Cursed Gift Ch. 02

"It keeps fading in and out. Like he's drunk or...."

"Like he's drugged? Lab report came in. They found Rohypnol in the water." Frank's voice was grim.

**********

Reaching for Wade was like trying to fight through layers of cotton balls. Not painful, but frustrating, because he never seemed to gain any ground. He wondered why it mattered so much. He was feeling pretty good, nice and relaxed.

He shifted, heard the clink of metal on metal, and remembered where he was.Shit. The damn drug's kicking in.The sudden spurt of fear dispelled some of the soothing effects of the Ecstasy, but Alex knew he didn't have much time. Between the X and whatever Jesse had doped him with before, his brain would be on vacation soon.

He took a few precious seconds to think it through. He'd always kept the link to Wade as shallow as possible. Surface thoughts mingling and touching, never delving too deep or opening his own mind too much. That wasn't working now, because he was too loaded to control the connection.

Jesse came in, a bright smile on his lips. But his eyes ... oh god, demons capered behind those eyes. Alex shut his, gathered his will, and shattered the walls he'd built in his mind. He was wide open, pouring himself out to the man he loved. He barely noticed when Jesse unhooked the bar and flipped him onto his stomach. He did notice the first blow that landed on his ass.

**********

"Oh god!" Wade clutched at his head, feeling like someone had just set off dynamite inside his skull. "Too much, everything at once, nothing makes sense."

"Sort through it. Where is Alex? What's happening?" Alison's voice was still soft, but now it held a hint of steel.

"He's ... he's on a bed. Still drugged. Tonopah? Handcuffed and ... other restraints. A big man, a huge man. Dark hair and eyes. He's different now, but Alex knows him. So do I. He's a dishwasher at New Moon." Wade was panting under the load of information streaming into his mind. "Jesse, it's Jesse." He covered his face and grunted. "He's hurting him. No, please." He lifted his head. "What can I do? How do we find him?"Hang on, songbird. I swear I'll come for you."We have to get to him, fast."

"It's a ninety-minute trip by car, and we'd still have to hunt once we got there." Frank sounded shaken.

"Helicopter. I can charter one." Wade gritted the words out through clenched teeth. He was feeling some of Alex's pain, and he prayed his lover could hold on. Because the small portion Wade was getting was very bad.

Alison picked up her phone. "Whose car are we taking to the airport?"

"Mine," Frank said. "Lights and sirens all the way. Let's go." As he drove, Frank spoke into the police radio and explained the situation, leaving out how he'd obtained the information. "Alert the sheriff, tell him he'll get more when we have it to give." He turned his head to look at Wade. "I hope that link you two have will work like a homing signal. Tonopah isn't a large town, but a door-to-door search will take too damn long."

Wade didn't have an answer to that.

**********

"What's wrong, bitch? You don't like caning? We could try ginger root, instead. I hear it's a blast."

Alex was on his stomach, biting into the bedding. He felt sweat drip down his forehead to sting his eyes, felt something else dripping down the backs of his legs and buttocks. "Bastard," he muttered. Even the drugs in his system couldn't dull the pain.

"Sticks and stones, Alex. Still, it isn't very smart to insult the man who holds your welfare in his hands." He ran thick fingers lightly down Alex's spine to the cleft of his ass, and rammed two inside the tight passage.

Alex couldn't prevent a grunt from escaping his lips at the harsh penetration, but he didn't care about that. What dismayed him was his body's reaction. He felt his penis stir.Damn drugs.He managed to keep his voice steady. "What, no dinner and wine first? Miserly fucker." He winced as the fingers withdrew.

Jesse raised Alex's head with one hand, and backhanded him with the other. "By the time I'm done, you'll be begging me to take you, just to end the pain." He released him, gave him another blow with the cane, and left.

Alex panted harshly, tasted blood in his mouth, and managed a tiny smile. That last hit had killed his fledgling erection. Baiting the animal was a dangerous tactic, but the only weapon in his arsenal. He turned his head and looked around the room. The pain had another beneficial side-effect. His mind was clearer. He wished he could be happier about that.

**********

The helicopter tore through the purple sky toward Tonopah. Frank sat up front with the pilot, Wade, Alison and Keith in the back. Wade was relaying to Frank whatever information he gleaned from Alex.

