Page 6 of Ruthless Malice

She doesn’t disappoint. “Sure I do. Serenity’s local tap ale is pretty good. Tried it?” She’s one of those pure of heart girls, I can tell, but she’s got a nervous energy to her, like she wants to please me and will do whatever I say. That works well for me. Leverage and a wet pussy are a winning combination.

“No, but if you’re buying it, this old war vet will take it.” I place the edge of my hand on her knee to show my appreciation. I don’t leave it too long, just enough for it to be a touch point. No flinching.Good. I’m going to groom the shit out of this one.

The bartender serves up a frothy beer as I skim my eyes over Lily when she slides my drink over. She’s wearing one of those V-necks so I can see her cleavage. Yup. I’m right about her. When she reaches over to put the drinks in front of me, her ass has this nice roundness to it. I can slip right in between that. Good god. I’m gonna fuck this cute little ass to pieces.

I bring my eyes up to hers as she hands me to the beer with a smile.

“I think we should cheers. I can’t wait to hear the rest of your story!”

“I agree. Cheers to a new friendship and sharing war stories.” I raise my glass in the air and clink it with good nature. A few minutes later, I had her eating out of the palm of my hand after picking up where we’d left off in the station.

“Yeah. Those tankers were so hot on the inside. It’s like being trapped inside a cauldron. It’s not like the suckers were air-conditioned. I worked alongside an African American named Dan, and he was a hell of a man to fight with. We ended up getting stationed together in both Panama and the Persian Gulf. We had to fire those scud missiles from the ground. Some of them hit the target and others didn’t. When we got back to base, things didn’t let up there either. We were stationed in Kuwait, and every few hours we were getting loaded up with rocket launchers hitting the base.”

I locked those eyes in. She could barely sip that beer of hers. She was so desperate to hear my voice. I fed her the stories, all of them true, but with hidden motivation behind them. “It was one of the scariest and most exhilarating times of my life. I lost a good man called Clint Jeeves out there as well. One of the rocket launches hit him when he was walking out to the mess hall to get something to eat.”

“You saw him get hit?” she squeaked.

“Yeah, I sure did. It’s exactly like one of those sniper video games, except it’s real life. It’s strange how desensitized you become to the killing.”

“I never want to be desensitized to harming others. I see and hear enough at the department.” She tucks her blonde hair behind her ear. She’s way too innocent to be working at the cop station.

I shrug. “Life. God rest Clint’s soul. Once Special Forces got in the air and launched, our guys swept through there, and those rocket attacks stopped. It was a crazy time back then.”

“That sounds nuts. Rocket launchers! Man. My grandfather told me about the prisoners of war and the bombs. All the innocent civilians that lost their lives. He saw so much death. He told me once he saw his one of his unit members get their arm blown off right in front of him. It hit him in the shoulder as it got flung back. What would that do to a man? I don’t get wars.”

I could see her about tearing up, and this was the perfect time to pour on the emotional sympathy vote.

“Yep. It’s a tough gig to go to war. There’s no guarantee in this life. Speaking of no guarantees, what’s up with your Sheriff and them false gun charges?” I arch an eyebrow, sipping my beer casually. I don’t want her suspecting I’m in on anything.

“Oh, Sheriff Hunter? He’s lame and he shouldn’t have brought Snatch in for that gun charge. He’s let guys go for more.”

Now we’re getting somewhere, sweetie.My mouth bears an enormous grin, but really, it’s me baring my teeth for war. “Why do you think he did that exactly? We don’t have any beef with the Serenity police. We are good citizens and pay our taxes.”

“Sheriff Hunter doesn’t care about that. He only cares about himself,” she adds, her eyes glazing over.

“What is someone so beautiful doing working there? You should be at a job where you can be appreciated,” I respond, pouring it on thick, like spreading icing on the cake.

“It’s my job, I guess. All I’ve ever known is the cop way. I got bills to pay. Ain’t nobody else gonna pay them for me. Sheriff Hunter ought to be classified as an outlaw himself.”

Bingo. Shingo.“He should, honey. You can tell me; I won’t tell a soul. That was a motto in our unit. Keep your head down and your mouth closed.”

Come on… open up, bitch.Tell me what I wanna know. I drain my beer, waiting a beat. Letting the emotion-filled moments pass while she flicks that straw-colored hair off her shoulder. Damn, she looks like Merrie. Shit is fucking me up…Hard.

“He’s not legitimate, that’s all I’ll say.”

“You don’t have to tell me anymore. I understand.” I end it with a hand squeeze. Again, she doesn’t flinch and those hazel eyes stare back at me with a hope I shouldn’t be blessed with.

***

When I get back to the boys, I see Sledge, Snatch, and Psych huddled together. The unofficial old ladies are kicking back on the couch having a good old time.

I can hear a video playing. “What’s going on?”

“We got a tip off from Jansen. He sent through some video footage of us. It’s fucked up,” Slash mumbles.

I muscle in between them and take control of the video footage. “Gimme that. Let me see it.”

The video is super clear, and it shows the van right outside the Outlaws’ stash house. They’re loading up the van, ready for transport. “Fuck!We need some leverage on that Sheriff ASAP,” I grit through my teeth.

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