Fifteen

Fifteen

Rhys

When I get to Tony’s place, I take the money out of my pocket before I even open the door. I just want to give it to him and get out of here. I miss Parker. And I hate that I miss him.

Tony waves me forward as soon as I step inside the house. It smells like beer and cigarettes. Five guys are crowded around the dirty kitchen table. They look up at me as I make my way to Tony.

I avoid their gazes, even when I feel them lingering on me. When I hand Tony the envelope, he takes it slowly, watching me.

“Where were you yesterday?”

“With a client downtown.”

“All day?”

Sweat gathers on my palms as I nod. He rarely ever asks where I’ve been as long as I bring him back the money. “Yes, sir.”

“You talk to anyone else while you were there?”

My stomach knots as I try to think up the answer most likely to keep Parker safe. The answer most likely to keep Jack alive. “I-I’m not sure. Some people came by.”

“You talk to anyone about me?” Tony presses. “Because someone’s been searching for you online since last night.”

It shouldn’t surprise me that Tony is tracking my information online, but it does a little. When Tony put this collar around my neck, I thought maybe I’d have a little bit of freedom, even if I was still in a cage. But I was clearly mistaken.

“It was just someone who came by while I was there,” I say. “He asked for my name, wanted to know who you were. I thought he was looking to set up a job with me. I didn’t tell him anything that can’t be found easily.”

Tony keeps staring at me, studying my face. I don’t look away from him even though I desperately want to. “He give you a name?”

“No, sir.” That’s not totally unbelievable. Lots of times, I don’t know anything about my clients. Even their names. They like it that way.

Tony steps forward and grabs my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “With the search terms whoever it is was using, they weren’t looking to set up a job.”

Terror skitters down my spine, but I do my best to lock it away and keep my expression impassive. “I don’t know what they were looking for.”

“Hmm.” He releases my chin. “Maybe they were looking for Jack. Maybe I can help them find him.”

“Tony, I—”

He pulls his hand back and slaps me hard across the face, effectively cutting off my apology. “I don’t fucking believe you,” he snarls. “What did you say to them?”

“I didn’t say anything, I swear.” My jaw is throbbing. He hits so much harder than Phil. It’s been a while since I’ve made him angry enough to smack me.

“I’ve obviously been giving you too much freedom,” Tony growls.

“No. No, I’m sorry—”

He grabs my chin to cut off my apology, his fingers digging in tight. “You’re not sorry.”

His gaze shifts to the men behind me, and I realize they’re my punishment. It doesn’t matter what I say, or how hard I try to convince him. He’s already decided.

So I keep my mouth shut. Fighting him will only result in Jack getting hurt. And if I survived those months alone when Tony was first training me when I was fifteen, I can survive anything.

***

I don’t leave Tony’s house for a week. He keeps me handcuffed to the bed and only lets me go when I swear I learned my lesson. Promise not to ever give someone too much information again.

When I finally leave his place, the sun is so bright to my eyes that I have to blink several times before I can even step outside. My body feels like one giant bruise, and all I want to do is find somewhere away from Tony so I can process everything.

But I don’t have that option.

Three days pass in a blur of clients. I’m pulled into cheap motel rooms and taken violently. And I’m invited inside lush hotel rooms where they whisper about how beautiful I am while they fuck me. Neither one matters.

The only thing I can force myself to care about is Parker. The bruises and blood on my body barely register in my mind. And every morning when Tony smirks when I bring him money, I’m barely embarrassed by the knowing look in his eye anymore.

I brought all of this on myself. I never should’ve gotten so carried away with Parker. Never should’ve let myself start to fall in love with him. I’d known it would end in nothing but pain, yet I kept going back to him. Because it was nice to be with someone who cared.

Still, I do my best to purge my mind of him the longer I’m away from him. This was probably for the best. A clean break. At least that’s what I tell myself as I stand on my usual street corner in the red-light district.

It doesn’t take long for a sleek black car to pull up to the curb and roll the window down.

I straighten my spine and put on my Anton smile before heading to the open window. But I halt as soon as I realize Cameron’s in the driver’s seat.

“Get in,” he orders.

I check behind me, making sure no one’s watching us. “No. They’ll hurt you. Just go.”

