Chapter 16

 

“This is what I needed. Nothing like an early evening swim.” Geoffrey shook his wet hair off his forehead and tread water. “Come in. The water is great!”

Sven stepped off the side of the zero edge pool and sank, the water cooling his hot flesh. He groaned in pleasure as he kicked back to the surface. Two frustrating days had passed with no new information, and Geoffrey’s friends had gone silent. In person. On the different media platforms, quite a few were louder than hell like the video had instigated a big Internet party. Sven had been happy to see that some had started jumping in to defend him, although for every one, at least twenty immediately skewered that person. Understandably most backed down. But a few stood strong.

Among them were Abby, Patrick, and Kody.

The whole thing made Sven’s chest ache because it was like the dark underbelly of humanity lay blatantly exposed.

Thankfully, Geoffrey had mostly stopped looking and disappeared into his work during the day, while at night, he’d held on to Sven like he was afraid he’d disappear.

“I love to swim and so does Finn,” Geoffrey said as he floated on his back. “We didn’t have a pool growing up, but our neighbors did. They let us come over every now and then. We both wished we could swim every day, so this cemented my decision when I was house hunting. Finn swims like a fish and took first place in a couple of competitions in high school.”

“It’s a beautiful pool.” With dark blue tile, a round spa, and one massive step down along one side, the pool had an elegant scope Sven liked. But even nicer was the pride in Geoffrey’s voice when he bragged about his brother. He did that often, Sven had noticed. And it did something to Sven every time.

There had been zero hesitation on Geoffrey’s part to take over raising his brother. During those years, he’d admitted that he didn’t go out often and instead took his parenting duties very seriously. He also had regret in his voice when he spoke of the heavier partying year he had done during Finn’s first year of college.

Sven hated that he felt shame over that period because it made so much sense to him. At a time when others were getting those young partying years out, he’d been home cooking stir-fry and pasta while making sure his brother finished his homework.

A splash pulled his attention back to Geoffrey, who like his brother, swam like a fish. A fucking gorgeous fish. His slim body cut through the water with grace. Sven could swim, but he didn’t move in that sinuous slide—not with his heavy body—so he settled on the step, or shelf, that bracketed the end, letting the water pool around his waist as he enjoyed the show. He’d thought of officially pulling himself from the job and letting Royce take over, so he could just stay in a boyfriend capacity, but he thought they were close to figuring out who had done these things to Geoffrey.

Boyfriend capacity.

He wanted that. Present income aside, they came from similar backgrounds and while his life was very different from Geoffrey’s, he’d put up with more nights out if it came with more of Geoffrey. Not just in bed but out of it as well. He was sweet and funny and yeah, sometimes his mouth drove Sven crazy, but if he’d learned anything the past few days, Geoffrey was worth getting to know. He looked forward to every crazy, passionate moment of it. And the desire? He’d felt nothing like this. Ever.

Geoffrey swam up to him, smoothed his hair back from his head, and winked. He knew he looked good wet—it was all over his face. That confidence mixed with his naughty nature was just so fucking hot, Sven couldn’t stop himself from grabbing him and yanking him between his legs. Geoffrey did one better, bobbing up to straddle Sven’s legs and anchor himself tightly against him with strong, lean thighs.

All that wet skin was like a magnet for Sven’s hands as he ran them over every part of Geoffrey he could reach. And Geoffrey did something curious then. He didn’t kiss Sven; he merely stared at him, water running down his cheeks and into his eyes. He blinked it away, gaze not moving—he just stayed locked into Sven’s eyes. And God, those blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

Affection swelled hot and fast in his chest. “You’re beautiful, Geoffrey,” Sven said quietly. “Inside and out.”

“You’re the only person who has ever taken the time to truly pay attention to me. To truly look at me and see beyond the surface of just another clichéd twink.”

Sven couldn’t stop his snort. “I’m a six-foot-seven blond Norwegian named Sven. I dare you to out-cliché that one.”

“True. You win.” White teeth flashed as he laughed.

“Brat,” he said fondly as he firmly pulled Geoffrey closer and slowly, slowly licked the water off those sexy lips.

