Language Warning!
If you don't like foul language, skip the text below the second pic with the moving truck in it. ;)
If you don't like foul language, skip the text below the second pic with the moving truck in it. ;)
“Strange… how you can be living your dreams and your nightmares at the very same time.” ― Ransom Riggs, Hollow City
“Rooooogeeeeerrrrrrr…”
“Roooooggggggeeeeerrrrr…”
“Huh?”
“What the-”
“Whoa.”
“Rooooggggggeeeerrrr…”
“Mariah?”
“Roooooogggggeeeeeeeerrr…”
“Mariah.”
“Mariah!”
“Roger! Catch me!”
“You can fly!”
“I can do anything, Roger. I’m the most amazing woman you know.”
“Marry me, Roger.”
“Huh? Whu-Wa-What? What?”
“Marry me!”
“M-marry you-you? I thought we’d-we’d talked about this. That-that staying in my job was-was good and you wanted to do this on-on your own a little bit?”
“You’re too good for me. I realize that now and I don’t want to lose you to some floozy in Lucky Palms. Quit your job. Come home to Appaloosa. Marry me.”
“Marry me, Roger! Come home to me, Roger! The kids miss you. I miss you.”
“…”
“I need you! The kids need you! Your family needs you! Come home! Marry me.”
“I just- I mean- I love you so-so much, but this isn’t what we’d talked about. I want to be with all of you more. But I don’t know how to leave.”
“I taught you better than this. Don’t make her beg.”
“Mo-om!”
“No! You need to marry the mother of your children! We’ve talked about this. It’s high time you quit these fantasies you have of being some hot shot undercover cop and come home. Settle down. Be a father. Your brother needs you, too. Without you here to smooth things out for him, he’ll probably go to prison this time. They got the car back though! No harm done. But he needs you to help him out.”
“Fine! Fine, I’ll figure something out.”
“That’s my boy. Now give Mama a kiss.”
“Mom! No! Geez!”
“Oh, just one kiss! You look so sweet when you’re asleep. You’ll never even know…”
“What?”
“AAAAAUUUUURRRRGGGHHHH! Nooooooo!”
“What?!?!? NO!”
“Dammit, Devi!”
“What the hell, Rocky?!?”
“Jus’ tryin’ to wake ya up gently,” Devi grumbled, eyes narrowed. “No need ta knock me down.”
“Yeah, I’m not sorry, Devi,” Roger scrubbed at his eyes, trying to focus. “How did you get in here?”
“Tex gave me a key,” she replied icily, standing up taller than her usual slouch allowed for. “He wants to see you. Now. An’ I would’ve let you have an extra half hour or so if you’d jus’ lemme.”
Roger looked up in disgust at Devi who had melted back into her usual attempt at sexy.
“Come on, Rocky,” she purred. “You’re the only one of ‘a boys who won’t take a little stress relief. You know it’d be good. Relax ya a little. You’re so uptight. So tense.”
Any remorse he had felt at accidentally striking her, knocking her down, evaporated as he pulled on a shirt. Devi forever tried to force herself on him. He’d never harmed a woman before though. His mom would kill him if she knew. Aaand there’s that remorse right back where it should be.
“No. And I won’t keep Tex waiting. Is his limo outside?”
“Nah, ‘e’s down at the bar.”
“Is it two already? Did I sleep that long?”
“Nah! It’s only ten. He don’t do business there when it’s open. Ya oughta know that.”
“No, Devi. I don’t ‘oughtta know’ that. I’ve only met him at the warehouse before. Did he send a cab?”
“Nah, but I can call one.”
“Nah, we’ll walk. I need to work some kinks out.”
“I can help you work some ‘kinks’ out, Rock. Got a strap on if that’s what tempt’s ya.”
“Bite me, Devorah.”
“Gosh, I’d love to.”
Roger cringed as the sunlight poked his eyes. He needed to get a move on if he wanted to shake Devi.
To his chagrin he felt her arm slip through his, her claws tearing into him before he’d even made it two steps.
“What’s he wantin’ to see ya ‘bout this time?”
“Dunno. Figured you knew.”
“Not this time. He’s been tight lipped since that last incident.”
Roger sneered. That was probably what this was about. Lucky Palms PD had at last managed to slip in someone from their own department, but she was screwing things up badly. He’d so hoped she would have worked out so he could have made his exit, gone back home.
“Not that one,” a familiar voice trilled near to him. “Andre! Not that one! The one marked kitchen! Not den silly. Why would I put your dishes in a box marked for the den?”
Roger stopped abruptly, making Devi crash into him. That voice. In this house. Tex owned this house. He owned all the houses on this street. Which meant…
“New neighbor. Tex hired ‘im. He’s got some fancy degree and connections like you wouldn’t believe. Tex thinks he can turn the casino around, make it profitable again. I hope so. I haven’t had a new fur from ‘im for nearly five years,” Devi whispered, thinking he was only gawking at the new comers.
