Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ruben ran to Felix, uncovering his face from the cloth across his eyes. "Felix? Are you alive?"

"Move, baby, let me see him," Marius said and Ruben did move, though he held Felix's hand tightly.

"Tell me he's okay."

Dallas pulled Ruben away from Felix. "Let him work, babe."

Ruben felt hot tears rolling down his cheeks, and it was only then he realized how worried he'd been about the guy.

No, they weren't friends, but they had been friendly. He was a great hand and seemed to genuinely like the job. Marius set two fingers on Felix's neck to check for a pulse. "He's alive. Call Jet, Dallas, and I'll get on the phone with Dante. Ruben, stay with him, please."

"Yeah," he said, then knelt by Felix again and took his hand. "You're gonna be okay. Jet may only be a vet, but he's good at patching us up." He thought about it and asked Dallas, "We can take him to the hospital if it's too bad, right?"

Dallas, almost defiantly while he stared over at Marius, said, "Yes. That's a promise, Ruben."

Marius didn't look so convinced, but he didn't argue. Dante must have answered, because Marius started talking. "Yeah, that missing hand is here, in Dallas's house. We just found him here. I think…I think Brooks dropped him in the fucking living room, so bring the troops. I want my men protected while we look for the mother fucker."

Dallas got off the phone with Jet and knelt with Ruben.

Felix was still unconscious and had a black eye, but no other wounds. "Dallas, was he really here?"

"I wouldn't doubt it, babe. Ruben, don't worry. I'm never going to let anything happen to you. Ever."

Ruben saw Dallas's eyes, how they were wet with tears that he'd refuse to let fall. "What about you two?"

"We're fine."

"No. You're not. He came here, where you live now. What if he's after you?"

"I doubt it, babe. He doesn't know me."

Then they both must have thought about it at once as they both looked at Marius. Ruben whispered, "Marius. He hurt Brooks."

"Well, he hasn't seen hurt yet if he touches a hair on Marius's head."

Dallas was determined, angry, and Ruben fell harder for the man right in that second.

Marius got off the phone and knelt with them, checking over Felix before leaning down and sniffing loudly.

"What the hell you doing?" Dallas asked him.

"Chloroform. He reeks of it. That's why he's knocked out."

Ruben sniffed and did smell chemicals. "How do you know what that smells like?"

"Do you really want me to answer that, Ruben?" Marius looked at one, then the other. "You guys, I'm not a boy scout, you get what I am, right?"

Dallas lay his arm around Ruben's shoulders. "We get it. We don't need details."

Ruben was on board with that. "No details."

"Fine. But, Ruben, come with me and we'll get him a cold cloth to wipe off his face. That might help revive him." To Dallas, Marius handed his Glock. "Take this, shoot the mother fucker if he comes near you."

Dallas took the gun with a nod. "He could still be here."

"I know," Marius said.

Ruben followed him to the kitchen and they took a tea towel, wet it while listening to the pipes banging together. "That is so fucking loud," Marius complained.

Ruben squeezed out the excess water. "Is he really…I mean…is he really still here?"

"Can't know for sure, babe. He'd be stupid to still be here. Knowing all the men coming here any minute."

Ruben's eyes scanned the kitchen, resting on the back door. He moved to it with Marius on his heels. As he turned the knob tht led to the breezeway, he found it locked. "How can that be?"

Marius tried it and then unlocked it to go out to the outer door. Once he tried that, he found it locked as well. "Front door?"

Ruben started for the living room, and Marius hurried to catch up to him. "Nowhere alone, Ruben. Not even in the house."

"Fine, but I have to know!"

Dallas took the rag from Ruben as he asked, "What's going on?"

"Doors were still locked back there. No way did Brooks come in the back."

"Fuck! What's that mean?"

Marius didn't answer, but Ruben did. "We're gonna check the other rooms."

"Windows too," he said.

Marius and Ruben went to every door and window in the place, even those on the second story, but they were all locked tight. Ruben went right into Marius's arms. "Not only did he fuck with a really special night, but…"

"He has the keys to the house," Marius said as he held Ruben close, kissing the top of his head. "We're not safe here."

"One more place we can't stay or have others stay?"

"No. We'll get the locks changed and not leave this house alone at all. We'll be fine, and we'll make up for tonight."

"I need it hard. I…I want you and Dallas to just…and not because I'm…"

Marius laughed a little. "I know what you need, Ruben. We need it too. An escape from all this for a while. I got it, baby. You'll get that, and fucking soon, I promise."

They got back to Dallas and Felix, who was just waking. Dallas helped him slowly sit up as Felix grabbed his head with both hands, groaning, "Fuck, my head is killing me."

"Felix, hey, it's Dallas. What the fuck happened?"

Felix brought his head up and blurrily looked at the three of them in turn. "The whole gang."

Marius knelt by Dallas and asked gently, "What do you remember?"

