Phuck sat on the bench in the courtyard, foot propped on the fountain, and tossed a ball for his hellhounds to fetch. The duo raced across the brick pavers and slid the last foot to the bright green ball. They wrestled over it, their snarls and yips echoing in the enclosure. Dolly got Buck’s hindquarters and he yelped. Buck tagged her ear, and she roared with rage, turned, and pounced on him. All play ended as she toppled him to the ground and went for his throat.
Predictably, Buck whined and submitted, the fight ending with his underbelly on display. Dolly picked up the ball and trotted back to Phuck with pep in her stride, tail up.
“Good girl,” he cooed to her when she dropped it at his feet, and he fed her a slice of raw steak.
He praised her because even though Buck had let her win, she’d held her own, and for some reason, her anger convinced Buck to relent the fight. It never failed. Dolly was alpha bitch among the two of them.
His favorite detective was an alpha bitch too, but Phuck enjoyed dominating Natalia the little she allowed in the bedroom. Outside the silk sheets, he preferred her sassy and fierce. Warriors were the best bed playmates.
“Buck, don’t let her win.” He scratched behind Dolly’s ear. “You represent men. We are fierce. We are warriors. Be strong, dude.”
“Sounds like an ad for Nike.” The mere sound of Natalia’s voice caused his dick to react.
Phuck looked up and met her eyes. He noted the gleam in them, and the devilish twist to her lips. His gaze slid down her body, remembering her soft curves and silky skin.
She’d changed from her morning attire. Not unexpected since she hadn’t had a spare set of clothes. It was opposite day apparently because she wore a blue blouse that brought out the color of her eyes. It was paired with jeans, and he hadn’t seen her wear denim often. To complete her attire, she wore heels. Fuck-me heels, the ones he loved the most. The kind that would look fantastic around his ears while he pounded balls deep into her.
Satan’s balls, I’m fucked.
“Wanna spend the night with me tonight?” Phuck dropped his stoic mask and allowed her to see his desire. No holding back. Not with her and not anymore.
“I’m here on business, Phuck.” The Detective sent a cagey glance in Enzo’s direction. “You might feel differently about that sleepover after you hear what I have to say.”
“It’s not a sleepover. No one will sleep. You can bring the puppy.” He threw the ball again and sat back on the bench, crossing his feet at the ankles on the wall of the fountain. “Sit if you like. Amorette, Maul, and Macho will be with us shortly.”
When Natalia sat next to him and Enzo remained standing with his hands shoved in his pockets, Phuck knew whatever they’d say was worse than he’d anticipated. Shit, he didn’t really have any idea what he expected, but they acted like they’d kicked one of his hellhounds for the fucking fun of it and felt guilty afterward. Only Natalia made eye contact. Enzo looked around the garden as if he’d never seen the place before.
“You might want to rethink inviting Mama and Maul to this meeting,” Enzo said and stared at the pavers with a shuffle of his feet.
From his peripheral vision, he caught Natalia’s wince. She placed her hand on his thigh, and Phuck bolted to his feet. The comfort in her touch unnerved him. He wanted sangre por sangre, blood for blood, and to crush the betrayer.
“You scared of Voodoo Mama?” Phuck rarely used her professional name because she was more than the Voodoo Priestess to him. But he also knew her name incited apprehension in most people. That was respect and common sense.
“Hell yeah,” Natalia said in a tone that said he was nuts for not fearing Amorette.
“She almost killed me last time, so yeah, I wanna tread carefully today.” Enzo removed his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest. A defensive gesture that verified that particular memory impacted the sheriff’s view of Amorette.
If you were on the wrong side of Amorette, you were fucked. If she had your back, you couldn’t ask for a better person in the trenches with you.
“Your fear aside…” The demon in him snarled and wrestled to step forward. From between clenched teeth, Phuck said, “We wait.”
He loathed emotional outbursts, so he blocked his demon from presenting itself. If the detective and Enzo planned to implicate his sister or Maul, he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions though. There’d be no way he could control his inner demon, and that fucker might use the good sheriff as a punching bag or remove his limbs and feed them to Buck and Dolly. As for Natalia, he’d fuck her until she thought she’d die from pleasure. He had the stamina; did she have the endurance to handle that side of him?
Settle the fuck down. The mental pep talk left his demon pacing in his head, snarling his displeasure, and glaring at his guests.
He was already on edge that they had information so soon after their last meeting. Neither of their actions gave him confidence that they brought good news, either.
Amorette interrupted the tenseness when she entered the park carrying a platter of tea. Just with her presence, Phuck felt like he could breathe a little easier.
