CHAPTER 4
When Tae was gone, Cochise walked over to the two immigration officers.
Clint stepped back and stood beside Cruz and Sanchez.
Cruz’s other men lingered around the two cars blocking the road.
Clint wouldn’t blame the Egyptian if he gutted the officers right here.
He had wanted to as well. Cochise must be considering how close Tae came to being raped by these men.
Cochise reached out and slid his hand around the man’s throat from the back seat, slowly pressing his thumb against his jugular until the man gagged and grabbed the Egyptian’s hand in panic.
“Do you know what happens to men who use their dicks as weapons?” His words were barely audible, yet carried a threat heavy enough to crush a man’s will. “They lose their privilege to have a dick.”
“I…” the man wheezed, clawing at Cochise’s hand. “I… didn’t… I wasn’t going to…” Cochise ground his thumb deeper into his fleshy throat. The man choked, gagging wetly. “I was just… trying to… scare him… I wasn’t going to… to rape him.”
Clint held his tongue; he didn’t need to tell his Egyptian brother that the fucker was lying. Even without Tae’s confirmation that the men had meant to rape him, the lie was easily detectable. Liars had a stench about them.
“You think it’s fun to scare kids?” Cochise’s words came out in a low growl. “How about I scare you… and we see if you still find it fun?”
“No…” The man shook his head, eyes bulging and watery.
Cochise stared at the man, his thumb digging in harder. “Did you ignore my boy when he said no? You did, didn’t you?”
For a split second, Clint was sure the Egyptian would choke the man to death, but he wasn’t surprised when he released his grip. These men would not get the easy “out” after what they’d done. They would be given the chance to contemplate their transgressions… and feel remorse.
Cochise clutched the front of the man’s shirt, jerked him forward, and head-butted him with the force of a battering ram. The man dropped to the asphalt, limp and unconscious.
The other officer shrank away from the large man. “It wasn’t me… it was all him—”
Cochise dropped him with a fist to the skull. “Let’s get them loaded up,” he muttered. “And get out of here.”
Cruz waved his men into action, and the two officers were restrained, gagged, and loaded into the trunks of their cars.
“I’ll drive the Durango,” Sanchez said. “We’ll make sure it disappears.”
Clint nodded as the Spaniard walked to the officers’ vehicle and slid into the driver’s seat. Clint returned to the SUV with Cochise, who made a quick call to Kane to let him know Tae was safe and on his way home.
“We got to him in time,” Clint said when they were on their way, noting the tension on the Egyptian’s face and understanding it too well.
“Barely,” Cochise mumbled.
“Saved at the last minute is still saved,” Clint said, his tone morose. “Trust me, it beats being a split second too late.”
Cochise glanced at him; he understood the cowboy as well—fully aware of the guilt Clint carried for the times he had been too late.
“You okay?” The Mustang sped along the highway as if the car were as eager to get Tae home as the driver himself.
“I guess,” Tae whispered.
“It’s okay if you’re not,” Rodriguez said. “No one expects you to be. What happened would’ve frightened anyone.”
Tae stared at his lap, relieved to be going home, yet feeling… hollow, too.
“You can talk to me,” Rodriguez murmured. “You don’t have to pretend with me.” He cleared his throat. “I know what it’s like to try to convince people you’re okay when…” He swallowed. “When you’re… not.”
Wiping his eyes, Tae sniffed and lifted his head. “I wanted to be brave like my dad,” he whispered. “But I wasn’t.” Tears welled. “I was… I was so scared.” He absently rubbed the abrasions on his wrists. “My dad is so strong… nothing scares him.”
“You’re wrong,” Rodriguez said quietly. “Some things scare him.” He glanced at the boy. “You being in danger scared him. When anyone he loves is in danger, it scares him. Clint, too. All of us.”
“But he doesn’t let it weaken him.” Tae’s chin trembled. “Why does he want me for his son? I’m so… weak… and afraid.” Tae pressed his lips tight and ducked his head, tears rolling down his face.
“You’re sixteen,” Rodriguez said. “At sixteen, any of us would’ve been scared by what happened to you. Even your dad.” He reached over and affectionately cupped the back of Tae’s head. “He wants you as his son because you’re an awesome kid. Anyone would be lucky to have you as their son.”
