Bloody Seven of Spades 1: Life and Death

In a daze, Dominic regained consciousness. He heard sirens not far away resounding through the night sky, and Levi asked for an ambulance to the crackling intercom in a anxious tone. .The lights in the clinic came on, piercing Dominic's eyeballs and hitting his brain.He gritted his teeth in pain and closed his eyes again.

"Dominique!" Levi knelt by his shoulder. "Dominic, can you hear me?"

"Yes." Dominic moaned in pain.

"You bleed a lot." Levi's voice became weak with tension. "Can you move your limbs?"

Dominique twisted side to side, tried his hands and feet.He could feel all his limbs, but even casual movement made him dizzy.His head was tilted to one side, and he seemed to be losing consciousness again.

Levi patted his face. "Dominic, don't sleep. What year is it?"

"2016."

"Do you know where this is?"

"Sunrise Complex. I know the location and what's going on."

Dominic struggled to open his eyes, squinting against the light.Despite Levi's worried expression, the eyes were bright and the cheeks were pink, and Dominic had never seen such vivid expression on this face.Levi, who had just finished fighting, was still panting.

God, he's stunning!

This idea popped up suddenly, and Dominic was caught off guard. Coupled with his delirious mind, he almost said it.But he controlled himself, looking past Levi at the group of crooked thieves: all unconscious, one man in handcuffs, and the other two wrists and ankles tied by... dog chains?

"Your eyes worry me," Levi said. "The pupils are so small."

Dominique tremblingly raised a hand to his temple.Only then did he realize that there was something soft under his head.Levy must have folded some cloth and pressed it there to stop the bleeding.

"I think I may have a concussion." He said slowly.

Levi grinned. "Otherwise." He stroked Dominic's chin tenderly, and said, "You blocked a trick for me."

Dominic glanced at the three bound and unconscious men, sneered and said, "I think we're even. What's that?"

"What—oh, you mean moves? Krav Krav Krav."

"You must have practiced for many years."

"Yes, almost ten years."

"I've never seen—"

Shouts and running footsteps interrupted their conversation, and Levi's backup finally arrived.Levy stood up to greet them, and Dominique passed out again.

He fainted and woke up as police and paramedics came and went around him, asking endless questions.As he was on the stretcher and about to be rolled out of the scene, Dominique's eyes opened. "Wait! Levi..."

The moment he turned his head, his vision blurred.Levi came to the side of the stretcher and stood at the foot to keep him from turning.

"Rebel girl," Dominique said.Seeing Levy frown in confusion, he added, "My dog."

With a clear face, Levi pressed his hands on Dominic's ankles through the blanket wrapped around Dominic's body by the ambulancemen. "I'll take care of her. Don't worry."

"Can you... I hate to say it, but can you take her to my neighbors? Carlos and Jasmine. They live next door to mine. Number 2G."

It was only then that Dominique remembered that Levi didn't know his address at all, but speaking made his headache worse, and his tongue was trembling like a knot.He started to reach for his wallet, only to find to his dismay that his upper body was tied to a stretcher.

A paramedic came and undid the straps and helped him get his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans.Levy opened the wallet to check Dominic's driver's license, nodded and returned the bag to him.Dominique also gave him the car keys by the way.

"I'll drive your pickup back and return it to you tomorrow, okay?" Levi said. "Your gun is in my hand, too."

Dominic completely forgot about it.Fuck, his mind is all muddled. "Thank you. The rebellious girl won't worry about you, but if she can smell me from you, she may be calmer. She is well trained and can understand many basic commands of dogs. If she is really annoyed Get up and you just say 'calm down'." It took all his strength to get the call out.

Levi squeezed his shoulder. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Get well soon."

The stretcher was pushed again.Dominic closed his eyes, he didn't have to worry about the rebellious girl anymore, what he should worry about was his mother's reaction - what would she say when she learned that this happened to him?

***

After Levy signed, handed over the case to the detectives of the theft unit, ensured that the arrested persons received medical attention under police control, and then asked a police officer to drive his car back to the police station's deployment yard After that, he went to find Dominic's pickup.The energy invoked by the fight has not subsided, and it is stirring in his body, the brain is bathed in endorphins, and the original satisfaction is soaked in the bone marrow, but he still tries to hold back and does not show it.

The rebellious girl leaned close to the driver's side door, poking her head out of the half-open window.Seeing Levi approaching, she made a guttural whine and tensed up, looking anxious.

"Hi, rebellious girl," he coaxed her in a low voice, "it's all right."

