All Tied Up Ch. 08 by jroseemi,jroseemi Emmanuel had been serious about keeping River in his sight at all times. The only time he felt comfortable not being able to see River was when they had to go into work at different times, and even then Emmanuel had asked River to share his location with him so he could make sure he was okay. It let River see where Emmanuel was too, and that helped calm both of their fears a little.
The only unfortunate part is that River’s family also wanted to keep an eye on him, but Emmanuel’s work schedule could be more hectic than even River’s was. The location tracking gave River a glimpse into just what Emmanuel had to do to earn money each week. The man seemed to have four or five part-time jobs on top of scalping tickets for upcoming shows and sporting events.
Watching it made River wish there was something he could do to help. He knew if he asked his dad, they could probably help Emmanuel get a higher paying job, but he didn’t want to overstep. It was late in the day on a weekend that River saw his opportunity to offer, though. Emmanuel dragged himself through the door and sat tiredly on the edge of the bed. He kicked his shoes off and fell backwards dramatically. He just laid there for almost twenty minutes before getting back up and showering.
After his shower, Emmanuel pulled on his pair of house-shorts and sat next to River on the couch that River had insisted they needed earlier in the week. He had to admit that it was nice to be able to sit next to his Pet instead of across from him all the time. “Pet. I think we need a splenda-parent,” Emmanuel admitted tiredly.
River gave him a sympathetic smile. “I hate seeing you killing yourself just to make a living. We do have options though. Dad owns the stores, as well as invests in businesses he thinks would be profitable. Usually that means people he networks with, but he gave Carson a job for a while before Carson came to him with a business plan laid out and dad agreed and invested. It’s doing well too. Plus, it’s not like my salary isn’t good.”
Emmanuel blinked at River as if he hadn’t even considered any of those points. “So…” Emmanuel said blearily, “Pet is Splenda-Daddy?”
River gave a little snort at that. “I think technically I’d qualify as real sugar, but I’m not mad about it or anything. If I can help make your life easier, I want to, Sir.”
Emmanuel smiled as he started to drift off to sleep, putting his head in River’s lap. River shook his head and went back to his book. River ran his hand through Emmanuel’s hair while he slept, enjoying the intimate gesture while reading. When Emmanuel woke up several hours later, River was squirming slightly. Emmanuel sat up and River immediately ran off to use the bathroom. Emmanuel waited for him to return and turned to face him on the couch.
“Okay, so, you were saying that there are options. I hadn’t even considered asking you for any help with the apartment because you have your own place to worry about, but I’m not too proud to work for your father if he has an opening for a job I can do,” Emmanuel said, making it clear with his tone and eye contact that he was speaking not to his Pet but to his boyfriend.
River gave a small nod and smiled at him. “I’ll go over and talk to him tomorrow. He likes you so I know he’ll be happy to help out. Dad views family money as ways to help the rest of the family, and that includes his children’s partners.”
Emmanuel thanked him and cuddled back up with him for a moment before murmuring, “Have you put any thought into dinner? I feel like I haven’t eaten in a month.”
River ruffled his hair again. “Yeah, let me get up and put it in the oven.”
The next day River went over to his parents’ house before he had to go to work himself. He still had his travel kit and supplies in the back seat of his car. He came into the house and was a little surprised to see Vinny there with his parents, but didn’t show it too much. When he sat down, he got down to business by bringing up what he and Emmanuel had spoken about to his dad, who was incredibly excited to be able to help.
They talked through various options so River could go back to Emmanuel to lay them out and let him choose which direction he wanted to go in. Once River had that written down for later, Gardenia asked River to at least have some food before he left, which he gave in to. While Gardenia went to make food for him, August got a call on his phone that was important so he went to go take it in his office.
That left Vinny and River alone in the living room together. Vinny looked at River with a frown, crossing his arms in front of him as River got up to move around the room a little, putting space between them.
“You’ve been pretty distant lately,” Vinny told him.
“Have I?” River asked him, stopping behind the couch. “There’s been so much going on, what with work and the fire.”
“We used to be so close before you got that recent boyfriend of yours,” Vinny commented. “I don’t think he likes me much.”
River couldn’t argue with that. He had been good at hiding information, but never good at outright lying. “I mean, our relationship is kind of…odd, isn’t it?”
“Is it?” Vinny asked, getting up from his spot so he could casually come over to where River was. River was nervous the closer he got, but he didn’t move yet, wanting to figure out what he was up to. “Sometimes relationships change over time, grow. I don’t think there’s anything odd in that.”
“We’ve always been uncle and nephew,” River told him as he looked over to the side, not wanting to look Vinny in the eye right then. “Not…whatever we’ve been acting like for a while.”
“You didn’t like it?” Vinny asked.
“It’s not that,” River admitted. “It…I liked it a lot. You were the person I was closest to in the entire world, but…It’s not really appropriate for our relationship to each other. We may not be blood related but I’ve been raised as if we were.”
