Seventeen
Bas was aware that he was in the backseat of a car but he had no idea where he was going. His head was pounding so he kept his eyes closed and concentrated on the sounds of the road and the movement of the car.
He couldn’t remember much, other than men with guns, getting stabbed in the thigh as he squeezed someone’s neck and then…….
“Ten?” he whispered from a throat that felt like it was coated with glass.
“I’m here, Bas,” Ten’s voice said from somewhere nearby, the driver’s seat perhaps?
“Where?”
“Someplace safe so I can get you fixed up.”
Bas sighed, “Just drop me off at the ER, Ten.”
Ten frowned, “What? Why?”
“So, you don’t have to look at me or talk to me.”
Ouch. Okay, that stung. Ten deserved it, but it still stung.
He’s the one who turned his back on Bas.
He’s the one who’d walked away.
He’s the one who decided to choose a memory over a reality.
“Not gonna happen,” he whispered too quietly for Bas to hear.
He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, Fuck, Sawyer, help me. I don’t know what to do here.
“Bas…”
“Save it, Ten. Just fucking……”
Ten frowned at the sudden silence from the backseat. Bas had been angrily chastising him and then….nothing.
He glanced first in the rearview mirror then quickly turned his head.
“Oh, Jesus,” he shouted. Luckily, he was in the right-hand lane on the highway. He yanked it harder to the right, pulled onto the shoulder and stopped the car as quickly as he could without slamming the brakes, because doing so would cause the unbuckled Bas to roll off the seat onto the floor.
He slammed the car into park, jumped out, narrowly avoiding being sideswiped by a speeding, honking semi-truck and ran around to the passenger side. He threw open the door and climbed inside. “Bas! Bas!” he cried as he felt for a pulse.
Bas’s eyes snapped open, “What?”
“Jesus,” Ten whispered as he took a few deep breaths. “You scared the shit out of me.” He quickly pulled his hand away from Bas’ neck so the man didn’t feel the trembling in his fingers.
Was he terrified of being around Bas, of how the man made him feel, of how he made him want? Absolutely.
But he was more terrified of losing him completely.
“Fuck, Bas. What happened?”
“I’m fucking tired, Ten. You try being strung up and beaten for days and see how you come out on the other side.”
“You stopped talking in the middle of a sentence!” he shouted and then he ran his fingers through his hair, “I, I, fuck Bas, I thought you died,” he finished on a whisper.
Bas stared at him for a few seconds but when he opened his mouth to say something, Ten jerked back, “No,” he said as he pushed his way out of the backseat, “Don’t say anything, Bas. Let me just get us back on the road. We’ll be there in ten minutes or so.”
“Where, Ten?” Bas said on a sigh.
“My place,” he said and it’s a good thing he shut the door right after he said it or he would’ve heard the sharp gasp from Bas.
His place.
Ten was taking Bas to his home, his sanctuary, his…..the place where he hides away from the world, from life….from his heart….from Bas.
With some effort, Bas lifted his arm and laid it over his eyes. He didn’t need Ten looking back and seeing the emotions playing out over his face. He’d wanted this for so long, dreamt of it, longed for it. Since the day that Ten had shown up on his doorstep to take him into protective custody, Bas had wanted this. Since those brief few weeks that they were cooped up together in Morgan’s remote mountain home with Noah, Jesse and the others involved in the case, since they spent hours working out strategy as Bas coached Noah and Jesse on their testimony. Since that brief moment in the early morning hours when Bas had wandered out onto the deck to find Ten sleeping on one of the lounge chairs. Since the moment that Ten had finally growled Fucking son of a bitch and launched his body at Bas, slamming their mouths together in a soul-altering kiss. Yeah. Since all of that, Bas had been dreaming, wanting, needing Ten.
But now that he had him, now that Ten was here?
Bas wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to survive him.
But he was damn sure gonna try.