Tae lowered his eyes. “My real dad didn’t want me,” he whispered. “He left me at an orphanage in Korea. It was a bad place. They did bad things to the kids. They sold me to a bad man who brought me here.”
“I’m sorry,” Rodriguez murmured. “Those things shouldn’t have happened to you. They shouldn’t happen to any kid.”
Tae sniffed. “I’m glad they brought me here.
I-I hated the Blue Grotto… and what those men did to me…
but my dad found me there.” His throat worked as he looked at Rodriguez, tears in his eyes.
“I wouldn’t have my family now if I hadn’t been there.
” He looked away. “But I don’t know why he saved me.
No one saw me. I was just… a faceless body to be used. ”
“You weren’t faceless to Cochise,” Rodriguez said softly. “He saw you, and you mattered to him. Leaving you in that horrible place wasn’t an option for him. Your biological dad may not have wanted you, but your real dad does.”
“My real dad?” Tae trembled.
“He loves you as his own flesh and blood, and would do anything to protect you.” Rodriguez smiled small. “That’s a real dad.”
His words helped fill the hollow space inside Tae. “I… I told them my dad would kill them,” he whispered.
“The men who took you today?”
Tae nodded.
“What did they say?”
Tae looked at him. “They said they weren’t afraid of him.”
Rodriguez squinted, a smile forming. “They looked pretty fucking scared to me.”
Tae smiled back. “To me, too.”
Relief flooded Kane as he hung up the phone and looked at the expectant faces staring back at him. “They got him back,” he said, his voice trembling. “Tae’s on his way home.”
Luke flung his arms around Ash, and the two hugged, sobbing.
“He’s safe.” Zoe, Kane’s eighteen-year-old niece, teared up as she hugged her uncle. “I knew Dad and Clint would save him.” Her eyes shifted to Axel, her best friend, standing nearby, cradling his baby daughter. He smiled warmly.
“I never doubted it for a minute,” he said, yet relief filled his eyes.
Kane’s adopted son, Donald—just a year older than Zoe—agreed with Axel. “Dad came all the way to the island to save me and John. No way he would let these assholes take Tae.”
Mention of the island filled Kane with dread. John—Kane’s other adopted son and boyfriend to Donald—had been deeply traumatized in that place, and that trauma continued to haunt the young man.
Ash left the kitchen a moment later. Kane followed, finding Ash in the bedroom, sitting cross-legged on the bed.
“Ash?” Kane walked to the bed and sat down. “Are you okay?”
“I should’ve helped Tae. I was the oldest. I should’ve tried harder to stop them.”
“If you had kept fighting them,” Kane said, “they might have hurt you even more. Maybe even...” He hesitated at the thought. “When no one holds them accountable, there’s nothing to prevent them from taking extreme actions. I’m just glad you and Luke weren’t injured more seriously.”
Ash nodded, but wasn’t wholly convinced. “Do you think Tae will be mad at me?”
“For what?” Kane took Ash’s hand. “Because you didn’t stop them? No. They were grown men. Armed men. Recording them was smart. You did what you could. Tae will understand that.”
“How long have you had this car?” Tae asked in a low voice after a moment of silence.
Rodriguez shifted in the driver’s seat, his face growing taut.
“I guess it depends on how you look at it.” He cleared his throat.
“It was my boyfriend’s car before it was mine.
But he said the car loved me more than him, so he always let me drive it.
” His voice strained as a distant, anguished look crept into his eyes.
“He gave it to me on my last birthday, just before…” He glanced away as tears welled.
“I’m sorry you lost him,” Tae whispered.
“Yeah.” Rodriguez sniffed. “Me, too.”
Tae didn’t know much about Rodriguez’s boyfriend except that his name was Greco and that he died during the trip from Texas to Canada—shot by one of the traffickers.
He didn’t ask about him. Even months after the incident, the mere mention of him caused Rodriguez pain.
Tae felt sorry for him but didn’t know what to say.
Clearing his throat, Rodriguez let out a controlled breath. “Do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend? I’m not sure which way you…”
“I have a boyfriend,” Tae smiled small. The fear of what happened today eased a fraction when he thought about Noel.