His sister set the tray on the table in the courtyard and motioned for them to join her. “Come, the tea will calm everyone.”
Natalia glanced at Enzo, shrugged, and rose from the bench to approach Voodoo Mama. “This isn’t a social visit. We’re here on business, Amorette.”
“Only Phuck calls me Amorette.” She gave Dick a tight smile and handed Enzo a cup of tea. She winked at the sheriff. “I added something special to the tea.”
With the dainty teacup in Enzo’s big hands, he looked out of place.
Dick halted Enzo from drinking the tea with a touch to his arm. “Don’t drink that,” she whispered to the sheriff. Then she shook her head at the cup Amorette offered her. “No thanks.”
“It’s not poisoned.” His sister shook her head.
Phuck took the cup Amorette had offered Natalia and downed the contents. “The special ingredient is my favorite bourbon. I swear”—he glared at Amorette, telling her with his stare that regardless of what they said, she wouldn’t retaliate—“Amorette will not hurt either of you.”
His sister simply smiled, which wasn’t technically an agreement.
“See,” he said. “Neither of you will suffer today.”
Macho and Maul strode into the courtyard from the side of Amorette’s whorehouse. His VP gave them a chin nod in greeting.
“Good to see you again, Detective. Sheriff.” Maul looked them both over. “I don’t see my knife with you.”
“It’s evidence.” Natalia glanced up at Enzo and rolled her eyes when she caught him drinking the bourbon-spiked tea.
The sheriff set the small teacup down. “Shit’s good. Mama’s bourbon is the best.”
Amorette had her own line of bourbon named after herself. She aged it with magic to get the smoothest taste and the right amount of kick.
“Get to the bad news, Dick.” Phuck poured another dainty cup of tea and downed it like he would a shot of liquor. He might need the entire teapot after what Natalia told them.
The detective inhaled, and on her breath’s release, she said quickly, “There was demon residue on Maul’s knife, and the knife matched Alexo’s wounds.”
“The fuck!” Maul yelled and stood rigid, his hands fisted at his sides. It was as good as a denial of guilt in Phuck’s mind.
Natalia held Phuck’s gaze. A gamut of emotions surged through him. His demon propelled forward, eager to resolve this shit storm in a violent manner. Phuck couldn’t be altogether certain the detective didn’t see his demon before he restrained his alter ego.
“This is an Enzo frame job.” Macho defended Maul immediately. He tilted his head from side to side, bones cracking into place, and he popped his knuckles as he took a step toward the sheriff.
Dolly and Buck must’ve sensed the abrupt tension and emitted low, threatening growls. Phuck snapped his fingers at them, and they backed down.
“Are you threatening an officer of the law?” Dick seemed to have a stick up her ass about law enforcement and threats.
“Maul. Macho. Shut the fuck up,” Phuck snarled. “Dick, no one is threatening anyone.”
“Maul didn’t do this.” Amorette’s aura darkened. As she drew magic from the elements around them, a fog swirled about her, and her ice blue eyes powered up and took on a glow. Shit was about to hit the fan.
His sister was a threat.
“Amorette.” He stepped in front of her, blocking her path from Natalia. “The Voodoo Dawgs is my club. Back off.”
His sister went toe-to-toe with him. Literally. Her toes connected with his biker boots, and her corseted breasts slammed into his chest. She’d been subdued as a human, and once she’d became a powerful priestess, she’d never cowered to him or anyone. He respected her authority, but in this moment, there was no leeway for a power exchange.
Amorette tilted her head back and glared at him. “Alexo was my brother. Maul is my—” She paused as if to gather her thoughts but threw her hands in the air and finished with, “He’s just mine. If there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that Maul did not kill Alexo. I won’t allow Enzo to enact revenge on the Dawgs through him.”
“It’s evidence-based, Mama,” Enzo declared. “Has nothing to do with how I feel about the Voodoo Dawgs or Phuck.”
The tightness of her jaw and the feral look she sent Enzo’s way told Phuck he had to react fast before she redirected her anger on the sheriff.
“Voodoo Mama,” Phuck snarled. The name alone should remind her that he gifted her with that power.
Her gaze slammed into him, and she narrowed her eyes.
“This is club business. Butt the fuck out.” He allowed his demon to show so she’d know he was dead fucking serious. As his demon nature surfaced, the droplets of moisture in the humid air struck his skin like ice pellets. He knew his eyes changed because the garden plants pulsed as if emitting a heartbeat, and a haze of red distorted his vision.
