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Brad’s agitated voice suddenly resounds in the room as Ollie’s trembling fingers tap the speaker icon on his phone. “They took Sully!”
“What?” Lori jumps from his chair.
“Who?” Ollie is squeezing his phone so hard, his knuckles are turning white.
“I-I don’t know. He came to see me train just like every morning before classes start. One moment he was waving at me from the stands, and the next, those guys were-were dragging him away.”
I look at Gabe, but I see him already on the phone with Rami.
“Oh, God!” Ollie chokes out.
I try Sully’s phone, but it goes straight to voicemail. Fuck!
“I’m so sorry, I tried to reach him, I ran like crazy, but I couldn’t, I couldn’t. They shoved him in a car and disappeared.” Brad is a wreck. He’s panting and swearing. He isn’t the brightest bulb, but his kindness and loyalty make him a good friend.
“And nobody saw or heard anything? Didn’t Sully scream or use one of the defense moves I showed you guys?” Lori questions him.
“There’s nobody around the field at this hour. And Sully looked—”—Brad takes a big breath—“passed out when they carried him away.”
“Did they knock him out? Drug him? Did he have a panic attack and faint?” Ollie is fisting the fabric of my shirt while listing all the possible scenarios, the panic dripping from his tone.
“They must have known that the place was deserted. They probably followed him for a few days.” Gabe is right. They waited for Uri to drop him off at school and for Brad to be busy.
“They? Who the fuck are they?” Ollie’s voice cracks at the end. He looks devastated. Worried out of his mind. His first reaction is always to protect his brother.
“It was too far, I didn’t see them well. I’m sorry. Tell me what to do. How can I help?” Brad pleads.
I wrap my hand around Ollie’s nape and grab his head to get his attention. “We’ll find him. I promise you. I’ll get him back.” I look straight into his eyes. “I’ll get Sully back.”
“Rami is checking all the cameras around the area,” Gabe explains, still on the phone with him. “He wants to talk to Brad to get all the details he can get about the car and the men.”
“Brad? My boyfriend’s brother is going to call you. Tell him everything, okay?” Ollie rushes out before ending the call. He wraps his trembling body tightly around me. I lift him into my arms and wish I could enjoy the fact that Ollie called me his boyfriend for the first time.
Chapter 14
OLIVER
The constant beeping sound wakes me up. I stiffen, but relax once again as soon as I feel and smell Rague all around me. I nuzzle his neck and inhale deeply, my dick twitching inside my pants. I’m on his lap in…a hospital room. The scent of lemony detergents, tangy-smelling plastic, and alcohol hits me as soon as I shift my stiff body. The sleepy fog in my brain clears and the memories from the last two days assault me.
After Brad’s call, the waiting was atrocious. The longest, most brutally painful four hours of my life. It took Rami and the others four hours to find Sully. Four endless dark hours. And when I stormed into one of the hundreds of shipping containers in what looked like a scrapyard with Lori and Michael, after Rague and his brothers had cleared the area, the sight of my brother, bloody, broken, and unconscious on the dirty floor brought me to my knees. I can still feel the agonizing scream swelling and surging from deep inside my chest before it echoed along the long metal walls.
A part of me would have died with him that day if Michael hadn’t found a faint pulse. The rush to the hospital holding Sully’s bruised face on my lap was a blurry, chaotic mix of prayers and guilt. When the doctors took him away on the gurney, my muscles just gave out, all my strength abandoning me, and I would’ve dropped on the floor if Rague hadn’t been there. I fell into his arms, gave him all my weight. And as he held me up, I hid my face against his shoulder, my hands fisting and pulling at his flannel shirt.
He didn’t seem to care and let me cling to him. I cried into his chest, quiet, hot tears ran down my cheeks, yanking my heart out every time they hit his shirt. The pain was too much, I felt like it was suffocating me. My trembling body tried to disappear inside Rague, to melt into him and never be separated again. I wanted to stop feeling. To stop thinking. To stop being, just for a second.
“I’m here. I got you. I love you so fucking much,” Rague murmured sweet, encouraging words while wiping the wetness from my face, running his fingers through my hair, stroking his warm hand on my back. His strong, kind presence and gentle touches inside that cold hospital waiting room soothed the bleeding wound in my heart that I knew would never fully heal. My body slowly relaxed into his. His immovable, shielding love settled over me.
Rague’s brothers were all here like a tall, unbudgeable wall ready to protect me. They were seething; I could almost see the thick, growing fury turning the air unbreathable. I knew Rague was trying to control his anger as well, for me. But his body was vibrating under mine.
Me? In that moment, I just wanted my brother to pull through. And for my boyfriend’s arms to keep me as close as they could because I needed him more than the air filling my lungs.
Three more hours of horrible thoughts shuffling through my head. Images of a world without Sully. Without his sweet smiles, clumsy steps, curious gazes, and slippery fingers. His big heart and kind behavior, smart replies, and awkward shrugs. Then a doctor entered the room and called my name, and I almost fainted with relief when I heard the words: out of danger.
Sully was fine. He was fine. Two days had passed. They removed the tube that was helping him breathe yesterday afternoon, but he hadn’t opened his eyes yet.
“Do you want a coffee, kitty?” Rague’s raspy morning voice makes me tilt my head up. I nod and give him a small peck before standing up to stretch my back. Rague’s curls are a mess from my fingers and the rough sleep, but in a hot, unkempt way.
“I think they’ll need some as well.” I point at Lori and Gabe, sleeping on the other side of the room. My friend is lying on a chair, his head on Gabe’s lap. Rague’s brother has a hand on Lori’s shoulder, and even in his sleep, he looks all put-together, while Lori’s mouth is ungracefully wide open. It’s kind of weird to see them like this…touching and all cozy.
