Page 79 of Hidden Desires
Blade reached behind himself and grabbed hold of his trusty blades.
“Hold up,” his father said, pulling out a throwing blade of his own and holding it up above his head. “You might want to think long and hard before you take another step. That crane is dangling over a two-hundred-foot canyon. One throw of my blade, and your boy will be tomato sauce all over the boulders below.”
“Blade!” Ace called out to him from where he hung, swaying slowly against the pull of his weight.
It had been years since he had seen his father throw one of his knives, but judging by the taunting look in his eyes, his aim was still on point. One throw from his blade, and his father could easily cut the rope holding Ace in place.
He couldn’t take that chance. Not when Ace’s life was on the line. He meant too much to him.
“What do you want?” Blade asked, his eyes darting from his father to Ace and back.
“Put those on,” his father ordered, nodding toward a box off to the side.
Sitting on top of the box were a handful of zip ties.
“What?” Blade asked, confused by the man’s weird request.
“The zip ties. Use them to tie up your hands. I’m giving you the opportunity to exchange your boyfriend’s life for your own.”
“Blade! No! You can’t do this!”
“You’ll let the boy go if I give myself up?”
“I’ll even have one of my men drop him off back with his family,” the man sneered, nodding over his shoulder as two men emerged from the shadows and began walking toward the crane. “So? Do we have a deal?”
Blade marched over to the box and snatched up two zip ties. This was an easy choice. It would always be his life in exchange for Ace’s. He didn’t care what happened to himself, so long as Ace was safe and happy.
From the crane, Ace continued to yell profanities at Blade’s father. Threatening to cut off his balls and feed his limbs to every animal with sharp teeth.
He loved Ace and his wicked tongue. The boy might not be a muscular beast like some of the other guys in the crew, but his words could deliver just as painful a blow.
Using his teeth, Blade pulled the end of the zip tie tight, binding his hands in place in front of him. Once he was done, he held them up.
“Done. Now, let Ace go.”
Blade’s father smirked. He nodded to a man standing next to Blade and watched as he pulled the remainder of his blades out of his back pockets.
The man grabbed Blade by the arm and held him firmly in place.
“Love is weakness, boy. I should have done a better job of teaching you that when you were a kid. See how easy it was tocapture you? All I had to do was dangle this little homo piece of shit in front of you, and you’re willing to stick your head in the lion’s mouth. It makes me sick.”
Fuming at his remarks, Blade lunged forward, only to be tugged back by the man standing next to him.
“Not very smart either, I see,” his father taunted.
Over by the crane, two men pulled Ace to safety. Blade watched as they climbed down, carrying Ace over their shoulders.
Once they were safely back on solid ground, they put Ace down, holding him firmly in place.
“Let me go, asshole!” Ace shouted, fighting his hardest to break free from his captors.
“Ace, stop!” Blade shouted, capturing the attention of those fierce brown eyes that he had spent so many years secretly loving. He wanted to get Ace away from his father and back to the safety of Marcus and the rest of the crew as soon as possible.
“Stop fighting and let those guys take you back to your brother and the rest of the crew,” Blade ordered.
He didn’t want to risk his father changing his mind or turning on them both. The sooner he got Ace away from his dad, the safer Ace would be.
Ace stared back at him with tears in his eyes. “Blade. No! I’ll never stop fighting for you. For us. You’re crazy if you think I am just going to leave you here.” He continued struggling, using his legs to kick at the men holding him.
