He missed the high.
That feeling of being pulled away and not having to think about his wretched life.
But he’d managed to stay clean for all these years, and he didn’t want Niko to see the person that he would become—the kind of guy who would allow a stranger to fuck him bare in a dark alley just so he could score a little cash to get him through to his next fix.
He wasn’t that man anymore, and he didn’t want Niko to see him that way.
He had to be strong.
He knew he couldn’t give in to those dark urges.
Mikhail would be furious. He didn’t want his guys strung out and unable to perform, as that would hurt his bottom line. Plus, he didn’t trust the men working for Mikhail; it was clear they were trapped, working as sex machines to make their bosses rich, while trying to hold on to whatever dignity they had left.
Reid had realized the truth years ago. Niko, on the other hand, still appeared to believe that he would one day be allowed to leave once his “debt” was paid.
The poor guy still hadn’t realized that he’d been trafficked. Mikhail and the others had no intention of ever letting them go. They would force them to work day and night—using their bodies to make them rich until one day, when they were no longer of value, they either succumbed to a drug overdose or disappeared like so many others.
He pitied Niko. But was it really fair to destroy the illusion Niko had created for himself and the hope that still existed in those baby-blue eyes?
Hope was a powerful thing. Take that away, and what did you have left?
A dark, looming sense of nothingness.
A black hole.
Nothing but sadness and loneliness.
No. He would never subject his best friend to that sort of torment.
Instead, he had been secretly stockpiling his money, trying to save enough so that he and Niko could escape one day.
Soon.
He just had to be patient and strong and not give in to the dark thoughts currently clawing at his brain.
Reid heard the front door open.
“Niko?” he called out, wondering how his date had gone with that rich old widow. “Niko? How did it go?” Reid asked once again when there was no answer.
He hopped out of bed and walked toward his bedroom door.
His body froze.
It wasn’t Niko.
Entering his room was Mikhail, along with two of his goons.
This couldn’t be good.
“Mikhail. What’s this? What’s going on?” He tried to keep his voice steady, even though he was shaking inside.
“You’re being moved.”
“Moved? What do you mean, moved?” Reid asked, a sense of panic flooding his system.
His hands began to tremble, and it was suddenly getting hard to breathe.
Was this how it happened? Was this how he disappeared, never to be heard from again?