And like that, fire streaked between them and wrapped them together until Sven’s tongue was deep in Geoffrey’s mouth and those quick hands of his were clenched in Sven’s hair. Sven clutched both sides of Geoffrey’s ass in his hands, marveling yet again at how his cheeks fit so perfectly in his palms.

Geoffrey let go of his hair, wrapped his arms tight around Sven’s neck, and thrust his rigid cock into Sven’s belly. He gasped and suddenly threw his head back to laugh into the sky. “I can’t believe how I feel! I’ve been so sad and upset and right now, right this moment, all I feel is you and this pool. And the warm sun on my face and shoulders. It’s like if I let it, all that other stuff disappears and I can become weightless enough to fly into the sky.” He brought his face back to Sven’s, all sparkle and giddiness and Sven was so happy to see him smiling again, he hugged him close.

“I’d rather you stayed right here,” he murmured against Geoffrey’s jaw before he kissed it.

“Me too, because there’s something I want to show you. Remember that limber thing?” He turned to whisper into Sven’s ear. “There’s this thing I can d—”

His entire body suddenly went rigid before he leaned back, confusion clouding his features and bringing his eyebrows together. “What the…”

The words slurred.

The alarm that slammed into Sven made him wrap his arms protectively around the suddenly heavier Geoffrey and look around the yard. The fact that he saw nothing didn’t comfort him in the least because Geoffrey started gasping and twitching.

“Sve…neck.”

He was turning Geoffrey’s head to look when something stung his own neck. Hard. With his right hand, he reached up and felt a small dart sticking out. A fucking tranq? Dread screamed through him. His heart raced, sending blood and the tranquilizer speeding through his system. He had maybe ten, fifteen minutes to get Geoffrey to safety. Call in backup.

His vision swam and the world started to blur. What the hell had he been hit with? He shouldn’t be feeling this out of it already.

Sheer terror hit him when Geoffrey went limp and fell back into the water. Had that fucker shot the smaller man with the same dose? Moving was like swimming in thick sludge, but Sven pushed through his whirling senses and reached for Geoffrey. He was losing strength fast, too fast to get them into the house. He yanked Geoffrey up and managed to push him higher onto the side of the pool.

“Feel sick,” Geoffrey murmured, his words sounding hollowed out and indistinct. He reached into the water like he planned to pull Sven out.

Sven shook his head…or thought he did. Holy hell, whatever this guy had hit him with was strong. He sank under the water and he could hear Geoffrey’s indistinct cries of panic, could see him trying to crawl back into the pool. Water filled his mouth and he fought harder to get to the surface. Geoffrey’s terrified and furious yells grew louder, then cut off.

He grabbed the edge of the pool just as someone dressed in black swept Geoffrey off the ground. A ski mask shrouded the man’s face. The stranger stopped and stared down at Sven as he fought to stay coherent enough to get out of the pool. To get to Geoffrey. Some part of Sven’s brain was screaming, panicked that he couldn’t reach Geoffrey in time, that the attacker was about to shoot him and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

Blinking once to clear his head, he opened his eyes to see the person disappearing around the side of the house with an unconscious Geoffrey over his shoulder.

His phone was close to the pool so he could hear any calls from the office. Crawling out of the water and slowly across the hard stone on his hands and knees, Sven had to try three times to wrap his fingers around the phone. His vision was going in and out, and the entire world seemed to shift every time he tried to focus. His brain was panicked, but his body was slowing down as the tranquilizer set in. Royce was on speed dial. He dropped the phone just as the man answered.

Unable to even hear at this point, Sven groaned. “Geoffrey taken. Drugged. Both of u…”

Everything went black.

 

 

 

###

Once again, Sven awakened to a strange room. Only this time, he came up fighting and had no idea why. Overwhelming fear had his lungs in a grip of terror so constricting, he couldn’t breathe. He threw out a hand and something clattered into a wall.

“Shit, grab him!”

“You grab him! He’s swinging tree trunks!”

His next fist hit flesh and bone.