"There's something weird about the room he's in. It's big, but there aren't any windows. It has cinderblock walls and no door, just an archway. A high counter outside the room, open shelves under it." He lifted his head, frowning. "It looks familiar. Not like a place I've been, but ... like I should know it from the layout."

We're almost there, love, you just have to tell us where to look.

**********

Alex was still looking around when Jesse returned. He saw what was coiled in one large hand and felt his entire body try to draw in on itself.Oh god, please hurry. He focused his eyes on a poster tacked to the wall, and tried to divorce his mind from his body. He really didn't want to be here.

**********

"No, god, no." Wade covered his face and bent forward.

Alison reached over and rubbed his back. "Whatever it is, shut it out. Find out where he is."

"There's a poster on the wall. Old, yellowed. Parts of it torn away." He clenched his hands as a wave of pain flowed from Alex to him. "It's ... it's a movie poster.Bloody Mama." He sat up. "It's a theater. Closed down. He's in the room behind the snack counter."

Frank radioed the sheriff, spoke for a minute, and then turned to the pilot. "There's an abandoned drive-in just outside town, on the north side. Get us there."

**********

Alex wished Jesse would either stop using the damn snakewhip, or keep on until he passed out. Unfortunately, the lunatic seemed to know just how much torment Alex could endure before descending into the blessed oblivion of unconsciousness. He also seemed to enjoy keeping him as close to that edge as possible.Figures.

He'd rearranged Alex, cuffing his wrists to a pipe that ran along the ceiling. His ankles were hooked to the legs of the bed.

"They give classes on whip techniques in prison, Jesse? Is this an example of my tax dollars at work?"

Keep talking, songbird. Almost there.A pause, followed by a mental shudder.Keep him in the room, if you can.

Done deal. Just hurry.

"I won't beg you to fuck me. Never gonna happen." Another lash, and Alex screamed. His voice was wearing out, but he pushed hard to speak. "I'll never want you, you sadistic son of a bitch." Fire clawed at his buttocks and curled around his hip. "Oh, god," he moaned.

"You ready for me yet, bitch?"

"Let me down, asswipe, I'll show you how ready I am."

Jesse knelt on the bed. "Why don't I rinse your back?" He had a pitcher in his hand, and Alex smelled vinegar. "Think you'd like that?"

Fuck no.Alex caught a flicker of movement in the room beyond the doorway. "In case you didn't hear me the first time, let me repeat myself," he panted. "Fuck you."

Dark eyes blazed and Jesse dumped the pitcher over Alex. Alex's eyes shut even as his mouth opened in a silent scream. His body arched and snapped, jerking against the bonds as his wounds were raked by liquid claws. He found his voice, and his scream climbed the registers of pain and anguish. Finally, he passed out.

**********

He woke to gentle hands holding him, relieving the strain on his shoulders and wrists. A deep voice spoke softly. "Easy, love, I've got you." Cool water ran down his body, washing away the burning sting of the vinegar.

"Wh-where is he?"

"Hurry up with the keys, damn it." Wade's voice softened. "He's dead, baby, you're safe."

"Don't let Alison in." He opened his eyes, forced them to focus on Wade. "Please." His wrists were released, his arms dropped, and he cried out at the pain in his shoulders. He felt his sister's presence in his mind, felt her hand on his, and hid his bruised face against Wade. "No, twin. It's too much for you to fix." He tried to pull his hand away, but he had no strength.

"Let me give you sleep." Alison's voice was calm and soothing. "I can do that without straining." She kissed his fingers and stroked his brow, humming softly.

Gratefully, Alex let himself be pulled under.

**********

Wade sat on the bed, Alex cradled in his arms, and tried to concentrate on to the fact that his songbird was alive. Badly hurt, but alive and with him.

"He's stronger than you realize," Alison said. "It may take a while, but he'll be all right."

"Physically, sure. Cuts and bruises heal. Psychologically, I'm not so sure." He looked up at her, surprised to see a smile on her lips and in her eyes.

"He's strong," she repeated. "And he was never alone. You were with him. He knew you'd save him. Trust me, he'll be all right. It's already there, in his mind. I could feel it. You would, too, if you let go of your anger ... and your guilt."

He dropped his head. "I shouldn't have left him. When I couldn't reach him, I should've come back sooner."

"You didn't create Jesse, and you didn't fail Alex. Let it go, for his sake. I can't reach his mind now, but you can. Look for yourself."