“Maybe if you were still a teenager, but you’re an adult, River,” Vinny said to him, coming much closer than River was expecting, so there was very little space between them anymore. “We can have whatever kind of relationship we want with each other.”
River looked up again, surprised by what he was saying, and Vinny moved in to kiss him. River was taken by surprise at first, completely shocked that Vinny would do something like this, and in his parents’ house no less! When he put his hands on Vinny’s chest to push him away, Vinny planted his feet so River wasn’t able to, pinning him against the table that was behind him.
River finally did the only thing he could think of. He took Vinny’s lip between his own and bit down as hard as he could. Vinny let out a cry, pulling away while River held on a little longer before he let him stumble away. When River turned around, he could see blood all over his lips and chin. He heard Vinny swear behind him and then grabbed a handkerchief that was on the table he was standing against, wiped the blood off, then folded it and put it back down onto the table before he used his sleeve to wipe off the rest, including what was in his mouth. By the time Vinny had a sound enough mind to turn back to River, he could see River wiping at his mouth with his sleeve.
Vinny held his own sleeve up to his mouth to try and stop the bleeding, looking at River like he was surprised that it went that way. “That’s your answer then?”
River nodded his head slowly. “I’m with Emmanuel, and nothing will change that. I love you, but not like that. You’re my uncle, you’re…you’re family.”
Vinny frowned at that, but eventually took his hand away from his mouth and looked down at where the blood was on River’s shirt. “At least let me clean your shirt. As an apology. Blood is so hard to get out of clothing.”
“I’m a forensic scientist,” River pointed out. “I know how to get blood out of clothes.”
“I insist,” Vinny said and River could see he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. River unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, and Vinny took it from him before he silently turned and walked out of the house. River watched from his spot as Vinny went down the walkway and eventually drove away in his car.
As soon as he had disappeared down the street, River turned around and picked up the handkerchief off the table. The table he was leaning against had a few things of Cassia’s, which included a pair of white gloves and an old, white cotton handkerchief that she had loved to use to be “fancy” as she put it. His mom might be angry at him for this later, but he felt like he had to do it. He folded the handkerchief again and slipped it into his pocket before he went to ask his mom for the food to go because he needed to get to work.
As soon as River got outside, he got into his kit and slipped the piece of cloth into an evidence bag, labeling it the way he knew how to before securing it in his bag and heading to the coroner’s office. Once he was inside, he put the bag down and got to work on getting a blood sample that he could test for DNA. It would take a few weeks for him to get back, but he had to know once and for all.
He didn’t get the chance to see Emmanuel until after work. River got home first and went to take a shower, taking extra care to scrub his face and lips. He felt dirty even though he had fought back, and he was nervous about Emmanuel’s reaction to this. Emmanuel had expected to find River sleeping in the bed, leaving a spot for him, so he was surprised when he came home to find the lamp next to the bed on and River sitting on the couch chewing on his thumb nail while his legs were pulled up against his body.
Emmanuel immediately went to River’s side and asked if it was okay to touch him. River nodded his head to say that it was okay; in fact, he wanted Emmanuel to. Emmanuel took him in his arms and just quietly petted his hair for a while. It was only once Emmanuel had him in his arms that River broke down and told him what happened with Vinny at his parents’ house.
Emmanuel froze briefly while River told him, his muscles taut with suppressed emotion, then he relaxed and started breathing again as the story progressed. River could tell he wasn’t happy that Vinny had tried something, but he was pleased with River’s reaction and quick thinking. That seemed to relax River a little too, knowing Emmanuel wasn’t angry with him.
“I feel so dirty,” River admitted.
Emmanuel hugged him closer, saying, “You’re not, though. You’re strong and brave and I’m proud of you.”
“I used Cassia’s handkerchief to get a DNA sample,” River said after a moment.
Emmanuel, not really grasping the significance at first, looked confused but proud. “Did you process the sample?” he asked.
“It’s processing now,” River replied. “It can take a few weeks, though. I figure I owe it to myself to check it against the two DNA results we have for Cassia’s killers.”
Emmanuel nodded his understanding and then the import of what it meant that River had used his sister’s handkerchief dawned on him. “River! Are you okay? That handkerchief is important to you and your family isn’t it?”
“It is,” River agreed. “It’s stayed on that table in the living room since her funeral. And now it’s possible evidence, but…if it gives us answers, then it’s worth it. And we might be able to get it back after a trial if it comes to that.”
Emmanuel hugged him tightly, saying, “I’m sorry you had to make that choice, but I am so proud of you.”
“Really?” River asked as he looked into Emmanuel’s eyes. “You aren’t mad at me about the kiss? I blanked out at first before I could even think to react.”
“River,” Emmanuel said, his expression serious. “You were sexually assaulted, by a family member! Why would you think I’d be upset with you?”
River stared at him for a second before it clicked in his head that that was what had happened. It made his feeling of being dirty make sense to himself too. He looked down as he said, “I guess I hadn’t…I don’t know, put that together in my head.”
