Page 14 of Bazooka

No Choice is a Choice Too

Luz

When I woke up in the morning, I was in bed. I couldn’t remember getting there, so I presumed Bazooka had carried me there after I fell asleep on the sofa last night. He was also gone, but he left me a message saying he’d left for work.

When I straightened up, I cursed all the saints and demons because I was hurting all over.

What I pulled off yesterday wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

Marching out of the apartment and being thrown over someone’s shoulder like a bag of potatoes was bound to have consequences.

Back then, I was blinded by anger, and my adrenaline was sky high, but now I was paying for it.

I hopped over to the bathroom and washed up, skipping breakfast because I could barely stand on my left foot.

After I returned to bed, I took a few painkillers and drank some water.

The pills finally kicked in, just as the doorbell rang when the Triple Threat arrived.

We agreed they would come here so Bazooka could interview them, but I dreaded their arrival.

As it turned out, I had every right to worry.

“What the hell happened to you?” Alain exclaimed, looking shocked.

All my friends stood around my bed, watching me as if I were a bogeyman or something. I couldn’t blame them either, because my eyesight was fine and there was a mirror in the bathroom.

“I told you what happened,” I grumbled. “Besides, I look better than yesterday… or the day before.”

“Jesus Christ, Luz,” Wagner said, sounding baffled. “You look like… like…”

When he didn’t finish his sentence, I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for the compliment.”

“Luz, I’m so sorry,” Dakotah said, pale in the face. “What can I do to help?”

“If you brought me the stuff I’d asked for, you already helped,” I replied, sniffling. “Or if you have drugs that would numb me, that’s welcome too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alain said, opening his backpack. “No to the drugs, but everything else you asked for is here.”

Everything was:

·Underwear (five pairs of boxer briefs, three thongs, and one super sexy jockstrap)

·PJ’s (with a flamingo print and a tee that said Sexy and You Know It)

·Swim shorts

·Sunglasses

·A face powder AND a concealer

·Lube and condoms.

“Thank you, guys,” I said with a sigh of relief before telling them everything that happened. It included how I was attacked, how I ended up at Bazooka’s place, and finally what happened last night.

“Who do you think broke into your apartment?” Wagner said, sounding puzzled. “Not those assholes from Pete’s?”

I made a face. “I don’t know. I mean, maybe, but how would they know where I live? Maybe it was a burglar, not that I have much to steal.”

“Yeah, that’s very odd,” Alain mused. “It’s a good thing that you’re staying here. Are you staying here?”

“I don’t know,” I said, biting on my nail. “I mean, Bazooka mentioned a friend who could take care of me at my place, but I dread going back there. And if Baz dares to suggest one of those police safe houses, I’m calling Chief Bibb, I swear. The chief will order him to let me stay here.”

“And why would he do that?” Wagner asked me, sounding amused.

“He owes me,” I stated with conviction. “I’ll just remind him of that. I’ll also threaten to tell the press that the Butcher of Smitsville capture was an unauthorized mission.”

“Are you happy here, though?” Dakotah said, sounding concerned. “I mean… how are you and Bazooka getting along?”

I let out a heavy sigh, not knowing where to begin.

“He’s not what I expected, Dot,” I admitted. “At all.”

“Like… he’s worse?”

“Like… he’s a fucking dream,” I replied, playing with the cushion. “He’s just perfect.”

Wagner frowned. “Perfect? There’s no such thing. Perfect, how?”

Then I told them everything Bazooka did for me. How he saved me, took care of me, fed me, and helped me shower. How he treated my wounds and carried me all over the place.

“He was also with me when I peed,” I added, blushing. “I get goosebumps whenever I think about it.”

“Nooo,” Dotty gasped, wide-eyed. “Is it his fetish or something?”

I chuckled. “No, silly. He was with me in case I fainted or something. He didn’t like watch, watch, but he was there. It felt so intimate.”

After I finished my story, they were still oohing and aahing when I heard the front door open.

“It’s him,” I whispered, panicking. “Act natural. Don’t embarrass me.”

A few moments later, Bazooka entered the room, and four jaws dropped.

I couldn’t blame their respective owners, because Baz looked delicious.

A snug, white Henley he wore outlined his massive chest so indecently, I was about to start drooling.

Black cargo pants suited him (and his crotch) better than a glove suited a boxer’s fist. His messy, finger-combed hair had that perfect fuck-me look.

Last, but not least, his steely gray eyes, at the moment fixed on my friends, could read into your soul.

