Page 33 of Bazooka

What a Balderdash

Bazooka

“Team one in place?” I said, adjusting the radio earpiece in my ear.

“Team one, ready,” Adam confirmed.

“Team two in place?”

“Team two, ready,” Maddox confirmed.

“Okay, we’re going in on one, two…”

At three, I barged into the building with my gun raised high, followed by a dozen police officers. Adam and Maddox covered the other two entrances until we all met in the middle of a huge storage room.

“Hands where we can see them! Don’t move!” My colleagues warned the stunned guards with machine guns, but there were too many of us and too few of them. Why? Mendoza didn’t see us coming.

The funny thing was that he could only blame himself for what happened.

When his goons jumped me in that back alley, one of them lost a lighter.

That lighter led us to the establishment called Bubba’s Bar and Grill.

One of its patrons was suspicious, and after a quick check with Marcello, he turned out to be Mendoza’s liaison in Grangetown.

After we made him talk, he led us to this storage where we seized a huge shipment of weapons.

It was the biggest bust in the history of the Loser’s Division, and more importantly, without a shot being fired.

Hopefully, it conveyed my message to Mendoza: I was here to stay.

“Excellent job, men!” Chief Bibb commended us after we’d returned to the station. “If this doesn’t get some of you out of the LD, I don’t know what will.”

“We still have a job to finish,” I stated. “I will not rest until I find Mendoza and put him behind bars.”

“Right you are,” Chief Bibb murmured. “What about the Luz situation? Is everything under control?”

“There’s been a few changes,” I replied. “After Mendoza’s threat, I moved Luz to Jordan’s place. General Zablonsky hired a bodyguard who is keeping an eye on him from a distance. So yes, the situation is under control.”

“Under control?” Adam said after we left the chief’s office. “Are you sure about that?”

“I can keep Luz in check,” I said, sounding unconvincing even to my own ears.

Adam chuckled. “If you say so but let me tell you something. I can see this situation between you and Luz unfolding in two ways. You will either kill him because he will drive you crazy…”

I let out a heavy sigh. “Or?”

“Or you will wake up one morning with a wedding band on your finger.”

Jesus.

“You ready, losers?” Jordan bellowed. “It’s movie night.”

I frowned in confusion. “What’s that? A new mission?”

“Chill, Bazooka,” Adam replied, laughing. “It’s just a night when we all go to this weirdo’s place. Basically, it’s an excuse to get trashed and blow off some steam, although occasionally we watch a movie. Everyone’s going. You?”

“Don’t even think about refusing, Bazooka,” Jordan threatened. “Luz will kill me if you don’t show up. He will be so happy to see you, man.”

Yeah, my problem exactly. My other problem was that I would be equally happy to see him.

Why? Because living without Luz after you lived with Luz was akin to missing a limb.

My apartment wasn’t just quiet; it was eerily silent.

It wasn’t just empty but deserted. The unoccupied bed, vacant rooms, unnatural silence with no beginning or end.

His bedroom… my bedroom, dammit … was still as he left it.

His bed unmade, his clothes scattered all over the place, his makeup of whatever the hell it was that he’d left on the nightstand.

His scent wouldn’t leave the room, no matter how much I aired it, which was little to none because I missed the little brat.

The only thing I did in his absence was return the curtain rod to its place.

Oh, and I fixed the ugly statue Luz had bought.

I reattached its penis with glue (I took it out of the trash can after he threw it away, because I felt guilty).

After I glued it, I hid it in the nightstand drawer because it was too ugly to look at.

So, yeah, I went to Jordan’s goddamn party.

When I arrived there after a quick trip home to freshen up, everyone was already there.

And by everyone, I meant Adam, Patricia, Jordan, and, to my surprise, Maddox.

Chief Bibb was invited too but refused to attend because “it will probably give me a reason to fire you all”.

I said hello to everyone before heading to the kitchen, following the scent of trouble and… chocolate? When I came inside, Luz spun around, wide-eyed and panicked. He had flour all over his shirt, and some of it found its way into his hair. Or maybe it was icing sugar.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” he grumbled, looking displeased. “You were supposed to stay with the others.”

His full lips pouted out, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I expected a warmer welcome,” I said, walking up to him.

A flush appeared on his cheeks, and he ducked his head. Aw, so cute. He had a few modes, actually. The angry kitten mode. The adorable puppy mode. All the cute animals, really. And then, of course, there was Luz, the destroyer of worlds, mode.

