Absolution (The Protectors 1)

I led Jonas to the living room and sat on the couch, pulling him down next to me since I didn’t want to relinquish the contact between us. I turned my body so that I was facing him and was pleased when Mace took up a similar position on his other side. Cushioned between us like he was, I hoped that it would be a little easier for him to say what he needed to say. I already had a good idea of what he needed to share with me considering his childhood, but I didn’t push or rush him in any way as he twisted his hands. But when he didn’t speak after several minutes, I leaned forward and kissed him. My plan was to keep it short and sweet but when he opened his mouth on a moan, I couldn’t resist taking a taste of him. It took everything in me not to continue the molten kiss and when I released his mouth I said, “Nothing you tell us changes anything between us. Nothing.”

Jonas nodded and sucked in a deep breath. His hand searched out mine.

“You asked me if I worked for Mateo, do you remember?”

I nodded.

“I did for a little while when I first arrived in Chicago. I met him at the bus station.”

I felt my heart clench as I remembered how Jonas had stepped in to try to stop Carrie from the same fate.

“His brother…his brother was the one who got me ready to meet with customers. They were planning to sell my services online and then have me meet with the johns in motels. Eduardo kept me for almost a week before he said I was ready.”

Jonas’s voice shook but I resisted the urge to tell him he didn’t need to say anything else. Instead, I began stroking his palm with my thumb.

“I hated it,” Jonas whispered. “Them,” he added. “Eduardo always went with me when I met clients so I couldn’t get away. But this one client liked to drink and do drugs while he was fucking me so one night I kept urging him to drink more and more till he passed out. I climbed out of the room through a bathroom window.”

“Did Eduardo or Mateo find you after that?” I asked.

Jonas shook his head. “I took the client’s money when I ran. It wasn’t much but I was able to get a room to stay in. I tried finding a regular job but no one was going to hire a fourteen-year-old kid. I knew I’d have to keep doing what I’d been doing. I thought if I was in control than maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”

I knew listening to Jonas would be hard but I hadn’t expected the full-on rage that took over me. I wanted to track down every man who’d ever touched Jonas and rip him to shreds. I managed to keep my grip on Jonas gentle but that was only because my eyes connected with Mace over Jonas’s shoulder and I saw the silent message there. Jonas didn’t need me to be angry for him, he just needed me.

I let my fingers drift up to his wrist while I waited for him to continue but when I felt the raised flesh beneath my touch, I dropped my eyes to look at what I was feeling. A long, ugly scar ran the width of his wrist.

“I did it about a week after I got away from Eduardo,” Jonas said softly as he watched me caress the healed wound. “The first few times that I was on my own, a couple of the guys I’d been with took more than they’d paid for and one didn’t pay at all…he had a knife. I thought I was going to die and when he was done, I wanted to.”

Jonas shook his head. “I was just really tired, you know?” he whispered as he lifted his eyes to meet mine.

“I know, baby,” I responded as I closed my hand around his and pulled his fingers up against my lips.

“I met Carrie about nine months later. After I got away from Eduardo, I didn’t go to the bus station at first because I knew it was one of Mateo’s favorite places to find new girls. But picking up johns on the streets was more dangerous because you’d have to get in their car or go to motels. At the bus station, the johns were in more of a hurry and there was this spot behind the building where people couldn’t see what was happening but they’d hear if you started calling out.”

Jonas’s voice dropped off for a moment before he seemed to collect himself. “I kept a low profile whenever I worked the bus station and if I saw Mateo or one of his guys, I took off. I saw him talking to Carrie one night and I saw the way she looked at him…desperate, hopeful. I knew I couldn’t leave her there. You know the rest.”