“Ow, shit! Whoa, Sven! Hey, you’re fine. We’ve got you.” The low voice was soothing and familiar, but it wasn’t registering in his brain just yet. “Dom, if we don’t calm him down, they’re gonna tie him to the bed.”

Someone leaned over him and pressed him down. “We could take bets on how long it would take him to break free. Could be a good show.”

He recognized Dominic’s deep voice in his ear and started to calm, only his heart still raced and his chest still ached—felt like something had been ripped from him. What the hell was wrong? He finally pulled in a breath and got a good whiff of his surroundings. Strong chemicals, antiseptic…

“A hospital? I’m in a fucking hospital?”

“Of course you are.” This voice belonged to Royce. “We found you on the ground, barely breathing. It took both of us to wrestle you into my damn car. Anything strong enough to take you down had to be dangerous. The nurse took your blood. We’re waiting to hear what it was.”

“Probably a fucking elephant tranq,” Dominic muttered.

It came back to him then. Getting hit in the pool. Drugs in his system. The struggle to get to…Geoffrey! Holy hell, Geoffrey! The noise he made then sounded like an animal in pain and he didn’t care.

“Yeah, buddy,” Dominic said softly. “We know. You’re right, Royce, he does care about the kid.”

Sven cleared his throat and when he tried to speak, his voice sounded like he’d rubbed it over a grater. “I think he hit Geoffrey with the same thing he used on me. Oh God.” He opened his eyes and had to blink a few times because they were gritty and the light hurt. But he caught Royce’s look of worry, and his bright red cheek.

“I hope not,” Royce said, voice low.

Sven grabbed his arm. “He was taken. Did you get the security footage?”

He nodded. “We got it all and sent it to Quinn already.” He leaned over Sven, his dark eyes probing. He still wore the black polo and slacks of the job.

Sven scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to push back the last of the sluggishness, but it still had him in a whirling grip. “How long?”

“How long?” Royce asked. “Do you mean how long have you been out?”

Sven nodded.

“Couple of hours. Sorry.”

“Why the hell did you bring me here? We should be going after Geoffrey.”

“We don’t know where to go, Sven.” Royce put his hand on Sven’s arm and squeezed. “We want to find him as badly as you do. But we also want to keep you, too. Rowe is freaking out not being able to be here. He’s filling in on a job, but Andrei should be here any moment. Apparently, he’s fond of the little guy.”

“Of course he is. Did you know Geoffrey went undercover for him once? That he helped shut down a live auction of kids? He’s so great.” He wasn’t unaware that his last sentence came out slurred. Also, he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Groaning, he shook his head. “Andrei doesn’t need to come.” Sven grunted and forced himself to sit up. His head swam but he didn’t feel as badly as he’d expected. Mostly hungover. He swung his legs to the side of the bed and Dominic put his hands on Sven’s knees.

“Hey, there’s no reason for you to move yet. Quinn and Gidget are both in the office tonight tracking down anything and everything they can find on their list of suspects. Why don’t you let the doctors do their thing and make sure you’re okay?”

Sven had absolutely no intention of staying another moment in the hospital. Not when Geoffrey was out there helpless with who knew what happening to him. The pixilated hand in that video came to his mind and he shuddered, fighting back the dizziness. He looked down and saw he was in a damn hospital gown, then lifted an eyebrow at Dominic.

The redhead smirked. “Yep, we took your swim trunks off and put you in this piece of high fashion ourselves. Nice bod.”

All he could think about was Geoffrey being in the hands of a crazy person—one who could be doing anything to him. Anguish and fury ripped through him, a toxic mix that made his stomach churn. He surged to his feet and grabbed his wadded up swim trunks off a chair. He braced his hand on the wall and worked to get them on. He was still seeing double, so he missed the leg hole the first time.

Royce started cursing and grabbed the shorts. He held them out for Sven. “Just let us help. You’re obviously not going to stay and I get it. If I cared about someone the way I could see you’ve cared for Geoffrey—for months, you stupid big lug—I’d be frantic to get to him too. But listen.” He staggered as Sven tilted forward when he lifted his leg.

