Special Needs (43 page)

Ryan violently shook his head, uselessly trying to pull away. His mind went frantic with worry for Liam. Had Stuart done something to him? Horrified, he realized that Stuart was pushing him out of the alley. Liam could be laying somewhere behind them in a pool of blood, in desperate need of medical attention. His palms were sweaty, hard on gone in the blink of an eye. Ryan wanted to scream his lungs out crying for help, but all he managed was a nasal wail. His eyes welled up when the reality of his own inability to help Liam in need came crashing down on him.

And Stuart? Fucking Stuart! What was he even doing out of jail? The guy was a nut job! Ryan's head filled with horrifying images of himself stretched spread eagle over a dirty mattress. In the vision, Stuart was on top of him, panting into Ryan's neck as the mattress moved with every thrust that was like a ghost's touch. That was what Stuart wanted to do to him and once he had Ryan at his mercy, he would go through with it. He was nauseous at the thought of what Stuart could do to him then. He’d probably end up in Stuart’s basement in some fucking
Idaho
, trapped forever and abused to no end. No one would hear him scream and Liam would spend years searching for Ryan, but never find him.

“It’s going to be fine,” he heard from above as his kidnapper placed a kiss on the shaved side if his head. Ryan wanted to puke.

“You fucking shit!”
That
was definitely Liam and Ryan’s heart leapt with hope. Stuart let out a panicked gasp, attempting to move faster. Ryan’s chair jumped with every bump on the road, but Ryan didn’t care if he fell and got a few bruises, as long as it meant not being abducted by a sicko.

He tried to encourage Liam with a nasal mumble, unable to stop his body from shaking. What if Stuart had more drugs in that basement of his? The police said he worked as a nurse after all. What if he made Ryan into some dopehead who would give him blowjobs just to get his next fix?

“I’ll save you Ryan, and we can be together!” Stuart was breathless.

But before that nightmare scenario could take place, Stuart suddenly stopped and Ryan almost fell forward and out of the wheelchair, his heart freezing for a moment. His hands stuck together at the back of the wheelchair actually helped with balance, but he did have a moment of fright when it tipped forward, as he would have no chance of protecting his head if he fell face forward.

“You motherfucker!” Liam growled and Ryan gasped, listening to the rustling and snapping noises of a fight, but with just Liam’s voice and Stuart’s choking noises, Ryan would bet on who was winning. He was Team Liam after all.

“You were hurting him!” came Stuart’s cry, muffled by yet another crack against the pavement. The sound was like a soothing balm to Ryan’s nerves. He turned his head to check what was happening, and his eyes watered in relief at the sight of Stuart being hogtied with duct tape. Liam seemed curiously proficient at it. He kept Stuart in place, balancing on him with one knee as he bound his wrists and ankles with the tape like it was a calf he was dealing with. He tore the makeshift rope with his teeth. Stuart tried to scream into the tape used to shut him up and it came as a muffled, panicked growl. It was so surreal, Ryan wanted to laugh despite the horror he’s just been through. He looked to Liam through a thin layer of tears blurring his vision. How did he attract such crazies?

“Ryan, sweetie...” Liam moved over to his side, gathering Ryan into his arms. The familiar smell of tobacco was better for his nerves like a hot cup of cocoa. “You okay?”

He was pretty sure that by now, he has been conditioned to like Liam’s cigarettes. Ryan shook his head, leaning into a hug. God, how he needed it now. Even with Stuart’s moans poking at the outer sides of his brain, he felt safe in Liam's arms.

“I’m going to take the tape off your mouth,” Liam warned him, gently picking the edge.

Ryan sniffed and nodded, awaiting the sting, but it wasn’t as bad as he expected. “Are you fuckin’ mental?” he screamed at Stuart from beneath Liam’s arm. “I take that back! You’re insane!” He curled up against Liam’s chest as much as he could.

