood that had run down his temple, nothing, refusing to let Switch out of his sight again.
Switch didn’t move, didn’t utter a word. They stayed like that for hours until the hotel door was kicked in and he saw his brothers… his team. Ruxs, Green and Ro stormed in taking in the destruction of the room. Ro came and dropped down at his side tilting his head up to assess the damage.
“Motherfucker.” Ro snapped and turned to face Switch. “Did you do this goddamnit?!”
Michaels was trying to work his way off the floor, every move making him want to yell out to Jesus for mercy. Ruxs and Green first ensured the room was cleared and came over to a seething Ro.
“What the fuck?” Green yelled looking at Michaels’ battered form, his handsome face frowned and twisted with rage. They all turned and looked at Switch and released a cacophony of fury and asswhuppings’ that only a band of brothers could give.
Switch yelled and screamed as six pairs of heavy-duty boots pounded him into the cold linoleum floor. Michaels enjoyed the sound for a few more moments before he ordered his team to stop. He reached for Ruxs’ arm. “Don’t let the fucker make us lose our badges.”
The three of them stepped away their faces masks of unadulterated wrath. Green and Ruxs came over to help him to the couch while Ro dragged and half threw Switch towards the door. The man looked just like Michaels felt.
“You need to go to the ER, man?” Ruxs asked, gently lowering him into the cushions.
Michaels shook his head ‘no,’ while Green gathered his things. Ruxs kept persisting as he helped him hobble outside. “Michaels you look like hell man. Day will kick my ass if I let you bleed out in my truck, dude.”
“I’m fine. There’s no internal injuries. It’s just a bump on the head and some bruised ribs. We all know it looks worse than it is.” Michaels gritted out, trying to really sound okay.
They all loaded into the three row unmarked Suburban. Ro in the far back with Switch, his shotgun laying across his lap, his sparkling blue eyes daring Switch to make a move.
“Baby. Tell him we should go to the ER first.” Ruxs said to Green when he climbed in the passenger seat.
Green looked back at Michaels in the second row before turning back to his partner. “He says he’s okay. Besides, God will make him to go to the hospital when we get back anyway.”
What’s the point? Modern medicine can’t cure a broken heart.
Chapter Thirty-four
Judge sat in a private family waiting room in North Florida Regional Medical Center at six in the morning, while the funeral home made their way over to pick up his father. His father had held on for seven more hours, long enough for him to get there. His dad held his and Linda’s hands through most of the afternoon until they both encouraged him through a river of tears to let go and rest peacefully. Judge held Linda for hour’s neither of them able to leave the hospital. The funeral home couldn’t come until that morning so they waited until the man they’d loved was properly cared for.
Linda cried quietly on his shoulder while the hospital reverend sat on her other side, holding her hand and murmuring a quiet prayer. After he finished, he gave them both a card for grief counseling provided by his church. Judge felt raw and wrung out. He hadn’t cried since Brent’s funeral over twenty years ago.
“So what’d you think of your father’s words, sweetheart?” Lind
a said softly.
God he didn’t want to think about his father’s quietly spoken final words right now. “Linda, please.” Judge said roughly.
“Okay, okay. I’m not trying to upset you. I just love you so much. I want you to be happy is all. That’s what me and your father always wanted.” Linda sniffled and rubbed at her nose with some tissue. “You were so content on being a loner and we gave you your space, but please Judge. Listen to your father.”
She stood and left the room probably going to join her oldest daughter out in the hospital grounds walking Bookem for him. Judge had his face in his hands when one of the floor nurses stuck her head in and whispered that the funeral home was there. He stood stiffly, not bothering to stretch or pop the kinks in his back. Any other pain was better than what he was feeling right now. He stood off to the side while they loaded his father’s body in the van to be taking to the home where he’d be cremated and Judge would spread his ashes on his land, as he wished.
Linda hugged Judge one more time. “I’ll be staying with Molly. You know she moved to Virginia Beach a couple years ago, so I think it’s best for me to be with my girls and my grandbabies to help me through this.”
Judge nodded. Not trusting his voice right now. She balanced on her tiptoes and kissed him on his scratchy cheek. “I love you so much, sweetheart. You call me as soon as you get home, and I’ll be expecting a visit soon.”
Judge wasn’t sure if the slight lift of his mouth came across as a smile or not but Linda turned and left, waving sadly as Molly pulled out the parking lot. He was alone. Really alone. The reality hitting him so hard he had to sit on the bench behind him. If only… if only he hadn’t. “Fuck, Book. What did I do?” Bookem wined and sat his large head on Judge’s knee. They didn’t move until after dark.