Savior: A Tattered Club Story (Tattered Social Club Series Book 1) (18 page)

Had an early appointment. Didn’t want to wake you. Do you work today?

Ethan stared at the screen. So he hadn’t left without saying good-bye because he’d regretted their night together. The tight grip on his chest eased as he quickly typed.

Work nine to eleven then class until four. The Professor is taking me today.

Ethan checked the time. Shit. It was eight forty-five and he needed to be on time to his new job. He bolted down the steps and ran into the shower, tossing the blanket on the couch on the way.

As he brushed his teeth, he checked the phone.

I’ll pick you up. Want to stay at my place tonight?

As Ethan smiled white foam dripped into the sink.

Sounds good. I have to work at the shop again until seven. Thanks for the ride home. I miss your lips. I love when you kiss me.

He spit into the sink and turned on the knobs in the shower. After a few moments, he stepped into the cold water; he didn’t have time to wait on the water to heat up. A quick wash and rinse and he was out. As he scrubbed the towel over his wet hair, he again checked the phone.

That’s a boyfriend thing to say.

Ethan typed. Erased. Typed again. Did he really want to know the answer?

Are you my boyfriend?

He took the phone back upstairs and tossed it on the bed while he quickly tugged a T-shirt over his head and slid his arms in a black button-up shirt. Running his fingers through his hair was the best he could do.

Checking his phone again, he stuffed the laptop in the backpack by the kitchen counter and grabbed the apartment key. When he stepped onto the landing, he remembered what The Professor had said and turned the knob on the door near the corner of the small space. The door opened revealing a stairway leading to the back of the studio.

When he opened the door at the end of the stairs, the guy who always wore the worn baseball cap looked over and walked away. Ethan wasn’t sure if the man was self-conscious of his scars or just being an asshole. Either way, he was going to steer clear of him.

“About time you got here.” Ethan turned to find Niko sitting in one of the recliners thumbing through a magazine. “Scarlet thought you bugged out and decided to quit.”

Ethan looked at the digits on his phone. The nine was followed by three minutes. “I’m only three minutes late and you never answered my text.” Ethan went still when he heard a deep cough coming from the corner where the water cooler stood. “I mean…I thought you were going to text me to let me know what supplies you need for your appointment this morning. I’ll check the storeroom and make sure you have everything in your room.” Ethan swallowed when he saw the guy standing by the water cooler. His muscles had muscles. “Can I do anything to help you out?”

He took a drink from the tiny paper cup. Ethan could see the corners of his upturned mouth as he took his sweet time with the drink. “Seeing as your friend over there doesn’t have any manners, I’m Seth and no, little man, I’m good. Maybe Niko could help you in the storeroom. You know…” He crumpled the cup and tossed it in the trash can. “Getting supplies off the top shelf. What do you say, Niko?”

Niko stood and flashed his middle finger. Never taking a moment to look at Ethan. “Fuck you.” He headed down the hall.

“He’s got PMS again.” Ethan tried not to stare at the tribal tattoo snaking up his neck all the way to the small gauge earring in his right earlobe. “You okay, little man?”

Ethan coughed, breaking the trance. “I’m good. Thank you for the bed. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. I have friends who have friends who can get things…
anything
. Niko said you needed some stuff, and we’re a family here. If you need anything else, let me know. I’m sure Niko will want you to be comfortable up there.”

The fire in Ethan’s cheeks was enough to scorch his veins. “No, it’s not like that. He just…he’s just a friend. I mean, not that he’d be anything else. I’m…I’m gay and he’s not.”

Seth patted his shoulder. “I know.” When he winked, Ethan caught his breath and his throat locked up. Shit, had he said something wrong? Had the big man seen through the text comment? His stomach ached, and it had nothing to do with the lack of breakfast. Niko was going to kill him.

The next two hours were uneventful. Come to find out he did need help to reach the boxes of needles on the top shelf, but the guy with the bruises on his lip stepped in to help. The man didn’t speak much other than to reintroduce himself as Knox.

“Did you make sure all the guys are set up for the afternoon?” Scarlet asked as Ethan swept the area by the glass-front cooler. “If not, no worries. I can finish up.”

