Bloodbath

by K. A. Merikan

  “Like what?” hissed Domenico, leaning over Seth like the angel of death. The stinging pain in Seth’s back had dulled down by now, and that kept him from trying to struggle. Their eyes met, but it must have been not enough for Domenico, as he twisted his fingers in Seth’s hair and made him look completely upright. “Our son is fucking Raul Moreno’s prisoner. What do you think’s gonna happen?”

  Seth’s stomach clenched at those words and somehow it didn’t matter anymore what Domenico had had hidden from him in the past. Not the fact that Domenico hadn’t told him he’d met Santo, nor the fact he’d kept it a secret that he’d been ordered to assassinate Seth back in New York. He looked away from Dom’s face.

  “There wasn’t a chance to tell you…” But when Dom’s hand tightened on his neck, Seth knew Dom recognized the lie.

  “Whenever you wanted to tell me something, you always found a way. And now we’re fucked. We’re fucked,” hissed Domenico and let go of Seth’s jaw, slapping his cheek hard with an open hand. He leaned back, kneeling over Seth and struggling to control his rapid breathing.

  Seth’s cheek burned, but even his body aching all over wasn’t as bad as hearing Domenico say such things. Even when Seth yelled at Dom, even when he worried for their safety in Toro’s villa, he still hoped that Dom would ultimately know what to do. That he would hold everything together somehow. “I’m sorry. No one else knows. We can still get him out of there…” He dared look up at Dom, unsure where they stood right now, the only constant being the thorns digging into his flesh from all sides.

  Domenico slouched and pulled his hands down his face. When they fell to his sides, there were faint red traces left on Dom’s perfect cheeks. Seth didn’t want to know how his own back looked right now.

  “Why do you always do this? Why can’t you fucking tell me the truth when it’s needed? It’s you working for Miguel all over again!”

  “It’s not! I promised myself to do everything you ask, but Mark had me promise, and he said he’d tell you—”

  Domenico slapped his fists against Seth’s pecs so hard Seth lost all air for several moments as the dull pain spread over his chest. “Be the adult, for fuck’s sake! You are my partner! And yet you say nothing while there could be bullets sent after us at any given moment.”

  Seth turned to his side under Dom despite the branches digging into a whole new part of his body. “Stop hitting me!” He blindly shoved at Dom’s arm. “I said I’m sorry! I’m doing my best! And I’ve told you about him now. You’re not perfect either!”

  Domenico pushed himself up and stood above Seth with muddy stains on both his knees. The sprinkler had been working all this time as well, but only now that Seth saw Domenico’s shirt clinging to his flesh, he realized how wet he was himself.

  “Get up. If we don’t come up with something to do about this, we’re gonna be the ones leaving here with our throats slit,” Dom said in a low voice, but by the way he was adjusting his clothes, it was clear the newfound knowledge already started settling in, and that he was calming down.

  Still, when Dom extended his hand to Seth to help him up, Seth ignored it and got up on his own even though it meant sticking his palm into yet more thorns. This day would never end. He nodded without looking into Dom’s eyes. Everything hurt, and he was sure that outside this mangled rose garden, the world awaiting him was even more painful. He used his wet shirt to rub the dirt and blood off his face.

  “Look at me,” Dom demanded, and it was difficult not to look at him when he broke into Seth’s personal space.

  Seth sighed deeply and met Dom’s gaze. “What?”

  Domenico licked his lips and pulled out a clean white handkerchief, which he rubbed against Seth’s face, gathering grime and blood. “We need to figure things out. Do you know if the girl was a virgin when she came here?”

  Seth slowly put his hand on Dom’s side, enjoying the strength of Dom’s body even if he knew how it could be used against him. He was so desperate for touch that didn’t come with pain. “I don’t. Mark hasn’t mentioned it.” And worse yet, the sense of failure was sinking into Seth’s mind. Dom was right. Seth was the adult, and Mark was the kid. Seth shouldn’t have allowed this to go on once he’d found out. If circumstances were any different, he could have let this slide, but he’d been irresponsible to not intervene where there was a caiman waiting for their flesh in case of any misstep.