"I was outside Jet's house, getting a smoke and I felt this sharp pain then bam, I was out. I woke up in a dark room, heard other people, but when I spoke, it spooked them and they told me to shut up."

"Spooked them?"

Felix nodded, then winced from the pain that caused. "There were at least four. I had some kind of sack over my head. Couldn't see but I could see through enough to see when there was light in the box. It came on when that guy would feed us. I saw the light, saw shadows, but nothing else."

"How'd you eat?"

"Didn't. Wasn't there long enough, I guess. When I would whisper to the others, they told me a little. They didn't know him, he didn't tell them anything about why they're there. They didn't see his face well either, because I guess he wore some mask when he fed them."

"Ruben, you and Marius go when we're done and make him some soup or something."

"I saw a couple cans of chicken noodle. I could just go."

"No," Dallas and Marius yelled.

As mad as that made him, he loved it as much. Though, the thought of a babysitter going everywhere with him wasn't a happy thought.

"Was that the only room?"

"No, I don't think so. I think he had some others in another room. I heard knocking, but not all the time. I think, I don't know, maybe they were trying to signal when they knew he wasn't around. Mostly night, you know. I think he was out at night hunting for more of us."

"How the fuck many people does this mother fucker have?" Dallas asked.

"I don't know, but he'll get more unless he's stopped," Marius whispered ominously. "You heard his voice?"

"Sure," Felix said to Marius, grunting a little. "It sounded like…a voice. Nothing different than any other guy. No accent, nothing."

"There wouldn't be," Marius said. "That boarding school he went to would have gotten that taken care of."

Felix stared into Marius's eyes. "You guys will find him, right? There are others, you know."

"We're going to get him, or this place won't open. Not only are there people to consider, a lot of them, every one of them important, like you, but there's over a billion dollars already invested. If the people and the money tell you anything about how determined my people are to get this place going, well, then you're crazy."

Felix smiled. "Do me a favor. When you get him, let me be there when he dies."

Ruben stared at him slack-jawed. "Felix."

"No, Ruben. I'm not kidding. That fucker killed folks, and what he did to the horse too, that mother fucker deserves to die."

"Or worse," Marius said, causing Ruben to turn to him next.

Yes, Ruben knew what Marius was, but he could forget that with the gentle way Marius touched him. Still, the thought of living with a killer…who was to say Marius was any better than Brooks?

Everyone showed up and Dallas took Ruben to the bedroom while they filed through the door to help Felix and speak about things the two didn't need to hear. Dallas held him on the bed, as they were both quiet a long time.

Then, Ruben had to ask, "Dallas, I know Brooks is horrible…but…what did Marius mean?"

"You know they'll kill him if they find him, babe. Would we want him going to court and maybe getting off?"

"Of course not. Still, though…what makes us better than him, if we just go around killing people?"

"I'll tell you the truth, Ruben, and maybe it'll take the shine off me some for you too, but if I get to him before Marius and his crew, I'll kill him with my bare hands."

Ruben nodded but said, "You're mad that I'm in danger."

"Yes. That's the truth of it. Ruben, I've wanted you for a long time. It was my own fear of what people might say or think if they knew I was gay. That kept me from grabbing you up in my arms and giving you the kiss I wanted to give for so long. I ain't afraid anymore. Having you took all the fear I've had except for one. Losing you."

That kind of confession from a guy like Dallas was no small thing. It must have been pulled from somewhere in him he didn't know existed. "Dallas…I was afraid too. Now, yeah, it's just you and Marius. You both will run in without thinking twice. What if we lose each other just as we got started?"

"We just won't then."

It was simple, but Dallas was a simple man. That was where they were different, Marius and Dallas. One simple, the other overly complicated. And he was in the middle of them, trying to keep up. "Okay. We won't."

He received a kiss on the side of his head before Dallas's deep, cracking voice whispered, "Good. And…don't forget, you know."

"That you love me. I know."

Marius came into the room slowly, almost like he was afraid. "How are you guys?"

"We're still kicking. You?" Dallas asked.

"Not great," he said as he came to sit on the bed with them. "Felix told us that he has no idea where he was. He was in a dank room, he said, cold mostly, dark. I'm thinking basement, but…where?"

"How far did he travel once Brooks was bringing him back?"

"He has no idea. He was pretty out of it. He couldn't have been drugged. The mother fucker didn't even give him water. I think the fear, disorientation. Still, he said he traveled at least twenty minutes. Could be a lot more, but he doesn't think it was less than that. He felt wind that wasn't from moving on the ATV, heard a stream twice. He said it sounded the same."

Ruben cocked his head and asked, "Heard it twice?"

"Streams are streams," Dallas said.

"Not really. Some gurgle, some tinkle, others you can barely hear."

Marius stared at him like he was crazy. "Gurgle and tinkle?"

"Yeah. It's true. Ask Bonita. She told me about that a long time ago. We used to go camping a lot, you know. We would sleep by creeks, play in them. Some have little waterfalls, like a foot tall only sometimes, and a waterfall splashes. A swift-moving stream gurgles. It's usually one that is on a steady decline with a lot of rocks in it."