Levy stretched his palm upwards, maintaining a high level of vigilance.Anti-bone girl weighs at least a hundred pounds. Even a well-trained personal guard dog will never develop real trust in people other than the object of protection.If she decides he's a threat, she can bite off his arm.

The dog sniffed his hand, smelled Dominique, and the whine turned to a high-pitched whine, and she scratched the door with her forepaws. "Calm down," he said softly, "Calm down."

She settled down a bit.He whispered more and more coaxing words to her until she stopped sniffing anxiously and finally calmed down.

He changed into a solemn tone and said, "Fan Gumei, sit down."

She put her front paws off the car door, and he bet the dog had to think about whether to obey before he backed into the passenger seat and kept facing him.Although her vigilance and vigilance had not been lost from the gesture of sizing up people, her body language did not show the intention of attacking, so he opened the car door and went in.

In his other hand he clutched a bag containing Dominique's gun and unloaded magazines.He temporarily put the bag into the glove box, and moved as slowly as possible to show the rebellious girl. After putting it away, he fell back on the back of the chair.

The crime scene has been handed over, and Fan Gumei has also calmed down. After unloading these burdens, he can no longer restrain himself, and begins to recall the sensory feelings during the fight to his heart's content.The brain is dominated by adrenaline, the impact of the body, the thrill of victory after knocking down those who hurt Dominic and threatened him...

God, he wanted someone to fuck him.

Levi growled and raked his hair.What happened to him?He didn't feel guilty about his performance in the fight; the gang had seriously injured Dominic and planned to attack him, but he just beat them incapacitated.What made him hesitate was the physiological reaction after the fight.It's one thing to be sexually aroused after sparring practice, but what is it to be so excited in such a situation?

He was curious to hear what Natasha thought of it.

After throwing the thought away, he turned the key to turn the engine on, activating the GPS on the dashboard.Dominique didn’t pre-store his address—probably because of the stolen car, and Levy praised his security awareness.He entered the address he saw on his Dominica driver's license, and followed the marked route.

As he drove, his thoughts would automatically return to Dominique.The way Dominique jumped to block the blow for him was like an instinctive reaction.When Dominic fell on top of him, Levi thought he was dead and panicked for a few seconds.After cleaning up those people, I saw Dominic lying there unconscious, with the blood from his head flowing onto the rubber floor...

If Dominic hadn't been in the parking lot when Levi came; if he had obeyed Levi's orders and hadn't stepped in; if he hadn't been one of those silly zealots who keep people popular, Levi would probably be dead by now .

Levi exhaled tremblingly.

Dominique lived in a somewhat rundown residential building with open hallways and staircases like a chain motel.Levy found the anti-bone girl's chain on the floor of the car, led her into the gate of the barbed wire fence, and went inside to find Room 2G.

It was very late, and he was a little embarrassed to knock on other people's doors, but he couldn't do without knocking. "Come on later!" the people in the house shouted.Soon, the door opened to reveal a stunningly beautiful woman with colorful pigtails, tan skin, and colorful tattoos all over her arms and chest.

At first, she looked at Levi with vigilant and polite eyes, but after seeing the rebellious girl beside him, her face turned pale and she leaned against the door frame. "My God, what happened to Dominic?"

Levy scolded himself: Why didn't he think of the misunderstanding that would be caused by such a visit? "He's all right," he said right away, "I mean, he's hurt, but nothing serious. He told me to bring Rebel over here. I'm his—friend. Levi Abrams .”

"Jasmin Anderson." She shook his hand, as if she had calmed down a little. "How did he—"

"Who is it?" someone asked across the room.

"Why don't you come in and talk," she stepped aside, "You can take off the chain of the rebellious girl."

Levi took off the chain and followed her into the house.The jerk girl happily ran towards a lean Latino man with a mop of brown hair and an unshaven beard.His posture was a bit stiff, and the movement of kneeling down to tease the rebellious girl was also as careful as possible—could it be that he had been injured recently?

"Carlos, this is Levi Abrams, Dom's friend," Jasmine said, "Levi, this is my boyfriend Carlos Guerrero."

"Nice to meet you," Levy said, shaking Carlos' hand when he stood up. "I'm sorry to bother you so late. Dominique was taken to the hospital with a severe blow to the head. Before the paramedics took him away." , he was very conscious when talking to me, I think he will be fine."

"How did he get hurt?" Carlos asked.

Levy made a long story short and told them the basic situation.After hearing what he said, Jia Simin rolled her eyes and said sarcastically with love: "It's really his style."

"Are you a detective from the Vegas Police Department?" Carlos looked at Levi. "Dom never mentioned you."

