Chapter Four

Aron dragged himself from the bed. It was ingrained in him to be awake by six a.m. Some lessons had taken, it seemed. As always, his stomach was in knots as he moved down the long corridor to where Paine was now kept. He prayed for five minutes alone so he could beg for Paine to just play along… again. For whatever reason, he just wouldn’t. Aron had begun to wonder if this was his way of punishing Aron right alongside him. If so, his plan had been beautifully executed. Aron definitely felt tormented and tortured.

As he neared Paine’s door, his steps slowed. The door stood open. Aron tried picking up the pace without looking as if he did. His heart stopped and then sped when he found the room empty. Aron glanced around, looking for answers. He couldn’t show his panic. Aron had to appear unmoved. He motioned toward the open door as another instructor passed. His hair was solid white despite looking no more than a year or two older than Aron. Aron had seen him before, but didn’t know if he had a name. “What happened to this guy?”

The guy looked unconcerned. In fact, his eyes looked dead, like all the instructors. “He died.”

It was like getting shot in the heart and having to stay upright.

The guy opened another door. “You can play with this one instead until the auction begins this evening.”

Aron looked inside. The guy was facedown and already looked dead. On his stomach, there was no missing the way his back was shredded with open, bleeding wounds. His hands and feet had been tied to the table. With a sharp nod, Aron stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him with a snap. He moved slowly when he wanted to panic. His heart bled out where no one could see. He grabbed a scalpel and a gun from the table before he moved to the man’s side. Aron kept his head down and his voice low, in case anyone monitored the cameras.

“Are you still alive?”

Only a slow nod met his question.

“Good.” He slipped the scalpel into the man’s palm, where it stayed hidden from the room. “If you want to live, then you’ll listen to my advice. When they come to untie you, gut them. If not, you’ll stay here until you’re dragged to the killing fields. I need you to scream occasionally, as if it’s your daily torture. I have somewhere else to be.”

His words were met with another slow nod. The guy”s fingers wrapped tightly around the scalpel. Aron headed for the door. He looked out, glancing both ways. Aron had to leave here and find Paine’s body. Then he would dig a hole for them, and they would sleep together for eternity.

Quentin’s house had all the alarm bells and curiosity coursing through him. Nothing about the normal day-to-day running of the household made sense to him. Quentin was like a ghost in his own home. Charon was left to wander as he pleased. That gave him time to study the intricate system Quentin had obviously built for Paine. It seemed he had built a hidden series of rafters, allowing Paine to move around unseen and out of reach. Charon had to admit it was a genius way to make Paine feel safe. He had a roof and food without fear. That mattered to Charon. For that, he appreciated Quentin. What he didn’t appreciate was the man’s avoiding him and the topic of Paine leaving with Charon. Paine didn’t belong here with people who treated him like a pet. He needed to be with Charon where he could get proper mental health care. Charon had to make Quentin see that. If not, Charon would have to be quick in stealing Paine.

A door opened at the end of a long corridor. The sound had Charon peeking his head around the corner. A man with solid white hair, who looked no more than a year older than Charon, slipped inside a room like a ghost. Horrible memories slammed into Charon. Panic followed.

“Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Paine, we have to get out of here right now. I knew something was wrong here. Fuck me. Where are you?” He ran for the dining room where Paine had a bed. Thankfully, the bed rocked softly, and Paine seemed to sleep. One arm hung from the bed, giving Charon just enough leverage to snatch him from his ceiling hideaway.

Paine immediately came alive, hissing and biting.

Charon tightened his grip. “Stop, Paine. It”s me. We have to get out of here. An instructor from the academy is here. We have to fucking go before we’re seen.”

A blade touched his neck. Another pricked his kidney. Charon froze. He knew this move. If he tried to break free from one blade, the other would have him dead. His attacker might have two full hands, but Charon was still defenseless. It was a submission move taught to them at the academy. There was no way to fight back.

“Drop the kitty.”

Charon released Paine and prayed Paine ran for safety. Paine took off running as he hoped, but he ran deeper into the house instead of away. Charon’s eyes fell closed. Once again, he had failed them.