Marius and Dallas laughed together before Marius said, "Got it. Good to know. So…why would he hear the same creek more than once? Is there any that you'd have to cross twice?"

Dallas and Ruben both started to tick off the waterways of the land, and soon the two of them were shaking their heads in sync. Ruben said, "Sandy Creek is the only one that loops, and even though you might have to cross it twice, if you're coming from the north, the further south it goes, the more level the land and few rocks. You can't even hear it. But you can smell it. Let me talk to him."

"Come on then."

Ruben was flanked by Marius and Dallas as they left the room and descended the stairs. Once they were in the living room, Dante got up to shake their hands. "Good to see you, gentlemen."

"Thanks," Ruben said, then ignored the others and went straight for Felix, who was lounging in a corner of the couch. As he sat, he asked gently, "Felix, how are you?"

"I feel like downing this water," he said, lifting the glass in his hand. "But they say I'll puke it back up if I drink too fast."

"You will," Jet warned.

"I just wanted to ask you about the stream you said you passed or crossed twice."

"Funny, ain't it? I haven't been here long, though, so I don't know the layout."

"I know you couldn't see, but did it ever feel like he was…turning? I know this is hard, but if we can at least gauge where he was coming from, it would help us target a search area."

Felix looked away and started to think about it. "Yeah, sure, but not in a tight turn. I think, and I could be wrong, but it did feel like we were turning a couple times, but wide turns."

Ruben whispered, "To throw you off."

"Blasted man," Dante hissed. "He's prepared to elude us forever. He doesn't realize how stubborn we are."

Felix shrugged then remembered something. He lifted off the back of the couch and shoved his hand into the back pocket of his jeans. "He stuck his hand here before he shoved me onto the four-wheeler."

They all watched him as he brought out a note. Marius snatched it from him and unfolded it with Dante standing close to read it along with Marius, who read it aloud. "Carrillo, I will no longer target your people if you stop hunting me. Take down the cameras, stop the search parties and I will leave your people alone. Fail to do this and I will only target you and your people. You will eventually be alone. If you agree to this, light green fireworks at ten at night on Thursday. If I don't see this, I will kill every single person I can."

Ruben got chills and hugged himself to try to stop them. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Dante started, "That he wants a truce. Get the fireworks, Bruno. Call my contacts in California."

Marius looked furious. "Dante, we're not giving into this fuck, are we?"

"Yes, we are," he said, then handed Marius his phone. Marius took it like he'd like to shove it down Dante's throat, but after he looked at the screen, he smiled.

"You know best, Dante."

"Thank you, my friend."

When they were waving goodbye to everyone an hour later, Felix still sipping on the water they'd gotten him on the couch, Marius took them into an embrace on the porch.

They were surprised, but happy about it, but they soon grew happier. Marius whispered to them, "Don't speak out loud when I tell you this. We think he's somehow listening. The fireworks will be a ploy. If his defenses are down, it's easier for him to make a mistake and then we'll catch him."

Ruben was ecstatic, but he also had a lot on his mind. "I need to get back to Felix. He's alone."

"Right, let's get in there."

They didn't sleep the rest of the night, staying close to Felix. "Maybe we should have sent you back with Jet. What if you get sicker," Ruben fussed.

"I'm better the more water I get in me."

"I'll go make that soup now. You can't eat it fast, Jet's orders."

"No, I won't. I'll go in to help you."

"No, you should rest."

Felix got up anyway and said, "I've been sitting for too long in that cell or whatever it was. It feels good to stretch my legs."

Dallas said, "You two go in there together and stay together. Don't even go piss alone."

"Yes, sir," Ruben said, smiling. "I'll take care of him."

"And yourself, boy."

Felix started to whisper the minute they got into the kitchen together. "Boy?"

Ruben spun to look at him with his jaw dropped.

"You're into the kink?"

Ruben started to giggle nervously. "Uh…well, we haven't really gotten started on the actual scenes or anything. We're…new."

"Nice. The second I heard about this place, I wanted in. One day, I hope to catch me a nice Dom."

"Really? Whew, I was worried you'd think…I don't know."

"Yeah, exactly."

The can of soup had a layer of dust on it from the construction that had occurred in the kitchen, but he went to wash it off before trying to open it. As he turned on the faucet to rinse the can, the pipe began their cacophony of banging and Ruben turned the hot on high to stop it. "These stupid pipes."

He heard quick breaths once he turned off the faucet, and he spun around to see why. Felix was holding onto the back of one of the stools, his face ash white.

Ruben went to him while calling Marius and Dallas, who came running, Marius with a gun in front of him.

"Don't shoot! He's freaking out!"

Ruben had gotten Felix onto the stool, but he hadn't said a word. Marius moved around the island to face him. "What happened?"

Felix's hand rose until he came level with his shoulders and his forefinger came out to point past Marius. "The…the banging. That was the sound I heard."