by KD Ellis
“Read the next one,” Julian demanded.
“Look at that tight little-boy pussy. Wanna see it stretched around two dicks—one for each hole.”
Julian said something and Teddy knew it was crude, but he didn’t hear it. Didn’t hear anything but those words echoing in his head, a loop that repeated over and over until it threatened to break him.
He’d grown to love his new body. He loved the flat planes of his chest, even if he wished it didn’t bear the scars of its old swells. He loved the curve of his hips, even if they were maybe just a tad too feminine, because they made his ass pop in his favorite pair of skinny jeans. He even loved the small size of his penis, because it was his. But he’d never grown to love that last part of his old body, the part they had never quite gotten rid of, and knowing that people had seen it—
Worse, that people wanted to use it… It was enough to make him ignore being dropped back to the cement, even enough to block out the weight of a heavy, steel-toed boot pressing into his chest.
“You’re a perfect little porn star now, Teddy.” Julian dug the treads of his boots deeper into Teddy’s flesh. “So I’ll do you a favor, give you one last chance to make the right choice. You make me enough movies to pay off your debt, and I’ll let you walk, free and clear.”
Teddy shuddered, a sob escaping from his lips. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t.
“Or…” Julian lifted his foot from Teddy’s chest and crouched in front of him again. Before Teddy could process it, Julian had a gun in his hand and the barrel was pressed against Teddy’s lips. Julian gripped his jaw, digging his fingers into the flesh of Teddy’s cheeks until his mouth opened against his will.
The barrel slid between his teeth like an iron cock, resting against his throat until he gagged. Julian cocked the hammer. Teddy’s pulse pounded harsh and heavy in his veins. His lungs heaved but drew in no air.
He was going to die.
Julian leaned closer, his breath ghosting over Teddy’s cheekbone. He crooned in Teddy’s ear. “What do you say, Teddy? Are you going to learn to take a dick for me? Or are you going to learn what a bullet tastes like?”
He was a devil, offering Teddy a choice between two hells, a choice he couldn’t make. To agree would betray Ian, to deny would condemn himself.
So he made the only choice he could make and closed his eyes, saying a prayer to a God he did not believe in, not for himself but for the man who held his heart in gentle hands. Let Ian forget me.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the warehouse then pain—blinding, biting pain that started in his jaw and spread through his skull until blackness took him.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ian had never been so excited to walk into a club, not even when he’d turned twenty-one and had been permitted in for the first time. It had been a nearly three-hour round-trip to meet with one of his superiors, but he’d left the meeting with a small briefcase stuffed with marked bills that would, hopefully, help bring down the cartel—and more importantly, buy Teddy’s freedom.
All he wanted to do now was find his boy and celebrate.
Teddy wasn’t behind the bar, though. Ian didn’t see him on the podiums, either, and nor was he in the changing room. Ian headed back out and flagged down Zach. The bartender slid a glass to his last customer before heading over. “S’up, boss?”
“Have you seen Teddy?” Ian asked.
“He went out back with some big dude an hour or so ago,” Zach answered. Heart beating faster, Ian spun on his heel, ready to rush toward the back door, but Zach hollered after him, “The big dude came back a few minutes ago though. Said Teddy wasn’t feeling well and would be upstairs?”
Ian changed course, barely restraining himself from sprinting as he headed for the stairway that led to his apartment. Teddy wouldn’t have let some stranger up there unless he didn’t have a choice, and the only ‘big dude’ Ian could think of that Teddy would have left with was Hugo Ward, the cartel’s enforcer.
He took the stairs two at a time, anxiety only growing when the door at the top was unlocked.
Teddy knew better.
Ian burst through, not even pausing to draw his service weapon as he charged at the large man pacing the living room. Only the element of surprise let him get the drop on the man, and seconds later, he had Ward on the ground, pinned beneath his knee. Now he drew his gun, pressing the barrel to the man’s forehead.
“Where is he?” Ian growled, anger fighting with fear.
