Chapter 62 Chapter 62 - The Ride Home II
The subject change was so abrupt he almost got whiplash. "What?"
"Marcus Chen. Your high school crush. The detective who's now running an operation against me, the person you may make some stupid attempt to contact since we're out in public."
Gianni's voice was still casual, but there was steel underneath. "You knew each other before he recruited you. I want to know about that relationship."
"There was no relationship," he said quickly. "I had a stupid crush on him in high school. He barely knew I existed. That's it."
"That's not what I asked." Gianni's hand tightened slightly on his thigh. "I asked you to tell me about him. What kind of person was he? What exactly is it that drew you to him?"
His face heated at his questioning. "God. Why do you have to make everything so awkward?!"
"I told you. I watched you back then" His voice dropped lower. "I watched you pine for a boy who would never appreciate what he could have had. Who rejected you publicly and humiliated you? And I wondered what you saw in him that was so special that you swallowed that kind of disrespect"
"He was... perfect," he said, the old hurt rising up despite years of distance. "Captain of the soccer team, smart, confident and everything I wasn't. God, can we stop talking about this already?"
"He was cruel." Gianni's voice was flat. "He could have rejected you privately. Instead, he made a spectacle of it and made you a laughingstock."
"I mean.. he panicked," he defended automatically, even though he'd thought the same thing at the time. "He wasn't expecting some gay boy to come out to him out of nowhere. He didn't know how to handle it, that's all it is."
"And yet you still carry a torch for him all these years." Gianni's thumb rubbed slow circles on his thigh through the denim. "Still want him, even now, so much that you would even consider running from me."
"I'm not going anywhere for fucks sake, I'm in your car, aren't I?! And you'll be watching me wherever I go, like a hawk." He couldn't stop himself from exploding.
He could see the driver shift uncomfortably in his seat.
"Watch your tone, tesoro, I don't like it."
He bit back his response and scoffed with annoyance.
His hand moved higher. "I can read you better than you think, Cedric, so consider this a warning. If you even think of making any contact with him, romantic or otherwise, I will kill you both... He first, so you can watch and suffer at the sight of it, and then you, as punishment for what I consider to be the ultimate sin."
"You can't possibly be serious!" The words burst out before he could stop them.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Gianni's voice was dangerous now. "Look in my eyes, Cedric, tell me if I'm being serious."
His eyes were dark and flat and steely, no human in them at all. To him, his words were gospel, and it made his blood run cold with fear and disgust.
"You're a monster."
"Yes," he agreed simply. "But I'm your monster. And you're mine. That's what you still don't understand, despite my best efforts. It is such a heavy burden, being attached to a simpleton like you." He sighed heavily.
"Did you just call me a---"The car turned onto a familiar street and he recognised the route to his old neighbourhood. They were getting close.
"When we arrive, pet," Gianni continued, his thumb stroking his cheekbone, "you will not tell your mother who I am or what our arrangement entails. As far as she knows, I'm a kind, wealthy benefactor who's offered you, an undeserving street rat, employment and housing."
"She's not stupid. She'll know something's wrong."
"Then you'd better be convincing." His smile was cold. "Because otherwise, there will be consequences. Not for you, but for them."
The threat was clear and he nodded mutely, hating him and needing him in equal measure.
"Good boy," Gianni murmured, and pressed a surprisingly soft kiss to his temple.
They passed by landmarks he recognised, the bodega where he used to buy cheap beer, the laundromat where he'd washed his clothes, the bar where he'd worked and sold himself to make rent.
Each one was a reminder of the life he'd lost, the person he used to be. Sometimes he made him slow down so he could point them out to him, but he was mostly just stalling.
He was sure he wanted to return home before, but now that they were so close, it seemed like such a big task. They would have too many questions, questions about where he had been and why he disappeared for so long, that he could not answer.
"Tell me something," Gianni said, his voice thoughtful now. "If Marcus offered to extract you right now. To take you away from me, put you in witness protection, give you a new life. Would you go?"
It was a trap, it had to be. But he didn't know how to answer without getting himself caught.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "A week ago, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. Now..." He trailed off.
"Now what?"
Now he'd held him while he slept, seen him vulnerable... Now some broken part of him had started to care about what happened to him.
"I don't know," he repeated.
Gianni studied his face for a long moment, and whatever he saw there seemed to satisfy him. His hand returned to his thigh, possessive and warm, and they drove in silence for several more blocks.
Suddenly he spotted something on their path, sitting smack in the middle of a car, it looked like...
"Gianni! Oh my God, stop the car!!"