Blue Moon: Too Good to Be True (24 page)

“I’m just glad he can see the good in you. When they all tell you what their call names mean they’ve accepted you. If one tells you to call him by their last name then we’ve got a problem. If you lose the respect of one, you will be shunned by the rest.”

But no pressure, huh babe?
Max thought.

As the evening progressed the men settled in to a few tables at the back of the pub, and Max basically listened to the guys reminisce about the enlisted days and how they were the best damn team the Seals ever linked together. Each man contributed a very unique set of skills to the team.

Max also heard some wild stories about Sebastian and his squad of rangers. Both teams sounded like they were fucking crazy as hell.

Max got up to go to the bar to get something a little stronger than a beer.

The night was going fine and after four beers he’d loosened up quite a bit. A strong grip hooked around his neck, and he froze in place.

“Buy me a drink hero.” Without waiting for a response from Max, the man placed his order for a double shot of Patron tequila.

“Make that two,” Max added. He would show the big man that he could drink with the best of them.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking ’bout, firefighter…a drink that’ll put some hair on your chest.”

“I already got some there, got some on my balls too,” Max replied straight-faced, looking the man directly in his eyes.

The huge man laughed heartily and slapped Max so hard on the back he almost went over the bar.
Jesus H. Christ, this fucker is strong.

“So I heard about your rescue of the little girl. Takes a tough son of a bitch to do something like that. In the face of one of God’s most powerful elements, you look it in the eye and tell it fuck you.”

The bartender set the two shots on the bar but neither man went for it.

Max looked the man in his dark eyes. His face was stern and weathered, surely from his life as a soldier. He had to top out at six foot five and outweighed Max by a good sixty pounds. His hair was styled in a very low Mohawk and his goatee was perfectly trimmed. His neck was thick and

littered with tattoos of various Chinese symbols. He had arms with massive biceps that could administer a deadly choke hold.

“I did my duty…my job, nothing more. I didn’t do it in the hope of basking in glory and a spotlight,” Max replied seriously.

“Good man…I agree. You did it for duty and honor, not for glory. Call me Toad.” He picked up his shot glass and Max followed suit. They didn’t say a cheesy toast, just aimed their glasses at each other and threw them back.

The strong liquor singed Max’s throat as it went down, but he didn’t want to wince in front of the other.

Why is he cal ed Toad?
Max thought as he placed an order for another shot.

The buff man must’ve seen the question in Max’s eyes and decided to answer it for him without him having to speak it. “I’ll tell you why they call me Toad.” The big guy turned to face Max. “Have you ever seen the movie
Five Deadly Venoms
?” When Max shook his head no, the big guy continued talking. “It’s a kung-fu flick from the late seventies, when martial arts movies were acted out and not fucking green-screened. Anyway, a dying kung-fu master teaches his five most promising students five unique styles of kung fu.

There was the centipede, whose strikes were so fast it was as if he had one hundred arms. The snake style could fight extremely well on his back or from below. The scorpion-style kicks were so lethal he could paralyze his opponents. The lizard mastered speed and gravity. He could climb walls and strike from above.

“Lastly, and of course my favorite, was the toad style. His style was primarily defensive. Strong as fuck. His tough exterior made him almost invincible to any attack. His iron skin was resistant to punctures, blades, or body blows. He was always the last man standing. In the end he teamed-up with the centipede to take down the three venoms that’d turned corrupt.”

“Toad style…huh…pretty bad ass.” Max grinned.

“Fucking straight.”

Both men nodded at each other and downed the second shot, leaving the lemons untouched. For Max another bond formed.

They walked back to the table together and Max took his seat next to Angel. His man looked casually sexy in his black polo shirt and black cargo

shorts. Max wanted to take him back to the hotel right then and fuck his brains out. Angel was teaching him a lot when it came to gay sex and he was enjoying every damn minute. Max’s dick was thickening in his jeans and getting a little uncomfortable. He did a small scan to see if anyone was watching and tried to inconspicuously adjust his dick.

“I see everything.” A deep voice broke through the conversation.

Everyone looked in Hawk’s direction but his multicolored eyes were trained on Max. He winked and Max grinned and winked back at him.

