Just skin and bones. And heck, it was bad enough the bones could almost be seen through the skin.
If it hadn’t been for Collin, I’d have taken the boy straight to the hospital and turned him over to the state.
My undercover doctor, since he’s been helpful on several cases I had been assigned to over theyears, was my go-to guy when I felt a bit overwhelmed with my choices.
I still debated on taking this one to the state and being done with this case once and for all. Fuck to catching the men who were in charge. I was at my limit seeing such neglect and abuse.
The boy was literally covered in bruises of all healing stages. I had no clue how he could be standing and attempting to move around on his own.
Just the little signs he’s given me so far, he wasn’t used to kindness or comfort. Or clothes.
He wasn’t as filthy as some of the others, and I hadn’t even expected to win him. There were so many other men that wanted him, and it was never my intention to win a human, least of all this way.
The thought of what the hell I had gotten myself into ran through my mind.
There was a reason why no one expected me to be anything but what I appeared to them as. Let it be a drug dealer, a mafia prince out of hiding, or a school teacher. My job was to be anything it took to blend in, and I did it exceptionally well.
The pay helped, of course.
Turning back to my email, I forwarded it to Collin, who was the internet brains of a lot of crime. He’d track down the sender and hopefully get the next auction shut down before it ever started and save a few lives in the process.
Once done, I stood, my back popping in odd places from sitting hunched over so long.
Venturing through the house, I saw no sign of the boy. I assumed he’d have found a TV or the tablet in the living room and made himself at home being an ordinary being. But of course, I kept forgetting he wasn’t normal. He wasn’t used to how life worked for most people.
Going room from room, I ended up finding him in the bedroom. My bedroom, since that was where the closest bathroom had been when Collin said he needed access to it. And since then, it just made sense to share a room for now.
Or, I’d just give him the space, and I’d take the spare across the hall.
Something nagged at the back of my mind, though, with the thought of leaving this poor boy alone all night. It wasn’t that he’d run off. At least, I didn’tthink so. He didn’t seem like the runner type. There was just something that caused me to worry about him. Mentally and physically.
Walking into the bedroom, I found the boy sleeping on the floor next to the chair that I had spent time staring at him while he had been unwell. He was lying on his side, curled up with a light snore filtering past his lips.
His hair was a curly mess of tangles that fell a few inches from his shoulders and was as soft as I pictured.
I did have to admit that after a good bath the other day, his hair had been cleaned of the grime of a fever, making it even softer and crazier, if it were possible. It was surprising that he had soft locks with his lack of food, but maybe it was the one thing his body kept to help keep his gaze hidden from me - from the world.
His face was swollen and colored in angry bruises, but in time it’d all fade. Then, I’d be able to see the scars that no doubt covered parts of his body. And maybe, I’d get a tale of how he got such things. Eventually.
I didn’t regret bringing this boy in, and I didn’t think I ever would. He needed someone who could bring him out of the place he was in his mind. I wasn’t sure I could be that for him, but I sure as hell was going to try.
He didn’t stir as I took the throw blanket from the end of the bed and laid it over his body. I wasn’t sure if he was that great at pretending to be asleep or if he really was just that tired.
With everything the boy had gone through, I wouldn’t doubt he was the heck worn out.
Stepping away from him, I left him be. Even though I should have just picked him up and put him in the bed, I left him where he was. Sleeping on the floor was probably something he was used to.
The announcer at the slave auction’s words rang true, much more than I expected.
A perfect slave to be just what you need.
In some sick and twisted way, he was a slave, and I was his owner. I just had to figure out what precisely that entailed because right now, I was utterly lost on how to handle this one.
Leaving the room, I found myself back in the kitchen, staring at the cleanliness of it. There was a reason why I hired someone to keep this area clean and cook easy reheatable meals for me once a week.
I was not the greatest in this space at all. No matter how much I tried to cook, there were only a few things I could do without burning the place down.
My time and efforts were better for other things, not the kitchen.
