Chapter 26 Marcus
MARCUS
Marcus’s brows furrowed when he realized he wasn’t hearing any noise coming from downstairs or the living room.
Considering Gavin and Puppy were supposedly both down there, doing god knows what, Marcus figured he would at least hear some one-sided chatter—because Gavin never stops talking.
Unless, of course, he was sticking his dick in said mouth.
Then the boy was too busy gagging and tearing up to continue his endless trove of useless chatter.
Even Puppy was being suspiciously quiet. Usually, you could hear the furball panting or whining or chewing on things that he wasn’t supposed to chew on.
So, for both of them to be completely silent, Marcus had cause for concern.
Standing in the hallway, he watched as Gavin stared at his phone with the concentration of a stripper trying to figure out trigonometry. Puppy, on the other hand, was lying on his back, starfishing, as Gavin subconsciously rubbed his belly.
He understood why Puppy was lying so quiet. He was in the throes of passion, accepting belly rubs from his daddy.
But Gavin? Marcus wasn’t sure what had grabbed his attention with such concentration and veracity.
“So, what’s got you so focused?” Marcus asked, stepping into the living room and sliding onto the couch next to the boy.
Puppy lifted his head momentarily before realizing that getting up to say hi to Daddy number two was not worth the loss of belly rubs. He lowered his head and went back to worshipping the hand that rubbed him.
Gavin looked up at Marcus with a frown on his face.
“You’d think that with a serial killer chasing after your son, you might want to reach out and see how your kid is doing.” Gavin turned his phone so Marcus could see his screen. The last message from his parents was from the day Marcus had picked him up.
“Your parents haven’t called you or tried to reach out to see how you are doing since?”
Gavin shook his head.
What a bunch of useless bastards. What kind of people don’t check in on their son, especially when his life is in danger?
If it were Marcus’s kid, he would be under twenty-four seven surveillance, locked in a tower, with laser beams and dragons guarding the entrance. Marcus would also be locked in that room, protecting his son and making sure he had everything he could possibly need.
But that was Marcus.
He actually gave a shit about family.
Well, most of his family. His parents could go fuck themselves for all he cared.
The last time one of them had reached out to Marcus or even Ace was six months ago to let them know they were cruising around the West Coast.
Like Marcus or Ace even gave a shit anymore.
“Fuck your parents,” Marcus said, slapping Gavin hard on the thigh.
Gavin grunted.
“Come on. Get dressed. We are heading out for a bit.”
Gavin’s eyes lit up.
“Really? But I thought we were under lock and key?”
Marcus shook his head. He pulled out his cell and pressed Call on Ace’s number.
“Hey, what are you guys up to?” Marcus asked.
Ace, Blade, and a few of the other guys were staying in a cottage about fifteen minutes away. They were close enough to get to Marcus if, and when, the killer decided to show up, but far enough away that the killer wouldn’t spot them while doing recon.
“Any sign of him yet?” Marcus asked, his eye still on Gavin. “No? Okay, cool. Look, Gavin and I are going to head out for a bit. We’ll call you guys if we need you. Yup. Okay. Tell Blade I’m going to shoot him in the face if I hear that shit again. Yup. Violence is always the answer.”
Jabbing his finger on his phone, he ended the call with his brother, still threatening murder if he so much as touches his husband and lover.
Marcus chuckled.
“So?” Gavin asked, pulling Marcus from his happy thoughts of murdering the man who was sticking it to his little brother.
“Oh. Sorry. Yeah. No sign of numb nuts. But don’t worry.
We have time. He won’t attack yet. It’ll take him a day or two to scope out the new environment—or at least that’s what I would do.
And he won’t attack in broad daylight. So that means we have until sundown tomorrow at least before we can expect an attack.
So for now, we can head out and enjoy some of the town.
There’s apparently an apple festival going on this weekend that Ace had seen fliers posted about. Thought we could check that out.”
“Yes!” Gavin shouted, leaping from the sofa and charging up the stairs to get ready.
Puppy dashed after him, all excited, most likely assuming he would be going wherever it was they were going as well.
Poor Puppy. Sorry to disappoint.
The festival was quite large considering the population of the small town around it.
There were booths selling homemade quilts, crafts, and other knick-knacky things, while food vendors sold every apple-inspired baked good and dish imaginable.
“This influencer crap that you do, why do you do it?” Marcus asked, as they walked through the row of vendors, each trying to sell their greatest apple-infused creation.
Gavin stole a glance at Marcus before shrugging his shoulders and picking up a figurine of a little girl eating an apple. He turned it around in his hand, examining each side, before placing it back down on the table and moving on to the next vendor.
“I don’t know. At first, it was a constant need for attention and validation.
Somehow, every time a follower messaged me to say how much they enjoyed my post or how much my opinion meant to them, it made me feel seen and valued.
Then, over time, my followers somehow became more.
It was like, as long as I had their worship and adoration, it didn’t matter that my parents had totally forgotten about me and that I didn’t seem to matter in their eyes.
I know it might sound silly to those who aren’t social media friendly, but to me, it fills a gap inside me that I couldn’t live without. ”
Hearing Gavin’s sad explanation tore at Marcus’s heart. How could one person feel so alone that they turn to faceless profiles and user tags for companionship and validation?
Gavin didn’t seem to realize how special he really was and how much he was adored by the people around him.
