Chapter 9: Do or Die
Justin's POV
Something in the tone of his voice seemed to freeze my heart as it skipped quite a few beats while I gazed into his haunted eyes. This was going to be bad and I wanted to cry, but I wouldn't give in to those feelings. As impossible as it seemed at the moment, if this was to be the end, then I'd handle it like a man. I smiled and schooled my features to the best of my ability, trying to hide the utter devastation that I was feeling at being rejected and cast aside. "So, let's talk."
I watched his throat move in small convulsive motions as he swallowed hard before starting. "There are some things I need to tell you about why you're here, and why I'm here. You see, I haven't been completely honest with you."
I closed my eyes for just a moment to make sure I wouldn't lose control. Finally, I opened my eyes and met his gaze once again raising my hand to cup his cheek when I saw the pain in his hazel eyes. At least I could comfort myself knowing that he wasn't finding it easy to tell me it was over which in some small way made me feel better. "Okay."
He sounded as lost and alone as I was feeling at the moment as he spoke. "Your father hired me to "fix" you. He didn't want a gay son, so my job was to scare you straight," he swallowed hard and looked into my eyes with an expression so forlorn it tore at my heart, "or kill you."
I sucked in a shocked breath as I felt a pain slam into my heart. It was like a sledgehammer crushing my chest. I knew my father was ashamed of me, but he actually wanted me dead. My head was moving from side to side as I tried to understand what he was saying. This couldn't be happening. He was hired to kill me. My body started shaking and I honestly couldn't figure out if it was fear, anger, or desolation that was the cause of it. I should be terrified. This man just told me he had to kill me, because obviously he hadn't "scared me straight." Images of my life filtered through my mind, and I knew he was telling the truth. My father wasn't just ashamed of me, he hated my very existence.
As I stared into those haunted hazel eyes, I felt a sense of panic slowly flow through my body. It all made perfect sense, now. This man had been hired to "fix" me, and since he knew it was impossible to fix me, he went into this knowing he'd have to kill me. So, this entire thing had just been his way of appeasing his guilt. Well, if he thought I was just going to roll over and die, he definitely had another think coming.
I'm not sure which of us was more surprised when my fist connected with his jaw, but I felt a sudden rush of pride in my ability to fight when I saw the blood he was wiping from the corner of his mouth.
"What the fuck?! Have you lost your fucking mind?!"
I quickly followed with another punch and felt intense satisfaction at his grunt of pain as I watched him fall backwards over the chair. "You son-of-a-bitch! This whole time you were just waiting to find the right moment to kill me! What? Did you think by telling me your little sob story that I'd make it easy for you? Were you hoping I'd just kill myself and save you the trouble?"
Watching him struggle to his feet, I quickly surveyed the room for anything I could use as a weapon. "Would you stop for a fucking minute! I never planned on killing you."
The adrenaline was racing through my body and my heart was pounding. I had to figure out a way to get out of this alive. My only objective was survival by any means necessary.
"Did you hear me? I never planned on killing you!"
My chest was heaving with the effort to draw oxygen into my lungs, but his words finally registered in some part of my brain. "Then why?"
He made another swipe across his mouth wiping the blood away and slowly shook his head. "I don't know. I just saw your picture and heard what your own father planned to do to you, and I just couldn't walk away. I thought I could buy some time and figure out a way to get you out of here alive."
"Why would a hired killer all of a sudden have a conscience?"
"I'm not a killer! Do I fucking look like a killer to you?"
I shook my head still angry and upset over this whole mess. "How the fuck should I know? It's not like I spent my days lazing around the pool with hired assassins."
He raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "Just hear me out."
Something in his voice finally got through to me and I stopped searching for a weapon and looked into his eyes. "Just don't make any sudden moves."
He lowered his voice whispering so low I almost couldn't hear his words. "Right. Listen, I got a phone call from your father asking for a meeting. I'm in advertising, so I thought he wanted me to design a campaign for him. When I got to his office he started telling me all about you and what he expected me to do. I knew if I told him he'd made a mistake he'd call in the right guy who in all probability would kill you, so I took the job thinking I could get you out of this mess. Then, I wound up here in this cabin with all these cameras and I did the best that I could do to keep us both alive."
My body felt completely weak as the adrenaline drained all my strength. I slowly sank to the floor and shook my head. "I knew he was disappointed in me, but I never expected him to try and kill me."
