Guns n' Boys: Homicidal Instinct (Book 2) (gay dark mafia erotic romance) (6 page)

Seth took a deep breath
to avoid sobbing. “You’ve got me.”

Dom’s arm went around
his back, and it felt so natural all Seth wanted was to lean into Dom’s body
and shield him from the cold.

“Yeah, there’s always
family.”

Would Dom want him if he
could have a do-over? Would he choose Seth to become a part of his life if he
knew how miserably it all ended? Memory loss, a wound on his face, being
stranded in the middle of the forest at night? He probably wouldn’t. Dom should
have done the job he’d been tasked with and avoided this whole mess.

“I’m sorry, I need a
leak,” Seth uttered in a shaky voice and pulled away.

“Sure, go on,” Dom said
and put one hand on the bike.

Seth walked off the road
and between the bushes and trees, his feet sinking in the snow. He had to be
the most useless boyfriend ever. Maybe he shouldn’t have told Dom they were
brother’s at all? He kicked a tree so hard a pile of heavy snow fell on him
from above, like a mockery from the heavens.

“Hey, where are you
going?” called Dom from the road.

“I’ll be back!” Seth yelled
and sat down on the fallen tree, embarrassed by the tears streaking down his
face.

The bark was so fucking
cold it almost bit into his flesh through his jeans. At least he had this scrap
of time off, alone between the tall trees that wouldn’t judge him. He cried
soundlessly, trying to piece together what was left of his life. Was this it
now? Would his life be like that bike? Out of gas and pushed until it collapsed,
pulling along its battered rider?

The low call of an owl
made him shudder. The stupid bird was mocking him, paraphrasing his sobs
without even a pinch of emotion. It was time to face Dom again. No one would
believe Seth needed so much time to urinate.

Seth took a deep breath,
rubbed his eyes and made his way back to the bike in silence. Dom needed him
strong, needed warmth, a place to stay, and something to eat. Seth would get
that for Dom if it fucking killed him. He would cut off his hand if it meant
keeping Dom alive.

He couldn’t see him at
first, but then he noticed a hunched figure sitting behind the bike.

“We could always try to
build a fire,” Dom said.

“Let’s give it a few
more minutes.” Seth sighed and pushed the bike forward, slowly beginning to
loathe his beloved machine.

Domenico pulled himself
up and walked along without a word. With even the fucking birds keeping
completely quiet, this moment was a nominee for the most awkward silence in
Seth’s life.

He looked down at his
feet, at the leather boots that looked like nondescript shapes trailing alongside
the bike. It was so dark it was hurting Seth’s eyes.

“I’m a good shot,” Domenico
said all of a sudden.

“You are.”
You’re
also a good fuck
, Seth thought to himself.

“So... how did I get
into this?” Dom asked from the shadows of the trees.

“Into what?” Seth tried
to see him in the darkness. “Shooting?”

“And all the rest.”

“I suppose you had
talent for it. You had a teacher as well.” Seth cringed at the memory of
Tassa’s brain all over the floor.

“And what about you?
Were we somehow affiliated with the mafia that we both got into it?”

It was so strange to
hear things like this from Domenico’s mouth, but for the time being Seth had to
learn to accept it. “We’re the Don’s sons,” Seth muttered, only now realizing
he hadn’t told Dom that part. There were so many gaps he needed to fill in.

The silence he got in
answer was so heavy, so deep that he didn’t know whether he could take it at
all. But Domenico spoke eventually.

“Why would we steal the
mafia’s money then?”

“Because we’re fags,
okay? We’d be dead if we stayed, and we want to be free and fuck to our heart’s
content.”

Domenico cleared his
throat. “That does make sense.”

“Good. We’ll go to
Mexico, and you’ll find yourself some Latino hottie,” Seth groaned, his
annoyance just as intense as the cold.

“I’d rather meet a
handsome Italian,” Dom said. “What about you? What’s your type? Someone like
that girly looking ex of yours?”

