AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t fucking call me that,” Thomas snarled at him, the table scraping as he jerked towards the smaller man. “Don’t use a username to make me less of a person!”
Gravel flinched but his brow furrowed. “Th-that’s not what-”
“It is what he’s doing,” he growled at him. “Listen closely, Gravel. In this world there are three reasons to call someone by a nickname.” He held up his hand and counted them off in turn. “Because they won’t tell you their name, because the nickname is meant to make a statement or be respected, or because they don’t need a name. He knows my fucking name. There is nothing about me that makes a statement by referring to me by my username and he’s certainly not being respectful by it. So that leaves the last reason. Because your name is who you are and he doesn’t give a shit about who you are. He only cares what you can do for him.” He paused, watching the words sink in, watching Gravel’s eyes go wide. “What’s your name,” he asked him, softening his voice.
Dark eyes darted up at him then to the sleeping people and back again. “…Gregorio,” he said very softly, as if speaking a prayer. “My name is Gregorio.”
A slow breath released from Thomas and he smiled, holding out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Gregorio,” he said, still quiet. “I’m Thomas.”
Gregorio looked down at his hand then back up at his face and for a moment, Thomas was sure he would— He shook his head rapidly. “I won’t do it! You are staying here.”
“DAMMIT,” Thomas shouted, kicking at the leg of the table as Gregorio jumped back. “THE HELL I AM! I AM GOING FUCKING HOME! ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!”
“Oh. Shut! Up!”
Thomas turned his glare towards the three across the room, the man who had threatened Danny lifting his head to glare back at him. He had been introduced as Paradox and appeared to be a few years older that Seong, which meant he had probably been one of the “friends” that left Seong alone with Peacock when he was sixteen and defenseless. It figured since he was willing to put a knife on a stranger knowing what the injury could do to him. Thomas hadn’t gotten a very good look at him the other night; at the moment he had bloodshot eyes and heavy bags from being up all night staring at a computer screen.
“It’s bad enough your rebellion made everything harder to get Popi back,” he scowled, “and now you are keeping us up? Shut up, do what you are told, and let us sleep.”
Thomas flipped Paradox off. “I haven’t begun to rebel,” he told him firmly. “I am going to make every second Hell, you hear me?”
“Just ignore him, Paradox,” the woman, Lux, muttered, moving her feet into his lap. “He’ll calm down eventually.”
“He’s noisy,” Paradox seethed.
“I think I’d be more concerned if he was quiet after what you said happened at the bar,” Lux yawned. “Put earplugs in. Or take a pill. Pretty sure Zone has one still.”
Zone, the second man, was still asleep, huffing hard on every exhale in something that wasn’t quite a snore.
“Well, this is a different kind of noise than usual,” a familiar voice said from the door. “Usually you are playing music in here instead of yelling at each other.”
Thomas turned and had to stop himself from doing anything more than stare. The domino man was standing just inside the room, smiling as he looked from the three hackers on the one side to Thomas and Gregorio on the other. Behind him was a man nearly seven feet tall, build incredibly broad, with skin so dark it seemed to swallow the light, dressed in a tan and pastel island attire that weirdly suited him.
Then again, Thomas had seen this same man dressed in tiger pajamas and a Santa hat and it hadn’t looked nearly as odd as it should have.
Tiger’s amber eyes rested on Thomas’s, giving him the barest of nods that could be passed off as him simply looking Thomas up and down.
“Mateo,” Paradox said, getting up from the couch as he shoved Lux’s legs off of him. He staggered slightly, clearly as physically exhausted as he was mentally. “What brings you here?”
“Coming to see what all of the fuss is about,” the domino man, Mateo, said, waving a hand at Paradox as he started to approach Thomas and Gregorio. “After all I told Peacock very clearly that those four weren’t to be bothered and yet the two of you bothered them anyway.” He stood in front of Thomas, smiling at him. It didn’t reach the cruelty in his eyes. “What makes you so special to cause all of this fuss on my island, chico?”
Thomas swallowed, glancing at Tiger standing just behind the only man in the room Thomas knew he had real reason to fear. This was a man who would kill someone for making a “fuss.” He was a man like Finnegan. “I’m not, Señor,” he said softly. “I’m just really, really unlucky.”
Mateo laughed and the hairs on Thomas’s neck stood on end. “Unlucky? I suppose if you want to keep out of trouble you would consider yourself unlucky. From where I’m standing, however, you seem very lucky indeed.” He waved his fingers in a “get up” gesture. “Let me have a better look at you.”
Thomas pulled hard on the handcuff Gregorio had put back on him when Thomas had tried to get up from the table. The table legs scraped as the two laptops shuddered on the surface, the empty water bottles rolling off to clatter on the ground. “I’m not really able to do that at the moment,” he said, watching Tiger’s eyes flash.
Mateo frowned at the silver on Thomas’s wrist, then his eyes trailed up along the scars on his arms. Peacock had taken his sweatshirt as part of the “time out,” and it had only been his ongoing argument with Gregorio that had kept Thomas from thinking about it being missing. But the weight of those eyes made him squirm, wanting to cover himself, to curl into a ball, to hide away his wrongdoings from a life he hadn’t chosen. Then the eyes were on his face, the slightest tilt in his head. “Gregorio, la clave.”
“Señor, yo-” Gregorio started only to flinch as Mateo’s eyes snapped up to his. The small key fit into the lock and the pressure released, leaving a red ring around Thomas’s wrist.
Thomas stood up, glancing towards his hoodie out of reach over by the rows of computers.
Mateo’s hands rested on his shoulders and Thomas found himself staring into his eyes again. “Hm,” he murmured. He seemed to be trying to stare into Thomas’s soul. “Yes, I can see what they all see. You would be quite something if you ever decided to stay in this world.” He smiled and, to Thomas’s surprise, it reached his eyes, which twinkled in an almost friendly or paternal way. “Perhaps it is good you have decided not to. I would hate to have to kill you if our paths crossed the wrong way again.” A hand patted Thomas’s cheek. “You are always welcome on my island, Thomas, but only as long as you remain a proper tourist next time, sí?”
“Y-yes, sir,” Thomas agreed, confused on how Mateo was speaking this freely given their company.
“What the hell are you going on about, Mateo?” Paradox demanded, close enough now to have heard everything. “He’s not going anywhere.”