Ace and Lucas, and the rest of the crew, had fallen in love with Gavin the moment he opened his mouth and locked his sensitive eyes on theirs.
He was sweet, ballsy, and always ready to help those in need.
Placing his hand on Gavin’s shoulder, Marcus gave it a squeeze, then continued walking with him to the next booth.
“I don’t think you realize just how special you are. I’ll never understand it, but the second you open your mouth or smile at someone, that person seems to instantly fall in love with you.”
Gavin turned and smiled up at him.
“Oh, I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me. You know, the same could be said about you, if you didn’t get all growly the moment someone looks at you,” Gavin noted.
Marcus gave him a smirk. “My growl is part of my sparkling personality.”
“And so is helping out the town with renovations and fundraisers, making sure that your drunk customers get home safely at night, and even secretly paying for the Bradshaw kids to go to college through 'scholarships' that don’t exist.”
Marcus glanced at him sideways. “You heard about all that?”
“Ace told me one night when I was bitching about you.”
Marcus shook his head. “Ace is a liar and full of shit. I have a reputation to keep, so I would never do any of that.”
Secretly, he loved that Gavin found those things so endearing.
While it wasn’t a great idea to advertise that a badass biker was secretly doing charity work and helping out his community, he did those things because he cared about those around him.
He and Ace struggled while growing up with neglectful parents, so if he could help alleviate some of that stress and worry from others, he was damn well going to.
“Why don’t you go grab us a picnic table, and I’ll grab us some apple fritters to munch on?” Marcus asked.
“Sure thing,” Gavin said, smiling.
Ten minutes later, Marcus was balancing two apple fritters in his hands as he made his way over to where Gavin was waiting for him at a picnic table. Only, Gavin was not alone.
Marcus stopped short, his eyes drawn to the mystery man hovering far too close to Gavin, and the way Gavin’s cheeks flushed as the man whispered something into his ear.
Gavin threw his head back and laughed at whatever it was the man had said, before looking over and catching sight of Marcus.
Marcus’s eyes narrowed, and he began marching toward the two, each stomp heavier than the last.
“Beat it, ass-wipe,” Marcus snarled once he reached the table.
“Umm, excuse me?” the man asked, clearly caught off guard by the sudden hostile invader.
“Leave now, or I’ll rip your spine out of your throat,” Marcus added, dropping the desserts on the table and taking a step toward the mystery man.
The man looked over at Gavin, clearly wondering whether the man threatening his life was for real.
“Umm, you better go,” Gavin said, swallowing hard as he looked up at Marcus.
“No, I’m not leaving you with this crazed psychopath,” the man croaked, clearly trying to regain some level of masculinity, even though his balls had clearly retreated into his throat.
Marcus clenched his fists and took another step toward the terrified man.
The man’s eyes went wide seconds before he turned and walked away quickly.
“What was that pussy saying to you?” Marcus growled, standing over Gavin, rage and jealousy coursing through his veins.
“Nothing. He came by and told me he thought I was cute and wanted to know if he could buy me a drink,” Gavin answered, shrugging his shoulder like it was no big deal.
It really wasn’t a big deal. It was just a casual misunderstanding by a man who thought Gavin was single, or here by himself.
Argh, whatever.
Marcus wasn’t sure why, but seeing that man flirt with Gavin made him want to commit murder. Take that man behind the shed, bash his face into the wood, over and over, until his nose was in his skull and his body was twitching as his life slipped away.
“What an asshole. I should go and beat his ass,” Marcus snarled, turning and ready to hunt down that perverted little shit.
Gavin grabbed his arm.
“What’s the big deal? So what if someone found me attractive? It’s not like I said yes or took him up on his offer.”
“Still. He should know.”
“Know what?” Gavin asked, looking at him, all confused.
“That you’re mine.”
“I’m… what?” Gavin asked, releasing his grip on Marcus’s arm.
Marcus glared down at the boy. He wasn’t sure why he had said that. The only thing he knew was that he was feeling extremely pissed off that someone was hitting on his…
“Argh!” Marcus growled, not wanting to sit here and process what his heart and brain were trying to tell him.
Instead, he bent down and scooped Gavin up in his arms.
Gavin let out a yelp, clearly caught off guard by Marcus’s sudden response.
The next thing he knew, he was tossing Gavin over his shoulder and carrying him back to his motorcycle, caveman-style.
He ignored all the wide eyes and concerned faces as he stomped back to his bike.
“Hey! Put me down!” Gavin protested through giggles and laughs, slapping at his butt as he carried him through the festival and past all the confused spectators.
Smirking, Marcus couldn’t help the lightness he felt in his chest. He loved playing with the boy, and if this was what it took to keep his attention, Marcus would gladly carry Gavin over his shoulder for the rest of his life.
He continued to smack Marcus’s ass.
“Seriously? If those little love taps are supposed to hurt me in any way, you can save your energy. All I feel is a light breeze tapping against my ass,” Marcus mocked as he carried his five-foot-eight, one hundred and sixty pounds of nothingness through the festival and into the dirt parking lot.
“Argh! You’re such an—” Gavin started as he hung helplessly upside down.
“Incredible man? Super hot with big muscles and the biggest dick you have ever seen?” Marcus finished, giving the boy a smack on the ass of his own.
“You’re impossible.”
Marcus couldn’t help but smile. He was done fighting against the feelings growing in his chest.