Perceptive bastard.
No one asked what Hawk saw since the man saw every damn thing. His team was probably used to that, they just shared a laugh and went back to their conversations.

It was getting late and Call said it was time to settle up and leave. Max assumed everyone did what Call said or perhaps that was his duty in their squad. “This one’s on us, Shot.” Call stilled Angel’s father’s hand from reaching for his wallet, and the man didn’t put up a fight. Max leaned in to speak in Angel’s ear. Angel leaned in to Max’s soft lips, his eyes closing halfway.

“Baby, why do they call your dad Shot?” Max whispered as he nuzzled Angel’s neck.

“Because he never misses his shot, he’s the sharpshooter of the team,”

Hawk responded for Angel.

“Jesus, man, do you hear all too?” Max threw his bottle cap in Hawk’s direction and the man caught it easily.

“No, but I can read lips from fifty yards away.” He smiled slyly.

Max could only shake his head. So Angel’s father was a sharpshooter and martial arts expert…interesting.
I guess I’m real y fucked if I break Angel’s heart.

Not only do I have to deal with his marksmen father…but also his indestructible
uncle…and his see-all-hear-al uncle.

They all agreed to meet for breakfast before Angel and Max got back on the road to Virginia Beach. The men went in their own directions as Max and

Angel walked toward their hotel. Max was glad that they walked because they were both pretty wasted.

“Darlin’, you were awesome tonight. And, just in case you were wondering, they love you…all of them,” Angel admonished.

“I’m glad, babe. I don’t know why I was so nervous in the first place.

After chillin’ with your dad like that last night and seeing how cool he is, I should’ve known the man would keep good company,” Max replied. He linked their fingers together while they walked.

“There is a lot of history between those men. Although they’re retired from direct action they still function as a squad. If one of them has a problem they all have a problem.”

“Okay, enough talk of daddy and uncles. I have passed all my tests and now it’s time for my reward.” Max stopped and pushed Angel up against the wall of a closed restaurant and ground his pelvis against him, placing wet kisses on his neck. Angel looked up and down the street that was basically deserted at two thirty in the morning except for a couple of stragglers.

“Darlin’, our hotel is right around the corner, remember how comfortable the bed is? How about resuming this in five minutes in the room?” Angel purred in his deep voice that drove Max absolutely mad with desire.

Max licked up Angel’s neck to his earlobe, aggressively nibbling the meaty flesh. Angel tucked his face into the crevice of Max’s neck, the faint smell of cologne deliciously adding to Max’s intoxication.

“Damn darlin’, you want me to come right here on the street?” Angel pushed his hard cock back toward Max’s as Max continued his tongue exploration.

“Hey, faggots, why you don’t take that nasty shit someplace else. No one wants to see that.” A guy walked up the sidewalk with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. His greasy hair was shoved under a backward black cap. His pants had various tears in them, probably on purpose. His T-shirt that was probably black at one point was now a dingy gray color with two cartoon characters on the front. There were a few voices of agreement from the asshole’s friends. Max nuzzled the side of Angel’s face, sensing his irritation.

Angel murmured under his breath, “Damn. I so do not need this bullshit right now
.”

Mac could see Angel sizing up their approaching headache.

“All I want to do is go back to the room and make love to you until daylight appears. Besides, these guys barely look old enough to vote,” Angel said quietly
.

Max never lifted his head from Angel’s neck. Since his back was to the approaching homophobes, he whispered in Angel’s ear. “How many, love?”

Angel responded calmly while keeping his arms wrapped around Max’s back. “Four, including the bigmouth.” The four boys stopped just a few feet away from them.

Max groaned in Angel’s ear. He couldn’t help but grin. He was incapable of not responding to this man.

“Hey, did you hear what the fuck I said? Get the fuck out of here before we shove something up your ass that you won’t like,” the big mouth replied sarcastically. His friends, laughing at his little remark, egged him on even more.

Max turned around slowly in Angel’s arms and immediately burst out laughing. He knew these kids really thought they were intimidating. Max pointed at the bigmouthed one and doubled over laughing hysterically.

