The Bodyguard - Chapter 56

[teamzaylor]

Title: THE BODYGUARD
Chapter: 56
Rating: Nc-17
Warnings: Language, Death, Crime
POV: Blade
Chapter Overview: Link

About the Story: After the death of their parents, Taylor and Zac went their own way in life. Taylor became a superstar and never thought his chosen profession would bring danger into his life. Blade (Zac) buried the past and lived his life contently in the dark and dirty world as a pimp. Unexpected circumstances bring them together after almost a decade apart. How will they overcome the shadows of the past and move forward?

Special thanks: to itztigress3 for the great help! ♡

Authors Notes: Update Chapter 56! Next Chapter in the following days. Enjoy ♡


previous Chapter 55                                                                                                                                                               next Chapter 57                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Blade

When I made my way briskly towards the bar I could still hear the screaming from the back area. I could imagine what the heated argument was about. Drugs. The guy who was arguing with Santiago... I had seen him one time before, he was one of the dealers that supplied Santiago.

It was no secret that Santiago had financial difficulties although he didn't talk about it with me. Whatever the guy intended, I wouldn't allow him to rob Santiago's saloon, hurt him or even kill him.

Santiago was known among the junkies and dealers around here, but since he reopened after the accident, there had been no scuffles or problems until today.

Nathaniel stood behind the bar talking to the police on the phone as I entered the saloon. I gave him a hand signal to hide behind the bar, kept my 45 Caliber handy and walked quickly to the back area, ready to shoot if necessary. There was no time to prepare. I knew the rules of handling a gun.

The weapons cabinet in the back area was stocked with the latest and the greatest. My personal favorite is the Mauser Elite SSX Double Barrel. It has a delicate trigger and the smoothest discharge. It is so precise; it's as if God handcrafted it himself. Always liked me a sidearm with some heft. The guns weren't loaded but that didn't mean that the guy wouldn't find cartridges if he planned to smash the bar.

When I reached the yellow curtains, I put two fingers in my mouth and whistled through my teeth to call for Bandito. I didn't want him to be involved in this violent altercation, now that I was here. Santiago and the guy were throwing insults loudly at one another and my whistle was drowned out, but I expected that Bandito may not hear it. Luckily, my dog came limping out to me, he yelped a little but wagged its tail when he saw me. I patted his head soothingly, and then gave him a sign to go over to Nathaniel and hide with him until the cops arrived.

I wanted to confront the intruder unimpeded. Santiago was surely not defenseless but his physical handicap was a big obstacle in a fight. An obstacle of which I was guilty...

"I say it one last time; the price for cocaine has gone up, so you owe me 3 grand Boleyn. If you don't pay me I'm going to knock the shit out of you cripple or not!"

I looked through the curtains, they were standing on either side of the table and suddenly the guy grabbed the edge and flung the table out of the way sending glasses tumbling and shattering to the floor then he walked towards Santiago.

"And I'll say it one more time, the deal was finished. You have got the price that was mutually agreed. You better look for someone else to pull bullshit. I'm gonna give you til the count of three, to get your lousy, lying, lowdown, carcass out my door!"

That was clearly my cue to end the god damn party!



He hauled off to punch Santiago in his face, but Santiago was faster, he dodged the blow and the guy's fist slammed into the wall behind him.

Apparently, I had underestimated the son of a gun. He made use of the surprise effect, grabbed the arm of the guy, twisted it on his back and gained control within a second. He managed to push the guy against the wall face first. Santiago would surely frisk him for guns, but as he tried the guy kicked against Santiago's leg and freed himself from Santiago's grip. Santiago lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Anger and hate rose up in me but I forced myself to keep calm and concentrated, studying my enemy's strategy. Now he was in trouble.

Eventually, I stood face to face with the intruder. The guy had short red hair; he was one head taller than me and looked thoroughly fit. As a dealer he was anything but an easy opponent. He spoke with a Russian accent; I haven't heard his name yet.

"Hey! You asshole! What you want here? Need a lesson as well? You ought not mess with me. I'm dangerous." He laughed a little as he turned, either he thought that I wasn't a worthy adversary or he wanted to emphasize that he was superior.

