42. Diesel
42
DIESEL
G roaning, Diesel shifted slightly before pain shot up his leg, reminding him that he was injured and that his leg was fucked.
Okay, it wasn’t fucked in the way that his life would be drastically changed or altered in any way—it was fucked as in he had to wear a bandage and get his wound cleaned every six to twelve hours. That, and the pain he was in, was excruciating, especially given that he was trying not to take any painkillers. It wasn’t that he was addicted to them; he was just trying this new thing where he remained clean and sober… at least until after he recovered. Who knows, perhaps he will enjoy the mundane life and try making it a permanent thing.
He wasn’t ready to make any commitments, but hey, you never knew.
Mmm. He could feel the saliva sliding down the side of his open mouth and pooling on God knows what was pushed up against his face.
He was lying on his back, leg elevated, of course, while his body was curved slightly to the left, cuddling into a large, warm body pillow. One that came with extremely hard nipples and a sarcastic mouth that needed to be plugged at least twice a day whenever possible.
Slowly, he opened an eye and smiled. Lying peacefully next to him, mouth slightly open, was Zero. The man hadn’t left his side since he was rescued from the mad doctor and his facility of drugged-up killers.
It had been three days since he and the others were rescued and the mad doctor arrested. Marc had given the drugs to a chemist friend of his who was able to break down the drugs and provide a detailed report about the effects of the drug on the body, including hallucinations and uncontrolled aggression. Seriously, it was a miracle that Diesel hadn’t killed Zero or anyone else for that matter.
As it turned out, the winner of each competition was released back on the streets, having no memory of the ordeal or experiment that they had endured. The drug they were given at the party was administered to the participants every six hours to ensure that the winner had no memory of the ordeal they had survived once they were returned. Surviving the murders was the winner’s award.
In addition to Dr. Baasch’s arrest, Marc was able to pull the IP addresses of all the users who subscribed to the doctor’s deranged broadcast. Interpol was currently working on issuing warrants for the arrests of all those individuals.
Sadly, there had been one victim, the woman who had been taken along with Diesel and his two male companions. Her body was recovered, and the police were currently searching the property for the bodies of other victims who had been kidnapped by the mad doctor. It was scary to think how close Diesel had come to becoming one of those markless graves.
Lying with his hand on Zero’s bare chest, Diesel ran his fingers gently across his skin.
“Mmm, you can’t do that,” Zero groaned.
Diesel’s eyebrows turned inward.
“Why? Too sleepy?” Since when was Zero not up for a little heavy petting?
“The kids are sleeping.”
“What—” Diesel began before he felt something shift toward his foot.
His eyes darted downward to where a sleeping Levi was curled up like a poodle at the foot of their bed.
“What’s he—” Another noise cut him off. This one was to the right side of his bed.
Lying in a semi-prone position, with his feet sprawled out over the edge, was Jared, curled up around Isaac, fast asleep. Jared’s hand rested gently on the bed next to Diesel with his fingers gently resting on Diesel’s side.
Raising his head slightly, Diesel was able to see over Zero’s body, where Chase lay on his stomach, with the twins on either side of him, sprawled out on the floor.
“What the heck?” Diesel whispered, staring up into Zero’s hypnotic eyes.
“They all wanted to sleep in here with you tonight. They tried to all crawl into bed, but I booted them out when one of them accidentally touched your injured leg. Levi threatened to cut off my balls if I tried to kick him out of bed. I think the guy is a little attached to you.”
Diesel smiled. He and Levi had grown close over the years. They weren’t best friends like Diesel and Jared or Levi and Isaac, but they had developed a sort of big brother protectiveness about each other.
Taking in all the sprawled-out bodies lying around the room, Diesel couldn’t help but feel loved. These guys had risked their own lives to come and rescue him from the mad doctor and were now all camped out in his bedroom while he tried to recover from his near-death battle with a bear trap.
And if anyone asks, yes, having a set of razor-sharp metal teeth closing in around your leg is very painful.
Closing his eyes, Diesel rested his head against Zero’s side once again.
“Argh, dude, your feet smell.” José huffed from somewhere to their left. Even though José was one of Daddy M’s newest strays, the Brazilian hunk was quick to join the family ranks.
“You wouldn’t be able to smell them if you weren’t sticking your nose up my ass,” Isaac retorted.
Diesel and Zero began to chuckle, followed by a few others who were apparently awake as well.
The door to Diesel’s bedroom creaked open slowly. “I’m telling you, I heard something. I’m just going to check on Diesel and make sure that he doesn’t need anything.”
“If he needs anything, it’s a bit of personal space from you and the rest of your boys with separation issues,” Ares growled, following at the heels of his husband.
Diesel let out a groan and tried to burrow his face further into Zero’s side.
Zero chuckled. “Hey, that tickles.”
“God, they’re so embarrassing,” Diesel mumbled someplace under Zero’s chest muscle. Secretly, he loved knowing that everyone cared.
“See, I told you. Awake, just like I said,” Matteo whispered once again as he stepped over arms and legs, making his way over to the bed.
“You guys seriously need to cut the apron strings,” Jared mumbled, flipping over and giving the guys a face full of man-cheek.
“This coming from the guy who’s practically holding his best friend’s hand as he sleeps,” Matteo commented, stopping next to Diesel’s bed.
“He’s got a point,” Chase added.
“Worst sleepover ever,” the twins groaned in unison.
“Shut your whining, or I’m sending you both back to your rooms,” Matteo threatened.
Diesel opened one of his eyes, afraid of what he might see. Yup, there he was. Daddy M, standing next to his bed, with a huge fucking smile plastered to his face.
“God, creeper much?” Diesel groaned, secretly loving all the attention he was getting.
Sitting down on the bed next to him, Matteo began running his hand through Diesel’s buzzed hair.
“How are you feeling?”
Turning to face the only real father he had ever known, Diesel gave the man a smile.
“Leg’s still a bit sore, but it helps to know you guys are all close by,” Diesel answered.
“God, when did our lives become a Hallmark movie?” Isaac groaned. “We work in a goddamn cock palace.”
More laughter filled the room.
At this point, all the guys seemed to be awake.
“So, what? You and Daddy A couldn’t find an empty spot on the floor?” Diesel teased, loving that everyone was choosing him for once.
Ares snorted. “Please, I had to threaten Daddy M with no dick for a month if he tried to squeeze into that space on your bed.”
A black leather shoe went flying by Ares’s head, ricocheting off the wall and landing with a loud clap on the floor by the door.
Ares looked stunned by the flying weapon. “Fucking Italians. So moody. So violent.”
Matteo smirked. “One day, you’ll learn to keep that dirty mouth of yours shut.”
“And one day, you’ll learn to stop trying to kill the one man who loves you,” Ares shot back.
Diesel took hold of Matteo’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Have you ever tried seeing a shrink for anger management? I know a great doctor who is very discreet, and she works wonders.”
“Now, there’s an idea!” Ares added before ducking and surviving the second attempt on his life.
“Okay, we’ll let you boys get some sleep.” Matteo leaned forward and gave Diesel a kiss on the forehead. “Sleep well, D.”
“Night, Daddy M,” the group announced in unison before following up with, “Night, Daddy A.”
“God, this family is creepy,” Ares grumbled before walking out of the room, abandoning his husband at the door.
Diesel just smiled. He loved this crazy and fucked-up family of his.