  Domenico licked his lips, calming down by the second. The steadiness of his touch and the focused, determined look he now had about him was as reassuring as the promise of a retirement in Italy. “We can still salvage this if no one else knows. This girl will want to appear untouched once the time comes. We can use that old trick with the raw piece of liver or some nonperishable alternative if bad comes to worse.”

  Seth ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. It was a horrible perspective, but what were they to do? “We should talk to Mark.” He held up Dom’s gaze, knowing that there was no way of avoiding this conversation. Or this whole Moreno business that they were knee-deep in. He’d much rather sleep in a rose bush than be here, but that wasn’t an option anymore.

  Domenico growled, lowering his head. “I’m gonna turn his ass into raw meat.”

  Seth pulled the handkerchief out of Dom’s hand only to now rub it over Dom’s face. “We have to find out what’s going on with him.”

  “He’s a complete, confused idiot. That’s what happens when you lock two people together for long enough,” hissed Domenico with a shudder.

  Seth’s shoulders slouched, and he rubbed the wet handkerchief down Dom’s neck as well. “Like you and me in Berlin.”

  Domenico stilled, and his hands gently moved up Seth’s chest. “No. Not like that.”

  “No? Like a panther locked up with a sheep.” And even though he’d be offended to be considered the sheep, he knew that he had been just that back then. He hadn’t stood a chance against a predator like Domenico. “Only that Charlotte tamed Mark, and you ate me alive.” He stepped that inch closer and gently kissed Dom’s lips.

  Domenico opened his mouth and took in a sharp breath before diving into the kiss too. His eyes closed, and his hands slowly trailed up, to rest on Seth’s shoulders. “You’re still here,” whispered Domenico when the soft kiss broke.

  Seth pressed his palm against Dom’s chest. “No. I’m here.”

  Dom didn’t move away, rubbing his stubbly cheek against Seth’s face. “And I will keep you by my side even if I have to bleed out for you.”

  Seth let out a long sigh. He was the one bleeding all over from the thorns, but such shallow wounds didn’t matter. “I missed kissing you so much,” he whispered.

  Domenico smiled against his skin and pressed even closer, as if the video surveillance didn’t matter anymore. “I miss hearing you breathe at night.”

  Seth wrapped his arms around Domenico’s neck. “Maybe it’s a good thing we’re out. If someone thought we were suspicious, they can now blame it on us hiding that we’re gay.”

  Domenico leaned back to look at Seth, and the stern look had been replaced by a bright, relaxed smile. “Positive thinking. I like that.”

  “Give me another one.” Seth followed Dom’s lips for another kiss, because fuck knew what would actually happen later. He wanted to stay optimistic, but it wasn’t easy in a place swarming with thugs who had no qualms about killing and torture.

  Domenico laughed and stood on his toes, pressing his body to Seth’s and giving him a deeper, more thorough kiss that felt like coming home. The only home Seth could still count on. The one at Dom’s side.

  The insistent beeping of Dom’s phone forced them apart, and Dom scowled as he pulled out the device. “Have we offended the security guys?”

  Seth rolled his eyes. After weeks of not being able to kiss his own husband, he didn’t give a fuck if someone found it a pain to look at. “They now know we’re gay anyway.”

  Domenico picked up the call and pressed the phone against his ear. His
hand still rested on Seth’s chest, as if he couldn’t stand the idea of physically parting again.

  Seth didn’t hear the other voice very well, but Domenico’s face became completely blank, and that made Seth unsure whether to stress or relax, so his body alternated between both.

  After giving several acknowledgments, Domenico put the cell back into his pocket and licked his lips. “Toro wants to talk to us. Now.”

  Chapter 13 - Domenico

  Domenico’s gaze wandered up and down Seth’s broad back, looking for damp traces of blood on the black fabric. If it wasn’t for the urgency of the situation, he’d have had Seth go down on all fours, right there, in the rose garden, and licked all the tiny puncture wounds left by the thorns. But with their existence balancing on the sharp edge of Toro’s temper, he couldn’t allow himself that pleasure.

