Hell to Pay

"Where is she?" Deirdre snarled into the phone as he lounged in the bed. The women was asleep beside him, but he felt her stir at his tone. They had spent the day simply enjoying themselves... a bit to much. The floor beside his bed was lined with bottles of hard liquor with his favorite being whiskey. Most of them were empty or close to it. The room smelled of it, along with the salty scent of sex and sweat. It was thick, but he had long gotten used to the smell. Smoothing his hair into place, he groaned and leaned back. The women had begun to trace his stomach, but she had long learned to not touch his chest. The slight red on her wrists and the sting of her ass had tempted her though to push him again. However, she feared he might use more than just his hand this time to punish her.

Deirdre half listened to Hunter's voice as he yanked the covers off to show off his impressive naked form. The only thing he had on was a simple white shirt. A moment later, he had reached over to pick up his blue-tooth device. He turned it on, and placed it into his ear. Once doing so, he sat the phone down as he moved to dress. He had to deal with Aidan before she got herself into trouble. More so, he did not trust her after what happened with Alexia. That man... he simply had never rubbed Deirdre right. Breathing through his frustration, he yanked open the closet and found the small set of clothing he kept there. After all, this room was reserved for play time. Well.... some of his play time. That room was a completely different story, and he had no intention of taking someone there that could not handle it.

The lion stopped at the touch of a warm hand and felt the women beginning to kiss along his shoulder. "Are you leaving?" The voice slurred, but he did not look back. The male brushed her off with a frown. Wordlessly, he yanked on a deep blue blazer before choosing dark blue jeans as well. He decided on simple black boots to complete the outfit. Once doing so, he walked into the bathroom.

By now, Hunter had finished talking. He, however, did not answer right away as he washed his face before quickly drying it. Hunter waited patiently as Deirdre brushed his hair out into somewhat controlled strands before pinning the hair from his face back. It was only then he decided to speak. "I want to know where she is by the time I get back to the office." He did not even wait for Hunter to respond, not that he ever did. He hung up and walked out from the bathroom. The women was on the bed scrolling through her phone, but he did not even give her a glance. It was not the first time he had just used another for sex nor would it be the last. She understood that, and for some reason that ticked him off.

"Tsk." Deirdre snatched up his phone. "When you're done cleaning up, get out."

"Whatever you say." He chuckled a bit at that as he walked from the room and closed the door behind him. It was time to hunt down his puppy to make sure she remembered who she belonged to. He just hoped she had done well to stay out of trouble.

---

True to Aidan's nature, she found herself becoming that much nosier. She had returned close to Nevermore, but unable to hide her unease she decided to remain in another bar. However, from the moment she entered she was unable to focus. She saw nothing, heard nothing, but auto piloted to a table in the corner where a glass of water and a basket of chips had appeared. She was told something, yet heard nothing of the conversation. Apparently, she had smiled and spoke. She had no idea why, but... something told her she was missing a bigger picture. Her chest felt clenched and her breathing came in pants. It did not feel right. She couldn't explain the dark cloud that hung over her or the feeling of dread that choked her. She felt cold as if a shadow was laughing behind her.

Shaking her thoughts away, Aidan placed the tiger on the table and reached a hand up to rub at her eyes. She had to think hard about this. No, she needed to speak to her parents. Why that felt right, she didn't know. It just did. Getting up, she turned away and walked to the counter. "Can.. I.. um use the phone?"

The man there glanced at her with little interest before moving to the counter of the tabletop bar. Aidan followed when he picked up the black landline. Saying nothing more, the man went back to work. She frowned at his rudeness, but said nothing to it. She could have used her phone, however she had chosen to abandon it for now. There were to many questions and worries. Thus, she picked up the phone and dialed away. Placing it to her ear, she waited... and waited... and waited until someone picked up. "Storm. Who is this speaking?" She knew that voice.

"Alvin, is mother there?" All she heard was a click. Blinking in confusion, she realized he had hung up, thus she once more dialed. This time, no one answered.

"What.. the..." Turning the phone over to stare at it, she tried to think of why the man would just... hang up. Were they disconnected? Why did he not answer the second time. Then again, her family had been so angry when she left. Growling, she slammed the phone down and jumped off the stool. She could hear the bar man yelling at her about trying to break the phone, but all she did was flip him off over her shoulder.

---

Hunter watched as Aidan walked from the bar. He had leaned against the wall of a building across the street. His arms were folded over his chest with a blue tooth along his ear. He had put on a simple black ball cap that he had pulled to shadow his face. Watching her now, he wondered what she had been up to all day, but it mattered little. That was not why he was here or why he had followed her out here. There were other matters to think on.

