“All right.Let’s go.”
Everyone was silent as they walked toward the house.It took them a few minutes to get there, and when they did, Ben was relieved to see that no car was parked in front of the house.It probably meant that Jimmy wasn’t home.Ben’s car was gone, too, but that was okay.He didn’t need it.
“It doesn’t look like there’s anyone home,” Tony murmured.“Peter, go around back.Jacob, do the same on the other side of the house.”
Tony didn’t order Taylor to go with them, and Ben didn’t think he would’ve gone even if Tony had.Tony and Taylor weren’t at work, and Tony wasn’t Taylor’s boss here.Besides, Taylor wouldn’t want to be away from Ben, not here.
Ben stayed tense as he waited.He kept glancing around, expecting to see Jimmy, but the place was completely silent.It was clear that no one was home, but the tension made Ben want to scream.
He jumped when Peter reappeared a few minutes later.Jacob was quick to follow.“I don’t think this guy’s been home since Ben escaped,” he said.“You got out through the back door, didn’t you?”
Ben nodded.“It was locked, so I broke the window.”
“Well, the door is still open, and no one fixed the window.I’m pretty sure the house is empty and has been since you left.”
Ben was relieved, but at the same time, it made him wonder.
Where was Jimmy?
* * * *
SINCE THE BACK DOORwas open, they walked around the house to enter that way.Taylor kept an eye on Ben, knowing how hard this was for him.Part of him was glad that Ben would get the opportunity to confront what had happened, but another part wanted to shield him from pain and trauma.Being here couldn’t be easy, and it didn’t feel right for Ben to have to face the man who’d locked him in his basement again.
Maybe he wouldn’t.There were no signs of Jimmy, and his car wasn’t there.Was it possible that he hadn’t come home at all?If he hadn’t, something had probably happened to him, but that didn’t make sense.If Jimmy had an accident, why had no one come around his house?Why was the back door still open and broken?Surely, he had a family who would take care of the house for him until he was better?
Or maybe not.Some people were loners, and Jimmy lived in the middle of nowhere.Maybe it was for a reason.Maybe he enjoyed his privacy and didn’t want people around him.Did that include his family?There was no way to know.
Ben was tense, but he didn’t complain or say anything.He followed Tony and Jacob around the house, his expression set.Hopefully, this was almost over, but if Jimmy had vanished, something told Taylor that it wouldn’t be that easy to find him.
As Jacob had said, the back door was wide open.There was broken glass on the hard earth in front of it, and they carefully avoided it as they stepped in.
Luckily for them, it was the middle of the day, so they didn’t need to turn on the light.Taylor tried to flip the switch by the door anyway, surprised when it turned on, although he wished it hadn’t because that meant he could see the room in front of him in too many details.
They weren’t the first ones to visit the house since Ben had run.Taylor could smell raccoons, opossums, rats, and other smaller animals.He was pretty sure something had died in one of the lower cupboards, but he wasn’t planning to investigate.The fridge was closed, so the critters hadn’t been able to get the food there, but one of the upper cupboards was open, and something had dragged a loaf of bread out of it.There was nothing left of the bread, just the plastic bag it had come in.
Peter wrinkled his nose.“Well, this is a mess.”
“I don’t think anyone’s been here since Ben ran,” Tony said, slowly looking around the room.“It looks abandoned.Something definitely happened to Jimmy.”
“Do you think he’s dead?”Ben asked.He sounded almost hopeful.Taylor didn’t blame him.
“I don’t know.It’s possible, but it’s hard to say when we don’t know anything about him.Did he have a family?”
“He mentioned his parents a few times, but I didn’t get the impression that they were close.His father was pretty bitter because he’d been hurt on the job and couldn’t work anymore.Jimmy never went into details, though, and I let it go because I didn’t want to bring up painful memories.”He shook his head.“I was an idiot, wasn’t I?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Taylor said as he took Ben’s hand.He could feel the other three watching them, but he didn’t care.They all knew that Ben was his mate, and they had to expect them to be close, even if they believed that Taylor was straight.Taylor didn’t know what he was beyond Ben’s mate, and that was all he cared about.
“You thought he cared about you,” Jacob said gently.“You weren’t an idiot.You wanted him to love you.”He glanced around the room.“Besides, it looks like he paid for what he did to you.I don’t know about you guys, but yeah, I think he’s dead.”
Ben sucked in a breath.Taylor agreed with Jacob, but he didn’t say it.He wanted Ben to have the mental space to wrap his mind around it.If he wished to come to Taylor and talk about Jimmy, Taylor would be there for him and would listen.In the meantime, there would be no judgment from him.He hoped Jimmy was dead, but he was okay with never mentioning it if Ben needed more time to deal with it.
“We should separate,” Tony said.“Be careful.Even though we believe the house is empty, we might be wrong.Taylor, you’ll stay with Ben?”
“You don’t even have to ask.”
Tony nodded.“That’s what I thought.Call out if you find anything.”
He stepped out of the kitchen, quickly followed by Peter and Jacob.Ben didn’t move, so neither did Taylor.He allowed Ben to step away from him and slowly walk around the table at the center of the room.He looked like he was taking everything in.He probably hadn’t had the time to do so when he’d run.
