Wrong Way Home - Taken (Criminal Delights 1)

Colin swallowed hard, clenching his hands on the handles of the crutches, desperate to keep his face in the shadow. He knew he looked like a mess with flushed, puffy cheeks and red eyes, and he didn’t want Taron to see him in such a state.

He was so pathetic, but the offer to be taken back made his chest pulse with warmth, and he couldn’t help it. Maybe he had Stockholm Syndrome by now. Maybe he was weak or stupid. But the offer made so gently broke his will.

If Taron took him to his bed, would Colin’s other barriers break as well? Would he be the obedient pet again and never ask for anything forbidden, just so that Taron didn’t have to refuse him?

Not trusting himself to talk, he just shrugged.

Taron wrapped his arm under Colin’s to help him move, and the gesture alone made Colin release another sob. Taron was so warm, so big and steady he could have stopped the whole world from crumbling on Colin’s head. He didn’t mock Colin’s tears, or act angry anymore.

He led Colin to the pickup truck, and helped him into the passenger seat. Colin couldn’t contain his relief. Since he’d fractured his leg, Taron’s support was something he’d grown as accustomed to as having two hands. He would pick it over all the hot bodies in the world.

Colin bit his lips to hold in another sob when Taron shut the door and walked around the vehicle. The backpack was his safety net, and he held onto it as if without it he were at risk of drowning.

Taron took his spot behind the wheel and started driving down the narrow road without as much as a glance at Colin. At first, Colin was sure they would drive to a spot where the path offered enough room to make a turn toward the homestead, but after they passed two wider parts of the road, he was beginning to get antsy.

He wiped the sweat and tears with his forearm and peeked at Taron, trapped in his indecision. He spotted his driver’s licence in the cup holder between the seats. He picked it up in shock and stared at a face he barely recognized, even though the photo had only been taken two years ago.

His pulse quickened so fast he was feeling it under his jaw. “Where are we going?”

Taron signed.

Something passed ahead, and Colin froze, realizing they were approaching the asphalt road he’d been trying to reach all along. He looked through the window at the back of the truck and helplessly raised his hand, pointing toward the homestead. “But…”

Taron stopped the car to communicate.

Colin knew he should’ve been overjoyed. But he felt no happiness at the prospect of seeing his family, staying in his room, or even getting to see that new Avengers movie. Taron’s words were a punch to the chest, of the kind that could stop a person’s heart, and in this moment Colin didn’t feel far from it. As his mind blanked, going dark at the edges, Colin leaned into the seat, not trusting himself to answer. A numbness spread through him, and the confines of his own body were far worse than the cage had ever been.

Taron waited half a minute, or forever, but then started the engine and drove onto the asphalt. The crunching under the wheels was too loud, the air in the car—too stifling. Nothing felt right. Colin’s leg hurt again, and he regretted yelling at Taron earlier even though at the time he’d meant everything he’d said.

They remained silent as Taron joined the afternoon traffic and passed the first signs of civilization. Houses, mail boxes… Colin wondered whether Taron had one. Did he even have a bank account? Surely, he had to if he owned a car and property, but Colin couldn’t bring himself to speak and sank deeper into the seat as they drove into the very town he’d intended to pass through on his alternate route home. It seemed so long ago that he could hardly believe his past life had been real, even though it was his relationship with Taron that had been the mirage.

Road lights and power cables were such an abominable sight, crisscrossing the sky like an ugly spider web intended to catch people and suck energy out of them bit by bit. The cars passed at far greater speeds than he considered reasonable, and for once he wondered what would have happened if Taron got into a serious traffic accident while running errands. What would have become of the cats? And what of Colin, trapped in the woods that had by that point become his wall-less jail?