57. Akira

CHAPTER 57

Akira

S hrugging, Kyle gave a low chuckle of amusement. "Oh, Theta," he drawled. "You really think I didn't know that?"

Master Theta stiffened where he stood over Akira. "You would have me believe that Epsilon has told you, among all the stalking and sabotaging of you, Randall, that he was married ?"

"Of course." Kyle shot Akira a broad smile. "We hold no secrets between us," he added carelessly, doing an excellent job of seeming like he truly was so unconcerned about the truth Theta had maliciously spat out. "If he made you believe otherwise, that speaks more to his trust of you than me."

But there was a hardness behind Kyle's eyes, a brittle quality to the smile that only Akira, knowing him so well and for so long, could detect. He was angry and feeling betrayed.

And he had every right to be, but because Kyle was Kyle, he was pretending for Akira's sake. Defending him from Theta's attempts to hurt him, refusing to perform for their audience, and making them appear united when he should be sticking the knife in Akira himself.

Although from the way Kyle was refusing to look at Akira as he tossed the words out, blinking rapidly and clearly trying to hold back tears of his own as he disguised it with the over- exaggerated pretence of getting comfortable in his restraints, Akira had reached the last dregs of Kyle's seemingly infinite patience.

Kyle was finally done with him and his bullshit, Akira could feel it.

The sheer devastation of that realisation hollowed out his insides. A life without Kyle…Theta might as well kill him right here and now, for Akira would never feel joy or excitement or happiness ever again. Sarah and Robby might be his family, but Kyle was…he was more than that. He was everything.

And Akira had fucked it up, just like he always knew he would.

Theta's loud cursing didn't register until he punctuated it with a resigned sigh. "I didn't want to do this, Akira, but you've left me with no other choice."

What now ? What else could he take from him? Hadn't the man done enough fucking damage?

He didn't mean the lacerations and bruises and burns that covered his skin. All that hurt, dizzyingly and achingly so, but it would eventually heal. And apart from that one-off threat, the violence hadn't been at all sexual: the men Mackenroth had sent to subdue him and Kyle might be thugs, but they weren't sexual sadists like the mayor himself, and they seemed to take their pleasure from inflicting pain to the outside of his body rather than within.

Compared to the other experiences Akira had endured in his life, it certainly wasn't the worst.

No, the thing that hurt the absolute most out of his twenty-nine years on this doomed city was seeing the dejection in Kyle's expression and knowing that he'd been the one to put it there.

Theta held out his hand to Bear and impatiently gestured.

The smaller man clutched the giant purple dildo possessively, shaking his head, which made Theta huff out an irritated breath.

"Do you want your boss to have Epsilon's apology, or not?"

"We were told not to touch ‘im," argued Bear, which made no sense considering what they'd already done to Akira without any of this newfound hesitation.

"He'll still be in one piece when the mayor and his brother get here. Mostly ," Theta added testily. "Just give me the fucking thing."

Bear reluctantly relinquished the toy and Theta wrapped his pale fingers around the base before striding towards Kyle.

"No," Akira mumbled, realising too late what the man planned to do. He jerked against the chains that tethered him to the floor, feeling warmth dribble between his fingers as the skin around his wrists split from the desperation with which he heaved on them. "Simon, don't!"

Theta circled around to stand behind the blonde who held Akira's heart.

"Fuck! Not him! Not Kyle!"

Now it was Akira's turn to beg, his voice that echoed around the room and pleaded for Theta to stop. Tears ran freely from his eyes, salt mixing with terror until he couldn't see anything but Kyle trapped in place and closed in on by a man Akira had once thought of as a friend.

"This is for your own good, Epsilon," Theta said quietly. "You've always been so fixated on Randall. It's time to let him go."