Romance: Luther's Property (53 page)

A deep sense of pride swept over Austin’s body. The other
two guys at the table were whispering and starting to show signs of jealousy.
Austin tried not to pay any attention to them. He threw his head back and
swigged the last of his beer.

“I’ll be right back,” he said to the girls. The blond girl,
named Amanda, tugged on his arm. She had a sad, desperate, needy look in her
eyes.

“You’re not going to leave me are you?” She asked, pleading
with him as best she could without embarrassing herself in front of her
friends.

Austin tickled her under her chin and she started giggling.
Her friends were staring at her angrily.

“I’ll be right back, baby. Don’t you worry,” he said. “I’ve
just got to make a phone call. That’s all.”

The girl still seemed worried that her bad boy hunk would
disappear into the night. And she had a reason to worry because Austin was
known for doing that sort thing. He wasn’t the type of person that felt like he
needed to tell you where he was going. He had been like that before going into
business with the pack. But once he had joined up with them, he had grown more
secretive. That’s why the pack had recruited him in the first place. It was
hard to find someone who was tough, confident and brash but who still had
enough sense to control their wild urges. He knew how to push, but only so far
before shit really hit the fan. He definitely wasn’t the type to ever back down
but he also wasn’t the type of guy who went out looking for fights.

Austin pushed his way through the packed bar and out the front
entrance. It felt good to be back on the street in the night air again. He
wasn’t used to bars on streets that were this packed but it seemed like there
was almost no place to walk in this city. He didn’t think he would get used to
something like this. But for a few days he would be able to deal with it.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. There was one missed
call. He looked at the number. He didn’t recognize it. He was about to listen
to the message but instead he reached into his pocket for a cigarette. That was
the real reason he had come out here. He was in desperate need of a smoke but
he didn’t want the girls to tag along so he had made up a story about having to
make a phone call.

He took a deep drag on his smoke and imagined who could have
left him a message. There were only three people in the entire world that had
his number. And they are all associated with the pack. After he had finished
his cigarette, he pulled out his phone and stared at the screen again. If I
listen to this tonight it might ruin my evening. And this could turn out to be
a wild night. But if I wait until tomorrow…Nah, I definitely need to listen to
this now.

But before he could press the phone to his ear and listen to
the message, he felt a hand pushing him on the shoulder. His face slammed into
the shaft of a street sign.

“What the fuck are you going to do now, asshole?” He heard
someone say, very close to his ear. The sight of blood trickling from his nose
snapped him back to his senses. It also infuriated him. He turned around, his
eyes wild and hungry for revenge.

For a minute Nicole thought that she was in a dream. This
couldn’t be real. It had been a few months since we had even talked about being
engaged. We had ended up getting into a fight and we had decided that we
wouldn’t broach the subject again until things became a bit less hectic in
their lives. We definitely hadn’t reached that point. So she was completely
shocked when he asked, “Will you marry her?” as he held the ring in front of
her face.

This was one of the most awkward moments of her life. Why
would he put her in this position? She covered her mouth and looked away. She
had no idea how to respond to him. She didn’t want to break his heart. She
really didn’t. But She couldn’t bring myself to lie to him either.

“Jeffrey this is really sweet of you,” she said, taking his
chin in her hands and staring directly into his eyes.

“But I don’t think—” she couldn’t quite get the words out.

She could see the expression in his eyes changing. The
excitement and enthusiasm were slowly draining away and they were being
replaced by a hard coldness. The look in his eye made her tremble. She had to
get up from the table. She had to get away from him.

She excused myself and walked to the bathroom. She could
feel his eyes locked on her. She closed the door to the bathroom and slumped to
the floor. She put her head in her hands. She had never experienced a night
like this ever in her life. Things were really messed up in her life and
especially in her relationship. Nicole knew that Jeffrey and her should have
sat down and had a long talk about where we were headed many months ago. But
instead we had tried to pretend that the only wrong with us was the fact that
we both had crazy work schedules. But that was bullshit. And we both knew it.
Not only had the intimacy been absent from the relationship but it also seemed
that the attraction and spark that reminds people why they choose to live
together had also disappeared.

Then Nicole realized that she hadn’t actually given Jeffery
an answer. She imagined him sitting at the table with his head in his hands
crying. She wanted to go and comfort him. But before she left the bathroom, she
heard his fist banging on the door. The sound startled her. Then she heard him
turning the knob back and forth.

“Nicole, what the hell are you doing in there? Are you on
the phone?”

She had never heard him speak to her like that. The only
time she had ever seen him lose his temper was during a telephone conversation
that he was having with his mother.

His fist banged on the door several more times. She was
afraid that he might knock a hole in the door. That would be enough to get us
locked out of the building. She couldn’t just sit there and let him mess up her
life even more. And, like she said before, the walls in the building are
notoriously thin. If Jeffrey kept on banging like that, someone would be sure
to file a complaint with the super. And once that happened who knew where
things could end up. Sometimes you got a warning. Other times you got a fine.
And sometimes you got evicted.

“I’m coming out!” She yelled. “Stop banging.”

She took a few deep breaths and slowly unlocked the door.
When she pulled it open Jeffery was on the floor. He looked completely
disheveled. He looked so pathetic like that. And she had the desire to comfort
him. He looked up at her with his sad puppy- dog eyes. She didn’t respond. She
held her arms across her chest and stared down at him. She couldn’t believe
that she had been in a relationship with this man for three years and she had
never seen this side of him. So this is how he acts when things get a little
rough for him and he doesn’t get his way? She snickered and shook her head. He
could see that he wasn’t going to be able to talk himself out of this one.