Roger hadn’t seen Andre since graduation, almost… five years ago? Yup. Five years. Dove would be heading off to kindergarten shortly after her birthday coming up. The asshole hadn’t sent a single dime to help Mariah out in all that time, never bothered to learn his daughter’s name. Not a letter. No phone calls. No visits. For all Andre knew, Dove didn’t exist.
White hot rage bubbled up in him. Dove knew Roger wasn’t really her daddy, smart little thing. Not like they’d tried to keep it a secret, much less not like he treated her any different from his own. Still though, Dove called him Daddy along with his own two children. He’d had more to do with her and her upbringing than any other person besides Mariah and it made him seethe that this fucked up, self-absorbed, swaggering piece of shit had the right to one day waltz in and take his daughter. Dove was his daughter. Not Andre’s. His. His Dove. His Mariah.
“Uhm, Rock?”
Imagining the hurt he could give Andre gave him great satisfaction. He’d learned a lot after three years working for Tex, five years on the force. Using that, first he’d-
“-Rocky?” Devi tugged urgently on his arm until he finally turned to her.
“Rocky, we need to get goin’. He’s waitin’. You a’ight?”
“Get off me, Devi. I’m fine. Let’s go.”
“You’ve kept me waiting.”
Roger fought back a desire to roll his eyes. Tex would take offense to that.
“He insisted on walkin’,” Devi piped up from behind Roger.
“I don’t have time for walking. If you won’t call a cab, I’ll send a car next time. Or perhaps it’s time for you to buy your own? You could get a nice one with a little foresight.”
Roger strode over to the table Tex sat at, throwing himself in a chair. Most of his money went into a savings account for the kids to one day attend college or buy a house, or whatever they wanted. Mariah had refused his offers to pay child support so he was left doing this instead. But it left him plenty short on buying a car to stay in Lucky Palms with him. He had one in Appaloosa Plains…
“Make Rock a drink, Dev. He looks a bit riled up today. It’s too early to be so surly.”
“Sure.”
Realizing he’d just shooed Devi off for a more private conversation, Roger tentatively raised his eyes to Tex’s.
“What the hell happened Thursday?”
Dammit. He’d never get to go home.
“It was a mess.”
“Someone tipped the cops off. Your crew was on duty that night, Rocky. Therefore, you’ve got a mole.”
“Yeah. That’s what I figured, too.” LPPD would be pissed to no end when he sent their mole packing after only two weeks. But she’d tipped the department off too cleanly, too early on.
“Find them. Finish them.” Tex was entirely too casual, leaning back in his chair once more. “I don’t want it to happen again. We lost over a hundred grand that night.”
Roger stole a glance at Tex. His crew had nearly twenty people on it, more than twice what he needed. Tex would employ anyone who came to him with a sob story. It betrayed a naturally generous nature he would have loved to explore more thoroughly. A lot of people’s kids had diapers and full bellies due to his kindness.
Hell. Devi? Was a giver. They were both products of circumstance and bad luck with so much more potential. At times Roger hated himself for finding what they did, who they were, despicable. Life hadn’t given them much choice. Yet, they did have a choice and Roger hated the choices each of them had made.
“I know you’ve got a lot of people to go through to find who did it,” Tex continued, his gaze piercing. “But if you find who did it, I’ll let you take a break. Maybe you won’t have to have such a sloppy crew, either.”
There he went. Tex and his generous side.
“I’ll find ‘em.”
“I know you will. Or I’ll start finding out where you go on your days off.”
The blood drained out of Roger’s head quickly enough he thought he might be sick.
“Drinks for both a’ ya!”
Tex leaned back, ignoring the outstretched tray.
“Ah. I thought that would do it. Sorry, Rock. But I gotta make sure you’re motivated, loyal. Like I said, it was your crew, and you disappear a little more ‘n I like. C’mon Devi. There’s a new hot tub in the penthouse suite I’ve been dying to try out.”
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I.Am. SOOOOOOO sorry for the delay getting this one out! So sorry. It ended up taking a lot more effort than I’d imagined. Two worlds to set up, 6 lots to get straightened out, an object to make (I NEEDED those stepping stones to lead to the column dammit! Needed them!) 2 characters to make, poses to find and make, accessories to reposition and make blahblahblahblaaaaahblahblahblahdeblahblah. Excuses Excuses. Sorry. I love you all. Thank you for your patience.<3
I get the above might have been a little confusing. Please PLEASE feel free to ask about anything that might not have made perfect sense.
Oh, One of Roger’s brothers really is a klepto. I’m forever getting pop ups about him failing to steal this, that and the other. One time, he got caught trying to steal a coffee table from Roger himself! Ha!
