Chapter Six
Loki woke early, took a shower, slid his jeans on. He stood in front of the mirror looking at tattoos across his skin. He rubbed the blue rose on his left shoulder that felt as though it had been etched deep into his muscles. It represented what he had lost. What they had all lost, something unattainable. He turned away from his reflection. Grabbing the white T-shirt on the bed and put it on. It hugged his body nicely. Taking the long-sleeved shirt hanging on the door, He covered the rippling muscles.
Once Loki was appropriately dressed, he came to the kitchen finding Goldilocks nibbling on a strip of bacon and Hound leaning against the counter drinking his coffee.
"Good morning, Sunshine. Did you have a good rest?" Hound asked Loki, chuckling a bit.
"Good morning to you too, Luke," He responded sarcastically.
"You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Are you ready for our field trip?"
"Sure, what do I need for this little Adventure?"
"Like I said before, just you, man. Make you a plate and we'll head out when Casey comes down."
"So, you gonna give me any details on this little job you've brought me on or what?"
Hound looked over at Sadie stuffing her mouth full of pancakes. Syrup ran down the side of her face. "We'll talk on the way."
Casey came into the kitchen with a smile. "You didn't have to let me sleep in, Luke. I would have taken care of all this."
"I wanted you to get all the rest you needed. I don't know how long we're going to be gone." Hound said. "We are only going to be a few hours away but it might take us some time. Call me if you need me and we'll be back as soon as possible."
Loki began to chuckle at Sadie who was sticky from head to toe. "Somebody needs a bath and a change of clothes."
"Do you want me to run her a bath before I leave?" Hound asked, kissing Casey on the head.
"No, you boys go ahead and take off, I’ve got this." She giggled at the mess.
"Okay, call me if you need me. I'll come back in a hurry."
"I will. Bye, love you." Casey said as she shooed them away.
They had been on the road for twenty minutes before Hound said anything. "So, I heard through the grapevine that things were kinda rough with the King. You two have a falling out?"
"Yes and no. He's just not the same after what happened. I mean we still talk on the occasion he needs me for a job. If you hadn't called when you did, I would have called to see if he had anything lined up."
"So, what happened with that girl from the party?"
"You're not going to let that go are you?"
"There's a method to my madness. Humor me, please."
Loki took a deep breath. "Well, I took her home, fucked the hell out of her. Then I put her through college for three years till I found her at a hotel with some frat boy almost a week ago."
"Well fuck!" Hound said with surprise. "Who'd you kill?"
Loki looked over to Hound. "Nobody." He said flatly.
"No shit?"
"I just sent her home with her father. Now, can you tell me about this job?"
"All in good time. What about your other brothers in crime? Dane and Brant, what are they up to these days?"
"Brant's drinking himself to an early grave. Dane, well, he keeps up with all the other shit. He had a hard go of it after Ann died but he kept shit together for Abby. Cain is just running on autopilot. He tried looking into who killed her, but he just couldn't really find anything solid. I never told anyone about the job I hired you for. And after I heard you were dead, well, that was the end of that."
Only minutes had passed when Hound pulled off the highway. They traveled up the road a few miles and turned into a large park. Hound reached back and tossed Loki a ball cap. "The sun is bright today. You might need this." Hound grabbed two clean coffee cups with lids, poured coffee out of a thermos. He gave a cup to Loki then got out of the truck. Loki followed Hound.
Walking side by side, Hound began. "I know I left you hanging on that job. I'm sorry for that. I had to take care of mine. But after everything that happened with Casey, I was concerned. It changed me and how I do things. Don't get me wrong, if someone came after my girls, I'd kill them in a heartbeat. I had heard a lot of rumors about what went down at Cain Castle. A lot of crazy shit. But I was curious about it. I have to be honest, I was a little worried about bringing you in on this job. I didn't want you coming in all guns a-blazing and the wrong people get hurt." Hound stopped on the path in front of a bench that was across from the playground with a full view of the parking lot. "So, what I need you to do is to have a seat. Don't make any sudden moves or draw attention to yourself. We're just two guys having a nice cup of coffee and reading the newspaper." Hound told him as he handed him a newspaper that he hadn't seen earlier.
Loki took the paper cautiously with a brow raised. Sitting down he began to watch the comings and goings with little interest. There was the occasional jogger. Kids playing and moms chasing them. People walking, some just reading. Cars coming and going. Occasionally he would see Hound checking his watch. A minivan pulled into a space close to the playground. Not really interested in his surroundings, Loki waited for Hound to let him know the next move. The sound of the door sliding open and two children roaring their excitement as their feet pounded the pavement to the jungle gym didn't attract his attention. Nor did the slam of the van door closing arouse him.
When the woman shouted "Boys, settle down."
Loki raised his eyes toward her Direction. He sat up straighter. His heart pounded harder and his hands began to sweat. It wasn't until he slid forward that he realized Hound had a strong grip on the back of his belt.
"Stay. Just keep watching. No sudden movements" Hound told him quietly.
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