Of course, I didn’t really know if Ben and Liam were on my side. They’d pulled some serious shit on me...albeit in response to some serious shit I’d pulled on them. So I really couldn’t fault them on that. Then there was my instinct, which said yes, they would be if you wanted them to be. And I tend to trust that more than anything else.
Which brought up the question...could Vance think they’d backed me in any way? If so, would he punish them like he had me? That, I could not tell and did not want to risk. I’d managed to convince myself I enjoyed being raped; I knew they wouldn’t even begin to.
Problem was, I ached all over. The bite around my left tit was still seeping blood; that’s how hard fucking Eddie had bitten me. And in truth, I didn’t have a coherent thought in my head, aside from worrying about the boys.
Well...except for feeling really skanky...and having absolutely no idea where I was.
I finally looked at my phone. Battery down to eleven percent. Three bars. Enough to call Ben’s cell phone.
He answered with, “Shit, Rett, where are you?”
And his voice screamed concern for me. I was so glad to hear that.
“What time is it?” I asked, my voice rough as sandpaper.
“We thought you’d be back, last night.”
Liam chimed in with, “Or this morning.” Ben must have put me on speaker.
“Time,” I growled. “What is the time?”
Ben hesitated. I think he picked up on how my voice sounded. “Isn’t your phone telling you?”
Fucking shit, Garrett. Of course. Three-fifty-one. Idiot. So more than twelve hours later. Jesus, how long had I been sitting here, dumb as a rock? Could Vance already be about to ring my doorbell? “You...you have a car, right?”
“Liam does.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Back at my place. I didn’t want to deal with...”
“Get it,” I said, quick and sharp. “Please. Come get me. I...I’m the woods, someplace. Slight incline so maybe top of a mountain. Can you...can you hook GPS up to locate my phone?”
“Yes,” said Ben.
“Do it. Now. At once. And get the fuck out of my condo. Now.”
“What the fuck, Rett?” Liam was offended.
But Ben’s voice went quieter. “You in trouble? Is it Vance?”
God, he was a smart kid.
I nodded then said, “Yeah.”
“Okay. Got you locked in. Looks like you’re the other side of Topanga, up in the mountains. Forty-two minutes to get there.”
“Leave now. Now!”
“Got it. Liam, let’s go.”
He ended the call. I put my phone in sleep mode then picked up my clothes and did a long, quiet listen. Had to force the noise in my head to settle...but I finally made out the soft sound of water splashing somewhere close. They’d never removed those heavy socks, so I was able to follow the sound as best I could across the dirt and stones with minimal discomfort...and lo and behold, there was a little brook close by. I stripped off the last of the rape clothes and used them to scrub myself with its cold water, as best I could.
I let the wind dry me, even though it was chilly, then I pulled on last night’s clothing. No underwear or socks, but I did have my shoes...and my wallet and money were still in my pocket, as were my keys.
I stumbled back to the half-moon tent and scrounged through it to find some granola bars and a half-full bottle of spring water. Looked like my rapists had been chilling up here, for a while. So I sat at the picnic table to eat and let my mind return to itself.
Under other circumstances, where I was would have been a lovely place to camp out. The rolling hills that were almost mountains. One after the other into the distance. The scrub and shrubs all over, colored in a vague military green. A few trees. All very dry and probably set to go up in the next fire season. Still, I could sit there and wonder at the beauty of hawks and buzzards dancing through a clear blue sky that was whispered with feathery clouds. A deer and her fawn wandered by, a bit down the hill, cast a curious glance at me then continued on. I think I heard chipmunks, but to be honest I don’t know what they sound like. Might have been gophers or even prairie dogs. Still, it was all so tender and uncaring and just plain perfect I could have wept.
So...Vance thought he owned me. Thought he’d made me into just another porn actor whose claims for anything could be dismissed. That he’d been able to pull this together with so many people so quickly told me he had some deep connections in the So-Cal porn world...to the side of mainstream Hollywood. Which told me he’d probably upload the edited video to some kink site, giving me a fake name but having it ready to broadcast if I didn’t let him run my life. Destroy what little reputation I had in the business and send me packing back to Laguna Beach.
As if.
Of course, I couldn’t think of what to do in order to counter him, at the moment. I was still too messed up, mentally, physically and emotionally. I needed to find a safe place to sit and think and plan. Which meant not returning to my condo...not just yet, because he might be waiting for me, there and...
Suddenly, I saw Ben and Liam strolling up the path and waving at me, as if only a few minutes had passed. I was shook, but I still managed to wave back.
Ben noticed Vance’s boys had left some rope tied to the table...and saw the skin of my wrists was rubbed raw. But all he said was, “There’s a parking area just down the path.”
I nodded and rose to my feet, a lot steadier than I thought I’d be.
“What about all that stuff?” he continued, moving towards the tent.
I just shook my head. Let the next fire get it. Or maybe some homeless person. I wanted nothing from it.
We slipped down to Liam’s car...which to my surprise was an old, sleek Chrysler 300.
