Chapter Eight

It had taken every ounce of his self-control not to run his hands over Kellum.

Adjusting his cock, he stretched his legs out and settled back against the door. Not only surprised when Kellum had launched at him, he’d noticed how thin the man had become over the past several months and was kicking his own ass for not noticing sooner. Kellum had always been small-boned and slender, but this was ridiculous.

It took Creed another hour before he finally dozed off and then he was up. There was a certain fast food chain that delivered food this early, so he ordered breakfast and coffee. The food should sustain him until he got a handle on what to do about Kellum. If the guy wouldn’t tell him what was wrong, he couldn’t fucking fix a damned thing.

Tucking his gun away, he stood and stretched and patted his pockets for the keys Stone had returned to him last night before taking off. He found them in his jacket pocket instead of his pants.

Shrugging off his jacket, he laid it aside and then fell straight forward, catching himself with his hands. He pumped out a hundred pushups and then sat on the ground and followed it up with an equal amount of sit-ups.

He was sipping the coffee and eating the last bit of a sausage muffin when the deadbolts flipped, the last one a struggle, and a few minutes went by before whoever was trying got the thing unlocked.

The door creaked open and instead of Kellum, a young boy stood in the opening. He stared at Creed with wide, scared eyes, his curly blond hair in disarray.

“It’s okay, I’m a friend of your brother. I brought breakfast.”

“I smelled it,” the boy admitted.

Creed kept his voice low, soothing, and calm. The boy’s eyes darted around and then landed on the bag of fast food near his small, dirty feet. “You should take it inside and—

“Aaron! Shit! Never open the door, ever,” Kellum’s voice growled with rage and a hand fisted Aaron’s shirt to yank him back inside the apartment.

“I’m sorry!” Aaron said, bursting into tears, and Creed clenched his teeth to hold his words back.

“He…he…he…brought us breakfast,” Aaron hiccupped.

Kellum pulled open the door and glared furiously at Creed. Keeping his expression calm, Creed met Kellum’s angry gaze head-on. After a moment, Kellum glanced down and licked his lips before snatching up the three bags.

When Kellum met his eyes again, they were shiny with unshed tears. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said softly.

The slender tussled-haired man disappeared inside and closed the door. One deadbolt clicked into place.

“Well, that’s got to be progress,” Creed murmured. At least Kellum hadn’t locked all four bolts to keep him out.

Aaron took the bags from Kellum’s clenched fingers.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry for yelling.” He squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “Lay out the food while I change Dylan.”

Aaron’s face brightened happily and it hurt Kellum’s heart that something as simple as hot food could bring about that change. While Aaron hurried to the table to dig out the food, Kellum lifted Dylan from the couch—the toddler clung to him. Once he had the boy cleaned up and changed, he returned to the small kitchen where it looked like Creed had bought enough food to feed a small army. Sausage and egg croissants with hash browns and milk covered the table and Kellum could have cried at the kindness of the gesture.

They ate in silence with Dylan perched on his knee and when they were done, Aaron cleaned up and Dylan ran to the few thrift store toys Kellum had picked up the other day.

When his work phone dinged, he smothered a groan. Retrieving the phone, relief swept through him when he saw his best friend’s name flashing. It really was a work phone, but Ace had told him he could use it for personal calls since he didn’t have one of his own.

“Whaddup?” he said, answering.

“You said you’d call me, damn it,” Ashton snapped, making Kellum briefly smile. They’d met while he’d been working for the general and laughed over the shitty food at the base cafeteria. Because Kellum had been so long without a friend and Ashton had been new to the area, it felt right to hang out.

“I tried calling.”

“When?” Ashton demanded.

“From my landline yesterday.”

“It said unknown.” His friend sounded peeved.

“Not my fault.”

“Let’s have a drink.”

“I can’t. I need to find a permanent place to live, get Aaron registered in school, and find a sitter for Dylan.”

Not to mention, he had to report back to work so he would get a damned paycheck.

