“That last night, I’d had enough, and I just wouldn’t take anymore. I knew that I was courting destruction, but my rage pushed me forward. I was going to have it out with Cruise, and I was leaving. He’d begun to physically assault people and workers, and he was having his muscle, specifically Jason, rough them up for their tips. I had to get out, and why I didn’t just leave and never come back, I don’t know. There was some deep craziness within me that made me want to go face to face with Cruise. It was the stupidest thing I ever did.” Memories of that night came on him, and he gave a full-body shiver.
“Relax, Keagan.” Sergio soothed while holding his hand. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
“I want to tell you. I want you to know.” Keagan insisted, and Sergio nodded and fell silent once again.
“There were three of them in the office when I walked in, Cruise, Jason, and a man I didn’t recognize. He was younger, probably late twenties and looked prominent and put together. They appeared to be having some sort of business meeting, and when I walked in, Jason jumped and grabbed the stranger, and ripped out his throat with his teeth. He toyed with him, joking as he died. The man was not expecting that, it was obvious by his shocked expression.” Keagan felt his heart rate increasing as the full memory hit him.
“Cruise grabbed me, and when Jason was finished killing that man, he said, here kill this one too, we don’t want witnesses. He made to toss me to him, but I managed to drop to the floor and scrambled for my life out into the hall and out the back door.” He tightened his grip on Sergio and soaked in his strength.
“He was on my heels, but he was covered in blood and had to try and stay to the shadows. I ran out on to the road a half block down, and thank God there was a cab there idling as if waiting for me. I took off and have been hiding ever since.” Keagan took another long slow breath and released it as Sergio brought the water to his lips once again.
…
“I am so sorry you had to go through that and had to spend so long-running and hiding. We should have known what was happening. We should have cared more. We finally discovered the truth of the Ruby Light when a guard, a close friend of mine, felt he had to do penance for letting his ego run away with him and asked to be assigned to the Ruby Light. Kash brought the criminals to justice. Their enterprise is no more. They can never hurt you again.” Sergio gathered Keagan into his arms and just held him both needing the solace of the other.
Sergio was hanging on by a thread. His mind and body wanted to react to the terror and viciousness with which his beloved was treated, but everyone was dead. He had no outlet for his rage, so he fought to temper his mood and focus on the gift that lay in his arms.
He held the image in his mind of the moment that Master Hadden killed Cruise, separating his head from his body and tossing it to the floor. It eased some of his rage but not enough. Kash had eviscerated Jason when Jason was sent to kill Kash’s two beloveds. He tore the man to pieces. Yes, that was helping he was calming down. Both Cruise and Jason met the death befitting the men that they were, trash total worthless trash.
“His name was Jarod, and they killed him.” Keagan softly voiced the added thought.
“The man in the office?” Sergio asked just as softly as Keagan not wanting to break the fragile spell between them. He felt Keagan nod rather than answer. Then he pulled away slightly with concern.
“Is Carlo, okay? He saw nothing they had no reason to kill him.” Keagan asked as if afraid of what the answer would be, but thankfully Sergio could deliver good news.
“We found him in Idaho living with family. He’s safe and well.” It was good to see his relief. “He gave us our first leads in our search for you.”
“How long have you been looking for me?” That question hit Sergio like a punch to the gut. Some people had been looking for Keagan for over a month since the night the Ruby Light was brought down, but that didn’t include him.
“Master Hadden sent a team to find you and Carlo along with others that had been mistreated by Cruise at the Ruby Light. They’ve been looking for you for over a month.” Sergio still couldn’t shake the sense of guilt. He felt at the knowledge that his beloved had spent so many nights out in the cold, afraid, and alone.
“That must be who I thought was following me. I’ve been especially careful these last few weeks once I noticed that my name and photo were being handed around.”
“You hid from our team because you had no way of knowing who they were. What’s important is that you’re here with me now, and you’re safe, my beloved.” Sergio eased Keagan back