“Hey there,” Bazooka said, regarding them coolly.

“Hey,” my friends squeaked in unison.

When a gray gaze shifted to me, I could feel myself blushing. For the love of God.

“How are you feeling?” Baz said, giving me a once-over.

“Fine,” I mumbled, feeling self-conscious and hating it.

His eyes fell on the bed, and he frowned in confusion.

“Is that makeup?” he said, pointing his chin at the stuff scattered all over the bed.

My eyes widened in alarm. “No! God, no!”

Not that there was anything wrong with that, but I didn’t want him to think I was trying to seduce him or something. Which I was.

“Oh, that’s mine,” Dotty said, throwing the backpack over the incriminating thingies. “I bought it, but I have buyer’s remorse. I was just showing it to Luz, right, gu-uys?”

My friends mumbled something incoherent, while I wanted to vanish into thin air.

“Mm-hmm,” Bazooka hummed, looking not-fucking-convinced. “What about this?”

He looked at the TV across from my bed.

“It’s from my apartment,” I explained. “Guys brought it here because I was dying of boredom. When you’re not here, I’m just staring at the wall, Baz.”

“I see.”

It was also a little trick of mine. He wouldn’t throw me out now that I had my TV here, would he? It would be a logistical complication, not to mention rude.

Bazooka opened the bottle of water he’d brought with him and started to drink.

The shirt he wore suddenly looked more like a bathing suit than a proper piece of clothing.

I could see the powerful muscles in his chest as if he were naked, including his pecs that looked just…

enormous. His biceps bulged obscenely as he held the bottle high, his Adam’s apple bobbing with every gulp.

A few drops of water slid down his chin and landed on his chest, making my dick perk up, which was soo embarrassing with the room full of people.

Long story short, watching that man drink water was pure porn. I wasn’t the only one entranced, either. Wagner dropped his phone, which ended up under the bed. Alain felt his forehead as if he had a fever, while Dakotah just stood there, agape.

“Close your mouth, Dotty,” I said, swallowing with difficulty.

The object of our affection stopped drinking and lowered the bottle. Grinned.

“So, the gleesome threesome,” Bazooka said, cocking his eyebrows. “Are you in the mood for a chat?”

Bazooka

Even before I came home to interview Luz’s friends, I had one hell of a morning. Why? Because I had an unexpected, and yes, unwelcome visitor at the station. Adam was the one to break it to me.

“Bazooka,” he said, entering the headquarters. “Chief Bibb wants to see you in his office.”

I stood up, still staring at the computer screen.

“What are the chances there’s CCTV at the intersection behind Pete’s?” I asked him.

“Slim, but we can check,” Adam replied. “Why? Because of what happened to Luz?”

I nodded.

“If it exists, I’ll tell them to send the footage over,” Adam offered, surprising me. “Check your email later today.”

I headed to Chief Bibb’s office, only to find him seated behind his desk. The person sitting across from him was someone I didn’t expect to see there.

“Detective Bradley,” General Zablonsky said. “I apologize for the disruption, but this is quite urgent.”

“I already gave you my answer, General,” I said, turning to leave.

“Bradley,” Chief Bibb said, stopping me. “Listen to the man. Please.”

I sat in the chair next to General Zablonsky, fuming. That man was pissing me off big time. Offering me a bribe, showing up at my place of work, dragging my boss into his mess… I wasn’t amused.

“I’m sorry for coming here, but I didn’t have a choice, Detective,” General Zablonsky said. “The last time we spoke, I didn’t tell you everything.”

Here we go.

“For a few weeks now, I have been getting death threats. Someone has been sending me emails and threatening both me and my family. My team is working diligently to identify this individual, but so far, we have nothing. I can protect the members of my family who are living with me, but I can’t protect—”

“Luz,” I finished instead of him.

Fuck.

It potentially explained the person in Luz’s apartment, though.

“If something happens to Mikolaj, I will never forgive myself,” General Zablonsky said. “I really need your help, Detective.”

I gazed into the distance, cursing my freaking luck.

I would never let anything happen to Luz, but to let him stay with me…

I didn’t like it. He needed proper care and a bodyguard.

Not a tired, jaded cop who hated his job as much as he loved it, and who stopped feeling passion about anything a decade ago.

“That boy needs our help, Bradley,” Chief Bibb said, standing up. “Arrange your working hours as you see fit, but don’t let him out of your sight. Bring him here if you must.”

“What about my cases? What about Mendoza?” I asked him.