“Get in the car or I’m contacting Tony.”

The threat in his voice is enough to get me in the car. It’s not that I’m worried about Tony punishing me again; it’s that I don’t want Cameron talking to him. I don’t want him or Parker anywhere close to him.

He doesn’t wait for me to fasten my seatbelt before he’s pulling away from the curb, headed for uptown. I tuck my hands under my thighs so he can’t see them shake. I know this isn’t about me. This is about Parker.

I swallow and turn my stare to the windshield. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you are.” The words are heavy and tired.

“Is Parker okay?”

“Yeah. He knows where I am.” Cameron glances over at me. “You look like hell.”

“I know.” I’m not going to tell him where all the bruises came from. He already knows.

Neither one of us speaks again until he pulls up to a nice hotel. I’m glad we’re meeting outside of Parker’s apartment so if Tony checks the tracker, it won’t have his address.

Cameron hands the keys to a valet, then takes my elbow, steering me through the lobby and into an elevator. We’re not the only two in here, so I don’t say anything. He stands silently next to me, fingers flexing every now and then around my elbow.

When we get off the elevator car, we come out into a hallway with thick carpet that muffles our footsteps as we walk. Cameron still doesn’t let go of me. Not until we reach a door, and he knocks sharply on it.

Only a few seconds pass before the door is thrown open, and Parker stands in the opening. He looks different than the last time I saw him. Dark bags line underneath his eyes, and his shoulders seem heavy. A couple days’ worth of stubble line his jaw.

I open my mouth to apologize, but I don’t get the chance before he reaches for me and pulls me into the tightest hug I’ve ever been given by someone who isn’t my parents.

“Where the hell have you been?” he demands, pulling me inside. Cameron follows and closes the door behind us. “I was worried about you. You said you’d come back.”

“I’m sorry. I got into trouble, and it was best if I didn’t see you again.” My voice is stiff. I didn’t sound like this even on the night we met.

Parker’s voice softens. “What happened, Rhys?”

“Tony was angry with me.”

“For what?” he presses, reaching for my hand. He squeezes tightly, and I try not to focus on how good it feels.

I should lie to him, but I don’t have the will in me right now. I just want to get out of here. “For seeing you. When I’m with someone, I’m supposed to get paid for it. And he didn’t like that I was seeing you without working.”

“How would he even know that?”

“You think he doesn’t have a way of tracking me?” I laugh bitterly and lift my free hand to run my finger along the collar around my throat. “This tells him exactly where I am and how long I’m there for. It alerts him if I try to take it off.”

“Rhys—”

“So, I need to go.” I start to turn away, but Parker’s hand is a death grip around mine.

“No.” His voice is fierce. Determined. “You’re not leaving again.”

“Parker—” Cameron starts, but Parker pushes on as if his brother never spoke.

“He’s going to kill you,” Parker says, squeezing my hand. “Don’t you get that? Just let us help you.”

“No. He’s watching Jack. He’s watching my brother. I can’t let him get hurt.” Just the very idea of it turns my stomach. “I’m not going to let my brother get hurt because I don’t want to be with Tony anymore.”

“We can go to the police,” Cameron says. “They can protect your family.”

“Would you do it if you were in my situation and Parker could get hurt?”

Parker turns to his brother. “Don’t answer that.” When he looks back at me, his eyes are dark and haunted. “You should’ve told me how bad things really were. You made it sound like you didn’t answer to anyone. Like—”

“Like what?” I interrupt. “I made it sound like I was doing this for fun? Well, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you my whole life story in the few weeks we knew each other.”

“Please,” Parker whispers. “I can’t stand the thought of you being out there, at his mercy. You don’t deserve to have to live like that.”

I try to swallow around the sudden tightness in my throat. He sounds so sincere. Like it really would hurt him if I didn’t let him help me. But I take a breath and think of Jack. He’s fifteen now. Ten when I was taken away. He’s my little brother. What’s my freedom when compared to his safety?

“I can’t,” I mumble. “I’m really sorry, Parker.”

Parker opens his mouth to argue again, but Cameron cuts him off.

“Sit down, both of you,” he orders, pointing to the small circular table in the corner surrounded by four chairs. “We have some time to talk and figure things out. Rhys, I want you to tell me everything.”