Chapter 22 #2
Fucking hell. Even though it’s him saying it…the reminder of being Lio’s Daddy sends a pang rushing through me, that burning fear growing larger because I can’t be with him when he needs me most.
He continues. “Don’t let your feelings for me get in the way of helping Lio.
I know he tried to kill himself. I know what you two are going through.
” I scoff but he ignores me. “That fear and pain? I feel it too, because I love him. That Boy…he is everything good in me. I am nothing without him. Knowing he almost wasn’t here?
It kills me. But…it’s something I’ve seen before. ”
It’s as if the air has been sucked from the room. I straighten up and glance at Hollis, before focusing back on the asshole in the bed. “Explain.”
“You know about when that bastard, Peter, kidnapped him?”
Hol and I both nod. “Not the details, but yes, we’re aware of that whole clusterfuck,” I tell him.
“Right, well, when Lio came back, he was… Traumatized is an understatement. That fucker didn’t just rape him, he drugged him, and made Emilio believe he wanted it.”
“That sounds fucking familiar,” Hollis mutters. He looks to Dr. Ranlen. “Have you seen the videos that bitch sent over?”
“Doc and I reviewed them, yes. I can’t say, without getting my hands on it, or its chemical makeup, but it’s safe to assume what was given to Lio was a similar class of designer drug.”
“What videos?” Allesandro asks.
“Cecily Dowing sent us videos of what Lio and Roman went through,” Hollis answers, not offering any more information.
Allesandro must value his life as he doesn’t ask any more questions, though I can see he wants to. If he wants to know more about it, he can…well, fuck.
I meet Hollis’s gaze again. My Tesoro must have come to the same conclusion I just did, because that fucking sorrow is back in his eyes.
“How about we get to the point of this meeting,” I say. “I’d like to get back to Benjamin before he wakes and tries to hurt himself again.”
“As I was saying, Emilio was deeply hurt, not physically, but mentally. There are things he still refuses to discuss—whether because it’s too painful, or because he doesn’t remember, I don’t know.
What I do know is that this isn’t the first time he’s dropped into such a deep depression.
Mixed with the PTSD he already has from his previous experience, well…
as much as it hurts to say, we’re very, very lucky he was found in time. He needs help.”
“And we’re getting it for him,” Hollis argues. “Or did Dr. Ranlen fail to mention that she and Doc have been pooling their resources together to pick out a therapist, not only for Emilio, but you as well.”
The therapist isn’t only for Lio and Allesandro, but I don’t dare point that out to Hollis now.
“Yes, but he needs help now,” Allesandro shoots back.
“Look, I don’t want to hurt you, or go over your head.
I know you and Lio have a relationship, and you’ve been giving him what he needs for months now, but…
I was able to get through to him last time.
Was able to bring him out of his head. I got him to open up and release the pain he was holding in, and pulled him out of the loop he was stuck in.
I’m not saying this to insult you. I’m sure you’re giving him what he needs… but it’s not all he needs.”
“And what is it you think he needs?” I ask coldly.
“His Master.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Fuck no. You’re crazy if you think I’ll ever risk him.”
“It’s not so different from Roman needing you and your lovers, and needing Ignacio,” Dr. Ranlen points out.
I glare at her and wonder how pissed Lio will be if I stab her, just a little. She doesn’t flinch under my stare, holding my gaze and lifting her chin a little in defiance. If I wasn’t so fucking done with this conversation, I’d be impressed.
“I’m not saying this on a whim,” Allesandro says, cutting through the tension between his doctor and me.
“I know I’m asking for more than I deserve, but Lio’s life means more to me than you’ll ever know.
I don’t want to see him suffer. Please, let me help him.
After everything I’ve done to him…it’s the least I can do. ”
I push off the door, unwilling to hear another word of this asshole’s audacity, when Hollis captures my attention. His shoulders rise and fall with each breath, and he touches the bandage around his arm.
Fuck.
Crossing over to him quickly, I turn him to face me, lifting his gaze to mine. “Talk to me, Tesoro.”
