Page 15 of His Favorite Color is Blood
Then, through the haze of pleasure and the sound of conversations and annoying music, a loud voice cut through Grim’s mind with a word that he knew all too well.
“Gross!”
Grim pulled away and looked into Andrey’s eyes, at his pretty, plump lips. The bird deserved better than being a victim of hate speech on his first day out of the damn cell of a room. His eyes moved up, to the door, where a man with a fat blond beard met his eyes while talking to a woman. “What? Am I supposed to ignore this because one of them is in a wheelchair? Soon enough, you’re gonna be sorry more people weren’t speaking up when fags get all those privileges they hadn’t earned!”
Grim’s blood simmered, but he clenched his teeth and briefly smiled at Andrey in hope of making him feel better. The man had other ideas.
“What, big guy? You wanna say something to me? I bet you got yourself a wheelchair fag so that he’s at the right height,” the man said and spread his arms.
Grim watched him with a steady face. The damn breeder felt invincible with all the cameras around and a security guard lazily watching the scene from a few yards away.
Grim stretched and slowly walked up to the man and his partner. He was breathing in and out as he approached, looking straight into the man’s narrowpig-like eyes. “Your girlfriend must be proud of you making fun of a disabled guy.”
The man’s eyes strayed to his companion’s flushed face, and it was the distraction Grim needed. He stood between the man and the camera and discreetly pinched his fingers on the wallet that stuck out of the man’s front pocket. Grim hadn’t started his career in crime with assassinations, and while his pickpocketing skills were a bit rusty, they still got the job done.
“You mean Stumpy over there? I think he’s doing fine,” the man said and laughed, crossing his arms on his chest, but his friend pulled on his elbow, taking him a step away from Grim.
“Let’s go, Pat, it’s not worth it,” the woman started, pulling on her man’s shoulder.
Grim smirked and gave the bastard a push once the wallet was safely stored in the inner pocket of his cut. “Enjoy your day,” said Grim, knowing there were only so many hours before he would claim his blood bounty. He couldn’t do it here without complicating his life, but the fucking homophobe would eventually pay up.
Andrey backed away from the mall’s entrance. “I’m sorry I kissed you. I’m confused, because I watched a lot of TV, and on most shows, everyone’s okay with being gay, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”
Grim laughed, following the wheelchair. “Most movies aren’t set in rural Mississippi. Besides, don’t trust the movies. They’re full of bullshit.”
“Are there many more people like him?”
“People everywhere are the same. Some happen to be entitled pieces of shit like this one,” said Grim, petting the wallet through the leather.
Andrey looked down to his stumps, so Grim felt like he had the right to stare as well. “I need to get a blanket to cover those up.”
Grim nodded, stepping closer to look at the beautifully odd legs from above. “I’m sure they have some inside.”
“I … Can we go somewhere else?” Andrey said in a deflated tone, slouching in the wheelchair.
Anger rose in Grim’s chest as he looked at the curled-up shoulders of his bird. He’d been tossed around by the wind for so long, and now he had to endure abuse on top of that? Grim’s inner beast was shuddering with rage.
“Sure, there are plenty other places where we can find something for you.”
“I’d rather do that.” Andrey pulled his shorts slightly lower to hide more of his legs, and Grim’s heart ached at the sight.
They went back to the truck, and Grim helped Andrey inside before storing the chair in the back, along with his bike. He slid into the driver’s seat and exhaled, watching Andrey, who seemed withdrawn again, nothing like the tweeting canary he’d been for a few moments. If they hadn’t been in a public place, the homophobic shithead would have lost much more than his wallet.
“I’m sorry you had to listen to him,” said Grim in the end, pulling out the wallet. He opened it to stare into the man’s dumb face in a photo on his driver’s licence.
“Maybe it would be better to just avoid people. At all,” Andrey said, not even looking Grim’s way.
Grim pulled the money out of the wallet and passed it to Andrey. “He’ll be embarrassed when he can’t pay for his woman’s dinner tonight.”
Andrey looked like he’d only just woken up as he stared at the money in his hand. “This belongs to him?”
Grim smirked. “Yes. I didn’t want to be arrested for assaulting him, but I enjoyed doing this much.”
Andrey’s face brightened slightly, and he put the money in his pocket. “Did you ever get in trouble because of being gay?”
Grim noticed Andrey hadn’t buckled up his seatbelt, and he leaned over, propping himself on one of those delicious thighs as he pulled on the belt. He fastened it and then took his time adjusting the fit. “Of course. But I was ready to go far to defend myself.”Reallyfar. Once Grim had killed a man over the issue, there was no going back.
“Would you get me a gun?” Andrey’s gaze swept over Grim’s body in a way that gave him goose bumps. He swallowed hard, squeezing the steering wheel as he drove toward the exit from the parking lot.
