His Vice

Ch 10

Five hours. Five fucking hours! Five fucking hours trying to put together this fucking baby walker! He growled, looking at the instructions, lifting up the pieces to his eyes. Five hours with Harmony sitting on the couch, laughing at him as he repeatedly failed at putting the walker together.

"Put piece A6 into piece D@1 and secure" he grumbled, seeing the pieces in the light that he had the right ones, but every time he tried to secure them. He slammed the plastic pieces together repeatedly as Harmony stifled another laugh. "Secure!" he snapped "SECURE!" but, despite his yelling, the pieces did nothing but fall separate on the carpet.

"Why would they build something that couldn't be built?! Why is there so many parts?! why does it have an AT sign?! what happened to just using fucking normal numbers?!" he was about to blow, and she knew it, watching that tiny vein in his forehead ready to pop. She got off the couch, walking across the floor, dodging the pieces all over the floor.

"Max, why don't you take a break...?" she suggested, softly prying his tight fists from the pieces.

"Put piece A6 into piece d@1 and secure!" she helped him up from the carpet by his arm, letting the pieces fall to the ground.

"What about a soothing cup of tea?" she suggested, leading him into the kitchen.

"D@1" he responded. Her mouth strained slightly, wondering if the baby walker had literally broken him. A knock on the door had her pause, glancing at the clock above the stove.

"Who would that be at this time of night?" she asked herself suddenly.

"It's the guard dogs" Max responded weakly, collapsing onto the counter. He grabbed his head, feeling a pounding headache take over his pained face.

"Guard dogs?" she asked, leaving him the kitchen. She walked down the hall to the foyer, opening the door, only to be bombarded by such loud barking she stumbled back, holding her ears. They were large, lean Dobermans, with bright white sharp teeth. It made her swallow.

"Delivery!" she raised an eyebrow at the small girls' cheery voice. She was dressed in full black, so Harmony knew she was Hell's Heaven, but didn't recognize her. She suspected this girl belonged to the Los Angeles chapter. The small girl tried to control the dogs on their leashes, but it didn't help much, as they pulled her into the house, sniffing down the halls. They pulled so hard the girl had to let go, stumbling slightly but regaining herself before she hit face-first into the linoleum floor.

"Goodness, they're quite the handful". Her hair was curly and dark blonde, held back by a black headband, and to Harmony's surprise, a white-colored flower on it.

"Wouldn't they have been able to send someone that can handle their strength?" she asked, helping the girl regain herself.

"You'd think so, but I'm sort of the one that gets the jobs no one wants" she claimed. Harmony always thought of herself as short, but this girl was at the height of Harmony's breasts, she wasn't even close to five feet. "You must be Lady Lucas, sorry for the intrusion so late at night, it took longer to get the dogs from the training facility than I expected" she wanted to correct the girl, that she was not Lady Lucas. But, another question came out of her mouth before she could.

"Why did it take longer?" she asked. She girl looked at her sheepishly.

"Well, you see. They just took longer with them. They were trained and prepped to leave, but as soon as they saw that it was me taking them, they sort of...held them back" she raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the young girl's words. She suddenly bowed all of a sudden, concerning Harmony.

"Maxwell Lucas, I apologize for the intrusion" Harmony turned, finding Maxwell now leaning against the doorframe, staring at them. It was at that moment, that by far the loudest slam she had ever heard echoed in her ears.

"Bean! I said don't bother them!" the voice boomed, startling her. She looked behind the young girl, where another large man dressed in black was walking up the driveway. His hair was a light blonde, down to his shoulders, tanned skin, and a heavy-looking leather jacket tight over his muscles.

"Sorry Leader Ace" she girl suddenly fumbled over herself, looking up at the large approaching man with such wide eyes of appreciation and fascination. Harmony knew immediately that this girl was definitely in love with that guy.

"Ace Castor" Max appeared behind Harmony, holding out his hand for the large man

"Maxwell Lucas, it's been a long time" the young man breathed, taking their hands into a quick rough shake. Harmony couldn't stop staring at the mans' eyes, the iris was so dark, you couldn't even tell it apart from the pupil.

"I trust our intrusion isn't too much of a hassle into the daily doings of your chapter"

"Of course not, family are always welcome here, especially yourself" the man responded

"How is your grandfather?" Max asked politely

"Old as dust" he responded, giving Max a smirk "Maybe I'll have him come by, he'll want to see what Jamie's grandson looks like"

"I'll look forward to it" He was almost as scary looking as Max, almost bigger than Max even. She felt like a dwarf compared to the sheer size of this man. She couldn't even imagine how this girl felt standing next to him, this man could probably snap her in half. Harmony glanced at the small girl, who was still staring at Ace, lovestruck of all things, mouth slightly parted, sparkles in her light brown eyes.

"Spike still breaking hearts?" he asked in his deep voice

"always" Max rolled his eyes "We should get together one day while we're here"

"Go out on the town, call it a date" the tall man glanced at Harmony, seeming to stare from her toes, up to the hair on her head. "You sure picked a pretty one Lucas"

"Eyes up here buddy, she's taken," Max said gruffly, grabbing Harmony's shoulder. The man let out a deep laugh. He glanced at Bean and his eyes darkened, she swallowed slightly in response, in a sort of fascination.

"Let's go Bean, you have a bedtime" Harmony raised an eyebrow. Yes, the girl looked young, but she was at least seventeen.

"Yes Sir!" she said quickly, hurrying back out of the house and down the steps to the car.

"As you have requested Lucas, I assigned a person to occupy your wife while you are here, it will be Bean" Harmony looked over her shoulder, up at Maxwell's hard face.

"I asked for someone that is well versed in protection Castor, this little girl doesn't seem very qualified for the job" Harmony sent a hand at his chest, trying to get him to be quiet.

"Despite Bean's demeanor and stature, she's one of the best shots we have" Castor claimed "But, I will tell you that Bean hasn't passed initiation"

"I trust your judgment Castor, if you think she's skilled enough for the job, I don't care about initiation" Ace nodded in response. The man bidded goodbye quietly, stomping himself down the stairs and getting into the car with Bean and they drove off. Harmony shut the door, turning to face Max.

"You know that man?" she asked

"Yes, Spike, myself, and Ace grew up together, we are the three descendants to the three Hell's Heaven originators" Max responded.

"So, if you and Ace are both leaders, why isn't Spike?" she asked

"Spike has been given the option many times, he's been offered to lead multiple chapters. But, he's always refused" he responded simply, moving back into the kitchen. She watched the dogs roam the rooms, sniffing and growling. Zuni seemed to be trying to copy them of all things, following the large dogs through the rooms and sniffing where they did. She managed to glance at their leather collars, and their names engraved. Bingo and Bongo. For such scary-looking dogs, those weren't very scary names. She watched when Bingo and Bongo sniffed at Maxxy as he laughed, sprawled across the living room floor, trying to grab the dog's legs with his tiny hands and scooting across the floor. She sighed, knowing life wouldn't be the same as it used to be anytime soon.