“Do I know him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. His name is Noel. He’s Abel’s little brother. He has a twin brother named Noah.”
“The twins.” He nodded. “I’ve heard your dad and Clint mention them. I haven’t met them.” He smiled at Tae. “What’s Noel like?”
Tae’s cheeks warmed. “He’s… really sweet. And cute. And he…” Tae ducked his head, eyes stinging. “He thinks I’m… beautiful.”
“Well, at least we know there’s nothing wrong with his eyesight.”
Tae looked up to see whether the young man was joking. The soft, genuine smile on his face said he wasn’t.
“Is this the real thing, or just a crush?” Rodriguez seemed to know the answer, but waited to hear it from Tae.
His cheeks growing hotter, Tae whispered, “The real thing.” He nervously licked his lips. “For me, anyway.”
“And him?”
“I hope it’s real for him, too.”
“I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t,” Rodriguez said, his words a comfort to Tae’s heart.
Talking to Rodriguez was kind of like talking to John and Donald—his big brothers. He was glad for the conversation; it took his mind off the terror of what had happened… and what almost happened.
Tae’s heartbeat jumped when they pulled up in front of his house and his dad, Kane, rushed out. Tae had barely opened the car door before Kane was right there, sweeping the boy into his strong arms and crushing him in his embrace. Tae broke down and clung to him, sobbing quietly.
Kane nearly matched Cochise in size, but he was softer around the edges, which made him the glue holding their growing family together.
He had a love and tenderness that could soothe even the wild beast within the Egyptian.
Right now, that love and tenderness poured out through his hug and into Tae.
“I knew your dad would save you,” Kane whispered, his voice thick with tears. “I knew you would come back to us.” He raised his head and looked at Rodriguez, standing on the driver’s side of the car. “Thank you for bringing him home.”
“I was glad to,” Rodriguez said quietly.
Still holding onto Tae, Kane invited the young man to come inside.
“Thanks,” Rodriguez murmured. “But I should get back and help the men.”
Kane nodded. “Thank you again.”
Rodriguez nodded, glancing at Tae. “I’m glad you’re okay, kid. And… remember what I said.” He gave a small smile, slid back into the car, and pulled away from the curb.
The others inside the house came out in a hurry as Kane walked Tae back to the porch. Luke nearly knocked him over, hugging him fiercely and crying.
“I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do.” Luke squeezed him harder.
“I’m okay,” Tae whispered, his throat tight. He hugged the younger boy, more like a brother than just a friend. “I’m okay.” Tae drew back and looked at Luke’s bruised face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Luke swallowed and wiped his eyes.
Zoe, John, and Donald all hugged Tae at once, smothering him between them. Axel appeared behind them and took his turn to welcome him home. He touched Tae’s face and shook his head. “Someone’s going to pay for this,” he murmured. “Am I right?”
Tae sniffed. “Yes.”
“Good.”
Tae noticed someone was missing from the small horde on the porch. “Where’s Ash?” He looked at his dad. “Is he okay? I saw that man hit him.”
“In the bedroom,” Kane said softly. “Ash is a little shaken. And worried about you.”
Entering the house, Tae passed through the living room and down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Ash. The other boy, a few years older than Tae, lay on his side, facing away from the door. The oversized hoodie he always wore was pulled over his head as he hugged a pillow.
“Ash?”
Ash tensed, then turned over and sat up. Blond strands poked out from beneath the hoodie, and tears streaked his flushed face. “Tae…” His face crumpled.
Tae went to the bed, crawled onto the mattress, and hugged him, sobbing.
“I’m so sorry,” Ash whispered. “I should’ve helped you. I should’ve stopped them from taking you. I’m sorry…”
“It’s not your fault,” Tae cried softly. “You tried to help me. There was nothing you could do. I’m okay.”
Ash lifted his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Did they… do anything to you?”
Tae swallowed, a tremor running through him. “They tried,” he whispered shakily. “But Dad and the others stopped them.” He touched Ash’s scuffed face. “They’ll never hurt anyone again.”
Ash stared into his eyes for a moment, then hugged him again. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
His chin trembling, Tae smiled and held him tightly. “Me, too.”