“It’s all right, Ryan, I’m here.” Liam kissed him on the cheek and reached into his pocket to retrieve a swiss army knife. He used it to free Ryan’s hands since the mood has been ruined anyway, and there was no way they’d fuck with Stuart watching. Ryan instantly wrapped his arms around Liam’s neck and pulled as close to his boyfriend’s bulky body as possible. His own personal Thor saved the day with a fist instead of a hammer.

“What a fucking animal... I thought he was in jail!”

“Call the cops.” Liam leaned on him with a grunt, and only then did Ryan notice clots of red in the sandy hair.

“Oh my God! What did he do to you? Are you hurt?” He kissed Liam’s temple with a tight ball in his belly.

“Hit me on my fucking head,” Liam rasped, bowing his head so that Ryan could see.

“We have to get that checked.” Ryan stroked his back and smooched him again. “Liam, it’s the second time you save me from that creep,” he said the last word louder, to make sure Stuart heard it. “You’re so brave.”

“Is my head all right?” Liam gently probed at the back of his skull and hissed an obscenity, when he moved his fingers over the cut.

“No, no! Don’t touch it, it’s bleeding. Wait, I said, don’t touch it!” Ryan slapped Liam’s hand when he made another attempt at the same thing. He quickly took out his cell phone. “Okay. I call the hospital, you call the cops.”

He gave Stuart the death glare. Hogtied. Like the pig he was.

Chapter 20

Liam sipped beer from a can, leaning out of the window as he smoked another cigarette. It’s been fifteen minutes since he sent Cole the photo he took of himself and Ryan, and his brother still hasn’t written back.

The moment he thought that, his phone rang.

“Yeah?” He picked it up without looking who it was.

“He’s cute. In a teenage goth kind of way.” Cole.

Liam’s smile practically broke his face in two. “He’s not a teen! He’s twenty five!”

“Well, he doesn’t look like any of your suit-slash-apron wearing exes, so that’s a good start I suppose.”

“Cole, come on, he’s hot as fuck.” Liam’s voice was almost crossing the border between whispering and hissing.

His brother laughed. “He wouldn’t be my type even if I were gay.”

Liam’s brows shot up, and he looked outside, towards Roger’s house. The guy was doing some serious digging in his backyard and Liam wondered what it was that he intended to plant. “What would be your type if you were gay?”

Cole snorted. “I’d go for the preppy college guy I suppose. You know, like a male version of Lindsay.”

“A cute, chubby redhead?” Liam chuckled and threw the cigarette out the window.

“You do
not
call my fiancé chubby! She’s curvy, you donkey dong!”

“If you say so...” Liam grinned, though he didn’t think of it as an insult. Lindsay was cute and soft, just right for Cole. He was positive that if his brother were gay, he’d probably fall for a slightly chubby, smiley boy next door type.

“So it’s been what? Over two weeks. You guys still together?” There was obvious malice left over from Liam’s comment.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, we will be soon progressing our relationship to bareback,” Liam confessed in an overinflated, serious tone. He loved to embarrass Cole.

“Oh no. Too much information. Seriously.” Liam could hear the scowl in his voice.

“You know, that’s almost like getting married.” Liam grinned, lighting another cigarette.

“It’s nothing like being married. You’ve known him for under two months.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, Britney married that guy she knew from high school after meeting him at a casino.”

“I’m not even gonna go there. Did you guys get tested?”

“Waiting for results, bro.” Liam chewed his lip. “You straights have no idea how serious it is to let someone do you bareback, though from what I know about many of my straight friends, maybe you should.”

“So, is he cool with that?” Cole clearly strayed away from anything to do with his own sex life.

“Yeah, he didn’t want to blow me bare before we get the results.”

“Ho, ho. You’ve got yourself a reasonable boyfriend for once. So how’s it been? Not the blowing, the relationship.”

“Great. You’d love him, bro. He’s such a funny, cute guy.” Liam leaned over the window frame once more. “We do lots of stuff together.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“You know, walks, he helps me with menu planning, I help him with stuff for the hotel, we watch movies, do some decorations for Halloween.” Liam smiled. Even thinking about Ryan made him all soft and tingly inside.

“That sounds so normal, I’m actually scared.”