Emmanuel nodded his understanding of River’s position. “Sometimes we have to be reminded that we were assaulted. We tend to internalize what happens to us and find ways for it to be our fault.”
River swallowed hard at that, nodding his head quietly as he took that in. “I guess I just…never expected to be in this position. Especially not with Vinny. He’s been my favorite person other than Cassia as long as I can remember. I loved him, still love him, though I’m not in love with him. I just…I don’t understand how he could want that. He’s my uncle.”
Emmanuel shuddered. “I don’t even want to understand how someone could think that way about someone he watched grow up. I don’t think any reasonable person would have expected anything like this,” he said disgustedly.
River shook his head like he couldn’t understand it either. “I have some nieces and nephews now and I think I will only ever be able to look at them like they are kids no matter how old they get. I know Vinny isn’t my uncle by blood, but I was raised like he was. I just don’t know how to reconcile reality with what I thought it was. It taints the good memories I have with him.”
Emmanuel squeezed River tightly for a second, saying, “I’m sorry, love. I’m here for you. We can absolutely talk about anything that you need to at any time, if it helps. Have you told your parents about what happened yet?”
Emmanuel felt River shake his head against his shoulder and neck. “I asked for the food from mom to go and then went to work. I don’t even know how I would start that conversation. They love him like a brother.”
Emmanuel considered that. “I don’t know your parents incredibly well just yet, but I would think speaking frankly and from the heart would be best. You can start with my observations if you’d like. I can also go with you, if you want,” he said thoughtfully.
“That might be a good idea,” River agreed. “It might be easier to have you there to help give me strength.”
Emmanuel nodded his agreement and kissed River’s head. “You ready for some food? We can also just sit and watch bullshit TV if it’ll help,” he asked gently.
“I’ll try to eat, yeah,” River agreed. He’d been sick to his stomach with anxiety and upset since his parents’ house but talking to Emmanuel had helped some. He figured he could try something simple on his stomach and see if he could keep it down or not.
Emmanuel quizzed him briefly about what he thought he might be up for and then set to making a simple chicken soup with cheese tortellini and vegetables. He served it in a bowl and sat with River to watch trash TV.
River ate most of the bowl before he put it to the side and snuggled up against Emmanuel to watch the show better before they were both too tired and then they stripped down. Emmanuel took a shower real quick before he joined River in the bed.
Emmanuel spooned River confidently, tucking one arm under his head and wrapping his other arm tightly around his lover, cocooning River in his scent and warmth. This was what he had needed to finally fall asleep. It made him feel safe, like nothing could hurt him here.
The next day, River went over the options his dad had for Emmanuel, which was a mix between starting in the family business, helping August build up a new one, or going back to school for something he wanted to do that August would help with. It would be up to Emmanuel what he wanted to do. Emmanuel promised to think about it and get back to Mr. Thorn as soon as he could.
The results of the DNA test took time to get back, as River wanted to make sure it was perfect. He set up an alert on his phone for once it was put into the system, whether by him or by Dr. Carrington or one of the other lab workers.
Emmanuel made himself busy in his usual manner, but he seemed more than a little distracted over the next couple of weeks as he considered what he was going to choose. He was trying to think of something original that he could do that fit in with his skills and interests but that was such a foreign concept to him after a decade and a half of working mostly for other people. He had gotten so used to the constant hustle and grind that he hadn’t ever conceived of a world where he would have a choice like this.
While he was lost in his own mind during that time, he still paid close attention to River’s whereabouts and state of mind. It felt like River was in some sort of limbo as he waited for the results to come in and he was not managing it without a fair bit of anxiety. When they were home, Emmanuel did his best to keep things light and fun, but they were both clearly distracted.
River went over to his house after a shift one night to check out the progress of the living room. He told Emmanuel where he was going and that Atlas was going to meet him there. When he got there was when most of the team rebuilding the living room was leaving but the contractor was still there.
Most of the living room had been gutted, as they had to redo the ceiling, the walls, and the floor. There was still the base floor under that was okay despite the fire and water, but almost everything else in the living room had been a loss. They had thrown out the furniture and remnants of any decorations, along with the pieces of floor, ceiling, and wall they had taken out. Right then it looked a bit like a blank canvas. They had finished putting insulation in and the drywall was being finished while the floor was being prepped to put new wood down.
“Dr. Thorn!” the contractor, David, called out. “What do you think of the progress?”
“It looks great!” River said as he looked over the work. “You almost couldn’t tell there was a fire here. You’d think I was just remodeling or something.”
David grinned at him. “We got all of the smoke damage out as well. There’s still quite a bit of work, but I think we’re making great progress.”
“You are, it looks beautiful. Thank you, Dave,” River said to him. “I’m just going to grab some things to take over to my boyfriend’s, if that’s okay.”
“Yup, of course,” David told him as he threw his bag over his shoulder. “I’m heading out!”
