“Yeah.”
“Give me the day. I’ll need a room….”
“Take my office. I won’t be able to work anyways.” Not until I got a better understanding of Oakley’s wellbeing.
Collin dipped his head, leaving me to watch the boy who was quickly taking up more time in my mind than I originally planned.
There was something about him that called to me. Something that spoke to a part of me that I let out only at certain times of the year.
I was screwed.
Logically, I knew I couldn’t allow this boy to stay here. No matter how old he was, I’d be sending him off with Collin later today. I did my part. I saved a life in a way only I could do.
“Hey Sabastian?” Collin called through the house, his voice rising from the bottom of the stairs.
It took a bit more work than it should have to pull my gaze from the sleeping boy and move away from the wall.
“Yeah?”
Collin stood at the bottom of the stairs, hand on the railing, dark hair slicked back from his face.
“Where’s Donny?”
“Rotting in his house.”
Collin nodded once, face a mask to whatever thoughts he had. Then, he turned, going back to his search.
He was one of the few men I could count on at any time day or night. We weren’t related, despite how similar our eyes and mannerisms were. Collin was family, though. Our secret weapon in searching the dark web for info that was otherwise unattainable.
Knowing that Oakley would be sleeping for a few hours, I slowly made my way down the stairs. It was barely noon, yet I was more than ready for this day to be over with already.
Leaning over the counter, head in my hands, I debated with myself. I knew, fuck, I knew I had to send the boy off with Collin. He’d be safe, well taken care of, and get the help Oakley would need to survive thisworld. He’s got a great life in the end, and that was all that mattered.
Maybe this coming weekend, I’d take a trip to a town over, where fewer people knew who I was. They only knew me as the Daddy Dom, who enjoyed catering to a little. I’d read someone a book, hold them, and care for a little for an hour or two.
***
With some homemade chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove, Collin ventured into the kitchen. His eyes were glued to a tablet, a finger swiping over whatever he was reading.
He looked worn out, but determined. Wrinkles on his forehead in concentration as he quickly swiped back to something.
“He’salmosteighteen,” he muttered. “God. These links to so many pictures. Donny better be fucking dead or I’ll go visit him.”
“He’s dead. Probably starting to stink up the place by now.”
“Good. Why hadn’t I seen these before now?” He was mostly talking to himself. “So many pictures. Starting, I’m guessing, around the age of nine or ten. His face is blurred out for the most part, but it’s him. Same user each time.”
Now, I was tempted to make Donny come back to life just so I could take my time killing him over again.
“He’s…you have to keep him, Sabastian.” Collin finally looked up at me, his brown eyes filled with the haunts of whatever he saw. “He’ll be eighteen next month, but even then, it won’t matter. Not when Donny put out a hit on the poor boy. It looks like it was meant not to load unless something happened to him. People are talking about Oakley, where he could be. I deleted all your info and profile, which wasn’t traceable anyway, but it was safer that way.”
“I’m not stupid.” Playing around on the dark web was tricky. I knew the risks and took my safety seriously. No one could be able to trace stuff back to me. “He has a hit on him?”
“I’m going to guess here,” Collin flipped the tablet to where I could see it better. “Donny didn’t plan to sell him, exactly. He wanted the money and had meet-ups daily for the boy. Some to meet and greet, others for being used. You weren’t meant to walk away last night. Least of all with that boy.”
“Donny did press me to drink something, which I didn’t. I was in a hurry to get the…purchase home.”
Collin eyed me, before turning back to the tablet. “At least ten others were lined up, with more trying to buy the kid. Now that Donny hasn’t logged in in twelve hours, there’s a hit for Oakley. His life is at stake.”