The big man went still beneath him. “He’s fine. Bit banged up, but he’s fine.”
“Where. Is. He?” Ian pressed the gun harder.
“The bedroom!”
Ian backed off, keeping the gun pointed at Hugo with one hand while he tugged out a coffee table drawer with the other. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and chucked them at the man. They landed on his chest and bounced. “Put them on.”
Hugo didn’t argue. He snapped the cuffs around each wrist.
“Tighter,” Ian ordered. Hugo looked like he wanted to argue but didn’t, just pressing the cuffs closed farther.
“I know where you live. If you’re not here when I get out, I will find you,” Ian threatened. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Hugo out here alone, but he needed to check on Teddy.
His boy was curled on his side, his back to the door. He looked small on the mattress. Ian’s shoulders sagged in relief when he saw Teddy’s shoulders shifting with each breath. He rounded the mattress and his relief died.
Teddy was breathing, but he was far from uninjured.
Red-stained cotton balls were stuffed into his boy’s mouth, enough that Teddy’s left cheek bulged out and dried blood crusted around his lips. Ian dropped his firearm on the nightstand and crawled onto the bed. “Teddy,” Ian murmured, hesitating as he reached for him. Was that his only injury, or were more hiding beneath the baggy shirt that covered him from shoulders to knee?
Teddy moaned and twisted his face into the pillow, then whimpered in pain. His eyes cracked open, red-rimmed and swollen. He mumbled something. It was inaudible, the words smothered in cotton.
Teddy made a face then whimpered again, pulling at the cotton shoved in his mouth. A garbled “ow,” sounded as he pulled out a thick wad. They were dark brown and crusted together, with streaks of scarlet from where he must have opened a wound.
“It hurts,” Teddy mumbled, fingers pressed to his lips.
“Don’t try to talk, baby.” Ian reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of Teddy’s face. The ends were stained red. “I’m so sorry, baby.” He’d left Teddy alone, and look what had happened. He’d promised Teddy nothing would happen to him and God only knew what his baby had endured.
“Not your fault,” Teddy whispered, lips barely moving. Whatever had happened, it clearly hurt to speak.
“Let’s get you to a doctor,” Ian said, gathering Teddy into his arms rather than argue. It was his fault. If he hadn’t left, Teddy wouldn’t be hurt. If he’d urged his superiors to work faster, they’d have paid off his debt already. He should have made sure Teddy stayed in the apartment.
“Pants,” Teddy muttered before Ian could carry him out of the room. “Can walk.”
Ian sat Teddy gently back on the bed and grabbed the first pair of pants he could find, a pair of sweatpants that would be far too large on Teddy but much more comfortable than skinny jeans. He pushed a pair of boots onto Teddy’s bare feet.
He didn’t see any other injuries, but everything in him still protested letting Teddy walk. But it was probably better that way. Safer, since Ian refused to let Hugo leave without answers.
Ian grabbed his gun in one hand and Teddy’s hand in the other and returned to the living room.
Hugo was still sitting on the floor where he’d left him, skin pale, his hands shaking in the cuffs. “He’s okay, right, man?” Hugo asked.
“If you cared, you wouldn’t have brought him to them. Get up.” Ian gestured toward the door with the gun. “You’re coming
with us.”
“He saved me.” Teddy’s voice was garbled and hard to understand.
Ian lowered the gun slightly but didn’t holster it completely. “It’s okay, Teddy. Don’t try to talk until we get to the hospital.” Ian glared at Hugo. “You can explain everything in the truck.”
* * * *
Eight stitches and an antibiotic later and Ian was driving Teddy back to the apartment. He’d left Hugo on the sidewalk outside the hospital. He wasn’t sure whether to thank the man or kill him. If he hadn’t taken Teddy in the first place, he never would have been in danger. But if he hadn’t stepped in and shot Julian, his boy might never have made it home. He’d figure out how to deal with the man later, after he got Teddy settled.
