11. Eleven

The junkyard was dead quiet except for the distant chirp of crickets. Jamie and I lay together naked, limbs intertwined, on the narrow bed in the sleeper cab. My every breath was full of his scent, and the distant echo of our frenzied fucking the night before.

After our big show in Deacon's trailer, we'd crawled into the back of the truck and I took Jamie from behind, praising him for being such a good boy and putting on such a good show for my old friends. I'd never seen Deacon so wrung out, especially not without ever having to touch him. Jamie seemed to have a weird knack for knowing exactly the kind of fucked up shit that got people off, and he wielded it like a weapon.

Jamie nuzzled into my chest, his soft hair tickling my chin. I wrapped my arms tighter around his slim frame, relishing the feeling of his smooth skin against mine. Our breaths were slow and even, perfectly in sync.

Just as I was drifting off into a sex-sated oblivion, the truck door was violently wrenched open. Harsh white light flooded the sleeper cab, jolting me awake. Before I could react, rough hands seized my ankles and dragged me out of the warmth of the bed.

"What the fuck?" I kicked and flailed. Jamie yelped as he was likewise grabbed and hauled out into the chilly night air.

We were dumped unceremoniously onto the dirt, naked and disoriented. Gravel bit into my ass and back. I tried to get to my feet, ready to beat the living shit out of whoever had dared to lay their hands on me and my boy, but strong hands pushed me down to my knees.

My eyes darted around wildly, trying to make sense of what the fuck was happening. Harsh floodlights mounted on trucks illuminated the junkyard, casting eerie shadows. The air reeked of motor oil, stale cigarettes, and the coppery tang of blood.

Half a dozen men with guns surrounded us, their faces obscured by bandanas. Cartel men. Fuck. A familiar figure emerged from the shadows, the lights glinting off his slicked-back hair and gold chains. Romeo Perez. The pieces clicked into place with a sinking realization.

Last night's cocaine shipment. I'd suspected Romeo had been skimming product off the top for months now. Last night, at the pickup, I called him on his bullshit. Last thing I needed was to under deliver to my buyer because Romeo couldn't keep his fucking nose clean. I'd caught him red-handed and told him to fucking knock it off. I'd offered to cover for him this time and eat the cost, which I thought meant we had an understanding.

But he must've been afraid I'd rat to the higher-ups and ruin his little side hustle.

"Romeo, you two-timing piece of shit," I growled, my voice dripping with venom. "You got some cojones pulling this shit!"

Romeo smirked, all feral arrogance. He crouched down to look me in the eye, his breath hot on my face. "Oh Stu, did you really think I'd let a washed-up old trucker fuck up my business? You should've kept your head down and your mouth shut." He roughly grabbed my jaw, fingers digging in painfully. "Hey, don't you worry about your white trash friends, neither. Me and my boys took real good care of them before we came to get you and your boyfriend here. So it's just me, you, and my crew out here. Ain't no cavalry coming today."

Panic seized me like a vice as the implications of Romeo's words sunk in. Deacon. Tammy. Jamie. This was all my fault. I'd put them in danger with my big fucking mouth. And now I was gonna pay the price.

But I'd be damned if I went down without a fight.

I lunged at Romeo with a feral snarl, my hands going for his throat. But before I could reach him, something hard cracked against the back of my skull. White hot pain exploded behind my eyes. I crumpled to the ground, my vision swimming.

"Stu!" Jamie cried out, his voice high and panicked. He struggled against the men holding him, earning a vicious backhand across the face for his trouble. Blood gushed from his split lip.

"You fucking pigs!" I roared, trying to get back to my feet. But my head was spinning and my limbs felt like lead. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Romeo just laughed, cold and cruel. "Big words, old man. But I don't think you're in any position to be making threats." He pulled out a wicked-looking knife, the blade glinting in the harsh light. "See, here's what's gonna happen. Me and my boys are gonna have some fun with you and your little man here. And then we're gonna cut you both up into itty bitty pieces and scatter you all across the fucking desert."

Romeo traced the knife down my cheek. The sharp steel bit into my flesh, drawing a thin line of blood. I hissed in pain but refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me flinch.

"So you think you're a tough guy, eh?" he taunted. "Let's see how tough you are when I'm carving you up."

He moved the knife lower, pressing the point against my throat. My pulse hammered beneath the blade. One wrong move and he'd slit me wide open.

