Chapter 17 Reid #2
“The flu?” Niko asked, staring at him with wide eyes.
“Yup. He called the pharmacy and asked them to deliver his medicine. He insisted that they leave the meds behind the door, and when he thought the coast was clear, he had me open the door to retrieve them. He had a gun pointed at me the whole time, of course. But what the guy didn’t realize was that the deliveryman was still sitting in his car at the end of the driveway, staring up at the house.
I guess the delivery guy must have seen the scared look on my face because, a few hours later, the police showed up and raided the house. ”
Reid stared down at his hands as he fidgeted with his fingers.
“It’s taken me years of therapy to get over the trauma that I suffered while being held captive in that man’s house.
It wasn’t the forced sex that got him off, but the humiliation that he liked to put me through.
He used to have me wear a leash around my neck as he ordered me to service him, or he would have me sleep in the corner of his bedroom on the cold floor in the dead of winter.
It was only after years of therapy that I was finally able to reconnect with people physically.
After I escaped and went back to New York to find you, you were already gone.
I learned that Mikhail’s operation had been dismantled, and he and his boss had been arrested.
I searched for you, but no one knew where you had run off to. ”
Telling his story, Reid finally felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. He’d always felt like things had been unresolved, never having had a chance to say goodbye to Nikolai or let him know that he was okay.
He really cared for the man and hoped that this confession might help him move forward with his life.
A growl next to Reid caught his attention.
“Oh, I’m going to kill that son of a bitch,” Nikolai snarled, his eyes wild with murderous rage.
Reid let out a chuckle.
“He might be hard to get to. He’s in a prison just outside Boston.
” He appreciated that Niko wanted to defend him and take out all his rage and anger on the man who had caused him so much pain.
“But seriously, dude, I’ve spent years working through my anger and issues and have finally found a way to help calm the rage and make the world a little bit safer. ”
“What do you mean?” Niko asked, his eyes softening just a little, but still as dangerous as ever.
“Well, now I work—”
“Where’s the music?” a voice shouted from somewhere behind them.
They both turned to see Ace and Blade walking toward them.
Blade was carrying a blanket under one arm, a massive knapsack on his back, and two large bags filled with chips and junk food.
Ace skipped along empty-handed, smiling from ear to ear as he approached.
“Seriously, guys. You look like you're on a romantic date or something. Sitting around, just waiting for someone to pull down their pants and pull out their dick. Seriously, is this supposed to be a party? Where are the tunes?” Ace asked, staring down at them.
“Don’t worry about it, babe. I don’t need a hand carrying anything,” Blade huffed as he dropped the bags and blanket he was carrying onto the sand.
“Well, you wanted to be the alpha male. So put those muscles and hot body to good use,” Ace chirped, always the sarcastic hyena.
“These muscles and hot body better be getting some action later tonight,” Blade returned.
“Caden, pass me my gun. Blade needs to be shot in the face,” Marcus barked from further up the sand.
“Always with the violence,” Blade responded. “I’m starting to think that perhaps you don’t like me.”
“Marcus, don’t answer that,” Lucas chimed in. “He’s going to be your brother soon.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me,” Marcus shot back. “I’m still hoping I’ll wake up from this nightmare.”
“So, who’s ready for a swim?” Ace asked, already pulling down his shorts and showing off his hot-pink Speedo with lime-green kisses.
“Reid’s ready to go in. He’s already got his swimsuit on and everything,” Nikolai offered a bit too quickly.
“Really? Come, let’s check it out!” Ace shouted, grabbing Reid by the hands and pulling him to his feet.
Taking a breath, Reid prepared himself for the great “fallout.”
Gathering his courage, he pulled off his shirt and shorts and stood there in all his glory.
The first one to burst out laughing was Ace, followed by Lucas and then Caden. Blade stood there looking horrified, while Marcus was busy glancing everywhere but at Reid’s junk.
“Dude! I can see your man meat and everything!” Blade blurted, looking like he had just sucked on something sour.
“Damn, and I thought Caden was big,” Lucas remarked before realizing what he had said was not in his head. His man lightly smacked him across the chest.
“No dick for you later,” Caden huffed.
“I can’t believe you actually did it!” Ace laughed, his eyes darting over at Nikolai.
“Did what?” Reid asked, suddenly realizing that there was more to this generous gift than pure kindness.
Nikolai looked up at him, chuckling.
“Oh! Did he give you the lime-green booty shorts as well?” Ace asked, still laughing uncontrollably as tears began streaming down his face.
Eyes narrowing, Reid turned his anger toward Niko.
“Yes… Why do you ask?” Reid growled, still staring at Niko but speaking to Ace.
Niko finally stopped laughing.
“Okay, so a few days ago, Ace and I hijacked a truck carrying summerwear to one of its outlet stores on the West Coast. The clothing was all brightly colored stuff that I knew you would never be caught dead in—but apparently Ace thinks looks good on him.”
“Hey! It does!” Ace argued.
“Sure it does, my little sunshine,” Nikolai responded.
“Anyway, Ace dared me to give you the booty shorts, pretending that it was a legitimate gift. You know, to see if you would tell me to fuck myself or actually wear it. By the way, I think you scared a few families wearing those shorts out on our run this morning.”
“You let him wear them running? Wow, you are a next-level kind of supervillain,” Ace noted, looking impressed and horrified at the same time.
“And the swimsuit?” Reid asked, placing his hands on his hips as he waited for an explanation.
Niko chuckled once again.
“I never thought you would actually try to squeeze your ass into that tiny little thing. But hey, you're some kind of magician because you somehow managed to squeeze that monster into that thing. Not sure where your balls went though.” Nikolai chuckled once again.
Reid felt his murderous rage begin to boil.
“Here.” Nikolai relented, reaching into his bag and pulling out a pair of normal-sized black swim trunks. “I got you these as well.”
Yes! His balls would finally be able to descend from his throat.
“And here I thought we were friends,” Reid huffed, grabbing the trunks from Niko and storming back to the truck to change. He wasn’t actually mad; he just wanted to make Niko feel really guilty.
“Still can’t believe you went through with it.” Ace chuckled at Niko.
“I’m sorry, babe,” Nikolai called after him.
He was going to get the bastard back.