Chapter 4

Taylor’s head jerked suddenly upward as his body was lifted from the ground. Not much time seemed to have passed. He gagged, and spat a wad of thick cum to the ground, the drool clinging to his lips as he fell over a heavy, naked shoulder with a grunt.

Some in the crowd cast a glance his way, but the others were beginning to get dressed and making small talk again. A server approached the outside, passing drinks with a blank face. Reinhart was in the distance, shaking his head at something and giving orders, entirely ignoring him, lost in some other deal.

The man carrying him lurched forward and they set off, a small party in tow.

“-That doesn’t even make any sense. If we’re going to buy, and we know we’re going to buy, there’s no reason not to act now. The market’s never going to be hotter than it is now, and we know the price will be a quarter over that by next year.”

“It absolutely will be lower than it is now, have you not been paying attention to what’s happening over there? Thompson’s going to panic -he’s already panicking -and he’s going to jump once he sees we won’t budge. He needs this. He thinks he needs this.”

“You’re out of your mind to bet that much on him. He’s not panicking-”

Taylor’s hands tried to find a grip, to hold himself steady, but his clammy, tired hands slid against hard muscle, and the man re-adjusted him quickly, bracing his body tighter.

“He did the same thing in ‘05 and-”

“Exactly! He’s not going to take that kind of loss again. He doesn’t need-”

“Are you kidding me? He-”

Taylor bounced as the man re-adjusted him again. They were making their way back down the dimly lit marble hallway as two of the followers continued to bicker. With the hand around him holding him gently still, the slow walk, and the meaningless chatter continued, Taylor’s fear lulled again, and he dropped from consciousness once more.

He jerked awake again as elevator doors chimed open, the hallway outside suddenly unfamiliar. Clean, modern whites greeted him, with wide open hallways and tame art. The lighting was bright and soft, and the hallways were short. The man re-adjusted him again and set off toward the closest door, one of several along the wall, like rooms in a hotel. With the quick swipe of a thumb, the door slid inward and let them in. Only Taylor and his ride entered. The man closed the door quickly behind him with the swift kick of his foot. With a gentleness he hadn’t expect, the man lowered Taylor onto the sheets of a firm bed with crisp, clean sheets, his large hands still cradling the boy.

Taylor’s eyes raised up and found Frederick looking back at him. There was a long moment of silence between them. Taylor knew that the feelings of anger and betrayal were there inside him somewhere, but he couldn’t summon it now.

“There’s a bath, for when you wake,” Frederick said, nodding to the far room. “There’s food in the kitchen. But the door outside is locked.”

Taylor looked back at him, his eyes drooping, despite himself.

“I will try to be back when they come. He didn’t tell us what was in store for you. I’m sorry that I have no help to offer. But if you stay strong...” Taylor’s eyes drifted close again. “I don’t know” Frederick finished bitterly.

When Taylor’s eyes opened again, he wasn’t quite sure if he had fallen asleep, or for how long. The lighting of the room hadn’t changed, and the door still looked shut. He shifted to his side, and suddenly buckled. Every muscle felt torn and tightened into knots. Gritting his teeth, he swung his leg from the bed with a grunt and staggered to the nearest wall. He rested his sweat-soaked head against the cool wall and sagged into it. Waves of ache pulsed through him, not unlike his orgasm earlier. The thought drew his attention back to the gentle ache of his hole. He could still perfectly remember the feeling of Reinhart stretching him, filling him. His cock swelled quickly, dulling the pain of his aching muscles.

In the kitchen, he found a glass of water and a packet of Asprin waiting for him. He finished the pills, gulping the glass down in one go, tasting a bitterness that he didn’t think was only from the medicine. His face felted crusted, and he could almost taste the reek of himself. Gripping the wall, Taylor stumbled his way down the hall and into the bathroom. A cobblestone square stood beneath a wide showerhead on the ceiling. The room was empty, save for a toilet and a small, mirror-less sink.

With a twist, water flowed down like rain onto him, melting away the mess. After a minute, he eased himself to the ground, sitting under the heavy torrent of water. After another minute, he laid down on the cool stones, briefly dosing again.

An hour passed before Taylor moved again, scrubbing the last of himself clean with fragrant soap that reeked of oiled wood and leather. He gargled and spat until the tastes were gone. Then, as gently as he could, he cleaned behind himself with handfuls of soap, wincing from the soreness. It was nearly another hour before he cut the water and dried himself off with white towels, fluffy and soft, reminding him of the robe they’d dressed him in the night before.

