by Trina Lane
“No, unlike some men in this room, we have a bit of self restraint.”
Trevor’s tongue left Niall’s mouth and aimed itself briefly towards Logan’s face. He needed to relieve himself, so using Niall’s shoulder as a spring board, Trevor launched himself onto his feet.
“Where you going?” Matt asked.
“Gotta hit the head.”
Trevor started walking towards the back of the pub. He sensed a presence behind him and turned to find Ryan on his tail. “Have we turned into women?”
“Nope.”
“You were serious earlier? Not even to take a piss?”
“Not even.”
“Fine, but no peeking,” Trevor grumbled.
“Don’t worry, a lot of guys are pee shy.”
“I am not—” Trevor looked around at the startled faces of other patrons around them. “Pee shy,” he finished on a whisper. “And before you say another word, nor am I ashamed of what god gave me.”
Trevor pushed at the door to the restroom, but before he took a step inside Ryan put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Ryan stepped in front of Trevor and entered. Each of the two stall doors were opened before Ryan signalled that Trevor could take care of business.
He stood at the sink washing his hands afterwards when Matt came in.
“Go ahead Ryan, I’ll walk him back.”
Ryan looked as if he were about to argue, but then turned towards the door and left.
“So…did you come in here to accost me?”
“No, but I did want to talk to you without the others listening in. Did everything really go okay today? Ryan didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary? No creepy feelings, like the ones when you walk home sometimes?”
“How did you—”
“Bello, when you show up at Niall’s or my place, you’re always tense until we ply you with kisses or fuck you into a stupor. On the nights you go back to your place, you call us, and I am trained to notice stress in a person’s voice. I haven’t said anything because I’d hoped you would come to us of your own free will. You say you love us, but love means trust and clearly you don’t trust us. Therefore, I have to question whether you truly do—”
Trevor heart plummeted to the base of his chest faster than a freefalling elevator.
“No!” He rushed Matt, his arms snaked around Matt’s waist and squeezed with all the strength in his body. “I love you! Both of you. It was never a matter of trust. I had nothing concrete to prove something was wrong. Until that video turned up, I’d managed to convince myself that my paranoia was because of those scary movies the two of you have got me watching. Instead of dealing with it on my own, I asked the captain for help, and I was honest with you. Doesn’t that count?”
Trevor stretched on his toes and plastered his mouth to Matt’s. Desperation clung to his lips, and Trevor poured every ounce of love for both his men into the touch.
“Please Matt, please don’t give up on me,” he pleaded.
Matt’s fingers traced Trevor’s cheeks then buried themselves in Trevor’s hair. “Oh, bello. We’re not giving up on you. We love you. You belong to us. Our frustration stemmed from your silence. Both Niall and I knew something was wrong, but we couldn’t get you to talk about it. We had no idea what was going on in your head. And Where the Wild Things Are wasn’t a scary movie.”
“Maybe not scary, but it was all dark and depressing,” Trevor pouted.
Matt’s arms held Trevor tight against chest, and a small sigh escaped. There was nothing like the feel of Matt’s body against him. So much bigger and stronger, and yet each touch gentle and filled with love. All that was missing was Niall pressed against Trevor’s back.
Their irenic bubble burst when a piercing siren filled the room and a bright strobe started to flash above the doorway.
“Move it, Trevor! We’re outta here.”
Trevor dashed for the door. Matt got behind him and herded him towards the front of the pub. Other patrons had their hands covering their ears as they tried to get out the door. Trevor’s head jerked as a high pitch scream broke through the sound of the alarm. Trevor’s fingers slid out of Matt’s hand as a large man shoved his way between them.
“Matt!”
The wall beside Trevor opened, and he was yanked into darkness. A sharp pain pierced Trevor’s neck, and the blackness swallowed him whole.
“Trevor!”
“Sir, you need to leave.” the bartender tried to usher Matt towards the front door.
Matt’s head echoed with the sound of the fire alarm, and his heart beat frantically in his chest. Where’d Trevor go? He’d been right behind him!
