by Avery Ford
“That doesn’t mean you can’t still suck his cock, or take it up the ass,” Kevin hissed into his ear. “Do you suck on his worthless dick? That’s what I need to know. Yes or no. You say anything else and I’ll shoot you for being so stupid.”
“No.”
“Mm, then you must belong to the other one.” Kevin’s voice was in his ear, cruel. His breath didn’t smell putrid, like Hale thought it would—it was strangely minty, like he’d just brushed his teeth. Kevin tugged him close, locking an arm across Hale’s chest. Hale sucked in a breath, terrified. “What’s his name?”
Hale squeezed his eyes shut. He knew that he shouldn’t lie, but he didn’t want any harm to come to Austin if Kevin were to decide to track him down in the future. “Ryan.”
“Ryan what, you dick-leech.”
“Ryan Miller,” Hale uttered. It was all he could think of. He hoped it didn’t sound too generic.
“Ryan,” Kevin said, his voice just as sharp and cruel as it had always been. “You have to let me know—is his ass really worth it?”
“I…” Austin sounded deflated. He trailed off.
“Tell me the goddamn truth!” Kevin roared. The sound was so close to Hale’s ear that he flinched. “Is. His. Ass. Worth. It?”
Austin exhaled slowly through his lips. Hale’s eyes were squeezed shut in fear, but he could imagine the pained, defeated expression on Austin’s face. It broke his heart. He’d never wanted it to go this way.
“Yes,” Austin said softly. “It is.”
“Sick fucks.” Kevin laughed, but only briefly. Even then, the sound was maniacal. “Well, Michael, it looks like we have a few options, since you decided that you can’t uphold your end of the agreement anymore, and since you called the cops on our operation. Are you ready to hear them?”
“Yes.”
“Option one—I kill your dumb fucking ass like I wanted to when I came here.” Kevin chuckled. “That’s the easiest option for everybody involved, I think. Messy, but convenient. Option two—you try to fight me, and I kill every one of you dumb fucks. I wouldn’t suggest that one. That’s not going to pan out so well for anyone. Too much work for a payout you’ll regret. So that leaves us with option three.” Kevin chuckled. He nuzzled against the back of Hale’s head, and a disgusted chill worked its way from the nape of Hale’s neck all the way down his body. “Option three is my personal favorite, and I think you’ll agree. It’s a little complex, so make sure you keep your ear-holes open so you know what I expect from you. Option three is like this—drop to your knees right now and suck your faggot of a cousin off.”
“What?” Michael asked, breathless.
“You heard me,” Kevin snarled. “I want him to bust a nut in your mouth, and when he’s done, I want you to show me his cum on your tongue, and then I want you to swallow it. If you’re going to act like a bitch by running away and getting my men arrested, then you can act like one, too.”
“And if I do that… that’s it?” Michael asked. “You’ll let us go?”
Oh my god, he’s not going to do it, is he? He can’t.
“No.” Kevin laughed again. “Well, it will be for you. You and Ryan there will be free birds. But someone has to pay. You left me short, and worse than that, you tried to put an end to me. That week you still owed me? It’s going to be a year now, and your little cousin is going to pay it for you. Without my team, heists aren’t going to be possible anymore, so I’m thinking of dipping my toes into a new business venture. I hear there are some pretty sick fucks out there. I think with a boy this pretty, we could get into the adult entertainment business. What do you think, faggot? We’ll sell you to whoever the fuck wants you at night, and then, during the day, your ass will be the star attraction of our little homemade movies.”
Hale’s heart was beating so hard, he thought it might explode. That wasn’t okay. That wasn’t what he wanted at all—but he knew that there was no other choice. If he didn’t agree, Michael would die. They all might.
“Y-Yeah…” he murmured. He couldn’t bring himself to sound enthusiastic. Instead, his words were choked with tears. “I’ll do it. Please, just let Michael and R-Ryan go…”
“You ever fantasized about your cousin’s lips before?” Kevin asked hotly against the back of his ear. He adjusted the position of the gun. “You ever thought about sliding into bed with him naked and riding his cock?”