Dominic braced him, holding him steady as he got his other leg in the shorts. He grimaced because they were still damp and cold as hell.

“Well, those have to be miserable,” Dominic muttered. “If you’d just waited, you would have heard us say Andrei is bringing you clothes.”

“Call him and tell him never mind.” His voice sounded steadier. Good. “We’re leaving now. I want to see the footage.”

Sven pushed Royce’s hands away and finished pulling up the shorts, this time wincing when his dick shriveled up as it hit the chilly material. He eyed the unbuttoned, blue silk shirt Dominic wore over a T-shirt. Dressy, but it would do. “You were out?”

Dominic nodded. “And close to getting laid, asshole.” He frowned and crossed his arms protectively over his shirt. “I see what you’re thinking and no.”

Sven grabbed a handful of the hospital gown and ripped it off, feeling the ties give. He dropped it on the floor and held out his hand for the shirt. “Now, Dominic.”

“I love this shirt and your Hulk arms are going to ruin it.”

“I’ll buy you another, whiny ass. Give me the damn shirt.”

He sighed but handed it over. Both of his asshole coworkers cracked up when he had to force his arms through the shirt and Dominic winced when there was an audible rip. It wouldn’t shut all the way in the front for him to button it, but Sven didn’t give a shit as he strode out of the room on his bare feet. He didn’t bother to stop for anyone who came up to him. He just barreled his way out of the hospital and finally stood blinking into the night sky outside. The sweltering August heat lingered, making the shirt stick to his skin instantly. He looked around, having no idea where they’d parked and when he turned to ask, he had to brace a hand on the wall. Both men stared at him wide-eyed.

“Lucky for you, we parked on this side of the hospital.” Royce snorted and headed toward the parking lot. “Come on. Let’s get you some clothes and to the office while Dominic goes back and lets everyone in there know you had your own agenda which didn’t include checking yourself out.”

“But we left my car at Geoffrey’s,” Dominic grouched. “I rode with you, dumbass.”

“And you can ride back to the office with Andrei who is already on his way.”

Sven spotted Royce’s Mustang in the parking lot and headed that way. All he could think about was what could be happening to Geoffrey. The nausea increased and he knew it had nothing to do with the drugs in his system and everything to do with wanting to tear that ski-masked motherfucker limb from limb. If he harmed one hair on that beautiful blond head, Sven would kill him. He couldn’t bear to think of the repercussions if the man had used the same amount of tranquilizers on Geoffrey’s smaller body. The fear and panic built inside him until he felt like he would explode. Dominic’s shirt flapped around him as he spun, looking for something to punch, then he blinked when Royce got into his face.

“Sven, look at me. Take a deep fucking breath. You are not going to punch any cars. And you sure as hell aren’t punching me again. As it is, half my face will be black and blue tomorrow.”

That caught his attention enough to make him loosen his fingers from their fists. He closed his eyes, trying to pull all the fear back, trying not to think the worst. “I’m in love with him.”

“Larsen, that isn’t news.”

“It is to me. And he should have heard this from me first.” He closed his eyes. “Damn. I think you’re right and I’ve been falling for him for months.”

Royce nodded. “No doubt. You watched him all the time in those classes. We’ll find him, Sven.” He turned, throwing over his shoulder, “Should be fun to see you sitting in my Mustang.”

The car beeped as Royce unlocked it and Sven didn’t bother to get in until he pushed the seat back as far as it would go. His knees were still uncomfortably close to his face when Royce started the car.

Royce laughed. “You have three brothers, right? Someday, I want to see you and all your brothers get into a car. It’d be like those clown cars at the circus.”

“My parents always drove vans. My father is big, too.” Sven closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his finger and thumb. The throbbing in his skull had started to feel worse than a hangover. Images of Geoffrey rolled through his mind. Him laughing and twirling those stupid drumsticks—the man didn’t even own a set of drums. He thought about how hot he looked when he came. The way he’d slept on Sven’s chest that morning, and that joyful, throw-his-head-back laugh…

The fucker that took him would be lucky to make it to jail.