plik

Jimmy doesn’t want to call attention to himself—he

just  wants  to  live  a  quiet  life.  Okay,  maybe  he  was
broken-hearted,  homeless,  destitute,  and  desperate,
which  led  to  turning  tricks  in  order  to  survive.  That
doesn’t mean he’s the typical lost, neglected boy who’s
in  almost  every  gay  movie  and  book…  At  least  that’s
what he keeps telling himself so  he won’t have to face
how bad his life really is.

Trent moved from his hometown and found success

as a PI, but he still stays in touch with his close friends.
So when one of them calls and asks for help tracking
down his missing brother, Trent immediately agrees to
take the case. He expects the job to be quick and easy,
over in just a couple of days.

What Trent doesn’t count on is finding a sexy,

smart-mouthed  brat  who  refuses  to  cooperate.  Sure,
Jimmy may be hot as hell, but he also has the ability to
drive  Trent  crazy.  One  thing  Trent  does  know  for
certain is that he’s drawn to Jimmy in a way that could
get  both  of  them  into  trouble.  Will  Jimmy  return  his
feelings, or is Trent going to return home with a broken
heart?

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and do not participate in or encourage the electronic
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

Little Brat Lost

ISBN: 978-1-77111-187-4

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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Chapter One

he sound of an air-siren blasted Trent out of his
deep slumber. Since he wasn’t living in England,

and it wasn’t 1944, that could only mean one thing—his
cell was going off.

Groaning, he cracked a lid before he clumsily

snagged it from his nightstand. As he noted it was three
in the  morning,  he got irked.  When  he  saw that  it was
Marc, Trent’s  irritation  inched up to full-blown  pissed
off. Shit, they’d known each other for  five  years now,
certainly  long  enough  for  Marc  to  know  not  to  call
Trent at this kind of fucked up time.

As a PI, his hours were sporadic so Trent treasured

each moment of shut-eye he could get. Somebody better
be dead or worse.

“What in the hell do you want?” Trent snapped into

the phone.

It might not have been the best of greetings, but he’d

never been known to be social until he had at least three
cups of coffee in him.

The fact that Marc didn’t begin to sputter an apology

let  Trent  know  that  something  serious  was  up.  Now
fully  awake,  he  sat  up  and  turned  on  the  light.  There
was  a  grunt  from  the  other  side  of  the  mattress,
reminding  Trent  that  he  hadn’t  gone  to  bed  alone.  He

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only gave the man an apologetic smile before returning
his attention to his call.

“I need your help,” Marc announced, his voice

wavering just a little bit.

Behind him, Trent could hear his one-nighter getting

up and pulling on clothes. Which was just as well, at
least then he wouldn’t have to listen to a whole bunch
of fake I’ll-call-you’s in the morning.

“What’s wrong?” Trent asked, already grabbing a

nearby notebook.

If Marc had turned to him for aid, it could only mean

one thing, that he needed the special skills Trent had
that made him Michigan’s best PI. Marc must have
already used up his resources and was coming to Trent
as a last resort.

Last resort. Damn, if that wasn’t the story of his life.
His one-nighter gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“Bye, Brent.”

Trent barely looked up as the guy left.
“Oh, my God. Why didn’t you say that you were

with somebody?” Marc gasped.

“Don’t worry about it.”
Trent didn’t bother trying to explain the situation to

Marc. Even before his friend had been in a committed
relationship, Marc had never been into fast hookups.

“Did he call you Brent?” Marc pressed in a slightly

offended tone.

Yeah, Marc really didn’t have any clue on how this

kind of thing went. Trent idly wondered what Marc
would say if he found out that Trent didn’t even have a
frigging clue as to the other man’s name.

“Don’t worry about it,” Trent repeated.

Little brat Lost

“But that’s not your name.”
“Thanks for pointing that out. Now it will save me

the bother of having to look at my license to confirm
that fact for myself,” Trent drawled.

“But why—”
“Let’s get back to why you’re calling me.”
Marc took a deep breath. “Jimmy is missing.”
“Who’s Jimmy?”
“He’s my brother, or rather, my half-brother. You

met him about a year ago when you came to the picnic
Sammy and I had.”

Trent scrambled his memory. “Was he that scrawny,

moody blond?”

“Yeah, and trust me, the kid has plenty to be moody

about. He had an even harder life than I did.”

Trent let out a low whistle. Marc’s childhood had

been  something  straight  out  of  a  horror  novel  so  he
didn’t  even  want  to  think  about  what  Jimmy  went
through. The problem was that Trent had to think about
it.  In  fact,  he  needed  to  find  out  everything  he  could
about the kid if there was going to be any chance to find
him.

“You said he was your half-brother, do you guys

have the same mother or father?”

Trent reached over and flicked on his laptop. Right

after the picnic, Sammy had emailed everybody
pictures of the event. Normally Trent wouldn’t have
kept them, but he’d been in a rare sappy mood that day
and had tucked them away in a file.

“Father, although Jimmy never met him. Dad was

locked up before he was born, and his mother was so
brain dead from all the drugs she used that she couldn’t

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drive to the prison for visits. Not that I think she would
have bothered either way. The only one Iona ever cared
about was herself.”

“You said cared as in past tense. Is she still

around?”

“She overdosed last week.”
“Oh, shit,” Trent breathed.
“It gets even worse. It was a week before they found

her.”

Trent closed his eyes and tried to fight off the

avalanche  of  memories  those  words  brought  on.  Even
after  over  a  decade,  Trent  could  still  smell  the  sweet,
cloying stench of decay.  Feel the  hunger pains racking
through  his  body.  See  the  body  of  his  mother,  on  the
floor by the kitchen table, her hand…

No! He wasn’t going there. Because if he did, he’d

have to get good and drunk to forget about it. There was
no time for him to check out since Marc needed him.
Marc was one of only a handful of people who actually
made the world a halfway decent place to live, and
Trent couldn’t leave him hanging.

“So, how long has Jimmy been missing?”
There was a long pause on the other end. Trent just

waited it out, knowing that Marc had to be going
through a lot of emotions, guilt probably being the
strongest one of them.

“I don’t know,” Marc finally said, his voice strained.
“Okay, let’s start off with things you do know.

When was the last time you talked to him?”

“That’s just it. I’m not even certain of that answer.”
Trent frowned as he wondered if maybe Marc had

been drinking or something. “What in the hell is that

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supposed to mean?”

“We’ve exchanged our usual weekly email, but I’m

beginning to wonder if they were even from him.”

Okay, now they were finally getting somewhere.
“What made you suspicious?”
“I don’t know,” Marc hedged. “Jimmy has always

been a little self-centered, but in the last email he
spelled Sammy’s name wrong.”

“Was there anything else?”
“Yeah, he asked me how my pet spider was. Which

is strange since he knows I’m terrified of those things.”

Trent’s heart skipped a beat. “Where did Jimmy and

his mother live?”

“Dude, I told you that when I introduced you to

Jimmy at the picnic.”

Yeah, and since Trent hadn’t deemed it important at

the  time,  he’d  just  thrown  that  info  into  his  internal
circular  file. One  look at Jimmy  was enough  for  Trent
to  label  the  kid  as  a  brat. If  the  way  he  styled  his  hair
with  enough  product  to  keep  a  boy  band  supplied  for
one  year  wasn’t  enough,  then  there  was  the  petulant
look  on  his  face.  The  entire  day,  Jimmy  had  either
sulked or played games on his phone. The punk hadn’t
even looked up long enough to shoot off a thanks when
Sammy had brought him over a plate of food.

Since Trent couldn’t very well tell Marc that he

thought his lost baby brother was a snot, he said, “Just
amuse me, okay?”

“I’m not sure of the exact address since his mom

was always getting kicked out of places, but they
always lived in Detroit.”

Trent’s stomach did a nice flip. “You said she died

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of an overdose?”

“Yeah, she’d been addicted to meth for years.”
“How did she get the money for her drugs?”
Trent found the file with the photos and started to

open it.

“Jimmy would never tell me. I think she may have

been hooking, though. After she died, I found out she
had a pretty long arrest record.”

A picture flashed up on Trent’s screen. At first

glance,  it  seemed  innocent  enough.  They  were  all  on
the deck, sitting  in chairs. Trent was in the  front. He’d
worn a pair of shades that day,  not because  he  wanted
to  look  cool,  but  because  the  sun  had  been  bright.  He
normally  kept  his  light  brown  hair  perfectly  combed,
but in the picture it was messed up a bit because Marc
had thrown him in the pool.

It had been a playful gesture. One of the many times

where Marc had teasingly shown that he was still the
strongest. For while Trent had served in the police force
and was now a PI, Marc still had a lot of bulk on him.

They’d both known full-well that if Trent wanted to,

he would be able to fight back at any time. For while he
may be a bit thinner, he was a damn scrappy fighter.
What he hadn’t learned on the streets as a kid, he’d
honed as an adult in gyms and boxing rings.

“What was she arrested for?” Trent asked, still

studying the picture.

