Page 165 of Pistols and Plush Toys

The car parked and Mustache got out and opened the back door. Goatee forced Nikolai out of the car, gun pressed between his shoulder blades. Mustache shoved Elliot forward, and Elliot went without fuss, stumbling as he exited the car, unused to moving without his hands for balance.

Sick dread churned in his stomach as they were led in the side door of the building. The pounding of Elliot’s heart was so loud he was certain everyone could hear it.

He hadn’t seen Mattia since—since the apartment.

Focus.He couldn’t fall apart here. He needed to be able to… to look at Mattia and pretend. Pretend that Mattia was all Elliot wanted. Pretend that Mattia was all Elliotneeded.

At least Mattia probably wouldn’t mind the fear on his face. Might even revel in it, as Elliot debased himself at Mattia’s feet.

They were marched through a long hallway, through the factory floor, and then to some back offices. The entire building had the feeling of abandonment, with broken equipment and dust everywhere.

More of Mattia’s men were back here, all rough looking Italians with guns. Elliot didn’t recognize any of them though.

Then, out of one of the offices, stepped Mattia.

Elliot swallowed hard. That cruel smirk was all too familiar.

“Hey there baby, miss me?” Mattia sauntered forward, twirling a knife between his fingers. “I sure missed you.”

Elliot bit his lip on the horrible sound that wanted to spring free. The knife was right out of his nightmares, and he couldn’t look away from it.

Mattia approached slowly, looking him up and down in a way that made Elliot’s skin crawl. Some of the men around them shuffled uncomfortably at that, but said nothing. “I missed you so much, El, but now that I think about it, I’ve seen some photos that say you haven’t missedme.That you forgot what I told you last time. About what I’d do if this man evertouched you again.”Mattia gestured to the room behind him with his knife. “Guess I’d better make good on my word. Take him back so we can get started.”

Goatee jabbed at Nikolai’s back with his gun, forcing him forward.No, no, no.

Distract him. Buy more time.

“Can I—” Elliot forced himself to say the words, to look right at Mattia. To walk toward him, pleading. “C-can I be there, Matty?”

“Be there?” Mattia asked, brows going up before his eyes narrowed again. “What’s that mean, El?”

“I-I want to watch,” Elliot stammered, almost unable to hear himself over the pounding in his ears. “P-please Matty? He–he kidnapped me. And… and hurt me. S-so can I watch? Please?”

Mattia grinned, wide and deranged, and turned to one of the men beside him. “Didn’t I tell you? This fuckingstronzomade him do it. My baby is loyal.”

Out of his peripherals Elliot could see a few of the men doubted that just by their body language, but he kept his focus on Mattia. It didn’t matter what the rest of them thought.

He only needed to convince Mattia.

“Boss?” Someone asked, stilted, like they wanted to say more but weren't sure if it would be welcome.

“H-he stole me from you,” Elliot said, softer, like a confession. He blinked hard to force the welled tears to fall. Mattia always liked it when he cried. “He hurt me and I-I didn’t have a choice. I tried Matty, I tried s-so hard to get away. But he… he…”

Elliot let out the wounded sound that had been trying to escape since they’d been surrounded at the restaurant. He’d never been a liar or strong actor, but Mattia was nodding, like he believed every word.

“Don’t worry El,” he said, with a wide, crazed grin. “He’ll pay for it. And then you’ll be all mine. Won’t you, baby?”

In his right mind, Mattia shouldn’t have been buying this. He wasn’t stupid. What had happened since the last time Elliot had seen him? Why was he so willing to believe Elliot’s sob story?

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that hewasbuying Elliot’s story. Which meant that… that Elliot might be able to keep buying time. “I’m yours, Matty,” he said, tears dripping down his cheeks. “So… so please? I-I want to be there. When you take care of him. I need to know that h-he’ll never hurt me again.”

Mattia grabbed Elliot’s wrist and held up the knife. It took everything inside Elliot not to flinch away, even as his heart tumbled in fear.

“You still my baby?” Mattia asked. There was a wild look in his eyes that Elliot didn’t think he’d ever seen before.

He nodded, desperate to be convincing. More tears streamed down his cheeks. “A-always,” he said, breathy and terrified and trying to play it off as adoration. “I love you.” The words were like bile, acidic and all wrong, but he did his best to say them with sweetness. The way he’d once meant them.

The knife was brought down and Mattia cut his wrist ties apart, the plastic dropping to the dirty office floor. A second later one of Mattia’s big hands grabbed a fistful of his hair, yanking him forward.

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