River bid him farewell and then he opened the door to the basement and slipped downstairs. They were getting closer and closer to the year and a day requirement, and River wanted to grab a couple of his restraints and crops to take over to Emmanuel’s house until they could be here again. They were small things that would be easy to slip underneath the bed so that Emmanuel didn’t feel that it was cluttering up his small apartment. He knew how worried Emmanuel was by not having things fit in there right then. He didn’t like his space cluttered.
As he was putting the items into a small bag of his meant for his BDSM equipment, he heard his phone chime. He pulled it out of his pocket to look at it. The DNA results had come back and Dr. Carrington had put them into the system. The blood matched the DNA to the hair that was ripped from the culprit.
River sat down hard on the bench down there, his whole body feeling cold. He didn’t know what to do with this. Realistically, he knew what they would do from a justice department standpoint, but from an emotional standpoint, he didn’t know how to feel or what to think. Could Vinny really have been part of his sister’s death?
He couldn’t think of why else Vinny’s hair, root and all, would be on Cassia’s body. The culprits had even tried to clean her up, though they had been hurried and not perfect in their work. River had no idea why Vinny would do this, but the white dress and the veil over her face made sense based on his relationship to her.
River looked up when he heard movement near the stairs, and was surprised to see Vinny there. Vinny took in the appearance of him as he came forward. River was too shocked to do anything so he didn’t even fight it when Vinny took his phone from him and looked at it.
Thanks for reading pls vote or comment Vinny frowned. “I knew we should have taken more time with the cleanup job, but Billy was always so impatient. He was sure we were about to get caught.”
River looked up at him, his face paling more than it already was, though he didn’t look surprised anymore; just broken. “Why? Why would you hurt her? She was only six years old! What could you have against a six year old?”
“She played gatekeeper to you,” Vinny replied casually as he put River’s phone down on a table not far from where River was sitting. “I’m surprised you never noticed how much she didn’t like me. She would get upset whenever I was there and trying to talk to you. If she could find a way to make you pay attention to something else, she did. I never would have gotten closer with her there.”
“You started the grooming that early?” River asked, not even trying to sugar coat the words now.
“Grooming is such a dirty word,” Vinny commented, annoyance thick in his tone. “I simply loved you for that long.”
River felt sick to the stomach, like he wanted to throw up, so he turned his face away from Vinny and shook his head. “You started the fire too? You tried to kill me?”
Vinny shook his head at that. “No, I made sure not to light the fire until I knew your…boyfriend…was on his way. I hoped he’d get hurt trying to get to you and getting you out, but I knew you’d be okay. A little warning for you.”
The way Vinny had said the word boyfriend was like he was disgusted by it. River closed his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out what to do now. “You’re done for. Soon Officer Park will have these results, and you’ll be going to trial.”
“Will I?” Vinny asked. “I guess we’ll see. Are you going to come with me, or are you going to be difficult?”
“Difficult,” River replied without even a little hesitation and then he dove for his phone. Vinny hadn’t expected him to react so quickly, so River managed to get his phone before Vinny could grab him and pull him backwards. He only had enough time to hit the speed dial for Emmanuel as he struggled against Vinny as he grabbed River by the waist and tried to drag him backwards.
Emmanuel didn’t answer because he was at a job that wouldn’t let him, and when it went to voicemail, the first thing River could get out was a grunt as Vinny took him to the ground, before he said, “Vinny did it! And he’s–”
His words got cut off with a cry of pain as Vinny kicked River’s arm hard. The phone skittered away from him and settled against the bench. River kept trying to yell toward the phone, telling Emmanuel to call Jae’s number, and he read it off from memory while they fought. River had always been good with numbers, so memorizing phone numbers had always been easy for him. He struggled against Vinny the entire time, every once in a while letting out a grunt of cry of pain as Vinny landed a punch or kick, leaving what would be bruises and lacerations all over River’s body.
It was when River realized he was probably going to lose this fight that he made a choice that he wouldn’t have done in any other instance. He just couldn’t be sure what Vinny was going to do to him once he got him away from here, and he didn’t want to leave without being honest in case he never got the chance to again.
“I love you, Emmanuel!” He yelled toward the phone, and then Vinny landed a punch that knocked him unconscious.
River was a big guy, but Vinny was strong and had done manual labor for most of his life, so getting River out and into the dimming light of the evening was pretty easy for him. He threw him into the back seat, laying down, and shut the car doors, making sure the child locks were on, before he got into the driver’s seat and drove off.
Atlas got there late, having sent a message to his brother, and was greeted with River’s car, but no River. When he went down into the basement, which he normally didn’t do but he had no other options as to where River might have gone, he found the signs of a fight, blood, and River’s phone on the ground, now black after Emmanuel’s voicemail had cut off. He immediately called 911 as soon as he saw it, knowing something bad had happened here and they didn’t have time to dally if his brother could be found alive.
