Page 60 of Fallen Stars

I tip my head and peer down to see he’s fallen asleep. A soft smile curves the corners of my mouth as I bask in the feel of him in my arms, where I’ve always wanted him. Where Levi has always belonged.

Slipping off the condom, I tie the end and toss it on the floor. I sink further into my hold on him. Inhale a slow, deep breath, then press a chaste kiss to his forehead and whisper, “Love you, L,” just before sleep takes me too.

June 16th

We had sex last night and it was by far the most incredible moment of my life. Every moment with him is surreal, but last night… nothing will top last night. Right now, he’s asleep in the hotel bed, fully naked, with the sheet low on his hips. I’ve spent the last thirty minutesstudying every inch of his exposed skin. Tracing it with my eyes as my fingers twitch at my side, eager to touch him again.

For seven years, I’ve wanted Levi West. Now, he’s mine. Really mine.

And while he slept last night, I whispered my biggest, scariest confession. I’m in love with him. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to say it out loud while he’s awake. The last thing I want to do is freak him out. After last night, all I want is to keep him so fucking close.

FIFTEEN

LEVI

For the thirdtime in less than an hour, I close my eyes, inhale a slow, steadying breath, and let my mind drift to happier thoughts. Anything to quell the vicious churning in my stomach from the grotesque images and words on the computer screen.

Naturally, Oliver is at the heart of every blissful memory I own. He is the first thing I think about when I wake each day. Hell, he has been my first thought for several years. Only now, it feels different. Better. Perfect. Limitless.

Since the night of his show in Smoky Creek, since I kissed him in front of hundreds of people, erasing every single line between us, life feels more consequential. As if I unearthed buried treasure deep within myself. A new sense of meaning. Purpose. Not that I didn’t have either before. I did. I do.

But with Oliver in my arms, life is more transcendent and worthwhile.

For the first time in my life, I feel alive. Whole. Fully myself. Real.

Now, I need to figure out how to break the news to my family.

Fuck my life.

The saint that Oliver is, he’s waiting to share the news with his closest friends—Skylar, Kirsten, and Delilah. I didn’t ask thisof him, but he granted me the courtesy anyway. He won’t openly talk about us as an official couple until I give him the go-ahead.

It’s not as though his closest friends aren’t aware.

Over the years, I’ve seen the way they side-eyed us when I joined their gatherings. I caught hints of their whispers whenever Oliver and I were close. But I kept those little tidbits to myself. Smiled at the idea of someone knowing that we were more than friends, even though we hadn’t owned as much yet.

Having people in our corner, cheering us on and loving us as we are, makes my rib cage constrict and nose sting. It’s a level of acceptance I’ve always craved but have never truly known.

Though it’s a pipedream, I hope my family will welcome the real me and my relationship with Oliver with open arms.

Inhaling a soul-cleansing breath, I turn my attention back to the screens hovering over my desk. Dissociate from reality and flip on the analyst part of my brain. Enter the darkest parts of the world with zero emotions.

I scan the various threads I have followed for weeks. Look for anything new or notable in the discussions. Read the cryptic messages and do my best to decipher them. To learn something, anything new about the growing list of missing persons in the region.

“Sick fucks,” I mutter as I skim a thread, the anonymous poster bragging about their recentconquest.

On another thread, a few highly disturbing images are posted. I save them and run them in a facial recognition program against the missing person profiles provided. In a matter of seconds, each image gets a hit on the list. I note them and add screenshots of the thread to our list.

As I read more on the thread with the images, I decipher and learn of a future auction. These people—children and adults—will be available to the highest bidder.

For hours and days and weeks, I have tried to find out more about this auction. When it will be held. Where they plan to sell humans as if they are inanimate objects. How the hell I can access it because it sure as hell isn’t promoted in any of the threads I’ve been on in the past eight weeks.

Knowing these pieces of shit, they have another dark, fucked-up place for the truly trustedcustomers.

“Knock, knock.”

I startle in my seat as Tymber enters my office.

“Sorry, man.” He winces when I meet his weary gaze. “I actually knocked, but you didn’t answer.”

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