Chapter 4
GAVIN
Seething, Gavin braced himself for another impact of his head against the top of the hood. It had been like this for the last ten minutes. It seemed like his kidnapper, Megatron in the flesh, had decided to take the scenic route and hit every bump and pothole there was in Colorado.
Like, seriously? Where the fuck were they?
Gavin jerked forward when the car suddenly came to a complete stop. He heard the engine die and the car door open and close.
This was it. The bastard was finally coming to let him out.
He pulled the crowbar closer to his body and gripped the end with all the strength he had. How could the police let him be taken by this Cro-Magnon of a human? The man was all brute force and minimal intelligence.
“Hope you’re still alive in there,” a deep voice said as the world was suddenly filled with light.
Gavin let out a scream and drew the crowbar down hard on the man who had kidnapped him.
“What the—” Marcus began as the crowbar hit his bicep with absolutely no pain.
Gavin looked at the monstrous bicep and gasped. “What the hell? Not even an ouch or cry of pain?”
Marcus looked at his arm and shrugged.
“Was that supposed to hurt or something?”
“That was supposed to knock you unconscious and scramble your brain, giving me time to climb out of this car and escape,” Gavin screeched, flustered and a bit annoyed.
Marcus looked down at the boy.
“Do you want me to lie down now and pretend to be knocked unconscious? I can even roll around and moan if that makes you feel better.”
Gavin just glared at the annoying man.
“You’re freakishly large, you know that?”
Marcus gave him a smirk. “No one’s ever complained about how large I am before. Never thought that would be an issue.”
Gavin stared at him once more, trying to figure out whether the man was friend or foe. Smart or dumb. Straight or…
“Do you want to come sit up front with me now? No one’s been following us,” Marcus said, holding out his hand.
No one’s been following us? What the fuck did that mean?
Letting out a breath, Gavin raised both his arms and let the ogre lift him from the trunk. Being with a mountain of a man definitely had its perks.
Once they were back in the car, Marcus passed him a bottle of water. “Here, drink this. You must be thirsty.”
Gavin snatched the bottle and began chugging. Not because he was thirsty, but because he didn’t want his kidnapper to have any. Yes, that was what he told himself.
“We’ll stop for food in about an hour. I just want to get us out of the area so nobody recognizes you.”
“What do you mean? Who would recognize me?”
“The killer. The police haven’t arrested him yet, and he might still be out there looking to finish the job.”
Gavin’s heart stopped in his chest. He hadn’t even thought about the killer coming back to finish the job. He just figured the killer would take off and run before the police could find him. But now…
Gavin looked out his window and subconsciously leaned toward Marcus.
“Don’t worry. No one saw you leave the precinct. You’re safe with me now, peanut.”
“What do you mean, ‘no one saw us’? Everyone at the precinct saw you kidnap me gorilla-style and throw me into your trunk,” Gavin barked, convinced that the man was mad.
“Yes, everyone saw me carrying a screaming twink back to my car. If you ask anyone, all they will remember seeing is some big, scary biker dude carrying some screaming twink over his shoulder and dumping that kid in the trunk of his car. They won’t be able to tell you anything about the kid, except that he was annoying when he screamed. ”
Gavin stared at him, dumbfounded.
“So, all of that aggressive kidnapping was just for show?”
“Hey, I had to get you out of there somehow. Plus, it felt really good throwing you in my trunk, then driving circles over pebbled road.” Marcus gave him a smirk.
“You’re an asshole, you know?”
“Yes, I’ve been told that from time to time,” Marcus agreed with a shit-eating grin plastered to his face. They proceeded back to the highway.
Gavin kept eyeing the hulking beast currently kidnapping/not kidnapping him. Somehow, this man had been assigned as his protector. He didn’t know who the guy was or how he ended up in his orbit. But one thing was certain, Gavin wanted to ride that cowboy till he couldn’t see straight.
Reaching over to the radio, Gavin began playing around with the stations.
A big meaty paw grabbed his hand and tossed it aside.
“Rule number one: Don’t touch anything. This isn’t my car, and I don’t want you fucking up any of Alexis’s preset stations.”
Gavin gave him side-eye.
“Is Alexis your girlfriend?”
Marcus let out a growl. “Mind your business.”