“Move.”

Charon put his hands up and followed the lead of the knives. Inside, he fumed. All he needed was the tiniest of openings. But then what? He couldn’t leave without Paine. Now that he had found him, they would either leave here together or die here together. No more cat and mouse.

Charon couldn’t see his attacker. If he turned his head, the knife would slice his throat. As they headed toward the same door where the white-haired man had disappeared earlier, Charon’s heart rate kicked up. He wasn’t a kid anymore. Charon would fight, but he was also triggered in a way he couldn’t describe. Every time he thought he left the academy behind, it found a new way to fuck with his mind. The door stood open. Charon moved inside. Quentin sat upright with his back leaned against the headboard of what Charon assumed was his bed. Paine was curled up on his lap, shivering.

Quentin stroked Paine’s hair. “Shhh, baby. It’s okay.” His hard gaze lifted and landed on Charon. “Sit.”

At the order, his attacker released him. Charon considered turning the tables, but he had Paine to consider. He headed for the nearest chair. His attacker turned out to be the white-haired man. Charon didn’t know how he had gone from being in this room to getting the drop on him. Obviously, he moved fast and quiet. The hallmark of a demon leader.

“Snow, please take kitty back to bed.”

The guy moved to the edge of the bed. Charon assumed that meant his name was Snow. To Charon’s surprise, Paine crawled to him. Snow lifted him from the bed. Paine wrapped his legs around him and buried his face against the guy’s neck. Charon was confused as fuck. The only thing he knew for certain was Quentin had lied.

“You said you’ve never heard of the academy.”

Quentin nodded. “I did. Would you have told me your story if I had been honest?”

Charon ground his back teeth.

A kind smile touched Quentin’s lips. “That’s what I thought.” Quentin took a deep breath. “Everyone you’ve met since you walked through the door are people I purchased at auction. That’s the real reason I was in Greece.”

Charon wanted to lunge at the guy. “Only perverts and monsters attend those auctions. Which are you?”

Quentin blew out a tired-sounding sigh. “When you’re like me,” Quentin said, motioning toward his legs. “And also have the kind of money and power I do, that creates a very dangerous vulnerability. Every man here was bought and given their freedom. Because, do you know what money can’t buy? Loyalty. Every man here is free to leave whenever they like. They’re not prisoners. Here, they are gainfully employed with hefty wages and benefits. They’re safe. Loved. They’re loyal to me. These men keep me safe because I gave them what no one else would have.”

Charon hated to admit that was a solid story. It wasn’t good enough. “Tell me the real story about finding Paine. I thought your claims of not knowing his name sounded like bullshit. That means it’s highly likely everything you’ve said since I walked through the door is suspect.”

Quentin didn’t argue or deny Charon’s claim. “Paine begged Snow to kill him the night before the auction I was in town to attend. He wanted to spare you another night of torment. Instead, Snow took him to a nearby alleyway. He planned to escape during the auction and go back for him. It seems you two had that same plan,” Quentin added with a smile. “Instead, I spotted Snow before he got away and I bought him. Obviously, he was livid, being so close to freedom. When I explained to him what my plans were for him, I don’t know why he decided to trust me, but he did. He told me where he had left Paine and we grabbed him on our way out of the country.”

Despite everything Quentin said being the best-case scenario for everyone involved, Charon was still angry. “You know these auctions exist and do nothing but help fund them.”

Quentin’s chest rose and fell. He looked tired today. There were dark smudges under his eyes. “You know as well as I do, one rich guy not going to these things won’t stop a damn thing. I can’t save everyone. No one person can.”

“What about Paine? Has he been saved by you feeding into this ridiculous cat persona? Why didn’t you get him help?”

“For the damage you caused?”

Charon flinched.

Quentin sighed. “That was a low blow. Paine has a therapist. He’s had more than one. Every single one leaves here, saying the exact same thing. Paine is completely normal and sane.”

Confusion made Charon’s brain glitch. “What?”

