Four Mercenaries - The Complete Collection

by K. A. Merikan

  “Sorry, Daddy, but I didn’t want to wake you up!”

  Pyro snorted and stroked Boar’s arm, yawning as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep last night. “He knew exactly what he was doing.”

  Tank smirked and delivered a much harsher slap. This one actually elicited a yelp. “You knew I wasn’t sleeping.”

  “Won’t happen again!”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it. Now get us all drinks. Place your orders, guys,” Tank said and urged Clover to stand. Boar inhaled the scents of food when he took in the red blotches left behind on the milky ass and thighs.

  But his attention soon drifted upwards, to several long, dark scars over Clover’s back and thighs, and the brand on his shoulder—just like the one Boar had. He ran his fingers over it with a sigh, but not knowing how to even start the conversation, he smiled at Clover instead.

  “I’ll have a cappuccino.”

  “Black, with three spoonfuls of sugar,” Pyro said, leaning forward to study the wealth of hot and cold dishes laid out for them on dainty tableware. “Make it strong.”

  Drake gently caught Clover’s hand when the boy passed him on the way to the kitchenette, but what he whispered couldn’t have been his drinks order, because it made Clover brighten up.

  The pert buttocks jiggled as Clover ran behind the counter and started the coffee machine. This view remained a source of solace for Boar’s throbbing brain. He was about to put some eggs on his plate when a loud thud made him recoil with hands already balling into fists. A numbness squeezed his head, but when silence stretched, he sensed several pairs of eyes following his every movement.

  Was this what he’d been reduced to? A man who couldn’t live with others and was afraid of his own shadow?

  He cleared his throat and quickly filled his plate, hoping the inquisitive atmosphere would just blow over.

  “So… You wanna tell us more about what happened?” Tank asked. “Drake and Clover might want to share in their own time. The gist is that they were tortured but managed to escape a few hours later. When Pyro and I got there, you were already gone.”

  Boar clenched his fork. If this was only about him, he’d have cut this topic short and never returned to it again, but the others deserved to know what had gone on in the past months, no matter how much it hurt to remember. He took a deep breath and spoke.

  “I tried to run three times, and they’d starved me for it. Then, when I was too weak to fight, they beat me. But I knew I needed to survive, so I trained, and I ate the way they wanted me to, so I could win all the fights.”

  Pyro watched him in silence, his head resting on Boar’s shoulder. His eyes were red, and he didn’t have his usual energy, but Boar hoped he hadn’t driven himself as far into cocaine town as he had last time.

  Clover cleared his throat, returning with a tray of cups. “Did you really kill a bear?”

  Boar swallowed and traced the scars on his face. “Yeah. She gave me those.”

  Clover put down the beverage and touched Boar’s face, looking like the same angel Boar had fallen in love with, no matter what he’d been through. Only his dyed hair betrayed that something had changed.

  Boar pulled Clover into his lap. “I could either fight or die at that point, and when I thought about all of you, about Clover and Drake being trapped somewhere, I knew I had to fight so that maybe one day I’d get an opportunity to run.”

  Clover curled up in his lap, one arm around Boar’s shoulders as he reached for a chocolate croissant. “That’s insanity.”

  “I don’t think they assumed I’d win against the bear.” Boar opened his mouth when he realized Clover wanted to feed him. The touch of Clover’s skin against his made being here more real and calmed him down more than even the strongest pills could have.

  He opened his mouth and took a bite of the pastry, relaxing into the soothing touch. Pyro picked up a load of pancakes topped with everything one might dream of and started filling his plate without a word. He’d heard it all last night anyway, and after even more hours off his stimulants, he was likely not feeling all that great. Boar rubbed his lover’s nape while chewing on the delicious pastry, hand delivered by the prettiest of boys.

  “They had no idea who they were dealing with,” Clover said and nuzzled Boar’s cheek.

  The words tickled Boar’s ego, but still made him uncomfortable. “I wish I didn’t have to kill a poor bear. She’d clearly been through a lot, not in the best shape. It was awful.”

