Page 23 of Tyrant Blood

This was a serious situation, there was absolutely no denying that.

But Cole knew that he had no choice but to defend Joaquin and keep him safe. Cole had made many, many mistakes in his life. Even before his hockey career, Cole was never more than one step away from a bad decision or trouble. And just because he had managed to find some peace in Ridgeback Falls, it didn’t mean that the old Cole wasn’t still alive inside him.

‘Old habits die hard, J,’ Cole said, reaching across and placing his hand over Joaquin’s palm. ‘I was a mean son of a gun on the ice, and I’ve got that dog inside me today too. Katsen’s going down, and I’m going to be the one to do it.’

‘I want to help,’ Joaquin replied, a flash of wild desire in his eyes as he looked up from his orange juice.

‘Too risky,’ Cole barked.

‘I know the city, I know where Katsen hangs out, and I know how his thugs move too,’ Joaquin countered. ‘And…’

‘And?’ Cole asked, seeing the look in Joaquin’s face change to something more akin to bloodthirsty revenge.

‘After what his men tried to do to me, I want to be a part of the payback,’ Joaquin said, his voice full of emotion. ‘No… I have to be a part of it.’

Cole could see that Joaquin wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

And truth be told, Cole didn’t blame Joaquin either.

‘Okay, that’s settled,’ Cole replied. ‘We’ll do it together. And we’ll do it soon. But first I need more information from my contacts in the city. Now how about we head into the town and pick up some food? I want us both fully fed and ready to burn some calories later on…’

Joaquin blushed and looked away from Cole.

Cole could feel that the attraction between him and Joaquin was building into something else. Yes, he may have been desperate to fuck Joaquin’s brains out, but at the same time there was another layer to his feelings.

The boy was special. He was worth risking everything for.

And if the mission to eradicate Katsen did prove a step too far, then Cole wanted to ensure that he had no regrets before the final curtain.

Cole was going to give Joaquin everything that he desired, and a whole heap more on top of that too…

Chapter 12

Joaquin

The drive from Ridgeback Falls back into the city took longer than expected. With a heavy downpour of rain and plenty of drivers taking it extra careful around the many twists and turns, the journey nearly doubled in length. But that wasn’t so bad.

With Cole ceding total control of the car stereo to Joaquin, there was time for plenty of fun music, laughter, and talking.

‘Will Ranger be okay without us?’ Joaquin asked, his bond with Cole’s dog already feeling like something special to him.

‘We’re going for two nights, he’ll be fine,’ Cole laughed. ‘Especially with Roddy housesitting! That damn dog will be getting more treats than he would in a year from me. Trust me. Roddy might be a tough son of a gun, but when it comes to Ranger he’s as soft as they come.’

‘Good,’ Joaquin replied. ‘That’s what I like to hear.’

Joaquin was feeling a little apprehensive about the trip to the city. The idea was that Joaquin was going to tell Cole where Katsen’s hangouts were, and Cole would then go there and try to get some time alone with Katsen. And when the opportunity presented itself… Cole was going to put an end to everything.

It was a big deal, there was no escaping that fact.

Joaquin knew that Cole was doing it all for him, and the risks that were attached were huge. But Joaquin hated Katsen and his thugs so much that he felt it was justified. Joaquin had a lucky escape, but there were probably countless others who hadn’t. Rohan Katsen simply had to go down, and if his henchmen fell then that was the cherry on top of the cake.

Joaquin smiled quietly to himself as the rain continued to hammer down on the windscreen. With the heating pumping out of the truck’s vents, Joaquin began to feel himself drifting off to sleep. And no matter how valiantly he tried to stop his eyelids drooping shut, he just couldn’t do it.

‘It’s okay, have a nice little nap,’ Cole said, briefly turning and looking at Joaquin before quickly putting his eyes back on the road. ‘This is going to be a long journey. And the rest will do you good. We might be up late these next two nights. You’ll be grateful of getting in the sleep now.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Joaquin replied.

Joaquin tried to muster more of a response, but the truth was that he was beat. It might have been the nervous energy wearing off, but Joaquin was just about ready to fall into a deep sleep.

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