They glared at one another, her chin lifted in a challenge, but he remained firm.
Amorette finally crossed her arms and settled on a stiff nod. “Then do your job, Mr. President.”
Thank fuck, he had her subdued, but her gaze said he’d better not disappoint her. She might be pissed off at him, but at least she’d submitted to his authority. And he knew that came with her total trust even if he disappointed her.
Now he had to resolve another problem—the news Dick and Enzo had delivered.
Phuck pinched the bridge of his nose as he turned to face Natalia and Enzo. “We all know Maul didn’t kill Alexo. Why give you the murder weapon if he did it?”
“The forensics match,” Enzo argued. “I wouldn’t presume to guess the dynamics of Maul’s thought process or the Dawgs’ game plan.”
“The only game plan here, Enzo, is finding the goddamn killer,” Phuck growled.
How’d the killer get Maul’s blade? He never went anywhere without it. No matter. Phuck’s gut refused to consider Maul was capable of this. Killing an enemy, hell yeah, but not Alexo.
“I agree Maul’s not guilty.” Dick surprised him with that. “But isn’t this the one knife he carries all the time?”
“Yeah.” Maul nodded. “It’s my favorite. Opens up skin real easy like.”
“Keep implicating yourself, Maul.” Enzo snorted. “Makes our job easier.”
Natalia slapped Enzo’s arm and shook her head. “Shut it.”
“The ones who matter know I didn’t kill Alexo.” Maul shrugged as if he wasn’t concerned, but Phuck could tell his foundation was rocked by the news. It was in the waver of his voice and the way he crossed his arms over his chest. “Like I said before, Mama’s girl, Kara, will vouch for my alibi.”
Phuck played devil’s advocate. “There’s still the question how someone got your knife. How the killer got demon residue. Neither of you have answers for those questions.”
“That’s one of the reasons why we have to follow legal protocol and charge him with murder. Sorry, Mama,” Enzo said. “I swear it’s nothing personal.”
Nothing personal against Voodoo Mama, but it was very personal against Maul and the Dawgs.
Phuck called him out on it. “Don’t pretend you won’t enjoy hauling his ass into the precinct in front of the reporters.”
“He’s not going to jail,” Amorette said between clenched teeth.
“No, I am,” Maul said. Amorette’s focus jerked to Maul, but before she could argue, he held up his hand. “This is my choice. It doesn’t concern you, Mama.”
“Fine,” Amorette ground out.
Anyone who knew even a little about women, knew ‘fine’ was code for ‘I might fuck you up seven ways to Sunday while wearing a homicidal grin.’
Phuck gave a mental headshake. One problem at a time. He’d deal with her later.
“It makes sense for them to parade me into jail in front of the reporters,” Maul explained. “If I go, the real killer might get ballsier and show himself. It’ll allow you all time to find the real killer. I play my part. All of you play yours.”
“This is ridiculous.” Voodoo Mama shook her head, her shoulders stiff.
“It’s not,” Maul argued. “Someone lifted my knife off me and used Buck against Phuck.”
“Used Buck against Phuck.” Enzo snorted. “That rhymes.”
Natalia gave him a backhanded whack to the chest. “Seriously, you need to shut the fuck up.”
Phuck used his hand to comb his beard. “Did you get any other prints off the blade besides Maul’s?”
“Only the one print,” Dick said. “The trace amount of blood that they found matched Alexo’s.”
“Fuck me.” Maul put his hands in his hair and clenched his head.
“Goddamn, someone has a hard-on for you, brother.” Macho clapped a hand on Maul’s shoulder. “We’re family. We’ll figure this shit out.”
“Nah.” Phuck shook his head. “This was aimed at all of us. But if the killer is trying to take the club down, why not murder more than just Alexo?”
“He doesn’t have Maul’s blade for starters.” Enzo shrugged. “If he’s pinning this just on Maul, the killer can’t keep the knife.”
“I think the killer wants to take you down, Phuck.” At Dick’s comment, their gazes met. “Starting from the inside out. If you can’t trust your men, who can you trust?”
Phuck nodded. “I don’t like it, but it does make sense.”
“I think this is a long way from being over,” Natalia said. “Once he’s created dissension among the Voodoo Dawgs, he’ll want to destroy your hold over NOLA.”
The thought that someone wanted to harm his people whipped through him like a lightning crack. Pain slashed at his temples and faded to a steady throb as he considered the agony he would relish invoking on the son of a bitch. It wasn’t that being king of NOLA mattered that much to him, but the people did. His name cloaked them in protection, but his vow to safeguard them meant everything to him. His word was his bond. No self-respecting demon went back on their promises.
