Page 105 of Prohibited

“I found them,” Saoirse said with a finality that Alex understood.

He couldn’t help but smile as he turned and went quickly back to Ryan. Saoirse stood outside of the cell, holding the door open and craning her neck to look down the hallway, watching for any interlopers.

“Come on,” Alex breathed into Ryan’s ear. He slipped Ryan’s left arm over his shoulder so that Ryan could cradle his damaged hand against his belly. Though Ryan was larger than him, Alex had little trouble wrapping his arm around Ryan’s waist and helping him to his feet.

“My god,” Saoirse breathed as she watched her cousin walk slowly out of the cell. She moved forward and raised her hand as if to touch his face. Even in the dim gaslight of the corridor, Alex could see tears glinting in her eyes. In spite of them, her face was hard and frigid with her fury.

“Who did this?” she asked, looking at Alex.

“Some foppish Lieutenant,” Alex said. “We need to leave.”

“Roberts?” Saoirse said, speeding up to walk a little ahead of them.

Ryan spat in reply.

“That’s the one,” Alex agreed.

Saoirse looked over her shoulder at them. “He’s been taken care of.”

“By who?” Alex said, readjusting his grip on Ryan’s wrist. He glanced down at the wadded up white linen jacket that was marred with dark russet and wrapped around Ryan’s hand and felt a wave of dark satisfaction at the news that Saoirse was giving him.

“Walter Stanley,” she said, walking as briskly as her limp would allow. Alex sped up a little, as fast as Ryan could manage, to keep up with her.

“Wait,” she said when they came to a junction in the corridor. She looked in either direction and then tilted her head to the left.

“It’s late,” she said in a low voice over her shoulder. “We should be able to get out of here without anyone seeing us.”

“You saw Walter Stanley?” Ryan said. He pulled his arm from around Alex’s shoulders and swayed a little, but he managed to keep himself upright and keep walking on his own.

Searing disappointment stabbed through Alex, but he relinquished his treasure and settled instead for hovering near Ryan’s elbow as they walked in case he grew unsteady and needed to be caught.

“No,” Saoirse said shortly. “Roberts told me that Walter Stanley stabbed him and took Evelyn with him.”

“And what did you do with Roberts?” Alex asked, knowingly.

“I left him there,” she said with a hard edge to her voice.

“Good,” Alex said.

Saoirse let that pass without comment, but it seemed to Alex that something like camaraderie had just passed between them for the first time, well, ever.

They found a side door and slipped out into the night. Saoirse closed it carefully behind them, letting them out into an alleyway. Voices came around the building closeby, men talking and laughing. Probably some idiots in uniform, acting like clowns while they waited around to ruin someone else’s life. “This way,” she said, turning and walking toward the back of the building. When they reached a dark corner overgrown with crepe myrtles, she turned back to them and said, “Wait here. I’ll pull the car along this side street here.”

“Hurry,” Alex said. Ryan swayed a little beside him and he slipped his arm around Ryan’s waist again. Ryan didn’t bother to fight him. Alex didn’t bother to pretend like he wasn’t inhaling Ryan’s scent, blood, sweat, and all. It was intoxicating. Enough to make his mouth water, even with the acute and present danger. Ryan’s hard, warm body under his hands was an unparalleled pleasure and it took everything he had not to let his hands wander.

Ryan leaned into him and this alone provoked gratification so intense that Alex had to suppress a shiver. His cock was half hard just from standing this close to him, from feeling the rippling muscles of his torso under his hand.

Alex could have stood there all night, but headlights crept slowly forward and the ticking sound of the engine reached his ears. For a moment he thought of Tommy. Tommy and his cars.

Then he tugged Ryan forward.

“Come on.”

“I can walk,” Ryan said, pulling his arm away. Stubborn like his cousin. A family trait, to be sure.

Ryan’s stubbornness didn’t stop him from stepping up to open the back door of the car for him.

“Move over,” Alex said.

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