  His fingers trailed up Seth’s back, over the pebbles of his spine, and all the way to the warm neck that had gained a reddish hue after Seth forgot to apply sunscreen one morning.

  “Did they say where he is?” Seth asked as they made their way to the mansion. Dom couldn’t see his face, but he could bet it had that sulking look that was both repelling and sexy in its own way.

  Domenico shrugged, steadying his shoulders, so that no one in the security room would have even the slightest suspicion he was nervous. “The unmonitored office downstairs.”

  Seth turned to look back at him and stopped walking despite Dom giving his back a little shove. “Dom… No. No. Let’s not go there. Let’s find a way to leave. You know what’s down there.” He ran his trembling fingers through his hair.

  Domenico frowned, taking one more step to face Seth. “What are you talking about? Toro is waiting for us.”

  “Downstairs he has that room. The cellar where that boy was shot. I can’t see you killed.” Seth grabbed Dom’s hand and squeezed it hard. “I’ve been tough for you. I’ve befriended all of Toro’s thugs, I even spun the fucking cylinder for that boy’s round of Russian roulette, but the people here are vicious. You know this. We’re nobodies to them.”

  Domenico swallowed, but he didn’t even have to search for the truth about Seth’s emotions. They were all there, rolled out before him like he hadn’t seen them since they moved into their current lodgings. As if the fight had been a last strike to break Seth’s defenses, all walls were now crumbling down, sending ashes into Domenico’s face.

  There was a tension to Seth’s muscles that must have been too much for his body to handle, because once Domenico started looking, he saw his lover’s fingers tremble at his sides.

  “I’m scared, Dom,” Seth whispered, glancing into Dom’s eyes with such naked vulnerability all Domenico wanted to do was hold him close and hide him from the world. Even though Dom was sure Seth sometimes felt that way, hearing him say the words gave Domenico a chill. Seth had to be completely terrified to admit to his weakness.

  For a moment, Domenico was at a loss for words and stared back, unsure what to do. It wasn’t very often that this happened to him, and the sense of restlessness spread throughout him with brute force, making his heart beat fast and so hard it bordered on painful. “We’re not going to die today,” he said in the end, even though the raw fear in Seth’s eyes had him doubting his own words, pressing all the warning buttons inside his mind.

  Seth took a deep breath and looked down to their feet with a nod. He really was ready to stand by Domenico’s side even through the painful and the uncomfortable. Even though he’d just said he feared for their life, he wasn’t fleeing. Domenico would make sure that trust placed in him was honored.

  Slowly, he raised his hand to Seth’s chin and petted it gently, trying to ignore the tremble in Seth’s lips and not let it affect him in return. The depth of worry in Seth’s warm gaze made his chest clench around his heart, but this was something that they both needed to do. There had never been absolute guarantees that they would be alive at the end of the road, and it was time for them both to accept that.

  “If something happens, I promise I will find you. Even God can’t keep me away from you. We will get through this.”

  Seth nodded quickly and reached into his pocket. “If I’m fucking dying today, it’s gonna be with my wedding ring.” He bit down on his lip when his hands trembled so hard he couldn’t put it on. But Domenico was there to help him. He’d always be.

  Domenico smiled, but he couldn’t say anything, stupidly touched by Seth’s gesture. He had Seth put his on too, and feeling the band slide back where it belonged, covering the pale line that constantly reminded him of it, came with a rush of endorphins that made his head light. He picked up Seth’s hands and kissed each of his knuckles, even the one without a finger. “We’ll be fine. I know we will,” he said even though he really wasn’t. There were very few certainties in Domenico’s world, but as long as he had Seth by his side, it felt as if danger could not touch them.

  Seth stole one more kiss, but it was time to move, so without any more words, they walked to the mansion. In a way, what they’d allowed themselves to do out there would potentially misinform Toro and make him believe they had no idea about the hidden cameras, so it could play in their favor. Dom still wouldn’t risk holding Seth’s hand once they walked into the main house, but seeing the ring in its rightful place was almost as good.

