CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Tristan

“I can’t let you do that.” Tristan didn’t let go of Ben. Couldn’t.

“We’re not fucking anymore. You don’t get to tell me what to do now, remember? And we both know this is the only option. We both know it makes sense. I’ll pretend I have no clue who he was before he took me, like I think it was a random kidnapping. How much investigating are they going to do about someone like me killing a known gang member in self-defense?”

That wasn’t his main worry, though. It was Ben. Christ, how could he love Tristan enough that he would be willing to do this for him?

“You need to get them out of here, Tris. You know this is the only option, and standing here like this is putting you all at risk.”

Ben was right about that, but he couldn’t walk away. Couldn’t just accept that. “You cannot risk your life for me. I’m not worth that.”

Ben shook his head. “Not to yourself, but you are to me. You are to them. Jesus, Tristan, neither of us have ever really been happy. You don’t think I didn’t know you weren’t happy when we were together? They make you happy. They give you what you need. I have never been able to do that, no matter how I tried. Now I can. This is the one thing I can give you.”

Tristan felt like he was breaking apart. His chest housed this heavy weight, but mixed into it was gratitude. This man loved him. All three of the men in this room loved him...that had to mean he was worth something.

But still, how could he let Ben do this?

“You are my best friend. I can’t risk you like that.”

“Risk me. Use me. I want it. Give me that part of you, Tristan. I damn well deserve it. They get the rest of you. Give me this. Let me for once know what it feels like to be the man who can give you what you need.” He tried to laugh. “You know me, I wouldn’t do this if I thought I would get caught. This is the easiest way. The only way. I am already the black sheep of my family. I told my father, Tristan. Give me the tools to cut the ties completely. Give me my freedom. Give me this one part of you.”

It was those words that pushed him over the edge. Tristan had never been able to love Ben the way he deserved, and in this, he was also giving Ben what he needed for the first time as well.

And he was also helping him become who he’d always been afraid to be, when it came to his family.

Tristan reached for Ben and pulled their bodies tightly together. He held the man against him. He’d been inside Ben before. He’d fucked him and dominated him. He’d tasted every part of him. They’d been friends for years. He was Tristan’s only real friend, yet in this moment, holding the man against him, was the most intimate they’d ever been.

“If I could love anyone other than them, it would be you. In every other way that matters, I do love you. I have never said those words to anyone other than them. I love you.”

Ben squeezed him. He felt the man’s lips press to his neck. Felt him exhale a deep breath, and then he pulled away. “I’ll take care of everything. Go.”

Tristan kissed Ben’s forehead, and for the first time in their friendship, he did what Ben wanted. He went.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Mateo

It wasn’t too hard to find someone on the streets who had medical experience and would keep quiet for money.

They stayed in a rundown hotel for a few days, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. They also couldn’t stay long, because they didn’t want to risk a check-in and Teo not being home, or even the cops trying to get ahold of Josiah because of the fire. If they did any digging they would know Josiah flew to New York, but for him, that wasn’t a crime, and they couldn’t see why they would really look into that.

Tristan had been in contact with Ben, and things seemed okay. He was right in a lot of ways. He was a big-shot attorney, with an even bigger-shot father. His Dad was a New York congressman or some shit like that. When he said he got kidnapped, and killed a gangbanger in self-defense, people believed him.

They were leaving tonight. Mateo didn’t want to fly back with them, in case he got caught, but Josiah and Tristan wouldn’t be separated from him.

They were in this together. They were in everything together.

They sat around on the bed, hours before their flight, when Teo finally let the words out he had trapped inside for days. “I think it was my dad. Javier said someone tried to kill him, someone was killing Demons, and he recognized the work. He thought it was me, but I think it was my dad giving orders from prison.”

The why is what he didn’t understand. Why would his Dad do that?