“Damn it, Braman, we’re supposed to leave that one’s face alone.”
“Then we’ll buy him some makeup.” Kyle opened his mouth to warn Jules when he saw the first man begin to advance on them again but his friend was faster. Jules spun around and held up his hand, stopping the guard in his tracks. That beseeching gaze met his once more. Then Jules lowered his hand at the same time as his head and walked to the door without a shred of defiance left in him.
As soon as the trio was gone, Kyle mimicked Amy’s earlier actions and threw himself at the door. No one interfered as he pounded his fists and screamed at the top of his lungs. He knew it was useless. They all did, but the impotent fury inside was more than he could contain.
Jules had been the only one over the past few days to offer him comfort after his confession. While the others sent him hateful glares and viewed him as sleeping with the enemy, Jules had withheld his judgement and given silent support. What tore him up the most was the pleading look and posture of subjugation in his friend as he’d left the room. Jules had clearly not wanted Kyle to get injured on his behalf, but giving up was so much worse.
Please don’t lose yourself now,
he begged silently. When his voice gave out and his fists could do no more than thump dully against metal, he collapsed to the ground.
“I was wrong about you.” Kyle looked over to Amy’s sorrowful face. “Anyone who cares about my baby that much can’t be a bad guy, no matter who he chooses to be with.” At his questioning frown, she blushed and said, “Yeah. I love him. I wanted to tell him before…but then this…” A large tear slipped down one smudged cheek. “We’ll save this for him, okay?”
Glancing down to the bowl of porridge by her knees, he nodded glumly and took the hand she held out for him.
The hours passed by with interminable slowness. In pairs and threesomes, everyone held on to each other. Their unspoken relief screamed louder than the thick silence. They all hated what they knew was being done to Jules, but they all were just as grateful it wasn’t them the guards took away periodically. Though he didn’t feel the same, he couldn’t fault them for it. None of them had done anything to deserve this and most likely none of them had ever had to face such harsh conditions.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway outside, giving Kyle and Amy seconds to move back before the door was shoved open. Jules’ slack body was tossed in and the men left without a backwards glance. Amy ran to Jules but came up short when he drew away from her touch. Kyle joined them then, keeping his distance so that his friend wouldn’t feel crowded. It was painful to watch him push weakly to his hands and knees only to slump to the side in a boneless heap. Swollen blue eyes fluttered closed in a face lined with pain.
As Kyle stood to retrieve a blanket, Amy gasped and several of the others screamed. Whirling around to confront the new threat, he felt every muscle in his body freeze in shock. Standing by the door, looking as cocky as ever, was Bastian—fashion statement and all. It took Kyle all of two heartbeats to break from the stupor of disbelief and pitch himself into the man’s outstretched arms.
“I knew you’d come for me! I knew it. I’m so glad to see you.” Kyle kissed him on the lips in his excitement, at which point Bastian simply chuckled and hugged him closer.
“Well it’s nice to know that not everyone doubts me. Keep it down, little one. There’s Mackaeo everywhere. Are you hurt?” Without waiting for a response, Bastian set him down and began inspecting his body for injuries.
“No, I’m fine. Got the coldest shower I’ve ever had in my life a few days ago but that’s it.” The man stared into his eyes, concern written in every feature. “Honestly, I’m good. Can we leave now before we’re sold into slavery?”
“Sold into what?” The chilling note in Bastian’s voice promised death and it made Kyle feel all the more secure in the man’s presence.
“They plan to sell us as slaves. All of us.”
Bastian took his first look around the room and cursed. When his gaze landed on Jules’ beaten form, he strode over and knelt down. Amy placed herself defensively between the two men, ready to do battle despite the odds.
With a gentle tone, Bastian said, “I won’t hurt him, angel. I just want to make sure he’s fit for travel.”
Amy cast a hard glance at Kyle. “Is this your lover?”
“No. This is Bastian. The man I was telling you would come to rescue us. You can trust him.”