Quentin’s hands rose and fell. “I don’t know. All I know is this is his home. He chooses to be here where he’s safe and loved. You’ll not be dragging him out of here against his will. Even though all these men are free now, they haven’t forgotten their training. If you try to take Paine against his will, or somehow succeed, you won’t live to see the next day.”

Snow reappeared. He climbed into bed next to Quentin and handed him a glass of water. “You need to be resting.”

Quentin flashed Snow a sweet smile before meeting Charon’s gaze again. “You’re free to stay here as long as you want. If you can coax Paine from his shell and he chooses to go with you willingly, then you have my blessing. I want Paine to have a normal, healthy life. But it has to be his choice. Understood?”

Since Charon had no choice but to agree, he nodded. “Understood.” Charon didn’t like it, but this was the only chance he had of being with Paine without a cloud hanging over their head. He had to take it. While Charon didn’t doubt his ability to keep them safe from Quentin’s band of misfits, he didn’t want to spend his life with Paine looking over his shoulder. It was time for them to have their peace. Now he just had to convince Paine to want the same.

The bed gently rocked, soothing Paine. Quentin had designed this entire area as a haven. The rocking bed had saved Paine’s sanity more times than he could count. He didn’t know how to feel. Snuggled deep into his blankets, Paine closed his eyes. The shaking from being torn violently from his sleep wouldn’t subside. It had been a long time since that happened. He had been triggered so fast. In an instant, he had been back in that horrible cage.

The bed shook, and Paine’s eyes shot open. Charon settled in beside him. Paine didn’t run. Snow would never let anything happen to him. Plus, it was Charon. If Charon hadn’t woken him the way he had, Paine didn’t know if he would’ve reacted the same way. He couldn’t say.

On their sides, they faced each other. “I’m sorry I scared you. I saw Snow and panicked.”

Paine lifted the covers, inviting Charon to join him. Charon scooted closer. Paine simply watched him. In all his days of wandering, Paine had never met a more beautiful man. His blond hair and whiskey-colored eyes haunted Paine’s dreams. Paine wasn’t beautiful any longer. His face had been badly and purposely scarred in his last days at the academy. Each day, when Charon left his torture chamber, other instructors poured in because Charon had been too light on him. Charon hadn’t known that part. Paine had kept his silence. Then they cut him deeply across his face, like claws. Paine hadn’t wanted to see Charon again after that. There was no longer a way to hide the nightly visits. He had known Charon would snap and get himself killed. So, Paine had begged Snow to finish it. Instead, Paine had ended up here, scarred as deeply on the outside as he was on the inside. Paine wasn’t trying to punish Charon. He simply didn’t know how to exist in a world so ugly.

Charon lifted his head and looked around. “How is this bed rocking like this?”

“It’s electric. There’s a button at the foot of the bed. Snow made it for me to help me sleep.”

Charon settled back down. “So you’re really safe here, huh?”

Paine shrugged. “Is anyone safe anywhere?”

“You’d be safe with me.”

Paine wasn’t as sure. His mind played tricks sometimes.

Charon’s eyes looked sad. That hurt Paine’s chest. “If you want me to leave and never look back, that’s what I’ll do, but it’s not what I want. It’s not what we promised each other.”

They had vowed to stay together until they died together. Paine had spent years following Charon and tormenting anyone who got too close to him. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that. It was possible he should have let Charon go.

“You’ve spent the last decade trying to leave me behind.” Even Paine heard the hurt in his whispered words.

Charon didn’t back down. “Snow told me you were dead. From the minute I knew that wasn’t true, I haven’t stopped trying to get back to you.”

Their feet brushed beneath the covers. They scooted closer to each other. Charon was so big and warm. He smelled good. Paine sniffed, hunting for more of his scent.

Charon pressed his lips to Paine’s ear. “Why are you pretending to be a cat?” He said the words so quietly, no one could possibly overhear. It took Paine back to the nights when all their conversations were held just like this.

Paine licked his chin.

Charon released a tired-sounding sigh.

Paine hid a smile as he snuggled closer. Being the craziest person in the room was the upper hand. Nothing trumped insanity.