"We don't have many intersections at work." Levi put his hands in the coat pockets. The two obviously have a close relationship with Dominic—there are many photos hanging on the wall in the living room, among which Dominic and even the rebellious girl are indispensable— —It was awkward for him to be in the same room with them. "He thinks you guys can help him see the anti-bone girl. Can you?"

"of course can."

"Thank you. Dominic has a cell phone, you can call him. As far as I know, the paramedics are going to call his mother."

"Would you like something to drink?" Jia Simin glanced at his waist without concealing it, and added: "Maybe you have something to eat?"

"Oh no, thank you." Levi took a few steps towards the door. "I really have to go home."

"Okay. Well, thanks for bringing the rebel girl, and Dominic will thank you too."

Levi nodded, said "good night", and went out the door.He pumped himself up as he trotted down the stairs, waiting to deal with Stanton.

The night is still very long.

***

"You almost died." Stanton's words broke the tense silence in the breakfast nook.

Levi sighed and put his fork next to the poached egg.The two quarreled so much last night that he simply went to the guest room to sleep, and they were able to cook breakfast together only because neither of them wanted to talk.

"Are you going to argue with me again?" Early in the morning, he didn't have the leisure to fight another five rounds.

Stanton squeezed the newspaper tightly with a "swish". "I just don't understand, how can you act like a normal person?"

"Why am I 'all right'? I don't want to die either. Isn't that a risk that a policeman must take? No matter how careful I am, the reality cannot be changed."

Stanton closed the newspaper, dropped it on the table, and reached for his coffee.His face was full of deep displeasure. Although Levi was very angry with him, seeing his lover's sad appearance made him feel very uncomfortable.

"I've been a police officer since we met," Levi said. "God, we met at a reception at the police station! Why can't you take it now?"

"I feel bad all the time." Stanton held the coffee cup in both hands. "It's nothing more than I know it means a lot to you. Every time I think about it, it's easier to accept it. But now, I'm thinking about our future..." He shook his head, "I don't know if I can look at it calmly. My own husband is born and dies every day."

Levi cleared his throat and changed his sitting position.He felt uncomfortable every time he heard Stanton talk about marriage, but he couldn't blame Stanton, after all, after all, Levi had never confessed his thoughts to him-he had every chance to say so.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration." He still didn't make it clear.

"This is--"

"I'm not resigning, Stanton."

Stanton hummed loudly on purpose. "You don't have to work at all, I can—"

"Don't say such things to me," Levi's tone dropped to freezing point, "How do you think I can accept it?"

"Then why do you think I can live with what happened last night?" Stanton shot back.

Levi snorted coldly and turned to face out the window. "I'm not adopted by you."

"I'm not that—you're not listening to me, not paying attention. I don't even know what I'm trying to do." Stanton pushed back his chair and stood up to grab his suit jacket. "I still have meetings to attend."

He hurried out of the kitchen.For a moment, Levi felt pettishly relieved that he wasn't the one who avoided the fight this time, and then he felt ashamed of himself for having thought it that way.

He scratched the poached egg with a fork for two or three minutes, trying to force himself to finish eating.Just when he felt that he really couldn't eat, his phone rang.The incoming call showed an unknown number.

"Hey?"

"Levy? I'm Dominic Russo."

"Oh." Levi sat upright immediately. "Hi, are you feeling better?"

"It's fine. There is no swelling or bleeding in the brain, so the hospital people let me go home with my mother last night. I had a headache for two or three days, but nothing serious."

"Then I'm relieved." It wasn't until then that he realized that Dominic was actually calling on his cell phone. "How do you have my phone number?"

Dominic chuckled and said, "Really? I'm a bounty hunter. It's not like you don't know."

"I thought you were a bail executor."

This time, Dominique laughed heartily.Levi's mouth curled into a smile.

"Half and half," Dominique said. "Yeah, I asked my mom and my brother to pick up my pickup and drive me back to the apartment. They'll come to you for the keys."

"That's unnecessary. I'll drive over to pick you up and take you home by the way."

"I can't drive you to work or anything, the doctor said I can't drive for 24 hours."

"I can use Stanton's e-hailing car to go to the police station."

"No, I don't want to bother you—" Dominique said.

"No." Dominic refused, and Levy said, "I can't give the gun to your mother and brother unless one of them has a gun license."

"They didn't," Dominic sighed, "well. If it really won't bother you."

"It's nothing. Anyway, I told the sheriff to be on duty later today."

Dominique told him the address, and after hanging up the phone, Levi suddenly felt his appetite came back.