Gavin let out a huff. “We’re going to be rubbing up against each other for the next few weeks, so we should probably kinda get to know each other.”
“There will be no rubbing,” Marcus commanded.
“Okay, fine. Cuddling if you prefer.” Gavin let out a chuckle when Marcus glared at him.
“So? Who’s Alexis?”
“One of the bartenders who works at my bar.”
“So, not a girlfriend.”
Marcus just growled.
“Okay. And why is it that you have her car and not your own? You broke or something?”
Judging by the biker leather jacket the man was wearing and the designer jeans he had on, Gavin was pretty sure he was not lacking money. Plus, his boots alone cost close to a thousand bucks!
“No, I’m not broke. I borrowed Alexis’s car because I figured it would be easier for you to drive six hours in a car, instead of strapped to the back of my Harley, holding my waist.”
Gavin’s eyes lit up.
“Oh no, dear. Option number one would have worked perfectly. Six hours cuddled up against you is every gay boy's wet dream.”
Marcus glanced over at Gavin but remained silent.
Was the man homophobic?
“You got something against queers?” Gavin fumed. Subtlety was never his strong suit.
Letting out something that sounded rather like annoyance, Marcus glanced over at Gavin as he drove.
“Just because I don’t want to be cuddling up against you doesn’t make me homophobic.
I’m more ‘annoying-twink phobic.’ Plus, my brother is gay, and so is his husband, Blade—who I often threaten with shooting him in the face, but that’s because he is annoying and sticking it to my brother.
Then there is Caden, my oldest friend, who just decided he liked dick when he met Lucas, a feisty little twink who’s more murderous than should be legal.
Then there is Nikolai, our scary Russian, who recently decided he was committing to his longtime best friend and trying out monogamy.
“So, no. I’m not homophobic. My biker bar is becoming a sausage fest and smells like cock and cum on Friday and Saturday nights. Don’t ask me why that is. But I suspect Ace and Blade have something to do with it. Maybe even Caden and Lucas.”
Gavin sat staring at him, his mouth wide open and his skin buzzing with excitement.
“You own a biker bar? Wait! Are you in some kind of biker gang? Is that why the sheriff wanted you to protect me? Am I being protected by Sons of Anarchy?” He slapped his leg and bounced around in his seat.
Marcus shook his head. “You’re an idiot. Let’s stop in here for some lunch.”
They pulled into a roadside diner, and Marcus wasted no time in hopping out and barreling toward the door.
Gavin was quick on his heels.
“So, tell me, what position do you hold in this biker gang hierarchy? Like, are you the enforcer man? The weapons guy? The cleaner?” Gavin raised his eyebrow at that last one. He wasn’t sure how excited he should be about traveling across the state with a man who could make a person disappear.
Marcus held open the door and pushed Gavin through by placing his hand at the back of his neck and giving him a herculean shove.
“I’m the guy at the top of the food chain,” Marcus said with a hint of danger in his voice.
Gavin stopped suddenly, causing his back to bounce off Marcus’s abnormally large chest.
“Wait. You’re the leader of the biker gang?” His mind was blown. “Why the fuck would the leader drive all this way to pick up my sorry ass?”
Marcus pushed Gavin into an empty seat. “Sit.” His jailer circled the table and sat across from him. “I came to get you because Sheriff Burke, a friend, asked me to protect you. I also heard about the murders and wanted to check things out myself.”
The waitress came over and dropped menus on the table for them to check. Once the waitress had taken their order, she disappeared into the back.
“Are you sure you only want a salad and steamed vegetables for lunch? Aren’t you hungry?” Marcus asked, leaning back in his chair and giving him a perplexed look.
“I’m actually a vegetarian.”
Marcus’s mouth stiffened. “A what?”
“A vegetarian.”
Marcus shook his head. “A veg…?”
Frustrated, Gavin let out a breath. “It’s when a person doesn’t eat meat. They value life and don’t want to consume animal carcasses.”
Marcus began to chuckle. “I know what a vegetarian is, preachy.”
Gavin’s eyes narrowed. The man was infuriating.
The elderly couple sitting next to them turned and gawked at Gavin.
“Sorry, my friend here is a little passionate about Bambi. I’ll try to keep his preachiness under control,” Marcus whispered to the elderly couple.
“You’re still an ass,” Gavin noted.
Marcus shrugged.