Luca let the words drop off and took a sip of his drink. We’d made it clear online what Luca was actually looking for.
A teenager with fair hair and light eyes.
I forced myself to listen to the conversation as the men talked about different pets they’d had and had either lost or gotten rid of for one reason or another… they could have been talking about cars for all the emotion they showed. Almost forty minutes had passed before Luca reached his hand up to motion to me.
“Yes, sir?” I asked as I stepped around the chair.
“Take him to the bathroom. I don’t want to be interrupted during the auction.”
“Of course, sir,” I said.
Aleks didn’t move until Luca told him to go with me. Then he carefully got to his feet, keeping his hands folded demurely in front of him. Since I was allowed to touch Luca’s property for this purpose, I took Aleks’s arm and led him toward where Tuxedo Man was still standing by the back hallway. I discreetly rubbed my thumb into Aleks’s upper arm, but he didn’t react.
He couldn’t.
I shouldn’t have even done that much, but I wasn’t as strong as him.
When we reached Tuxedo Man he asked, “Private room for how many, sir?”
“Just the restroom,” I said.
“Of course. Down this hall and to the right.”
I led Aleks down the hallway. All the private rooms had letters on them and there were keypads on the doors.
Which meant the little slips of paper that Tuxedo Man had been handing out were the codes for the doors.
I tuned out the sounds I could hear coming from the other side of some of the doors and hoped Aleks was doing the same. The bathroom was clearly marked and empty. I ushered Aleks inside and closed and locked the door. I quickly scanned the room for any video cameras. There usually weren’t cameras at these things, because not only did they take too long to set up, but it wasn’t like these people wanted their activities recorded on film in any way, shape, or form.
“It’s safe, Aleks,” I said after a moment. “There aren’t any cameras or recording devices.”
I began to reach for him, but he put out his hand to stop me. “No,” he whispered. “Don’t touch me.”
Shock reverberated through me.
And hurt.
So much fucking hurt.
“Aleks—” I began in disbelief, but he shook his head and lifted his eyes to meet mine. They were swimming with tears but somehow, he managed to keep them from falling.
“I’m okay, James. But if you touch me, I’m going to lose it and I won’t be able to go back out there.”
His words made me feel both better and worse at the same time.
“It’s almost over, baby. Just hang in there a little longer.”
Aleks stiffened his spine and nodded, then wiped at his eyes. He went to the bathroom mirror and checked his face to make sure there wasn’t any proof of his tears. He was careful not to look at the collar or his outfit. He returned to me and sucked in a few breaths. “I’m ready,” he murmured.
“When we go out there, I’m going to look around a bit to see if there are any doors leading outside back here. If someone stops us, I’m just going to play it like we got turned around while trying to head back to the main room, okay? We won’t have long to look around so just stay with me and move quickly.”
Aleks nodded. “I will.”
I wanted to hug him and tell him how amazing I thought he was, but I knew he was right… if he showed even any of the emotion he was feeling, he’d break down completely.
I probably would too.
Or, at the very least, it would show on my face when we returned to Luca.
