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Time passed. Still under the influence of the drug, Anthony managed to sleep for a while, but his sleep was shallow and restless. When he woke up, it was morning. Tobias sat on a nearby chair with his legs crossed, so still that he might as well have been a statue.
“Your skin looks lovely under the morning sun,” Tobias said.
Anthony’s throat was drier than dry. It felt like he hadn’t drunk in days. “Why am I here?”
“And where else should you be?”
Cold shivers ran down his spine. “I should be home or at work.”
Tobias shook his head. “No, your place is here for the time being, and later it may be somewhere else. For now, make yourself comfortable.”
Anthony yanked at the handcuffs. “Comfortable?”
Tobias nodded, unfazed. “Dima will uncuff you later. A word of caution: he may be your size, but he knows twenty different ways to break your neck.”
“Thirty!” Dima called from the other side of the door.
“Now, about this apartment. It was built to stay hidden from the outside world and hold any sounds inside. To put it bluntly, trying to scream for help will be pointlessly cruel to your throat, not to mention childish.”
“Tobias, I can’t stay here.”
“I’m eager to prove you wrong.”
“My business—”
“Is irrelevant. You have sent an email to your clients informing them you must take a sudden leave of absence and won’t be able to finish your work. You were kind enough to pay them back, with compensation, for the inconvenience you have caused.”
Anthony closed his eyes and tried to keep calm. He was stuck in one of those horror movies he had never dared to watch with the lights off. “How long have you been planning this?”
Tobias pursed his lips. “How long? From around the time you started acting selfish and ungrateful. I was willing to give you more than I ever gave anyone, but you constantly forgot your place in our relationship.” He shook his head. “This won’t do.”
“You’re acting crazy. You can’t keep me here!”
Tobias got up and came closer to the bed. He ran his fingers across Anthony’s cheek. “Your opinion of me is not my concern. Your obedience, however, is. It will be a while until we meet again. Be good while I’m gone, and remember that your ability to drink and eat rests in the hands of Dima, who isn’t known for his generosity.” He sighed. “I’m afraid that to truly own you, I will first need to break you.”
Those ominous words trickled like venom, raising a wave of terror that prevented Anthony from speaking. And what could he even say to a man who had lost his mind?
Tobias left, leaving Anthony to watch the city, where people walked around without knowing he was locked away above them. A sense of helplessness crept upon him, forcing him to hold back his tears since he was not letting himself cry when he needed to be strong. He should have known a man like Tobias wouldn’t let things end with a polite conversation. There had been so many warning signs along the way, but Anthony had done a splendid job brushing them off.
Chris warned me about him, about falling too deep.Thinking of Chris ignited a flame of fury in his chest. He never would have set foot in that rotten club if it weren’t for Chris taking those damn photos and accidentally showing them to Mickey. Anthony had made plenty of bad choices in the last few months, but it had all started the day Chris Roberts came to his apartment and flipped Anthony’s world upside down.
Dima entered the room, loudly chewing on a carrot. “Are you crying?”
“No.”
“Good. Don’t waste fluids.”
“My throat’s dry.”
“So? It’s notmythroat.”
Anthony held his frustration at bay since Dima had already shown that he could turn violent. “What do I need to do to get water?”
Dimacockedhis head as if he hadn’t yet thought that far. “Be quiet until evening,” he said. “When it’s dark, I’ll decide if you can drink. Only call me when you need to go number one or number two—and it’s better not be number two.” He walked out and shut the door behind him.
Anthony looked out the window. Based on the sun’s position, he figured it wasn’t even noon. His throat was a desert, and his stomach rumbled in demand of food. By evening, he’d be… he’d be how they wanted him to be—weak and desperate.
There was nothing to do but wait.