Ethan liked his
supervisor
. She hated when he called her that, but they both laughed and it made him not feel like a mooch for taking the job. “Everything is done. Ben didn’t need anything and Knox’s needle drawer is full.”

Scarlet’s nails made a metallic clicking sound on the keyboard. “And Niko?”

Ethan started to sweep the same spot on the floor until he was sure the varnish was wearing off. “He’s good. I mean, he’s okay. I don’t think he needs anything.” The truth was when he’d checked on Niko all he got was a grunt as the sound of the gun hummed through the air.

“He usually stocks his own stuff. I’ll check on him after bit. You’d better get going. I’ll call Dad in the office. There’re doughnuts on the table under the TV in the employee area. These guys are pigs when it comes to sweets so be sure you snag a couple.” Scarlet’s bright red lips parted into a sweet smile.

“Thank you.” Truth was, Ethan’s stomach had been growling all morning. As he put the broom in the back closet, Niko walked by. Ethan kept his head down and focused on putting the dustpan on the clip on the closet wall. First, he felt a warm hand glide across his waist then a gentle squeeze.

Niko kept his gaze on the end of the hall and as soon as he’d passed, the touch was gone. The blood rushed to his head, making him almost sway from the dizziness. The slightest touch and he was sent into an alternate world where every fantasy seemed real.

“You ready to head out?”

Ethan jolted out of the daydream and saw The Professor standing in the doorway of his office. He quickly shut the closet door and started toward the apartment door. “Two seconds. I just have to grab my bag.”

“I’m parked in the back.”

Ethan nodded and jogged to the back to run up to his apartment.

The Professor parked in the employee parking lot outside the art building. Ethan had a little ways to trek to his English class, but he didn’t mind. He still had fifteen minutes before class started and it was a good way to clear his head.

When he rounded the corner of the industrial tech building he felt a tug on his backpack, hard enough he stepped off balance and fell against a hard wall. He tried to pull away from the wall, but the man had his hands sealed on Ethan’s arms and was dragging him around the other side of the building.

In shock and knowing there was nothing but the sidewalk between the buildings, he tried to scream when one meaty hand flattened over his mouth. “Mr. Cavanough would like to have a word with you. If you try anything funny, this will get a lot worse than it needs to.”

Ethan froze, going limp. He knew what
worse
entailed. The man kept one hand gripped on his arm and the other had the back of his shirt twisted in one strong fist. “He doesn’t need to see me. I told him I would keep my mouth shut. What does he want with me now?”

The man didn’t speak but instead shuffled Ethan toward the small parking lot where a black Mercedes with tinted windows waited by the curb. Ethan looked to the left then right. The few students who were walking past had headphones on and were focused on their phones.

Ethan tried to get their attention, but the tall man rushed him into the open door of the car. When he landed in the back, Charles was sitting in the leather seat. “I told you I’d find you, my love. Playtime is over. You’ve had your fun. Now it’s time for you to come home where I can keep you safe.”

“You’ve never kept me safe. You paraded me around like a prize pony. I regret letting you use me so I could take the easy road. The money was never worth what you did to me. I’m safe now. I was never safe with you.”

“Ah, that’s not true. You were homeless when I found you. I gave you everything you wanted. Now, you have the nerve to be ungrateful.” The slap stung. The taste of a dirty nickel coated his mouth as blood trickled over his lip. “Look what you made me do. My pretty Ethan, come home and that will never happen again. We can take up where we left off. You want that, don’t you, to go shopping? I’ll take you shopping tomorrow.”

“Hell no!” Ethan screamed, pushing Charles against the door. “You can’t have me now or ever!”

Charles took Ethan’s momentum, grabbing the nape of his neck and slamming his face on the console between the front seats. The burn and pressure behind his right eye made his vision go black. Pain seared the back of his eye, shooting all the way down into his neck.

Tears rolled over his cheeks when he fell against the seat. Instantly, white flecks blanketed his vision as fear set in. The reality that he might not make it out of the car or, worse, Charles could have the driver roll away from the parking lot and take him back to his house.

