Chapter 23

Tommy had never felt so scared in his life. Despite trying to hide from Xane at the Velvet Iron, it wasn't long before Xane and his men found him cowering behind the big plastic tree in the corner of the woodland play area.

The look on Xane's face had been one of pure evil, the kind of manic smile and spite-filled eyes that would pass Xane off as a villain from a superhero movie. The one difference from a superhero movie being that Tommy had no idea whether his ultimate hero would be able to save him or not.

Xane had threated Tommy that if he didn't come quietly, then he would simply beat him up on the spot and drag him out. Tommy knew that he had no chance against Xane and his men, and he also feared that if he shouted for help he would just make things a hundred times worse.

The problem with dealing with Xane was, as Luca had said over and over again, was that Xane didn't have any values or morals. Xane was wild and couldn't be trusted to stick to even the most basic standards of decency.

Being face to face with Xane was such a scary prospect that Tommy had simply done exactly as Xane ordered him to. Even the concerned looks from Tommy's new friends as he walked out of the Velvet Iron with Xane hadn't been able to provoke Tommy into reaching out for help.

Tommy was now sitting in the back of Xane's SUV and travelling across town. The traffic was pretty bad, and although this meant that it bought Tommy some time, it also felt like it was simply delaying the inevitable.

Maybe I should have run?

I could have screamed and hoped that someone would have helped?

Urgh. I just want… Luca. I need him more than ever.

As the SUV came to a standstill in a sudden bottleneck of traffic, Tommy looked up and caught Xane's eye in the rearview mirror. Despite looking away as quickly as he could, it was too late. Xane had seen Tommy looking in his direction and now wanted to play.

Except, this was a game that Tommy had zero interested in partaking in…

‘Hey, why so shy?' Xane snarled, turning around from the passenger seat up front. ‘Show me that pretty face of yours…'

‘Go away, I don't want to talk to you,' Tommy said, blurting his words out as bravely as he could manage. ‘Why do you have to do this? I never did anything to you.'

‘I'm doing this because I can do this,' Xane said, a wicked laugh following his words. ‘'I'm Xane Troppo. People need to understand that I do what I want, when I want, and however I want.'

‘But… why can't you just leave me alone?' Tommy replied, finding the courage from within him to speak up and push back on Xane's claims. ‘Just stop the car and let me get out. I… I… I'll even tell my Master to not come for you.'

Tommy immediately knew he had made a mistake.

The look on Xane's face was one of pure rage. The very mention of Luca had seemingly blackened Xane's mood in a way that was scary and left Tommy worried about his own safety more than ever.

‘Luca Sorrento?' Xane snarled. ‘That old man is the past. I'm the future. You call him your Master? Just wait until I give you the spanking you really need. You freaks don't know what real punishment is. But don't worry, you'll soon learn all about that.'

Tommy was stunned. He couldn't speak, his mind was all over the place trying to work out exactly what Xane meant.

‘You silly boy,' Xane said, moving from the front seat and sitting next to Tommy in the rear of the SUV. ‘I know what kind of things you kinky boys like, and I'm ready to put my own very special Xane Troppo spin on things. Whether you like it or not!'

‘You're not my Master!' Tommy said, tears filling in his eyes. ‘Only Luca can punish me! Not you! You'll never be able to!'

Tommy was worried that his mouth was running away with itself and making things worse. Yet on the other hand, the situation felt so desperate that Tommy saw no other option but to defend himself until he couldn't defend himself any longer.

As Xane continued to taunt Tommy, call him names, and even suggest the kinds of punishments he would dole out, Tommy found his mind going into a slightly calmer, more analytical mode.

Are the doors locked?

Could I jump out?

Would I be quick enough to escape?

But Tommy wasn't used to making the kind of escape plans that his brain was desperately trying to conjure. And it must have been obvious to Xane what Tommy was thinking too.

Before Tommy could get any further in planning what could be a heroic escape, Xane reached into the front of the car and came back with a pair of metal handcuffs in his hands.

‘Silly little fool,' Xane said, roughly putting Tommy's hands in the cuffs. ‘This isn't the first time I've done this. Or haven't you worked that out yet?'

‘Aww, the handcuffs are too tight!' Tommy pleaded, his attempts to wriggle free not going down well with Xane.

‘Stop moving or I'll make them tighter,' Xane shouted. ‘And just in case you were wondering, the doors are all locked anyway. Now be a nice, polite boy or I'll gag you too. Hell, I might do that anyway, just for a laugh.'

Tommy suddenly went quiet and simply shook his head, his eyes pleading for mercy. Tommy hated being in this position. He may have been a boy with a true submissive streak, but Tommy had absolutely no desire whatsoever to submit to such an awful, horrible man like Xane.

In fact, Xane was about as far from a Dom as Tommy could ever imagine. Xane didn't take control of people through respect and loving discipline. Xane took control through bullying and being mean. Tommy hated Xane with every bone in his body.

‘You don't scare me!' Tommy said, angrily spitting out the words and stomping his feet on the SUV's plush interior floor. ‘You're nothing but a big, mean, loser-butt!'

‘And you just made a big mistake,' Xane laughed, shaking his head. ‘Here, see how this fits…'

With that, Xane reached forward into the front of the SUV again and came back with a ball gag. Tommy tried to move his head and resist it, but Xane simply held him by the neck and made it clear that refusal would only lead to pain.

‘Now, finally it looks like the traffic's clearing up,' Xane smirked. ‘Here's to a quieter second half of the journey. No more whining and talking shit from stupid little Tommy.'

Xane and the thug driving the SUV laughed together as Tommy did his best to hold things together. The ball gag in his mouth was uncomfortable and felt humiliating. Tommy didn't want to cry any more in front of Xane, and did everything in his power to not let any more tears flow from his eyes.

Tommy began to realize that going against his Master's wishes and leaving the apartment like that was a huge mistake. In hindsight, Tommy knew that going to the Velvet Iron was a crazy thing to do, no matter how sad or frustrated Tommy had felt at the time.

Why was I so silly?

I should have known that Luca knew best.

He's a Mafia man, I'm just… me.

As the SUV began to increase speed as the traffic cleared, Tommy realized that he overreacted to Luca not being able to go after Xane as he had first promised. Of course Luca would have done it if he was able to, but that option had been taken off the table.

And the way things were shaping up, perhaps it was even true that what Tommy had really needed all along was a Master to protect him rather than avenge him.

With these thoughts in his head and panic and uncertainty coursing around his body, Tommy closed his eyes and thought back to the first time him and Luca had met. The chemistry. The feeling of being safe. The connection. All of these things meant so much to Tommy.

All Tommy could do was hope and pray that Luca could come to his rescue. The alternatives were just way too scary to even contemplate. Tommy needed Luca, and he needed him fast.