She hesitated but eventually moved to give Bastian access. Jules’ eyes were wide and full of fright. The moment Bastian brought his large hand towards him, the frightened youth lurched away.
“Don’t move.” The domineering tone brooked no argument. With a skilled touch, Bastian surveyed the damage. Jules trembled and whimpered as certain parts of his body were prodded with care but otherwise made no move to back away. “All of you put a hand on me and close your eyes.” When only Kyle complied, he barked, “Now.”
At once the others clustered around him and timidly did as they were told. A sense of displacement passed through Kyle and the refreshing rise in temperature let him know they had made it out.
“Kyle, come with me.” Bastian picked Jules up, who was now shaking violently, and headed down a long, dark corridor.
“I’m coming with you.”
Pausing to give his attention to Amy, Bastian softened his tone. “I know you’re concerned about him, but I need a set of impartial hands for this. Take the others and feed them. You’ll find a second bathroom upstairs for anyone who wants to shower and four guest bedrooms available. Have a little patience, angel. I promise to take good care of him.” With that he pivoted and beckoned Kyle to hurry.
They entered the downstairs bathroom where Kyle was ordered to lay several towels on the floor and fill the tub with lukewarm water.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Jules,” Kyle provided. “He hasn’t talked since they captured him. Bastian, I think they were trying to train him. Like Craig trained me.”
If this news bothered the man, he didn’t let it show. Setting Jules down on the towels but retaining his grip, he said, “I’m going to take your clothes off now then put you in the bath.” Jules shook his head furiously, trying to twist out of Bastian’s grasp. “Enough. I already know what they’ve done. You’re too weak to bathe on your own so you
will
let me help you. Understand?”
Kyle could see that his friend was doing everything to keep his tears at bay but a few rolled past his heavy lashes. After several convulsive swallows, Jules lowered his head in consent. With exceeding caution, Bastian peeled away the offending clothes while Jules bit his lip to keep from crying out. The big man had been right. The myriad of bruises in the shapes of hands, canes and various other instruments would have sent Amy into a destructive frenzy. The only positive aspect was the absence of blood.
“Below the sink you’ll find a first aid kit. I think you know what we’ll need from it. Lay everything out on the counter.”
“Yes, Sir.” Kyle quickly followed his instructions. He heard a soft sob from Jules but resisted the urge to look until he’d completed his task. Once finished, he turned and sucked in a breath at the sight before him. The bathwater was tinted a dirty rust colour with flecks of blood swirling with every tremor that coursed through Jules’ body.
“Where is all the blood coming from?” The moment the words left his mouth he wished he could take them back. He more than most should’ve known that not all wounds are visible on the surface.
“Hand me the spray nozzle.” Bastian turned on the faucet again and pulled the plug, allowing the water to refresh itself as he rinsed Jules off. When the blood continued to leak from Jules’ behind, the large man shut off the nozzle and let the tub refill. “Jules, I think you have a tear in your passage. I’ll need to get some herbs for you. Do you feel safe enough to stay with Kyle for ten minutes?”
At Jules’ flush of embarrassment, Kyle said, “My ex-boyfriend Craig did the same to me. Not even my mate knows about it, and I swear I’ll never breathe a word of this to anyone as long as you agree to do the same for me.” He left out the part about having to go to the hospital. The absolute humiliation he’d felt at the looks of disgust on the doctors and nurses faces. The disgrace of lying so that no one blamed Craig.
Kyle thought he heard a sigh of relief from Bastian as Jules nodded. “Good. Kyle will help you finish cleaning up.” Then he was gone in the blink of an eye.
“You get used to it,” Kyle replied to Jules’ wide-eyed look of wonder. He wanted to reassure the man that none of this was his fault. That he was safe now and they would get revenge on the Mackaeo who did this. Having been the victim, though, he knew that only time would heal Jules’ wounds, inside and out. Exactly ten minutes later, Bastian reappeared and smiled down at a clean young man.
“Kyle, I put some of your clothes in my bedroom, first door on the left in the hallway. Would you mind getting something for Jules?”
