Page 8 of In Daddy's Care

Soren broke. “He said no.”

The guy looked his way. Malice danced in his empty eyes. “Stay out of it, little one. This doesn’t involve you.” He stroked Adan’s hair again.

Soren stood. His fists clenched at his sides. “He asked you not to touch him.”

The guy laughed. “I’ll do what I want.” He massaged Adan’s shoulders. “He likes it. Everyone knows it.”

Soren didn’t think. He just moved. In a flash, he had the man flipped end over end. He hovered over the man, who fought to regain his breath on the floor after Soren punched him in the throat. “He said no!”

The shout finally got the attention of security. Before Soren had time to calm down, the guy was dragged toward the door. Sorenquietly returned to his Legos. Without permission, his gaze slid toward the mouth of the hallway. Shane was gone. He massaged his chest. When he looked away, he found Adan staring at him.

“I’m sorry for being mean to you.”

Soren hurt. All the way to his soul. He hurt. The memory of Adan calling him fat and unwanted was nothing compared to how Shane had broken him. “It’s okay.” He didn’t know why he said that. It wasn’t okay.

Adan swiped at the tears streaming down his face. “I wish I knew how to do that.” He motioned toward where the guy had been dragged.

“It’s not hard. I can teach you.”

Adan stood. He clutched his backpack to his chest. “I’d like that.” Quick as lightning, he shot forward and kissed Soren’s cheek. “Thank you.”

Soren’s arm shot out and snagged Adan before he got away. When Adan focused on him with scared and broken eyes, Soren only saw someone drowning, just like him. “Do you want to get out of here? I could teach you now.”

A sweet smile touched Adan’s lips and fell away just as quickly. “I’d love to, but I don’t have any money.”

Soren grabbed his donuts and stood. “You don’t need money, silly. I can teach you at my place. Here.” He passed the donuts to Adan. “Take these. I don’t think I can enjoy them now.”

Adan opened the box, and a smile snapped to his lips. “Yum. Thank you.” The way he snatched one from the box and crammed it in his mouth made Soren wonder how long it had been since he had last eaten.

A lightness carried away some of the pain. He wasn’t useless. He wasn’t unwanted. Maybe he had let Shane use him and maybe he was letting Adan use him now, but he would be damned if he let Shane break his spirit and ruin the things he actually liked about himself—like being kind.

“Don’t judge my car or apartment,” Soren said as he walked Adan to his car.

Adan spoke around his second donut. “I can’t judge. I don’t have either. In fact, I don’t even know how to drive… or get an apartment.”

The claim confused Soren. “Where do you live?”

Adan’s gaze slid away. “If I tell you, you can’t tell, okay?”

Soren stopped next to the passenger door of his twenty-year-old Camry. “Cross my heart.”

Adan took a deep breath. “I’ve been staying here. Right before closing, I sneak into the bathroom and hide until everyone leaves. Please don’t tell,” he said again, sounding desperate. “Banks will probably catch me someday, but I don’t know what else to do. Daddy kicked me out with nothing.” He looked so defeated, Soren didn’t know what to say. Soren had a ton of questions, but they all felt incredibly intrusive. He might not know what to say, but Soren knew what to do. He would help however he could. If he got burned, then it wasn’t the worst thing to happen to him today.

It had been a long time since Shane had been this irritated. But this was exactly the problem with his life. Beau was free to just show up whenever he liked and derail Shane’s plans. Soren had looked so happy to see him earlier. The way his face had fallen wouldn’t stop eating at the back of Shane’s brain. He couldn’t let Beau catch sight of Soren. If Soren was only Kyson’s best friend, then Beau would forget him. If he belonged to Shane, then he belonged to the family.

Shane ambled through Beau’s enormous estate, checking windows and doors. He hated it here. Always had. Beau told him to come back, so here he was. Too many men had gotten bold and defied Beau since his wife’s suicide. They turned a blind eye to a lot, but the way he had driven her to the grave wasn’t one. Too many enemies saw him as weak now. Beau had to show hisvicious side. He had to get his iron grip back on this town. So Shane was a soldier once again. His chest hurt.

Several times, he texted Soren on the sly, just to check in. His messages went unread. Shane couldn’t blame him. Still, it had his mood spiraling, even though he knew it was for the best. Soren was smart to turn his back on Shane. Fuck. His chest hurt.

Shane headed for his old bedroom. Nothing had changed. Nothing ever changed here. Beau had an army of housekeepers who kept each room fresh. The familiarity of every detail only highlighted how trapped Shane was and how permanent his sentence was. His upstairs room had a balcony. Shane stepped outside and took a breath, as if fresh air made him any less of a prisoner. He wondered what Soren was doing tonight. Shane prayed it wasn’t sitting around hating him.

He ambled back inside, trying to force his mind to be quiet. All the inner raging in the world wouldn’t change a thing. He grabbed his overnight bag. How fucking hopeful he had been when he had only packed for a few days. Shane wasn’t stupid. He knew this was forever now. It was like dying. The bedroom door burst open.

Banks stood in the doorway looking possessed. “Go get in the fucking car.”

Sometimes, Shane wondered who was guarding who. Banks scared the hell out of him, especially when he looked the way he did now. “Are you sure? Your dad—”

“I said go get in the motherfucking car.” The growl to his voice had Shane scrambling to obey. He held his backpack tightly and jogged down the steps. The guards by the front door avoided his gaze as Shane headed out. Banks’ Lamborghini sat running in the circular driveway at the bottom of the front steps. Usually, Shane drove them around, but only in the SUV. It was a rare occasion for Shane to drive the Lambo and then only to service appointments and whatnot. He climbed into the passenger seat. His mind raced while he waited. What had happened? Did they know about the way he had hurt Soren?

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