Page 23 of Death's Deal

“Ask Destroyer to order you something from next door.”

In a quiet tone, she replies, “He left three hours ago.”

Catching me off guard, not only regarding the hour but more because of the fact Des left.

I look at my watch. It’s 4:00 am. I’ve been poring over this, totally oblivious to the world for hours? “Shit. I didn’t mean to starve you.” Closing the book and marking the part I was on; I place it back in the safe.

When it clicks closed with a heavy thud, Toni remarks, “Look, I get it. I’m stuck with you, but at least feed me.” Raising her phone, she gives it a wave. “No food delivery would come here.”

“Yeah, sorry. We’ve scared off our fair share of drivers. There’s something about a biker hangout with strippers that causes the services to avoid us.” Turning to the office door, with that cactus symbol still rolling around in my mind like an empty shell caught in a wave, we head out. Flipping it to the back of my mind, concentrating solely on Toni, we start back to my bike.

Approaching my ride, without being told to, reaching into the saddlebag, Toni pulls free the helmet. Slinging it on, I see that same vision as before. Her cute as hell hair sticking out, larger than life lashes beating at the air, and her nipples protruding through the shirt toward me. Damn! They beg me to suck on them. She is truly perfect without trying.

Reminding myself this is a job not a love story, and the woman wearing that helmet caused me a lifetime of pain, I grind my teeth, still wondering if those nipples are just as beautiful as they were before.

“Death? Did you hear me?” she says, unknowingly knocking me from my musing.

I don’t acknowledge her comment. “Hop on,” I state sternly as I hand her my cut once more. As I wait for her to sit, I straddle my ride. I stuff my semi-hard cock against the unforgiving tank while I compartmentalized my emotions. I crassly comment over my shoulder as she steps on the peg and seats herself, “I’m not paying for Spago. Can you handle a burger, Princess?”

Rubbing those nipples against my back once more, she speaks close to my ear, “I’m a big girl, Death. I’ll pay for my own fucking burger.”

Scoffing, “Fuck.” I kick my ride down to first, look for nonexistent traffic, and give the throttle a simple twist as we head away from Humble.

Chapter 13

“That shit is the woundedsouls of ancient warriors trapped in a plastic packet. The second circle of hell has every meal served with mustard, Toni. Why are you putting that on a properly cooked burger?”

Why does mustard look like that? The brightest, thickest yellow. It’s purely disgusting.

After eating the burger she bought so fast I don’t think she tasted it at all, I watch as she licks then wipes her fingers off on a curled up napkin. Scrunching up her nose and picking a long fry from her own pile, dipping it in ketchup and sriracha mixed, she mouths it gently.

Swallowing it, then snickering cutely, she asks, “How do you put hot peppers on fries? You're torturing those fries to a sadness there’s no coming back from.”

“Well, we will just have to agree our food is annoying to each other.” Slinging the last of her fries through the final dregs of ketchup left in the container and wiping her hands on that destroyed napkin, she eyes the menu on the side of Jack’s Cactus truck. “I need dessert.”

“No,” I quip before munching on a few of my own fries.

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