When his phone rang silently in his pocket, Emmanuel neither felt the vibration nor heard his voicemail tone. He was at the fish market again and the wharf boss was pretty strict about phone use during paid hours. By the time he was able to check in with River, he saw the missed call and voicemail. His heart immediately sank when he listened to the message. He made note of the timestamp on the phone and realized that the call had come in only ten minutes ago. When River started reciting Jae’s phone number, Emmanuel quickly scrawled it down on a nearby wall with the grease pencil he used to mark the butcher paper they wrapped some of the cuts of fish in.
His hands shook and tears streamed from his eyes as he heard River scream out that he loved him and then was immediately silenced. From the noises that followed, he was likely carried out of wherever he was and he was definitely unconscious because there were no sounds of struggle, just grunting. Emmanuel called the number on the wall.
“Detective Park,” came the reply once Jae answered.
Emmanuel had trouble getting started talking, but then he dropped into Dom-space and emotionlessly recounted what happened to River. He gave the Detective the time of the call and told him the phone was likely left at the scene of the abduction. He remembered another detail that had slipped his consciousness as he listened to the struggle and passed it along: Cassia’s killer was Vinny, so that was likely who was responsible for the fire and the abduction. “I’ll meet you at the bodega on the corner. Sorry, I smell a lot like fish guts,” Emmanuel said before giving him the cross streets and hanging up.
Fortunately, the bodega owner was a friend and let him wash up and gave him a shirt to change into. When Detective Park pulled up, Emmanuel was waiting for him on the curb with his thumb out like an itinerant hitchhiker.
Jae leaned over and opened the passenger door before saying, “Get in. Cops are already on their way to River’s home. His brother called in that there was a scuffle in the basement and now his brother is missing.”
Emmanuel didn’t waste any time coming up with something funny to say. Honestly, with as numb as he felt right now, humor was the farthest thing from his mind. They rode in silence to River’s house, Emmanuel perfectly content to leave the silence as it was rather than trying to fill it with words that would not bring River home any sooner.
There were cops already there, and Atlas was standing outside looking shaken. If he was surprised to see Emmanuel with Detective Park, he didn’t show it, but Emmanuel could imagine that his mind was on other things. When Jae and Emmanuel got to him, Atlas took them down into the basement to see the scene.
A table had been knocked over in the fight, as well as some of the implements on it. River’s phone was still sitting near the bench, the screen broken but otherwise in one piece. There were some streaks of blood on the vinyl flooring down there, and some spray that probably came from cuts or someone’s nose, but it was hard to tell who it came from.
Jae was looking over the scene critically as River’s parents and Dr. Carrington arrived, all looking upset and chilled by the sight, though Dr. Carrington was far more used to it.
“Do you want me to collect blood? Fingerprints?” Dr. Carrington asked Jae.
“Collect the blood,” Jae said. “Let’s see if we can type match against River and Vincent Mann. I assume River did a full analysis of the blood sample he got from Vincent previously?”
Dr. Carrington nodded. “River is always incredibly thorough.”
Emmanuel watched dispassionately from the cordoned off area that the civilians had been asked to wait in as Dr. Carrington did what he was trained to do. He turned to River’s parents, asking, “Is there anywhere that Vincent would be more likely to go to hide? I assume he had an accomplice for both this and his earlier crime, so there’s a chance they’ll go somewhere we aren’t likely to find them, but I doubt it. People like Vincent need to be in charge.”
“Vinny had a few properties that I know of,” Gardenia said, trying to remember the locations of all of them in her head. “Which we’ll gladly hand over if it will bring River home safely. I can’t believe Vinny would do this to us, to River.”
Emmanuel nodded affirmatively, choosing to let River tell his own story once he had been recovered. He called Jae over and the Thorns passed on the information they had and Jae relayed it to the tech team at headquarters. They heard Jae talk in a low voice to one of their tech guys to ask them to start following Vinny’s money to see if they could pinpoint where he might be going, as well as getting a BOLO out on his vehicle.
“We have a small window if we want to get Dr. Thorn back alive,” Jae said to Dr. Carrington, who gave a short nod because he knew what time limit they were on. They either found them by 48 hours or they found a body.
Gardenia turned and clung to her husband while a sob escaped her mouth and Atlas had a steely gaze that Emmanuel knew he was likely matching. While the police worked, Atlas turned to his brother’s boyfriend and moved so they were standing just about shoulder to shoulder.
“You know, the cops need search warrants and to talk to judges, but I happen to be a family member with knowledge of where Vinny keeps his extra house key,” Atlas said quietly, so his voice wouldn’t carry very far. “Want to search his house for paperwork on finances and properties?”
Emmanuel nodded silently and followed Atlas out of the basement while Jae and Dr. Carrington pretended to be focused on their own conversation. Atlas took them in his car over to Vinny’s house, which was a modest, suburban two bedroom home that their uncle had lived in for a while now. Atlas took them around to the backyard where he crouched down into the flower bed to pick up a false rock and took the key out of it. He used that to unlock the back door and let them into the house.