His gaze settled on Jimmy, and this time Trent

forced  himself  to  look  past  the  bratty  exterior.  Damn!
How  could  they  have  been  so  blind?  Even  given  the
slightly poor quality of the photo, Trent could easily see
the  dark  rings  around  the  kid’s  eyes  and  the  way  his

Little brat Lost

skin was too pale. Not because the picture had been
taken in spring either, and he hadn’t had time to go out
and catch some rays. No, it was a sickly pallor; one that
Trent knew so well because he’d sported it himself so
many times as a kid.

It was the mark of somebody who wasn’t getting

enough sleep or food, while at the same time collecting
more than their fair share of stress.

Marc let out a long sigh. “Let me see…she was

arrested for petty larceny, check fraud, identity theft,
and various drug charges. The State would take Jimmy
away from her, but as soon as she was out of jail, they
always gave him back.”

That was another song and dance that Trent was all

too familiar with.

A frustrated growl came from the receiver. “Damn

it, if I’d only known about him sooner. I would have
taken him in and raised him myself.”

“Remind me again when you found out about him?”
“I found a box of stuff that belonged to my dad. It

was  mostly crap, but there was some old paperwork in
there  from  family  court.  It  was  from  one  of  the
numerous  times  Jimmy’s  mom  tried  to  sue  for  child
support.”  Marc  snorted.  “I  guess  she  didn’t  get  that
prisoners don’t exactly make minimum wage, let alone
enough to support any family members. Once I had her
name though, it was easy enough to use my connections
to track Jimmy down. By the time I found him, he was
already seventeen and pretty bitter.”

Now that Trent was stepping back to really look at

the situation, he couldn’t fault Jimmy. To say that life
had dealt the kid a pretty crappy hand would have been

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such an understatement that it bordered on insulting.

Marc continued to ramble, “I tried to get him to

move in with me and Sammy, but Jimmy refused to
leave his mother. Even after the way the bitch treated
him, he still idolized the woman.”

“So, that would rule out him running away,” Trent

mused.

It also probably meant that Jimmy didn’t know about

her death, either. His heart went out to the kid. Crap!
Trent hated it when he got sentimental during a case.

“I’m scared,” Marc admitted.
So was Trent. After all he heard and knowing that

Jimmy would  never  leave willingly, that only  left dark
and  ominous  possibilities.  Then  Trent  noticed
something  else  about  the  photo  and  his  blood  turned
cold.

“Is Jimmy gay?”
Shit, he didn’t even need to ask that one. Just one

glance  at  the  photo  gave  him  a  resounding  yes.  For
while  all  the  other  guys  were  looking  at  the  camera,
Jimmy was staring to the side. More specifically he was
gazing  at  Trent  and  even  though  the  image  was  a  bit
grainy,  there  was  no  mistaking  the  raw  lust  in  the
younger man’s eyes.

“Yeah, does that matter?”
Instead of answering that, Trent fired off a question

of his own. “Was his mother ever arrested for
prostitution?”

“Yeah, a few times? Why?”
Fuck. This is so not good.
Marc’s voice took a sharp edge. “What’s going on?

What does that have to do with Jimmy?”

Little brat Lost

Trent didn’t have it in him to reply to that. Because

while his evidence may be scant, it was already
damning. The history of prostitution. The fact that
Jimmy was young, gay, and cute. The spider reference.
It was all adding up to something pretty horrifying.

“Tell me what in the fuck is going on,” Marc

snarled.

As he ran a hand over his head, Trent debated on

how much he should share. “I have some good news
and bad news.”

“What?”
“The good news is Jimmy was the one who sent you

the emails.”

Marc let out a deep breath. “And the bad?”
“He’s trying to tell you that he’s in trouble.”
“How do you know?”
That was one question Trent wasn’t about to answer,

at least not yet. “I just do. Trust me on this.”

There was a long pause as Marc seemed to be

digesting that before he pressed, “How bad is it?”

“Pretty fucking bad.”
That was all Trent could confirm at the moment. He

would  need  more  evidence  before  he  said  anything
more. Even then he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to
spill all the details to Marc. After all, how does one tell
their  best  friend  that  their  lost  brother  was  most  likely
sold  off  like  a  piece  of  meat?  Not  to  just  anybody
either,  but  to  the  biggest  sex  slave  trafficker  in  the
States.  Worse  yet,  Trent  knew  without  a  doubt  that  it
had  been  Jimmy’s  own  mother  who  had  brokered  the
deal.

If there was any justice left in the world, then the

Little brat Lost

Chapter Two

f his life hadn’t already been so fucking pathetic,
Jimmy would have laughed at himself.

Maybe most people wouldn’t find the humor in

having  their  heart  broken,  then  being  taken  across  the
country  just  so  they  can  be  whored  out  by  the  very
same  guy  who  had  done  the  heart  crushing.  But  then
those  people  wouldn’t  find  having  drugs  being  forced
down their throats and regular beatings a ton of laughs
either.

Truthfully, Jimmy was damned depressed and scared

shitless at his current predicament. That still didn’t stop
a small burst of laughter from passing through his
chapped, bloody lips. He couldn’t help it, the whole
situation was just so ironic.

For years, he’d avoided reading gay romances or

watching  those  sappy  gay-boy-in-peril  made-for-TV
movies.  Why?  Because  he  hated  how  they  all  had  the
same  stereotypical  plot  points.  And  now  Jimmy  found
himself living almost every single one them.

A young innocent twink who can’t stay out of

trouble?

Tick!

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Said twink falling in love with the wrong kind of

guy and getting led into evil?

Tick!
Twinky ends up hustling, but there’s still hope for

him yet, because he has a heart of gold?

Tick! Or at least he hoped so as far as the golden

heart part went. He’d like to think that not all of him
was used up and rotten.

TSTL Twink gets strung up on the diet of drugs that

have been forced fed to him?

Tick!
Poor, little druggie gets his ass beat all the time?
Jimmy wiggled around on his stomach, the old bed

giving  off  a  slight  creaking  sound.  Which  was  good
because  it  covered  the  hiss  of  pain  that  slipped  out.
Yeah,  he  could  tick  that  one  off,  too.  Even  without
looking,  he  knew  his  back  was  covered  in  red  welt
marks.

Oh, well. It wasn’t the first time it’d happened to

him, and he doubted it would be the last, either. He
shifted around a bit, still trying to find a comfortable
position. Although past experience told him that would
be impossible.

The door opened, and his twink sidekick came

inside.  At  least  Jimmy  could  take  some  comfort  in
knowing  that  he  bucked  the  trope  trend  somewhat  by
not  having  a  female  BFF.  It  wasn’t  much,  but  he  was
willing to take whatever he could get.

Adam looked more tired and strung out than Jimmy

felt. Normally Adam never left his room without his
dark hair being styled to perfection. He always made
sure that his clothes were flashy and stylish, too.

Little brat Lost

So to see Adam’s hair hanging in his overly pale

face  was  a  bit  worrisome.  Worse,  Adam  had  on  a  pair
of gray sweats that looked to be at least three sizes too
big.  Although,  to  be  fair,  they  could  have  fit  at  one
time.  Food  had  become  scarce  lately.  At  the  rate  they
were going,  Adam would be giving supermodels  a run
for their money.

“How are you feeling?” Adam asked as he gingerly

sat on the edge of the bed.

Jimmy flicked his gaze over the room. Like the

mattress he was lying on, it was bare, dirty, and stinky.
Not that he was complaining…too much. At least he
had a bed. When he’d first been introduced to the pit of
a place they called home, he’d just had a scratchy
blanket and paper pillow to call his own.

“I feel like my ass was sold to an abusive john, who

then proceeded to whip me for shits and giggles,”
Jimmy grumbled.

A ghost of a smile flickered over Adam’s face.

“Why do you always have to make everything a joke?”

Because wallowing in the situation would have

made Jimmy crazy.

Adam began to nervously twist his fingers together.

“I’m sorry it had to be you this time.”

Jimmy let out a grunt. “Hey, no problem. We all

have to take our turn.”

Actually, it was a big problem, for both Jimmy and

Adam. The john in question was getting more and more
violent. Jimmy knew it was only a matter of time before
one of them was seriously hurt or worse.

“Bruce sent me in here to tell you to take a shower,”

Adam confessed in a near whisper.

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Jimmy tensed. That could only mean one of two

things, neither of which were fun. Either Jimmy was
already being sent on another job, or Bruce wanted
some private playtime of his own.

It was hard to believe that at one time Jimmy would

have set his underwear on fire if it meant he got some
special attention from Bruce. Jimmy, idiot that he was,
had even believed that he was in love with the jerk.

In Jimmy’s defense, Bruce was smooth when he

wanted to be. He’d come  into Detroit and  managed to
suck  Jimmy  in  within  a  week.  The  fact  that  Jimmy’s
family  stunk  so  he  was  starved  for  attention  had  only
made  Bruce’s  job  all the easier. Hell, Jimmy  might as
well have offered up his lame ass on a silver platter.

