by Riker Kane
“You trust me, don’t you?”
Hudson let out a reluctant sigh and forced a smile onto his lips. “I trust you.”
“The Disciples won’t get away with this. If the cops won’t handle ‘em, we will. I promise.”
Hudson patted Max’s arm and looked back at their table. “You gonna tell ‘em?”
“Proxy and Zigzag are willing to help but I don’t wanna get ‘em involved any more than we have to.”
“Agreed.”
“I’m in good with the Disciples. I’ll get close enough to ‘em, they won’t know what hit ‘em. I think that’s a good enough reason to celebrate. C’mon. I’ll get you a drink.”
Hudson headed back over to the table while Max walked over to the bar.
Max hadn’t even looked at the order tablet when he saw Sabrina approaching him. The brunette smiled softly, her hands in the back pockets of her jeans as she looked up at him.
“I saw what happened,” she said. “You beat Lotto.”
“Were you one of the hundreds of people booing me, too?”
“I’ll admit… It would’ve been nice to see an Execution but… I’m satisfied.”
“The stimulant you gave me helped. It’s nice to be a little more liberal with my abilities.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” She moved close to Max. Her chest brushing against his arm, she suddenly leaned forward and whispered into his ear. “I need to talk to you.”
Her flowery perfume filled his nostrils. Along with the warmth of her breath against his cheek, it was hard for Max not to notice her sudden change in demeanor.
“Is this important?” he asked.
“It’s pretty important. I promise I won’t take long. I’ll have you back here celebrating with your friends in no time.”
“No reason you can’t celebrate with us.”
“We’ll see about that. Just… c’mon.”
Max wasn’t sure what to make of what she was getting at but his curiosity got the best of him. He headed out of Barb Wire with the brunette dragging him away by his fingers.
Chapter 16
Sabrina tugged on him the entire way until they were back in the alley where her garage was. This time, she pushed the door open and led him inside. To his surprise, the place was a lot more spacious than he expected it to be.
Soft fluorescent lights illuminated a living room with plush leather furnishings. A coffee table rested off to one side with a digital display hanging over it. The walls were polished clean and the carpet was spotless.
“Hmm… Never figured I’d find a place like this in a back alley…”
“Just because I live out of the way doesn’t mean I live in poverty,” Sabrina said. “Did you forget what I do for a living?”
“Poor guys spending all their credits for a little time with you.”
“Those poor guys are anything but. Nobody in Neon Claws goes there without having a high-paying job in the Cobalt District. You don’t need to worry about me taking advantage of anybody.”
Max walked up next to the fireplace where there was a digital picture frame. The photos rotated from an old married couple to a younger man who didn’t look much older than Max himself. In one of the photos, Sabrina had her arms around him.
“My parents.” Sabrina walked up next to him. “The guy is my brother Lex.”
“Hmm… I can see it.”
“When Lex and I were out and about, nobody had any trouble figuring out we were related.”
“I bet… I’m guessing you didn’t bring me to your place to show me a picture frame though.”
“Actually…”
He raised an eyebrow at her. The normally forward brunette was suddenly sheepish, her head down like she couldn’t look him in the eye.
Max thought twice about pushing her, instead waiting patiently for her to say what was on the tip of her tongue.
“I did want you to see the photos,” she said.
“I’m guessing there’s more to it than that.”
“There is.” She took a seat at the couch, her hands anxiously twiddling her thumbs together like she didn’t know what to do with them. “When I was growing up, my parents always told me to focus on school. I was like any kid and just wanted to play. Lex was the same way. But our parents always forced us to study. Said we could do whatever we wanted when we were adults. I still remember the time Lex and I snuck out to Barb Wire for the first time. He was seventeen. I was a year younger.”
“Big risk.”
“You don’t know the half of it. When we got back home, my dad was waiting for us. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. Thought I was gonna die right then and there. But all he did was yell at me. I cried but I got over it quick.”
Sabrina twisted her lips and laughed softly, her eyes lost in a memory.
“I’ll never forget when I came home that day. Bunch of cops had the place blocked off with digital tape. I thought it was Lex playing some practical joke. Even when the cops told me my parents were gone, I was laughing because I expected Lex to pop out and tell me it wasn’t real.”
Sabrina clenched her jaw. Her eyes focused straight ahead, she sighed softly through her nose like she was trying to force the words from her throat.
“It was real. It took me a long time to accept it but I did eventually.”
Max shook his head softly. “What happened?”
“Apparently, my mom and dad were involved in some drug deal. A loot exchange gone wrong. Both of them were gunned down.”
“Shit, Sabrina… I’m sorry.” He took a seat next to her but she didn’t look at him. “What happened to the people responsible?”
“Don’t know. That’s what makes me madder than losing them. I know my parents and I know they would never waste their time with loot. Not when they were pushing Lex and I so hard to study. But I know it was the Disciples. They’ve got their hands on everything here. Innocent people are always in the crossfire when they see things they shouldn’t. It’s on the news all the time but the pigs never do anything about it, rotten as they are…”
Max turned back toward the digital picture frame. “What about Lex?”
