by Lisa Worrall
"Did you think I wouldn't be watching, Todd?" The voice was smooth and soft, like a lover's touch. "Did you think I wouldn't see, wouldn't know?" With each word, He took a step closer. "Which one of them fucked you, my pretty little whore? Which one of them put his hands on you?" He tilted his head to the side and smiled, blue eyes darkening. "Or was it both of them? One in that beautiful ass and one between those gorgeous lips?"
"Baby, please... I didn't do anything... I swear. I didn't let them touch me... didn't tell them anything... please." Todd held out his hands, pleading with the man who was now so close that there was barely a breath between them. He cried out when harsh fingers tangled into his blond hair and yanked his head back painfully. Todd tried desperately to breathe around the hot, wet lips that were sealed over his, and the tongue thrusting into his mouth. Closing his eyes tightly, he waited for it to be over. Tried to respond as best he could, knowing it would be so very much worse if he didn't. Finally, his lips were released, and he gulped in desperately needed oxygen.
"Maybe I should tell Marcus what you've been doing? What you've let me do to you. What you've let the other men I've brought here do to you, in his bed. Maybe I should tell him what a whore you are, right before I kill him. Wouldn't that be a wonderful memory to send him into the ever after with?"
"No!" The word screamed from Todd's lungs, and then he quickly hung his head in submission at the flare of anger in the other man's eyes. "Please... don't take him from me... I'll do anything. I'll be good." Swallowing against the bile that he could taste in the back of his throat, Todd lifted his hands and stroked them over the other man's ass, attempting to appease.
Blue eyes darkened further as they raked over Todd's lithe body. "Oh, I know you'll be good, baby. Now—take off your clothes."
"Something's not right," Scott said rubbing his eyes as Will came in with yet another cup of coffee. They'd been watching Todd's house all day and they'd seen no one go in and no one come out. To all intents and purposes, it looked like any other house in the cul-de-sac. Even the lights had been turned on in the living room and there was a muted glow from the master bedroom. But there was a niggling feeling in his gut that told Scott there was something wrong with the perfect picture. The fear in Todd's eyes was eating away at him as he sat in the darkness of the living room so he wouldn't be seen watching the house. He took the coffee from Will's outstretched hand and leaned into the other man's warmth when he sat down on the arm of his chair. "It's too quiet. I don't like it." He sighed heavily. "It feels like the calm before the storm, you know?"
"Scott?"
Scott gazed up at Will from over the rim of his coffee cup. He'd immediately picked up on the nervousness in Will's tone and knew something was going on in that head of his. "What are you over-thinking, Harrison?" He stroked Will's denim clad thigh with gentle fingers and waited for the other man to speak.
"Are we... Is this... What..." Will blushed and took a deep breath. "What is this thing? You know, between us?"
"Fantastic, hot, best sex I've ever had. Do I need to go on?" Scott waggled his eyebrows teasingly at Will, and immediately wanted to kick himself when he saw hurt flash across those beautiful brown eyes. You asshole, Turner! "I'm sorry, Will. This is why I suck at relationships." he sighed. "I mean really suck. I've always been so afraid of anyone in the department finding out I'm gay, I've never even come close to a relationship. I guess they got tired of waiting for me to commit and left."
"They left because you're an asshole, you asshole," Will said sarcastically, downing another mouthful of his coffee.
"Well, yeah, that too." Scott nudged Will's arm with his shoulder and smiled softly at him, the smile widening when Will finally relented and met his gaze. He watched as Will put down the cup and swung onto his knees in front of him, positioning himself between his open thighs and caging Scott in.
"Thing is," Will began. "I like you. I mean, really like you and I want there to be an us when this is all over. I mean, I'm fully prepared to overlook the fact that there's barely enough room in the bed for both of us and your ego, and the fact that you snore like a freight train. Oh, and I'm even willing to ignore the unbelievably unhealthy fascination you have with Days of Our Lives and assist you in the unmanly cuddling you like to do after sex. What do you think? Is it something that you might want to try?"
Scott's heart swelled in his chest at the uncertainty and hope in Will's eyes, making him look like a five-year-old who had just been told that Santa might not be real. If he was honest with himself—Yes, Scott, be honest—he wanted to grab the beautiful man and kiss him senseless and tell him he wanted to be with him forever, but he couldn't. You mean you won't. Not everyone out there is Paul Turner. When are you going to realize there are some things worth taking a chance for? "Will—" His words were cut off by a knocking at the door. "Who the hell is that? It's ten thirty for Christ's sake."
