Chapter 9 #2
He had to admit that Nik’s silliness had distracted him for a while, and he was feeling a little lighter right now, holding a little more hope than worry.
Mom had been right to send Nik. She’d been right that they’d find Darcy, too.
He just needed her to be right that they’d have Darcy home soon and that he was okay.
The next time Darcy opened his eyes, dawn was breaking over the sky and his head was pillowed on a thigh, a blanket over him.
There was a heck of a noise coming from the person he was using as a pillow, and he was pretty sure it was that snoring that had woken him.
He couldn’t remember the guy’s name, but he was a part of Charma’s family. Darcy was safe.
He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and opened his eyes all the way. He didn’t need to pretend he was still asleep this time.
Sitting up, he couldn’t stop his groan. Everything hurt. His muscles were stiff and sore, his head was aching badly, his face sore, and the various scratches and bruises he’d collected were all aching, some worse than others.
The snoring stopped, but the guy didn’t wake up. Darcy knew they’d all introduced themselves when the wolves had handed him over, but he couldn’t remember any of the names, let alone which one belonged to whom. The guy in the passenger seat up front turned around, though and gave him a smile.
“You’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“Glad to be in this truck.” Oh God, he sounded like a hundred-year-old man, his voice all craggy.
“Sounds like you could use this.” The guy passed him back a bottle of water, and Darcy fell on it eagerly. Because yeah, now that it had been mentioned, he was super thirsty. He had a few big mouthfuls before the guy reached for him, touched his forearm.
“Maybe don’t drink it all at once. You need to pace yourself.”
Darcy put the cap back on the water with reluctance, but the guy was probably right.
“I’m sorry—I don’t remember your name.”
“Hey, no worries, there were like seven of us at the exchange. I’m Mik.” Mik held his hand out toward Darcy, and he reached for it, wincing slightly. His shoulder was sore too. He shook Mik’s hand, though, because this man had dropped everything to come find him, save him.
“Looks like you could use this, too.” Mik handed over a bottle of Tylenol, and Darcy took it gratefully.
He took a couple of tablets, trying not to go overboard on the water to swallow them down. “Thank you. And thank you for rescuing me.”
“It was nothing—you’re family.”
Wow. Darcy sat with that for a few minutes, watching the road out the front window.
His family had kidnapped him so they could send him to conversion camp where who knew what horrors he would have gone through.
Charma’s family—who really didn’t know him.
Sure he’d met people yesterday—was it really only yesterday?
—but he didn’t remember these guys being among that group, and even if he had, that was a quick introduction, maybe a bit of a conversation, and yet they’d still dropped everything to come find him and bring him home.
He and Charma had vastly different ideas of what family meant, but he liked Charma’s version way better. He liked to think more people in the world went in for Charma’s version than his.
“We should have you back home in a little over an hour,” Mik told him.
Home. Charma. He couldn’t wait.
“That’s amazing.” He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain pills to ease back the aches. And when they did, he let the motion of the truck lull him back to sleep.
His mom called just after six and Charma jerked awake, having managed at some point to fall asleep.
“I’m sending Luce to come pick you up. The boys are bringing Darcy here.”
He sat up straight. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Easy, son. He’s got some bumps and bruises, and they want Doc to take a look, make sure there isn’t anything that needs a hospital.”
“He’s hurt?” Charma’s heart clenched and his brain went back into full-on worry mode, just like that.
“Calm down. He’s not hurt so badly that they’re taking him right to a hospital.”
“But he is hurt.”
“Charma—he was kidnapped and he escaped. Is it really any surprise he didn’t come out of that unscathed? Stop panicking and come home with Luce. And then you’ll be able to see him for yourself. You boys can stay in your old room.”
“We have a home, mom.”
“Let an old woman coddle the both of you. You’re not the only one who’s been worried.”
He snorted at her calling herself old. She wasn’t a day over forty, having had him young. She had that mom energy, though, same as any of his aunts.
“Okay, okay. I don’t have the energy to argue with you.”
“Good boy. I’ll see you soon and I love you.”
“Yes, Mom. I love you too.”
He put his phone on the table and sighed.
He supposed he should put together a bag with a few of their clothes.
Mom had sounded like she was going into full-on care mode, and he had a hunch she wasn’t going to be satisfied with them staying just one night.
Besides, Darcy was definitely going to need a change of clothes.
“Everything good?” Nik asked.
“Yeah. They’re taking Darcy back to the compound so Doc can look him over. Luce is coming to pick us up.”
“Cool.”
Charma nodded and got up to go get their stuff together.
“Hey, bro.”
He turned back to Nik. “Yeah?”
“I’m real glad your guy is okay.”
He gave Nik an honest and sincere smile. “Me too.”
The truck rolled to a stop and Darcy jerked awake. He frowned when he realized he didn’t know where they were—but it definitely wasn’t his place.
“Where are we?” he demanded, screwing up his courage to try running again. “Where have you taken me?”
“Relax, Darcy. We’re at the compound. The Chameleon Compound.”
