Page 74 of His Favorite Color is Blood
“I wish I could do this to every single man who hurt you. Maybe I can make Zero reveal their names.”
“If Zero stops being a threat, I could dig into their system, and I bet I’d find at least a few. Fucking bastards. Paying to fuck a kid with no legs, like I was some freak show.” Misha’s frown deepened.
Grim snickered and gave Misha a kiss through both their mud masks, slowly sinking into the welcoming arms. He could never just rest after a kill like this, so having someone hug him through the latent high felt amazing. Even if Misha couldn’t be his sniper buddy, he could definitely offer Grim that.
Once Grim melted into the hug, even Misha’s legs joined in, as Misha curled around Grim. It was a safe cocoon of affection Grim had never received in this magnitude.
“Does the blood feel good on you?” whispered Grim.
Misha looked to his own hand. “Yes, because it’s his blood. It’s like I get to hold his life.”
Molten heat spread over Grim’s chest, and he petted the red-stained fingers. “You understand me so well.”
“Because you’re mine.” Misha smiled, never taking his eyes off their entwined hands. “I pay attention to my property.”
Grim stared at him, lost for words. He knew Misha shouldn’t have said this, but it was still a turn-on. “Just don’t repeat that in front of the guys, birdie.”
Misha wanted to kiss him, but then the muddy layer on their faces got in the way, and he settled on rubbing his cheek against Grim’s. “I won’t. It’s for your ears only.”
Grim kissed Misha’s knuckles and slowly rose to his feet. “It’s time to let him know. Then, we can get rid of that pig and go home.”
“Home …” Misha repeated quietly and nodded.
Grim still held on to his hand as he pulled off one glove with his teeth and begrudgingly chose Zero’s number, switching to loudspeaker as they listened to the signal that filled the eerie silence. Grim’s stomach clenched with discomfort. He knew he shouldn’t be stressed before talking to the bastard. He should be ready for a hunt not having this odd flight reaction, but interacting with Zero was somehow far worse than most of the things he’d had to deal with throughout his career.
Misha squeezed Grim’s hand tighter when Zero picked up the phone. “Decent timing. Not even a week.” His voice was low and distorted, which meant he was using some kind of device to make himself unrecognizable.
Grim took a deep breath and sat on the low wall where they earlier placed the camera. “We have the film for you. Where should I send it to?” Both a physical address and an online storage site could give them clues about Zero’s whereabouts.
“No need for that. I want to see my lovely Misha in person one last time. And then there’s Denny … A meeting in person would be appropriate.”
A cold shiver went down Grim’s back, and he looked at Misha, who went tense and wide-eyed like a bunny caught in a trap.
Grim clenched his teeth. “Is that absolutely necessary? Misha isn’t feeling well these days.” He knew he was milking it, but what was he to say?
Zero laughed. “Are you not taking care of him?”
“Fuck you!” Misha hissed.
“There’s my little genius.”
Grim shook his head at Misha, already regretting that he used the speakerphone. “No, but he’s got ... the flu.”
“I don’t mind some germs. We’ve already exchanged fluids a long time ago.” Zero’s laugh made Grim want to throw the phone into the puddle of blood under Tomas’s corpse. “After all, you do want to see Dennis, right?”
“We’ll come,” Misha hissed.
Grim squeezed his hand and stared at the throat that he opened not that long ago. With Zero, he wouldn’t be done as quickly. “Fine. Where and when?”
“I will call you in the next few days, and you need to be ready within an hour. I can’t risk you preparing for our littletête-à-tête.”
“That’s all right,” said Grim, and he found that keeping his voice neutral required more effort than usual. “I trust you’ll keep to your end of the bargain,” he lied.
“See you soon, Misha,” Zero said and disconnected.
Misha grabbed one of Grim’s knives and wheeled over to Tomas’s still warm body. He started stabbing the exposed organs and swearing in Russian as blood dribbled all over.
Grim stared at his phone but eventually deposited it in his pocket and approached Misha, unsure how to start. “What are you saying?” he asked in the end.
