Chapter 21 #3
When he didn’t answer, I got in between him and the bench and snatched the new cigarette he was about to light.
“What?” I bit out. “To help you find your son?”
He didn’t answer but he dropped his eyes.
Something Luca rarely did.
“You didn’t ask me or our family to do that, Luca,” I said. “We all love that boy and we all want him back. That shit I said the other day about never asking you for anything… that was my fear talking… I would have spent the rest of my days in that life to find Gio.”
Luca turned his head away but fortunately, he didn’t turn away from me.
“I will spend every day looking for him until we bring him home. Every. Fucking. Day,” I vowed.
He still wouldn’t look at me and I knew it was because there was something he wasn’t telling me.
“What?” I whispered. “What is it?”
He shook his head.
“Tell me,” I almost pleaded.
“There was a boy, Vaughn,” he began as his dark eyes lifted to meet mine. The agony and shame I saw swimming in them was a punch to the gut.
“When I first went in after Gio without you guys. He was only thirteen or fourteen. I had to… to prove I was who I said I was.”
I swallowed hard because I knew what he was trying to say. The people who’d stolen Gio would have wanted to make sure Luca wasn’t a cop or someone trying to expose them.
“I didn’t touch him,” Luca quickly said.
“I knew there were video cameras in the room, so I couldn’t just say I’d fucked him…
They wanted me to prove I wanted a little boy.
I’d told them I wanted a younger kid… someone with light hair and fair features, but they put me in with him and told me to have fun while they checked their ‘inventory’ for someone who matched what I wanted and was closer to the age I was looking for.
That’s the fucking word they used, Vaughn.
I knew it was a test and I knew what would happen if I failed it. ”
I knew too.
He never would have been shown any other boys.
And they likely would have killed him even for just suspecting he was a fraud.
“What happened?” I asked.
“He was terrified… he was crying in the corner and begging me not to touch him. Kept saying he wanted to go home.”
I watched in horror as my brother actually wiped at his eyes.
“I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet… we were in full view of the camera so it had to look real. But I swear to God, Vaughn, I didn’t hurt him.”
My brother was so distraught that I put my hands on his upper arms. “I know you didn’t, Luca. Tell me what happened.”
He sucked in a breath to collect himself.
“I turned him around and made him face the wall. I knew they’d only be able to see my body from behind.
I leaned down and whispered in his ear that I wouldn’t hurt him and that I’d find a way to help him go home.
I told him I needed to make it look real and to not be scared.
He… he nodded and asked me to promise him I’d take him home. ”
Luca covered his eyes with his hand. “I did. I promised him. While I was pretending to… to hurt him I just kept whispering in his ear. I told him about this beach. How you and me used to play out here every day and how Mom used to collect shells and how we’d see dolphins while we were swimming and that one came up to you the one time and you touched it.
I promised I’d show it to him someday. When I was done, I told him he needed to sit on the floor and cry so it looked like I’d really done that to him.
He said he would and then he made me promise I wouldn’t forget about him. ”
I began rubbing Luca’s arms because he was shaking, though I knew it had nothing to do with the slight breeze.
“What happened to him, Luca?”
“I left him there, Vaughn. There weren’t any other kids there – it had all been part of the test. I was told to go to a different address to look at the merchandise they had for purchase that met my needs.
That address led to another and another.
But none of the places had Gio so I had to keep pretending they didn’t have what I wanted so they’d show me more boys.
Then I got a lead on a boy that sounded exactly like Gio and I just couldn’t risk losing it…
it took me three days to get back to that house but it was empty.
The boy was gone… the whole place was abandoned, like none of them had ever been there. All the other places were empty too.”
“You couldn’t have known they’d be gone,” I said, but Luca shook his head.
“You and I both know that’s how they operate… they never stay in the same place for long. I knew there was a good chance they’d move that boy that very day. But I thought I’d have at least twenty-four hours.” Luca shook his head and wiped at the tears he hadn’t managed to hold back.
“But you couldn’t have known that back then. You had to make it about your son, Luca. And I know if you could have, you would have done all you could have to get that boy out. But you didn’t have the resources back then.”
I realized then that that boy was probably the reason Luca had set up such a vast network of resources to not only get kids out, but to get them back to their families whenever possible.
“He was somebody’s son, Vaughn. And I promised him I wouldn’t forget him. But I left him there.”
Luca tugged free of my hold and turned away. I was about to reach for him again when I heard my name being called.