He swallows, his mouth opening and closing before he brings his hands between us and says, “I… Fuck, Ten. This is so fucked up.”
Removing my hands from Hollis, sticking to Italian Sign like Hol so the other two can’t eavesdrop, I ask, “You can’t be seriously contemplating this inane idea!”
“What other fucking choice do we have, Tennant? The pull between them…it reminds me of the two of us…”
I shake my head. “It is not the same.”
“What if we can’t help him, Tennant? What then? I can’t risk him or Roman. I refuse to lose either of them because we were too shortsighted to give our Boy what he needs.”
“You saying you trust him?”
He rolls his eyes. “Of course not. But I trust Lio. Do you?”
Hollis holds my gaze, his question hanging between us.
He’s right, I know he is. I trust Lio, not only with me, but with Hollis, Roman, and Benjamin.
Hell, and with Jude, even though they don’t know each other well.
The Little Monster, for all his struggles with emotions and being vulnerable…
he is also one of the most loving people I’ve ever met.
When he gives himself over, he gives everything. He’s very similar to Roman in that way.
I wonder, if asked outright, would he admit to missing Allesandro? Hol and I have never asked because we were trying to keep him from imploding after the…incident. And then, we had hoped he’d be honest with us.
I should have known better. Maybe if I wasn’t so wrapped up with Benjamin and making sure he understood how he fit into my life—my family—I would have seen it.
Or maybe not. I’ve had years with Hollis and Roman, and over a year and a half now with Jude—who’s always been shit at hiding from me.
Lio is different. He might throw his all into a relationship, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not hard for him.
The level of confidence he would have needed to have in order to confess something like this…
we didn’t get that far before he was kidnapped.
“You’ve made up your mind then?” I ask.
Tears fill Hollis’s eyes. “I have if you did. We need to be strong, for Lio.”
“For Lio,” I say aloud. Flicking my gaze to Allesandro, I tell him, “You get one fucking chance at this. Step a fucking toe out of line, and I will cut your balls off and feed them to you. I don’t like it, and I don’t like you.
But…I care about Emilio more than that Little Monster knows, and for some fucking reason, he loves you still.
Know this though, you are not his Daddy. ”
Hollis snorts.
Allesandro looks hurt by my words, but ask me if I care. My place is to…love Lio in a different way. As much as it fucking grates knowing I can’t take care of all his needs.
“Are you sure you’re strong enough?” Hollis turns to ask Allesandro. He leans against me, letting me hold him up as our world gets turned upside down—again.
“He will be,” Dr. Ranlen says. “He doesn’t have to raise a hand in order to help Lio. There are plenty of tools in Il Padrone’s arsenal.”
“No,” Hollis says. “Lio’s Master he might be, but that’s different from being Il Padrone.”
“I agree,” Allesandro says. “It’s different, but yes, I can be Lio’s Master. I won’t put myself or him in jeopardy. I might still be healing, but trust I know what I’m doing.”
I snort. “Is that all?”
“Yes. I know you’re not happy, and I don’t blame you.
I wouldn’t be happy with me either in your situation.
But I will never hurt Lio again. What I did…
it was inexcusable, unforgiveable. However, let me help bring your Boy back.
Right now, I’m the best option there is, even though I’m sorry for that. ”
“You might be his Master,” Hollis tells him. “I won’t deny that he needs you in his life, as much as it pains me to know, but Lio is no longer yours.”
Allesandro’s eyes flash pain and frustration. “I’m aware. Tennant made that abundantly clear with his claim as Emilio’s Daddy.”
Hollis chuckles. “Oh, Allesandro… You might be his Master,” he repeats.
“Tennant may be his Daddy. But do you know what he calls me?” My cock hardens against Hollis’s ass at the sureness and confidence in his voice.
“I’m his Owner. And I will always be on top.
So, yes, you can open the floodgates, but you will not be the first person in his room when he wakes.
Tennant needs to stay with Benjamin, but I have time to wait for my Pup to wake.
He will know exactly how much his Owner loves him when I give him his Master back. ”