It wasn’t hard. Between the stress of the day and the painkillers the doctor had given him, Teddy was half asleep when they made it upstairs. Ian tucked him into bed before double checking that all the doors and windows were locked. He was halfway back to the room before he decided to bring Teddy some water in case he needed some pain pills partway through the night. He left them on the nightstand, then went to climb into bed before he paused, worried he would jostle Teddy.
Maybe I should sleep on the couch?
“Daddy,” Teddy mumbled and yanked the blanket on Ian’s side back. “Sleep.”
“I should go g—”
“No. Sleep.” Teddy patted the mattress, lips twisted in a mulish pout. “Now.”
Ian couldn’t tell his boy no. He slid under the covers, though it would be hours before he’d fall asleep.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ian was hovering.
It had been over a week since he’d ended up in the hospital for what had amounted to little more than a scratch inside his cheek. Apparently, Hugo had shot Julian before Julian could shoot Teddy, and the resulting jerk of Julian’s hand had caused the sight at the end of the barrel to drag along the inside of Teddy’s mouth.
Teddy didn’t know what to do with his newly bought freedom. In exchange for not getting charged for shooting Julian, Hugo had agreed to be an informant for the FBI. With Julian gone, the cartel was in turmoil. He didn’t know what Hugo had said to convince the cartel not to kill him for treason or whatever it was they called it, but he’d managed it. Before letting Hugo scurry back to the cartel, Ian had given him the briefcase of money to take back as well. So Teddy was free, for the first time in years.
Not that it felt like it, because Ian was hovering.
Teddy stood up, planning to head to the bathroom, and Ian was at his side. “Everything okay, Teddy Bear? Can I get you something?”
Teddy didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. “I have to pee. Do you want to help me pee?”
Ian flushed. “Oh.”
Teddy smirked and headed to the bathroom. When he came out, Ian was standing by the window, one hand planted on the frame as he looked outside. Teddy came up behind him, wrapping his arm around Ian’s waist and leaning his cheek—the not-injured one—against Ian’s back.
“We should go do something,” Teddy suggested. He knew if he stayed inside much longer, he was never going to get up the courage to leave. Ian had pulled strings with some hacker he knew in the FBI to get Teddy’s video pulled down, but that couldn’t erase it from the minds of however many thousands of people had seen it. He was going to wonder now, every time someone’s eyes lingered on him for too long.
It was why he needed to face it now, before he lost the courage to. He couldn’t do it alone, but with Ian… He could do it with Ian.
“We could watch a movie? There’s a new one on Netflix that I’ve—” Ian started.
Teddy rolled his eyes. “Something outside, Daddy. I want to see clouds again, Ian. Clouds.”
“It’s Texas, Teddy. There are no clouds.” Ian twisted in Teddy’s arms to look down at him with a curious grin.
Teddy continued on, completely ignoring Ian’s comment. “And afterward find somewhere quiet where I can finish my book.”
“Are you…misquoting Lord of the Rings?” Ian’s confused expression made Teddy laugh.
“I knew you were a nerd,” Teddy playfully smacked Ian’s arm. “Next you’ll be dragging me to comic-cons and midnight showings of Star Wars. By the way”—Teddy waggled his eyebrows—“the Cinema Six is doing a midnight showing of all the Star Wars movies…”
“How about we go out for breakfast?” Ian countered. “If you can make it to midnight without yawning, then we can decide whether to lock ourselves into a movie theater for twelve hours.”
“Do I get to take a nap? Because I can make it to midnight if I get to take a nap.”
Ian ruffled his hair. “We’ll see. Go get dressed. I know exactly where I want to go.”
Teddy thought it would be somewhere fun. Like mini golf, or the dentist. When Ian instead pulled the truck up outside a familiar house, he’d left Teddy with no choice.
Teddy crossed his arms tighter over his chest and shook his head again. “Nope. Not getting out, and you can’t make me.” It was Ian’s own fault for getting out and leaving the keys in the truck.
“Unlock the door, Teddy.”