He peeked carefully into the kitchen, but saw no one. His muscles had loosened in the heat of the shower, and combined with the Aspirin, his body wasn’t hurting nearly as badly as it had before. He opened the fridge and found an assortment of sandwiches, soft drinks, and snacks. There was focaccia and oil on the counter, and he snacked on that. It was gone before he realized it. He finished a roast beef on a baguette along with a ginger ale a moment later, following it with a pear, and then a bit of cheddar and deli meats. He was searching the cabinets for more when he heard the sudden crack of the door swinging open behind him.

It wasn’t the sad, friendly face of Frederick. It was six men he didn’t recognize, dressed in casual suits, glancing him over with cocky smirks and dark eyes. Taylor felt his heart sinking again.

The one that lead them through the door saw his face go pale and held up a palm, “Easy there. Just here to talk.” Taylor felt the food churning in his belly, suddenly starting to reverse its course. “Just here to talk,” the man said again as the others made their way in, shutting the door behind them. It locked with an audible click.

“I understand you had a long night last night,” the stranger said with passable sincerity. “ I was not involved, none of us were. I want to be clear about that,” he said, glancing to the others. None of them paid the comment any mind as they sat on the bed or ambled around the room. “We’re just an outside party, here at the boss’ request. Do you want to sit? My name’s George, by the way. Nice to meet you,” he said, nodding. “You’re Taylor, right? Taylor Evans?”

Taylor nodded slightly, his eyes glancing to the others. They were whispering into each others’ ears, not listening. Taylor eased carefully backward, brushing against the cabinets behind him as George settled onto the kitchen’s only chair.

“Yeah, Evans ... See, that’s the problem. We know your father,” George told him, wagging a finger at him. “And your father sure knows us. Been making all sorts of trouble. I’m sure you understand that, right?” he laughed. “I bet he gave you a hell of a time, growing up. He’s a tenacious one, ain’t he? A real dog with a bone, right? When there’s something he doesn’t like ... I get it. I respect it,” George said, throwing up his hands.

“But I don’t think the Senator pays us the same respect,” George said, shrugging. “We offer him a deal, he spits on it. We offer him a better deal, he spits on it. Think what you may, but we’re a civil people. We’ll start with the carrot every time. We’re not barbarians. But your father, he just wants blood! He doesn’t want our money. He doesn’t want our help. He wants blood! I try to give him cash, he wants blood. I pile that cash on higher,” he said, gesturing comically, “and he just wants blood.”

George shook his head. “We gave him every opportunity. Some people start with threats -that’s not us. With threats, they’re just words, ya know? Who’s scared of that? It’s just air,” George said, spitting out his tongue. “Who cares, right?” George sat in silence for a moment, pretending to think. “Well, I dunno. Here I am talkin’, so I guess sometimes words are fun, too. But the boss, enh, he doesn’t like it so much.”

So, here’s the deal, kid. We weren’t here last night. We didn’t do nothin’ to you. But you’re gonna do some things for us- I know, stop,” George said, jumping to his feet and holding out his hands as Taylor tried to move. “I know you don’t wanna, but that’s the way it is. That’s what’s gonna happen. And -and,” he added, stepping forward, trying to recollect the boy’s attention, “when it’s done, you’re on your way. The Boss gets his revenge, or whatever he gets off on, and you find -hey, look at that, a plane ticket and a promotion in some other town, and you never see a one of us ever again. Are you following me?”

Taylor blinked as sweat beaded on his forehead again. The others were paying attention now, watching him with frightening indifference.

“There’s no ‘no’ option here, so I don’t really need a response. But I told you -we don’t get violent unless you make it violent. You settle the fuck down and we can be out of here in five, maybe ten minutes. I don’t know about you, but this ain’t exactly something I want to draw out. I gotta be in LA by lunch or my kids are gonna be nightmares about it all day. My God, you think you got it bad, kids are thirty years of getting’ fucked in the ass...

“Now, do we need to chase you, or can we move along? I promise you -none of us exactly volunteered here. It is what it is, ya know? None of us here are callin’ any shots” George said, waving a finger around the room. “Not sayin’ we’ve got it equally bad, naturally. I mean, just it is what it is.”

Taylor’s mind was racing in circles around the same words. Bathroom, no exit, bathroom, no exit.

Fighting wasn’t an option. There was nothing in the room to fight with, and he wasn’t going to take six of them. There was only flight, and the only door in the place was locked and behind half of them. The walls were closing down around him quick.