Ten Abel

Tobias is one of Orcus's fucking guards?

I fumed on our way out of the filthy arena. My dad trusted that asshole, and he was with them? Dad's hatred toward the cult and its leader was all I'd ever known since I was old enough to understand. With the limited knowledge I had about Orcus, Dad's actions were justified. My gut instinct told me that I was barely scratching the surface of their secrets. "I'm so sorry, son. This is not how I envisioned our lives would be when we came here," he'd said. And the older I became, the more I understood what he meant. I hoped he was somewhere safe. I didn't think about him much, because whenever I did, the paralyzing fear of something terrible happening to him was too much to bear. I preferred to live in denial.

Our lives became harder and rules became stricter after each failed attempt to escape Orcus's claws. Four years ago, Orcus detained Dad for weeks and placed our family on 24/7 surveillance after catching us passing through a small escape tunnel Dad had dug with other families. Dad was never the same when they released him. He was paranoid, easily rattled, always agitated, and lived in isolation. "There is no way out but death," one of our neighbors said a couple of years ago. I hoped that wasn't the case, but I hadn't seen them since.

"What's up with that arena and why were we there?" Seven asked, taking me out of my dark thoughts.

"I dunno." I shook my head, wondering the same thing. They weren't just parading us like show ponies. "We probably shouldn't talk about it here." Especially while we were sandwiched between six guards, including the man my dad had trusted with his life. I had so many questions that would likely never be answered. I'd store them with the rest of the things that didn't make any sense in this shithole.

My emotions were in turmoil as I wrestled with betrayal and confusion toward Tobias. Walking down the corridors, I overheard hushed conversations between him and the guards, but I couldn't make out their words. Did my parents know he was here? How long had he been here? Orcus mentioned something about Tobias saving his life, but he didn't elaborate.

The short journey, which felt like forever, led us back to the barracks. I was beat. A lot had happened and it wasn't even noon yet. Our time will come, I told myself when I entered our room, a well-needed separation from Orcus and his men.

Just when I thought the encounter was over and we finally had time for ourselves, Tobias turned to the guards and made an unexpected request. "Could you give us a moment alone?" he asked, his voice matching every part of him: deep with authority, rich and seductive, husky and intimidating. My sick mind wondered how he would sound moaning in pleasure, calling out my name in passion.

The guards exchanged uncertain glances, clearly torn between their duty and Tobias's request. Guards weren't allowed to talk to us. Humiliating and terrorizing us was expected. They were experts at that. "Not gonna happen," Napoleon said, standing proudly with his thumbs hooked in his garrison belt. You couldn't miss the amusement on Tobias's face. Napoleon was all talk, but he was no match for Tobias's size.

Undeterred, Tobias asked, "Why?"

"Because I said so," Napoleon answered.

The six of us were left watching the battle for supremacy unfold before our eyes.

"Do I need to remind you what Orcus said?" Tobias asked. "Everything I want."

"Ooooh," one of the guys said, clearly enjoying the scene in front of us. It didn't take much to entertain us. Besides, this was better than being on the receiving end of Napoleon's tantrum.

"Should we call him?" Tobias pointed to the radio attached to Napoleon's bulletproof vest. "I'll wait." He crossed his arms, flexing his muscles through his tight T-shirt.

Checkmate. Napoleon fumed, and I couldn't explain the happiness I felt from witnessing him fold like a deck of cards. Had he finally met his match? It was too soon to tell. Napoleon had been here for as long as I could remember. He was one of the young men trained like us and ended up as part of Orcus's security detail. His big mouth had served him well, climbing from the bottom of the guard ranking, which was manning the gates, to where he was now. But I had to hand it to Tobias, he knew how to play the game. They couldn't argue after that move. Orcus's words were the law around here. Break it and you'd pay the consequence.

After a brief hesitation, the guards nodded reluctantly and left the barracks, grumbling on their way out. "Who the hell does he think he is?" one of them asked. "Bossing us around like that."

"What was that?" Tobias asked. "You got something to say? Say it to my fucking face."

Cowards that they were, they scurried away with tails between their legs—except for Napoleon, who shot Tobias a death glare.

"Is there a place we can talk alone?" Tobias asked once the guards were out of earshot.

I glanced around the bunkroom to gauge everyone's reaction to his request. Surely they'd have questions. This was unprecedented. Either they didn't care or were too tired to mind, because they were all huddled around Two, who'd managed to smuggle a comic book with him. "Why?" I asked.

Tobias stepped forward, closing the gap between us. "You know why." His warm breath fanned my face.

"Nope, I don't know why. Who are you again?"

Tobias raised an eyebrow, confusion flashing across his features for a split second while he examined my face. Being this close gave me the opportunity to study him. His right eye was light brown, which was a different shade from his left one that had a mix of green. His upper lip bore a small cut that was only visible when this close. I had to stop myself from running my hand along his jawline. He was a handsome man with a perma-frown plastered on his face. No one was that fucking miserable. Not even us, and we had all the reasons to be.

"What are you staring at?" he asked.

I didn't get embarrassed, thankfully, because I was one hundred percent ogling him. It was a wonder I didn't drool. "Trying to figure out who you are," I answered, shrugging.

"You're Oliver's kid."

There were two things I despised more than anything: being called a kid and being treated like one. I turned my back on him and walked away.

"Kid?" Tobias called.