“I kept my head down and studied. That’s what my parents would’ve wanted. But Lex… Lex never recovered. He started using. Started selling. He got so deep in the loot, I didn’t even recognize him the last time I saw him… That was before they took him away.”
“What happened?”
“He told me he got involved with another pusher. Had a big deal going down with a guy named Lotto.”
“Lotto…”
“But it was a sting. The one time the cops in this town actually do something and it’s to bust my brother. Of course, Lotto walked away like nothing happened. When you’re a Disciple, you don’t have to worry about suffering the consequences.”
“That’s why you wanted me to win so bad. Because Lotto set your brother up.”
Sabrina sighed a deep breath to regain her composure. “There’s no justice in Santa Fe. I accepted that a long time ago. I moved on. I started dancing at Neon Claws. But there was still a part of me that thought maybe Lotto would learn his lesson. That’s why I kept studying. I could never step in the Sanctum myself but I could help someone who did.”
“So you do know what you’re doing with all those stimulants…”
“It’s all I do in my free time. I make enough creds to afford tests and experiments.”
“A stripper using her earnings to fund her nerdy endeavors. Never would’ve imagined.”
Sabrina smiled softly and put her hand on top of his. “It’s all worth it. Seeing you beat Lotto… It won’t fix anything but it was nice seeing someone like him lose. Just once.”
“If I’d known what he did, I would’ve executed him.”
“Executing him wouldn’t be as satisfying. Not when I know he suffered while his life drained away.” She squeezed her hand around his. “Thanks, Max.”
The sincerity in her eyes was clear even undern
eath the dim fluorescent lights. He nodded and squeezed her hand back. “No problem.”
She got up from her seat, her hand still on his. “C’mon. There’s something else I wanna show you.”
She led him down the halls of her small dwelling and through the doorway at the end. Max stepped inside before her and saw her bedroom. A dresser off to the side, the moonlight shined in from the lone window above it.
“What’s in here—”
He turned around and her lips were suddenly on his. He let her lips linger, inhaling her flowery scent. Her soft chest pressed against his through his shirt as she ran her fingers over it.
“It would’ve been nice if you were still wearing your armor,” she whispered. “It’s kinda… nice.”
“I only wear my armor when I have to.”
“I suppose it’s for the best. Easier to strip you down when you’re in this.”
He put her lips back to hers as she peeled his coat down. She raised his shirt up over his head and began working his belt buckle. She pushed back on the bed and sat on the edge of it, raising himself up enough to let her pull his jeans down.
Sabrina breathed with a sense of urgency, her hands fumbling with his underwear. She lowered his shorts down enough to free his length. A deep sigh escaped him as he was no longer straining against the fabric.
He looked down at the brunette as she looked back up at him. Piercing gray eyes were more striking from the moonlight shining in. Her porcelain skin was a stark contrast to her tongue as it extended out and licked the underside of his shaft.
She lowered her mouth down upon him, closing her eyes as she sealed her lips on him. The gentle sounds of sucking filled the room and bounced off the walls.
“Sabrina…”
He sighed her name and she sucked even harder on him in response. His hand reached down and instinctively tangled in her brown locks. His hips bucked on their own, gently matching the rhythm she bobbed her head in.
He could hear the sounds of her breathing harder through her nose. Wet flesh smacking against her lips amped both of them up until they were working in unison. Max pumped his hips for as long as he could before he was forced to pull her off to avoid losing himself too quickly.
Sabrina licked the spit dripping from her thin pink lips and looked up at him. Her eyes full of desire. Breaths deep. Jaw lowered. It was obvious what she wanted.
She moved close to him, giving him a taste of her tongue.
“The other two,” she sighed into his mouth. “Is one of them your girlfriend?”
“If any of them are, they both are.”
Sabrina gently pulled away and looked into his eyes.
“Is that a problem?” he asked.
She smirked and shook her head. “I don’t mind sharing. As long as I get you… right now.”
No longer hindered, she put her mouth back to his. Max fumbled with her shirt and pulled it up over her head. His hands roamed down to her jeans. With all of his strength, he tugged them down along with her panties until she was able to kick them free.
Sabrina’s arms wrapped around him, Max crawled back onto the bed. He laid back and watched as she straddled him. Their eyes locked on one another as she unhooked her bra. The last piece of black fabric blocking the view of the rest of her body fell to the floor.
He reached up and cupped underneath her pale breasts. Her eyelids fluttered as she moved her hips. The warmth from her entrance was joined by the slick fluid rubbing against his rigid length.
She leaned back forward and pressed her lips to his. “Give it to me,” she whispered between his lips.
Max flipped her onto her back. His lips on hers, he searched for Sabrina’s entrance with his length in a hurry and plunged himself. His length split open her wetness and made her moan.
Their lips. Their fingers. Their bodies. They were pressed together as Max began thumping his hips. The loud sound of his hilt slapping against her folds joined the chorus of the mattress squeaking underneath them.