I watched as he slowly walked towards me with his hands still up. He sat down on the floor next to me. "I don't know what to say to you, except I'm on your side."
Maybe it was the fact that I was just so physically drained, or maybe it was the intensity of all the emotions I'd been experiencing, but I suddenly didn't feel like being strong anymore, so I turned and pressed my body against his and hugged him tightly. I felt his arms wrap around my shaking form and heard that soft sexy voice whispering in my ear. "It'll be alright, tiger. We'll get through this together."
As strange as it might seem, I felt completely safe in his arms. It was difficult to believe just moments before I was fighting him thinking he was going to kill me, and now I was finding comfort in his arms. I'd hit him! The guilt crashed in around me and I started shaking more. "I'm so sorry." I pulled back and my hands immediately went to his face…his beautiful face. There was no blood but his lip was swollen and I could already see the evidence of a bruise starting. I gently kissed his lips. "I'm so sorry I hit you."
"It's not the first time I've been hit, tiger. I'm fine." He smiled and winked at me. "Remind me to never piss you off again. You pack a pretty good punch for a little guy."
I shook my head and actually chuckled. "Yeah, well it's amazing what you can do when you're fighting for your life."
His eyes clouded over and he gave a little nod of his head. "I haven't told you everything."
I stiffened against his side for a moment. What more could there be to tell? "Tell me."
"I talked to your father and offered to buy you from him, but he needs proof that you'll never resurface and bother him again."
My heart was still beating pretty fast and his words chilled me to the bone. "What kind of proof?"
He looked into my eyes for a moment. "I told him I was going to turn you into a sex slave, so he wants me to brand you."
"I don't understand. What has that got to do with anything?"
"It seems your father thinks all sex slaves should be branded by their owners, and to ensure that I'm serious about taking you as a sex slave, I have to brand you in front of the cameras so he can watch."
Horrible images of burn victims and even some images of animals being branded flashed through my mind. I swallowed and shook my head. "I don't want to be branded."
His head dropped until his chin was touching his chest and I heard him sigh. His voice sounded so distant, unlike anything I'd ever heard. "I tried to talk him out of it. I told him that I didn't want your skin marred, but he made it perfectly clear that I'd either brand you, or my services were no longer needed."
"Your services? What does that mean?"
He lifted his head and looked into my eyes once again. "It means he'll just have someone else kill you."
Finally, the reality of the entire situation was beginning to unravel in my muddled brain. If I didn't get branded, then my father would just have someone else take over. Then who knows what would happen to…I didn't even know his name. "What's your name?"
He leaned over and whispered very softly into my ear. "I'm not sure if this place is bugged, and I don't really want your father having too much information, but my name's Brian. Brian Kinney."
When he moved back I studied him for a second. Yes, he looked like a Brian. I smiled brightly and nodded my head. This guy had put himself in danger to try and save me…a total stranger. He could have walked away at any time, but he didn't. I had to make sure that he didn't suffer because he wanted to help me. "So, what will happen to you if you don't brand me? I don't see my father letting you walk away."
He ran a hand down over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I honestly don't know. I tried to make sure that he couldn't get away with killing me, but you never know."
As I looked into his eyes, I knew that I'd do anything to keep him safe. He didn't deserve to be harmed for trying to help me. If my father was willing to hire someone to kill me, I don't think he'd hesitate to kill Brian. I refused to allow that to happen. "Tell me what I have to do."
"I'm supposed to call your father back with the details about when I'm going to brand you. I also need to get the money together."
I had to ask. "So, how much did my father want."
"A hundred grand."
I just nodded my head. "Well it's nice to know what you're worth."
I felt his hands cupping my face and he forced me to look at him. "That's bullshit! I don't ever want to hear you talking about yourself that way. You're priceless. Just remember your father's a fool."
"Looks like he's going to have a sex slave for a son."
"It's not forever, tiger. I just want to get you away from him and then you can decide what you want to do with the rest of your life."
Instead of comforting me, his words hurt. Was he just going to get me away from my father and then abandon me? I don't think I could have ever imagined a more fucked up situation, and I definitely didn't want to think about my future if he wasn't going to be a part of it. Unfortunately, my life had never turned out the way I wanted it to, and I wasn't about to make him feel like he needed to be my keeper. I'd survive no matter what. After all, I was a survivor. "So, how do we go about doing this thing?"
"You mean you'll do it?"
"I don't think I have a choice, so let's just figure this out and get it over with."