Chapter Four
T here’d been no contact from Max all day and Rex was growing more concerned with every passing hour. Even if it was a ‘I’m fine’ then he would be relieved, but the radio silence left him jittery and constantly checking over his shoulder.
Rex.
Rex sagged from relief, and closed his eyes, glancing around the room. Last lecture of the day then he would be free to leave and meet Max if he could. Being silent for this long only meant one thing. How bad?
I made it to my room in time.
Do you need help?
I don’t have time. I have to work.
Rex sat up, answered a question the teacher asked him, then focused back on Max. What can I do to help?
I’ll come and get you then go to the cabin. I can’t stay long but I need you to take care of a couple of wounds on my back.
Just let me know and I’ll be there.
There was no response, which probably meant Max had fallen asleep. It was day and he’d been hurt, so he’d need the time to heal. Max being beaten by Maxim wasn’t anything new and it was the reason why they had a first aid bag with more than what a normal household would need inside it.
Rex could easily remember the first time he’d treated Max after one of Maxim’s beatings. They’d found the cabin a few months earlier and were slowly making it habitable. The windows, roof and doors had been dealt with first and they’d begun renovating the bathroom when Max had told him he needed help. He’d appeared, hugged Rex, then moved them to their bedroom. It had been the same every time since.
An hour later Max reached out to him. Rex. Where are you?
In my bedroom.
Max appeared, and Rex immediately reached for him. He was pale and sweating, his body shaking. The world disappeared briefly then they were in their bedroom where Max collapsed to the floor.
Rex ran into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid bag then knelt on the floor next to him. “Your back?’
Max nodded, hissing as he tried to pull his T-shirt off. It had stuck to a couple of areas on his back and Rex murmured, “We’re going to have to wet this.” Helping Max to stand, Rex led him to the bathroom and eased him onto the toilet. Starting the shower, he dashed back into the bedroom and grabbed the bag.
Stripping down to his underwear, he helped Max stand and remove his jeans and shoes and socks then held him as he stood under the spray. Max cried out then let Rex take his weight. They stood in silence until Rex thought enough time had passed, and then he gently moved Max around so he could work on removing his T-shirt. Pulling softly, it began to come away, but with each little tug Rex did, Max tensed then exhaled. In the end he got out of the shower and grabbed the scissors, and began to cut it off Max’s back.
“Almost there.”
Max groaned. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand.”
“One more minute.” Rex finally got the T-shirt off and held Max under the spray, his eyes going over the wounds on Max’s back. “I hate him,” he whispered.
“Me too.”
“These look clean to me. Sit on the toilet and I’ll treat the open wounds.” Rex was tired of seeing wounds on Max inflicted by his so-called dad. Maxim enjoyed giving out punishment even to his own son, and it was happening more often lately.
Max wrapped a towel around his waist and sat waiting for Rex. He quickly dried and dressed, then stood behind Max, staring at his back. “There are three that I need to cover and another two that we’ll need to keep an eye on. I know you guys heal quickly but a couple of these will take time.”
All Rex heard was a deep sigh from Max as he grabbed what he needed then set about disinfecting and treating each open wound. Max flinched a couple of times, groaning when Rex treated a deep wound on the top of his back. “What caused this?” It looked more like a burn than a mark caused by a whip. It said something that Rex could tell the difference between the marks Max regularly had.
“Hot poker. I’ll have a scar from it. I need to feed as well.”
Rex closed his eyes, breathing deeply, his hands clenched into fists. “I really fucking hate him.” Opening his eyes, he went back to treating the wounds. “I’ll get the blood we have and bring some up for you. Max, I have money saved. We can leave now.”
“Soon we will. I need to find out what’s going on, then I can warn someone and then we can go.”
“We can come here while we figure things out.” Rex treated the last wound then stood and tidied the items away and washed his hands. He helped Max stand then led him to their bed and sat him on the edge. “How long before you need to go back?”
“I’ll set my alarm for five hours then make sure I’m back in my room. Can you get me some of the clothes I’ve left here? I’ll take you home then come back.”
“I can stay here until you need to leave, and I can watch over you. You can drop me off in the alley near my house so Dad will think I’ve been out.” Rex palmed Max’s face. “I don’t want to leave you alone like this.”
Max closed his eyes, leaned into Rex’s touch. “Okay,” he whispered.
Rex helped him into bed and made sure he was comfortable on his front with the sheets pulled up to his waist. Max smiled softly at him then sighed. Rex ran to the kitchen, filled a glass with water and grabbed some of the blood they had. Taking the glass and blood, he went back to the bedroom and helped Max sit up and held the glass as he drank then watched him have some of the blood. When it was finished, Max laid back down, and within minutes he was asleep, and Rex made himself a drink and settled next to him, lying on the covers.
Several times Max woke, whimpering in pain before settling again, and each time made Rex hate Maxim even more. And he hated the vampire more than anyone. To do this to his own son. Max had once told him it was to toughen him up, but now Rex wondered if Maxim got some perverse pleasure from watching people suffer, especially his son.
A couple of hours later, Max’s phone rang, and Rex got up, checking the name on the screen. Maxim. He knew Max had to answer the call, so he gently shook him awake and showed Max his phone. Max pulled a face then took the phone. “Sir.”