Okay, that didn’t sound too ominous. It was where Charma’s people lived. But it wasn’t where he wanted to be right now. “I want to go home. Please take me home.” He couldn’t make it any clearer.
“We will get you home, but we thought it would be prudent to have our doctor check you out. You’re pretty banged up and that eye is looking gnarly at this point.”
“Why here instead of the hospital?” Darcy asked warily.
“Do you really want to sit for goddess knows how long in emergency before they see you?” Mik asked.
He conceded that point. He probably wouldn’t stay more than like an hour before going home to recuperate without seeing anyone.
“Does it really look that bad?”
“It’s just gone this really lurid purple.” Mik gave him a wink. “Makes you look badass.”
“Darcy!”
He turned, smiling when he recognized the lady running down the stairs and along her sidewalk to the truck. That was Charma’s mother.
“Mom!” He got out of the truck and went to her.
She wrapped him in a hug and held on, and oh god, that was just what he’d needed. Now it was real. Now he knew he was safe. He felt tears prickling at his eyes, but he blinked them back. He wasn’t going to cry. Not in front of all these people he didn’t know.
“Charma’s on his way.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m so glad you’re safe, honey.”
“Me, too.” He clung to her for a moment longer, letting go when he felt he had himself under control.
“Doc’s in the house, ready to check you out.” She stepped back and took a good look at him, wincing. “Oh, that eye’s got to hurt.”
He just nodded. The Tylenol had helped, but that had been a while ago now and yeah, it was throbbing pretty good.
Mik and the others—from both trucks, turned out there’d been another one following and he hadn’t even realized it—came up the walk.
“Thank you for going to get him, boys.”
“Yeah. Thank you so much. I really didn’t want to go where they were taking me.”
“Was it really your folks?” Mik asked.
“Well, they mentioned Father Peter who’s their pastor and the conversion camp I was supposed to go to when I was fifteen, so yeah, it was really my folks who arranged it.” He couldn’t imagine anyone would be randomly kidnapping gay guys and dragging them out of state to convert them.
Mik and the others shook their heads. “That’s fucking messed up.”
“Language,” Mom said, and most of the guys looked sheepish, but not Mik.
“Sorry, Aunt Belia, but that’s the best word for it.”
Yeah, Darcy agreed with him. In fact, it was beyond fucked up.
“I suppose I can’t argue with that. Come on in, there’s breakfast waiting for everyone.” She put her arm around Darcy’s shoulders. “And let’s get you to the Doc. I bet by the time he’s done looking at you, Charma will be here.”
Darcy sure hoped so. Mom was lovely, and the others were awesome for coming to get him, but he totally needed someone he really knew who loved him right now. He needed Charma.
The car had barely pulled up in front of his mom’s place behind two trucks when Charma opened the door and got out. He ran up the front steps and burst in, scanning the crew of cousins chowing down at his mother’s big kitchen table. No Darcy.
“Where is he?”
“In with Doc. Why don’t you sit and have something to eat. I’m sure they won’t be long.”
He shook his head. No way. That was not what he was going to do. “Living room?”
He barely waited for Mom’s nod before he headed there, calling out. “Darcy?”
Darcy was just pulling his shirt back over his head and Charma got a quick glimpse of bruises, but then Darcy turned toward him and he gasped.
“Oh, my god! What did they do to you?”
“Charma!” Darcy sounded both happy and like he was going to cry.
Charma just ran to him and held on, Darcy’s arms wrapping around his waist, head curling in against Charma’s neck.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again.”
“Ditto. Until my mom got the clan involved. Then I knew they’d make it happen.” He continued to hold on, not willing to let go. Darcy didn’t seem to have a problem with that, clinging to him.
“Is he okay?” Charma asked Doc, who was putting his things away into his bag.
“It looks worse than it is. He got punched in the face and the bruising looks terrible, but there’s no broken bones, no damage to that eye, and it’s been long enough I’m confident there’s no concussion. Scrapes and bruises make up the rest of it. He’s going to be sore, but that’ll all fade.”
Charma relaxed at Doc’s words. Darcy was okay. And in his arms and he swore he was never letting go.
“I’m going to go see if there’s anything left for breakfast. You boys take care of each other.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Charma felt Darcy mumble the words against his throat.
“Let’s sit,” he suggested, as soon as Doc left.
“I might fall asleep if we do,” Darcy warned. “I’m suddenly utterly exhausted.”
“Well, it’s been a damned long day and an even longer night.” Charma sat on the couch and Darcy curled up against him. “Are you really okay? I mean I know you are medically, but how are you?”
“Beyond being incredibly grateful to be here with you, I’m not sure. I really just want to go home and sleep with you in our bed. And I do just mean sleep. To start with anyway.”
That little addition made Charma smile. Darcy might not be in the best place mentally, but he was still there.
“I think Mom’s going to insist on feeding us before we go back home. Why don’t we just sit here ’til everyone clears out, then we can have some peace while we have our breakfast.”
“Sounds good to me.” Darcy raised his head and Charma kissed—very gently because Darcy had a split lip.
Then Darcy shivered and curled in tighter, and Charma could tell he was asleep moments later.