Angel grinned at his man.
Damn, I love this crazy fucker.

“Umm…look dudes,” Angel said.

Angel was cut off by Max’s burst of laughter again. Angel turned and rolled his eyes at him while giving him a look that said
What the hel ’
? Which of course only made Max laugh even more.

“My man has had a few too many tonight, but we were on our way to our room, so if you will excuse us. We’re really not looking for a confrontation.” Angel took Max’s hand and tried to move around the boys.

Max quickly reined in his laughter when the big mouth stepped closer to him, leaving only a few inches between their chests.

“You can take your bitch back to your room and stick whatever dildos you want in his ass after you both apologize to us,” he said as he blew his smoke in Angel’s face.

“Why the hell would we apologize to you, you fake-assed Axl Rose. You should be apologizing to us for looking like that. So take your fake boy-band back the way you came and stay out of grown folks business, before your mouth writes a check that your scrawny ass can’t cash,” Max growled as he put his body in front of Angel.

“Oh, I bet you would like to cash in on my ass…wouldn’t you, fag?” big mouth stated with a nasty scowl on his pimply face.

“Oh God, Angel come on…just one punch. This little bastard needs a lesson in manners.” Max had completely sobered now.

“No, he’s a damn kid.” Angel grabbed Max’s hand again and tried to move in the opposite direction, when big mouth drew his fist back.

Angel quickly spun him and Max around, his long braid flying over his shoulder as he moved them both out of range of the punch. “Look, man, you don’t want to fight us, and you damn sure don’t want to fight me, so I suggest you let us go on our way,” Angel hissed, his dark eyes reflecting his sincerity.

“Hey, Jimbo…let’s get out of here, man. I’m not trying to fight some old dudes,” one of the flunkies said lazily.

“Yeah, come on man, let’s get to the party. Forget this shit,” another one chimed in.

“No, I want my goddamn apology. I’m not leaving and neither are they…until I get it.”

“Okay, sure.” Max shrugged.

Max jumped around him and grabbed the big mouth’s arm, twisting it at an awkward angle behind his back and spinning him around, smashing his face against the glass of the store. The boy’s nose began spurting blood as he screamed out in pain.

“Oh my. I owe you an apology don’t I?” Max said in a dry, sarcastic tone as he stepped back to Angel’s side. “Oops, my bad…I apologize…for breaking your fucking nose.” Max turned to look at the big mouth’s friends as they stared at Max with their mouths hanging open. “When you get to the party make sure he puts some ice on that to help with swelling. It’s

okay…I’m a firefighter, I know what I’m talking about.” Max began laughing hysterically again, and Angel looked at him and shook his head.

The boy went down to his knees, crying out in agony as he tried to get control of the bleeding.

“There you got your apology…can we go now?” Max said, grinning at the boy as he cried.

There was a glint of metal in one of the flunky’s pants as he struggled to pull out a nine-millimeter handgun from his waistband. Angel moved toward Max as a bright red laser dot appeared on the boy’s forehead. “Oh shit,”

Angel said as he pulled Max down. A split second later they heard two sharp pops in rapid succession ring out into the air. Angel had his arms protectively around Max as he looked in the direction of the teenagers.

The one that tried unsuccessfully to pull the gun looked terrified as he clutched his bleeding hand to his chest, the bullet grazing his hand to make him drop the weapon. The other flunky was also on the ground, holding a superficial wound on his cheek. The last boy standing had pissed his pants and stood frozen in place as he watched the red laser travel slowly up his chest and rest over his heart. The boy shook so hard he looked like he was having a seizure.

“What the fuck is happening?” Max looked around at the mayhem.

Angel got up and extended his hand to Max. “That, my darlin’ is my father, Shade, and I would probably say Hawk too. I’m sure he saw this coming a mile away,” Angel replied as calmly as if he was describing a sunset.

“How do you know? Where are they then?” Max said as he saw the laser disappear off the boy’s shirt. As soon as the kid noticed it wasn’t there anymore his legs gave out from under him. Max caught the boy before his head smacked the hard concrete. Max let him lie on the sidewalk and sleep as he surveyed the tops of the buildings and down the streets, but didn’t see a soul.