“N-No.”
“We’re going to have to work on that mouth of yours before you hit the streets or start starring in films, aren’t we?” Kevin snorted. “You’re going to be a filthy bitch by the time I let go of you… if I let go of you. You might never want to leave.”
Hale couldn’t stop trembling. He didn’t want this. He couldn’t imagine the hell the next year of his life would be like if this actually happened. It had to be for show, didn’t it? Kevin had to be testing Michael, goading him into doing something disgusting so that he could use it as leverage against him. He wouldn’t actually take Hale, would he?
“Michael, you have five seconds to get on your knees,” Kevin said. “Then five more seconds to cross the hall and bury your face in your cousin’s crotch. You’re not phoning this blowjob in, by the way. You’re going to rub your face against his cock, sucks his balls like you’re his lover, and lick him until I say that he’s ready to fuck your mouth. Got it?”
“I understand,” Michael murmured.
“Five,” Kevin said, and Hale heard Michael’s knees hit the ground. “Good boy. That was quick. Now, five more seconds to get over here and start teasing your new lover. Five…”
Hale heard Michael cross the floor on his knees. A whine sounded in the back of his throat, and he wished he could pull away from Kevin. His whole body was telling him to flee.
“Four…”
Michael’s hands touched his thigh. Hale made an audible sound of discomfort. He gritted his teeth and refused to look.
“Three… two…”
Nothing.
“Last second warning before I blow his fucking head off,” Kevin said in a sing-song voice.
Nothing happened.
There was a huge noise, then startling, painless freedom. Hale was sure he’d been shot, and even though he couldn’t feel his body shutting down, he accepted that these were likely his last seconds left alive. He braced himself to die.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Austin
All of it had happened so fast that Austin couldn’t keep track. With Michael on his knees in front of Hale, stalling for time, he’d kept Kevin from watching Austin as closely as he should have. Austin had no clue whether it was a deliberate choice or not, but he didn’t wait around to ask—he seized the opportunity the moment it was presented to him, propelling himself across the room and grabbing the gun by its nuzzle, thrusting it up and away from Hale at the same time as he slammed his fist into Kevin’s face. Kevin’s grip on the gun loosened all at once, and Austin didn’t waste time yanked it away from him. He flipped the weapon around so he had a better grip on it and slammed the butt of the gun against Kevin’s head.
Hale fell to the floor, likely fainted. Austin left Michael to care for him, focusing his energy on dealing with the piece of scum who’d threatened to defile Hale in the cruelest ways possible. Now that Hale was no longer in danger of being shot, Austin didn’t hold anything back. He grabbed Kevin by the shirt and pummeled him in the head with the gun until Kevin’s body went limp and there was blood staining the grip.
No one is going to hurt my Hale. No one.
Austin dropped Kevin in disgust, kicked him in the side, then shook his head. He turned to face Michael only to find that Michael had carried Hale out of the hallway and into the living room. With Kevin out cold, and with no chance of a rapid recovery, Austin left him to bleed in order to make sure that Hale was okay.
Michael had brought him to the couch. He was laid out flat across the cushions, his eyes closed, and his chest moving with every breath he took.
“
I think he passed out,” Michael said. “He’s unharmed. I checked to see if Kevin had hurt him, but I don’t see any marks, and we would have heard if he’d been shot.”
“I need to take care of the shit-stain in the hallway,” Austin said gruffly. Throughout the entire encounter, he’d never felt as much fear as he did when looking down at Hale and realizing he was passed out. If Kevin had done anything to hurt him… “Can you make sure he stays warm and is cared for?”
“Yeah.” Michael hesitated, and Austin paused to let him say whatever it was that was catching in his throat. “I’m… is what you said true? The stuff with Hale?”