Frank gestured to Wade. "Get him out of here. He shouldn't wake up in this place." He gestured to the front of the building. "Paramedics are on the way. This will be hard for him. All those strangers. He'll need you there, to see him through it."

Wade stood and carried Alex carefully out of the room.

**********

Wade was sitting by the hospital bed, his eyes and mind on Alex. When he felt Alex groping toward consciousness, he spoke.

"Hello, lover. Gonna stick around this time?" Wade leaned forward, and watched as glazed gray eyes tried to focus on him.

"Thirsty." His voice was rusty croak, barely there.

"They said you could have ice chips when you woke." He spooned one between Alex's lips. "Better?" He smiled when Alex nodded. "Let me get a nurse in here, they need to check you out. Then we'll talk a little, okay?"

"Don't go." His eyes opened wider, and his hand moved feebly on the sheet.

Wade linked his fingers with Alex's. "Not a chance. All I have to do is press the call button." He reached above Alex's head. "Done."

"How long?"

"You've been here three days. They've had you pretty doped up. They were afraid your shoulders would need surgery, but they don't. They said you're in remarkably good shape, considering. Most of the ... damage ... is confined to your hips and thighs. They said you shouldn't have much scarring." Wade heard his voice growing rougher, and tried to regain control.

"Don't. You got there in time. Saved my life, saved me. I love you." The short speech exhausted Alex's reserves, and his eyes closed. But his hand tightened on Wade's.

A nurse came in, checked Alex over, and pronounced him fit for fluids and soft food. She left, promising to return with apple juice, scrambled eggs, and Jell-O. Alex shuddered.

"Gah. Hospital food." His eyes closed again.

"Sleep, baby. I love you."

Not sleeping, throat hurts. Hard to open my eyes.

"You strained your voice, and you've got a pair of black eyes."

We still in Tonopah?

"Yeah, the county hospital."

What happened?

"Jesse must have heard something. He came out of the room with a knife, went after Frank. A local cop was with us, and he didn't hesitate, thank god. Jesse's dead."

Frank, everyone else, okay?

"We're all fine. Worried about you, but fine."

Want to go home.

"As soon as I can make it happen, I promise. Believe me, all I want is you back home. Well, that's not all I want, but it's a start."

He opened his eyes again, and Wade was caught in a smoky gaze. "What? Tell me."

"Me, staying with you. Not just now and then. Every night." A strange look passed over Alex's face, gone too quickly for Wade to identify. "If ... if you're not ready for that, I can wait." He watched, horrified, as tears built up and overflowed, tracking down the bruised face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ... this isn't the right time. Please don't cry. We can talk about it later, whenever you want. Or ... or never, if you can't ... just don't cry." He wiped the tears away and brushed Alex's silky hair off his face.

"No, it isn't ... I mean, I want you there, too. Always. But ... when Jesse was ... hurting me, he ... there were a few times when I ... shit, this is hard." He laughed, but it sounded bitter and hollow. "Well, that's the problem. I started to ... respond." He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. "I didn't want to, I tried not to, but ... but it happened. I thought you should know. That it might ... make a difference to you."

"Are you done? Is that it?"

Alex tried to tug his hand from Wade's. "Isn't that enough? How can you even want to touch me?"

Wade clasped the slender hand in both of his. "I knew about it. You were broadcasting everything. All the pain, all the terror, even your helpless arousal, and what you did to make it stop." He placed a feather light kiss at the corner of one eye. "It was a physiological response to chemical and physical stimulation." Another soft kiss, this one to Alex's forehead. "It didn't mean you wanted any of it. It was beyond your control, and I won't let you take the blame for it." A third kiss, to the corner of the trembling mouth. "A half-dead donkey would've responded under those circumstances." Wade felt a ripple of amusement from Alex.

"Are you calling me an ass?"

"Are you gonna keep acting like one?"

A corner of Alex's mouth tipped up in a tired smile. "When can you move in?"

Wade pressed his forehead against Alex's and shuddered in relief. "As soon as we get back."

**********

The doctor kept Alex in the hospital two more days, frankly amazed at his progress. No one let him in on the secret, they just made sure Alison got to visit him a couple of times a day. Thankfully, for Alex's sanity, he could read only one of the nurses, a young woman just out of college. She worked the graveyard shift, so he was generally sleeping when she tended to him. Also thankfully, they allowed Wade to stay with him in the private room. Alex doubted anyone had argued long about that. Not after the first objection had been raised and ruthlessly quelled by an incensed Alison.