After just a few sweet words and cheap gifts, Jimmy

was ready to do anything the older man asked. By the
time Bruce offered to take him to LA, Jimmy was a
goner. The man had even given Jimmy’s mother some
money so she could pay rent and have food for several
months.

Humiliation and anger rushed over him. Now that he

reflected back, he could see that the money hadn’t been
a gift. Bruce had been paying her off so she wouldn’t
cause any problems.

Sold out by his own mother. That had to be a new

low. Sad thing was that it didn’t surprise Jimmy in the
least.

“What does Bruce have planned for me?” Jimmy

asked as he pushed himself up to his knees.

The movement sent a fresh wave of pain through his

body. He let out a groan, then swallowed to hold back
the nausea. Adam reached out to help, only to pull back

Little brat Lost

when Jimmy let out a sharp yelp.

Adam gave an apologetic wince. “He’s sending you

out on a job.”

Jimmy’s gut clenched with fear. “Who’s the client?”
“Somebody new. I guess he specifically asked for

you.”

That should have been flattering, but it just made

Jimmy feel like a special on the menu of some takeout
place. Would you like any fries with that? Do you want
to upgrade to supersize?

“Lucky me,” Jimmy replied, his voice sharp with

bitterness.

He somehow managed to get into the shower,

although as  soon as the spray of water hit his  back, he
wished  he  hadn’t.  Damn,  what  he  would  do  for  some
drugs.  But  since  he’d  supposedly  been  beaten  for
upsetting the  john, Jimmy was  being punished. So that
meant  Bruce  was  holding  back  anything  that  would
make him pain free.

Never mind the fact that the john was always beating

them.  All  Bruce  cared  about  was  keeping  the  sadistic
bastard  happy  enough  so  he  kept  calling  back.  If  they
lost  a  few  employees  along  the  way,  oh  well!  Bruce
could always go out and sucker some other saps. After
all,  he  loved  to  remind  them  how  they  were  so  easily
replaceable.  He  was  like  a  tall,  muscular  version  of
Abby  Lee  Miller.  Only  Bruce  was  much  meaner  and
didn’t wear as much makeup.

The curtain snapped open, making Jimmy jump.

Terror  pulsated  through  his  body  until  he  saw  Adam
standing  there.  His  friend  had  lost  the  baggy  clothes,
showing off  how skinny  he’d really gotten. He had so

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little meat on him that Jimmy could have easily counted
the other guy’s ribs.

“Scoot up,” Adam ordered.
Jimmy obeyed, even though it put him farther under

the spray. As soon as he got in, Adam closed the curtain
again and then grabbed a washcloth.

“I promise that you’ll keep your virtue. I just figured

you would need help washing your back.”

A snort of laughter bubbled from Jimmy. Like he

had any virtue to be worried about. He’d long lost that
asset  and  had  the  missing  signs  to  prove  it.  Okay,
maybe he didn’t have actual physical signs like people
put  up  when  they  lost  their  dog.  But,  as  he  thought
about it, that would be a pretty fun prank to play.  Lost!
My Virtue! If found, please call the number below.

All he had to do was survive long enough to find a

damn printer and he’d be all set.

“Easy,” he hissed as Adam began to rub the cloth

over his back.

“Sorry.”
Since Adam often was on the receiving end of the

abuse,  Jimmy  knew  the  guy  really  understood  how
painful  it was to wash off the wounds. There had been
just as many times when Jimmy had been in the role of
nurse.  So  much  so  lately  that  Jimmy  feared  the  day
when  Adam  would  go  out  on  a  job  and  never  come
back.

The thought of losing his one remaining ally made

tears well up in Jimmy’s eyes. He quickly blinked them
away. The first thing he’d learned since coming to the
hellhole was that tears only got him smacked or worse.

“It’ll be okay,” Adam soothed.

Little brat Lost

When Jimmy just nodded, Adam hugged him from

behind.  It  should  have  felt  awkward  since  they  were
both  naked,  but  it  didn’t.  Maybe  it  was  because  they
both  were  happy  with  their  relationship  remaining
platonic. Or it could just be that they were both so full
of pain and terror that there wasn’t room for any other
emotions.

They stayed that way for a moment before Adam

pulled away. “We better get going. Bruce wants you out
there like yesterday.”

A small part of Jimmy wanted to rebel and stay in

the shower. It would give him some grim satisfaction to
see Bruce get his nice silk shirt water-stained when he
had to come in and drag Jimmy out.

In the end, Jimmy sighed, then quickly rinsed off. If

he  did  that,  he  would  just  end  up  getting  Adam  in
trouble,  too.  That  was  the  last  thing  Jimmy  wanted.  If
he  could,  he  would  volunteer  to  take  all  of  Adam’s
beatings.  Anything  so  he  didn’t  have  to  lose  his  one
remaining friend.

They got out, dried off, then got dressed. Since he

was  going  out,  Jimmy  put  on  a  tight  fitting  t-shirt  and
even  tighter  pants.  It  hurt  like  hell  to  pull  the  material
over his  battered back, but he knew there wouldn’t be
any getting out of it. Bruce often  bragged that his boys
always looked hot when on the job.

Jimmy paused a moment to glance in the mirror,

wincing  at  what  he  found.  Even  with  the  nice  clothes,
he  looked  like  crap.  His  complexion  was  almost  as
sallow as Adam’s. He made a couple futile attempts to
fix  his  hair,  only  to  give  up.  It  would  probably  make
Bruce  a  bit  miffed,  but  Jimmy  was  too  sore  to  worry

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about hair gel.

They rushed out into the living room. Within

seconds, the cigarette smoke in the room began to sting
Jimmy’s eyes, and he had to hold back a cough. As
always, he cast a quick glance over the room, looking
for possible attackers. When he only saw Bruce and Mr.
Head Minion AKA Job, Jimmy relaxed a tiny bit.

While Job might be an asshole, he usually kept his

abuse on the verbal level. Job being there also signified
that he would be Jimmy’s driver. Which was another
blessing since the other men always liked to try to grab
a freebie on the way home.

As he waited to be acknowledged, Jimmy gazed up

from under his lashes to study Bruce. What had he been
smoking to make him think that he ever cared for that
sadistic piece of garbage?

Sure, at first glance, Bruce seemed hot. With short

hair and piercing blue eyes, plus a body to die for, he
was almost movie star material. But all that was only a
thin façade. A closer examination revealed the hard
glint in the man’s eyes and the way his lips seemed to
always curl into a sneer.

Even his tattoos seemed less cool and more ominous

in  hindsight.  At  one  time  Jimmy  thought  the  giant
spider  web  on  the  man’s  neck  was  cool.  Now,  he
realized  that  it  was  his  way  of  making  a  statement.
Worse,  he  made  all  his  minions  wear  matching  tattoos
on their arms.

The only good thing was that he didn’t require his

rent boys to get one, too. Most likely because they
usually didn’t last long enough to justify that kind of
expense.

Little brat Lost

Bruce held a phone to his ear, and he chatted it up

for  several  minutes  before  he  finally  hung  up,  then
turned his attention to Jimmy. As the man’s gaze took
him in, Jimmy resisted the urge to shudder. Once again,
he  wondered  how  it  was  that  he  could  have  ever
thought that he actually was in love with Bruce. Worse,
how  could  he  have  been  so  dumb  as  to  think  that
somebody  as  cold  as  Bruce  could  feel  affection  for
anything, much less another human being?

“I guess this is as good as you’re going to look,”

Bruce finally snapped.

It was on the tip of Jimmy’s tongue to retort that

after being at the end of some asshole’s leather strap, he
looked  pretty  damn  good.  But one  glimpse  at  Adam’s
terror-filled  gaze  was  enough  to  make  Jimmy  stay
silent. He knew that if he got mouthy, Bruce would not
only  punish  him,  but  Adam  as  well.  Jimmy  would  do
anything  to  protect  Adam  and  vice-versa.  As  soon  as
Bruce had  figured out how close  his two top rent  boys
were, the asshole started to use that to his advantage.

“I’m sorry,” Jimmy demurred.
Bruce cocked a brow. “Are you in a lot of pain?”
Jimmy pressed his lips together. Bruce full-well

knew that Jimmy was hurting like hell. He just wanted
to hear Jimmy pleading for relief. Hate surged through
Jimmy, and he wanted so badly to spit in Bruce’s face.
Just seeing the look of shock on the man’s face would
be fucking priceless.

Since Jimmy knew that would only sign his death

warrant, he just gave a slight nod. The smirk on Bruce’s
face grew as he stood up and walked closer until he was
only inches from Jimmy. Leaning down until his lips

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were almost to Jimmy’s ear, Bruce whispered, “I bet
you’d do just about anything to take away that hurt.”

