Confusion hit the back of Hammer’s head despite the flames inside him burning ever hotter. Was Dex offering to kiss him all over or something? That was… not what he expected and the kind of thing he’d dotohis female lovers, not the ither way around. His mind warned it might end up being emasculating, but his body wanted to be worshipped. It would be nice to lay back and let someone else do the work for once. And if Dex got too frisky, Hammer could pacify him easily enough.
He opened his mouth, staring back into Dex’s needy eyes while his heart reached a new level ofstaccato.
Cora’s voice was the bucket of ice water he needed to snap out of this trance, and he stepped away as if the boy’s touch burned him.
“Hammer! He’s here! He chased me to the house,” she cried, bursting into the cat house with a flushed face and smudged eyeliner staining her cheek.
Hammer took a deep breath and faced her, ready for the opportunity to burn some off that excessive energy.
Chapter 8 – Hammer
Thesledgehammerwassucha welcome weight, and as Hammer pulled it out of the shed, where he’d been keeping it since their arrival at the ranch, he stepped right back into the shoes he’d temporarily left behind.
The air was crisp and made his nipples stiffen as he walked along the house to eventually spot a large blue truck parked with its open bed facing the main entrance. A vein pulsed at Hammer’s temple when he realized the repo-man was here to straight up help himself to her belongings, no police involved.
Well,thatwasn’t happening.
He returned to the back door and entered the house, on the lookout for whoever this bastard was. He figured the man would go either for jewelry or expensive electronics, and when Hammer heard a noise from the living room, he headed there, ready to set the bastard straight.
He spotted Baby’s fluffy tail tapping against the wooden floor before the repo came into view.
“Back off, you overgrown vermin!” the stranger yelled in a cigarette-burnt voice, which matched his gruff exterior. Fucker could have been a relative of John Wayne’s, albeit with a substantially weaker chin and a spider web tattooed all over his bald head.
Ignorant of the danger, Baby approached the man like she would any other guest. Her back legs were low and eyes full of cautious interest, but the repo reached under his leather jacket for a gun, while keeping his other hand extended forward, as if he imagined himself to be a trainer of wildlife. With all his attention on the puma, he didn’t notice Hammer’s tentative approach, but that didn’t mean the situation was under control.
Hammer’s stomach dropped, because anything could happen now that the firearm was out. There was no way he’d allow Cora’s precious pet to be hurt.
Without thinking much, he stepped from behind the divider wall and swung his sledgehammer. The repo-man must have finally noticed him, because his bright eyes moved from the cat to the apex predator hiding in the house, but he’d been too slow. The head of Hammer’s tool crashed with the bastard’s arm and made him stumble to the floor. The gun fired when it hit the wooden panels, muting the sound of pain ripping from the repo-man’s throat.
Baby leapt back, landing on all four legs with her eyes wide and fur bristled as if she were a startled house cat. She then made a yelp that sounded pathetically weak for an animal her size, and weaseled out of the room with her stomach low to the floor. She stampeded down the corridor, her paws tapping against the wood at frantic speed, when the unfortunate creditor looked up at the threat standing right next to him.
“Who the fuck—”
Hammer kicked the gun away and put the handle of the sledgehammer on his shoulders, grabbing it with both hands. He knew how intimidating of a sight that was, especially from the floor, but he restrained the confident smirk trying to sneak its way onto his face. The unnatural bend to the man’s arm made his heart beat faster.
“You’re trespassing.”
The repo stared at him but patted the floor in an attempt to find something that might be used as a weapon. “You broke my fucking arm! Do you have any idea who I am?” he spat as irregular red spots bloomed on his face like a Rorschach test on human skin.
“It won’t matter when you turn into tiger food. I’ve gotten quite good with the meat grinder,” Hammer said, never taking his eyes away from the face gradually becoming shiny with sweat.
“You’ll pay for this, you fucking psycho!” the repo yelled, attempting to get up, as if he’d already gotten permission to leave. This guy might be able to frighten Cora who, despite her quirks and former career in porn, was a normal person. But Hammer was not a regular citizen, and he knew exactly how to deal with such measly attempts at intimidation. If he had a dollar for every guy who tried to use the do-you-know-who-I-am line on him, he’d be stinking rich by now.
And since the message he was trying to convey hadn’t sunk in yet, Hammer swung his weapon again, this time unable to fight the grin splitting his face when all the tiny bones in the guy’s hand cracked under the metal head.
The man’s thick neck tensed, revealing tendons, eyes opened, and the bright, even teeth were revealed in their entirety as the repo’s face turned into a mask of shock. The skin might remain intact, but bones were fractured, and fingers twisted at unnatural angles as swelling started to set in. Adrenaline must have been enough to block out the pain, because the bastard wasn’t screaming yet.
“Shut up,” Hammer said
Nowthe repo was paying attention, and Hammer liked it this way. Blood throbbed in his ears and gums with the excitement of a predator playing with his food. He’d seen Rogue hunt down a rat in her enclosure yesterday, and he felt that same joy at this righteous violence. No one needed to know how much he liked it, as long as the people he dealt with were vermin.
The repo-man stared at him with bulging eyes, protecting his broken hand with the other arm. “Okay, okay! I’ll go. Keep the gun,” he added in a raspy breath, as if Hammer were offering to give back the firearm in the first place.
“That’s better,” Hammer said, scooting down to see the flattened hand in more detail. Despite its fragility, it hadn’t broken apart and retained its general shape, even though the swelling was malforming it at a rapid speed. Such a resilient little piece of flesh.
He smiled. “I’m a good friend of Cora’s and will be staying here for a while. I understand that she has to make good on her debts, but you won’t be taking advantage of her. She will pay you back the exact sum she borrowed when she has the money,” Hammer said.
Understanding passed through the other man’s bloodshot eyes, and he nodded, clenching his teeth. “Can I go?” he rasped, no doubt eager to visit the ER.