Jamie whimpered, his eyes wide with terror as he watched the scene unfold. The goons holding him leered, their hands pawing at his naked body. Rage boiled in my gut. If they laid one finger on my boy, I'd rip their fucking throats out with my teeth if I had to.

"Don't hurt him," Jamie pleaded. "I'll do whatever you want. Just let him go."

Romeo cocked an eyebrow, intrigued. He sauntered over to Jamie, gripping his jaw and forcing his head up. "Anything, huh? Well, ain't that sweet. Stu, your little bitch here is willing to take one for the team."

I growled, straining against the hands holding me down. "Get your filthy fucking hands off my property."

Romeo just chuckled, dragging the flat of the blade down Jamie's heaving chest. "Your property? I don't think so, old man. See, everything in this junkyard belongs to me now. Including your sweet piece of ass here."

He grabbed a fistful of Jamie's hair and wrenched his head back, exposing the long column of his throat. "Maybe I'll let my boys break him in first while you watch. How's that sound?" Romeo said. "I bet this bitch would look real pretty choking on cock."

White hot rage surged through my veins. "I'll fucking kill you!" I roared, thrashing against my captors. "You're dead, you hear me? Fucking dead!"

But Romeo just laughed, pressing the knife harder against Jamie's quivering skin. A bead of crimson welled up, stark against his pale skin.

"Stu, Stu, Stu," he tisked. "You still don't get it, do you? You ain't in charge here no more."

He jerked his head at his men. "Get him on his knees. I want him to watch every second of this."

Rough hands seized my shoulders, forcing me to kneel in the dirt. One of the goons fisted his hand in my hair, wrenching my head up.

"Keep your fucking eyes open, old man, or I'll cut off your fucking eyelids." Romeo waved the knife at me.

Jamie's eyes met mine, wide with fear but also blazing with a desperate, manic light. Despite the knife at his throat, his full lips curved into the ghost of a smirk. He knew something Romeo and his goons didn't. Jamie was a fucking psychopath, even crazier than me. Romeo didn't know it yet, but he'd fucked with the wrong people.

"Oh, you wanna watch?" Jamie purred, his voice dropping into that seductive lilt that never failed to make my cock throb. He licked his lips, slow and obscene. "I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? To see me on my knees, gagging on cock? You sick fuck."

Romeo blinked, thrown off balance by Jamie's sudden shift in demeanor. His grip on Jamie's hair loosened just a fraction.

Jamie's eyes flicked to mine for just a split second. A message passed between us, as clear as if he'd shouted it. Get ready .

In a blur of motion, Jamie wrenched free of Romeo's grasp. He ducked low and drove his head into the gangster's crotch with a sickening crunch. Romeo howled, doubling over. The knife clattered to the ground.

All hell broke loose.

I surged to my feet, slamming my head back into the nose of the goon holding me. Bone crunched, and he staggered back with a scream, blood gushing down his face. I followed it up with a vicious elbow to the gut that had him crumpling to the ground like a sack of bricks.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jamie sink his teeth into the inner thigh of one of Romeo's men, right through his jeans. The man shrieked, flailing at Jamie's head.

Jamie held on like a rabid dog, teeth locked into the man's femoral artery. Blood spurted as he savagely ripped his head back, taking a chunk of flesh with him. The goon collapsed, clutching at his gushing wound and howling.

I didn't have time to admire my boy's handiwork. Two more men lunged at me from either side. I snatched up a tire iron from a nearby pile of junk and swung it in a vicious arc. It connected with the side of the first one's head with a meaty thunk. He dropped like a stone.

The second managed to get his arms around me from behind, grappling for the tire iron. I threw my head back, smashing into his face. His nose crunched, and he loosened his grip with a pained grunt. I twisted free, whirling to face him.

"You fucked with the wrong truck driver, pendejo," I snarled before caving in his skull with the tire iron. Gore splattered my face, hot and sticky.

A gunshot split the air. My blood ran cold. I spun around to see Romeo standing over Jamie, a pistol aimed at his head. Jamie glared up at him defiantly, blood dripping from his chin .

"Enough!" Romeo roared, his chest heaving. "Drop the tire iron, Stu, or I paint the ground with your bitch's brains."

I froze, my knuckles white on the tire iron. Jamie's eyes blazed with a manic light, like he'd welcome Romeo pulling the trigger. But I couldn't watch my boy's brains get splattered across the junkyard.

Slowly, I lowered the tire iron to the ground, my jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached.

Romeo's lips curled into a cruel sneer. "Aw, ain't that sweet. The old man's willing to do anything for his little whore."

