At a certain point, Brian, too caught to notice what happened around him, sensed someone was watching him. Indeed, when he raised his head, the librarian saw a young man, no older than twenty-five, standing right in front of him, on the other side of the counter. The guy was staring at him with a patient expression, a sign that he was there for quite some time.
Big, sky-blue, innocent eyes, an uncertain smile playing on the full, sensual lips, fragile appearance, pale skin… Everything about the other one seemed oddly familiar to Brian, who at first thought the guy was one of The Base’s residents. That was until the dam keeping the memories from the period when he was Donna Fabrizia’s captive broke, and they flooded his mind in all their horror.
CHAPTER 12
An animalistic lust burning in those eyes, the full, tempting lips curled in an ugly rictus, that innocent face contorted by viciousness…the man standing in front of Brian was the embodiment of evilness and cruelty a few months earlier. The images of the stranger assaulting him again and again, using his body, hurting him, were as fresh in his mind as if those horrendous things happened right then and there.
The sight of his rapist standing there, staring at him without a word, examining him with undisguised curiosity, was more than Brian could endure. Covering his ears with both hands, to stop the desperate pleas for mercy and cries of pain that were still echoing in his mind, he darted from behind the counter, ran past Tanner, who was just walking inside the library, and went into his small office in the back.
Once there, Brian locked the door, then stood with his back against the wall, trying to calm his erratic breath down, but failing miserably. Why? He screamed in his mind, burying his face in both hands again. Why wasn’t he allowed to put the past behind him and just live his life in peace? Why did that monster emerge from the pits of hell again?
As these questions, and many others, roiled through Brian’s mind like a hive of mad bees, he felt his knees becoming weak, so he let himself slide down and sat on the cold floor, armswrapped around his trembling body. Suddenly, the man’s eyes went wide with terror, and his heart started hammering against his ribcage again.
That beast was there to harm the baby he was carrying, Zelda, his precious princess, who he promised to bring into the world, no matter what it would take. No, Brian shook his head, I’m not going to let him do this, there’s no way in hell that the old hag wins, I will fight tooth and claw to not let that happen. With this in mind, he crawled under the desk.
“Boss, are you alright there?” Tanner’s familiar voice brought the librarian back from his dark thoughts that started spiraling out of control. “What’s wrong, are you sick?”
“Call Luca.” Brian’s voice was barely a whisper. “Tell him to come here as soon as he can. Bart must not know of this, only Luca,” the librarian whimpered.
“Very well, boss, I’ll do that.” Tanner's reply came in a reassuring voice. “In the meantime, try not to panic, it’s not good for the baby.”
“I’ll do my best, but I don’t know for how long.” Brian’s reply came in a livelier voice. “Thank you,” he added, when he heard the guard’s muffled voice talking to his sub.
About half an hour later, Luca stepped inside the library. “What do you want?” He frowned at the sight of the guy, who was still there, then turned to the guard. “Where is the Wisdom Keeper?”
Tanner gestured with his head to the back of the reading hall. “In his office. The boss lost it when he saw this fellow here.”
“Sir, it's me, Rinaldi, please let me in,” Luca said softly, accompanying his words with a discreet knock at the door.
“I can't move.” Brian barely articulated the words from under the desk. “I…I can’t let them do this, please help me.” He started to sob uncontrollably.
“Sir, I'm coming in.” Luca’s voice was calm and soothing.“Don’t worry, I have the spare key.”
Brian let out a long sigh of relief at the sight of the Sicilian. “Don't let him take my baby, that’s why he came here, to harm me and little Zelda, please don’t let him.”
“Who are you talking about, Master? The guy in the library?” Luca’s brow was pinched in confusion. “He looks very inoffensive, a bit lost, even.”
“He got me pregnant.” Tears started to fall again from Brian’s eyes, staining his cheeks. “I just remembered how he…” He left the sentence unfinished, unable to continue.
Luca didn’t reply; he just stared at the librarian, understanding and compassion mixing in his beautiful, stormy-grey eyes. After a while, he cleared his throat. “I think you should talk to him, see what he has to say. That guy there doesn't look dangerous at all. And is very pregnant.”
Brian locked his eyes with those of his lover, then nodded. “Okay, but be ready to intervene in case he would try to attack me, to…” Not wanting to relive the nightmare once again, the librarian cut himself short and let the other man help him out from under the desk and lead him out of the room.
“Hey, my name is Adam, I just came to tell you I... I'm sorry for what happened,” the guy greeted the librarian with anextended hand. “I know you didn't have a say in this. The doctor said we...we'll be fine, so don't worry.” The young man abruptly stopped talking, hugged himself and started shaking.
Brian swallowed hard a few times. “I'm sorry I panicked. I…I don't remember much, only you on top of me. I barely remember escaping.” Even though he was still scared, the librarian hugged the young man. “I'm sorry I don't remember what happened.”
“That's...that's okay, I guess.” Adam whispered in a hesitant voice. “You have it better than me, who remembers everything. That old hag laughing when you...never mind, really.” He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.
Brian gave the younger man another tight, warm hug. “I'm sorry I hurt you.” He rubbed soft circles on the other one’s back. “She did something to us.”
Adam let out a long, heavy sigh. “Yes, she did, but I hope that there will come a time, sooner rather than later, when she will pay for everything. That evil woman won’t be able to hurt others anymore, and that's the most important thing.”
Tanner and Luca, moved by Adam’s state and the horrific nightmare behind the bits and pieces of story he shared, guided him and Brian into the reading hall, where they sat next to each other. After spending a few minutes in silence, examining the librarian from the corner of his eye, the younger man started to talk.
Everything began when his father borrowed money from that vile monster, Donna Fabrizia, about a year earlier.Because some of his business partners failed to keep their part of the dealand delayed the due payments, the man wasn’t able to repay the loan on time, and went to ask for an extension, even if he was aware the extra interest would be astronomic.
Surprisingly, Donna Fabrizia was very understanding of Adam’s father's situation, and agreed to extend the loan period. The man was shocked when she didn’t charge him extra for not repaying the debt at the original deadline.In exchange for her generosity, the woman asked him to send his younger son, Adam, to her villa for a month or two. The rest was history, the young man concluded his story.