  Pyro groaned. “Really? You had to fight an animal, but you’re worried about its life story?” he asked with annoyance before rubbing his sweaty forehead.

  Drake and Tank looked at him, their eyes betraying guilt, but Boar knew they couldn’t have done anything to stop Pyro from getting his hands on the drugs that helped him forget. It had been his modus operandi in difficult times since Boar had first met him, and the truth was that Boar was only ever able to make Pyro stop because Pyro wanted to do better for Boar’s sake.

  Things would surely change now that he was back.

  “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  The food was heaven on Boar’s tongue, and he had a pretty, naked Clover in his lap. That was all that mattered. Work on Pyro had started last night with a serious conversation, and they’d need to take it one day at a time from now on.

  Clover kissed Boar’s temple, making him melt. Gentle touches were one of the things he’d missed most. Living around savages had hardened him in ways he hated. How was he to adjust to being back in the safety of his family?

  “We investigated the stupidest leads to find you,” Clover said.

  “And now you’re finally here,” Tank added from above an untouched egg white omelette. “We will take as much time as you need, Boar. I know it must be tough to go back to—”

  “He’s fine. Look at him,” Pyro snapped, ready to protect Boar’s honor like a sicced dog.

  Boar met Clover’s gaze. “I just need to get into my new-old routine. That’s all.”

  Clover stroked the short hair on Boar’s head. “There’s no routine. We’ll have to establish a new one. We live out of trailers now.”

  Boar frowned. “Then let’s go back home and recuperate. I bet you guys are sick of all the travelling.” Which was his fault.

  The silence at the table was weird. Even Tank looked out of the window.

  Pyro shot up, almost knocking his coffee over. “Yes, I burned down the house, okay?! I said I’ll pay back!”

  Heat flushed Boar’s face, and he leaned back, feeling as if he’d just entered the Twilight Zone. “You did what?”

  Tank exhaled, his jaw muscles twitching as he met Boar’s gaze. “He burned it down. We barely carried Drake out of there before the fire could have cut him off.”

  Drake’s face remained expressionless, but shame and anger were like arrows piercing Boar’s chest.

  “How could you?” he asked Pyro. “It was our home!”

  “I wasn’t thinking straight!” Pyro did sit though, hissing when several blueberries rolled off his pancakes and into Clover’s lap.

  Boar had to take a deep breath to calm himself.

  “It’s been a… tough time for Pyro,” Clover said, picking the fruit from between his thighs.

  Boar swallowed hard. “So… all my clothes, my computer, all my things are gone?”

  While in captivity, he’d dreamt of their home many times. He imagined returning to sleep in his bed, cook in the familiar kitchen, have the comfort of being in the place he belonged. Finding out it would never happen came as such a shock all his appetite dulled, and he waved off the next pastry.

  Pyro gritted his teeth and ate in silence, so Tank answered for him.

  “I’m afraid so. We salvaged what we could and put that in a storage unit, but we’ll be starting from scratch.”

  “I’m sorry,” Clover said and kissed Boar again, despite it not being his fault.

  “I get it. Saving Drake was more important. Can I… make it right somehow,
Tank?” Boar asked, hiding behind his cup even though disappointment gnawed at the inside of his chest.

  Tank blinked and raised his hand. “You had nothing to do with it. I’ll think of something, but any cash you have stashed away would be handy now.”

  “You’ve been very quiet,” Pyro said in an attempt to change the topic. His gaze was pinned to Drake as if it had been him, not Pyro who’d burned down their home.

  Drake shifted, his gaze briefly meeting Clover’s, and the boy nodded as if they were having a silent conversation. Boar rubbed his hand up and down Clover’s back, unable to comprehend how much his life had shifted within twenty-four hours. Many times he’d thought he’d never kiss Pyro, never touch Clover again. Maybe he really shouldn’t have made a fuss about the house? At the end of the day, it had been Tank’s not his, and everyone seemed to have gotten over it already.

  “What is it?” he asked Drake with a bad feeling in his stomach. “Shit isn’t over, is it?”

  Pyro frowned and squeezed his knee. “What are you talking about? Of course it’s over. You should just enjoy yourself now. We could go to the Bahamas, or something,” he said with hope radiating from his eyes. But Drake’s gaze was stern when he exhaled.

