Dirty Obsessions - The Lion and The Mouse

Circuit’s panicked voice came on. “It took you forever to get there.”

“We made a detour. Weren’t you listening to the conversation?”

“No. I’m a bit busy. I was waiting for you to get to the Xecutioners. Why did you stop at the cookie shop?”

“It doesn’t sell cookies. It sells candies.”

“Cookies, candies, or urine-flavored ice cream. I don’t care. Why stop there?”

“The leader of the Xecutioners like lollipops so I grabbed two boxes.”

“Hmmm. That might not be a bad idea.”

I scrunched my face in confusion. “Urine-flavored ice cream?”

“Never mind that. Be careful. I switched the mic on. I can now hear everything. Remember the code word?”

“Black Swan.”

“Good.”

“Have you heard from Misha?”

“He has been non-stop bothering me. We’ve found the Devil’s location. Kazimir is heading there now. I don’t foresee much of a future for the Devil.”

“And Kazimir’s lover?”

“We have an eye on the French, but they’ve been good at avoiding the city’s cameras.”

“And what about Leonid and Valentina?”

“We have the baby’s location for sure. Misha had a tracker put in the baby bracelet.”

“Perfect.”

“However, I’m not sure if Leonid is with them.”

“Doesn’t matter. I just want to get Valentina and the baby away from that mad man.”

“Go talk to the Xecutioners. Once we have that, then you can work with Zip on getting the location. Call me if you have any problems.”

“I will.”

“And don’t forget the codeword. I haven’t written my will yet, so I don’t need you to get killed. Misha will not be forgiving to anyone who helped you die.”

“I’ll be fine.” I hung up and hoped I spoke the truth.

Zip watched me. “That was Circuit?”

I nodded. “Where are the Xecutioners?”

“In Misha’s old gym.” He guided us to another long hallway and then pointed at a large door. “I would go in, but they creep me out. At least you have a bunch of men who will die for you.”

I swallowed. “Thanks. I have it from here.”

Yefim opened the door for me.

I expected a small gym, but this space was huge. Instantly, I spotted eight men working out in the room. They all had their shirts off, exposing sculpted muscular arms, carved chests, and chiseled abs. Sweat glistened on their skin. Each man had a large X branded on their chest, right above their hearts.

No one stopped when Yefim, I, and ten of my guards entered. The Xecutioners continued with their routines.

I held the two boxes of lollipops and searched for Hiro.

All the men wore these interesting work out bottoms. They weren’t like jogging pants. These were paneled in black, white, and red and had zippers slashed diagonally on their thighs. The material looked soft and hugged their thick thighs.

Four were lifting weights on the right. I checked each guy. The one with the long ashy blond hair watched me with those violet contact eyes. Tall and slim, he paused from lifting arm weights, put them down, and headed off through another door.

Where is he going?

I checked the other three lifting weights. One had blue hair. Another had silver. The third one wore a black hat.

Okay. Hiro isn’t over there.

I looked to the left. Two men punched heavy boxing bags. One had short brown curls. The other had black hair with pink streaks. I was about to check the one guy kicking a boxing bag near them until I spotted Hiro in the far back.

That’s him. Short black hair with a dark red streak on the right.

Hiro did arm pull-ups on a bar that was positioned fifteen feet in the air. Unlike the other men, he wore form-fitting grey sweatpants with black lines slashing the sides of his legs. The pants didn’t do much to hide his package. Therefore, I kept my view on his face.

It’s showtime.

Swallowing, I kept my grip on the boxes and walked to him.

Yefim remained on my side.

Watching Hiro do pull-ups made me exhausted. Easily, he raised his body up and down, touching his chin to the bar in fast, almost bouncing spurts. His muscles flexed. Sweat dripped down his chest.

When I came close, I realized his gaze had been on me the whole time. I stopped five feet in front of him. Then, he switched from using both arms to only doing pull-ups with one.

Alrighty. We get it. You’re strong.

As if hearing me, Hiro dropped to the ground, picked up a small towel from the side, and wiped his face.

Do I say something first? Or should he?

Still wiping off the sweat, he walked over to me and stopped a foot away.

What’s the first thing I should say? Maybe. . .Hey, Mr. Hiro. No. Not Mr. Hiro.

He studied me. His gaze hit the crystals on my jacket. He closed the distance and touched one. “That’s an elegant detail.”

My voice screeched a little. “I. . .like it.”

Hiro walked around me. “McQueen?”

I bobbed my head.

He stopped in front of me. “Did you ever catch McQueen’s 2015 collection?”