Here Comes Trouble (Nothing Special #3)(12)

Ruxs took a five minute freezing cold shower. It felt like shit, but it made his cock shrivel down to the size of a Vienna sausage, so the loss of his raging boner was a small plus. He got out, shaking like a leaf and quickly threw on some clothes. His AC/DC shirt was wrinkled but at least it was clean. He sat on the edge of the bed and put on his boots. When he’d finished he let his head rest between his knees for a few minutes, deciding if he was going to have to barf, before he went downstairs. He heard Green yell that he was getting in the truck. That meant he had two minutes.

Fuck me. He tucked his wallet and badge in his back pocket and shoved his Glock in his waistband at the small of his back. With his dark aviator glasses already on, he dragged his ass down the stairs and straight out the front door.

Green was staring at his cell phone when he climbed up into the truck. Ruxs turned to put on his seat belt and stiffened mid-motion. Motherfucker. He’s wearing that goddamn cologne. Ruxs stifled his groan and yanked his seatbelt hard, shoving it into the lock.

He could feel his friend’s eyes on him. He couldn’t bring himself to look back. “Hey. You feeling that bad, man? You drank a lot last night. Maybe you should stay home. Rest a few more hours. I’ll cover for you.” Green massaged his shoulder, his hand working up to the back of his neck, digging into the soft flesh just beneath his hairline. He was glad Green couldn’t see his eyes falling closed behind the dark lenses. His entire body buzzed and he could feel his cock pulsing in his black jeans. Fuck.

He shrugged Green’s hand off. He cleared his throat before he spoke but his voice was still gravely. “I’m good. Just got some shit on my mind.” Oh no.

“Look. If it’s about last ni —”

“No. What? No, it’s not. I gotta go see my mom today. I’m just thinking about that. I’m sure she’s about out of food now,” Ruxs said hurriedly, stopping Green from bringing up his ridiculousness from last night.

“Oh man.” Green put his hand back on his shoulder again. “I’m going with you, okay.”

“Fuck no. I’m not making you have to deal with that shit again. I’ll do it myself after work.” When Ruxs took him along to his mom’s before, she’d called his partner everything but a child of god before turning her venom back to him. He hated the pity in Green’s eyes. He kept talking. “Then I’ll probably go home and crash. Get a good night’s sleep ya know.” Ruxs rubbed his hand over his hair in frustration, still staring straight ahead. He knew Green could see past all his crap. As soon as Green cut the engine off and turned his entire body to face him, he knew he was about to be called on it.

“Stop it, okay.” Green’s voice was low and firm. “I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but enough. Enough! I’m going with you, just like I said I would the last time. I’m not going to watch you sulk the rest of the damn day.”

Ruxs didn’t say anything else. Green started the truck again and drove them towards the interstate so they could go find JJ. They found out the guy had a front job at a small strip mall in Buckhead. Drug dealers always had some menial job to prove how they had income if they were ever busted. But JJ was one of the smarter ones. He didn’t have fancy gear and drive a tricked out car like a lot of the dealers, painting a bull’s eye on their back. JJ tried to play it smart, but unfortunately he wasn’t smarter than them.

Green parked in the alley behind the small cluster of stores. It was midday so there weren’t a great deal of patrons moving about. JJ was a low-level security guard for a small company that didn’t bother doing criminal background checks on their applicants since all their guards were unarmed.

Eventually JJ would have to walk behind the buildings and check the area. When he did, they’d have a little chat with him. Ruxs sat silently in the truck. They’d been waiting for forty-five minutes and still no JJ yet. Green drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, glaring straight ahead.

“You gonna talk to me now?”

Ruxs didn’t answer.

“Okay, fine. Did you get to ask God that question? Did he give you some juicy details?” Green huffed a soft laugh.

Fucking great.

Ruxs tried to contain his anger. Green was making fun of something that had been costing him countless hours of sleep. Something that was serious to him. He should’ve been able to share his problems with his best friend and not be teased for it. He’d been around his partner for years, but since he hadn’t dated in so damn long, he was wondering why he was so content with simply being around Green. He rarely even looked at women. Sarah was a beautiful girl, he should’ve at least tried to score, even though they may not have gotten into a relationship, it was still okay to have friends with benefits.

Green was still chuckling at him. “Fuck you, man,” Ruxs growled.

“Aww. Now don’t go getting all sensitive.” Green went to rub his shoulder again but with lightning speed Ruxs gripped his wrist before he could touch him and squeezed it hard. Startled at the quick move, Green gritted his teeth, his other arm shooting up and catching a hold of the back of Ruxs neck, squeezing and pulling him towards him.

“Let go.” Green snarled in his face. Ruxs could smell the recent cup of coffee Green’d had on his breath, their faces were so close. Ruxs bared his own teeth and tightened his hold, but not as much as he could. His fingers dug hard into Green’s wrist, and Ruxs felt the pressure on his neck intensify to a dull ache. Green wasn’t trying to hurt him, either. Green pulled him in until their foreheads touched. His voice took on a tone that he rarely used. Finality. “Let go.”