Page 15 of Bazooka

“Your cases remain yours, and Mendoza remains a priority. Nothing will change; we will just help you to keep your eyes on Luz. Anyway… I’ll leave you two to straighten out the details.”

After he left, General Zablonsky spoke.

“I like you, Detective Bradley. You’re the only person in a decade who dared to threaten me with a gun, and you had every right to do it. You seem like a good man, and you’re exactly what Mikolaj needs.”

“I’m not sure I like you back, General,” I said dryly. “But I like your son. I will protect him, but not because of you.”

“I couldn’t ask for more.”

I looked at him, deciding not to beat around the bush. “Do you know how Luz would react if he knew we’re talking to each other behind his back?”

General Zablonsky squirmed in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “I know. He wouldn’t like it.”

“He would be livid,” I corrected him. “And now I’m in a position where I must lie to him to protect him. If he ever finds out, he will never talk to me again.”

“He won’t hear it from me, Detective.”

“No, he will hear it from me,” I pointed out. “But only when I’m sure he’s safe. Anything else you want to talk to me about? I have work to do.”

“Do you have a significant other, Detective?” General Zablonsky asked me.

I had to smile.

“I’m sure you’ve read my file, General, so you know the answer to that question. And in case you wanted to know my sexual orientation, it’s none of your damn business.”

I could have told him I was straight, but I didn’t want to.

He bowed his head. “I apologize. I just wanted to get to know you on a more personal level. I hope it happens one day.”

“I don’t think that’s likely,” I said, standing up. “Have a nice day, General.”

“Wait.”

I turned to look at him.

“Here’s my card. If you need anything… help, resources… Please let me know. This is not a bribe. I’m just trying to help.”

I took the card and left, but… yeah, it didn’t go so well.

The entire Luz situation was getting complicated by the minute, and I was smack in the middle of it.

I had to come up with a good plan to make things work without losing my damn mind.

Why? Because I was about to let the tornado called Luz into my life.

After that, the interview with the “gleesome threesome” was the easier part of my day.

Sadly, as I expected, they didn’t give me much to go on, but only corroborated Luz’s story.

After his friends left, I joined Luz in the bedroom.

He was sitting on the bed, gazing into the distance thoughtfully.

When I came in, he looked at me but said nothing.

Was he still angry at me because of last night? If so, I was still angry at him, too.

“By the way, you owe me an apology,” I said. “To Patricia, too.”

“You owe me an apology, too,” Luz countered, raising his chin in defiance.

I suppressed a smile. Stubborn brat.

“You start first,” I insisted.

He cleared his throat before speaking.

“I’m sorry if I was hysterical yesterday. I was worried that something had happened to you, and I wasn’t thinking straight. Also, being alone makes me nervous after everything that happened. I’m not afraid or anything, but I get fidgety, so I apologize if I overreacted.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I admitted. “I have been living alone my whole life, and I’m not used to checking in with anyone. I’ll try to be more mindful in the future.”

He cocked his eyebrows. “Future?”

I nodded, walking up to the bed.

“Yeah, erm… it brings me to another piece of news. My caretaker friend said that he can’t take care of you. He has another obligation I didn’t know about, so…”

“Oh,” Luz muttered, looking confused.

I hated lying to him and keeping secrets from him, but I had no other choice. I would rather have him mad at me and safe than happy with me and dead.

“It’s also dangerous for you to return to your apartment,” I continued, looking at the floor. “Not until we figure out what’s going on.”

“Meaning?” Luz said, sounding breathless.

“Meaning we have to find another solution.”

He moved to his knees, never taking his eyes off me.

“Meaning?”

Shit, I was really doing this, wasn’t I?

I had no other choice but to bite the bullet.

“Meaning, you can stay here for the time being.”

He squealed and threw himself into my arms, almost falling to the floor in the process. I caught him before the idiot could fall and break his neck.

“Thank you,” he said, wrapping his arms around my neck so tightly I could barely breathe. “I’m so fucking relieved, Baz.”

“Ow,” I muttered, complaining. “You’re suffocating me.”

“Sorry,” he said and let go of my neck, but his arms remained on my shoulders. “You won’t regret it, Bazooka.”

I made a face. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“You’ll see. I’m a great roomie. I’ll cook for you. I’ll clean the condo. I’ll wash your clothes. I’ll give you a massage every day after you come back home from work. Oh, and I’m the best cuddler in the world.”

“Okay, no,” I said, pushing him away. “None of the above.”

He finally let go of me, but only because he was in pain. I could see it on his face.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“My back hurts. I fucked it up yesterday, and now I’m paying the price.”

“Okay, let’s do the stinky cream treatment plus ice packs. How does that sound?”

“Awful.”

“Good. Strip and give me a moment to get my supplies.”

“When you say strip, you mean my underwear as well, or—?”

“Luz.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fiiine.”

When I came back, he was already lying on his belly, naked to the waist.

“There will be rules,” I said, applying the cream to his back. “And you will obey them, or else.”

“Like what?”

“Like, no hitting on me. It’s non-negotiable, by the way.”

Luz groaned in frustration but said nothing.

“No flirting,” I added.

He looked at me over his shoulder, frowning.

“Now, that’s just mean. How about a little bit of flirting? What’s the harm in it?”

“Okay, maybe a little,” I yielded, because it was fun bantering with him. “And then there’s the third rule, equally important.”

“Okay?”

“You will do exactly what I say, when I say it. If I say jump, you will jump. You won’t question me, and you won’t disagree with me. And last but not least, you won’t leave this apartment without me by your side… ever. Wait, do you have a job?”

“Not at the moment. I mean, I work when I have to.”

Okay, he just lied to me. I didn’t push it, though, because I had other ways of making him talk.

“What about your job?” Luz asked me. “You can’t babysit me twenty-four seven.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I mused. “We still have three more sketches to do, but we can do them at the station. That way, you can look at some mugshots, too.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that,” Luz said, sounding excited. “Being a cop by proxy. I’m stoked. Maybe I can even help you catch that Mendoza guy.”

“You will do no such thing,” I said sternly. “You won’t be a pest, and you won’t interfere with my work. You will be good. Repeat after me.”

“I will be good.”

“Raise your hips.”

When he did what I said, I pulled down his sweats and boxers, revealing his ass. I started to apply the cream to the bruise on his hip, only to realize that he’d turned deathly quiet.

“What is it? Did I cross a boundary of some kind?” I said, smirking.

“Thossosite,” he mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow.

“What was that?”

“The opposite,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Does it hurt, or…?”

“No, it feels… nice.”

“What do you mean, nice?”

Luz shook his head in… frustration?

“Don’t ask me questions you don’t want answers to, Bazooka.”

He got me confused, but when he let out a moan of pleasure, I got unconfused. I also removed my hand from his ass.

“You’re impossible. Stop humping my bed, Luz.”

“Can I ask you a question?” he said, sounding almost in pain.

“Okay?”

“Am I allowed to jerk off while I’m here?”

“No,” I scoffed. “Don’t tell me you can’t restrain yourself for a short period of time?”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because you turn me the fuck on, Baz.”

I let out a heavy sigh, gave up, and left the room.