Chapter 5

Tommy was trying as best as he could to compose himself in the bathroom. With tears flowing down his cheeks faster than he could wipe them away, it wasn't easy.

‘Come on, you've got this,' Tommy said, his bottom lip trembling.

As far as Tommy was concerned, talking about Xane had simply made things a whole heap worse. It was hard enough to get through a shift at the Velvet Iron without constantly worrying about whether Xane and his men might make a reappearance.

It was clear that Luca meant well with his words, but unfortunately it had felt like the more Luca spoke, the more real the Xane situation became. In truth, what Tommy really wanted more than anything was to forget that Xane ever existed.

If I could just wipe Xane off the face of the earth…

If I could magic him away and never see him again.

Who am I kidding?

Tommy wiped away some more tears and splashed his face with water from the bathroom tap. The feeling of the cold water on his red face did serve to calm Tommy down a little bit.

However, it also served to sharpen Tommy's thoughts. The truth was that ever since the incident with Xane, Tommy hadn't been the same. The cuts and bruises had healed well enough, but the emotional distress of the situation was still all too raw.

Tommy had gone from a carefree, fun-loving risk-taker to someone living within themselves. Smiling was hard, and laughter felt like a thing of the past.

‘I just want to have some fun again,' Tommy said, looking at himself in the mirror. ‘I just want Xane to go away so I can get on with my life.'

Tommy sighed.

Knowing that Xane could be around any corner, or waiting for Tommy at his apartment building, was too much stress to live with. It had crossed Tommy's mind that he could leave his beloved Peach Playpen and get a job somewhere else. Tommy could also leave New York City and start afresh somewhere else.

But Tommy didn't want to do either of these things.

It seemed so unfair that Xane got to act like a violent bully and get away with it, while his victims had to struggle on in life as if nothing had happened.

At one point, Tommy had considered going to the police. But he knew this was a bad idea. Men like Xane didn't care what the police thought, and Tommy was certain that Xane would come fully loaded with the most expensive, devious lawyer in the whole city.

No, if Tommy was going to get Xane out of his life he would need to take some drastic action. The only question was exactly what that drastic action would look like?

The sound of a group of happy young guys having fun outside of the bathroom brought Tommy's mind back into sharp focus. Hopefully there wasn't a line of people waiting to be served at the reception desk.

Speaking of which, Tommy began to wonder about Luca…

Luca Sorrento… bad guy? Good guy? Dom?

He's handsome. Older. Commanding.

But what does he want from me?

Now that he thought of it, Tommy had heard the name Luca being bandied about by Lyle and Jake's Masters. Luca was in fact the name of their brother and Tommy had heard snapshots of conversations where Luca was the subject…

Luca had a reputation for cold, clinical violence. He was a bank robber. A man not to be crossed under any circumstances.

All of this should have sent a shiver of fear up and down Tommy's body. Except, it didn't. In fact, Tommy couldn't decide how he felt about Luca. They had only just met, and not exactly in ideal circumstances either. But there was something there between them. It was hard for Tommy to say what it was, but there was a connection.

‘Pfft! Stop being a jackass,' Tommy said, by way of snapping himself out of any kind of romantic or lustful thoughts about Luca. ‘I'm trying to escape a bad man, the last thing I need is another entering my life…'

Tommy dried off his face and took a big gulp of air. He knew it was more than time for him to get back out there and face the world.

But before Tommy left the bathroom, he thought back to his father. Tommy's father's dying wish had been that he enjoyed his life and never took anything too seriously.

Tommy had happily gone along with that mantra and was grateful that his father had given him such a wholesome, positive way of thinking to live by. However after what had happened with Xane, Tommy was no longer sure whether he was going to live by his father's words. And this might just have been the saddest thing of all.

‘Come on, don't get all emotional again,' Tommy said, standing tall and focusing his mind. ‘It's time to suck it up and go back out there. If I don't show my face soon, I might not have a job to go back to at all.'