Will sighed heavily and eased himself to his feet. "I can't wait to get out of here; these people have no understanding of personal bubbles." He glared down at Scott and bent to kiss him, swiping his tongue across Scott's full lower lip. "This conversation is not over, Turner," he warned, ignoring Scott's attempt to grab a hand to pull him back down and padding down the hall to the front door. His eyes widened in disbelieving horror at the man who almost fell over the threshold.
Blood dripped from the fat lip Todd was sporting, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. Nylon cords were tied around both his wrists and one arm was wrapped protectively around his midriff. Will could only stare as Todd moistened his bloody lips and croaked, "Help me," before collapsing into Will's arms.
"Scott!" Will shouted, lifting Todd into his arms, kicking the door shut, and heading to the stairs. "First aid kit!" His gaze locked with Scott's as the other man ran from the living room, quickly took stock of the situation, and sprinted down the hall to the kitchen.
"Hurts," Todd whimpered when Will laid him on the bed in the master bedroom.
Will could clearly see that Todd's stomach was distended and from the way he was breathing he was sure he had at least a cracked rib or two. "Todd," he said, smoothing back the sweat dampened hair from Todd's clammy forehead. "We need to get you to a hospital." He looked up as Scott ran into the room with the first aid kit in his hand and knelt on the floor beside Todd's head.
"No… no hospital," Todd said, his voice almost unrecognizable around his swollen mouth. "Just… make it stop...Will...please."
"Will."
Will glanced at Scott and followed his horrified gaze. "Oh, Jesus," he breathed at the bright red stain seeping through the ass of Todd's jeans and onto the sheets beneath him. "Todd, you're bleeding, we need to call an ambulance."
"No!" The cry had Todd coughing harshly, spots of blood decorating his lips. "Marc. He'll know… he'll know what I am… what I let Him do. Please don't.... just want… to stop. Don't let Him… hurt me."
Will leaned down and pressed a kiss to Todd's forehead. "I won't, baby. It's okay. You're safe now."
Chapter ten
"Scott," Will said urgently as he filled a bowl with warm water while Scott grabbed some towels. "He's bleeding. We need to get him to hospital."
"I know, I know." Scott nodded, his voice low. "Who the fuck is doing this? Why won't he give us the name?"
"I don't know," Will snapped, running a hand through his hair and picking up the bowl. "Let's get him cleaned up and into the car. I don't care what he says, we're going to the hospital."
The two men worked together to ease Todd out of his clothes and slipped a towel beneath him. Will used the scissors from the bathroom cabinet to cut the cords from Todd's wrists, while Scott cleaned the blood from the injured man's swollen face.
"Sorry, dude," Scott said softly, wincing right along with Todd when he cleaned around his lip. He tried to distract Todd while Will unwound the heavy cords and began to wipe a fresh towel across the welts on Todd's flesh. "We need to tell you something—about us." He saw the immediate fear in Todd's eyes and so
othed him gently. "It's okay, I promise. Will and I are detectives with the White Plains PD. We were sent here undercover to try to find out what really happened to Cory and Jon."
"What?" Todd hissed, trying to sit up.
"Don't move, dude," Will said softly. "I'm pretty sure you've broken some ribs."
"Just… bruised," Todd said on a low chuckle that made him cough again. "Broken ones feel different."
Scott nodded reassuringly, gently feathering his fingers through Todd's hair while he spoke. "We need you to tell us everything, Todd. We want to put him away so that he can't hurt you, or anyone else, ever again." He smiled softly, as Will dropped the towel and took one of Todd's hands between both of his.
"Talk to us, Todd," Will murmured. "Help us stop him. Who's doing this?"
"You're here for Cory and Jon?" Todd whispered, tears slowly rolling down his face. "They loved each other so much. I don't know how He managed to convince everyone that Cory killed Jon; how anyone could believe that Cory would ever hurt Jon." He groaned loudly as he shifted on the bed. "But then He's good at convincing people, making them see what He wants them to."