“I’m flexible,” Seth
muttered. The question felt weirdly flirty, but Seth was sure it was just his
mind fucking with him. There was no reason for his brother not to know what
kind of person he liked in his bed.

“As in bisexual? Are you
transitioning from straight to gay?” Domenico asked with his usual lack of
political correctness.

“I’m not fucking
bisexual. I just like a lot of stuff, and I don’t wanna put it in brackets.”

“That guy had women’s
lingerie with space for his junk. I saw it in the bathroom.”

Seth looked at Dom with
a wicked thought tickling his mind. “I didn’t want to say it, but…”

“What?” Domenico growled,
and Seth noticed a movement on the seat of his bike. It was Dom’s hand.

“You sometimes like to
dress up. In tights and panties and stuff,” he said without a hint of a smile.

The growl coming from
the other side of the bike promised Seth a painful death. “Oh, fuck you. I am
not a pervert.”

Seth shrugged. “I’m just
saying what I know. Maybe getting hit on the head changed it.”

“Don’t be fucking
ridiculous.”

“You sure? Lacy pants…
nylon stockings…” Seth teased him.

“Shut up, or you’re
gonna collect your teeth off the fucking road!” Dom yelled so loudly it
probably scared away all the animals in the area.

Seth burst out laughing.
This was the good old Dom he knew, frightened of even a touch of femininity.
“Okay, okay, I was just kidding.”

“Are you fucking
retarded?” Domenico’s hand pushed at Seth’s chest with so much force he almost
stumbled along with his bike. It was almost like being hit by a bullet. “I
believe
everything
you tell me, prick!”

“Hey!” Seth groaned and
pushed him back, but only slightly, just to make a point. The last thing he
wanted was Dom’s freshly sewn up face scratching the dirt. “I was just trying
to relieve the tension!”

“Well you fucked that
up,” hissed Domenico, marching on. Seth could see his shadow in the dark
actually getting ahead of him.

“I’m sorry I fucked up
then.” Seth groaned and pushed on with the bike. “I’m sorry I don’t have some
amazing plan or a place to stay! You told me you had a plan. Lesson learned. I
won’t follow you like a fucking sheep anymore.”

Domenico sighed,
stopping in the middle of the road. “I should have shared. But I don’t fucking
remember why I didn’t.”

“Maybe because you
assume you can just always do everything yourself. Well, tough luck.”

Dom growled. “Good to
know. I’ll add that to ‘notes about self’. What else are you gonna tell me?
What kind of chocolate bar I like?”

“Belgian. And homemade,”
Seth said through gritted teeth, remembering the pralines he had handcrafted
for Dom in another life.

“Oh, yeah? Why do I feel
like eating a Snickers then?”

“Maybe because you’re a snob,
but what you actually like most is fucking cheap convenience food!”

Domenico yelled his
lungs out, but no gods came to his help. “You’re such an annoying prick.”

Too bad you love to
suck that prick so much
, Seth thought to
himself grimly. “Sucks for you that you’re stuck with me then,” he said
bitterly.

Instead of a snappy
answer Seth expected, there was a metallic clang, accompanied by a low, pained
hiss. “What the fuck is this thing?” Dom growled.

Seth threw the bike to
the ground and ran over to Dom in panic. “What is it? Are you all right?”

Domenico was now like a
shadow, slowly pulling himself up. He knocked on something that sounded like a
hollow metal box. “What is this?”

“Wait.” Seth pulled out
the Zippo and lit it to reveal a… post box. “Fuck yeah!” he yelled and made a
fist pump. In the glow of the flickering light they could see a dirt road
leading deeper between the trees. Domenico opened the post box and pulled out
some magazines.

“Not picked up in over a
month,” he muttered with a slight smile.

“Jackpot. I bet it’s
some rich guy’s forest cabin. Let’s go.” Seth pushed the bike to the side road
and did his best to tune in to the darkness. He could cry with relief. Dom
would have a warm place to sleep at and rest.

“Hope he has some food,
too,” Domenico muttered, whose walk seemed to have gained on energy.