“You think more murders will follow?” he asked.
Dick shrugged. “I really don’t know. That’s my theory, but I’m no psychic. I can’t predict his next play.” She reached behind her and pulled out her handcuffs. “Maul, I'm placing you under arrest for Alexo’s murder.”
Silence enveloped Phuck. His ears deafened, and it was as if the world around him slowed. Maul turned and placed his hands behind him while Natalia arrested him. Amorette’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. At least nothing he could hear in this moment.
Natalia turned Maul toward her car when someone grabbed his arm. He turned to the living brother, Macho. He looked into his friend’s eyes and found pain. His brows were furrowed and his mouth frowned.
Macho’s shoulders slumped as he turned toward Amorette. “Let’s go home, Voodoo Mama. Maul will need us now more than ever.”
Phuck watched Macho escort Amorette away. This afternoon had not panned out as he’d thought it would. He thought about Dick’s theory as she closed Maul in her car. His Enforcer played the moment off as insignificant, a game, but they all knew how serious this was.
Amorette turned, ran toward the car, and pushed Natalia out of the way. She ripped the door open and knelt down to the curb. She cupped Maul’s face between her hands and kissed him. “If you need me, say my name.”
“No magic, Mama,” Dick said and held on to the door.
Fear gripped Phuck’s chest for a moment that Dick would turn on Amorette, but she allowed his sister to have this moment.
Amorette elevated her eyebrows as she stood and gave Dick a smirk.
“I do what I want, Detective.” And with that, his sister walked back inside.
“I’ll wait for you in church,” Macho told him from the door.
“See ya’ soon, Prez.” Maul tipped his head toward Phuck as Natalia closed the car door.
Phuck lit a cigarette and noted a few stragglers gawked as the scene played out. He placed his palm on the window and spoke through the glass, “Say nothing, Maul, until your attorney arrives.”
Dick sighed her frustration. “You’re supposed to be the king, so why can’t you control Mama?”
Phuck chuckled and stepped into her personal space. Without touching her, he leaned down and got in her face. He waited until her breath hitched before he spoke. “My place, tonight at ten. Bring your mutt with you.”
Dick narrowed her eyes. “That your way of trying to control me?”
In one part, it was a demonstration that she’d bristle at a command, just like Amorette. The other part was to generate her lusts and remind her of the orgasms she’d enjoyed thanks to him. Maybe that reminder would make her show up.
“You decide, Detective Dick.” Which was more important to her? Her pride or more earth-shattering orgasms? Either choice she made would give him more insight into the woman.
She licked her lips, and his cock throbbed at the reminder of the way it felt wrapped around his dick.
“Don’t get pissy about anything I say in my press conference. It’s part of the show,” she said, her voice breathy.
Good, he’d gotten to her.
Phuck brought the cigarette to his mouth while he stared at Natalia.
“You ever done a press conference before, Detective Dick?” He knew he sounded condescending, and he was surprised when she elected not to retaliate with violence.
Enzo shook his head like Phuck made a mistake, but when hadn’t he pushed her buttons?
She rolled her eyes. “Nah…this is my first time. Winging it is my superpower.”
A smile tugged at his lips, and he leaned in to mutter just shy of her lips, “We’re working together on this, Dick. Don’t get cocky or overly ambitious and forget that.”
“You have trust issues.” She took a step back and put space between them.
“Already established.” At their first meeting if he remembered correctly.
A little huff expressed her agitation with him. “You’re a civilian. It would do you good to be there, at the press conference.”
“I’m the king, not a civilian. So long as you have my man in custody, no one could keep me away from it.”
“Good. See you later.” She patted him on the chest as she went to walk around the car.
He caught her arm. When she looked up at him, he emitted a little growl to let her know how much he wanted her. “I’m gonna eat that pussy until your screams satisfy my inner demon.” Her nostrils flared at his reminder. “Ten o’clock, Natalia.” He used her given name because this involved pleasure and not business. “Don’t disappoint.”
When he stepped away from her, he thought he heard, “Arrogant bastard.” Then again, it could have just been the wind.
Phuck smirked, his confidence high that Natalia would show with Enzo in tow.
Before getting in the car, Enzo mouthed, “Tonight.”
Phuck needed this distraction. Hell, they all did. They also needed to figure out who the murderer was. Hopefully, Maul was right. Whoever did it would grow cocky and show their ass. Maybe they would make another mistake… Hopefully not by a murder though. He couldn’t afford to lose another man. He would lose ‘Nawlins in the process.