Before Jimmy could even think of a reply, Bruce

held up a pill. Just from looking at the color and shape
Jimmy  knew  it  was  Oxy.  He  had  to  hold  back  a
whimper. While he hated how dependent he’d become
on  that  drug,  he  also  knew  it  would  bring  him  relief.
Not  just  from  the  physical  pain,  but  the  emotional
agony, too. When he was high, at least he could forget
for a little bit how crappy his life was.

“Please,” Jimmy whimpered.
Bruce held it up to Jimmy’s mouth only to pull it

back at the last moment. “How bad do you want this?”

Jimmy cringed, knowing just where that question

was leading. Not too long ago he would have been
thrilled to be Bruce’s plaything. Now, the thought made
him almost sick to his stomach.

His disgust must have shown on his face because

Bruce let out a snarl and shoved him away. “Like I
would want to fuck a used up hole like you.”

As Jimmy stumbled back a few steps, he couldn’t

hold in the cry of pain. He quickly recovered, lowering
his head. “I’m sorry.”

Damn, it looked like that was going to be his phrase

for the day.

Bruce held up the pill. “Just take this and get the hell

out of here.”

Jimmy stepped forward, his lips parted. Bruce

shoved the pill inside. Experience told Jimmy he
wouldn’t be getting anything to wash it down so he just
swallowed it dry.

He started to walk toward the door, but Bruce pulled

Little brat Lost

him back. Holding Jimmy’s arm in a wince-inducing
grip, Bruce warned, “I don’t care how shitty you feel.
The client better be happy with you or else.”

Jimmy didn’t even bother asking what the or else

would entail. He knew from experience it would be
painful and terrifying. So he just nodded and rushed
out. Before Job shut the door, Jimmy had time to glance
once more at Adam. He just prayed that it wouldn’t be
the last time they saw each other.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Three

rent turned on only one desk lamp so the hotel
room would be cloaked in enough shadows for him

to hide his face until Jimmy was already in the room
and couldn’t run. He then took a seat in the chair facing
the door and waited.

It kind of felt like the setup for some cheesy thriller

movie, but it was the best plan that Trent could come up
with.  It  had  taken  him  weeks  to  finally  locate  Jimmy
because Bruce had taken him to LA, of all places. Trent
was  going  to  be  damned  if  he’d  let  the  brat  get away
and  blow  things  after  all  the  hard  work  that  had  gone
into tracking his scrawny ass down.

Trent looked at a nearby clock. It was eight in the

evening. If things went as planned, he’d manage to snag
Jimmy and get them to the airport in time to catch the
flight leaving at eleven. Then he could have the punk
delivered to Marc by morning, and Trent could get back
to his life.

A soft knock sounded on the door. Settling back in

the chair, Trent called out, “Come in.”

He made sure to disguise his voice slightly, not

wanting Jimmy to recognize it from the one time they’d

Little brat Lost

met. Although Trent doubted that somebody as self-
centered as Jimmy would have noticed anything but his
own problems.

As soon as that thought came to Trent, he felt a slice

of guilt. Going from what he’d heard and dug up during
his  investigation, Jimmy’s childhood had  been  beyond
shitty. So, who could blame the kid for having a chip on
his  shoulder?  Trent  just  found  himself  wishing  that  it
wasn’t him that had to put  up with the attitude for the
rest of the night.

The door opened and Jimmy slipped inside. As Trent

studied the younger man, two things quickly became
apparent. One, Jimmy looked as if he’d been to hell and
back again. Two, he was as high as a child star who’d
grown up to be a bitter adult.

Jimmy flashed a shy smile, but fear lingered in his

once sparkling eyes. Now his gaze was  like the rest of
him,  bleak and  lifeless. The clothes  he  wore were skin
tight,  no  doubt  to  make  him  more  appealing  to  the
johns. The effort was a complete failure though because
Jimmy’s  body  was  painfully  thin,  to  the  point  where
Trent didn’t know how the guy was standing, much less
walking around.

“Hello?” Jimmy said as he peered into the darkness.
He wobbled a bit and almost fell, but steadied

himself  at  the  last  moment  by  grabbing  onto  the  wall.
Trent  had  to  resist  the  urge  to  get  up  and  help,
especially  when  Jimmy  let  out  a  giggle.  The  sound
seemed  so  foreign  to  the  normally  morose  man  that  it
made Trent all the more concerned.

“Ah, shit. I hate it when you guys play the whole

peek-a-boo game. Usually it means that I end up losing,

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and it’s never any fun,” Jimmy declared in a slurred
voice.

“Lock the deadbolt,” Trent commanded, making

sure that none of his concern leaked into his voice.

A flicker of uncertainty passed over Jimmy’s face.

He turned back to the door, but hesitated a bit.

“What will your employer say if you come back

empty-handed? I don’t pay people who disobey my
orders,” Trent snapped.

He actually felt a bit of admiration that, even while

high,  Jimmy  still  maintained  some  common  sense.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, given the current
situation, Jimmy’s fear of Bruce overrode all his sense
of  self-preservation.  He  fumbled  with  the  lock,  his
fingers trembling so badly that  it was a wonder  he got
the mechanism to work at all.

“Come closer,” Trent said.
Slowly turning, Jimmy swallowed hard and moved

forward a couple of steps.

Feeling a bit like Hannibal Lector, Trent crooned,

“Cloooooser.”

When Jimmy was only a few feet away, Trent

stopped him with a simple, “That’s good enough. Now,
take off your shoes.”

An uneasy, shaky smile came over Jimmy’s face.

“Just my shoes?”

“For the moment. Now get to it.”
Instead of bending over to undo his laces, Jimmy

just toed off his sneakers and kicked them to the side.
Holding his hands out to the side, he asked, “Now
what?”

“Lose the shirt.”

Little brat Lost

Trent wasn’t trying to get the other guy naked for

titillation purpose. His plan was to make it so Jimmy
would think twice before running. Since it had been
raining, and it was cold outside, any sane person would
want to have a shirt and shoes on before venturing back
into that kind of weather.

Or at least any normal person would feel that way.

Trent didn’t have any hopes of his plan really working.
Jimmy was  impetuous to begin with. Now that he was
also  desperate  and  no  doubt terrified  of  Bruce,  the  kid
was  likely  do  about  anything  in  order  to  please  his
owner.

Jimmy pulled off his shirt, the movement almost

making  him  fall  on  his  ass.  Trent  wondered  just  how
many drugs they’d pumped in the kid’s  system. Going
by  how  thin  Jimmy  was,  it  normally  wouldn’t  take
much, but for all Trent knew, the kid could be hooked.
That’d mean that Jimmy would have a higher tolerance
level and could be dosed at toxic levels.

Shit, there goes all plans for leaving right away.

Now Trent was going to have to wait for Jimmy to
sleep it off. Or worse, he was going to have to drag
Jimmy to the hospital for treatment.

Once he had his shirt off, Jimmy tossed it to the side.

Trent sucked in a breath. Even in the poor lighting, his
body reacted to all the creamy skin that was now
exposed. While underweight, Jimmy still boasted some
muscles and they were all in the right places.

Trent’s cock stirred as he imagined ordering Jimmy

to undress all the way. How it would be to take the
smaller man to bed and fuck him into the mattress.
Jimmy’s hair was just long enough for Trent to pull as

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he pounded the other man from behind.

Then Trent gave himself a mental bitch slap. What

in the hell was he thinking? Not only was this Marc’s
little brother, but this kid was high and in desperate
need of help. The last thing that Trent should be feeling
was aroused.

Damn it, when had he become such an asshole? If he

could have, he would have kicked his own ass. Then he
spotted Jimmy fumbling with his jeans, and Trent knew
he had to put a halt to things. “Stop! I don’t want you to
take off anything else off.”

Try telling that to his dick, though, because the little

bastard insisted on staying hard.

Jimmy’s brow creased in confusion. “Okay, do you

just want me to suck you off or something?”

Little Trent, ever the bastard, really liked the sounds

of  that.  He  was  now  so  hard  that  he  ached,  and  Trent
had to shift a bit to relieve some of the pressure. Fuck,
fuck,  fuck!  If  Marc  ever  found  out  about  this,  he  was
going  to  kill  Trent.  The  homicide  would  be  totally
justified, too.

Instead of answering aloud, Trent just reached over

and flicked on the main light. For a second all Jimmy
did was blink against the brightness. Trent tensed,
convinced Jimmy’s reaction wouldn’t be good.

Sure enough, after a few moments, Jimmy’s eyes

widened in shock and he let loose with a curse word
that would have made most civilized people blush.

“What the fuck?” Jimmy demanded. “Does Marc

know what a perv you are?”

“I would think that since you’re part of this

arrangement that would make you just as much a perv,”

Little brat Lost

Trent countered.

“I have a perfectly good excuse.”
“For what, becoming a whore or getting yourself

sold like cattle?”

Jimmy paused, his mouth opening and closing a few

times before he retorted, “Both.”

Trent cocked a brow. “I just can’t wait to hear it.”
“I am your typical stereotype.”
“How do you figure?”
“Well, I’m the typical gay boy who falls in love with

the wrong alpha, gets his heart broken, and then is
forced to sell his body along with his soul.”

