Chapter Three #2
Marc would like to claim he hadn’t thought Valon’s secrets were that bad, but he couldn’t.
He had known something truly ugly haunted Valon.
Marc hadn’t expected the absolute dissociation.
Valon hadn’t even returned to reality when Marc had carried him to bed.
He was like a limp rag doll. It was honestly terrifying.
Almost as chilling as tracking Valon’s phone to an empty parking lot.
Marc had thought Valon was dead inside his car.
He had been in a fetal position, holding the tail of his costume.
By the time Marc had finally gotten inside the car, he had been in full panic mode.
Then Valon didn’t wake up, no matter what Marc tried.
Zeus had driven by and caught sight of him.
Marc didn’t know what he would have done without Zeus’ help.
It turned out his cousin was married to a doctor for the stars.
Very discreet. Once they had been assured Valon would live, Zeus had suggested this plan.
It seemed—of all crazy things—Zeus had been a deprogrammer of some sort for a spy program.
He didn’t go into many details, but Zeus had the knowhow to break through people’s psyche.
Marc desperately needed that help at the moment.
Zeus had warned him this wouldn’t be easy, and that Marc likely wouldn’t like what he learned.
But Marc didn’t have a choice any longer.
Valon was one bad night away from dying from this bullshit.
Marc had to know what was going on. He held Valon and tried to comfort him.
Marc knew the instant Valon came back to himself. His entire body stiffened.
Valon cleared his throat, but his voice still sounded strained when he spoke. “Sorry about that. Sometimes I do that.”
Marc closed his eyes and savored a moment of holding Valon.
He didn’t think he could fix a thing. “I’m the one who’s sorry.
I shouldn’t have brought you here. It’s obvious you don’t think enough of me to let me help.
” Marc hated the things he said, but he couldn’t stop.
He was gutted that Valon thought he would hurt him.
Marc rolled away and sat up. “I’ll call Zeus and tell him to let us out.
It’s my fault for thinking we were friends.
I get it. You’re my boss, and I’m your employee.
I won’t mistake my place again.” Goddamn it.
Every word he spoke hurt, but they were the truth.
Marc wanted so fucking badly to be important to Valon.
He wanted to be the person Valon finally turned to for help.
It seemed he was set on drowning, and there wasn’t a damn thing Marc could do about it. He moved to stand.
Valon snagged the back of his shirt and held on. They sat frozen in silence until Valon finally spoke. “You’re my friend.” His voice sounded so small and hurt that Marc thought his chest would cave. “I’d actually—if you’re okay with it—I think I’d like to be held a little longer.”
Well, fuck. He didn’t have to ask Marc twice.
Marc turned and settled back in, tucking Valon against his chest. Without thought, his lips found Valon’s forehead.
He couldn’t stop the light kiss he placed there.
Marc didn’t speak. His throat was too tight.
Valon had called him a friend. Considering he was sickeningly in love with the guy, Marc would take it.
Valon Stark was willingly in his arms. Wow.
All his obsessions raced to the surface and crippled him.
No one could or would ever know how Marc had dreamed and plotted.
Valon brushed his fingertips across Marc’s clavicle, petting him.
“More times than I can count, I’ve come to your room at night and stood outside your door.
” Marc’s entire existence held on to Valon’s every word.
“I knew I could knock, and you’d let me in.
You’d keep me safe. Maybe it would mean just sleeping like this so I can actually freaking sleep.
” His voice got stronger the more he spoke.
“But then I’d go back to bed and fall apart until I’d finally light up and drift away. ”
“You should’ve knocked.”
He felt Valon shake his head. “You’re the only person who knows me who doesn’t think I’m a horrible person. If you knew anything about me, you’d look at me differently. That would break my heart.”
Marc needed Valon to keep talking. “There’s nothing you can say to me that would make me see you in a negative light. As wild as it may sound, you’re my best friend, even if I’m not yours.”
Valon stroked him again but didn’t respond right away. “I’m so used to keeping everything inside, protecting other people’s happiness, I don’t know how to open myself. But I know there’s an ugliness in me I can’t burden anyone else with.”
“I want to carry it with you. Just start somewhere. Open your mouth and let the ugliness go. I’m begging you to stop killing yourself while I’m right here, wanting the job of being your peace.”
