I shake my head. “It isnotthe same.”
“What if we can’t help him, Tennant? What then? I can’t risk himorRoman. I refuse to lose either of them because we were too shortsighted to give our Boy what he needs.”
“You saying you trust him?”
He rolls his eyes. “Of course not. But I trust Lio. Do you?”
Hollis holds my gaze, his question hanging between us. He’s right, I know he is. I trust Lio, not only with me, but with Hollis, Roman, and Benjamin. Hell, and with Jude, even though they don’t know each other well. The Little Monster, for all hisstruggles with emotions and being vulnerable…he is also one of the most loving people I’ve ever met. When he gives himself over, he giveseverything. He’s very similar to Roman in that way.
I wonder, if asked outright, would he admit to missing Allesandro? Hol and I have never asked because we were trying to keep him from imploding after the…incident. And then, we had hoped he’d be honest with us.
I should have known better. Maybe if I wasn’t so wrapped up with Benjamin and making sure he understood how he fit into my life—my family—I would have seen it. Or maybe not. I’ve had years with Hollis and Roman, and over a year and a half now with Jude—who’s always been shit at hiding from me. Lio is different. He might throw his all into a relationship, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not hard for him. The level of confidence he would have needed to have in order to confess something like this…we didn’t get that far before he was kidnapped.
“You’ve made up your mind then?” I ask.
Tears fill Hollis’s eyes. “I have if you did. We need to be strong, for Lio.”
“For Lio,” I say aloud. Flicking my gaze to Allesandro, I tell him, “You get one fucking chance at this. Step a fucking toe out of line, and I will cut your balls off and feed them to you. I don’t like it, and I don’t likeyou. But…I care about Emilio more than that Little Monster knows, and for some fucking reason, he loves you still. Know this though, you arenothis Daddy.”
Hollis snorts.
Allesandro looks hurt by my words, but ask me if I care. My place is to…love Lio in a different way. As much as it fucking grates knowing I can’t take care of all his needs.
“Are you sure you’re strong enough?” Hollis turns to ask Allesandro. He leans against me, letting me hold him up as our world gets turned upside down—again.
“He will be,” Dr. Ranlen says. “He doesn’t have to raise a hand in order to help Lio. There are plenty of tools in Il Padrone’s arsenal.”
“No,” Hollis says. “Lio’s Master he might be, but that’s different from beingIl Padrone.”
“I agree,” Allesandro says. “It’s different, but yes, I can be Lio’s Master. I won’t put myself or him in jeopardy. I might still be healing, but trust I know what I’m doing.”
I snort. “Is that all?”
“Yes. I know you’re not happy, and I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t be happy with me either in your situation. But I will never hurt Lio again. What I did…it was inexcusable, unforgiveable. However, let me help bring your Boy back. Right now, I’m the best option there is, even though I’m sorry for that.”
“You might be his Master,” Hollis tells him. “I won’t deny that he needs you in his life, as much as it pains me to know, but Lio is no longer yours.”
Allesandro’s eyes flash pain and frustration. “I’m aware. Tennant made that abundantly clear with his claim as Emilio’s Daddy.”
Hollis chuckles. “Oh, Allesandro… You might be his Master,” he repeats. “Tennant may be his Daddy. But do you know what he calls me?” My cock hardens against Hollis’s ass at the sureness and confidence in his voice. “I’m his Owner. And I will always be on top. So, yes, you can open the floodgates, but you will not be the first person in his room when he wakes. Tennant needs to stay with Benjamin, but I have time to wait for my Pup to wake. He will knowexactlyhow much his Owner loves him when I give him his Master back.”
My head pounds as I swallow, and my hands are shaking as I struggle against the seat belt holding me up. I whimper when I glance over at Marcus, who isn’t responding, and there’s blood dripping down his face.Fuck. I don’t know what’s going on outside, but we can’t stay here like sitting ducks.
I manage to get my buckle undone, glad I wasn’t able to do it while he was still driving, and awkwardly fall to the ceiling. I let out a muffled shout as my shoulder hits metal, but grit my teeth against the sharp pain.
The sound of someone walking on broken glass has me on high-alert, and I grab my gun, keeping it out in case anyone approaches us. Maneuvering carefully, I try to figure out how the hell to get out of this fucking car. The door is a no-go—fucking gravity. The window…is partially cracked, the only one to surviveintact. I need to look around and see what’s going on outside before I rescue Marcus.
I grimace as I kick the window, hoping it’ll break. It takes three strong kicks before it shatters enough for me to escape. I carefully slither out, trying to protect myself from the leftover glass, but the sharp sting on my flesh suggests I’m not completely successful.Fucking hell.
Slowly, I start to stand, the sound of racing engines terrifying me as equally as the sound of running feet. I carefully peek around the car, breathing a sigh of relief when none of the other cars are visible anymore. I see a motorcycle taking off in pursuit of one of them, and wish the man luck. I’d like to know who the hell targeted us.
“You okay over there?” I jump, cursing, swinging my gun over to point it at the man standing way too fucking close to me.
“Bro, I’m one of Ely’s!” He puts his hands in the air, eyeing me warily as I calm down.
He certainly looks like Ely’s, and it explains the bike nearby. But fuck, I must be more disoriented than I realized if I didn’t hear him approach. Carefully, I lower my gun, but don’t put it away.
“What the fuck happened?” I snarl, studying the devastation around me.