“I think the last part is a bit melodramatic.”
Jimmy huffed. “That’s easy for you to say. You

haven’t gone through all this.”

“How can you be so certain?”
“Please, you scream Alpha. There is no way that you

would ever find yourself in the helpless-twink-in-
trouble role.”

“There’s a lot of those around?”
“Well, I used to think that they were only in books

and movies, but now I find myself living it.”

Trent bit back a smile. “I think you’re overreacting a

bit. I’m not even the alpha type. Not only am I barely
bigger than you, but I don’t like to lead groups.”

That was true, too. He’d always been happy to hang

back from the crowd and do his own thing. It was the
main reason why he hadn’t made any real friends until
after high school. Even then he only tolerated a few
select people.

Jimmy narrowed his eyes. “Trust me, you don’t have

to be big to be an alpha. Sometimes being bossy and

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mean is enough.”

“I’m not mean at all,” Trent protested.
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the nice,

innocent hooker with the heart of gold.”

“You have a heart of gold?” Trent didn’t even bother

to hide the disbelief in his voice.

He decided not to even address the nice or innocent

part. He suspected he would have better luck butting his
head against a brick wall.

“Of course, I do.”
“No, I’d say you’re bronze at best.”
“Fuck you,” Jimmy snapped.
“Sorry, not going to happen.”
And Trent meant that. Despite the fact that Little

Trent was still refusing to listen to reason and was
screaming for a taste of the brat. The same brat who
seemed to be doing his best to drive Trent crazy.

Jimmy shot him a look of pure venom. “It’s at least

fourteen carat gold.”

“Not really, maybe I’ll give you gold plated.”
“Oh, come on! You have to at least give me ten

carat. Otherwise, I’m going to tarnish people when they
wear me.”

Trent ran a hand through his hair as he wondered

how the conversation had gotten so far off course. He
glanced at the clock, realizing they’d already wasted
too much precious time.

“We need to leave,” he said.
Now it was Jimmy who cocked a brow. “Uh, when I

got the order to get here, they didn’t tell me there was
going to be a field trip.”

“I don’t want to have sex with you,” Trent snarled.

Little brat Lost

He swore he could hear his cock call out a mocking,

Liar!

Jimmy blinked in confusion. The move could have

been called cute if Trent happened to be noticing that
kind of thing. Which he wasn’t because he was a
professional, damn it.

Liar!
“Then why did you call Bruce and have me come

over here then?” Jimmy asked.

“Marc sent me.”
“He did?”
Trent was really getting sick of this short sentence

banter thing they had going on. “Yes, he did.”

“Why?”
That question was so innocently asked that it sent a

pang of sympathy through Trent. Wow, Jimmy really
didn’t think that anybody gave a damn about him.
Really, why should he after the life he had? Trent didn’t
blame the poor kid for having doubts.

“He’s worried as hell about you. When he finally

realized how much trouble you may be in, he hired me
to track you down.”

“Why should he care about me?”
“Because he’s your brother.”
Jimmy gave his hair a self-conscious tug. “Half-

brother.”

Trent was beginning to wonder if Jimmy was too

high to comprehend the entire conversation. “You know
that doesn’t matter to Marc. As soon as he found out
about you, he wanted to be a part of your life.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before, and yet I always end

up being shit on.”

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“What a wonderful analogy. You should take up

writing poetry.”

“Maybe I will. I can just add that to my list of

tropes.”

“Make sure you add being an obnoxious brat to it,

too,” Trent shot back.

How was it that even while he was fighting the urge

to strangle Jimmy, Trent was still aroused? If he hadn’t
known better, he would have sworn somebody slipped
him a Viagra or something. How else could he explain
away his persistent erection?

“I’ll make sure to do that once I get back. Now, if

you don’t want to fuck me, fine, but you still have to
pay me. I am not about to get into trouble for going
back empty-handed.”

For the first time in his life, Trent felt a possessive

surge  rush  through  him  as  he  thought  about  Jimmy
being  under  Bruce’s  control.  The  bastard  was  so
sadistic  there  was  no  telling  what  he  would  do  if  he
found out that he and Jimmy had spoken.

“There is no way in hell that you’re going back to

him,” Trent growled.

“There’s no way you can stop me.”
As if to prove his point, Jimmy spun on his heel to

leave. The bad thing for him happened to be that he was
still as high as a kite. He took one step, then promptly
ran into a wall. Off balance, he stumbled back a few
steps before he pulled the most amazing faceplant.

“I think I’ll give that one a seven,” Trent snarked.
Then he got a good look at Jimmy’s back and all of

Trent’s amusement fled. Somebody had taken a whip or
strap to Jimmy’s back and they had been brutal about it.

Little brat Lost

Several red welts marked the pale skin. Some of the
wounds were so deep that they had broken open and
were scabbed over.

A red-hot fury filled Trent and he vowed that, if it

was the last thing he did, he would make Bruce pay.

Like it or not, Trent now felt protective of his little

brat, and nobody was going to get away with hurting
him—not even if it was the most evil man that Trent
had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Four

ven over the haze of drugs, pain shot through
Jimmy’s back. He swallowed a whimper as he tried

to push himself to his feet.

“Don’t move, just stay still for a second and catch

your breath,” Trent advised in a strangely soothing
voice.

How Jimmy wished he could do that. Almost as

much as he wished that he could actually run away with
Trent. While Jimmy had outwardly scoffed at the
notion that Marc might actually give a damn, inside
he’d felt a flicker of want.

He knew that if he did pull a disappearing act, it

would be Adam who ended up paying. More than once
Bruce had promised that to Jimmy. Bruce had even
gone so far as to make Jimmy watch while Adam took a
punishment meant for him. All so Bruce could further
prove his threat.

Terrified for his friend, Jimmy pushed away some of

the  fog  filling  his  head  and  once  more  tried  to  get  up.
Trent  just  made  a  shushing  sound  as  he  held  Jimmy
down.  While  Trent’s  hold  was  gentle,  Jimmy  was  so
weak that he found himself unable to break away.

Little brat Lost

Left with no other option, he began to beg, “Please,

if I don’t go back, they’ll hurt him.”

Trent tensed, but didn’t let go. “Hurt who?”
“Adam.”
“Is that your boyfriend or something?”
If Jimmy hadn’t known better, he would have sworn

that he heard a hint of jealousy in Trent’s voice. Jimmy
gave a mental shake of his head. There was no way that
Trent would ever be possessive over a scrawny, used-
up hooker like him. It must be the drugs playing with
his mind.

“We’re best friends. I protect him, and he does the

same for me.”

Trent let Jimmy sit up, but he still kept a firm grip

on Jimmy’s wrist. Jimmy tried to ignore how good the
other man’s touch felt. After all, it wasn’t like Trent
was getting all handsy because he wanted to. He was
only doing his job.

“Please,” Jimmy rasped. “I can’t let them hurt him.”
Sympathy filled Trent’s dark eyes, but he still shook

his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t let you go back to that
bastard.”

“I can take care of myself.”
Those words sounded ridiculous, even to Jimmy. He

was whipped within an inch of his life and so weak
with hunger that he’d probably lose a boxing match
against a kitten.

“No, you can’t, and we both know it. If you go back,

you won’t last another month.”

Fighting back the tears, Jimmy said, “Neither will

Adam.”

He was stunned when Trent reached out and cupped

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his cheek. Rubbing the pad of his thumb over Jimmy’s
cheek, Trent replied, “I promise that I will do
everything in my power to get him out.”

Jimmy hesitated. He wanted so badly to believe that

was true, but he hardly knew Trent. While the man
might have occupied a good number of Jimmy’s erotic
fantasies lately, they still had technically met each other
once before.

For so long, he’d been forced to be the strong one.

The one who had to hold it together. Not only had
Jimmy been fighting for his own survival, but that of
Adam, too. Would he actually be able to give up control
and trust that Trent would be there to catch him?

As if reading his mind, Trent said, “Trust me.

Please.”

“You promise that you’ll help him?”
“Yes, as soon as I get you out of here, I’ll work on

that.”

“You won’t change your mind?” Jimmy pressed.
He didn’t want to come off as a nag, but never

before had somebody actually kept his or her word. For
as  long  as  Jimmy  could  remember,  everyone  around
him  had  eventually  failed  him  in  one  way  or  another.
To think that this virtual stranger could be any different
went  against  every  life  lesson  that  had  been  beat  into
him.

Yet, as Jimmy gazed up at Trent, he saw something

that he’d never seen directed his way before—
understanding. At that moment, Jimmy knew that Trent
had gone through his own share of suffering and he
knew how it felt to be hopeless and lost.

Trent was still cupping his face, and Jimmy couldn’t

Little brat Lost

resist nuzzling into his palm. Jimmy couldn’t remember
the last time somebody had touched him in a truly
caring manner. It made Jimmy painfully aware of how
much he yearned for that kind of caress.

