The man laughed. It was an awful, scornful kind of laugh. “He doesn’t even give a shit aboutyougetting damaged. He’s going to care even less about him.”
Connor tilted his head, bringing the man into his line of sight. It was shorty from the lab—Rick—and he had his dogs at his sides, as always. No wonder Connor had hardly heard him talk before; he was a fucking psychopath. His gaze darted to Connor.
“Your boyfriend’s awake,” he said.
Austin’s gaze snapped to Connor.
“You might have time for a quick fuck while I report it?” Rick suggested with a sneer before turning around and leaving. The room was clean but empty. He was on the ground, with Austin kneeling behind him. It felt like a folded hoodie under his head.
Connor tugged at his arms, groaning as he found them tight in constraints.
“Don’t,” Austin whispered. He leaned down, pressing his forehead against Connor’s shoulder. Pain and anger were in his eyes. “You shouldn’t have fought so much.”
“Why wouldn’t I have fought?” Connor got out.Damn, his throat hurt. And his eyes, and his everything. “Do you know if they are okay? Laurence and Trevor?”
“I have no idea,” Austin said. “If they’re willing to do this to you, then fuck knows what they’d do to someone with no value to them.”
Fear stabbed through Connor. “Untie me.”
Austin lifted his head, tucking his silvery hair behind his ears with trembling hands. “I’ve already tried. Last time you stayed unconscious, but you kept waking up this time. He used chains.”
Connor tried not to flip. His warring emotions streamlined his thoughts, letting him make all those stupid leaps that made no sense, but fit together. “Your dad is my dad’s boss, right? Cessair?” he asked to confirm as he pieced the rest together in the only way that would give him some semblance of an answer.
“He adopted me. He’s not my dad,” Austin said, eyes burning in anger.
“They experimented on us.” Connor’s gaze darted to Austin’s silvery hair, his eyes that shone brightly. He was always so eye-catching. So alluring.
Austin nodded.
“And you approached me. Dated me. Set me up—”
“I was curious! We were the only babies that survived, and I was always different. I wanted to meet you.” Austin’s eyes burned in that way that always sucked Connor in. “I didn’t ask for what happened to me. And I never wanted any part of this, but Connor, I never had any choice in it.” It came out angry, sharp.
Connor couldn’t linger on any of that. Rick was going to tell people he was awake. He and Austin were some sort of experiments—his dad was a researcher—fine. That could all be unpacked later.
“What’s going onnow?” Connor hissed. He tried to sit up, but his arms wouldn’t move an inch.
“You’re bolted down,” Austin told him.
“Answer me.”
“I don’t know, exactly,” Austin said. “He told me they were bringing you back to the area to investigate the changes you were going through. But this? Abducting you? I don’t know. I just overheard a few bits of conversation about what to dose you with to keep you under.”
“Changes?”
“Biological ones,” Austin said. “I haven’t had any since I was a baby, and you never had any at all until after Christmas.”
“How would they even—” Connor cut off. The blood bank. The one he always went to withAustinbecausehebelieved in giving blood. “You little fuck, Austin,” he growled.
Austin flinched at his tone but shot back an equally hostile glare. “I had as much choice as you did coming here. You don’t know how lucky you’ve been. You’ve never had even a leash around your neck—not with your dad able to monitor you when you were a kid and then me doing it during school. And I’m the only one on your side here, so try not pissing me off.”
Connor gritted his teeth. “Call the police. Call—”
The door to the little cell opened, and Connor shut his mouth. Rick approached, swinging a key around his finger. “Time to go,” he said.
Austin tensed up, his hand on Connor’s shoulder. Austin stared up at Rick, and Rick stared down at him. A slow smile turned up Rick’s lips. “Are we going to do this?” he asked.
Austin’s hand tightened.