Brushing his tongue along his bottom lips, Hunter breathed out a long sign as he leaned his head back. Deirdre would be here soon or at least be figuring out by now he had been given the wrong information. He had been careful to not give out to much information. Both of them knew better though. Hunter was never intended for the mafia's bosses use. "Yes, it would seem he has taken a fancy to her."

He finally answered the question that had been hanging in the air. "Are you sure?" The voice growled at the other end. For a moment, he debated on that question. Should he lie? No, he knew better.

Hunter's hands clenched as his head hung slightly. "Yes."

"It would seem the boy needs to be reminded of his duties." Nickalos White growled at the other end. "Tell me, is Mr. Cooper in town?

Hunter's body froze to the bone. His throat seemed to close in itself. The warmth was sucked from his skin as goose bumps begun to appear along his skin. Seconds later, his knees gave out, and he found himself sliding down until he was sitting. Leaning back, his legs sprawled out in front of him as he nodded. It took him a moment to remember he spoke to the man on the phone. "Y-Yes." Forcing those words out disgusted him, but not for anyone else's sake. That man even disgusted him.

"Good, he will take care of it then." The voice nearly purred. "Ragpa arap onrefni árevah." Nickalos finished using the Kingdom of Flame language before hanging up. For a moment, Hunter said nothing to this. He just sat there in the quiet of the corner. He had worked for years with Nickalos White. He had long been assigned to Deirdre McGunner. While he outranked him, Hunter had never obeyed him. His sole job had been to watch him and to call in. Yet, it never occurred to him that... this problem would come up. Aidan's involvement will have a price to pay, if only he knew how high that price would be. In this world, pets were allowed to have entertainment but never a distraction. Deirdre ruled the world, but even he had a king to bow to. He killed those in his way, however that was what he was trained to do... He had no other role to play but the puppet. That, in itself, did not sit well for him.

"Damn it." The male mumbled under his breath before rubbing his hand over his face. Although, he never expected what would happen next.

The man's silence was shattered by the thunderous roar of an explosion. For a moment, sound was sucked into the void... once... twice and a third time until finally the sound was brought back into reality. Screams followed and the sound of Hunter's heart beat flooded his senses. Eyes widening, he shoved himself from the wall, whipped around and saw red. Three bodies laid on the sidewalk with crimson gushing from their foreheads. They had been shot professionally, leaving no chance of escape or survival. Their eyes, once full of life, were now rolled back into their heads with clear indication of their demise. One was a businessman, another a women, and the third was a child of maybe ten years. Although, that was not what Hunter's eyes were focusing on, but rather the women that stood there looking down them in shock. Her eyes were widened and her mouth parted. Her whole entire form had turned stiff besides for the trembles that wrecked her. Fair skin was now paled and painted with splashes of red from the aftershock of the shots.

The tiger that she had held in her hand had been dropped to the hard floor and rolled off to the side where it bathed in the blood of the victims. It was not long before tears begun to form in her eyes as she stepped back slowly. Never had she seen death up close, but here she was... realizing that in a blink of an eye life could be stolen. It was not long though before the red world was covered by dark blue and white as she was yanked around. Stone arms snatched her against a body where she buried her face against the warmth of a chest. It took her only a second to realize exactly who it was, and she found herself clinging to him with all the strength she had.

With no words, Aidan allowed herself to be held. Everything, after all, had gone numb. Deirdre, on the other hand, had not. "Hunter!" The male snapped causing for him to snap out of it. Hunter's eyes turned to Deirdre as he frowned deeply. He knew that the dots had been connected. Nickalos had taken aim at her... no, he wanted to send a message loud and clear through her.

"Yes, sir?" He spoke flatly as he approached the man. The sight of the bodies doing little to grab his attention. Instead, he leaned down and gently picked up the tiger that had been dropped. The once white fur was now drenched. It would be difficult to remove the stains.

"What did you tell him?" The male growled. His blue eyes becoming flames. The only thing that now held back the lion was the trembling girl in his arms.

However, Hunter merely grinned. "The truth." For a second, Deirdre narrowed his eyes and stared down at the male. But, this was no time nor place to be having further discussion on the issue.

"Deal with this." The boss finally hissed out as he picked up Aidan and walked away from the scene. Hunter, on the other hand, remained there... watching him walk away.

"Ragpa arap onrefni árevah." Hunter whispered. "There will be Hell to pay indeed."