“Yes, I trust you,” he admitted.
He studied Trent’s lips. They looked so hard and

strong, yet Jimmy had a feeling they would feel so soft
brushing against his skin. He could almost imagine the
heady feeling he’d experience if he were allowed to let
go, just once, and actually enjoy a sexual encounter.

Jimmy had a strong suspicion that it would be all the

more special if it was with Trent, too. Even though he
didn’t want to, because it would make him vulnerable,
Jimmy felt a connection to the other man. So much so,
that Jimmy was willing to risk one of the things most
precious to him—Adam.

He hadn’t been exaggerating when he said Adam

was  his  friend.  In  fact,  he  was  Jimmy’s  only  friend.
Even  though  they  were  the  same  age,  Jimmy  had  the
protective  big  brother vibe going on  for  Adam. Jimmy
would  rather  slit  his  own  throat  than  to  see  any  harm
come to Adam and he was determined not to let the guy
down.

“Let’s get out of here so we can put as much

distance between us and this place before they notice
that you’re missing.”

Trent stood and held a hand out to Jimmy. Pulling

himself up, Jimmy couldn’t hold  back the  hiss of pain
that slipped past his lips. He suddenly resented the fact
that  all  the  drama  had  taken  the  edge  off  his  buzz.  He
could do with some pain relief,  just enough to get him
through the next few hours.

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As soon as that thought went through his mind,

Jimmy’s gut clenched in disgust. Shit! How many times
had  he  heard those exact same words coming  from  his
mother?  Even  as  a  small  child,  he  knew  they’d  been
bull, too. A little was never enough for her and she was
always going to desperate measures to chase that high.
The  fact that she had a son who was dependent on  her
never  mattered to  her. Not in comparison to the never-
ending hunger brought on by her addiction.

Oh, God. Did that mean that he was an addict now,

too? He hoped with everything that he had that wasn’t
true. He’d rather have anything happen to him other
than that. He’d almost be willing to face the rest of his
life under Bruce’s rule than to be a slave to narcotics.

As always when he thought about his mother, a rush

of anger and resentment went over Jimmy. It still
crushed him to know that she’d basically sold him just
so she could get another fix.

After all the sacrifices he’d made for her, too. He’d

dropped  out  of  school  so  he  could  work  and  bring
money home. Then he’d turned down Marc’s offer of a
new  home  because  Jimmy  knew  that  if  he  weren’t
there,  his  mother  wouldn’t  be  able  to  take  care  of
herself. Plus, he didn’t even want to think about all the
times when he’d gone without a coat, or food, or even
shoes,  all  because  he  was  forever  putting  her  needs
first.

“Hey, are you okay?” Trent asked gently.
Once more, he reached out to cup Jimmy’s face.

Against all rational thinking, Jimmy found that he was
becoming addicted to the other man’s touch. Which
was both crazy and dangerous. Jimmy knew that Trent

Little brat Lost

considered him nothing more than a bratty annoyance
and that as soon as possible he’d be dumping him off
on Marc.

Forcing a smile on his face, Jimmy nodded. “I just

feel a bit loopy from the Oxy.”

“Here, let me help you get your stuff back on.”
Trent led Jimmy to the edge of the bed. As Jimmy

sat, he couldn’t help but think back to some of his more
erotic fantasies. While they’d both usually involved a
hot guy and a bed, the clothes were coming off instead
of on.

With the upmost care, Trent helped Jimmy get his

shirt and shoes back on. Even with the aid, by the time
they were done, Jimmy was in so much pain that a cold
sweat had broken out over his body.

“You’re getting worse,” Trent observed.
“It’s all your fault. You ruined my high,” Jimmy

replied as his entire body began to tremble.

“We need to get you to a hospital.”
“No!”
Jimmy tried to pull away as fear and panic coursed

through him. If he did that, then he might as well put a
bullet in Adam’s head, because he would be as good as
dead for sure.

Trent’s brow creased in concern. “You’re really bad

and need a doctor.”

“I’m fine. I’ve had much worse.”
Jimmy was so caught up in his terror that he almost

missed the growl of anger coming from Trent. Some
part of him that was focused on survival must have
heard it though, because he was so overcome with fear
that a high-pitched whine burst from his chest.

Stephani Hecht

It all became too much—the pain, the fear, the

shame…Jimmy’s vision became blurry, and he began to
suck wind as his lungs stopped cooperating with him.

Trent gave him a jerk. Jimmy flinched, expecting a

blow to be coming his way. Instead, Trent did
something shocking. He pulled Jimmy into his chest
and held him in a tender embrace.

Almost immediately, the panic began to ease as

Jimmy sank into Trent’s body. Oh, wow. The older man
felt so warm so comforting. Plus, he smelled good, too.
The crisp scent of soap mixed with the citrusy smell of
some cologne. After having to put up with the reek of
smoke and stale beer for so long, it was like heaven to
Jimmy.

“I can’t go to the hospital,” Jimmy finally said, his

voice a near whisper.

“Why not?” Trent soothed.
“It’s rule number one. Never go to the police, and

never go to the hospital.”

“Because Bruce is afraid that it would lead to

attention that may threaten his operation,” Trent
surmised.

Jimmy nodded, the movement making his cheek rub

against the other man’s shirt. “When I first got here,
there was another guy working for Bruce—”

“Working? Let’s not sugarcoat this, the guy was a

slave just as much as you were.”

Were. As in past tense. How Jimmy wanted to

believe that could be true. Yet at the same time, he felt
like an utter jerk for even thinking about leaving Adam
behind.

“Okay, he was a slave,” Jimmy demurred. “He was a

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year older than me, but he was so small and looked so
young.”

“I’ll bet Bruce’s clients just loved that.”
“Yeah, from what I hear, the pervs were all over this

guy.”

Jimmy began to tremble again as he thought about

some of the things those very same pervs had done to
him. Trent made another shushing sound as he ran his
hand up and down Jimmy’s arm.

That gave Jimmy the courage to continue, “This

poor guy was so sick, but Bruce refused to let him go to
the hospital. You see, in his eyes, we’re just whores that
he can easily replace so that makes us expendable.”

“What happened to the kid?”
“He died in his sleep one night. I was the first to

realize it since his bed was across from mine.”

Jimmy closed his eyes against the ache that built up

in his chest.

“Was there any other boys with you?” Trent

demanded.

Jimmy shook his head. “After that it was just me and

Adam. He’s all I have now.”

“Okay, if I swear not to take you to the hospital, do

you promise to go with me and not try to run away?”

Once again Jimmy’s mind went back to Adam and

how he would be basically deserting his friend. “I can’t
leave—”

Once more Trent cut in. “I swear to you that I will

send somebody to go help Adam. I know a buddy who
lives here who is still in the police force. I’ll have him
look into it for me. Trust me when I say that Levin is
stubborn as hell, and he won’t stop until he’s found

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Adam.”

Jimmy found himself nodding in agreement. “Okay,

I’ll go with you.”

“Okay, then we need to get moving. I’m willing to

bet my collection of forty-five records that you have a
driver, and he’s waiting for you.”

A shudder went through Jimmy as he thought about

Job. That was one man he didn’t want to cross. Jimmy
had permanent scars from the few times Job had beat
him.

“Yeah, I wish I could tell you where they had me,

but they always blindfolded me when I was in the car. I
think Job drove around in circles, too,” Jimmy
apologized.

He felt so useless. If he could have given Trent a

clue as to where they’d been holding him then maybe
they could get help to Adam right away.

“Don’t let that get you down. As soon as they realize

that you’re missing, the first thing Bruce will do is
switch safe houses. So, even if you could figure out
where they had you, it wouldn’t matter.”

Jimmy realized how stupid it was of him not to think

of  that  himself.  Of  course,  Bruce  would  hide.  He
probably  wouldn’t  even  think  twice  about  what  had
happened to Jimmy. For all he cared, Jimmy could have
been  killed  by  a  wannabe  Dahmer.  The  only  thing
Bruce  would  worry  about  was  how  much  the  whole
situation inconvenienced him and his precious business.

It shouldn’t have hurt to know that Bruce thought so

little  of  Jimmy,  but  damned  if  it  didn’t.  While  Jimmy
may  not  be  in  love  with  the  man  anymore,  there  had
been  a  time  when  he  thought  the  world  had  revolved

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around Bruce. To know that it was all a façade made
Jimmy feel like a fool.

Trent stood then helped Jimmy get to his feet. “Let’s

ditch  Job.  I  have  a  car  parked  out  back,  and  I  know
somewhere  that  we  can  both  hide  out  while  I  get  you
some treatment. Don’t worry,  it’s the  home of another
friend, and she’ll keep her mouth shut.”

Jimmy allowed himself to be led out. As the door

closed behind them, he sent a silent prayer out that he’d
made the right decision. If Adam got hurt because of
him, Jimmy didn’t think he’d ever be able to forgive
himself.

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Chapter Five

rent drove as fast as possible over to Amanda’s
apartment. While she only lived a few miles away,

he wanted to get Jimmy to a secure location as soon as
possible.