So instead of talking he crawled over to her and wrapped his
arms around her legs. It felt so awkward to be standing there with him like
that. She had a strong urge to push him away. But she didn’t want to hurt him
anymore. She just wanted to let him know where she stood in their relationship.

“It’s okay, Jeffrey, it’s okay. Just get off your knees,
okay?”

He looked up at her without saying anything. Then he wiped
the tears from his eyes and sniffled. He slowly got back to his feet. When he
did, he wrapped his arms around her. His body felt so warm against mine. And
before she knew what was happening. She sensed feelings of tenderness and
affection welling up inside of her. It was so difficult for her to be angry
with this man for very long. He seemed to be able to melt her defenses and
break down her walls without even really trying. She wasn’t sure whether She
was a pushover or he was extremely manipulative. She sighed and tried to push
thoughts from her mind.

She took his hand and began walking towards the bedroom. He
stopped walking and tried to pull her in the other direction.

“Shouldn’t we finish eating?” He asked. “There’s so much
food.”

She pressed her finger to his lips and told him to follow
her. His eyes grew wide with surprise. And then she could have sworn that she
saw a sly smile like across his lips. He knew what she wanted. And she wanted
him to give it to her better, harder, and deeper than he had ever given it to
her before.

The fists and kicks came hard and fast. But Austin didn’t
have any problem protecting himself and dodging the few shots that actually
came close to landing. He was preparing his own counter-attack. It was three
dudes. He recognized the guy he’d dealt with earlier. Well, at least this isn’t
gang-related, he thought. I shouldn’t have a problem handling these pussies.

He smiled, and then brushed a tangle of blond hair out of
his eyes. He could be a bit of a prima donna like that, showing off for the
onlookers, especially the pretty ladies, but he’d also want to send a message
to all the men gathered round. He was the big cock. The giant, cosmic,
radioactive, super-hero cock. The only cock needed when he was on the block.

PAM!!!

Austin’s head snapped back, his eyes closed. His head hit
the pavement with a loud thump.

“OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH”, said the onlookers that had gathered
around. And then a few of them giggled and pointed their phones in the
direction of his sprawled out body. The punch had caught him on the blind side.
The cheap-shot artist scurried off into the night, while the three dudes that
had been about to jump on Austin stood over him with confused expressions.

They whispered something amongst themselves and then took
off, pushing their way through the four-person deep crowd that had converged on
the site.

Austin felt a ringing in his ears as he limped into the
dingy McDonald’s near Penn Station. He’d heard through the grapevine about
this. It was a good spot to buy and sell some dope. He was definitely looking
to get his hand on a bit of heroin; then he would find some hookers and party.
He was done with square girls for the evening. He would stick to the kind of
women who would understand his frontier a wild man on the loose on a bike,
living a gun-slinging, dope-dealing life of a white trash cowboy from the
southwest of these here United States.

A bottle of Jack Daniels and some Heinekens would be perfect
to wash it down. His cock was getting hard just thinking about the fun that he
was going to have.

Austin surveyed the scene. This was definitely the shadiest,
most drugs infested McDonald’s he’d seen in his life. And he’d seen more than a
couple during the road trips on his bike. People, wearing clothes that looked
and smelled like they hadn’t been cleaned in weeks, occupied most of the
restaurant’s tables. They were nodding out, arguing with each other, or talking
to themselves.

Austin saw one dude go into a bathroom. A few seconds later
a woman came out of the same door. Austin smiled and shook his head. It was
going to be easier than he’d hoped to find some dope in this place. Maybe when
they get a little more comfortable they’ll start slinging it closer to the
front.

I need to get the hell out of here as soon as I get my shit.
The cops can’t be too far away. They’ll nab somebody on something small if they
want a big favor.
 
There was no doubt
that they kept some type of surveillance on this place.

Austin stepped into the bathroom. A Puerto Rican dude with
red eyes and gaunt face looked Austin up and down.

Austin thought for a moment that there might be a problem.
He was getting a bad vibe from this dude. He wasn’t really used to dealing with
Puerto Ricans and didn’t really know what angle to take.

A big smile opened the dude’s mouth disgustingly wide. He
looked like his fucking jaw was going to come unstuck. Only half of his mouth
held any teeth. They were distinctly of a brown and yellowish hue. It wouldn’t
be long before his mouth, as well as the rest of him, shriveled up into a death
and rotted as pitifully as he had lived.

But there was another dragon to slay, a horse to ride, and,
so the story goes, an addict whirls around and around repeating the same act
over and over and over again, one day, two days, three days, every day.

“Two bags of H,” he said.

“Forty.”

Bags in hand, he hurried out of that shit before its death
grip descended upon him. He would never get that low, he promised himself. He
would never allow himself to fall so far that he could never live with dignity
again. That was a life for suckers and punks and losers. And his Daddy, a son
of a bitch who liked to smack around his Momma and fuck whores right under her
nose. On more than one occasion he did the dirty deed with a hooker, while his
own wife lay in the bed sobbing herself to sleep, wondering when this hell
would ever end.

Austin hoped that a few snorts of heroin would help take
away the ringing in his ears. He’d never heard of that particular remedy. But
it seemed like it would be worth a try.

Now all he needed was the whores. He hopped on his hog and
revved the engine. He felt like letting out a giant roar and making the sky
tremble. His mojo was definitely coming back. He’d been sucker-punched,
cold-cocked, chin-checked. But that didn’t mean shit now. His cock was stiff in
his pants. And he could feel the blood coursing through his muscular arms.

He roared off into the night, and headed for the bright
lights and crowded streets of Times Square. He hadn’t even been looking for a
whore earlier, when he caught a few out of the corner of his eye, plying their
wares and watching out for cops. Coppers. Especially those under-covers,
vice-squad coppers looking to bring an end to the scourge of prostitution.