  “There’s the issue of Apollo.”

  Pyro’s nostrils flared, and he bristled like a frightened dog. “Seriously? Your need for revenge got us into this mess in the first place!”

  Clover put his hand on Pyro’s bulging bicep, but it was Tank who spoke. “No. Apollo targeted us because we killed his sister. And we killed her to save Clover. We can’t leave this thread dangling.”

  “You’ve got to be shitting me!” Pyro smacked the table so hard the plates jingled, and Boar squeezed his shoulder in a bid to calm him down.

  “Let them finish.”

  Pyro’s gaze was colored by helplessness when he looked back, his lips twitching with unsaid words. He might not have been captured but had been Apollo’s victim nevertheless.

  Drake exhaled. “I think so too. But no risks. It needs to be clean. I don’t care how he dies as long as he stops being a threat to us.”

  Clover’s face turned serious. “I think the same. It’s not about revenge, no matter how much I hate him. If he has a heart attack and dies, fine. I just want us to get on with our lives. Boar, I wish I could treat you to a comfortable bed every night. I wish you could take all the time you need to recover and rest, but it is what it is.”

  Boar nodded, squeezing Pyro’s arm more tightly when he felt it stiffen. “We’ve been through hell. And until that bastard’s gone, the brands on our bodies will mean something. I say let’s do it. Can’t put on a brave face ‘till the end of my days.”

  Drake pulled out a white cell phone and put it on the table. “It’s the main guy’s from yesterday.”

  “Tyrone’s?” Boar asked, his gaze drawn to the device as if it were a lure.

  “Yes, the one you strangled.”

  Boar sneered at the memory of the man who’d treated him worse than a dog. It had been a relief to feel him die, but if Tyrone could help them deliver the same fate to Apollo, maybe at least his useless life would be good for something.

  Drake chewed on his lip. “It’s a lot to look through, but I believe we might find good leads in there. I… hated losing you, Boar.”

  Boar smiled, hugging Clover with one arm and Pyro with the other. In an odd way, the prospect of bringing down the bastard who’d pushed him into the hell he’d lived in those past months was putting him at ease. There was an enemy to tackle. He knew how to do that.

  “I know. I hold no grudges. Let’s kill this sonofabitch.”

  Tank smiled at Boar from the opposite side of the table. “Drake, Clo, and I will look at the phone, and we’ll go get some supplies. Both you and Pyro need to rest before we leave. Unless we stumble upon something that needs immediate attention, let’s give it a few days.”

  When no one protested, they somehow managed to move on to talking about things other than death, torture, and blood. They discussed the food, the living arrangements in the trailers, and the beach Clover had read about on the internet.

  Boar could truly breathe for the first time in months, and once the atmosphere relaxed, he let himself enjoy the moment, eat delicious food straight out of Clover’s hand, and discuss silly things. He hadn’t had an opportunity like this for a long time. To these people he wasn’t a fighting machine but his old self.

  By the time the room service staff had taken away the plates, Tank, Clover, and Drake were dressed and ready to leave, which left Boar with an odd sense that he lacked purpose. Most of his days had been about constant training, because Tyrone earned big bucks on his victories, but now? He knew he should rest, but how could he when Apollo still lived and could strike at any moment?

  “You okay?” Pyro asked, hugging Boar from behind when they ended up alone.

  Boar exhaled and slowly turned around, resting his chin on top of Pyro’s head, on the cushion of hair in the center. He didn’t want to bash Pyro for losing his mind and burning the house down. He didn’t want to give a speech about his cocaine habit. He’d made peace with who his man was long ago, and being with him brought comfort no matter how much of a mess Pyro was. Boar liked fixing.

  “I will be once we’re safe.”

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t find you sooner,” Pyro’s voice trembled, and he squeezed the back of Boar’s robe. He must have held in all those softer emotions during breakfast, because he was falling apart fast.

  Boar swallowed and pressed his forehead against Pyro’s. His boyfriend didn’t usually allow himself vulnerability, much less so with others around, but Boar had seen him at his absolute worst and hadn’t ran away. “It’s not your fault.”