“Nuh-uh.” Teddy pressed the lock down harder. “I don’t want to go in.”
“Mama misses you.” Ian tugged on the door handle like it would suddenly make it unlock.
“Mama…Mrs. R.,” Teddy corrected himself, “doesn’t miss me. She’d probably be happy to never see me again.” That was how she should feel, anyway. If he’d opened his mouth sooner, if he’d followed his gut and convinced Lucas to go to the police earlier, Lucas wouldn’t have died. He didn’t think he could bear to look her in the eyes and see the anger, or disappointment.
“That’s not true. I already told her we were coming, and she can’t wait to see you.” Ian leaned his arm against the door, his expression annoyingly gentle. “Unlock the door, Teddy.”
“I’m scared,” Teddy whispered, thought he didn’t mean to say it. The words came out on their own, from a place of truth he’d meant to bury.
Over Ian’s shoulder, Teddy saw the front door of the Romeros’ house open and Mama R. was in the doorway. She looked older. There were new lines around her eyes, her hair was more gray than black, but she was smiling. He could almost hear the slap of her sandals on the sidewalk, the swish of her skirts around her knees, as she hurried toward the truck.
“Ian, you let that boy out of that truck right this instant. What are you thinking, locking him in like that?” Mama R. slapped Ian across the back of his head, her eyes twinkling. “I’m not too old to put you over my knee, you know.”
Teddy scanned her face for signs of anger or disappointment. All he saw was humor and a gentle kindness.
Teddy unlocked the door.
He was free, he was safe and he finally had love. Daddy had changed his whole world.
Want to see more like this?
Here’s a taster for you to enjoy!
Knights and Butterscotch
Faith Ashlin
Excerpt
Matti pushed his hair back off his face and blew out a long slow breath. Enough—he’d had enough socialising for now. There was only so much wholesome happiness a man like him could take and he’d had his fill for the time being.
It was pretty damned awesome to see Maxim so happy he glowed as he looked at his bride-to-be. To see her looking back, eyes filled with promise for the future, filled with love and possibility. Matti just hoped—no, prayed—that they could have all they deserved. That events would turn out in the right way for them and that the future…but that was for another time. Now was for the simple love between two people. One that burned bright and would be fulfilled tomorrow at their wedding.
A wedding. It was an interesting thought at a time like this. But right now he’d had enough of small talk and playing nice. After the wedding, and its formal reception, his group would gather to celebrate in their own way. That would be more Matti’s thing, one where he could really relax.
N
ow he needed cool air and a glass of something very cold because it was damned hot in the banqueting suite. He stepped up to the bar and asked the bartender for water and ice, smiling when it was handed over quickly. Air, and the relief from being polite, were next on his agenda. He pushed his way between the groups of chatting people and made for the glass doors out onto the big balcony overlooking the city.
The noise stopped as soon as he closed the heavy door behind him and the respite was palpable. Space and peace, cool air on his face, they all drew him forward. Then there were the shimmering lights below. All those people living, loving, dying. They called out something to him that he couldn’t understand and wasn’t sure he was ready to hear. Or maybe it was all only in his head.
He was being daft again and there was nothing else for it but to laugh at himself. The world below didn’t need him, wasn’t asking anything of him. It didn’t even know he was there.
He rested both forearms on the ledge of the curved, stone balcony edge and looked down. Max was getting married. That was enough to make anyone smile. The amazing Isobel had finally decided it was time and they were making it formal and permanent. It kind of put everything in perspective.
“Anything interesting going on out there?” a voice asked from the darkness at his side.
“Oh.” Matti turned but couldn’t see the man’s face. “I didn’t know there was anyone out here.”
“Doesn’t matter. I just thought, as you were studying it so intently, there had to be something going on in the big wide world.”
“Nothing as far as I know. I only came out for a bit of peace and to look at the pretty lights.”
“Then I should let you have your peace.” The man took a step forward and Matti saw him properly for the first time. “I’ll go.”