Call me that one more time and we'll see what happens, I thought to myself. He was getting on my last nerve. "What?" I asked, whirling to face him.

He combed his hair with his fingers, a move that lifted his tight navy-blue T-shirt and exposed a peek of his abs, adorned with a happy trail that led to candy land.

I suddenly craved a lollipop. A sigh escaped my lips as he looked up at the ceiling.

"You are, aren't you?"

"Maybe." I fought the impulse to reach over and brush a chunk of his hair that had evaded his finger-combing effort.

"Listen, I don't have time for your shit, kid." Tobias dashed to the bathroom like he owned the fucking joint. After looking around, he disappeared behind the wall, then stuck his head back out. "In here," he ordered. His arrogance should have pissed me off, but I admired him. He'd managed to deal with the guards in the way we wished we could. "In. Here," he repeated, snapping his fingers.

Oh hell no! I hated fucking orders.

"Abel," Tobias called.

That got the guys' attention. Guards never called us by our names, only our numbers. "You know him?" Seven asked. The guys had stopped flipping through their comic book and all eyes were on Tobias and me.

I pressed my finger onto my lips to keep them quiet. "Tell you later," I answered.

This could escalate fast if I wasn't careful. I was about to head over to Tobias when he marched out of the bathroom, long and determined strides toward me.

"Are you coming, or should I drag your ass there? Cuz I will. Don't think you're too old to follow, boy."

Boy. Why did that turn me on? I knew I should follow him—he was one of the guards, after all.

He grabbed my arms, his rough grip and calloused hand making my dick perk.

"Okay, okay," I said, swatting his hand away. "I'm coming." I didn't need another reason to salivate over my father's straight best friend. He led the way and, as much as I detested giving in to another demand, I followed.

Tobias and I stared at each other. It appeared that neither one of us wanted to be the first to speak. I wasn't going to. I had nothing to say. Actually, that was a lie, I had so many questions for him, but he summoned me here. He would need to do all the talking.

"What happened to your elbow?" Tobias took my hand then twisted my arm to examine me, his frown deepening when he saw the bruise. I hadn't noticed it, but it was probably from the blow I took being brought down to submission during yesterday's training.

"From training." I yanked my hand from his tight grip. I didn't need his fake concern. "What are you doing here? You were back east the last I heard."

He leaned back against the tiled wall, his expression guarded yet curious. "How did you know that?"

I shrugged. Dad often talked about Tobias, telling me stories about him. Stories I crammed into my head.

"Keeping tabs on me?" he ventured.

"Not exactly." Yes exactly.

"Then what exactly?"

I ignored his question. "Why are you here?"

Tobias stepped closer, once again staring at my face. Although this time was different. He was … drinking me in. Heat crept up my neck and redness flushed my cheeks, which was a first—it took a lot to fluster me. His stare traveled to my lips as I waited for him to speak. If I hadn't known he was married to a woman, I would've thought he liked what he saw. He swallowed hard, cleared his throat, and brought his eyes back to mine. "Where's your dad?"

"Dunno," I answered.

"Abel, I don't have fucking time for messing around." He rubbed his face in frustration, his trimmed beard rustling from the friction against his palm.

I didn't remember him having a short fuse, but what did I know? "I really don't know," I answered.

"What do you mean, you don't know? Isn't he here?"

"He was, but he left more than a year ago." A surge of uneasiness washed over me at the thought of my dad.

"What about your mom? Your sister?"

His questions warmed my heart; a balm to an open wound. I was delighted to hear that he cared about my family. Nobody around here did. Still, I suppressed the sentiments and ignored his question.

"Are they somewhere safe?"

Was he insane? "Safe? Here?" A maniacal laugh escaped my mouth. "Oh, absolutely! They're having the time of their life being imprisoned in the middle of … well, nowhere. But don't worry, a knight will come save us. Wait, is that you?"

"This is serious, Abel."

"Don't lecture me about being serious." I pushed Tobias's chest, and he let me, which caused him to stagger back. "I've been living this hell long before you arrived out of nowhere. Do you think I like being beat up? Humiliated?"

Tobias narrowed his eyes. "Who did it to you? Tell me!"

"It doesn't matter."

"Abel."

I would have enjoyed the sound of my name coming from him if the circumstances were different. I shook my head in response. Tobias had to go. He was a distraction I couldn't afford to have around.

"We need to get you and your family out of here," he said, undeterred by my action. That pissed me off even more.

"And go where, huh?" I stood chest to chest with him; amusement and something I couldn't decipher flashed in his eyes.

Tobias's breathing sped up. "Anywhere but here." His stare bounced between my lips and eyes.

I needed to calm down, the whirlwind of emotions from today was causing my head to pound. "I can't go yet," I said, peeling myself off him.

"Why not?"

"I just can't, okay." He might be Dad's best friend, but I didn't trust him. Especially not now. He was one of Orcus's men, after all.

One of the guards—the one Tobias was talking to earlier—entered the bathroom, eyes roaming. "Toby," he called when he spotted us.

"Toby, huh?" I chuckled.

"Zip it, boy. For your sake," Tobias said, barely moving his lips.

"We gotta show you to your room," the guard said.

"I'll be out there in a moment, Sterling," Tobias replied. Sterling nodded and exited.

Show you to your room. That was odd. Was Tobias actually staying here?

"I'm coming back at midnight," Tobias whispered. He turned his back to me before I had the chance to ask: what the fuck is going on?