Not only that, but he was damned worried about

Jimmy. His back looked like hell and, while he was
being a trooper, the occasional whimper of pain still
sounded from his lips.

The entire way there, aside from the whimpers,

Jimmy was silent. He slumped over to the side, his head
resting on the window. While his eyes were open, he
didn’t appear to be taking in anything. It was almost as
if he zoned out or something.

Trent recognized the look all-too-well. No doubt

Jimmy had acquired the skill as a way to cope with all
the crap that life kept throwing his way.

Billy used to always have the same damn expression

on his face.

As soon as that thought popped into his head, Trent

shoved it aside. He needed to remember that Jimmy and
Bill weren’t the same person. Otherwise, he’d become
too emotionally attached to Jimmy, and that wouldn’t

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be good for either one of them.

Like you already aren’t so attached to the brat. Face

it, the attraction started the first time you met him at
that picnic, and it’s only grown stronger during this job.

Damn, his inner monologue just wouldn’t shut the

hell up. It was as if he had his own Jiminy Cricket
chirping away in his ear. But as much as Trent wanted
to ignore it and the latest zinger it’d delivered, he knew
he couldn’t.

If he was indeed developing feelings for Jimmy, then

Trent needed to deal with them. The last thing either of
them  needed  was  a  relationship.  Jimmy  was  going  to
have  enough  to  deal  with  as  it  was,  and  Trent  wasn’t
exactly the poster boy for mental stability. So, as much
a  nag  as  his  inner  voice  was,  Trent  needed  to  heed  its
advice.

Try telling that to the rest of him, though, because

just  one  glance  at  Jimmy  set  Trent’s  body  on  fire.  It
also made him ache to hold the Jimmy again. The brief
moment  when  he’d  embraced  Jimmy  had  felt  so  good
so  right.  The  way  Jimmy’s  smaller  body  had  molded
into him  had  been sheer perfection. Deep down  inside,
Trent  knew  he’d  never  experience  that  kind  of  instant
attraction with anybody else.

Luckily, he didn’t have long to muse over that. The

entrance to Amanda’s apartment complex came into
sight, and Trent quickly found a place to park.

As he got out, Jimmy cast a nervous glance back to

the road. “Do you think Bruce will try to hunt me
down?”

“Job may do a cursory search, but after that, I think

they’re going to scatter. They’ll be worried that the

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police have you and that they’ll be able to use you to
track down their hideout.”

Hideout almost made it seem romantic. Spider’s

Nest would be a much better term, but Trent didn’t say
that aloud. The last thing Jimmy needed were more
painful reminders of how Bruce was.

Spider was the perfect way to describe the asshole,

too. Not just because of the tattoo, but also because of
the  way  he  drew  young  men  in.  He  would  set  the
perfect  trap,  making  sure  to  hide  his  true  intentions
under layers of pretty webbing and promises. It wasn’t
until  his  prey  was  trapped  and  unable  to  escape  that
they saw the man for the monster he truly was.

He ushered Jimmy to the door. It wasn’t until he was

knocking that Trent realized he had forgotten to call
Amanda to give her a heads up. He prayed that she was
home. While it was late, she worked as a paramedic so
her hours were kind of wonky at times.

He let out a sigh of relief when he heard the sounds

of the deadbolt being disengaged. The door opened, and
he found himself facing his sister for the first time in
over two years.

She’d cut her brown hair into a bob and gained a few

more curves along the way, but she remained as
beautiful as ever. He even thought her hazel eyes were
pretty, even if she did have them narrowed in anger.

The instant her gaze shifted to Jimmy, her face

softened. “Oh, my gosh. Get him inside.”

Jimmy weaved a bit so Trent put an arm around his

shoulders to help steady him. Once Amanda opened the
door wider, Trent half led, half carried Jimmy inside.
He should have known that his little brat would make

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things more difficult. He couldn’t just make things easy
by walking in. Sure, Jimmy might not weigh much, but
what little he did have was hard to handle since he was
totally limp.

Then Jimmy turned his face into Trent’s chest,

making  a  little  nuzzling  motion,  and  Trent’s  heart
melted  a  bit  more.  Crap,  at  this  rate  he’d  be  spouting
love  songs  to  Jimmy  before  they  even  reached  the
Michigan border.

Even though Trent knew he should hand Jimmy over

and leave the room, he bent down and picked Jimmy
up. He made sure to put as little pressure as possible on
Jimmy’s back, knowing how much pain he was in.

As he shifted Jimmy in his arms, Trent became

aware of the knowing glance Amanda was shooting
him.

“He’s just a case,” Trent bold-face lied.
“Sure, he is,” Amanda drawled. Before Trent could

reply, she waved her hands to a bedroom door. “Put
him on my bed, and I’ll go get supplies to treat his
wounds.”

Trent didn’t have to ask how Amanda knew that

Jimmy was injured and not just sick. Even as kids,
she’d had a sixth sense about those kinds of things. It
was the reason she’d become a medic. For her, it wasn’t
a job, but a calling.

Many times, Trent had wondered if it had been a

drive to heal both him and Billy that had pushed her.
Since both of their parents had been drunks and abusive
as hell, she’d treated the two of them on numerous
occasions.

Trent eased Jimmy onto the mattress, making sure

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that he ended up on his stomach. Not only would it hurt
like hell to lie on his back, but Amanda would need to
be able to get to the wounds.

Jimmy must have passed out at some point, because

he didn’t stir when Amanda came into the room. She
had a huge medical bag with her, which she sat on the
floor next to the bed.

“Do I even want to know where you found this

one?” she asked.

“He’s one of Bruce’s boys.”
She paused, the color draining from her face. “Oh.”
“And before you ask, I didn’t find any hint that he

still had Billy.”

“I guess after four years, it would be stupid of us to

keep hoping.” She bit her bottom lip, but not before
Trent saw that it was trembling.

He opened his arms, and she didn’t hesitate a

second. With a soft sob, she nearly collapsed in his
embrace. He held her a moment as they both allowed
themselves to grieve for the little brother that had been
missing.

The whole reason why Trent had left the police force

and begun to work as a PI was so he could be free to
search for Billy. Yet, no matter how good Trent got at
his job, he’d still failed to complete the most important
job of all, to find Billy and to bring him home for good.

They were silent for a moment, as they became lost

in their pain. It wasn’t until a soft whimper filled the air
that they broke apart.

Jimmy stirred on the bed like he was about to try to

get up. Trent sat on the edge of the mattress and put a
comforting hand on the other man’s shoulder. “It’s

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okay. You’re safe now.”

“No hospital,” Jimmy mumbled.
“Don’t worry, we’re at my sister’s place. She’s a

medic so she will be able to treat you. Then as soon as
you’re well enough, we can fly back to Michigan.”

“I don’t have any ID on me,” Jimmy said in a near

whisper.

Shit! There went any plans of catching a plane.
Somehow, Trent wasn’t surprised. He was coming to

expect that nothing would go easy and smooth so long
as it involved Jimmy.

“Fine, we can drive there,” Trent assured, trying to

keep the annoyance from his voice.

Actually, he should have foreseen this. It didn’t take

a genius to figure out that Bruce wouldn’t let any of his
boys out with any kind of ID. Not when there was such
a high risk of one of them being picked up by Vice.

“I’m sorry I’m such a pain. No wonder nobody ever

wanted me around,” Jimmy said.

That comment tore at Trent. Going by the way

Amanda  got  all  teary-eyed,  he  wasn’t  the  only  one
affected,  either.  The  show  of  emotion  only  lasted  a
moment  before  she  cleared  her  throat  and  became  all
business again.

“Trent, grab an IV kit and get it prepped, while I get

him out of his clothes,” she ordered.

Jimmy started to move but she shook her head.

“Sorry, kiddo, but you’re already bleeding so you need
to stay still until I treat you.”

“How am I supposed to get myself undressed then?”

Jimmy asked.

She held up a huge pair of medical sheers. Jimmy

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blanched, his eyes growing wide. “You can’t cut these.
Bruce will pitch a fit.”

“You’re not going back to him, remember?” Trent

soothed.

“But these are the only clothes I have. I won’t have

anything to change into,” Jimmy continued to argue.

Trent reached over and caressed his cheek. Amanda

cocked a brow at the gesture, but didn’t call him out on
it.  Which  was  a  good  thing,  because  Trent  couldn’t
even  explain  to  himself  why  he  was  unable  to  stop
taking  every  opportunity  he  could  to  touch  the  other
man.

“I’ll buy you some new clothes,” Trent promised.
Jimmy shook his head. “I couldn’t do that. I already

owe you so much as it is.”

“I’ll make sure to bill Marc for them.”
“You should send it to my mom. She’s the one who

helped get me in this mess in the first place,” Jimmy
snorted.

Trent froze, his gut clenching. Aw, shit. Just as he

suspected all along. Jimmy didn’t know that his mother
was dead. Dread filled Trent as he realized how much
the news was going to devastate the kid. Because while
his mother may have been a bitch, Jimmy still loved
her. Trent’s own personal experience taught him that a
child never stopped caring, no matter how rotten his or
her parents might be.