I turned to see King flagging me down from the back of the house. Fear skirted through me as he began trotting toward us.
Aleks.
I hurried past Luca. King met us right where the back deck hit the sand.
“What? What is it?” I asked, hoping like hell it wasn’t about Aleks, but I knew it was.
“Hurry up,” was all King said as he grabbed my arm. “He needs you.”
I threw King off and sprinted toward the house. “Luca’s office!” King shouted.
It took me less than a minute to reach that part of the house. I could hear Con’s voice coming from inside the room, but it wasn’t until I stepped inside it that I heard what he was saying.
“Hang on, Aleks, Vaughn is coming.”
I could hear Aleks’s sobs before my eyes searched him out. He was sitting in the corner on the floor, his hands wrapped around the back of his neck as he hung onto his head and rocked back and forth.
“Aleks,” I called as I rushed to him and knelt in front of him.
Aleks shook his head violently. “No, no, no…”
He kept repeating the word over and over. I eased his chin up because I needed to see his eyes.
To know if he was still there or if he’d been swallowed by a blackout.
“I can’t, James. Please don’t make me!”
I wrapped my arms around him. “I won’t, Aleks. You’re safe, baby.”
He sobbed against me and put his arms around my neck.
“I’m sorry, Vaughn,” Con sputtered behind me. I could hear the distress in his voice.
I still had no clue what was going on, but I didn’t care. I pulled Aleks forward so he was practically straddling my lap. It allowed him to curl into me as far as he could. It was like he was trying to burrow under my skin.
“It’s okay, Aleks, everything’s okay,” I repeated over and over until Aleks’s sobs slowed, then finally stopped.
My neck and my shirt were soaking wet, but I didn’t give a shit.
Aleks’s breaths were harsh and choppy, but the more I rubbed his back and just held onto him, the quieter he fell.
We’d been left alone in the room at some point.
“I’m sorry,” Aleks murmured against my neck after about twenty minutes. I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.
“It’s okay,” I responded. I’d have plenty of time to ask him what had happened, but for now, I just wanted him to rest. “Let’s go to our room, okay?”
He nodded against me.
I got to my feet and pulled him up with me. He leaned heavily against me so I swept an arm beneath his legs and put the other at his back, lifting him. “No, James, I’m too heavy,” he whispered, even as he pressed his face against my chest. His arms went around my neck again.
“No, you’re not,” I said. “And I don’t think I’ve ever told how much I love carrying you. It makes me feel all caveman-like.”
I felt him smile against my neck. “There’s nothing caveman-like about you, James,” he said softly. “Besides, I think cavemen drag people back to their caves by the hair.”
“Your hair isn’t long enough for that, so you’re just going to have to settle for me carrying you around when I’m feeling all possessive and dominant.”
Another smile.
“Okay,” he said on a sigh.
The door leading to the office wasn’t completely closed, but it didn’t matter because as soon as I reached it, it opened.
Luca’s worried eyes skimmed over Aleks, then me.
I nodded my head to indicate the younger man was okay, but not surprisingly, it didn’t diminish much of the concern in Luca’s gaze.
Just beyond the door were King and Con. Con still looked devastated and King looked pissed – at Con.
I couldn’t imagine what the hell had happened to cause the brothers to be at odds, but I couldn’t deal with any of it right now.
I got Aleks to our room. Con ran ahead of us to open the door. As we passed him, Aleks said, “I’m sorry, Con. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“No worries, Aleks,” Con said, completely flustered. For once, he looked at a loss for words.
I kicked the door shut behind me and then carried Aleks to the bed. I settled him on top of it, then crawled in behind him. He turned over and pushed into my arms and I gladly wrapped them around him.
“I didn’t go away, James,” he said softly against my neck. “That’s good, right?”
I knew he was talking about the fact that he hadn’t blacked out.
“That’s amazing,” I said. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”
“It means I’m fighting back,” Aleks murmured. I could feel him trying to ward off the sleep that was threatening to take him.
“Yes, it does,” I said. I rubbed my hand up and down his back. “Just sleep, Aleks. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
He nodded and snuggled deeper into me. “Tell Con I’m sorry I got upset. And tell him I’ll do it, okay?”
“Do what, baby?”
Aleks was so quiet that I thought he’d actually fallen asleep. But when I heard the words he whispered right before he drifted off, I felt a chill go through my bones.
“Wear the collar.”