“My love, you can make this easy or hard. There’s a new man in your life and I can make things very difficult for him, and the tattoo shop, for that matter. You don’t want to see the place close, do you?”

The thought of The Professor’s place being bought out and torn down nauseated him. Unable to stop the searing rise in his throat, he leaned down and vomited on the carpeted floor.

“Oh love, see? You need to come home so I can take care of you. I hate to see you sick.”

“No!” Ethan shouted, tasting the bile clawing at the back of his throat. “I won’t go back!”

The blow to his stomach stole his breath, making his lungs burn. Charles had never punched him. Slapped him, whipped him, yes, but never curled his fist and taken aim. “Get out of the car. You have two days to decide. Is your new boyfriend really worth all this, Ethan?”

The thought raced through his head with an overwhelming
yes
. A shadow appeared outside the tinted window and Ethan squinted when the sunlight invaded the dark space inside the car.

“Never come near me again,” Ethan mumbled, unable to take in a full breath. “I might not be as important as you, but I have a voice and I’ll use it if I have to.”

A tight grip on his arm kept him from stepping outside the open door. “If you say a word, I swear you’ll regret it. Your parents have no idea you’ve whored yourself to me. They don’t care what happens to you and I know people who can make you disappear. So, think about that, my love. You have two days.”

Ethan tugged his arm and jumped out, running down the sidewalk until he rounded the side of a building. His gut burned, his eyelid was tight, and he had to puke again. Leaning over, he let the green liquid spill onto the grass.

“All you all right, man?” A young guy stopped and pulled on the white ear buds.

Ethan nodded and started to walk again. He had three classes today and had no idea how to make it through lectures and study time feeling like he was going to pass out.

He had to stop Niko from coming to pick him up He had some pride left. He didn’t want anyone to know Charles had gotten to him. He needed to handle his own shit, and it was no one else’s responsibility to bail him out. The Professor didn’t deserve to have his place put in jeopardy and he wasn’t about to let Niko be in danger.

He held his backpack to his chest and escaped into a bathroom in the sociology building. Afraid to see his reflection in the mirror, he grabbed the phone out of his pocket and squinted to bring the screen into focus. His right eye was swelling fast. He needed to get some ice or he wasn’t going to be able to see out of that side. Hell, if he walked to the commons, everyone could see he’d just gotten the crap beat out of him and he didn’t need to answer questions right now.

Got a ride home. You don’t have to pick me up.

Before he put the phone back in his pocket it chimed.

I’m your only ride home. I’ll be there.

Ethan quickly pressed the tiny keys.
Please don’t come. A friend can bring me back. I’ll be at work on time. Promise.
Maybe if he got ice on his face right away, he could stop the swelling and look halfway decent by then. Maybe Niko would be done for the afternoon. Not likely with his schedule, but he could hope.

I’ll be by the library. If you don’t show, I’m going to tie you to the bed tonight.

Ethan smiled then flinched when his lip stung.
That’s a threat? Sounds more like a fun night to me. ;)

Be there.

Ethan turned toward the wall hand dryer when a guy walked over to the urinals. What in the hell was he going to do? He’d have to trust Niko to understand and not ask questions. Hell, he’d seen Knox all black and blue so maybe the shock wouldn’t be so bad.

Okay.
Oh God, what had he done? Niko wasn’t one to negotiate. Finding out Charles had pulled him into the car to beat the hell out of him would only lead to someone ending up in jail or dead. That is, if Niko cared enough to investigate what had happened.

The phone chimed signaling another text.

You still want a boyfriend?

Ethan grinned, again drawing in his shoulders with the stinging pain.

Yes.
He wanted to feel safe, and curling up in Niko’s strong arms was the only way he was going to be whole right now. Looking around, it seemed impossible to hide in such an open place. If Charles’s goon could steal him in broad daylight, who was to say it wouldn’t happen again if he stowed away on the basement floor of the library? Apparently, Charles had been very good at stalking and had eyes all over the city. Ethan was an easy target.

He hesitated then pressed the screen.
I need to come home now.