Austin tensed. He’d admitted to his physical connection to Hale in a high-pressure situation, but now that the pressure was off and Michael was asking him if it was real, he found himself paralyzed. “It… well… yeah. It’s true.”
“Shit,” Michael murmured. “Just… just make sure that you don’t hurt him, okay? He’s a good kid, and he deserves a lot more than he’s been given in life.”
“I will.”
Austin didn’t know what he had planned for the future, but he already knew one thing for certain—seeing Hale put in danger had awoken the warrior inside of him, and Austin didn’t want to ever lose that drive again. Hale made him feel like he was whole again—like nothing was wrong with him. When he’d been in danger, Austin had never been so afraid. Austin had feelings for him, he realized. They were genuine and heavy, and he wanted to see where they would lead if he let them.
Being straight-ish wasn’t bad after all.
He left Michael and Hale in the living room and went to stand over Kevin, keeping watch while he called the police. He didn’t remember the case number they’d given him, nor did he care. After the televised bust last night, there was no way they wouldn’t know what he was talking about, and he assumed that they’d drop everything to come apprehend their suspect, which was good—Austin didn’t want anything to do with him.
Still holding Kevin’s gun, he dialed the police.
“Hidden Creek Police Department,” the same woman he’d spoken to the day before said. “Your call is being recorded for security purposes. Are you presently safe?”
“Yes,” Austin replied. He glared down at Kevin, daring him to get up. Kevin didn’t—he’d be passed out for quite some time.
“How may we help you?”
“I’m calling about the escaped suspect from last night’s bust at the warehouse,” Austin said, his voice grittier than it usually was. “I’ve apprehended the suspect after he forced his way into the apartment I’m in and threatened us with a weapon. I need immediate assistance.”
“May I have the address, please?”
Austin listed off the details and answered the additional questions the dispatcher had for him. It wasn’t long before the call was over and the police were on their way. Austin stood over Kevin the entire time, watching and waiting for any signs that he was waking up. He wouldn’t let Hale be harmed again, no matter how long he had to stand there, waiting for help to arrive. He would keep what was his safe, and by now, Hale was definitely, irrevocably his. All he had to do now was prove it to him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hale
“Everything appears to be normal. It will be a while before he wakes up—the stress of the situation must have sent him into shock.”
“Is there anything that we can do to make him more comfortable?”
“Nope. It looks like you’ve got the bases covered. As long as you keep him still and in one place, he should wake up feeling fine on his own.”
Hale opened his eyes. He blinked several times, then turned to look at the two paramedics who were standing beside the couch. They hadn’t been there before. “Hello.”
“He woke up,” Michael said, pleased.
One of the paramedics crouched down by Hale and looked him in the eyes. “Hey. Do you know what your name is?”
“Hale McMillan,” Hale said.
“And when were you born?”
“July 19, 1997.”
“That’s right,” Michael said.
“Can you tell me what you were doing here, before you passed out?”
Hale blinked. The memories were a little fuzzy, but he still felt all the emotion, and he traced it back into a dark part of his mind he preferred not to visit. “There was a man who came into the apartment—Kevin. He threatened me and held a gun to my head. I thought he’d pulled the trigger and I passed out, but I guess that didn’t happen?”
“Nope. You’re one hundred percent fine, physically, and you seem to be mentally alert.” The paramedic smiled reassuringly. He stood back up. “It looks like it was just stress. Take it easy for the next day or so and you should be just fine.”
“Thanks.” Hale looked between the two paramedics, then at Michael. “What happened? Did they get Kevin?”
“They got him,” Michael confirmed. “He’s been taken into police custody. The police are grilling Austin right now about what happened. They’ve already spoken to me, and I’ve agreed to step forward as a witness and put an end to everything.”
A lot had happened. “How long have I been out?”