With that, Tommy opened the door and stepped out into the Velvet Iron. However, before he could get to the reception desk, there was someone waiting for him, and they looked like they meant serious business…

‘Luca?' Tommy said, unsure what to make of Luca having clearly waited for him to exit the bathroom. ‘What's… um… I need to get back to the reception desk.'

Tommy waited for Luca to respond.

But all Luca did was shake his head and put his arm around Tommy's shoulder. This should have shocked Tommy, made him move away, or even tell Luca to get off him.

But it felt right.

Suddenly, Tommy felt safe. It was uncanny, but simply having Luca put his arm gently around his shoulder made the whole world seem like a safe place again. However as good as it felt, Tommy needed to hear what Luca's thoughts were at some point…

‘Am… am I in trouble?' Tommy said.

‘No, boy, you're not,' Luca replied, his dark brown eyes looking kind and soulful as they stared at Tommy. ‘Not anymore.'

‘I don't get it,' Tommy replied, his mind running wild with possibilities as to exactly what Luca meant.

‘Well allow me to explain,' Luca said, his voice low and serious, but with an edge of kindness to it. ‘I've spoken to your boss and he's says it's okay for you to have some time off. Your job is safe. But I need to keep you out of here until this Xane Troppo situation is cleared up.'

‘W-w-what?' Tommy replied. ‘Are you serious?'

‘I am, but there's a condition,' Luca continued. ‘You'll need to move in with me, just until the situation is done with. I'll take Xane and his men out. You'll never have to worry about those low-life vermin again. But under my roof, you'll have to follow my rules. Understood? And I mean all my rules.'

‘All of your rules?' Tommy said, intrigued, excited and a little bit unsure too. ‘I don't know what any of your rules are!'

‘Everything will be agreed upon. It will all be above board and legit,' Luca said, his voice firm and reassuring. ‘But when all is said and done, if you agree to this then you will be my boy, and everything that comes with that.'

Tommy's heart was beating in triple-time.

This sounded almost too good to be true.

Luca was offering to get rid of Xane and remove the one thing that was making Tommy's life a misery. At the same time, there was an offer for Tommy to live as Luca's boy for the duration of however long it took for Luca to remove Xane.

This is a no-brainer.

There must be a catch, something I'm missing.

It might be a risk to say yes, but…

‘Okay, I agree,' Tommy said, his voice wavering a little bit.

‘Okay? That doesn't sound like you're very sure,' Luca said. ‘I need to hear some enthusiastic consent. The last thing I want to do is get you involved in something where you're not sure you want to do it. I'm not like the Xane Troppo's of this world. I'm cut from a totally different cloth, that's for damn sure.'

‘No, I mean super-yes!' Tommy said, his voice still trembling with excitement. ‘I was just nervous, is all. I really, really, really want to do this.'

Luca smiled and held out his hand for Tommy to shake.

Tommy's heartrate was still sky-high, and adrenalin was pumping around his body faster than he could even begin to comprehend. This was a risk, that was for sure. Tommy knew that he barely knew Luca, and on the basis of what happened with Xane, that was hardly a good omen.

But Luca was so clearly different to Xane.

No, this felt like it was the right thing to do. With Xane and his gang on the loose, Tommy didn't know whether there was a single better option on the table for him.

All that Luca knew was that with his delicate hand safely inside the clasp Luca's big, powerful hand, suddenly Xane seemed far less of a threat to him.

‘Come on, Tommy,' Luca said. ‘It's time I showed you where you'll be living, for now at least. We'll stop off for some supplies on the way, but the sooner we get you home to my place, the better. You need some good, old-fashioned care and attention to get you feeling yourself again. And without doubt, I'm the man to do it.

‘Y-y-yes, Luca,' Tommy said, resisting the urge to call him sir or master. ‘I can't wait.'

This felt like a big moment to Tommy.

Perhaps it was the biggest moment for Tommy in some time, his whole life even. Either way, it was time to say goodbye to the Velvet Iron for now and head out with his new protector and avenger, Luca.

‘See you soon, Velvet Iron!' Tommy said, turning his head one final time as they left through the front door. ‘Hopefully I'll be back again soon…'