Double Heat [Twin Ties: 3] (29 page)

“Evan,” Alek said, the name an inward gasp, a whisper of doom. “No.
No
. No, baby.
Please no
.
Oh god
.”

Alek groaned in protest, enfolding Evan in his strong arms, and it was the only thing keeping Evan from falling to pieces.

“Who did this to you? Evan, who did this?! Did Tommy do this?!”

“No,” Evan said in denial, over and over.

“EVAN, WHO?!”

“Drew,” he said, very quietly. Hiccupping on his tears as Alek was shocked silent, Evan said, “I’ll go, okay? I’ll get my stuff and go. It was my fault, and I know I don’t deserve to be here anymore, so—”

“Drew?! No, he... Oh, god. Oh, fuck. Oh, Evan.” He held fast to Evan, who tried again to pull free.

“Just let me go!” Evan screamed hoarsely.

“No, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. I promise. I love you so much.”

Crying ugly, messy tears, Evan was caught in the terror of being found out, wanting to deny everything though he knew Alek deserved an explanation. He realized Alek wasn’t letting go, but the pain was a fist, squeezing his heart and he didn’t know how to make it stop.

When Luka and Brennan burst in, after running up the stairs, their footsteps pounding with their haste, Evan wasn’t even surprised. They knew. Of course they knew. They could feel the wrongness through the connection with their twins.

At first they just stood there, dumbstruck by the sight of Alek and Evan as upset as they were, mostly naked and holding each other on the floor.

“No,” Luka said, denying it. “Aleksy,
no. Please.
”

Evan covered his head, tried to hide things everyone could see now. Brennan came running at him, falling to the floor right in front of Evan, pulling his face up, looking him in the eye when that was the last thing Evan wanted him to do.

Brennan’s eyebrows tilted, his expression pleading, tears springing to his eyes too. His hands balled into fists and he touched his forehead to Evan’s, letting out a growl that turned into a shout of rage. “What did Tommy do to you?!”

“Drew did this. DREW DID THIS,” Alek raged.

Luka had a hand clamped over his mouth, his eyes wide, while Brennan looked up at Alek in confusion.

“He said to keep it a secret, like we used to,” Evan managed, hoarsely. “Or else... But our secrets didn’t used to hurt like this. He told me you would hate me.
Please don’t hate me
.”

Then Luka fell to his knees next to Brennan. Alek wouldn’t let go, couldn’t let go, but Luka and Brennan encircled them both, anyway. Surrounded with their love and unspoken forgiveness, Evan felt very small and very soiled.

“It’s not your fault,” Brennan whispered, sounding so sad, like his heart had been broken. “No secrets here, remember, Ev? Only trust. How old were you the first time with Drew?”

“Thirteen. He’s a friend of Charlie’s.”

By the time Evan heard Luka, who had shifted away, he was already on the phone with the police department. “Hi, yes, we need to report a sexual assault. Would one of your officers be able to come out to our residence as soon as possible? Yes, thank you.”

Evan fell perfectly quiet then, filled with new fears. The drastic, rapid way one set of frightening circumstances had been so quickly replaced by new ones, multiple times that day, had drained him completely. First the fears of what his lovers would do or think if they found out what Evan had been party to with Drew, then the reactions of Alek, Luka, and Brennan in actuality, and now the police. Evan would have to explain
everything
. They would find out how much Evan cooperated with Drew, and didn’t fight back, and didn’t even say no. They would see it wasn’t a rape at all, but only proof of how perverted Evan truly was.

“I can’t do this, Aleksy,” Evan whispered, unable to let go of him. “I can’t tell the police about this. They’re gonna think I wanted it!”

“Drew has been... touching you... since you were thirteen?” Alek asked.

“Yeah. He was my boyfriend.”

“Oh my god,” Brennan sighed.

“He raped you today?”

Evan dropped his gaze, felt the shame squeeze his throat shut. He covered his head with his hands, wanting to hide, but they were holding on to him, and looking so closely.

“I didn’t really want it. I didn’t want to hurt you. But he had pictures of me, and I didn’t know what to do! I’m so sorry—”

“Did he rape you today,” Alek asked again.

“I don't know,” Evan whispered brokenly.

“They’re coming,” Luka said, phone in hand.