“Not even thirty minutes,” Michael said. He said goodbye to the paramedics, who seemed to be in a hurry to get out the door. When they were gone, Michael sat at the foot of the couch, his thigh brushing Hale’s toes. Somewhere along the way, someone had taken off his shoes. “A lot has happened since you were awake. I’m sorry that I scared you. I knew that if I didn’t try, that something bad would happen. I figured that Austin could use any opportunity I gave him, so I distracted Kevin and let him do the work. I’m sorry that your life was on the line, and that you felt as uncomfortable as you did. I swear that I’d never do anything like that to you. It was a desperate measure, and now that it’s worked, it will never happen again.”
“I… I know. Thank you.” Hale covered his eyes with his arm, not yet ready to face the light of day. He still had a lot to process. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Austin is okay, too? No one got hurt? No one got shot?”
“No bullets were fired, but Austin beat the shit out of Kevin.”
Hale lifted his arm to peek at Michael. “He did?”
“He did. He went apeshit on him. I’ve never seen him lose his cool like that. He did it for you, he told me.”
Hale beamed. He hooked his arm back over his eyes, embarrassed, but also pleased. He wasn’t really in a relationship with Austin, and they were still in a weird gray zone where they were simultaneously together and not, but in that moment, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that Austin had gone out of his way to protect him, and then even after that, he’d been so enraged and frightened for Hale’s safety that he’d made sure the threat was made a non-issue. With Austin, Hale felt like he never had to worry again.
“While he’s busy, I wanted to ask you about him, Hale…” Michael trailed off. He stared at his knees. “You two are together, aren’t you?”
“We’re…” Hale frowned. “We’re not officially together, but I have feelings for him, and I hope that we’ll make it official soon.”
“I just wanted you to know that even though Austin and I aren’t on good terms anymore, it won’t affect how happy I am for you. You deserve someone who can treat you right, and I know that Austin is a good man. The bad blood between us is no one’s fault but my own, and I don’t want you needling him about making amends with me or anything. I’m the one who has to go out of my way to apologize and earn his trust back if I want him as a friend… and even then, he might not want anything to do with me. You need to know that it’s okay. Don’t try to force him to do what he doesn’t want to do in regards to me, because he has very valid reasons for it.”
“You stole from him to sell his stuff for poker money, didn’t you?” Hale asked softly.
Michael nodded. He looked ashamed.
“Michael…” Hale carefully sat up. He dropped a hand on Michael’s shoulder and s
queezed. “I wish I’d known what was going on with you sooner. This has been going on since senior year at high school, hasn’t it? That’s when you started to pull away and change. I thought it was just because I was a lame freshman, but… but that’s it, isn’t it? The gambling thing?”
“Yeah,” Michael admitted. “I got invited to some private games the summer between my junior and senior year, and it… it changed me. I found something that I was good at, and the thrill of winning and seeing my money multiply from simply playing a game was incredible. I couldn’t stop. It’s this huge swelling joy in my chest when I win, and it’s a feeling like nothing else in life. And losing… losing is the opposite. It’s the worst fucking feeling in the world, and it sends me into a spiral of depression and makes me do stupid shit, like take out a loan from someone with a dubious character.”
“But the important part is that other people know about it, now,” Hale said. “We can focus on getting you the help you need so that it never has to happen again. I know that it’s not going to be easy, but—”
“I don’t care whether it’s easy or not,” Michael said. “This whole ordeal has been an eye opener. I never thought I had a problem, and I didn’t really believe it until Kevin stormed in just now, looking for blood. I want to make sure it never happens again, and I know it’s not going to be like flipping off a switch, but I’m ready to find the help I need. I can’t keep wasting my life away like this. If today had turned out different, I might have died. We all might have died. That’s not a price I’m willing to pay for a card game.”
“I’m proud of you.” Hale smiled at him. He was starting to feel lightheaded again, so he plopped back onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. “I think you’re going to find you have a lot more support than you ever anticipated. Your mom and dad are going to be happy to have you back. That’s why you were disappearing so often, right? To go play games or whatever?”