He grabbed a fistful of Jamie's hair, hauling him to his feet and pressing the muzzle of the gun harder against his temple. Jamie hissed in pain but kept his eyes locked on mine, defiant to the end.

"On your knees, Stu," Romeo ordered. "Hands behind your head."

I had no choice but to obey. The gravel bit into my bare knees as I sank down, lacing my fingers behind my skull. Every muscle in my body coiled tight, ready to spring into action at the slightest opening. But with that gun to Jamie's head, I was paralyzed.

"You two really are a pair, ain't ya?" Romeo said, eyeing the carnage around us. "Couple of crazy fuckers. You know, I almost felt bad about this until you fucking tried to eat my guys. Now, I'm gonna enjoy selling you to the Jaliscos."

My blood ran cold as the full weight of Romeo's words sank in. The Jalisco cartel. Those sick fucks made Romeo look like a choirboy in comparison. They were notorious for their brutality, for the creative ways they tortured and dismembered their enemies. Even other cartels feared them.

And Romeo was going to hand us over to them. Pin his own crimes on us and let the Jaliscos rip us apart in retribution. It was a smart play, I had to admit. No one would question it when our mangled bodies turned up in a ditch somewhere. Just another casualty of the cartel wars.

"That's right, ese," Romeo said, beaming. "The Jalisco boys, they've been on my ass for months about their missing product," Romeo said conversationally, as if discussing the weather. "See, they don't take too kindly to having their shit stolen. I been looking for someone to pin it on, and who better than a coked-out truck driver and his junkie whore?"

"Fuck you!" Jamie said, struggling.

He grinned, all teeth. "Oh, they'll have a field day with you two. The Jaliscos, they've got a real creative streak when it comes to making an example outta rats. They'll start with the fingers, I bet. Snip 'em off one by one with a pair of bolt cutters. Maybe feed 'em to you, make you swallow your own finger bones."

Jamie shuddered against the gun barrel, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed convulsively. But he kept his eyes locked on mine, blazing with that manic light. My brave, crazy boy. He wouldn't give Romeo the satisfaction of seeing his fear.

"After the fingers, they'll move on to the toes," Romeo continued blithely. "Blowtorch the little piggies 'til they're charcoal. Then they'll flay the skin off your feet in strips, slow and agonizing. By the end, you'll be beggin' them to just cut the damn things off."

Jamie's chest heaved, but he bared his bloodstained teeth in a feral grin. "Sounds like a real fun time. Keep talking. I'm about to bust a fucking nut listening to you."

Romeo's face contorted with rage. He pistol-whipped Jamie across the face, splitting his cheek open. Jamie let out a grunt of pain but kept on grinning like a madman, blood dripping down his chin.

"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy watching them break you, puta," Romeo snarled. "You'll be cryin' and pleadin' by the end, beggin' me to put a bullet in your fuckin' skull."

My heart hammered against my ribs, bile rising in my throat at the thought of my beautiful boy being tortured and mutilated. Of his perfect skin being flayed from his body, his bones snapped and pulverized.

I'd die before I let that happen. I'd rip Romeo's fucking throat out with my bare hands if I had to.

But with that gun to Jamie's head, I was powerless. One wrong move and his brains would be painting the dirt.

I just needed an opening. A single second of distraction. Anything. Then all I had to do was get a gun away from one of these other fuckers and pray.

Just then, the Airstream trailer door slammed open with a resounding clang. All eyes snapped towards the sound, and there, silhouetted in the doorway, stood Tammy. She was a bloody, battered mess, her shirt torn to shreds and soaked crimson, her face a mask of gore. One eye was swollen completely shut, her nose clearly broken. But in her hands, she clutched an M16 assault rifle, finger already hovering over the trigger.

"Which one of you punk ass motherfuckers killed my Dee-Dee?" she roared and opened fire.

The rapid staccato of gunfire filled the night air as Tammy sprayed bullets wildly into the crowd of Romeo's goons. Men screamed and crumpled to the ground, clutching at their wounds. Blood misted in arcing crimson fountains.

In the chaos, Romeo's grip on Jamie loosened just a fraction. It was enough. Jamie slammed his head back into Romeo's face with a sickening crunch. The gangster howled, staggering back. The gun clattered to the ground.

I lunged for it, my fingers scrabbling in the dirt. Just as my hand closed around the grip, a heavy boot stomped down on my wrist. I cried out in pain, feeling the small bones grind together.