He felt Valon take a deep breath. “Dad and Kash don’t understand. Maybe you won't either. I couldn’t get away from them fast enough when I hit it big.”
That one threw Marc for a loop. “Is that because of them falling in love or whatever?”
A humorless laugh rumbled from Valon. “If I’d let him, Kash would’ve stayed with me forever. So, no. It had nothing, yet everything, to do with them.” Valon took another breath that sounded hard-fought. “It was Ry.”
Valon’s earlier reaction and his confession had a terrible sense of foreboding building in Marc.
Thankfully, Valon kept talking so Marc didn’t have to demand an explanation.
“I don’t know why he hated me. Maybe that’s not true.
I think he saw me as the reason he was stuck in a marriage he didn’t want.
Hell, maybe I took too much attention away from him.
No matter the reason, he took every opportunity to torture me in the worst ways.
Then he threatened me if I told anyone, he would kill Dad and Kash.
Ry said that so often that—sometimes—I would be with them and feel like I was suffocating.
Maybe I even came to hate them a little for trapping me in hell.
Then I won the lottery of musical dreams. I ran fast and hard.
Even though I’d never tell them, I had no plans to talk to either of them again.
I’d gotten my escape. Of course, no one let me leave them, and the distance created some huge guilt over punishing Dad for Ry.
But there’s still a small part of me that wonders how in the hell no one saw me suffering.
Then I remind myself I can be a damn good actor when I want. ”
Marc felt Valon hesitating. He knew there was more. Marc couldn’t let him stop now. “What about Ry?”
The ugly laugh that escaped Valon made chills run down his spine.
“He showed up the second he thought I had anything he could take. When I gleefully shut him down, he hired people to try to rough me up and intimidate me into basically handing him the reins to my financials. I kept hiring guards to protect me, except none of them seemed to understand how dangerous Ry is. Maybe they even thought I should be helping out my legal parent.”
Marc drew a sharp breath as the rage built.
Unfortunately, Valon wasn’t finished. “Then, one night after a concert, I went out partying with the band. I got shitfaced and let a guy lure me to an alleyway behind the club. When he attacked, I didn’t see it coming.
Of course, I’d shooed away security so I could play.
So I was stuck and fighting for my life.
I don’t know exactly how it happened. One second, I was on the ground, scrambling to get away.
The next, I had a broken beer bottle in my hand that I had stabbed into the guy’s throat. ”
Marc kind of wanted to tell Valon to stop. He didn’t need the rest. Anything more, and he would kill Ry.
“I just kind of froze. He was choking on his own blood, and all I could think about was how this mess could ruin my career. I’d be forced back into a life I can’t stomach.
Then he was dead, and I didn’t know what to do.
I called Bond. He’s been my manager since day one.
I didn’t know how he would handle it, but I knew he would.
In minutes he was there, whisking me away and telling me not to worry about a thing.
He would make sure no one ever knew what happened. ”
Valon shivered, and Marc held him tighter. The horrific story continued.
“My guards were furious I had disappeared. There was a lot of screaming. They quit, and I ended up labeled a problem client. A title I made worse when I started having the feeling again—like no one was even trying to protect me. The one thing I didn’t consider, though, was Ry.
He knew he had sent that guy. Ry knew that guy went missing afterward. That's when the blackmail began.”
Each time Marc thought he had reached the pinnacle of his anger, Valon added another log to the fire.
Marc squeezed his eyes shut. Valon needed him calm.
He got the feeling he was the only person ever to hear this story.
Marc understood so much now, though. The way Valon treated Ledger and Kash.
How Valon acted when it came to security.
Marc saw it all now. Valon was trapped in a nightmare, and no one helped.
Still, Valon had gone to his dad and shown him affection.
He had smiled and cheered as Kash married his dad.
The hurt and fear Valon choked down every second was enough to kill anyone.
But now Marc knew, and Valon wasn’t who would lose their life over this.
Marc kissed Valon’s forehead again. “You have me now. It’s time for you to close your eyes and sleep without fear, okay? Nothing else will happen to you. That’s a promise I can keep.”
He felt Valon nod and relax. Despite just waking up, Valon was out like a light in minutes. Life had drained the fuck out of him. Marc would fix everything.