Frank stuck around long enough for Alex to get answers to a few questions.

"He knew what you were doing, and when you drank the spiked water, because he'd planted video and audio feeds on your windows. Everything miniaturized and barely noticeable. Hell, they might've stayed there for months if we hadn't looked for them."

"Bastard always was clever," Alex muttered. "How'd he escape? He said it was a clerical error."

Frank sighed. "In a way. He switched his wrist tag with another con, and took his place in a work-release program. Didn't take him long to fade away from that, and make his way to Phoenix."

"Why the hell would the other guy let him do that?"

"He didn't. They found him in the laundry room, dead. He had Jesse's wrist tag on, and they were a close match physically. So he got a pass, until someone figured out the fingerprints didn't match. That didn't happen until two days before he broke into your place. No one at the prison thought to give us a call so we could warn you."

"Assholes."

"That isn't what I called 'em." Frank winked and stood. "I have to go, buddy. My boss is already yanking my chain over how long I've been here."

Alex clasped his hand briefly. "Thanks for ... everything."

Wade returned from a lunch run and raised an eyebrow. "You getting fresh with my man, Frank?" His grin took the sting from his words.

"Hell, if I was gay, I would. I'm just glad he isn't straight. My wife's taken with him as it is."

Alex laughed. "We'll have a cookout when I'm home and better. You and Audrey can bring the beer."

Frank sketched a salute and left them to their lunch.

Wade pulled a cheeseburger, fries, and iced tea out of the bag. He set them on the wheeled cart by Alex, cut the burger into quarters, and waved at the food. "Dig in. Alison's got the door." He took a bite of his own burger. "Do you know how hard it was to smuggle this in here? They still want you on soft foods."

Alex moaned around a mouthful of cheeseburger. "Oh my god, I'm in heaven. You're so good to me." He polished off the burger and started on the fries. "They keep giving me custard, pudding, Jell-O, scrambled eggs, shit like that. That isn't food, it's kindergarten paste. At least, that's what it tastes like." He rested on his left side in the bed, but it didn't slow him down. The fries were vanishing rapidly.

"The only thing on this menu they'd approve is the tea. Speaking of which," he picked up the container and held it for Alex.

Alex happily sucked tea through the straw.There's something else I'd like to suck.He glanced at Wade and smiled at the sudden heat in his blue eyes.

"No way. I'm not into hospital sex. Too many interruptions." Wade grinned. "Besides, wouldn't you rather wait until tomorrow? When we'll be home?"

"Please tell me you're not kidding."

"I wouldn't joke about that. We're going home in the morning."

"There is a god," Alex said, closing his eyes in gratitude. "I never want to come back to this place. And I don't mean the hospital. If I never hear of Tonopah again, I'll live and die a happy man." Silence greeted his words and he opened his eyes. Wade was staring at the floor, blinking rapidly. "What's wrong, big guy?"

"Don't talk about dying, okay? It was too damn close."Almost lost you, songbird.

"I'm not that easy to lose. C'mere." Alex shoved the tray aside, pleased that he could, scooted back, and patted the empty space on the bed.

Wade shook his head. "There isn't enough room. I'll hurt you."

"Get your ass over here, or I'll scorch your brain." Wade settled gingerly on the bed, his left leg dangling off the edge. "Smart man." Alex snuggled against him, pillowed his head on Wade's thigh, and draped his right arm across his lap. "I've missed holding you. Curling into your heat." He kissed denim, wishing it were skin. "Listen to me carefully, lover. When Jesse had me, and I was doped to the gills, I knew I had to let down all my walls to get to you. And you know what I wondered?"

Wade ran gentle fingers through Alex's hair, over and over. "What?"

"Why it took being kidnapped and tortured to make me do that. Because there's nothing in you that frightens me, or makes me nervous, or disappoints me. Remember what I said the first time we made love?"

"Yeah, you told me you wanted it hard and fast."

"Degenerate. No, I said you're fucking perfect."

"Oh. And I told you I'm not. I maintain my position."

Alex grinned. "We'll see what position you maintain tomorrow. But you are, you know. Maybe not to anyone else, but you're perfect for me. And that's why I should've let you in sooner. It wasn't something you could do, it had to come from me. So if anyone failed in this, it was me. Not you. Never you."