“No, my partner’s gone. He was right behind me. I won’t leave.”
“Sir, you have to. It’s code. I’m sure he’s outside waiting—”
“You don’t understand! He’s—”
“Matt!” Ryan came running up to them. “Where’s Trevor?”
“I don’t know. His hand was in mine then we got shoved apart, and when I turned around he was gone.”
“Sirs, I’m telling you to leave now!”
Ryan flashed his badge at the bartender. “FBI. We have a possible abduction in progress. I’d bet the alarm is a diversionary tactic. Where are all your exits?”
The bartender went mute, his face slack.
“Now! Where are the exits?” Ryan shouted over the alarm.
One arm shot out towards the hallway. “Back door is that way.”
“Nothing else? What about a basement? Where do you store all your stock?”
“Through here!”
Matt and Ryan followed the quick steps of the bartender. He pulled out a set of keys, and as he went to insert them in the lock, the door swung open.
“That’s odd. This is always locked. No customers at any time. I know I secured it at the start of my shift.”
“Shit! Matt, go out the back door, see if there’s any sign they went that way.” Ryan pulled his weapon from its holster. “I’m going down.”
Matt didn’t question Ryan’s order. He took off down the hall passed the bathrooms and shoved at the bar to the door labelled ‘emergency exit only’ in big red letters. The barrier flew open, and Matt found himself tiny back parking lot. He didn’t sense anything amiss, but his legs took off towards the end of the alley before his brain processed the intent. Fortunately his mental abilities reactivated before he ran right out into traffic. Matt’s eyes scanned the street in both directions but there was no sign of a disturbance.
“Fuck!”
He headed around the front of the building and found Niall, Ethan and Logan speaking with a fireman who’d appeared on scene. Ethan’s arms were waving back and forth as stood toe to toe with the barrel-chested man holding an axe.
“Matt!” Niall yelled and ran towards him.
Matt’s arms gathered Niall close. “He’s gone. I lost him, caro. His hand was in mine and I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry,” Matt choked out.
“No, no. Not your fault, love. It was a mad house in there. We’ll find him. We will, we have to.”
“I’m sorry guys. I don’t mean to interrupt, but do you know where Ryan is, Matt?”
Matt sniffed and blinked several times at Ethan’s image swam in front of him. His hands came up to rub briskly up over his face.
“He went to check out the other exit. There’s a basement where they store their stock and the bartender said there’s some kind of street elevator that’s used for deliveries.”
Matt looked up and saw Ryan in the doorway to the pub. Grasping Niall’s hand in his, they went over to their friend. Ryan’s pale blue eyes were cloudy, a frown marred his lips and his hands were clenched into fists.
“Well?” Matt asked.
“The gates to the elevator were open. It’s a veritable maze down there. Apparently a lot of these buildings are connected and use the same service entrance. When I took the elevator up, it surfaced about fifty yards from the building on the corner of Heref
ord. Outside there was the smell of burnt rubber, and I saw twin black tread marks heading towards Comm Ave.”
That made sense because earlier Matt had turned in the opposite direction towards Gloucester. He’d turned the wrong direction when he left the pub.
“So what do we do now?” Niall asked.
“I’ve already spoken with Captain Ivers. My department can’t do anything because right now this is still a matter of the state. Because Captain Fredericks had already opened a case file and Trevor is a department employee, they’re moving quickly. The best thing we can do right now is help the police in any way we can to find out who took Trevor. Until then, we have no idea where to begin searching.”
Niall’s body trembled against Matt. Matt tightened his arms around his partner, and kissed Niall’s temple.
Logan walked up to the group. “What about Clay? Will he be assigned to the case?”
“No, he’s in a different district. Given the circumstances, though, I’ve asked that he be brought in as a special resource.”
Ethan’s eyes shot wide open. “You can do that?”
“The captain owed me a favour.”
“All right, let’s head over to my condo. It’s only a few blocks away.”