Vinny seemed to keep a very tidy home. He had the living room and kitchen, along with his bedroom and an office. It was clear to Emmanuel when they were in the office that he must work in some form of IT from home. Atlas sat down at the desk to turn on the computer while Emmanuel started to look through the drawers in that room.
He was mostly keeping himself busy, assuming that someone with the IT skills River had bragged about would hide his secrets on the computer. When he looked over to see how Atlas was doing, he found a screen that was on a folder that was encrypted. Atlas sat there for a moment considering what they knew before he typed something into the password section and the folder opened up for them.
“Holy shit,” Atlas exclaimed as he started to go through the files. He pulled up one folder which was filled with photos of just River at all different angles. Many were from family events, but others seemed to be from farther away. Atlas went through a few more folders, and squinted at some of the thumbnails. When he clicked on one of them to bring it up, they found a recorded video from inside River’s bedroom.
Atlas’ eyes widened before he quickly hit the X button to close the very intimate video of River with Emmanuel. “Um, so, that’s…Wow…Uh…”
Emmanuel squinted at the video then told Atlas to download it to a thumb drive for him. “Can’t beat free porn,” he shrugged.
Atlas gave a look that showed he wasn’t sure about that but he grabbed one of the empty thumb drives and downloaded most of what he could anyway. Having backups wasn’t a bad idea just in case. Vinny knew how to delete evidence from elsewhere. The more Atlas searched, the more information he was able to find.
“Alright, let’s see,” Atlas said as he looked over the records. “He has a home here in Dearborn, which is where we are. He has an apartment in Detroit, an apartment in Ann Arbor, and he’s a landlord to a building in Detroit which has a deli on the ground floor and apartments on the top floor. It says there are office spaces in the two levels above the deli.”
Emmanuel scribbled the address onto a nearby piece of paper and tucked it into his pocket. Atlas wrote down the addresses himself and then closed the laptop and brought it with him while they went to find the police to give them what they knew.
When River finally awoke, he was in a large living room that was almost completely empty and he could see the city of Detroit from the window, the lights making it so the sky looked black and almost starless despite it being a fairly clear night. The only things in the room were the couch he could see against one wall, a small side table, and a box near the door. His head was throbbing and he felt immediately dizzy, but he tried to push that away to piece together where he might be.
“This is bad, Vinny,” River heard from another room. “The cops are probably looking for us now, and we have that kid to deal with.”
“He’s not a kid, Billy,” Vinny replied. “Not anymore, anyway. You just worry about getting us a way out of the country, and now. I’ll deal with River.”
“There’s no way we can get out of the country with him,” Billy commented. “He’ll fight us, and we would need a private jet just to get him on a plane without security grabbing us. Are you going to leave him somewhere for his family to find him or…”
“No, he has to die,” Vinny admitted. “Get us a way out, and I’ll handle River.”
River didn’t have much time to process that before Vinny came out into the living room and noticed he was awake. River stared at his uncle with emotionless eyes. He didn’t have it in him right then to be afraid for himself. The only thing that bothered him about dying was the people he would be leaving behind. He knew his family, and especially Emmanuel, would be destroyed by the loss. He wasn’t going to show Vinny any of that though.
“You should have just killed me back then, instead of Cassia,” River commented flatly. “I was always your target anyway. So why? Am I even worth anything now that I’m an adult?”
“I’m not a pedophile, River,” Vinny said with a shake of his head. “My love for you isn’t based on your age. I just knew you were always meant to be mine from when you were young.”
River didn’t hide the look of disgust on his face. “I will never be yours. I’ve been Emmanuel’s since the first time he ever ran his fingers across my skin, and nothing you do tonight will change that. I’m his; body, heart, and soul.”
Vinny scowled at that as he came forward and slapped River hard across the face. River let out a cry of pain. It was the first time he’d been hit like this outside of letting a Dom do it, and the pain was a shock to his system. It woke him up more, though. “Don’t talk about him. Not tonight. Besides, you’ll go to your grave as mine,” Vinny told him. “Unless you change your attitude and be my good little buddy again, tonight is your last night on Earth.”
“Then may the Goddess take me gently into the Summerlands,” River replied as he looked up at Vinny. “I will be wrapped in warmth and love, and Cassia will be waiting for me there. Where will you go when you die, Vinny?”
Vinny didn’t say anything. He moved over to a small tape recorder that was on the island of the kitchen nearby. Vinny hit the play button and River’s heart practically leapt into his throat when he heard Cassia’s little voice. Vinny watched River’s face as he grew pale and upset to hear Cassia crying and begging for River. Tears came to River’s eyes as he looked at Vinny in horror.
Vinny gave a wry smile, turned off the tape, and picked up a case that had what looked like medicine and syringes in it. River watched as Vinny set up one of the syringes and then brought it over and injected it into River’s shoulder. River didn’t bother to fight because he had nowhere he could go, being tied up like he was, and he was still emotionally reeling from hearing Cassia crying for him. He let out a grunt of pain at the injection, and within ten minutes he was feeling out of it. Vinny waited until he was drugged enough before he untied him and brought him over to the one piece of furniture in the room, the couch, and laid him down on it.
