Page 16 of A Mistake of Identity
Gabriel studied his phone, jaw tightening as he noted Heart Court’s position near the Fourth Cat’s northern edge. Thirty minutes by car—but the transit overlay revealed a maze of connections that would have taken his little bird an hour to navigate. Alone. In the dark.
The thought settled like ice in Gabriel’s stomach as they crossed into the Second Cat. Luxury high-rises flashed past, their gleaming facades a stark reminder of the world his little bird had fled to reach this place. They crossed the final bridge into Fourth Cat’s northern reaches, leaving behind the tourist-friendly facades of the entertainment district. Here, run-down bars lined the streets, their neon already burning in theafternoon gloom. Apartment buildings crouched behind chain-link fences, territorial claims spelled out in spray paint.
The Mercedes slowed, drawing hostile looks from the locals. Small strip clubs and non-union brothels dotted the block between pool halls and neighborhood bars. Heart Court loomed ahead, its warehouse facade transformed by electric pink and red neon. A crowd of off-shift workers pressed against the floor-to-ceiling display window, their crude laughter carrying across the humid afternoon air.
Alain brought the car to a stop, the luxury vehicle an alien presence in this cesspool of the Fourth Cat. Gabriel’s fingers drummed against his thigh, the only outward sign of his fraying control.
“Well.” His voice carried an edge sharper than his smile. “Shall we?” He stepped from the car, Alain and Lucas falling into position beside him.
Dock workers and locals pressed against the display window, their lunch break entertainment evidently found. Their crude laughter carried across the humid afternoon air, punctuated by the mechanical whir of... something.
Then he heard it. A muffled sob that stopped him cold.
The display window’s lurid pink neon turned his pristine white shirt garish as Gabriel approached. Then he heard it—a muffled sob from behind the glass that stopped him cold. Ellis—his little bird—knelt strapped to a padded bench, hands cuffed behind his back. A black bit gag stretched those perfect lips, a sodden blindfold covered his eyes, and behind him, a mechanical arm thrust rhythmically, forcing broken sounds from his trembling form.
The last thread of Gabriel’s control snapped.
He didn’t register crossing to Heart Court’s entrance, didn’t feel his suit jacket fly open with the force of his movement. The bell above the door chimed discordantly against histhundering pulse. The display case stood separate and sealed, a cruel glass cage where his little bird fluttered in distress.
Gabriel’s hands slammed against the display room’s door. The thick glass didn’t even shudder under his assault.
“Rohan.” The word snapped from behind the counter as a young man with untamed blonde curls vaulted over it. “Ellis showed me how to break this piece of shit open—Donovan keeps locking people in here when they piss him off. Donovan tossed Ellis in this morning, won’t let anyone go near him.” The boy’s fingers flew to the keypad, contempt thick in his voice even as he jabbed the zero repeatedly. “Come on, come on...”
A pneumatic hiss signaled the door’s release. Gabriel would have to thank his little bird later for teaching this trick to—
Outside, violence erupted as Lucas and Alain dispersed the crowd. The wet crack of Lucas’ fist meeting flesh carried through the glass, followed by shocked gasps as Alain revealed his sidearm. The crowd scattered like roaches in sunlight.
Gabriel moved the instant the door opened, channeling his fury into careful movements as he worked the buckle of the bit gag. Ellis whimpered as Gabriel eased it from between his lips, the sound stoking his rage. Red marks marred the corners of that perfect mouth, each one a death sentence Gabriel would deliver. But when he spoke, he forced his voice into something gentle, something safe.
“Shhh, little bird. I’m here now. Je suis là.” The words emerged soft, controlled, though they tasted like violence on his tongue. Ellis released a broken sob at the sound of his voice, his whole body shuddering.
The blonde youth darted in beside him, key ring jingling as he worked on the handcuffs while Gabriel released the straps holding Ellis to the bench. As the restraints fell away, Gabriel’sgaze caught on the angry welts crossing Ellis’ back. Crude, amateur strikes that spoke of brutality rather than skill.
Bruises bloomed across that perfect skin, marks Gabriel hadn’t placed there, hadn’t authorized. Each one felt like a personal affront. Only he had the right to mark his little bird, to paint him with practiced, measured strokes. These savage marks... his vision darkened at the edges as rage threatened to overwhelm him.
Gabriel yanked the machine’s cord from the wall, silencing its mechanical whir. Ellis whimpered as Gabriel carefully eased him free, revealing the obscene size of the attached dildo. His vision went white—this brutal violation of what was his, this crude attempt to break his petit oiseau. The sound of Ellis’ pain cut through his already fraying control.
“I have you,” he forced out past clenched teeth, one arm wrapping securely around Ellis’ waist, supporting him as tremors wracked his little bird’s frame.
Only then did Gabriel reach for the blindfold, carefully peeling the soaked fabric away. Fresh tears spilled down Ellis’ cheeks as he blinked in the harsh light. Another sob escaped him, his entire body trembling as he surrendered his weight to Gabriel.
Gabriel slipped one arm beneath Ellis’ knees, the other supporting his back as he lifted him in a careful bridal carry. Ellis curled into his chest immediately, face pressing into Gabriel’s neck as Gabriel carried him to the lobby’s worn couch. The young blonde hovered nearby, his fitted uniform doing little to hide his agitation as Gabriel settled them both, Ellis cradled in his lap, mindful of the welts and bruises.
“I have you, mon coeur,” he whispered into Ellis’ hair, uncaring of the witnesses to this moment of tenderness. “I have you now.”
The desk clerk hovered anxiously nearby as Ellis curled deeper into Gabriel’s chest. The lobby door burst open as Lucas and Alain entered, both men freezing at the threshold. Gabriel barely registered their presence, his attention fixed on each of Ellis’s shuddering breaths.
“Jean Saint-Clair?” Lucas’s voice cut through Gabriel’s focus, equal parts surprise and certainty.
The blonde youth stiffened. “You’re mistaken. It’s Devereaux.”
“Your mother’s maiden name?” Lucas arched an eyebrow, his usual playfulness edged with steel. “Not much of a cover, kid. Your father’s been telling everyone you’re at some prestigious boarding school in Sweden.”
The boy’s defiant posture faltered at the mention of his father, though his chin remained lifted. “Yeah, well, Sweden’s overrated.”
“Was Heart Court the first brothel you tried after running away?”
A flush crept up the youth’s neck. “...fourth. First one that didn’t look like it’d give me an STD just walking in.”
