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I had no clue

And that was so very unlike me

But I hadn’t really had the ti with a betrayal I hadn’t seen coined And even getting Aleks away fro hier be hunted If anything, that would just put his whole faer

That’s the story you’re trying to sell, you coward?

I ignored the voice in lanced at the clock on the dash We’d been driving for nearly an hour I wanted to put a lot h away from the bodies I’d left behind to at least cut Aleks loose and try to reassure hi would be okay

I took a few turns onto various backroads until I was able to find what looked like an unused service road of soh down it until I was sure the car couldn’t be seen by passersby fro, I drove until I was in the e to take off on me, I’d be able to see him without too much trouble… and catch up to him

I turned off the car but turned on the doht I reached intoto cut you free now I just needed tous out of there,” I began to explain, but when I reached for his hands, he jerked away from me His body slammed into the door He let out a loud wail of pain, but I instinctively knew he hadn’t physically hurt himself

“Don’t touch me!” he cried as harsh sobs racked his entire body He tucked his bound hands protectively against his chest “Please, don’t touchraw Then he was reaching for the door handle and part of o

But I couldn’t

So I gently grabbed his arht le, but he suddenly went completely still The tears seeht I could see his eyes go blank Then his bound hands were reaching for his throat and I auto for

The collar

The fucking collar Marcus had put around his neck to re more than a possession… a pet It’d beenwould wear But unlike an anined so it couldn’t be taken off I’d seen the burn marks myself on his thin neck He’d never told ut they were the scars from when Marcus had had the links in the chain perether so the only way the collar could ever be removed was if it was cut off

“Vaughn,” Aleks whispered quietly as he rubbed the absent links that I strongly suspected still existed in his mind “Do you think he’ll finally do it this tiaze turned to meet mine and I felt it like a throat punch

Just like that, Aleks, the young man who loved flowers and sary flavor of the hard candies I’d snuck hione The past two years had been wiped away as if they hadn’t existed

He didn’t give me a chance to respond to him