39. Zero
39
ZERO
I f there was one thing that Zero learned these past twenty-four hours, it was that Diesel’s family—not his biological one—but his French stripper-club family was crazy. The whole lot of them.
The father, Matteo—the one who tracked his boy—was like some kind of mafioso godfather-type man who apparently lived in a castle and had a team of super assassins at his beck and call.
Ares, the godfather’s “husband,” who had also been shot by said husband, was apparently wanted by half the world’s governments.
Then, of course, there were Diesel’s so-called brothers. A pack of emotionally damaged guys who were also apparently undercover stripper-badass heroes who fought crime and rescued their siblings on weekends.
Chase was the unlucky person who got to call Matteo and inform him that one of his favorite sons, a so-called recovering drug addict, even though he didn’t seem to be cutting back on all drugs, had been drugged and kidnapped by a deranged doctor who was in the process of transporting him and a few others back to his super-secret villain lair, way out in the middle of nowhere.
After what sounded like a million death threats and more swear words than a drunken sailor with Tourette’s, the head of the naked crime family hopped onto his private jet with his stripper guild and league of super-secret assassin commandos and met Chase and crew at the airfield so that they could jump into a fleet of souped-up vans and hunt down and rescue the godfather’s missing son.
He couldn’t make this shit up even if he tried.
On the plus side, Diesel’s tracker had come back online two hours ago and settled on a spot deep in a secluded forested area a few hours outside of London.
Working, yes. But that wasn’t to say that the watch was not still working on Diesel’s severed arm, which had been buried apart from the rest of his body. Just because the thing was working didn’t guarantee that Diesel was alright.
Zero shook his head. What was wrong with him? The guy who he kind of, sort of, maybe perhaps kinda loved was being held captive by a crazy mad doctor guy.
“I fuckin’ hate long-ass car rides,” one of the guys from the super-secret assassin crew said as his body bounced up and down in sync with the bumps in the road.
They had left the pavement about twenty minutes ago and were now venturing through secondary roads that no doubt led to something evil and sinister.
For a bunch of badass meatheads, this one did a lot of whining and complaining.
“Have some vodka. It will toughen you up and put some hair on those raisins you call balls,” Ares yammered, holding out a bottle of vodka he had been drinking.
The guy raised his middle finger as he leaned back against the wall in the back of the van. Ares returned the gesture with a smile. There were six of them huddled in the back of the van—three on one side, three sitting directly across.
Behind them were two other vans also containing a mixture of strippers and super-secret commandos who apparently ate nothing but protein shakes for every meal—the commandos, not the strippers. The strippers apparently ate veggies and cock, according to Levi, who was busy complaining that one of the commandos—a big burly Serbian named Vukan—smelled like fried liver and beans.
They were about thirty minutes away from their destination. They pulled over the vans and began getting themselves ready. They weren’t sure what they were going to find, so it was safer if they got dressed, applied their camouflage, and loaded their weapons before they arrived.
The area they were headed to was private land owned by a private corporation Marc was still trying to understand. From what he had been able to gather, the company traded in new, cutting-edge drugs that were only now being approved for use in Europe and Asia. The company was small and relatively unknown, which only meant one thing… they wanted to keep the nature of their experiments a secret and avoid unnecessary attention.
The land that was owned by the mystery company had a large facility built in the center of a deeply wooded area. Land registries noted that the facility was built back in the seventies and used as a research facility, according to records.
Why had the doctor brought Diesel to a facility that was located well off the beaten path? Was he conducting illegal experiments? Ones he didn’t want his regular employers finding out about?
“I hear you’ve been boning our brother,” Levi noted as he and Isaac joined Zero, where he sat on a large rock, loading his gun.
Zero’s eyes shifted between the two boys. He’d met them once before when they’d stopped by to surprise their boyfriends. They were nice enough to him. And Diesel seemed to really trust them. So what could it hurt to confirm their suspicions?
“Well, we have fucked around a few times, if you must know.”
They both looked at each other before the one with the blue hair turned back to ask, “And what’s your intention with D?”
“My intention? What are we, in the 1950s?” Zero asked with a smirk on his face. Were these boys for real?
They both exchanged glances once again, except this time, the one with the violet eyes decided to take the lead.
“Diesel might come off all tough and badass, but deep down, he’s an emotional mess. He needs to be surrounded by people who will love him, support him, and always remind him that he is not alone. That he has people who love him and people who rely on him.”
Zero knew exactly what they were talking about. He’d seen it a few times where Diesel pulled back and retreated into himself when he felt that he was not being heard or was made to feel uncomfortable. Zero never wanted him to feel that way again.
“These last few weeks have shown me how special Diesel really is. Just look at how many people have come along on this rescue mission. There wouldn’t be this many people if the man weren’t special. And as long as he is with me, he will always feel safe and protected,” Zero said, eyes shifting between each of Diesel’s so-called younger brothers.
“You should have seen the hell this guy rained down at that club the other night. Never seen so much carnage,” Chase added, joining the group with Jared as well. “Any guy would be so lucky to have someone lose his shit like that when they’re worried about them.”
Zero’s face heated. He hadn’t really thought about it. He just ran into the club and began shooting any asshole holding a gun. He was seeing red and needed to find his guy.
Jared and the other boys smiled. He’d won the battle of the brothers.
“Now you just have to survive the meeting of the dads,” Isaac joked, taking another sip of his whiskey.
Apparently, that was what Isaac did. Drink. Whiskey. And have video sex with his boyfriend.
Levi’s eyes went wide while Chase suddenly found his shoes so interesting.
Meeting of the dads. How bad could that be?