Page 17 of Lines Drawn
I study the boy, seeing how truly lost he is in the interrelationships department, and curse inwardly. I might not enjoy thefeelingsthat my lovers force to course through me, but Emilio seems to be a sinking ship when it comes to them.
“I…I am Master’s… How can I have everything I want with Hollis when I have him?”
I sigh. “That is something you’re going to have to speak with your Master and your…Hollis about. Unless you want him to tell you to leave Hollis alone?”
“No!” he snarls, taking a step forward. “He’s mine!”
I nod once. “Then there you go. It’s as simple as that. Take what you want, Emilio. You can have your Master/Daddy and…whatever Hollis is to you.”
“He is… He’s a bright light, an angel who helps keep me sane, and…my–my… He’s someone special to me, okay?”
“Okay. As long as you and Hollis know what he means to you, why does anyone or anything else matter?”
“Master…he is my everything.”
“And I am Hollis’s, but that doesn’t mean he’s not allowed to have you, too. The same can be said in reverse.”
He seems to turn my words over in his mind, because he nods slowly. I don’t know what conclusions he’s come to, but there’s a lightness in his eyes and his posture shifts, his back straightening as if a weight’s been lifted off his slim shoulders.
“Thank you, Ten.”
“You’re welcome, Mostrotto.”
He rolls his eyes. “Really going with that?”
I shrug. “Benjamin says you’re a homicidal teddy bear. So why wouldn’t ‘little monster’ be fitting?”
He shakes his head and brushes past me for the door. Before he can reach it though, I stop him. When he looks at the hand on his arm, I release him quickly, and he meets my gaze.
“Thank you,” I say lowly, even though we’re the only two conscious in the room. “Thank you for taking care of Hollis when I wasn’t there.”
His features soften. “He’s mine, as I already said, so why wouldn’t I?”
I give him the smile I normally reserve for family. “Why indeed. Still, I am thankful. He needs you.”
“I need him, too.”
Something profound seems to pass between us, and just for a moment, I wonder what his soft lips would feel like pressedagainst mine, but I dismiss the curiosity. “Let’s get back to il nostro amante then.”
Emilio leads the way out of the room, and for once, I am happy to leave death behind, retaking my façade of a functioning human. Though, this time, I am not alone.
“Why can’t they just die?” I snarl.
“They’re like cockroaches,” Cecily agrees.
I glare at her. “It was your job to make sure this went off without a hitch. What happened?”
She shrugs a shoulder, unbothered by my ire. “Fire is unpredictable. From what I heard, one of them was severely injured. If we’re lucky, they won’t make it.”
I shake my head and slam a fist onto the desk. “Not good enough. We’ve come too far to run onhopesthat one of them will die.”
“And we’ve come this far because we’ve been careful. I argued that the fire was a risk.”
“It worked for them,” I point out.
She rolls her eyes. “They got lucky. Chaos knew which targets to hit, and did them well. He was able to get closer to them thanour guys could. Their security was too tight, and we lost a good deal of men…” She purses her lips. “Kieran is still grumbling about that.”
“Your brother can continue bitching all he wants. The sacrifices we make today will be worth it in the end; when we’re the only ones who matter, not just in this city, but this side of the country.”