“You’re no fun anymore.”

“I’m the epitome of fun.” He smirked when Ashton laughed. Sliding down the wall, Kellum sat on the kitchen floor and leaned back.

Dylan ran over and dropped down near his feet. When Aaron stood up and came closer, Kellum smiled at the boy.

“Can you get yourself and Dylan dressed? We need to go shopping.”

“Let me come and get you,” Ashton offered.

A picture of Creed sitting in his hallway flashed in his mind, and Kellum had a sudden image of Creed beating down Ashton for offering him a ride.

“Nah, it’s cool. I’m just going to call a ride.”

“All right, but we need to hang out soon.”

Hell yeah, they did. Kellum would give anything to feel Ashton’s race car beneath his ass as they flew around the track.

“Yeah, we will.”

When Ashton ended the call, Kellum got up and hurried to help Aaron finish with a whining Dylan.

“He’s too big for these.” Aaron held up the diaper.

“I know, I’ll get some pull-ups when we get to the store.” Kellum held a tiny pair of sweatpants for Dylan to step into. Once the boys were ready, Kellum stopped at the front door.

He’d only locked one deadbolt this morning and he knew why. He smiled thinking of the sexy man outside his door.

If it were possible to lose all of the water from a human body, Percy Barnes knew he’d reached that point.

He knew it by the way his mouth resembled a desert and no matter how much he tried to swallow, he couldn’t. His clothes were soaked and his hands shook.

A half glass of whiskey was shoved into his hands and he gulped at it, coughing at the burn of the expensive liquor. It wet his mouth, but the man who handed him the glass had a reason.

The fucker always had a reason.

With his one good eye burning, Percy gazed one-eyed past the amber filled glass and into a pair of cold, intense eyes.

They’d taken his vision in his other eye, and blood dripped from torn fingertips, causing the glass to begin slipping. The man’s hand tightened and forced the liquid down his throat. Coughing when it entered his airway, he gagged and puked.

Kellum should have killed him, not Chip.

Death was better than the hell he’d endured the past twenty-four hours. But in truth, this hell he’d been living in hadn’t started the past day.

It had started a few months ago when Kellum had appeared on his doorstep with his two younger brothers.

He and Kellum had met in school. Kellum had dated Cliff, one of his best friends. Kellum was seeking Cliff, but the guy had moved to Canada several years ago. Percy had offered to let them stay until Kellum could make other arrangements.

All three were covered in bruises. Kellum only had a black eye. The rest didn’t show until Percy caught a glimpse of the man’s back shortly after he had moved in.

A few weeks later, Councilman Durn had found him and hooked him up with his drug of choice, heroin. All he had to do was report on Kellum back to Durn. And make sure no other men came near. Durn hadn’t said anything about the younger boys.

Percy had been doomed when he took the first batch of drugs from the guy, he just hadn’t known it back then.

“One last time. Where is he?”

Clancy Durn looked polished and expensive, but he knew it was a facade. Once, when he’d been brought into the man’s home, Percy had witnessed the councilman charm a room full of people, but he’d also witnessed the man putting a bullet in a woman’s head without blinking—just because she’d made the mistake of bringing him the wrong liquor. Percy had sat frozen on the seat and he knew in his gut Durn had done that for his benefit.

Now, the Durn staring at him was not the charming version. Like Jekyll and Hyde, the man had a sinister side that made grown men tremble.

Percy shook his head, tears coming to the surface, or perhaps it was blood. Could a person cry blood?

The alcohol had done its thing and given him back his voice.

“I don’t know.”

They’d been at this game over and over, and he waited for the iron knuckles to hit him again. And in that moment, he had a bit of clarity and he found the humanity he’d lost.

“And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

The torch lit up again with a slight popping sound.

His screams became soundless and he hoped that if he ever found redemption in the next life, that in this one, Kellum and the boys would be safe.

Run, Kellum, and don’t ever look back.