  “I know, but I don’t really want to accept it. I thought you were dead. I went out fighting, I drank, I took drugs when I could have spent all that time looking for you. I’m a bad person.”

  The fact that Pyro had given up on the search stung, but Boar wasn’t about to play the blame game. The moment he’d recognized him in the arena would forever remain one of his clearest, happiest memories. That was when he knew all the suffering he’d gone through had a purpose. “You’ll quit. You did it twice, and you’ll do it again. I’m here now,” he said, squeezing Pyro’s neck gently.

  Pyro looked tired with the sweat beading on his forehead and dark circles under the eyes. “I’m ashamed. I let you down. And the worst thing is I know you will forgive me. You’re that good. I love you.”

  Boar sat on the sofa and pulled Pyro into his arms. The warmth in his chest was only growing, and even though the place he always returned to was no more, Pyro was alive, and so were their friends. That was what mattered. “You helped me when I was alone. You know you changed my life. How could I not forgive you?”

  “I just want you to know I don’t take it for granted. I don’t do shit and then expect you to accept it. I know I fucked up.” Pyro hugged him with a groan.

  Boar squeezed his arms around Pyro, his heart skipping a beat when they both held on even tighter. “I dreamed of you every night. I kept thinking of you seeing me again, and the face you’d make.”

  Pyro snorted and they settled into a comfortable hug. “Did reality live up to your dreams?”

  Boar exhaled. “In my dreams, your pupils weren’t eating up your entire eyes.”

  Pyro sank into him with a groan. “I wasn’t expecting to walk out of there alive.”

  That was it. Boar had enough of dancing around this subject, no matter how much he didn’t want to antagonize Pyro right now. “I love you. And when I’m gone, I’m expecting you to take care of yourself.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  Pyro looked away, so Boar pulled on his chin and forced him to meet his gaze. “I’m serious. I’m not the only one who cares about you. Didn’t you think about how devastated Clover would have been to lose you?”

  Pyro went silent instead of rolling his eyes like he usually did during unco
mfortable conversations. “I do now. I didn’t think he could care for me as much as he does, but I get it now. He wants me for much more than dick.”

  Boar barked out a laugh, elated to hear about that finally reaching Pyro’s stubborn head. “Speaking of dick. You can’t imagine how much exercise my right hand got in those months. I feel like I’ve been starving and now entered a buffet,” he said and pressed a kiss to Pyro’s forehead, breathing in his scent.

  “It was so hot to see you with Clover again.”

  “Boy’s small but has ridiculous stamina.”

  Pyro chewed on his lip and pulled out his phone. “I’ve got this hot video I took of him a while ago…” With his other hand, he opened his robe, and Boar did the same.

  Few things were as relaxing as jerking off next to Pyro. No demands, no obligations, just lazy pleasure.

  Boar’s eyes widened when the video started. “Daaamn.”

  Chapter 13 – Tank

  Tank drove his pickup truck toward their cabin with a heavy feeling in his chest. Since Boar’s return, everything had been falling into place, despite Pyro constantly balancing on the edge of tiredness and anger due to the withdrawal he was going through. But their fight wasn’t over.

  Far from it, and the news Tank was coming home with might not improve the atmosphere, even if it could mean progress.

  The comfort of going back to a house he knew put Tank at ease. He’d stayed here with his team whenever they had to spend time in Wyoming or needed to lie low, as it was located in the middle of nowhere, deep in the woods, and wouldn’t attract unnecessary attention.

  Its wooden walls were a welcome change after months in the cramped trailer that had gotten hot as a pressure cooker, even if the summer was over. Everyone had more space to themselves, not to mention running water and a kitchen.

  Despite all the thoughts running rampant in his head, he smiled at the glow of fire flickering through the trees. This time at least, he wouldn’t come back to Pyro burning everything down, because Boar had an eye on him, despite needing support himself. That was where Clover came in, and no matter how complicated navigating their relationships sometimes was, the effort was worth it when Tank could see how well they all worked together.