Page 45 of His Pet

I should do it. I really, really should. This is what I wanted from the beginning, isn’t it? A solid chance at escape.

The shower’s running. Cameron can’t hear a thing in there. I could call the police and tell them I’m being held captive. Yes, there’s a chance a dirty cop will respond to that call, but they keep record of all the calls, don’t they? They can’t completely sweep it under the rug.

This is the best chance I’ve had so far, possibly my only chance ever, so why am I standing here like an idiot, staring at the phone instead of dialing 911?

Because I’m afraid.

If I make this call, everything will change. I’ll become a victim. A celebrity, because word will get out. Everyone will know what happened. They’ll laugh at me, pity me, and speculate about whether I deserved it. Whether I’d been asking for it.

My mother will be devastated, and my father? He’ll just be disappointed. Maybe he’ll remind me that if I’d been a proper man, this never would have happened to me.

There will be lab tests and testimonies and interviews. Therapy.

Jesus, what would I even say to a therapist? That I liked Cameron? That I enjoyed it when he raped me? That I enjoyed my stay with him, and the only thing I really minded was being locked up in that stupid cage with nothing to do all day?

Damn. I’ll end up in a nuthouse, won’t I?

The phone starts vibrating with another incoming call.

As I glance at the screen, I smother a hysterical chuckle. Sin. What an apt name for someone from Cameron’s world. It really must be an emergency, though, because they’re not stopping. I should let Cameron know. Have him quite literally take the decision out of my hands.

Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll just hand the phone over and pretend I never had it in the first place. Getting rescued sounds like a whole lot of trouble, and it gets even worse when I factor in how disappointed Cameron would be in me. He’d go to prison. I couldn’t do that to him. He’s no saint, but he’s too good a person to rot in jail alongside murderers and terrorists. I’d never see him again, never hear him call me a good boy again or tell me how proud he’s of me. At this point, I’m not sure I can live without his praise.

The decision feels easy.

As I look up from the screen, I’m met with the tempting sight of a naked Cameron straight from the shower. Water glistens on his skin and drips onto the floor, and tendrils of steam escaping the bathroom curl around him, making him look like a mythical being. Maybe a Greek god.

My smile freezes on my lips when I look into his eyes and see he’s not looking at me with tenderness or desire, but with unbridled fury.

I’m still holding the phone, and I realize what it must look like to him, even if reality is very different. I cry out when he advances on me, my mind scrambling for something to say. “Wait! I didn’t—”

I don’t get further than that.

Cameron grabs my neck and slams me into a wall. “Shut the fuck up.”

Chapter 30

Cameron

I should have seen it coming.

I knew being soft on Justin would cause trouble, but I naively thought things would be different with him. They’re not. He’s the same as every other pet I’ve had before. Traitorous, lying piece of shit.

The pain I feel is all my fault. I never should have let that hope grow. I should have weeded it out the second it sprouted the first deceptively beautiful leaf. I should have just used Justin until he broke and then tossed him away like I did with the others.

I yank the phone from his hand and squeeze his neck harder to prevent him from speaking. Tears spill from his eyes as he claws at my forearm, but I don’t let up. I don’t want to hear more lies.

A quick check of the phone reveals that he didn’t have time to call the police, thank fuck. I don’t want to imagine what disaster such a call might turn into with Small already after me. But of course, Justin doesn’t care about that. He’s had such a good life here, and instead of appreciating it, he stabbed me in the back.

The phone starts vibrating with an incoming call from Sin, but I send it to voicemail and turn the device off. Sin can wait. First, I have to discipline my pet.

Justin’s eyes bulge when I increase the pressure on his neck. His fingernails dig into my skin, leaving burning marks, and he uselessly kicks against me, but I have him pinned and he’s not going anywhere. Ever.

“I could kill you right now.” Anger still rides me hard enough to turn my words into a snarl. “Did you think you’d get away with betraying me?”

His muscles strain under my grip as he tries to shake his head. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, but doesn’t have enough air to speak. When I abruptly let go of him and step back, he crumples into a wheezing, heaving lump. Still, he tries to speak. “I… I wasn’t…”

“I said, shut up!”