Romeo loomed over me, his face a twisted mask of rage and pain. Blood gushed from his shattered nose. "You fucking bastard!" he snarled, raising his foot to stomp on my head.

Suddenly, Jamie was there. He leaped onto Romeo's back with a feral screech, sinking his teeth into the gangster's ear. Romeo screamed, flailing and staggering. Jamie held on like a rabid wolverine, teeth ripping and tearing.

Romeo thrashed and spun, trying to dislodge Jamie from his back. But Jamie just clamped his jaws tighter, worrying at Romeo's ear like a dog with a bone. Blood poured down the side of the gangster's neck in dark rivulets.

I scrabbled for the gun, my fingers closing around the grip. I rolled to my back and took aim, but the two of them were a whirling dervish of flailing limbs and gnashing teeth. I couldn't get a clear shot without risking hitting Jamie.

"Fuck!" I growled in frustration. "Jamie, let him go!"

Romeo finally managed to reach back and seize a fistful of Jamie's hair. With a pained roar, he wrenched Jamie over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground. I heard the sickening thud of Jamie's skull impacting the hard-packed dirt. Romeo cursed, put a hand over his ear, and took off through the junkyard.

"Jamie!"

I scrambled to my feet, the gun forgotten as I ran to Jamie's side. He lay crumpled on the ground, his limbs splayed at unnatural angles. Blood matted the hair on one side of his head and seeped into the soil .

"Jamie! Jamie, talk to me," I pleaded, dropping to my knees beside him. I reached out with a shaking hand to brush the blood-soaked hair from his face. His skin was cold and clammy, his eyes closed. Panic seized my chest in an icy grip. He couldn't be dead. Not Jamie.

Behind me, gunfire continued to rip through the night, accompanied by the agonized screams of dying men. Tammy's furious battle cry rose above it all, raw and primal. The stench of blood and cordite hung heavy in the air, stinging my nostrils.

But I barely registered any of it. My entire world narrowed down to Jamie's still form. I gathered Jamie into my arms, cradling him against my chest. "Come on, Jamie, open those pretty eyes for me," I begged, my voice cracking. "If you die on me, I'll follow you to hell to kick your ass."

A small, pained moan escaped Jamie's split lips and relief flooded my body. His eyelids fluttered, revealing slivers of glassy blue. "Stu?"

The wail of sirens cut through the night, growing louder by the second. Someone must have called the cops when they heard the gunfire. We had to move. Now.

"Jamie, baby, we gotta go," I said urgently, cupping his face in my hands. His eyes were still glazed and unfocused. "Can you stand? We've got to go now."

Jamie blinked slowly, my words finally seeming to register. He nodded jerkily. "Yeah. I think so."

"That's my boy." I helped him to his feet.

He blinked and swayed, unsteady, but he didn't go down.

I turned to Tammy, who'd gone back to sit in the doorway of the Airstream, clutching Deacon's body. "Tam, honey, I'm so sorry. But we can't stay here. Cops are gonna be crawling all over this place any second, and the cartel's gonna be right behind them. You gotta come with us. "

Tammy raised her head, her one good eye blazing with grief and rage. "Fuck the pigs! They can lock me up. I don't give a shit. I ain't leaving my Dee-Dee!"

"Don't be stupid, Tammy," I snapped. "Deacon wouldn't want you behind bars. Not for him."

Tammy glared at me, tears and snot mixing with the blood on her face. For a long moment, I thought she might tell me to fuck off and stay with her dead husband.

But then something in her eye shifted, hardened. With a shuddering breath, she pressed a final kiss to Deacon's forehead and gently laid his head on the ground.

"Alright, you bastards," she said, gripping her bloody side. "Let's get this show on the fucking road."

Tammy staggered to her feet, swiping at her tears with a bloodied hand. She snatched up the M16 and stalked towards us.

Jamie and I wasted no time. I sprinted for the truck, pulling Jamie along with me. The night air was cold as fuck against my naked skin, but I hardly felt it, too pumped full of adrenaline. I yanked open the passenger door and shoved Jamie inside. Then I vaulted into the cab after him, Tammy hot on my heels. She slammed the door shut behind her as I jammed the key into the ignition. The truck roared to life, headlights cutting twin beams through the darkness.

In the rearview mirror, red and blue flashing lights crested over a distant hill. Shit. No more time.

I stomped the gas pedal to the floor, and the truck lurched forward with a throaty roar. Tires spun and kicked up gravel before finding traction. We peeled out of the junkyard in a cloud of dust and exhaust, the smell of burning rubber filling the cab.