Heads nodded in triplicate. As they walked towards where they’d all parked, Matt caught sight of Trevor’s coat over Logan’s arm. His chest constricted at the sight of the empty fabric. He’d given Trevor the coat for Christmas, the wool designed to keep his lover warm. Now Trevor was who knew where, without any protection from the cold. Beneath the coat, Logan carried a shopping bag.
He touched Logan’s shoulder. “What’s in the bag?”
Logan stopped and looked at the plastic clutched in his hand. His eyes met Matt’s and the bright blue hue shimmered. “It’s your Valentine’s gifts. I grabbed this stuff when the alarm went off, didn’t even think.” He held out the coat and bag. “You want them?”
Niall accepted Trevor’s coat but placed his hand on top of Logan’s holding the bag. “No, you keep them safe. Trevor will give them to us when he comes home.”
Logan nodded and Matt’s hand slid into Niall’s. Their fingers locked together with a squeeze. Matt caught Niall lifting Trevor’s coat up to his face. He pulled Niall into his arms and let Trevor’s scent wash over them.
They would find him, he had to believe that.
Matt’s head lifted as Ethan’s voice rang out over the noise of the street as he chatted into his cell phone.
Ethan spun around to face Matt and Niall then started walking backwards. “What’s your address? Rick, Conor and Calleigh are going to join us. The kids are at her mom’s.”
Matt cleared his throat and guided Niall down the street. “It’s three-eighty-six Marlbourough, unit 1A.”
Ethan relayed the directions then signed off. “They said they should be there in about twenty minutes, give or take.”
“That’ll be fine. Thank you for calling them.”
Ethan’s hand waved off. “They’re Trevor’s friends too. They get busy with the kids, but they’re as much a part of this group as any of us.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Now why don’t we use our powers as Trevor’s friends to bring him home?”
Chapter Fifteen
Trevor tried opening his eyes, but there was something covering his face. His head pounded and felt as if it were stuffed with massive wads of cotton. He couldn’t move his hands, as they were secured with some kind of thick tape behind his back. His bare feet sat on a cold, hard surface—if the grit under his toes told him anything, it was probably concrete. His ankles were lashed to the legs of whatever chair held him with the same adhesive. Trevor’s skin pimpled as the damp air settled on exposed skin.
“So you’re finally awake? I’d begun to worry I misjudged the dosage.”
Trevor’s throat felt as though he’d swallowed sandpaper, but he managed to croak out, “Who are you? What do you want?”
“I’m hurt, Trevor. Do you not recognise the voice of your master? You’ve been a very naughty pet, playing in other people’s backyards.”
Trevor was tempted to say something smart, but it was probably best not to antagonise the psycho holding him hostage. Not until he had use of more than three senses working in his favour.
“I don’t know—”
“Stop talking. I’ll let you know when I want to hear something from you. In fact…”
The distinctive rending of duct tape filled the air then the pungent smell of chemicals assaulted Trevor’s nose. He jerked in the chair. Using all the strength in his legs, he tried to push against the floor. He twisted his hips and found himself at a precarious tilt, until a hand tunnelled in his hair and yanked with enough force to make Trevor yelp. The chair righted itself with a smack against the ground and vibrations reverberated up Trevor’s body with the impact.
“Sit still and shut up.”
The tape covered Trevor’s lips and tears dampened the blindfold covering his eyes. Trevor tried to twist his head away, but the hand in his hair tightened and he felt a pair of lips at his ear.
“Now, lover, you and I are going to have a little chat. If you’re a good boy then I might take the tape off so we can do more pleasurable things with those lips of yours.”
Trevor’s gut rolled and he tried to slow his breathing through his nose so not to puke. His tongue tingled and started to go numb. Trevor knew it was from the tape covering his body. He’d always avoided the stuff because he seemed to have this kind of reaction.
“Nice. Now first off, I think we need to get you more comfortable.”