  Toro’s strongman-shaped bodyguard stood at the entrance of the unmonitored part of the house, openly staring at them with a sneer, but Domenico decided not to give him the time of day and walked right in, constantly listening to Seth’s footsteps trailing right behind him. The steady sound of the familiar gait and weight was like a warm coat shielding Dom’s back from the wind. He wished he could pull Seth closer as they walked down the empty corridor, which was somehow colder and damper than usual, and so deathly quiet with almost everyone gathered in the yellow room.

  It was somewhat worrying Toro hadn’t yet joined the Moreno brothers, and Dom wondered if he could somehow use him as a hostage, were the situation to turn too sour for his taste. There was only one path to follow in the long corridor decorated with trinkets, but despite the many doors, Domenico knew there was only a single exit out of here, the one they left behind. He didn’t appreciate being treated like a rat in a fake maze filled with flowers and finery to calm down the beasts.

  But that was what this part of the house was essentially. A trap that not everyone was allowed to leave. He entered it with a clear head, but the doubts sowed by Seth were bearing fruit at the edge of Domenico’s mind. He couldn’t miss the way Seth stepped closer to him when the tall painting of a cityscape came into view. Domenico himself had never been down in the cellar where Seth witnessed the death of a teenage deserter, but he’d heard about it in excruciating detail.

  As they approached, he knew that he should not be sensing anything, but the rotten aftertaste at the back of his tongue made his stomach clench into a ball. Dead flesh. Blood. Detergent. All covered by a lingering scent of fine wine. It was just as if he were suddenly transported back home and taken down the stairs to the hidden chamber where Angelo died. The freezing cold of the ancient walls sank its teeth into Domenico’s bones, promising pain and torture, and yet back then he’d followed orders and looked into Angelo’s eyes as if he hadn’t had the chance to save him.

  But he would have saved Seth. He would never leave Seth for dead. And yet he still chose to take him to Toro and made him risk his life every day. He could have changed that long ago, but now—he tried to reason with himself—the only way to save Seth was to continue this game.

  He would not see Seth’s blood spilling down his chest and seeping into the raw stonework of the floor today. Seth would not perish the way Angelo had.

  He couldn’t.

  But would it be a coward’s way out to protect Seth until Domenico was killed himself? Because what Dom feared most wasn’t dying, but seeing Seth in agony.

  They walked up to a door at the end of the corridor, and time for thinking was up. They would have to
deal with whatever Toro wanted to dish out.

  He looked at Seth and offered him a smile even as he knocked.

  Seth avoided Dom’s gaze though.

  “Come in!” said someone from inside.

  Domenico heard a metallic clang, and then the door opened, revealing a small antechamber guarded by one of Toro’s trusted bodyguards, who glared at them from beneath a baseball cap. “You leave weapon here,” he said in broken English, but Domenico was already focused on the closed door at the other end of the room. They’d only be allowed into the actual office after the gatekeeper was satisfied.

  But neither of them had much to hide at this point. Both Dom and Seth left their firearms and knives with the guard, and only then did the other door shake when the steel lock opened.

  Unlike Toro’s mansion upstairs, filled with ornaments, white leather furniture and mirrors in golden frames, the office was all business. A sturdy desk, filing cabinets, cardboard boxes in the corner and even a mousetrap with a dead rodent that hasn’t been removed yet. Domenico hoped they wouldn’t share the fate of the mouse.

  “I’ve heard what happened with the Morenos,” Toro said, and it looked like this office wasn’t meant for small talk just like it wasn’t meant for plaster statues. He pointed to the two plastic chairs in front of his desk.

  Domenico nodded, fighting back the image of Seth’s blood flooding the laminate floor under their feet. “News travels fast, I see,” he said, trying to judge whether there was already a gun pointed at them. He’d seen one when the door suddenly closed behind them, and the guard leaned against the wall, keeping his own firearm ready for action.

  Of course.

  Toro frowned. “Nothing happens in this house without me knowing about it. I know of each and every catfight.”

  That wasn’t exactly true, as his own pregnant girlfriend was Domenico’s spy, but it was for the better that Toro was so confident about his intel. As embarrassed as Domenico was about being witnessed rolling through flowerbeds, at the end of the day it was better for Toro to be amused than suspicious.