“I won’t let Silas anywhere near you.” The conviction in Caleb’s voice solidified Shaney’s belief in the words.
Caleb placed another metal symbol on Shaney’s chest. There was another brief reprieve from the pain, but then another seizure racked his body. A scream clawed its way up Shaney’s throat and he fought it back.
“Get me something to tie him down with, now! This is only going to get worse!” Caleb barked.
Todd’s expression vacillated between fucking terrified and twisting with pain. Shaney had Todd’s wrist in a death grip, and his fingers wouldn’t loosen.
Mr. Anderson stepped up to the bed with several pieces of rope draped over his hand. Todd eyed the piece handed to him as if it were a snake ready to strike.
“S’okay. I won’t die and leave you alone,” Shaney assured Todd, who pursed his lips and then nodded. Shaney had too many questions that needed answers to go and bite that big one now.
Todd pried Shaney’s fingers from his arm and then wrapped the rope around Shaney’s wrist. He raised Shaney’s arm, then tied the rope to the headboard. Mr. Anderson did the same with Shaney’s other wrist. Caleb drew on Shaney’s chest again, no doubt dumping precision in exchange for get-it-the-fuck-on-there-now technique. Caleb could draw naked women with big huge boobs on Shaney’s chest if it would rid him of the fucking agony tearing him apart.
Shaney’s hips bucked with each jolt of pain. His skin crawled, sliding over muscle, the friction burning like molten lava. A plea to end it all echoed in Shaney’s mind, but he gritted his teeth against the unwanted thought. He wanted to live, needed to be here for Todd. He owed his GBF big time.
Another buck of Shaney’s hips and Caleb yelled, “Todd, lay across him.”
Todd immediately pinned Shaney down with his body. The adrenaline-fueled attack allowed Shaney to lift Todd effortlessly from the bed with him.
“Where the fuck is Max?”
Shaney smirked through his grimace. So, Caleb could swear.
Caleb snorted at Shaney’s reaction. “What? Yeah, I can fucking swear. Got a note from my mom and fucking everything.” With a tight chuckle, Caleb continued his task with fierce concentration.
A burn that sliced through Shaney’s nerves, releasing that pent-up scream, and was accompanied by a flash of brilliant, blue light in his vision. His guttural agony drowned out all other sound.
Hudson! I fucking need you! Help me!
Wisps of touch, muffled sounds, and Shaney’s vision then faded to black as the blue bolts of energy snaked through the darkness. Shaney withdrew further from the reality of the room. Something massive, foreign, and daunting struggled to free itself. Looming beneath his consciousness, the unseen terror wanted to engulf him, swallow him whole, and digest his essence for some malevolent plan.
Hudson! Please...
Despite the betrayal and the lies, Shaney now knew Hudson was the only one who could save him.
“Shaney!”
Shit, now he was hearing the man’s voice in his head. Shaney wished with every energy-charged cell of his body that was true.
The blue streaks of energy began to fade. The clarity of the words around him increased. The massive presence inside him retreated to its unknown origins. The fire flicking his nerves dissipated, leaving only the familiar prickling. Shaney’s gasps filled the air. A bone-weary exhaustion expanded throughout his body. Was it over? Had Caleb managed to render the symbols on his writhing body? Damn. Shaney was positive there was a trip to Tiny’s Tattoo Shop in his near future.
“It’s okay now. Open your eyes, baby.”
Shaney forced his eyelids open. Hudson leaned over him; blue eyes glassy, cheeks tear-stained, lips stretched in a sappy smile. “Thank God.” The relief in Hudson’s voice cocooned Shaney’s heart.
“You came,” Shaney whispered with relief.
Hudson smiled wanly. “I’ll always come.”
Shaney was sure there was a joke in there somewhere, but his weary mind was past thinking. Hudson’s beautiful eyes gazed at him with something akin to adoration, relief, and fear. Shaney could fall into those pools of blue and bask in Hudson forever. But Hudson had lied. Shaney had to know the reasons before he could even think about letting the man near his heart again.
“I don’t trust you.”
Hudson’s lips compressed into a thin line. He nodded, and visibly fought back the wall of emotions struggling to emerge. “I know, but I’ll gain that trust back.”
Good answer, Shaney thought.
Hudson worked on untying Shaney’s hands. Todd handed him a pocketknife, and Hudson quickly cut through the rope.
“Hey,” Todd said, touching Shaney’s arm as Hudson lowered the limb.