River had no real concept of time while drugged like this, and with what he assumed was a concussion, but it felt like everything went slowly and like it all lasted forever. What this sexual assault helped him realize, though, was that he hadn’t just dreamed the other ones. He had bits and pieces of memories coming back to him now, things he had buried down deep, likely to protect himself.
He’d always thought his first time was at college, but now he could vaguely remember a night, a little after his eighteenth birthday, after he had gotten incredibly drunk at a party and called his uncle to pick him up. He’d thought, for a long time, that he’d just dreamed of having sex with Vinny, like some odd dark secret that he wanted to push away because he had never seen Vinny that way, but now he knew he hadn’t.
There were moments when River would lose consciousness, and he kept wondering if this was the last time he would ever open his eyes.
It was a long night, for everyone involved. While Billy looked for ways out of the country fast and without their passports being flagged, the police and River’s family and friends were looking for River and the person who had abducted him. Atlas and Emmanuel were told by Jae once they gave him the laptop and the addresses to go home with the rest of the family and wait, but Atlas was just as headstrong as his brother.
“I can’t make you two do anything, technically,” Jae told them honestly, obviously feeling similar things because he had come to view River as a friend. “But you stay out of our way. That’s the only thing I can ask of you. The other cops won’t take it kindly if you get in our way.”
The two agreed, and they ended up trailing along to check the addresses, starting with the Ann Arbor residence, and then following up at the apartment in Detroit. Jae was working with the DA, and as soon as court opened the next day, they had warrants in hand to get into each location legally. Still, it had been close to 18 hours now, and no sign of them. Everyone was exhausted, and the hope of seeing River’s smiling face again was beginning to wane.
Emmanuel’s determination, however, had not waned. He was prepared to take this search to its only logical conclusion: recovery of River. And if it was River’s body they recovered, then Vinny would find out what true pain was before Emmanuel allowed him the sweet release of death. Emmanuel shook his head slightly, dispelling the macabre thoughts and making room for some optimism. They hadn’t checked the deli yet, so Emmanuel spoke up. “I feel like some cold cuts. C’mon Atlas, shrug it off and come get a sammich with me,” he said with a nod of his head toward the street.
Atlas gave a nod of his head and followed him. The deli below the rest of the building, which seemed to be a family owned business, was just opening for business for the day. There was a large awning over tables that were outside, shielding people from the sunlight, all along the front of the deli.
When Jae, Emmanuel, and Atlas entered the deli, the workers there said that they didn’t know about the rest of the building, just their own, but they could call the landlord if they wanted them to. When Jae went around to check, the way into the building to the offices and apartments had a code on it to get inside. Emmanuel checked the alley behind the building for an accessible fire escape while Jae monkeyed around with the official ways into the building, but he didn’t find anything.
Thanks for reading pls vote or comment Upstairs, Billy looked out the window anxiously. “There are cops outside. We’re fucked.”
“No, we aren’t, but we need to get going. Did you find a flight?” Vinny asked.
Billy nodded his head. “We need to get to the airfield and then we’ll be golden. What about him?”
Vinny looked over at where River was on the couch, still mostly unclothed. He could keep drugging River and bring him along, but it would be a hassle, and no matter where they landed, River would be looking for ways to get away from him. He was smart and resourceful, and a scientist. After all of Vinny’s work to get River to where he was, though, it was hard to just walk away. If only that Emmanuel boy hadn’t ruined River for him. Vinny went to go check his supply of drugs while also grabbing his gun.
“River,” a voice just at the edge of River’s consciousness called. He was going to ignore it, but then he recognized the voice. “River, you need to wake up. Wake up for me, please.”
River followed his sister’s voice, turning his head back toward the window and opening his eyes. His sister wasn’t there, not where he could see anyway, but the sun was up. He squinted against the sun and brought his hand up to shield them before he realized he was still untied. Of course, he was still out of it and groggy.
“You’re awake,” Vinny said when River sat up. “We have to get going.”
“River.”
River turned his head toward the feminine voice, looking around the room for it. His eyes stopped on what looked like a very expensive and very heavy statue that he hadn’t noticed before because it was right up against the couch. He heard a giggle when he saw it, and then it seemed like it traveled around him and was gone.
“Did you hear me?” Vinny called out again.
River turned and looked at his uncle before nodding slowly. “I’m not going with you.”
“You either come with me, or you die,” Vinny replied, opening up the chambers of the gun so he could start loading it. “You understand that, right?”
“Or you could just drug me and leave me here,” River said. “Why do I have to die just for you to get away?”
Vinny looked at him again with a frown on his face. “It makes me sick, thinking of you with that man. Being touched by him, beaten by him, fucked by him. You either come with me, or you die.”