***

Levi moved to Las Vegas from New Jersey when he was an adult, and he hasn't fully adapted to the desert environment here, especially the suburbs.Those American-style bungalows with tiled roofs are quite different from the colonial and Tudor-style buildings in the community where he grew up. Sometimes, these simple differences, such as the types of trees and flowers in front of him, are different from those subconsciously accustomed to. It can surprise him suddenly.

Seeing the sexy doormat in front of the door, he sneered and rang the doorbell.The woman who opened the door was as tall as he was, with olive skin and friendly brown eyes just like Dominique's.

"You're Officer Abrams," she said before he did, and shook his hand enthusiastically. "My name is Rita, please come in, please come in."

Levi walked into the small, spotless foyer.He has dealt with Dominic in the workplace for many years, but it was not until the past 24 hours that he got to know his neighbors in one breath and came to his parents' house, which is fascinating enough.

Another woman appeared across the room, older and much shorter.Rita said to her, "Mamaw, this is Officer Abrams."

Levi vaguely remembered that "Grandma" was Italian for grandmother, so her relationship with Dominique was self-evident. "Just call me Levi," he said, shaking her hand too.

After exchanging pleasantries, Rita smiled at him and said, "My God, you are so handsome! Look at the shaved cheekbones."

"Oh, I—thank you." Levy said hurriedly.

"It's just too thin." Dominique's grandmother patted his arm. "Do you eat pancakes? I'll bake some pancakes for you."

"Thank you, no, I had breakfast this morning." But before he finished speaking, he had already walked towards the kitchen.

"Dominique!" Rita yelled, startling Levi. "Your friend is here!"

"I'm coming out!" Dominique yelled from somewhere in the room.

He was caught off guard by the sense of déjà vu, and everything here felt too much like being in his own parents' home.Of course, there were no crosses on the wall in his hometown, but other than that, the temperament of the two families was not much different.

"When he said that, he meant that he couldn't get out for 10 minutes." Rita turned to face Levi. "You'd better go in and urge him to be quicker. It's the last room on the left in the corridor."

"Thank you."

Levy headed straight for the hallway when he heard footsteps behind him and Rita saying, "Grandma, they don't eat pancakes."

"Then have waffles," she said.

***

Dominic buttoned up his jeans, picked up the wet towel on the bed, wiped his chest and arms, and carefully brushed his wet hair a few times.The wound on his head stopped bleeding long ago in the ambulance, and there was no need for stitches, but it still hurt when touched, and he didn't want to open the wound.

The door was not closed securely, and someone knocked.Dominic turns around with the towel slung over his shoulders.

Levi glanced at him, his face turned pale, and he turned around quickly, but he slammed into the door, knocking it against the wall.

"Whoa," Dominic said, "that's flattering you."

"I'm sorry." Levi looked away, but Dominic could still see that he was blushing. "I'm not—I'm not—" He took a deep breath, shrugged, and turned to meet Dominic's eyes. "I didn't know you hadn't changed yet."

"I'm shirtless," Dominique said more and more amused, "but not naked."

After aiming down at Dominic's chest, Levi hurriedly looked away, then looked back. "Is that a gunshot wound?"

"Yes." Dominic looked at the wrinkled scar from his right shoulder to his chest. "I suffered it during my second expedition to Afghanistan. It was a neat shot that went straight through. After several months of physical therapy, there were basically no sequelae."

"I didn't even know you were injured when you were a soldier."

Dominic laughed. "Yeah, it's my fault for not wearing the Purple Heart [2] around."

He really wanted to drag it down like this and let Levi see enough, but Levi obviously wanted to see but was very embarrassed, so it would be a bit too much to punish him.He turned his back on Levi and bent over to lift his shirt off the bed, and Dominic was sure he heard Levi gasp.Levi couldn't see his face anyway, and Dominic smiled generously.

Dominique's physique has gotten him into a lot of trouble, from having to squeeze into a seat on a plane to accidentally scaring people, but sometimes, the muscles come in handy.

"Tattoos are cool," Levy said.

"Thanks. Actually, Jiasmin tattooed it for me."

Between his shoulder blades is a colorful tattoo of the Rangers' coat of arms - a sun, a pentagram and a lightning bolt at the base of the shield - topped with the sash of the [-]rd Battalion and the words Rangers below. Motto: SuaSponte.Latin means: voluntary autonomy.

"Maybe I should wait outside—"

"No, I'm ready, let's go." Dominic put his jacket on his head and picked up a bag - which contained a coat, a gun holster and the clothes he changed last night.He was overjoyed to find a few changes of clothes in the bedroom he'd shared with Vinny when he was a kid; shirts and coats from last night were bloodstained.