“You should be happy someone actually keeps me busy. And oh, you know that fucking stalker was back?” Liam drew in more smoke, burning a good part of the cigarette in one go.

“The hell! Didn’t they jail him or something?”

“His
mommy
paid his bail.” Liam shook his head in frustration and lowered his voice. “He actually hit me on the head and tried to take Ryan somewhere, like...
kidnap
him! So he’s not coming out of jail any time soon now.”

“Ew. Just
ew
! Is your head all right? Did you need stitches?”

Liam extinguished the cigarette butt on the outer wall of the building and dropped it, before returning to the table to get a sip of his beer. “Yeah, but that fucker’s face is much worse off, believe me. He keeps that up, and no one will want to fuck his sorry ass.”

“Good. So I’m hoping a freaking kidnapping attempt will be enough to get him a proper sentence this time? Restraining order? What’s up with Ryan anyway? How does he attract creeps like that?”

Liam’s smile faltered as he thought about that damn website once again. “Dunno, he’s real cute, so maybe that’s why.”

As soon as the lie rolled off his tongue, the corridor echoed with enthusiastic shouts.

“Liam! Liam!” From the sound of it, Ryan's wheelchair bumped into something on the way, but moments later, he rolled inside with eyes sparkling like a little kid's in an ice cream store. Ryan wheeled up to Liam and pressed his cheek into his butt, clinging to his thigh with both arms.

Liam looked down with a chuckle, gently cupping Ryan’s head with his free hand. “What is it, sweetie?” he asked, still, holding the phone against his ear.

“We got more bookings for Halloween and already a few for January.” Ryan smiled at him, rubbing his cheek against Liam’s hip like an over-eager puppy.

“I told you, I’m your lucky charm.” Liam slowly untangled himself from the tight embrace and bowed to give Ryan a kiss.

“I can’t ever let you go then.”

“Oh God! He is cute," exclaimed Cole, and Ryan opened his eyes wider. It was adorable. Liam couldn’t believe Ryan didn’t notice he was talking on the phone.

He winked at him, and slowly sank to his knees, switching the cell to loudspeaker mode. “I was talking about you to my little brother.”

“Oh wow, hi there, I’m Ryan.” He introduced himself and kissed Liam once more, all smiley and agitated.

“Hi Ryan, I’m Cole. I’ve heard only good things about you. Hope my brother’s not too annoying.”

Liam snorted. “When am I ever annoying?” He put an arm over Ryan, gently pulling him into his embrace.

“I had one caretaker lock me up in the laundry room in the basement, so he can’t really get any worse than that.”

Cole gasped on the other end of the line, making it crackle. “Oh God, that’s horrible.”

Liam blinked, straightening his back. “He fucking did
what
?”

“I know. He did it when he realized I was gay. Fay only found me the next morning.”

Liam could hear his own pulse, furiously beating in both of his ears. “Shit... what a motherfucking cunt...” He reached out to gently stroke Ryan’s cheek and pull on the tiny metal ball of the piercing that went right through it. The thought of him being locked up down there, probably scared, without a way to get out made him want to hunt the fucker down. “And? Did you call the cops?”

“I didn’t have my phone and, you know, he quit the next day. Liam, don’t worry so much.” Ryan dismissed it with a wave of his hand, looking into his eyes.

“The guy sounds like a dickwad.” Cole was equally unimpressed.

“Well, what if he does that to someone else?” Liam looked down at his boyfriend with a deepening frown.

Ryan opened and closed his mouth like a fish. “Uhm, I didn’t think about that,” he muttered.

“Oh, sweetie...” Liam placed a gentle kiss on Ryan’s forehead, hugging him with one arm. He decided it was high time to change the topic. “So yeah, I’m happy you two got to meet.”

“It was nice to hear he’s not hiding me away.” Ryan laughed. His fingers slowly crept into Liam’s hair, gently massaging his scalp where it wasn’t injured.

“Nah, he even sent me a photo.”

“I just hope it’s not a dirty one.” Ryan bit on the side of Liam’s jaw and smelled him.