“Yeah, like rotting
stuff in the fridge from a month ago. Then again, he could have a freezer.”
Seth fantasized about some hot roasted potatoes and tea.

“Or cans,” added Dom. He
put his hand on the bike seat again, which, Seth supposed, meant he wasn’t
angry anymore. Seth barely contained the need to put his hand over Dom’s.

“Or pasta, or Rice
Puffs… I’m so fucking hungry. I didn’t even get to eat much of that lunch I
made.”

“Yeah, those freeloaders
ate it all,” Domenico said, clearly angry someone munched on food that was
supposed to be his.

“Didn’t you eat like
four of those lemon tarts?” Seth couldn’t help a smile when a large log cabin
emerged on the background of a starry sky.

“Yeah, but they didn’t
deserve any of it. They wouldn’t know a lobster from a scallop.”

Seth lit the headlight
of his bike to get a better view of the house. It didn’t look as luxurious as
he had first thought, but with a small porch at the front and solid looking doors,
it was decent enough. Not some dirty neglected shack. “Let’s get inside and
I’ll make you something nice if there’s anything to cook with.”

“Anybody here?” called
Domenico, even though there was no car around. “Better safe than sorry,” he
added.

“I suppose. Don’t wanna
have some redneck point a gun at me. ‘Get off my property!’” Seth did his best
imitation of a Southern accent.

“That’s racist,” Dom said,
walking on toward the house, as if he were the most politically correct person
in the world.

Seth groaned. “Said the
person who once did an impression of a cowboy for my amusement, using
his
best Southern accent.”

“I must be a horrible
person.” Domenico got on the porch and kneeled down by the door, his fingers
tracing the lock in the light from the lighter.

“You are. You can also
pick locks.” Seth parked his bike and cocked his head to the side. Would that
knowledge be enough to trigger Dom’s memory?

Domenico looked back at
him, his eyes sharp as ever as he dropped the purple balaclava to the floor. “You
have anything sharp and thin on you?”

Seth gave it some
thought and looked in the medical stuff he put in his suitcase. “This? He came
up closer and handed Dom a big safety pin.

Domenico nodded and
after taking a few other items off Seth, he approached the lock like it were a
platform game. His hair shone in the moonlight as if it had been treated by
some magic potion, not Peter’s conditioner. Seth wanted to pet it.

But until Dom actually
showed traces of potential interest, Seth wouldn’t push his lust at him. He
could only imagine the trauma of losing personal memories, so he didn’t want to
make things worse for Dom. And there it was, the click in the lock and Dom’s
victorious grin.

“Please, come into my
humble dwelling,” Domenico said, pushing open the door.

Seth took a big inhale
of Dom’s scent before heading inside. It was like entering a refrigerator,
though the lack of wind was relief enough for no one to complain. Only the
scent was different. Old wood mixed with some herbs and a pinch of mold.

Domenico used the
lighter, casting a weak yellow glow all over the room. It was a decent size,
with wooden planks on the walls and a fireplace with an old sofa and huge
rugged-looking chairs in front of it. To the left was a simple kitchenette with
lots of storage space, and ahead Dom could see a short corridor leading to a
room with a bed.

“Just what we needed,”
he said, turning to look at Seth. With the way his eyes burned in the light,
the ugly, swollen scar meant nothing.

“I’ll look for some
candles, so you can get the fire going, and I’ll get us some food. There must
be something here.” Seth smiled at Dom and shut the door behind them. If no one
busted them here, they could stay and get Dom into better shape before heading
out south. Seth would have some time to find gas, and work out where they were
without putting Dom in danger.

A short tour of the
cabin revealed a storage room with plenty of dry wood for the fireplace, a
bathroom, though neither of them was certain whether it was usable, and a
bedroom with a double bed. What else could they possibly want? Within half an
hour, Seth prepared pasta with tuna and canned vegetables, all from the
supplies stocked in the cupboards over the gas stove. Meanwhile, Domenico got
the fire going. They carried the bed into the living room, and Dom crawled
underneath the covers, still in the woolen coat. He watched Seth from there,
looking like a big white burrito.