He noticed how I looked at it with admiration and said, “Got it from my dad. He bought a Tesla to replace it...before he knew the guy was an asshole. Now he’s got a Kia.”
But what was even more of a surprise? My little SUV was parked close by. I actually gave myself a mental kick for not thinking they’d have brought it and left it for me to get home. They had my keys and it couldn’t stay in Niko’s parking area for very long without some questions being raised.
Common sense was not with me, at that moment.
Thing was, I didn’t trust myself to drive it, right then. My brain was still too skittery.
The boys were looking at me, silently waiting for some explanation. Your car’s here but you had us drive all this fucking way? What the fuck, Rett?
“I didn’t know it was here,” I managed to croak. “Ben, you want to drive it?”
He nodded. “Where to?”
Oh, right, someplace to stay. Hide. Regroup. Bring back my peace of mind and sense of control. I handed him the keys. “You know that Motel 6 by LAX?”
“Yeah,” said Liam. “405’s gonna be a bitch.”
Ben nodded. “Do Sepulveda, off the Ten.”
“Traffic lights!” Liam fake whined as he got in the 300.
“Or fast as a snail, on the freeway?” Ben shot back.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
I slipped into the passenger seat as Ben got into my HRV, and off we went.
And I said nothing as we drove.
The hotel was tall, white and simple, and right across the 405 from the start of the LAX area. I set us up for two nights in a double-bed room...facing east so Liam could watch the planes flying in. I explained our lack of luggage with the old, “Airline sent it to Miami. We’re to get it tomorrow.” Got two parking permits, then picked up some needed items from the 7/11 across the street, and had dinner at Panda Express.
Ben had been clever enough to grab my phone charger from my bedroom, and my laptop. The hotel’s WIFI wasn’t great, but no way in hell was I using my hot spot, just yet. I wanted it verified no one was piggy-backing on my phone. Ben thought he could tell, so I let him have at it.
I took a long hot shower as my clothes were washed. Then once I was done and wrapped in one of the hotel’s dinky towels, I fired up my laptop and checked my emails.
And there was Nicky’s info.
“Okay, guys,” I said, “first thing I need to know...did Vance do direct deposit for the money he paid you? Work up a 1099 and do your taxes?”
“No,” said Ben. “Always cash, like with Georgie.”
“It’s not like we made all that much off him,” said Liam.
I nodded. “What was the deal with me? For getting you a place to live?”
They cast a wary glance at each other, but then Ben shrugged and said, “We were to tie you up. Let Vance know when we were ready. He’d send some guys to get you, then we all just go home. Us and Nicky. That was it, Rett. Honest.”
I nodded. “Didn’t you wonder about what would happen?”
“To you?” asked Liam. “Seriously?” He almost laughed. “Nope. When he set it up, I was still pissed about you fuckin’ me.”
“And making me fuck you,” added Ben. “It was get even time.”
“For you bein' an asshole.”
I sighed and nodded, accepting that without question. I actually felt bad about what I’d done to them, so said, “I was. Got locked in on some stupid shit and lost track of myself. I’m sorry. I never should have done that to you. I get...shit, I get stupid, sometimes. Then shit happens and I see how bad I was...and I get embarrassed.”
Ben was seated on the bed closest to the window, wanting me to think he was focused on running a test on my phone. But his voice let me know he was hurt. “What made you think we’d like that?”
It took me a long moment to finally admit, “That didn’t factor into it. I spouted a whole lot of shit about what guys want, yeah. Total bullshit. But what you wanted didn’t really matter.”
“Shit, Rett...”
“I don’t get it,” said Liam.
“It’s simple,” I said, even though it wasn’t. “All that mattered was what I wanted, and I wanted you. Dunno why. Neither of you is my usual type. I just had this idea that taking you would make me happy or...or I’d be proving something. I dunno.”
“But you...you got us off...”
I huffed. “I just know what buttons to push to make any man enjoy being used. Get him to cum. Half the time, they're back for more. You’re not the first guys I’ve done that to. Or maybe I did it just to get you two out of my system.”
“You mean, you got as obsessed with us as you did with Nicky?”
“Yeah,” I said, actually considering what he said. “I guess I did.”
“Did it work?” asked Ben, rebooting my phone. “We out of your system?”
Some weird little thought was niggling at the back of my brain as I said, “You think I’d be here if you weren’t?”
He looked at me and handed me the phone. “I think it’s clean. A lot of shit’s been wiped off, but I don’t see anything unusual added.”
“Thanks,” I said, then added, “I’ll do what I can to make it all up to you.”
“You better,” said Ben. “Because I got no place to live, now.”
Liam nodded. “My mom got all nasty about him stayin’ with us. She knows his mom and always takes her side.”
“The bitch.”
“Hey, she may be a bitch, but she’s my mom so don’t call her one.”
I chuckled and said, “Y’know, I really like the two of you.” They cast me a very wary glance, so I continued, “Not because you’re cute or I want to have sex with you, again, or anything like that. I like being friends with you...if we still can be. Which is kind of creepy, since I’m almost twice your ages.”
