Page 37 of How to Hack a Hellhound
We both laughed at Todd’s awful line. I nodded, adding, “Wouldn’t surprise me. James I didn’t expect, but Todd is kind of an ass.”
“Yup,” Danny said. “And I’m not just saying that because we hooked up in the back room once. I know he’s into a new flavor every night, so it’s not like I was expecting much, but the asshole didn’t even give back.” He leaned closer, adding, “And he was a shitty kisser. He took some cute newbie back there a few minutes ago. I almost warned the guy that it wasn’t gonna be worth it.”
“Danny! Bring the drinks!” someone shouted from the dance floor, and Danny got up, adding, “Good luck, man. I hope the cops find James and bust him.”
We both nodded, and Liam led me away from the bar. “Back room?” he asked, and I nodded my head.
I led us over to the same door James had taken me through more than a week ago. Part of me hoped that Todd was up to no good, but part of me also really hoped it was a mutual hook-up, as Danny had implied. I didn’t want to see anyone assaulted by that asshole.
We walked through the door with no issue—not sure who was supposed to be watching it, but they clearly weren’t doing their job. Probably Todd. We made our way down the corridor with Liam occasionally sniffing. I heard the groans behind one of the doors before Liam even had to point at it. It was a room all the way at the back of the club, and when I tried the handle, it wasn’t locked.
It was some kind of office, with a chair, a desk, and a couch. Todd had some guy who looked barely legal pressed against the couch, and based on the mauling the guy’s face was receiving from Todd’s tongue, I didn’t doubt the bad kisser story.
I cleared my throat loudly, and Todd looked up, but the other guy just rolled his head drunkenly. He was probably wasted, but obviously that wasn’t stopping Todd.
“Time for you to head home, lover boy. Todd and I have business to discuss,” I snapped.
“Oh shit, are you, like, his boyfriend?” the guy slurred.
I couldn’t help the look of disgust that crossed my face. “I wouldn’t fuck him with a ten-foot pole,” I answered. “And you’re too drunk to be fucking anyone anyway. You got friends out there in the club?”
He waved his phone around, which I could see had a ton of notifications on it. Good, they were looking for him. Todd was staring at us, and he surprisingly didn’t interfere when I grabbed drunk boy and led him to the door. I walked him back up the hallway and out into the club, leaving Liam to deal with Todd for the moment. I wasn’t out the door more than a minute when someone came over and grabbed drunk boy.
“Watch your friend. He’s wasted, and not everyone respects consent,” I yelled over the music. The guy looked concerned and nodded, grabbing onto his friend. I turned around and went back through the door leading into the back of the club.
When I got back to the room, Todd was sitting casually on the couch, still mussed, and Liam was standing there in the same place I’d left him. I got the impression no one had spoken a word while I was gone.
“We need to talk about James,” I told Todd, watching his face. He didn’t look surprised. He also didn’t look nervous, and I didn’t know what to make of that. Could he just be a normal asshole and not involved?
“Yeah, I guess we do,” Todd sighed. He got up, reached into the desk, and pulled out a taser.
“Well, that wasn’t on my bingo card for today,” I muttered. I saw Liam smirk out of the corner of my eye, but he didn’t look concerned. The taser was pointed at him, not at me, so I wasn’t surewhyhe looked so casual.
“You brought muscle, I see. That’s ok. I’m my own muscle,” Todd bragged.
“You’re such an asshole, Todd. And your lines are fucking corny as shit,” I added. Ok, maybe not the best response to someone holding a taser, but he was an asshole.
His face twisted a bit at that. “People are looking for you, Q, but no one said anything about your friend. Won’t be so hard to incapacitate him, though. Two for the price of one.”
“Are you gonna monologue now, Todd? Have you become a cartoon supervillain?” I sneered. “Please, go ahead and share all your evil plans with us. My guess, though, is that you’re just a low-level scumbag who doesn’t even know what you’re caught up in.”
Todd looked really pissed now, and he held the taser up higher. “It’ll be a pleasure to hand you over, Q.”
Liam stepped closer to the taser instead of away. “You really don’t want to do that, Todd.”
“Oh, I really do,” he said, and then there was a popping sound and two little darts shot out of the taser gun, hitting Liam square in the chest.
Todd looked gleeful as Liam fell to the ground. His hand was still holding the taser trigger, and I ran toward him to try and grab it. He pulled pepper spray out of his pocket with his other hand and aimed it at me before I could reach him. I stopped, since I would be no good to Liam if I was blinded. Plus, surely a taser wouldn’t have Liam down for long. I knew he would come and find me, too. I had faith in him. Even if Todd managed to take me, he’d find me.
I looked over at Liam, but he wasn’t moving. I fucking hoped he was ok.
“You think he’s dead? Maybe one more shot will do it,” he said gleefully, and I watched his hand press down on the taser trigger again.
Only at that Liam stood up, and we both turned to stare at him. He looked totally unaffected. He was even grinning a little bit.
“Fuck! What the fuck!” Todd said, pressing the trigger over and over. As Liam stalked toward him, he moved the pepper spray and took aim at Liam’s face, spraying out a stream of liquid straight into his face.
Huh. Pepper spray was actually red, and it came out in a stream. Who knew?
