Page 73 of Love at First Rep

A loud bang made Garrett shout, and Rafe flinched, a bullet hole now in the peeling linoleum floor in front of him.

The man pushed the gun against Rafe’s temple.

“I’m not messing around. Tell me who this man really is.”

“No! Stop!” Garrett begged. He couldn’t lose Rafe again. Not like this. Not when he’d just gotten him back. Tears blurred his vision as he shouted, “Please, leave him alone. I’ll tell you whatever you want, don’t hurt him.”

“Why, isn’t he only a friend?”

“No, please! I love him. Leave him alone. I’ll do anything you want. You kill him, you might as well kill me, too.”

“Who’s running the shipment of drugs through your precinct?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know! I have no idea. I’ll help you find out, please, let him go.”

“You’d do anything for this pathetic man?” the masked man sneered as he dug the gun into Rafe’s temple.

Rafe growled in response, but his eyes didn’t leave Garrett’s.

The man lowered the gun and walked closer to Garrett, hunching forward so he could stare into Garrett’s eyes. “You should have seen how easy he was to capture. Almost as easy as you. Fucking amateurs.”

“Listen you fake-ass Zorro, he’s not pathetic. He’s worth more than a hundred of you, and if you hurt him, I’ll get out of this chair and rip every inch of skin from your body with my bare hands.”

A whimper came from Rafe as Garrett’s chest heaved. Zorro stood close enough to reach. Garrett made the final cut through his restraints and shed the rope, freeing his hands and hanging on to his blade. He readied himself and swung his arm forward, hoping to knock their captor out with a punch, but someone grabbed his arms from behind. He spun as much as he could in his chair to see another man restraining him.

Where the fuck did he come from?

“All right, guys, that’s enough. We got what we need,” Fake Zorro said, and Garrett’s gaze snapped back to him.

Anatoly’s smile turned from creepy to ecstatic as he walked forward and cut the duct tape from Rafe’s hands and legs. Before Anatoly could get to the piece on his mouth, Rafe rushed forward, throwing himself at Garrett and landing in his lap. The guy behind Garrett let go of his arms, and Garrett wrapped them around Rafe, his face crushed against Rafe’s chest.

Rafe’s shout followed a ripping sound, likely the duct tape, and he murmured things Garrett didn’t understand in his ear.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I love you. I never wanted to do this. I’m so sorry. They didn’t give me a choice. I tried to stop them. I’m so sorry. I love you so fucking much. Please, forgive me, mi dulzura. I swear to God, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

The ropes around his ankles gave way, and he relaxed into Rafe’s hold. He had no idea what was happening, but right now he didn’t care because he held Rafe safely in his arms. For a while, he didn’t hear anything besides his own sobs and Rafe’s mutterings.

The loud clacking of the large metal door on the opposite wall made Garrett lean to see past Rafe. They were in some type of abandoned facility, and he could hear more people beyond the room. His vision blurred from tears, and he couldn’t quite make out who the people were, but he could tell they were coming closer.

He put his head against Rafe’s shoulder and pulled him low enough to bring his lips close to his ear.

“Uh, Rafe? What the fuck is going on?”

Rafe’s breath shuddered, and he quivered where he sat on Garrett’s lap.

“We will explain everything, but remember how sorry I am and how much I love you. I didn’t want this.”

“We?”

“Why don’t you two come into the main room where it’s more comfortable,” Anatoly said, his voice friendlier than before. “There we can explain everything.”

Garrett stood, keeping Rafe in his arms while Rafe’s legs wrapped around his waist, as Anatoly led him into the warehouse.

He stopped at a couch and fell back onto it, Rafe in his lap.

“For the love of God, Rafe. Get off the man so we can talk about this,” Fake Zorro said.

“Cabrón,” Rafe muttered as he pulled away.