River stared at him for a moment and then said, “If those are my only choices, then I choose to die.”
Vinny gave him a steely gaze and then nodded his head, finishing loading the gun before he clicked the chamber back into place. River heard his name again and when he looked around, he saw Cassia standing behind their uncle. She waited until he was looking, then pointed back towards the statue before she pointed at the window behind her. She was standing in front of a ceiling to floor window that looked out over the city from four stories up, and she pointed to a specific spot that looked like it had some wear and tear over the years.
River didn’t know if it was the drugs or he was hallucinating in the moments before his death. Perhaps she was here to make him feel better in his death, but when he looked back over at the statue, it clicked and he moved to pick it up. It was as heavy as he thought it was, but he was an athlete and managed to get it up. Vinny looked at him like he wasn’t sure what he was doing, and then River used most of his concentration to throw it at the spot Cassia had pointed at.
Vinny ducked his head and the statue slammed into the window, leaving a bunch of cracks along the glass but not shattering it. Vinny glanced at the statue and then back at River. “You missed,” he said.
“Did I?” River asked him. Vinny narrowed his eyes and looked back at the window. He was just turning back to River when River ran at him at full speed, pulling his body down so he could grab his uncle around the waist, using all of his rugby practice now. He slammed into him hard and kept them going until they hit the window.
There were screams on the street as the window shattered, then Vinny and River flew into the air. Everyone always claimed that things like this would go slow, or you’d see your life flash before your eyes, but to River everything seemed like it went by quickly. He saw Vinny flying through the air, the gun falling from his hands and the surprised look on his face. He didn’t get to see Vinny hit the ground, because River fell down onto the awning of the deli, ripping the fabric and slowing down his fall, but he did hear the sickening crunch of bones that came with it.
River landed hands and knees first but it was on a table, which broke underneath him. He felt pain but it wasn’t an unbearable amount, though he couldn’t tell if it was because of the drugs or because he wasn’t too injured. He rolled away as he fell to the pavement, hitting his chin which started bleeding and then coming to rest by the road.
Emmanuel ran instinctively toward the sound of the breaking glass and the sickening wet crunch of bones finding their way onto the outside of a human body rather expeditiously. He looked with horrified hesitation at the pile of what used to be Vinny, picking out enough details to make sure it wasn’t River before he swept his gaze around and found the source of the ripping and crashing as River, wearing only his boxer briefs and some fresh wounds, collapsed to the ground.
Emmanuel rushed to his side, absent-mindedly kicking the gun that had clattered to the ground over to the pile of what used to be Vinny along the way, thinking that Vinny was surely dead, so near the body would be the best place for a stray weapon. Besides, he didn’t want any kids picking it up before the evidentiary team could take control of it. He pulled his own shirt off and draped it over River’s bare shoulders while assessing him for serious injuries.
“I need a couple of ambulances here,” Jae said into his walkie talkie before he told them their location.
River managed to shift a little so he could look up at Emmanuel, though his eyes looked bleary and slightly unfocused. He had cuts along his eyebrow, lip, and now on his chin, as well as bruises from the fight earlier. His skin from where he hit the concrete as he rolled was skinned and red, and he was holding himself like his back and wrists hurt.
Jae looked up to see Billy looking down from the broken window, and the cops rushed to get inside the building to apprehend him. River brought his hand up to Emmanuel’s cheek and said, “I thought I’d never get to see you again.”
Emmanuel smiled and put his hand on top of River’s. “You need to be more patient, love. Next time take the stairs,” he said softly.
River let out a laugh at that. “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”
While everyone was so focused on River, they didn’t notice that Vinny was not actually dead, just incredibly wounded. He had been so quiet the whole time that he had seemed dead. He reached out and grabbed the gun that Emmanuel had sent toward him, holding it up toward Emmanuel and River with the hope to catch them both with the bullet.
“River!” came his sister’s voice through his head, and he looked over in time to see the gun pointed at them. River let out a cry and pulled Emmanuel down as the shot rang out. The bullet hit Emmanuel in the back, entering and exiting before grazing along his neck and the back of his head, leaving a trail of blood that felt like it was all on fire. It hit no vital organs but he was bleeding a lot.
Jae pulled his gun and shot Vinny in the center of the forehead. His head bucked back as the bullet hit and then Vinny fell to the ground, still.
“Emmanuel!” River cried out, visibly panicking when his hands came away from his back covered in blood. “No, no, no, please!”
Emmanuel smiled, though the blood loss and pain was beginning to make his eyes unfocus. “‘Tis but a flesh wound,” he quipped, just before he lost consciousness, falling the rest of the way across River’s prone form.
Sirens soon joined River’s screams for help, and it took everything in him to let the EMTs take Emmanuel from his arms. He remembered being pulled up onto the stretcher and then everything went black again. He’d been holding onto consciousness for too long, especially with the pain in his body, and he couldn’t manage it anymore.
Thanks for reading pls vote or comment