"Todd," Scott said softly, rubbing a gentle hand up and down Todd's arm. "I'm going to need to see what he's done. I need to make sure you're okay." He squeezed Todd's arm at the man's quick nod and glanced up at Will, who immediately helped to maneuver Todd onto his side. Scott parted Todd's ass cheeks as gently as he could, not wanting to cause him any more discomfort. His gaze flew to Will's and he motioned toward the bathroom with his head, smiling encouragingly as Will stood and walked into the en suite. He didn't want Todd to see the un-tempered rage on Will's face at the sight of the abuse Todd had been subjected to.
"It's all right," Todd's voice was small and embarrassed as he explained. "He took me dry… it'll stop."
Todd had an obvious tear to his rectum and although the bleeding had slowed, the tissue was red, inflamed. Scott had to swallow down his own anger when he saw the semen mixed in with Todd's blood. He'd obviously not only been taken dry, but without protection. "Will," he called out in a conversational voice. "I need some sort of container." He pressed a gentle kiss to Todd's shoulder. "I'm going to take a sample for evidence. I'll try not to hurt you, is that okay?" Nodding, Todd buried his face into the pillow as Scott took the Q-Tips Will held out to him. As gently as he could, Scott collected a couple of samples of the semen and put the Q-Tips into the plastic bag Will had brought in from the bathroom.
When they had finally managed to get Todd comfortable, having cleaned his ass, padded his injuries with some gauze, then slid a clean pair of shorts and one of Scott's T-shirts on him, they sat on the bed and Todd began to talk.
"When we first moved in here, it seemed perfect. Marcus and I had been together for about a year, and I was just starting to make a name for myself, you know?" He couldn't bring himself to look at the two men listening to him. The compassion in their eyes was too much for him to handle. The last thing he was deserving of was compassion. He'd brought all this on himself, hadn't he? He'd said so.
"The whole gathering thing came about when He suggested it one night over dinner. At first, we all thought He was kidding. But we were all a little toasted by then, and it sounded like a bit of harmless fun. It was never supposed to be anything heavy, and we'd always said we'd participate in the petting, but we never wanted it to go further. We had each other, we'd never had, or needed, anyone else in our relationship and we didn't want to start.
"The first gathering, He cornered me straight away, kissed me, and touched me. Damon had gone off with Marcus and so I just went with it. I mean, He's gorgeous, I was flattered, and it was nice. Hell, I enjoyed it." He rubbed a hand through his hair, wincing as the action pulled on his bruised side. "But afterward, He approached me in the kitchen, grabbed my arm, and told me how much He wanted to fuck me. Of course, I said no, that that was not what Marcus and I had agreed to. I didn't see the anger in him, beneath the surface. Didn't expect it from him, not Him, so why would I have been looking for it? He seemed okay, and everything was fine.
"Until the next gathering—Marcus was away. I didn't want to go, but the others said it would be fine and if I didn't feel comfortable, I could just watch. Hell, even Marc told me I should go and that if I wanted to kiss and touch, he was fine with that. We had already laid down the ground rules as to how we were going to play the whole situation and so he wasn't worried. He made it sound like it was stupid for me to sit at home alone when I could have a drink, hang out, and maybe even get off. That there was nothing to be afraid of..." His lips curved into a rueful, joyless smile. "Hindsight is a wonderful thing."
Will reached out with one hand and rested it on Todd's ankle, wanting to comfort and reassure him. With the other, he grasped Scott's hand and lifted it into his lap, keeping their fingers entwined. For a reason he couldn't begin to explain, even to himself, he felt the need to have Scott connected to him while they listened to Todd. Needed to know Scott was safe and right there beside him. Scott's fingers curled around his and when the other man's thumb began a gentle sweeping motion on the back of his hand, the tension seemed to flow out of him. "Then what happened?"
"I got drunk. I didn't mean to, but He kept giving me drinks and, thinking back on it, He probably wasn't giving me singles. Before I knew it, I was in David's arms, with Cal giving me a blow job. But He was watching me the whole time. Even when He was touching others, being touched by others, his eyes never left me, and I suddenly felt afraid. I couldn't even explain why. His eyes, they bored into me like He wanted to eat me alive. I tried to leave... no one really cared, they were all too drunk or high and there were more than enough bodies around to replace me." His breath hitched in his throat.