Ben snickered, “So you’re a pervert?”
Liam laughed. “Shit, Rett...”
“I swear to you, Niko...no, fucking Nicholas is more my type. You kids were an anomaly. Me having a brain fart, or something.”
“Oh, that makes me feel great,” Ben laughed.
“You need a place to live?” I chuckled. “I got space for you.”
Ben rolled his eyes. “At your condo? In your bed?”
“Naw, he’s gonna put you in the dinky room.” Liam said. “With all the cameras so he can watch you sleep and jack off and...”
“I’m tearing out that fake wall. Getting rid of the editing suite. That’ll give you another forty-forty-five square feet.”
Ben smirked. “Yeah. Great. You sure you don’t want easy access to me?”
No, hit my brain, but all I said was, “I will not touch you, again, unless you want me to. Either of you.” And I meant it.
I think they could tell, because Ben actually seemed to relax, a little.
Suddenly, Liam bolted to the window to watch an A380 float in for a landing. “Whoa, look at that...how does it stay up?”
Ben smiled at him then asked, “Okay, Rett, so what’s the deal with Vance?”
Liam glanced back at us then kept watching the jet float in for a landing.
Well, no matter what, they were now attached to me. No way would Vance think for two seconds he could trust them, anymore.
So I told them everything.
Not in glorious detail, of course. And I emphasized how I fought back...maybe exaggerated a little. Doesn’t matter. They were stunned...and didn’t quite believe me. And that’s despite how raw my wrists were, because my ankles weren’t bad. Thanks to those thick socks and how I’d chucked those shitty, torn clothes away in the brush and...and...and...
Holy shit, it hit me.
I was dressed for that rape in almost the exact same way I’d dressed for my revenge rape of Ralph. A way I’d never dressed before and...and...
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Garrett...don’t go crazy, here. It’s...it’s just a coincidence, right? Yeah. Sure. That’s all. C’mon, don’t let your paranoid-schizophrenia take you over just yet. Those clothes were chosen because they suited a...a...a fantasy most gay men have of finding and fucking a lumberjack in the middle of California who’s sleeping face down in a tent just begging to be fucked and...and...
And FUCK!
BULLSHIT!
I grabbed my laptop and Googled Ralph’s name. A couple other guys came up, first, but then his LinkedIn was listed, with his photo. I wasn’t a member of that site so I couldn’t get into it, but I did manage to pull up his thumbnail portrait and show it to Ben and Liam.
“Either of you ever see this guy, before?” I asked.
Ben sighed. “Yeah. Couple of Vance’s parties.”
Liam frowned. “Was he that New Yorker dude. All full of himself?”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, always making a big deal about flying in. Doing a redeye back.”
Liam used a snotty tone to say, “LAX to JFK, all the way is what I say.”
That didn’t make sense. “I’ve been to Vance’s parties and never saw him.”
“You were his Hollywood parties,” said Ben. “This guy's was his client parties.”
“Investors,” Liam chuckled. “Buyin’ a chunk of somethin’ to have access to Vance’s stable of flesh.”
I laughed. “Who the hell ever said that?”
“Vance.”
Ben just snorted and tapped Ralph’s thumbnail. “This fucker cornered me at the last one. Thought I'd be his date.”
“You were...?” I was confused.
Ben rolled his eyes and shook his head. “We were servers. Trays of finger food.”
Liam nodded. “And wine and champagne and seltzer water.”
“Wearing those fucking Speedos.”
“Lots of touch but no real sex allowed.”
“You can figure out why, right, Rett?”
“It was a year ago,” said Liam.
And Ben all but batted his eyes at me.
Liam continued with, “Didn’t Vance turn that jerk on to somebody else? Get him away from you?”
Ben nodded. “Smoke.”
“Right, right, he pulled together some of the cash for Smoke’s show. Wanted a tip.”
Oh, fuck...I could just imagine what that meant.
I dug deeper into Ralph. Took me most of the evening to finally link him fully with Vance’s group. East Coast Mafia money meets West Coast venal player. Rumors of porn. Prostitution. Enough legitimate product to hide it behind, with Vance using models repped by his agency to take care of his investors and associates.
Ben saw what I was doing and cast me a questioning glance. “How do you know him?”
I rolled my eyes. “He and I had a thing, years ago. Didn’t end well.”
Liam snickered. “You do to him what you did to us?”
“Worse,” I said. “And kept the recording. I’d jack off to it, sometimes.”
“Shit. You’re lucky you got away from him.”
“He’s got...he’s got a nasty rep,” Ben said.
I said to him, “More like, you’re lucky Vance stopped him.”
Ben cringed.
Liam noticed and quickly said, “Y’know, Smoke’s wife was pissed about how that asshole treated him.”
“Treated him?” I asked. “Anything like what happened to me?”
“Not six on one,” Ben said, “but...”
Of course. He’d only gotten worse since I knew him. No need to tell me more about it.
But the great thing was, I now knew how to fight back against Vance, and knowing Ralph was involved had given me the key.
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