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“He could die if we leave him here,” a voice whispered. It wasn’t Jack who spoke. He felt himself slowly being moved, to where he didn’t know, every inch of his body begging for release. They could have been taking him further into the recesses of the alley to die. He had no way of knowing as all sounds disappeared, and he closed his eyes, his thoughts fading away.
Was this how it ended? Would he ever be found?
Ashok wasn’t sure, but one thing he did know, if he made it out of this alive, he would never trust anyone again. Not with his heart and certainly not with his body. He put up his walls, put up his defences.
Chapter One
Hayden
“Youwantmetodo what?” Hayden couldn’t believe what they were asking him to do. His so-called best friends, Seb and Dom, were sitting in front of him, pleading looks in their eyes. How they could possibly think this was a good idea, he didn’t know. He looked between them, urging Seb to continue.
“It won’t be for long, just until he can get his own place. Please, Hayden,” Seb said, fluttering his eyelashes at him as he smirked. He could do that until the cows came home. It wouldn’t work on him. He wasn’t Joe. Seb hadhimwrapped around his little finger, and while he was sure he got whatever he wanted from his husband, Hayden was a different story.
“Come on, Hayden. He’s just moved up from London and has nowhere to stay yet, and we really need him at the studio.” Jesus, even Dom was joining in now. They could plead all they wanted. He would not do it. The answer was no.
“Why can’t you put him up?” He raised an eyebrow at Seb. “You and Joe have plenty of room in that big house of yours.”
He looked over at Dom. “I know you couldn’t. I already don’t know how you all fit in that tiny shoebox of a house you share with Jacob and Abby.”
Seb glanced over at him sheepishly. “I know we have enough room but, you know. It wouldn’t be fair…and what if he doesn’t like dogs?” Hayden rolled his eyes. He knew exactly why Seb didn’t want him there.
“What if he does? But no, it wouldn’t be fair to make him listen to you and Joe going at it every night. I wouldn't want to put him through that. Poor guy. He definitely wouldn’t want to work with you then.” Hayden sat back in his chair and folded his arms. Wasn’t there anywhere else he could go? Surely he wasn’t the only option available to them.
“What about a hotel or a guest house? Why can’t he stay there?” He threw the question out there, hoping they’d come up with a solution that didn’t involve him taking in a lodger for the foreseeable future.
“Because it would cost him more than we’re paying to do that. There’d be no point moving up to work with us. You know we need a new tutor.” Dom sat back in his chair, looking slightly annoyed. It wouldn’t be him that’d be inconvenienced, though, would it? It’d be Hayden. He’d got so used to living on his own; he wasn’t sure he was up for it.
“The thing is, Hayden, he really wants this job. He seemed eager to leave London. Something about not getting on with his family. Come on, Hayden. It won’t be for long, I’m sure.” Seb reached across the table and touched his hand. “Please.”
Slowly but surely, he could feel his resolve crumbling. Deciding to move up north, not knowing a soul? He felt a little sorry for the guy. He remembered doing that himself, having moved up from Birmingham more than a few years ago to attend university here in Chester. When his plans had changed, he’d taken the plunge and approached the bank with a solid business plan and bought The Coffee Mill. Didn’t mean he wanted some random person living in his house, though. What did they know about him? He could be a serial killer for all they knew.
“Look, I’m not saying I will do it, but tell me a little more about him. I’m not just going to let some strange man into my house without at least some information.”
“Do you want a credit search too, police check? Because we’ll have one of those with him working with the kids.” Dom’s voice rose with annoyance. “For fuck’s sake, Hayden. He just needs a bed for a few weeks. We’ve already vetted him, and he’s good. Actually, he was a really nice bloke when we met him, and he’s a fucking talented dancer too.”
“Keep your voice down, Dom. I don't need the whole of the coffee shop to hear.” They were sitting at their usual table in the window of The Coffee Mill, the place Hayden had owned for the past seven years. Dom’s green eyes flashed, but he kept quiet, having said his piece.
Hayden shouldn’t have been surprised that Nava Dance Studios needed to employ another tutor. After Seb’s very public kidnapping, interest in the studio had increased. Dom had joined to replace Natalia, but both he and Seb were struggling to cover all the lessons and enquiries from new students. They’d had a few tutors come and go but never found one that stayed any longer than a few months.
“Tell me about him, then. Name, age, do you think we’ll get on?”
Seb smiled at him, thinking he’d won. Well, he wasn’t making any promises yet, but he was willing to listen. Perhaps he could do it for a week or two.
“OK, so his name is Ashok Miller. He’s coming up from London, where he’s been living. He’s twenty-five, so a bit younger than us.” Seb opened his mouth to continue.
“Well, a lot younger than you.” Dom quipped, his previous anger forgotten. Hayden reached over and gave him a clip around the ear.
“Cheeky fucker. I’m not that much older than you.” Dom rubbed his ear and gave him his usual cheeky grin.
Seb frowned at Dom. “Shut the fuck up, Dom. We’re trying to get him on board here, not put him off.”
“Sorry, sorry. I’ll shut up.” Hayden doubted that very much. Dom could never keep his thoughts to himself for long.
Seb continued. “He’s a really talented dancer, and out of all the candidates we saw, he just stood out. He can do any type of dance, which is great for us, and he did some teaching when he was down in London.”
Mmm, that still wasn’t much to go on.
“When will he be here? Christmas isn’t too far away, and you know I always go home for a few days.” He furrowed his brow. “I’m not happy with him staying in my house on his own while I’m not there, or will he be going home then?”