"He stopped me in the hallway and pushed me up the stairs. I told him I had to go, that I didn't feel so good, but He just said that He'd make me feel better and locked the bedroom door. He... He," Todd swallowed audibly. "He... hurt me. Tied me to the bed… forced me. He kept telling me how good I was, how much He knew I wanted it. That no one would believe I hadn't, that if I told Marcus He would just tell him I'd instigated it. That no one would believe a useless, white trash whore like me. I was just some sleazy musician they'd let in because Marcus was an up and comer. Eventually He untied me, and I got home as fast as I could. I spent over an hour in the shower with the water so hot it turned my skin red—trying to scrub him off me."
"What happened then?"
Todd sighed. "Nothing, for a while. Every time He saw me, when no one else was looking, He would make gestures at me. Gestures that made his intentions clear. He'd stand as close to me as He could get away with, make any hug or kiss look like an affectation, He made sure no one would ever question the way He acted toward me. But I felt his eyes on me all the time, and the look in his eyes if Marcus touched me or kissed me in his presence. It scared me. Really scared me. He knew I wouldn't tell Marcus. How could I?
"When I met Marcus, I was a struggling musician, singing in a bar for drinks and tips. Meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to me in my pathetic little life and He knew that. Knew how much we loved each other and that we'd promised we would never fuck anyone else. He was right, I couldn't tell Marc what had happened, what I'd let happen. I thought I could put it behind me. I would just make sure I was never alone with him again and everything would be okay. Then Marcus went away on business."
"Was there another gathering while he was away?" Scott asked.
"No." Todd shook his head. "All I remember is being asleep and waking up when I felt someone get into bed beside me. I remember vaguely thinking Marcus had come home early and I rolled over to cuddle up to him. I was only half awake, but I knew the moment I felt his lips on mine, that it wasn't Marc. I tried to fight him, I think I even got in a punch or two, but I saw it in his eyes—He liked it. The more I fought, the more excited He got—the more excited, the more violent.
"It became a kind of twisted routine after that. Every time Marcus wa
s away, He would suddenly be in the house. I'd sit, shaking, for hours sometimes, just waiting. But He always came. He was careful not to make the bruises show, but I had to become quick at explaining any that Marc saw. Then He started to bring other men so that they could do things to me while He watched, while He took pictures."
Scott saw the guilt, the humiliation flood Todd's eyes, knowing he was thinking of the pictures that he and Will had seen. He let go of Will's hand and moved to sit beside the beaten man. He slid a comforting arm around Todd's shoulders and said softly, "Todd. Look at me, please." Lifting Todd's chin, he looked into his tear-filled eyes and said firmly. "None of this is your fault. Do you understand me? You are the victim here. He raped you. He abused you. He took away your right to say no. He is to blame. Not you."
"You don't understand." Todd gasped in a breath as fresh tears began to fall. "It is my fault. If it weren’t for me, Cory and Jon would still be alive. If they hadn't tried to help me..." He trailed off and buried his swollen face into Scott's shirt.
"Todd," Scott soothed, stroking the back of Todd's neck gently. "What happened to Cory and Jon?"
Todd sniveled and wiped at his face. "He killed them. They were trying to get me away. They were trying to save me. And He killed them."
"Can you tell us what happened?" Scott continued to stroke Todd's neck and whispered words of comfort as Todd laid his head on Scott's shoulder. "Take your time."
"We went out for dinner, Cory, Jon, and I. Marcus was working late and the four of us had become close friends, so we used to go out together a lot." He sighed, adjusting his position slightly on Scott's shoulder, but not moving away. "I went into the bathroom to take a leak and didn't hear Cory come in behind me. He saw the bruising on my back when I was at the urinal. I didn't realize my shirt had rucked up and he could see the marks that He'd left a few days before. They were particularly nasty and still painful—I'd been pissing blood for days. I had a hard job explaining those to Marcus. Said I'd taken a spill off my bike in the park and landed on some rocks. Unfortunately, that one didn't quite wash with Cory." He chuckled half-heartedly. "He was such a big mother hen. He packed us into the car, and we drove around while I talked and talked and talked. Everything came out. I couldn't let them think it was Marcus. I had to tell them the truth. Once I started talking, I couldn't stop. That's when they started planning on how to get me out."