“You smell like marzipan,” I said, leaning in and inhaling the sweet scent.

“I’m not presentable,” he muttered sulkily. “Why did you have to see me like this?”

“You’re cute.”

My words made his stunned gaze shift to my face. So what? He was cute.

At the sound of the door opening, he flinched. Maybe I did, too.

“Hey,” Patricia said, walking inside. “Am I interrupting something? I just came to pour myself a glass of water.”

“No, come on in,” I replied. “I was just chatting with the cook.”

“The sink is over there,” Luz said, rolling his eyes. “The glasses are in the cabinet.”

I gave him a stern look as he mouthed, “What?”

“How are you, Levi?” Patricia said. “I hoped I would see you tonight. You owe me a drink or two.”

“I’m good. About that drink—”

I paused when I felt a hand on my chest. A very proprietary hand.

“Oopsie. I lost my balance for a moment. Sorry,” Luz said, but he didn’t sound sorry at all. He also wouldn’t remove his hand from my chest until Patricia left, which was childish, but I let him do it anyway.

“Again, sorry,” he said with a shrug after we were left alone. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

I smirked. “I can see that. What are you baking, brat?”

“Something sweet. It’s finished, so I’ll hit the shower now. Pinky swear you won’t leave while I’m in the bathroom.”

I chuckled because he was ridiculous and hooked my finger around his. “You got it, pest.”

I finally got the answer to my question when Luz appeared in the living room half an hour later. He was dressed in jeans and a dark blue shirt, and his hair was still damp from the shower. Almost all his bruises were gone, and it only enhanced his beauty—and I could say it objectively.

“I made you cupcakes, guys,” Luz said, carrying a bunch of cardboard boxes in his hands.

“The lemony ones are for you, asshole Adam. The poppyseed ones are for Maddox, and they are thank-you muffins. You know why, cool guy. The poisoned ones are for you, Office Vile. Best quality strawberries, though.”

Jordan choked with laughter as Luz gave out everyone’s boxes.

“Yours are in the kitchen, roomie,” Luz told him before walking up to me. “These are for you, kochanie . The vanilla ones because they smell like you.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking the box, feeling awkward.

“Oh, Luz, it seems you’re sitting on the floor,” Patricia said, smiling sweetly. “Good thing for you, the movie is short.”

She had a point because Jordan was sitting on the sofa next to Adam and Maddox, and there was no room there for anyone else. Patricia was sitting in an armchair, the same as I was.

“Oh, you’re wrong,” Luz countered. “I have a seat right here.”

He plopped down in my lap with a satisfied sigh. “Yeah, I think I’ll just park myself right here.”

Patricia let out an incredulous laugh as Jordie announced, “I’m putting the movie on. Everyone, shut up.”

“More bad habits?” I said to Luz in a low voice. “Why are you picking on her?”

He moved closer to whisper in my ear. “I hate her. And she’s picking on me back.”

“You’re being childish. And you can’t watch a movie like this.” I said what was obvious, because he was facing my neck instead of the TV.

“Doesn’t matter,” he whispered, his lips grazing my earlobe. “I’ve already seen it.”

I cocked my eyebrows. “So, I’ll be watching the movie, and you’ll be watching me?”

“You know I don’t mind watching you, Baz.”

When I wrapped my arm around him to make sure he wouldn’t fall, he relaxed. His breath fanned my neck, warm and sweet. He smelled of shower, shampoo, and cupcakes, making me inhale more air than I needed to.

“I’ll just close my eyes for a moment,” he said, snuggling against me. “I’m having such a good dream.”

I smiled at the ludicrous sentence as he rested his head on my shoulder, and his breathing slowed down.

That was how we remained until the movie finished—with him sleeping in my lap and me suffering through a raging boner that just wouldn’t leave .

It was what led me to the balcony with a bottle of whatever liquor in my hand, after I left Luz asleep in the armchair.

I needed some fresh air, a lot of alcohol in my body, and some time to think.

The first time Lucius Zablonsky gave me an erection I thought it was because he made me so angry that my body got confused. The second time it happened, I thought it was because I needed to get laid. This time, I could have blamed it on the weather or whatever, but what would be the point?

The others figured out I needed some time alone because no one joined me outside, not even Patricia. I could see her glancing at me while she played cards with the guys, but she kept her distance. Everyone was smart enough to keep their distance except for one person.

“Hey,” Luz said, stepping out onto the balcony. “I fell asleep, huh?”