Taking that as his cue to give them some privacy for Bastian to administer the herbal paste, he went out and found a pair of boxer shorts and a soft cotton T-shirt, grabbing pyjamas for himself as well. Tapping on the bathroom door lightly, he set Jules’ outfit on the floor then left to check on the others. Amy had turned out to be the perfect hostess. By the time Kyle found her, she was cleaning up the kitchen after having assigned the last two people to a room.
“Let me get the dishes. I’m sure he’ll want to see you when they’re done.”
“Is he…?” She couldn’t finish her last words, couldn’t even breathe.
“There was no permanent damage. He won’t be dancing any time soon but he’ll make it.”
Amy blew out a gust of relief. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Nah. If my Master were here I’d be cleaning for him, and Bastian is…well, he’s the next best thing.”
She smiled shyly and hesitated on her way past. Kyle thought she would say something but she merely gave him a spontaneous peck on the cheek then hurried out. As much as he missed Lucas, he couldn’t imagine what might have happened to Amy and Jules, or the rest of the abductees, had he not been there with them—had Bastian not loved Lucas and him enough never to give up his search.
Kyle shook those thoughts from his mind and focused on the task at hand. Once the kitchen was spotless, he crept back to Bastian’s room and found his friend sitting in a recliner staring at the two small lumps in his bed. Amy lay curled around Jules in a protective embrace, much as she had with him to warm his chilled body. The comforter tucked in at their sides muffled their soft snores.
Going around to perch on the arm of the recliner, Kyle nudged the man lost in thought. “So what do you think?”
“They’re beautiful.”
Snorting, he elbowed Bastian in the ribs. “Not about that. About Jules. Do you think he’ll be able to get through this?”
Bastian heaved a deep breath. “I don’t know how Deluc did it with you. When I saw his body, I wanted to kill every single one of those bastards. I still do. I’ve seen a lot of shit in my day, but he’s…”
“Different.”
“Yeah. And the girl. She was amazing, the way she stood up to me, ready to kill for him. I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on in my life.”
Kyle rolled his eyes but bit back the sarcastic retort on the tip of his tongue. Bastian’s face held none of its usual cocky humour. The man couldn’t take his gaze away from the sleeping couple. “Her name is Amy. They met on the streets not too long before they were captured. I don’t think they have anywhere to go after this.”
“Then they’ll stay here.”
Bastian was using his Dom voice as though laying down a law. While Kyle had his reservations about whether Amy and Jules would agree to this, he couldn’t think of a better man to help them out until they got on their feet.
“Sir, there’s something else. My bond with Lucas is broken. I can’t feel him and he won’t answer my calls.”
At the small waver in his voice, Bastian gathered him into his lap and hugged tightly. “I’m sorry, little one. In all this chaos I forgot to tell you. I found Deluc shortly before I found you but he refused to talk to me until I made sure you were safe. As for the interference in the bond, I don’t know. I’m going to go talk to him again. I’ll see if he has any information on it.”
The knowledge that his mate was all right brought him a measure of peace but it was a far cry from having his Master there to hold him. He could feel his heart breaking in spite of his determination to be strong.
“Has Deluc ever told you why I owe him my life?” At Kyle’s shake of the head, he said, “I think I better start at the beginning then. Deluc and I have been friends since birth. At a young age all Tsielen are taught about the Mackaeo and how it’s such a great privilege to develop a power and get accepted into their ranks, but we knew it was all bullshit. The average lifespan for an Order member is only one century. We learned quickly that those who thought it an honour were the ones reaping the benefits from their protection.”
Bastian huffed sarcastically then bowed his head. “We were out one day playing when we discovered our powers. My father was watching from a distance and saw me teleport. He called us in to tell me how proud he was to have a son with power, but Deluc knew they would make me a killer, and I couldn’t handle that at the time. He stepped forward and said he was the one my father had seen and ported in front of everyone to prove it before I could refute his claim.