After confirming that the phone and wallet were taken, he walked ahead and left the room towards the front room, and said goodbye in the kitchen.

"Let's go—Grandma, what are you doing?"

Sylvia, who was stirring batter with a bowl in her arms, looked up at him. "Nothing." She said mysteriously.

"I think Levi must have had breakfast." Dominique glanced at him for confirmation.

Levi nodded and said, "But thank you for your kindness. Maybe next time?"

Dominique kissed his mother and grandmother goodbye.Rita patted his face tenderly and said, "Don't get shot today, can you do it?"

"I'll do my best," he said.

The two went out to the driveway, and Levy said, "Your mother's acceptance seems to be okay."

"That's what you didn't see her last night."

In the emergency room, Rita walked around him anxiously, like a mother bear guarding her cubs.When the tests showed no serious injuries, her panic turned to rage and she began to rant for an hour about Dominique's folly.Let's hope Levi doesn't give him another pass.

Levy shook his head while unlocking the pickup, with a smile on his face.

"What's the matter?" Dominic couldn't help asking.He opened the car door and climbed in, sitting in the passenger seat of his car felt weird.

"She feels a bit like my mother to me." Levy buckled up his seat belt and turned the key to start the engine. "They don't look alike at all, but... I think it's their tone of voice."

"Good or bad?" Dominique recalled Levi's angry tone when he talked to his mother on the phone.

"Okay." Levi smiled clearly.He backed the pickup out of the driveway and added, "My mom thinks I'm too skinny, too."

Dominic waved his hand. "You're not thin, you're lean. It's not the same thing at all."

He had always secretly admired Levi's slender and muscular muscles hidden under that high-end suit, but after witnessing Levi's ability last night, he knew: those muscles were tighter and more defined than he had imagined before. .

Levi squinted at him, opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but finally closed his mouth and continued to concentrate on driving.

Dominique closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.Although the dizziness and vomiting have disappeared, my head still hurts like hell. In addition, I haven't slept almost all night, and I am sore and tired, not to mention uncomfortable.The doctor said that if someone was watching, he could sleep in peace, so he planned to go to Carlos and ask if he could lie in his house for a few hours.

The two drove the car silently, but the atmosphere was not awkward.Levi seemed to be concentrating on something, and Dominic was happy to take care of his headache quietly.He even squints for a moment, until Levi wakes him up softly and says, "We're here."

Dominique opened his eyes and drummed hard to wake himself up. "Thank you, I have troubled you so much. Would you like to come up and wait for the bus?"

"I... ok, thanks. By the way, your gun is in the glove box."

Dominique was sure Levi had removed the magazine as required, but he checked it anyway and put the bag in his big bag.Levy followed him into the inner courtyard of the community and went upstairs all the way.

At the door of his house stood a large gift basket, knee-high, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a ribbon.Dominic bent down to pick it up, and the moment the blood rushed to his head, the pain in his temple intensified, making him frown.

"Who sent it?" Levi asked.

"I don't know. Is my sister still my sister?" But the power of this action is really exaggerated.

Levi gave Dominic his key back so he could open the door.Levy pulls out his cell phone to call a cab, and Dominique places the gift basket on the kitchen counter, pulls up the blinds in the living room, and swallows two Tylenols with a glass of water.Then he found a pair of scissors in the utility drawer, cut the ribbon off the basket, and tore off the cellophane.

The basket was filled with snacks and game props, and there was a teddy bear with a big heart embroidered in capital letters with the words: get well soon.But Dominic didn't see a card or label, so he didn't know who sent it.He rummaged through the pile of presents, and when he saw the thing in the middle of the basket, he froze.

At first glance, there is nothing suspicious about such a deck of playing cards—except that there is no plastic wrap on the outside of the card box, and the two corners of the box lid are wrinkled, as if they have been opened.

There was no way his sister would have given him the playing cards.During withdrawal, he couldn't even touch this thing at all.

"Levy," he said.

Levi hung up the phone and came over to stand beside him. "What?"

Dominique pointed to the deck of cards with his chin.He reached for it, but Levi grabbed it.

"Wait." Levi took out a pair of nitrile gloves from his pocket.He put on his gloves, opened the card box, took out the contents and laid them out in a row on the kitchen counter.

Every card inside is a seven of spades.

[1] The original text is written as "nonna", which means "grandma" in Italian.

[2] Purple Heart, the medal awarded by the US military to all soldiers injured in combat.