Fingers began plucking at the buttons of Trevor’s shirt, their touch almost gentle. When the fingers ended up at Trevor’s waistline, he tried to squirm away from the probing digits.
“Shh, it’s okay baby. I’ll take care of you.”
What the fuck? Is this a seduction or abduction?
Trevor’s chest heaved, and he pulled at the binding around his wrists. The tape held him immobile, no give whatsoever. Fingers now danced around his crotch, and the whisky he’d had earlier once again threatened to make an appearance. The button to his jeans came undone and the zipper lowered. Trevor thanked whatever gods existed in the universe that the psycho’s touch went no further.
“There now, isn’t that better?”
Trevor didn’t move for several heartbeats. A smack to the back of his head rewarded his efforts.
“I asked you a question, boy!”
Trevor tried to nod, but it was getting harder to hold his head up. A hand smoothed down Trevor’s chest, and a thumb brushed over his pebbled nipple.
“You’re looking good, pet. At least those whores you’ve taken up with keep you fed. I think you’ve even bulked up a little. Not too much. Not enough to really change this sweet little body of yours, but nice all the same. I have to admit a few months ago you had started to look a little skinny, even for you.”
A terrible screech filled the room. The sound echoed off the walls. He must be in a basement or something. That would explain the cold damp air. The screech became a bang and Trevor jolted.
“Now that we’re comfortable, we can get down to business. As I said you’ve been very naughty pet, taking up with those two men. I taught you better than that. You’re mine. I set you free, so you’d find your way home. But instead you’ve become a whore.”
Trevor’s head whipped to the side and pain exploded across his cheek. Seconds passed then a pair of lips kissed the stinging skin.
“Your punishment hurts me more than you, pet. But it must be done, otherwise you’ll run all over, piddling wherever you want. Now you’re going to sit here and think about what you’ve done.”
Beneath the sound of high-pitched bells reverberating in his head, Trevor thought he might have recognised something in the voice across from him. Something in the cadence tried to jog a memory loose, but it scampered away before Trevor could catch it. He supposed he was alone now, with nothing but his thoughts
to keep him company. Trevor tried to centre his body, to focus as he’d seen Niall do when his warrior meditated.
Beneath the dank air, he thought there might be a touch of brine. Was he near the harbour? There was a loud pop behind him, a car backfiring maybe? So he was somewhere still near civilisation. Trevor’s muscles tightened as a result of the cold sinking beneath his exposed skin. He took a deep breath though his nose and tried to relax. The worst thing he could do was let his mind run amok. He had to remain focused, he had to wait it out until Matt and Niall found him. Trevor knew Ryan and Clay would pool their resources to ferret out any clues to the identity of his attacker. However, if he didn’t know who had him how could his friends possibly figure it out?
* * * *
Matt stood at his kitchen sink, knuckles white as he gripped the edge. It’d been hours, and they were no closer to figuring out who might have taken Trevor than when they’d started. A pair of small arms came around him from behind and for the briefest of seconds, Matt imagined it was Trevor. But the scent was wrong. Trevor didn’t smell of lavender and vanilla.
“How are you holding up?”
He turned to find Calleigh with her honey blonde hair twisted up behind her head, her normally sparkling brown eyes muddy with exhaustion and sadness.
“Whatever discomfort I feel can’t compare to what Trevor’s living through, so I’m fine. Niall and I appreciate your support.”
He glanced over Calleigh’s shoulder to see all their friends filling his small parlour. His condo was not designed for socialising, but it had been close to the pub, and at the time expediency of action had been imperative. Now, all they’d managed to do was hurry up and wait.
“It’s getting late. I don’t think we’re going to accomplish anything more tonight. Why don’t you take your men home?”
Calleigh shook her head. “We’re not abandoning you. We’ll think of something. There has to be a clue somewhere, we only have to find the right thread to pull and the mystery will unravel.”
Conor wrapped his arms around Calleigh’s waist. “Just so. We willna leave ye to cool yer heels alone. We canny let dis galla win.”