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“You couldn’t have known they’d be gone,” I said, but Luca shook his head.
“You and I both know that’s how they operate… they never stay in the same place for long. I knew there was a good chance they’d move that boy that very day. But I thought I’d have at least twenty-four hours.” Luca shook his head and wiped at the tears he hadn’t managed to hold back.
“But you couldn’t have known that back then. You had to make it about your son, Luca. And I know if you could have, you would have done all you could have to get that boy out. But you didn’t have the resources back then.”
I realized then that that boy was probably the reason Luca had set up such a vast network of resources to not only get kids out, but to get them back to their families whenever possible.
“He was somebody’s son, Vaughn. And I promised him I wouldn’t forget him. But I left him there.”
Luca tugged free of my hold and turned away. I was about to reach for him again when I heard my name being called.
I turned to see King flagging me down from the back of the house. Fear skirted through me as he began trotting toward us.
Aleks.
I hurried past Luca. King met us right where the back deck hit the sand.
“What? What is it?” I asked, hoping like hell it wasn’t about Aleks, but I knew it was.
“Hurry up,” was all King said as he grabbed my arm. “He needs you.”
I threw King off and sprinted toward the house. “Luca’s office!” King shouted.
It took me less than a minute to reach that part of the house. I could hear Con’s voice coming from inside the room, but it wasn’t until I stepped inside it that I heard what he was saying.
“Hang on, Aleks, Vaughn is coming.”
I could hear Aleks’s sobs before my eyes searched him out. He was sitting in the corner on the floor, his hands wrapped around the back of his neck as he hung onto his head and rocked back and forth.
“Aleks,” I called as I rushed to him and knelt in front of him.
Aleks shook his head violently. “No, no, no…”
He kept repeating the word over and over. I eased his chin up because I needed to see his eyes.
To know if he was still there or if he’d been swallowed by a blackout.
“I can’t, James. Please don’t make me!”
I wrapped my arms around him. “I won’t, Aleks. You’re safe, baby.”
He sobbed against me and put his arms around my neck.
“I’m sorry, Vaughn,” Con sputtered behind me. I could hear the distress in his voice.
I still had no clue what was going on, but I didn’t care. I pulled Aleks forward so he was practically straddling my lap. It allowed him to curl into me as far as he could. It was like he was trying to burrow under my skin.
“It’s okay, Aleks, everything’s okay,” I repeated over and over until Aleks’s sobs slowed, then finally stopped. My neck and my shirt were soaking wet, but I didn’t give a shit. Aleks’s breaths were harsh and choppy, but the more I rubbed his back and just held onto him, the quieter he fell. We’d been left alone in the room at some point.
“I’m sorry,” Aleks murmured against my neck after about twenty minutes. I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.
“It’s okay,” I responded. I’d have plenty of time to ask him what had happened, but for now, I just wanted him to rest. “Let’s go to our room, okay?”
He nodded against me.
I got to my feet and pulled him up with me. He leaned heavily against me so I swept an arm beneath his legs and put the other at his back, lifting him. “No, James, I’m too heavy,” he whispered, even as he pressed his face against my chest. His arms went around my neck again.
“No, you’re not,” I said. “And I don’t think I’ve ever told how much I love carrying you. It makes me feel all caveman-like.”
I felt him smile against my neck. “There’s nothing caveman-like about you, James,” he said softly. “Besides, I think cavemen drag people back to their caves by the hair.”
“Your hair isn’t long enough for that, so you’re just going to have to settle for me carrying you around when I’m feeling all possessive and dominant.”
Another smile.
“Okay,” he said on a sigh.
The door leading to the office wasn’t completely closed, but it didn’t matter because as soon as I reached it, it opened. Luca’s worried eyes skimmed over Aleks, then me. I nodded my head to indicate the younger man was okay, but not surprisingly, it didn’t diminish much of the concern in Luca’s gaze. Just beyond the door were King and Con. Con still looked devastated and King looked pissed – at Con.