“Okay. We’re right here with you. Let’s get you dressed. We’re just telling them about Drew. You’re my boyfriend, Brennan is Luka’s, and we live together here. That’s all they need to know. We tell them about
Drew
.”

Luka had given their address and a few other pieces of information in the meantime. There was no avoiding it now. It was done. The police were coming. Evan would be found out. Alek helped Evan to his feet long enough to get him covered and zipped up, then led him to the couch.

Alek knew Evan’s story would be believable, because Evan looked like a wreck. His eyes were wide, red and glassy, he was fidgety and tense, curled in on himself, like he was convinced more bad luck and hurt was on its way, so he better hold on to his ass if he knew what was good for him.

The two officers seemed nice enough. Officer Malloy and Officer Vargas came into the apartment. Officer Malloy was a stocky Irish guy and stayed by the door while young Officer Vargas sat down across from Evan to get his statement.

“Start at the beginning, Mr. Savage,” Vargas said, notepad at the ready. He looked like a normal guy, not a hard-ass cop, Alek was glad to see. Hopefully it was helping set Evan at ease. Alek was next to Evan, holding his hand.

“The beginning. Right,” Evan said in a hollow, haunted, raspy voice. “He warned me, you know, about what would happen if I talked to Alek, or the police. He took video of me today, and it looks like I let him, like I wanted it. He took me to this warehouse in the middle of nowhere like... like he was just gonna do whatever he wanted to me and leave my body there. But he said if I talked to you he’d send pictures and video of me to people.”

“Video from today?”

“No. Yes. I mean, today, before he took me from where I work, Mike’s Garage, over in Whippoorwill, he uh... he showed me one of the old pictures of me.”

“Tell them about it, Evan,” Alek encouraged gently.

“I don’t want to,” Evan whimpered, rubbing a hand over his head, avoiding eye contact. Alek heard him sniffle and passed him a tissue.

“Please, baby. They’re just here to help.”

“That’s right, Mr. Savage. We need the whole story. When did you meet Drew Lahner?”

Evan sighed, glancing up at the officer, and Alek had to look away, because all of Evan’s demons were right there, on the surface. “He was a friend of my dad, Charlie Savage.
Is
a friend, I guess. Drew um... started visiting me when my dad was out. He would touch me, or tell me to do oral on him. I mean, I didn’t understand. I didn’t tell him to stop, but I, uh, I was only thirteen, and he was in his late twenties. It never went as far as sex, but it was... everything else, I suppose, and he took lots of pictures and videos of it.”

Vargas shared a look then with Officer Malloy, and after that, both of them pulled up a little straighter, like they were taking this a little more personally now that child pornography and pedophilia were in the picture.

“And after that... I tried to kill myself. I was fourteen. I was institutionalized for a few months, put under suicide watch and treated for depression.”

Alek gave Evan’s hand a squeeze and rubbed his back with his other hand, then leaned in to kiss his temple, murmuring, “You’re doing great.”

Almost hopefully, like he could smell the possibility to arrest Drew and pin some serious charges on him in the process, Vargas asked, “And you have reason to suspect Mr. Lahner still possesses these photos and videos of you?”

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure of it. He showed me one on his phone today, to get me to go with him,” Evan replied. “But you don’t understand. He took video of me today, while he was...” Evan trailed off there, as if hesitant to explain further.

“As much detail as you can provide us, Mr. Savage, the better we’re able to help you, here.”

“Okay. Um, he, um... c-cleaned me out, then penetrated me with different things. Sex toys, I guess. He had the whole place set up like he’d planned it all out ahead of time, and was ready for me. He was asking me a lot of really personal questions and squeezed my, um... my testicles when I didn't want to answer or want what he was doing to me. He forced me to come, then he... he had sex with me. He used a condom, so there wouldn’t be any evidence or anything. And I didn’t touch him much; it was mostly him touching me. It’s going to look like I wanted it, but I just didn’t know what to do! Once he was talking to me it felt just like it used to, when I was thirteen. I was just so embarrassed. Ashamed. I knew Alek would think I was disgusting for the stuff I did with Drew. I didn’t know how to stop it or what to say or do. I guess I froze up or something? A few months ago, I tried to help someone out at a bar when some other guys went after him for being gay.” Evan lifted his shirt, exposing his scar. “They stabbed me, beat me up, broke my ribs and my nose, then left me for dead, and the recovery process was a nightmare.
I just... I can't do that again. I can't... please don't make me...
.”