Rex couldn’t hear what was said but the way Max slowly blinked had him biting his lip. Max met his eyes as his shoulders sagged. “I’ll be right there, Sir.”
Who the fuck made their own kid call them sir all the time? “You have to leave now?” Rex asked as soon as Max hung up.
“He wants me in some intel meeting.” Max sat up and winced. “Can you get me some pain meds?”
Nodding, Rex grabbed the meds and a glass of water and handed them to Max. “You need longer to recover,” he murmured. They both knew Max wouldn’t get it.
Max snorted. “Like that’s gonna happen.” Max closed his eyes, shaking his head. “You get me through this. Knowing you’re here and I’m not alone.” Opening his eyes, Max gave Rex a small smile. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Rex noted the dark circles under Max’s eyes, the far too pale skin. “Do you need some of my blood?”
“I take more than I should. My scent has altered slightly.”
Rex reared back, his mouth falling open. “We’re not fully mated.”
“I’m able to disguise it with body spray, but I’ve noticed it more recently.”
“Because you’ve taken more. He needs to stop beating the shit out of you.” Rex shook his head. “As long as you don’t bite me during sex, we’re still okay, right?”
“We are but I’m feeding from you more than normal. That’s bound to change things.”
“I’ll have to make sure we have more blood here for you.” Rex licked his lips wondering how he could manage it. Maybe with Peter being mated to Minho he’d be able to access some, but what excuse could he provide? “I’ll figure something out.”
“I need to go.” Max stood, groaned and leaned on Rex. “Fuck.”
“Let’s get you dressed then you can take me home and do what you need to. Come back to me later. You can stay in my bedroom.”
“We can’t risk Peter or Minho seeing us.”
“I don’t want you moving us too much while you’re injured, and I don’t care if they find out. This is becoming too much.”
“I can manage. We can manage.” Max kissed him. “We can leave soon. Once I know their plans, I can do some anonymous thing then we can leave.”
Rex dropped his head, resting his forehead on Max’s. “Please don’t do something you shouldn’t. Please be careful.”
“I will. I promise. I want us to be free.”
Max stumbled to the closet and Rex followed, helping him dress. Once he was ready, Max moved them to Rex’s bedroom, kissed him, then left. Rex fell back on his bed, his eyes stinging, a tear rolling down the side of his face.
He had no idea how long he’d stayed there before he heard, “Rex?”
Quickly sitting, Rex wiped the tears away and took a few deep breaths. “Here, Dad! Do you need something?”
“I’m making pasta tonight. What do you want with it?”
“Cheesy garlic bread.”
“Come down and help then.”
Rex stood, glanced at his reflection, then jogged downstairs. Peter stood in the kitchen, whistling to some music playing on his phone and grinned when he saw Rex. “Grab the cheese from the fridge, please.”
“No Minho?”
Peter frowned. “He’s working on something.” Rex paused and watched Peter. He should say something, but would that endanger Max?
“Anything interesting?”
Shrugging, Peter stirred the pasta. “No. Just security stuff.” He smiled and took the cheese from Rex. “Nothing for you to worry about.”
“He’s a vampire. He might get hungry during the night.” He waggled his eyebrows and giggled when Peter mimed hitting him. “So, have you spoken to Sammy?”
“Hmm. You should have let me deal with that.”
“I was traumatized! My dad naked after having sex with a man who isn’t a man but a vampire!”
Peter chuckled. “Okay. I’ll give you that. How much schoolwork do you have?”
“I’m up to date with everything.”
“Good. Plans for the weekend?”
“Not yet but you know me.” Rex didn’t want to lie, so he said, “Tell me about your day. How were the ladies?” He knew all about them. They’d been going to the cafe for a few years, so he’d spent most of his teenage life smiling or talking to them.
Peter talked about work, the ladies, several arguments that almost ended in a fight, and finally locking up. “Pasta’s almost ready. How’s the garlic bread?”
Rex checked and hummed as he rubbed his stomach. “Looks good.”
“Let’s plate up and sit at the table.”
Both Peter and Diane had their evening meals at the table, all four of them talking and laughing. It was something Rex missed. Now it was the two of them and one day he would be gone. He might not even graduate. Probably wouldn’t, if Maxim carried on treating Max the way he was. He didn’t understand Max’s need to find out their plan, but he stood by him. Maybe he was being selfish putting Max first, but he dealt with his injuries, and he wanted him out of there and safe. The entire world could burn around them as long as Max was safe.
“How is it?”
“Great. You always make the best food.”
“What do you want?”
Rex gave a mock glare. “Can’t I compliment you?”
“Yes, you can but it’s normally followed by you asking for something.”
“You’re right. I’d like more cooking lessons.” If they were going to be leaving soon, he needed to be able to cook, because Max knew nothing about it. Why would he? As far as Maxim was concerned, the females did that. Rex had showed him the basics, but he knew they couldn’t survive on that alone.
“I can do that. You’re not as bad as Sammy.”
“Mom banned him from the kitchen he was that bad.”
“I think that was after the third round of food poisoning we had. Remember when he tried to fry dried pasta?”
Rex shuddered. “The smell…”
They both laughed and Rex smiled. He was going to miss this.