Page 23 of Aftermath

It infuriated Austin as much as it worried him. If he was ever going to see his daughter again, he needed Cam to be alert. They needed strength—it always came down to that. If they dissolved into nothing, they wouldn’t be able to fight. They had to keep hoping that an opportunity would arise, and if…whenit did, they had to be ready.

More often than not, their sleep was disrupted by cries and shouts. Nightmares had become a given as soon as they shut their eyes. Chris, especially, who was still sharing his cell with a corpse.

"Nothing to say, huh?" Cam chuckled darkly. "Maybe that means it's true. You're a cocksucker."

Austin flew up from his cot, crossed the small cell, and yanked Cam up by the collar of his filthy T-shirt. With a furious glare, he stared down the younger man who was a few inches shorter than his six four.

"You think acting like a high school bully makes you cool?" He tightened his grip on Cam's shirt. "You think it makes you look strong?"

"Get your fucking hands off me," Cam seethed and grabbed at Austin's forearms. "You don’t know who the fuck you're dealin' with."

Austin laughed and shoved him away—roughly. "I know a pathetic jerk when I see one. You want to be a dick? Fine." He looked down at Cam, who'd ended up on the floor, in disgust. "If you're so strong and smart—" leaning down, he stabbed a finger at Cam's forehead "—use that anger to do something useful instead."

Cam said nothing; he just glared up at Austin.

Austin shook his head quickly, feeling dizzy from both the flashback and the alcohol, and got up on his feet. He faced the bastard who needed to learn some goddamn manners and seethed. "What the fuck did you just say?" Grabbing onto the bartop, he steadied himself.

"Just calm down now," Brian cautioned. "There's always one bad egg—come on, Austin. Christina's already called the bouncer."

"I think you heard me the first time, fag," the man said with a smirk.

Austin Huntley had finally found a physical outlet for all his anger.

9

Cam knew how important discipline was for dogs, so if he allowed Bourbon in the bed one time, he'd have to struggle all the more later when he weighed seventy pounds. It wouldn’t be so precious to have Bourbon up there then. Also, what if he was jostled awake one night by a puppy but automatically thought it was Psycho?

So…Cam sat on the floor right now, leaning back against the bed, and had his little puppy goofing around on his lap with a new chew toy while Cam watched a movie on the flat screen.

The past few days had been exhausting for Cam, so this was all he wanted this Friday. Peace and quiet. Okay, that was a fucking lie; there was something else he wanted, but that would only lead to trouble. He needed to distance himself from Austin before…before what?Before Cam craved him more? He doubted he could want Austin more than he already did.

It wasn’t purely physical, although the man had become the biggest star in his morning showers, but it was the companionship that he wanted the most. Even if they bickered like old women sometimes.

Sighing, he glanced at his phone on the low coffee table in front of him, and he debated…one text wouldn’t hurt—just to check in, to see how he was doing…but the dude could be asleep. A family man like him probably went to bed around nine. He snorted to himself and looked down at Bourbon who was chewing the shit out of that toy.

"Christ!" He nearly jumped out of his own skin when the phone rang. Bourbon barked, which was cute, not threatening, and Cam picked up his phone and made a face when he recognized the number. "Dammit."

He had erased Brian from his contact list, but he still remembered parts of the number. Mainly 'cause he'd been screwing the guy on and off for a year before he was kidnapped, but also 'cause Brian had texted him a few times in the past couple days.

Cam hadn't replied, but now he had to. "Yeah?" he muttered and reached for his beer.

"Cam!" That was Brian, all right. "Is there any way you could pick me up? Phil won't give me my keys." Now there was a pout in his voice, which just annoyed Cam. He'd never really liked guys who acted like women, but it hadn't bothered him when Brian's mouth was full of his cock. "I really wouldn’t have called you if there was anyone else."

"Fuck," Cam groaned in defeat. "It's midnight. You don’t think I got better shit to do?"

"I can make it up to you!"

Cam rolled his eyes and moved Bourbon off his lap. "I'm sure you can. Why won't Phil give you your keys?" He had met up with Brian where he worked a few times, so he knew the bouncer a little. Enough to know that Phil usually didn’t give a flying fuck about who was too drunk to drive.

"There may have been a fight," Brian said pitifully. "I'm fine! But Phil says I shouldn’t drive."

Cam sighed and got off the floor. "I'll be there in ten, idiot."

Cam pulled up outside the bar in his Dodge and grabbed the beanie from the dashboard. He looked like a fucking bum in baggy cargo pants, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and the surfer-dude hair that he hid under the beanie, but he was only here to play designated driver. Lighting up a smoke, he left the car and fired off a text to Brian that said he was here now.

"Cam?"

He spun around, only to see Austin ten feet away, leaning back against the building with his phone in hand. They frowned at each other, both surprised, and then Cam noticed the cut on Austin's eyebrow and approached.

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