For a moment, Max forgot about why he was in Santa Fe. He ignored all of the troubles ahead of him. He didn’t think about all of the problems he was trying to fix. There was nothing else except the gorgeous brunette writhing with pleasure beneath him.
He sat up and took her hips in his hands. He worked himself in and out of her furiously.
She gripped the sheets to brace from the pleasure. Her breasts heaved in rhythm with his strokes. Her back arched. Her hair splayed in every direction. Her jaw dropped as stuttered moans forced their way out.
The moonlight highlighted a tinge of sweat on her pale skin, enough to make her shine in the darkness of her bedroom.
Max strained to keep giving it to her. More than anything, his length was tightening up to the point he could no longer hold back.
He gritted his teeth and ramped up even harder. Piston-like strokes pounded her until she suddenly convulsed in his grip. The brunette’s warmth tightening around his shaft pushed him over the edge.
He grunted as a thick spurt of his seed spilled into her. Involuntary spasms made his whole body seize. His length pulsed with hard throbs as he emptied everything he could into her.
Max gave her everything he had before collapsing on top of her. Their sweaty bodies trembled against one another as they caught their breath.
Sabrina leaned her face forward just enough to kiss him on the cheek, her soft lips a pleasant end to their moment together.
“Thank you.” Her whispered words gave him enough strength to sit up straight. He looked into her eyes and saw she meant it.
“My friends are probably wondering where I ran off to.”
“The night’s not over.”
The mischievous glint in her eyes was enough to make Max smile.
“No,” he said. “It’s certainly not.”
Chapter 17
The automatic shutters of Max’s suite slowly rotated to let some of the early afternoon light in. As the room came into view, the crystal display on the wall turned on in the middle of a news broadcast.
“…Carn’s Bakery is inviting all to come and taste a new sampling of their offerings. For a limited time only, Santa Fe residents will be eligible for one pastry from their new supplementer created to satisfy those craving a sweet treat while fulfilling the federal guidelines for proper food nutrients. Samples will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis…”
Max blinked his eyes open and sighed at the slight throb in his temples before being able to shake away the cobwebs gathered from the night before.
His comfortable suite in the heart of the Cobalt District had all of the amenities he needed. He only had a moment to sit up on his bed when there was already a knock at the door.
“Just a second…”
In nothing but his jeans from the night before, he made the walk through the main living space to find Hudson standing outside the doorway.
Hudson’s familiar chip-toothed smile was on display though Max wasn’t sure why.
“How you feeling?” Hudson asked.
“Fine. Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like I drank.”
“Just because you didn’t have any synthetic doesn’t mean you can’t be feeling a little groggy. We were all up pretty late last night.”
His grin grew even wider to the point it began to annoy Max.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. Just don’t think it’s a coincidence you invited that girl from Neon Claws to hang out with us and now you’re waking up in the afternoon.”
“We were all celebrating, Hudson. We were all up late. I bet Proxy’s out right now, too. Hell, I think Zigzag needs to recover.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. And you know I’m not gonna try to pry in your business. You don’t have to kiss and tell with me.”
Hudson gave Max the kind of chuckle someone gave when they were trying to tease someone. But all Max did was roll his eyes, crossing his arms as he waited for his friend to have his fun.
“I’m n
ot a teenager,” Max said. “If you came here to try and embarrass me about what you think I did last night…”
“It’s not that. It’s kinda late though. Figured we’d hook up for a late breakfast and plan our next move.”
“Sounds like a plan. Where we headed?”
“Stay right there. Take a shower. Relax a little bit. You deserve a break. I’ll be right back with something.”
After Hudson left, Max ran his hand through his hair and sighed. The suite was comfortable but there was nothing more to do in it than lay back and watch the digital display. A soft growl in his stomach reminded him of just how hungry he was.
He sniffed into the air and the flowery scent reminded him of Sabrina. A smirk came to his face before he began heading to the showers.
Another knock at the door interrupted him.
“Hudson…” He raised an eyebrow as he answered it. “Did you forget something—”
He cut himself off as soon as he saw the man standing in Hudson’s place.
A long-sleeve white t-shirt with a red tie so straight it looked like it was made of plastic. A pair of gray slacks had perfect seams leading down to a pair of polished loafers. Max wouldn’t have had to look at the man’s face to know it wasn’t Hudson.
“I think you’ve got the wrong suite,” Max said.
The older man gave Max a blank stare. Empty brown eyes. Cheeks wrinkled. His bald head was covered in liver spots. Despite his age, he stood rigidly enough to let Max know he wasn’t about to fall over. A small manila folder was tucked underneath one of his arms.
Max was already curious as to who the man was but his reticence only made the whole situation stranger.
“Can I help you—”
“I need to speak to you,” the man said, his voice blunt.
“What’s this all about now?”
“I’ll tell you what it’s about after you invite me into your suite. What I say to you has to stay between you and me.”
Max scoffed. “You think I’m just gonna let a stranger into my suite?”
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a digital card. Max examined it to see the man’s face along with a list of data right next to it.