Part Thirty-Seven
“Lindsey?” asked Jesse timidly as he hesitantly stepped into Vincent’s bedroom, frightened of what he would find. Lindsey was lying prone on the bed, his arms over his head, still attached to the headboard. “Linds, baby, are you okay?”
“Jesse?” came Lindsey’s hoarse reply. “Did he hurt you bad?”
Jesse was at the bed almost instantly, unlocking the cuffs from around Lindsey’s wrists. His heart clenched when Lindsey’s words hit him. Lindsey was more worried about him being hurt. “Linds…”
Stiffly, Lindsey turned over, so that he could pull Jesse down into his arms. He cradled his lover carefully in his arms. “Did he hurt you badly?”
“No, he didn’t do anything. He came in and saw my clock, and left.” Jesse took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down “Linds, baby, you’re right. We’ve got to get out of here,” sobbed Jesse, buring his face in Lindsey’s shoulder and clinging to him tightly. “Why’d you let him do this? At least I’m used…”
Lindsey cut Jesse off, “No! Better me than you.” He stroked Jesse’s hair tenderly.
“Never! I need you, but I don’t want you to hurt because of something I did!”
“It’s not your fault. He’s making up excuses just to get you in his bed.” Lindsey pulled Jesse up so that he could look into large, tear-filled chocolate eyes. “When I found out who he was, I wanted to grab you and run, before he ever touched you. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
Jesse stared down into clear blue eyes brimming with unshed tears. He brought his face closer to Lindsey’s and kissed him softly. “Where will we go?”
“I don’t know,” whispered Lindsey. “But we will find somewhere tonight. It won’t matter where, because I’ve have you.”
Iam paced angrily around his room. Corey should’ve brought Xander home a half-hour ago. Finally, he stormed out into the living room, where Liam and Giles were cuddling on the couch. “alright, where is he?”
“Where’s who?” asked Liam as Giles stared at his nephew in confusion.
“Xander! Where’s Xander?” Why isn’t he home yet?” snarled Iam.
“Oh,” Giles settled back down into Liam’s arms, “is that all? He’s staying the night a Corey’s.”
Iam was shocked for a second before exploding into anger. “Aren’t you worried that Corey’s gonna do something to him?”
“Now, Iam. Corey’s a nice boy. He wouldn’t do anything as callow as taking advantage of Xander.”
Liam agreed, “He’s a very sensitive young man. There’s no way he could hurt Xander.”
“I can’t believe you two! You’re blind! Corey’s evil! All he’s after is sex!”
Giles looked at Iam sternly, “Iam, just because you don’t like Xander’s boyfriend does not automatically mean he is evil.”
“Rupe,” said Liam softly, trying to keep Iam from hearing, “he’s just jealous. Let him be.”
“I am not jealous!” yelled Iam. “There’s something about Corey! Why can’t you see it? He’s gonna do something bad, I know he is!”
“Alright, Iam. If you say so,” said Liam.
Iam gritted his teeth, “Do not patronize me.” When Liam went to say something, Iam stopped him before he had a chance. “Bloody ignore me if you want, but when Corey hurts Xander, I sodding hope you’ll believe me then!” He then went storming back into his room and slammed the door.
“What has gotten into that boy?” asked Giles, staring after Iam concernedly.
“He’s jealous,” said Liam again, tightening his hold on Giles. “Xander found someone else he likes, and Iam obviously doesn’t want to share.”
“But, all they did was kiss,” protested Giles, weakly, focusing more on the hand that slipped into his shirt.
Liam caressed the warm skin under his hand. “Well, Corey can touch Xander, and be touched by Xander. Iam is too afraid. He might be envious of that, as well.”
Well… I see.” Giles turned slightly in Liam’s arms, tangling his hands in dark brown hair and pulling Liam in for a kiss.
*RING*
“Oh, bloody hell!” groused Giles, reaching for the phone. “Hello?”
“Is Liam O’Malley there?”
“Yes, he is. Who shall I say is calling?”
“This is Faith Winchester from the Los Angeles police department.”
“Li, it’s a Officer Winchester.”
Liam snatched the phone from Giles’ hand. “Hello?”
“Dr. O’Malley? We have found some evidence that your daughter is in fact still alive.”
“Oh thank God,” he whispered.
“We found her purse, including her identification, and the clothing that you described.”
“But you didn’t find Dru?”
“We’re searching the area in which the items were discovered.”
“Thank you for calling.”
“We’ll keep you informed. I can understand what you’re going through.”
Liam hung up the phone and was immediately embraced by Giles. “They found her purse and her clothes, but not her,” said Liam, resting his head on Giles’ shoulder.
“They’re one step closer to finding her, then,” soothed Giles. “She’ll be home before you know it.”
“God, I love you. I don’t know what I would do without you,” murmured Liam, taking Giles’ lips in a passionate kiss.
**One Week Later**
Rever still couldn’t believe how easily he had fooled the police. They’d fallen for the planted clothing, combing that entire section of warehouses. They were focusing on an area on the opposite side of town. A good thing, too, because Vincent had called him in to track his boy and the boy’s lover. Apparently, they were trying to skip town.
Vincet seemed highly amused over the situation, reguarding it as a game. And Rever honestly couldn’t disagree. The two boys obviously did not know how to keep a low profile. Vincent’s orders were to follow the young men until told otherwise. So here he was, parked in the lot of a decent motel.
Lindsey and Jesse sat numbly on the bed at their motel. Vincent was hunting them. He’d tracked them to and then ran them out of two other places already.
“Baby, we’ve got to get out of LA. It’s the only way we’re going to be safe,” said Lindsey tiredly. “It feels like we’ve been running foreve, and not just a week.”
“I know,” sighed Jesse, curling up on the bed with his head in Lindsey’s lap. “But we can’t go to Sunnydale. It’s the first place he’ll look.”
Lindsey thought for a second. “I know! Whitney lives in Seattle. We can go stay with him til we get our own place.”
“Whitney?” asked a confused Jesse.
“He’s my brother. Twin, actually,” said Lindsey, smiling when Jesse sat up.
“What does he look like?”
“Me.” Jesse’s face lit up with lust, and Lindsey laughed. “Sorry to disappoint you, baby, but Whit’s totally into the women. You’re not going to be getting any twin action.”
“Damn, now I’m all sad.” Jesse pouted at Lindsey. “Make it better?”
Lindsey didn’t answer with words. He pushed Jesse down onto the bed before crawling over him and capturing his mouth in a searing kiss.
*KNOCK*
‘I hope to bloody hell this is news about Dru,’ thought Giles. Liam had been distraught after the clothes incident turned out to be a dead end. He opened the door and stopped dead. “Ethan!”
“Hello, Rupert.”