I never wasted my time and impeded myself with such ego bullshit like the Russian did. The biggest weakness from these bragging macho assholes is that they usually over estimate themselves.

The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and no one cares how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you’re hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done.

"You heard him. He owes you nothing!" I exclaimed, walking straight towards the guy while casting an eye down to Santiago. I usually don't care about Santiago's dealers but if someone hurt my friend or family, then you'll have some real trouble.

"Oh yeah? Why are you interfering in our affairs? How old are you?" He looked down at me disparagingly. I kept an eye on his hands and scrutinized him thoroughly. He wore casual yet expensive clothes and no jewelry. His silk sports jacket was ill fitting, so I couldn't see if he carried a gun under it. I remained vigilant, his movements would alert me to strike hard or to draw my gun.

"It's pointless to tell you about it, you probably can't count that high, dumbass! As long as you attack my friend, I'm coming to attack you."

Surely the day will not end with more than a little spilled blood...

Just before the smirking expression could turn back to his grim visage I punched him directly in his face. The first blow met his chin and the smile on his face disappeared in an instant. He stood straight, his eyes bulging with rage and stared at me.

"You're headed for lots of trouble, punk!" He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and exposed his muscular lower arms.

The next two blows landed on his face and his upper body before he could talk further. Santiago's dealers were vermin from the dockside; they were deadly and cold as ice. Conversation with them was pointless. Change only comes when their blood spills.

He didn't fall though, the guy was tough.

"Watch out Blade!" I heard Santiago's voice shouting and was distracted for a short moment. He crawled on the floor towards the corner bench, trying to reach his crutches. Just then, the guy hit my face and my head fell to the side immediately. Blood splashed out of my mouth and it felt like my jawbone could have broken. I heard a crackling sound in my mouth and I tasted blood a few seconds later.

Pain stung my cheek but that was alright 'cause I like the way it hurt...

I spit out blood and one of my lateral incisors. "Not bad, redhead." I smirked creepily, wiping away some blood of my lower lip with my thumb.

The guy was too consumed with his own pains that he couldn't rejoice over the blow. He looked at me strangely as he saw he smirking, but regained his cold blooded intention to kill amazingly quick.

I had to step back a bit to kick him as he suddenly drew a knife and threw it at me. It flew towards me and I jumped aside in an instant, only a few inches to the left and it would have pierced my neck. I heard the material of my shirt ripping and felt the sharp blade cutting into my upper arm.

At the same moment my shoe hit his stomach at maximum force and he crashed to the floor.

Drops of sweat had built up on my forehead and dropped down. The familiar smell of blood stung my nose. I could feel wetness on my chin as blood seeped out my mouth and dropped down on my shirt but I didn't pay attention to it.

The kick had caused the Russian to drop the knife and Santiago got a hold of it before he could. The Russian’s lower arm was bleeding from cuts sustained from the broken glass all over the floor. He breathed heavily and I could see there were little drops of blood splashing out of his mouth as well.

"Don’t you dare fuckin' move or you’re gonna be in deep shit." I growled, enjoying the fear that was still there in his eyes, buried beneath the cold fury. Quickly I pulled a pair of handcuffs out of my pants pocket.

"My, how the tables have turned..." I spoke calmly and confidently, threw a chair out of my way as I walked over to the miserable sight sprawled over the floor.

"You may have won the battle, dude, but you lost the war." He replied choking and let me know that it wasn't over yet. In a split of a second I let the handcuffs drop out of my hands.

"Be careful Blade! He has a gun!" Santiago pulled himself up with one of his crutches to a chair situated in the corner of the room. This time his warning was no distraction, I saw the guy actually grab for a pistol that was hidden in the side of his waistband. At that moment it was a game of luck.

Who would draw quicker, me or him? It was a matter of life or death.

But, I was wrong instead of aiming his pistol at me, he aimed it at Santiago. I had expected that he would want to shoot me down, but apparently his beef with Santiago was more of a priority. I hadn't planned to shoot the guy dead but I had to decide in a second what to do.

Santiago or the guy? The guy or Santiago? Life or death.

My guilt... for eternity...

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