Alek witnessed how intensely Evan needed to explain what he felt the truth of the situation was, oblivious to the fact that the police already understood the power dynamics that allowed Drew to get Evan into his car. Evan wasn’t to blame for anything. All the officers heard were facts to support their case against a dangerous criminal.

“This man is clearly a predator and a menace, Mr. Savage,” Officer Vargas explained kindly. “This all seems very cut and dry to me. Did anyone else see Mr. Lahner abduct you from your place of employment?”

“Yeah, my boss,” Evan said. “He waved to Drew before Drew put me in his car. Some of the other guys might have seen him, too, but Mike definitely did. And Mike saw him for a second when Drew brought me back there, too.”

“Can you give me Mike’s home address and full name, please?”

There were more questions, more notes jotted down on that little notepad in Vargas’s hand. They told Vargas about encountering Drew at the grocery store, and gave as much detail as possible, though they stopped short of saying Drew had gotten both Luka and Alek in bed when they were younger.

By the time the officers left, confident that they had enough for a judge to issue a warrant for Drew’s arrest and to search his property, Evan looked wrung out. They ate a quick dinner and, seeing how tired and reserved Evan had become, retired to bed shortly after. Alek helped him shower, looking for any telltale marks on Evan’s body but finding none. Drew had been careful.

When they came out of the bathroom, Brennan and Luka were there.

“Talk to us,” Luka asked softly. Alek could feel his brother’s yearning to help in any way possible. “What do you need? What can we do?”

“Can we just lie down for a while? All of us?” Evan asked in barely a whisper, not able to look any of them in the eye. “But if you’d rather not touch me, I—”

“Hey. Don’t say that. Of course we’ll lie down with you,” Luka assured him.

Brennan got on the bed first, and sat cross-legged, leaning against the headboard while Evan laid his head in Brennan’s lap with a pillow beneath. Evan’s eyes shut, a frown creasing his brow, fret preventing him from relaxing. Alek could only imagine what was going through his mind, what he was remembering or thinking. Evan was naked, though the rest of them were clothed. They didn’t question it and none of them moved to undress. Alek just lay down, facing Evan, while Luka lay down behind him. Safely held between them, Evan let out a deep breath and, so very slowly, started to relax. Evan was cocooned in their utter acceptance; Alek just hoped Evan could feel that he was.

Brennan caressed over Evan’s velvety, dark blond hair and down along his jaw with the pad of his thumb. Evan reached up, taking hold of Brennan’s left hand. It seemed impossible, what Evan had been through when they all thought he’d been at work, where they thought nothing bad could happen. He hadn’t been alone, but Drew had taken him anyway.

Alek caressed Evan’s arm and watched his shifting expressions, trying his best to understand without pressing for answers. Now and then, Alek caught Luka’s eye. Luka was practically shielding Evan with his body, fierce protectiveness radiating from Luka in every way. Luka’s hand was on Evan’s bare hip and Alek would have liked to see anyone try to come near Evan then, surrounded by three men willing to defend him with their lives.

But, Alek knew why Evan was so conflicted. It wasn’t just a question of Drew being a bad guy, guilty of taking advantage of those who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, protect themselves. Evan felt complicit in what happened. Ever since he’d been thirteen, it had been ingrained in Evan that his desires had caused everything that had happened to him. He didn’t see the men he had affairs with as predators, taking advantage of an underage boy. Evan just saw himself as someone who had corrupt desires and had been the cause of every touch, every sexual interaction with men much older than him. More than that, he probably felt his dark desires had been the cause of the way he’d met Alek, the way he’d begun to have sex with Luka, and the reason why he’d committed incest with his own twin, over and over again. If Drew had been Evan’s first, he’d established the pattern. When Alek and Luka had been with Drew, they had been old enough to consent, but that didn’t mean they were in the right frame of mind to make sound decisions. They knew firsthand how persuasive and conniving Drew could be, and Alek was horrified to think of Evan, barely a teenager, being faced with that sort of temptation and pressure.