Amanda noticed his reaction, and she shot him a

concerned glance before gazing down sympathetically
at Jimmy. Trent tensed, worried that Jimmy might have
picked up on it, too, but he seemed too caught up in his
physical pain at the moment.

Little brat Lost

Trent let out a sigh of relief before he dug out the IV

supplies and started prepping them. By the time he was
done, Amanda had Jimmy’s clothes off.

They both gasped in horror. The lighting was better,

and  Trent  could  see  the  wounds  much  better.  Which
turned out to  be  more of a curse than a  blessing.  More
of the welts had broken, and fresh blood trickled down
Jimmy’s  slender  back.  Now  that  his  pants  were  off,
Trent noted that the wounds traveled all the way  down
to the man’s ass and over to the backs of his thighs.

“Oh, baby. What did they do to you,” Amanda

breathed.

“I don’t think you really want to know all the

details,” Jimmy replied as he buried his face into the
pillow.

“I don’t see how you’ve been able to sit, let alone

walk. You must be in so much pain.” She ran a
tentative finger over one mark.

“Just a tad,” Jimmy said in a muffled voice.
“Do you want something for pain?”
“Yes, and that’s exactly why you shouldn’t give it to

me.”

“His mother’s an addict,” Trent added, making sure

to keep all references in the present form.

Amanda gave a small nod, then set about cleaning

and bandaging Jimmy’s back. While she was tender, he
still let out moans of pain, and soon his entire body was
shaking. Trent rubbed the pad of his thumb over the
back of Jimmy’s neck and murmured soothing words.

After what seemed like forever, Amanda finished

and then started the IV. Once she had it taped into
place, she stood and rubbed the kinks out of her back.

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“Keep an eye on him while I go grab us something to
eat.”

As soon as she left the room, Jimmy turned his head

to face Trent. “Why did you tense up when I mentioned
my mother?”

Shit! It would seem that Jimmy had noticed after all.

Trent hadn’t counted on the kid being so damn
perceptive.

“We can worry about that later,” he hedged.
“No, I want to talk about it now. In fact, let me

borrow your phone so I can call her,” Jimmy demanded
angrily.

When Trent didn’t reply, Jimmy’s face slowly

crumpled. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

Coward that he was, all Trent could do was nod.
“How?”
When the silence continued, Jimmy sat up part of the

way. “Tell me, now! How did my mother die? I at least
deserve to know that!”

“It was a drug overdose,” Trent rasped.
Jimmy let out a loud sob. “How…how long was it

before they found her?”

Trent shook his head. There was no way he could

tell Jimmy that  it’d  been a  week. That  it had  been the
smell  that  had  eventually  alerted  her  neighbors.  Even
more than he could share how stray cats had gotten into
her hovel of a room first and that they’d gotten hungry.
Trent’s  stomach  rolled  as  he  thought  back  to  the
pictures the police  had taken of the  body. Trent would
do everything  he could to make sure that Jimmy  never
saw  them.  There  were  just  some  things  a  loved  one
shouldn’t know about the deceased.

Little brat Lost

Jimmy curled up into himself and started to cry. It

became too much for Trent, and he pulled the other
man into his arms. It was a bit awkward because of the
bandages and IV tubing, but Trent eventually managed
to get Jimmy nestled onto his lap.

Jimmy didn’t fight the hold, as he just buried his

face into Trent’s chest and continued to sob. Feeling
more helpless than ever, Trent rocked Jimmy back and
forth.

“I know it hurts, babe. I wish I could take all the

pain from you.”

He did wish that, too. At that moment he would have

taken out his gun and shot his left foot if he thought it
would make Jimmy feel better.

Eventually, Jimmy’s sobs tapered off as he fell

asleep. Even then, Trent continued to rock him and
make soothing noises. He didn’t stop until Amanda
came back into the room. She hesitated at the door, her
gaze locked on Jimmy.

“He’s not Billy,” she finally said.
“I know that,” Trent replied.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Trust me, the emotions I feel for Billy aren’t the

same as the ones I have for Jimmy.”

She let out a deep sigh. “I was afraid of that. How

old is this kid anyways? He doesn’t look a day over
sixteen.”

Trent stared down at Jimmy who looked so innocent

in slumber. “He’s eighteen.”

“You’re twenty-seven.”
“Thanks for that reminder, I almost forgot my own

age for a moment there,” Trent drawled sarcastically.

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“You know what I’m trying to point out. There’s a

huge gap there.”

“Yeah, I’m painfully aware of that.”
It killed Trent to know that there could never be

anything  between  them,  because  no  matter  how  hard
he’d  tried  to  fight  it,  he’d  gone  and  fallen  head  over
heels  for  Jimmy.  And  it  was  going  to  hurt  like  hell
when it was time to give him up.

Little brat Lost

Chapter Six

he following week seemed to pass in a blur.
Normally, Trent would have hated the forced

confinement, but being around both Amanda and
Jimmy had felt so good. In fact, he couldn’t remember a
time where he’d been happier.

Sure, there had been some moments where Jimmy

still grieved over his mother or he had some flashbacks
to his time in captivity, but he wasn’t afraid to turn to
Trent when those moments came up.

Since nighttime was when Jimmy had the most

trouble, he and Trent developed the habit of taking the
bed,  while  Amanda  crashed  on  the  couch.  While
nothing sexual  happened during those  long, sometimes
frustrating,  nights,  Trent  found  that  he  enjoyed  just
simply holding Jimmy as he slept.

The only real blight was the fact that they’d been

unable to locate Adam. Trent knew that Jimmy worried
about his friend. It was hard for Trent to admit his
defeat every day when Jimmy would bring up the topic.

He wasn’t the only one who fell for Jimmy’s

charms. Amanda soon grew to love the little brat, too.
So much so, that when they were leaving for the drive

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home, she whispered into Trent’s ear, “You break his
heart, and I’ll break your face.”

The problem was Trent didn’t know if that was a

promise he could make. He had a sinking suspicion that
before things were done, either he or Jimmy would end
up hurt. Trent just hoped it was him. Jimmy had
suffered enough and deserved to know only happiness.

Normally, Trent hated long car rides, but he found

that  so  long  as  Jimmy  was  with  him,  he  could  enjoy
even that mundane task. Sure, he may have almost lost
Jimmy  the  time  they  stopped  at  the  mall  to  pick  up
supplies,  and  a  group  of  teen  girls  tried  to  make  him
their  new  BFF.  Then,  there  was  the  time  Jimmy
wandered off when they’d been at the rest stop, just so
he  could  check  out  the  lookout  point.  Plus,  there  also
the  bar  incident  when  a  group of  woman  celebrating  a
bachelorette  party  had  tried  to  hire  Jimmy  to  be  their
stripper.  The  worst  part  was  the  brat  seemed  to  be
actually considering it before Trent intervened and put a
stop to things.

Trent had pushed to get to Michigan in under three

days, but thanks to all of Jimmy’s adventures, it grew
so late that they had to stay in hotel for third night. As
they showered and got ready for bed, Jimmy was
uncharacteristically quiet. He didn’t even argue like he
normally did when Trent turned off the TV.

As Trent crawled into bed, he noticed Jimmy

hesitating. Knowing what he wanted, Trent pulled back
the edge of the blankets to let him in. The smile Jimmy
flashed as he got in was so dazzling and sweet that it
took Trent’s breath away.

Come morning, I’m going to be turning him over to

Little brat Lost

Marc, and I may never see him again. Just a week ago,
that thought would have made Trent glad. Hell, he
would have probably even done a happy dance. Now, it
made him so sad that his chest ached.

Jimmy snuggled into his normal position, his cheek

resting against Trent’s chest. The rest of Jimmy’s body
was partially draped over Trent. Normally, Trent was
the last guy for snuggling, but with Jimmy, it felt so
right. Trent knew he’d miss it once it was gone.

“Who’s Billy?” Jimmy asked.
Shocked, Trent tensed. “Where did you hear that

name?”

“You mumble it in your sleep.” Jimmy frowned. “Is

he your boyfriend?”

“No, he’s my brother.”
Jimmy tilted his head up. “I didn’t know you had a

brother?”

“Yeah, he’s a couple of years older than you.”
“Where does he live?”
Pain sliced through Trent. “I don’t know where he

is. He went missing four years ago.”

Jimmy let out a soft gasp. “Like I did?”
“Exactly the same way.”
“Do you think Bruce did it?”
“Either him or his brother.”
“Is that why you agreed to help Marc? In hopes that

maybe I could help you find him?” Jimmy nibbled on
his bottom lip.

“No, I did it because Marc is my friend.”
“But, you probably hoped that maybe I could give

you some useful information,” Jimmy pressed.

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

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Tears welled up in Jimmy’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
Trent gazed down at him in confusion. “For what?”
“For not being able to give jack shit in the way of

information. If I had been smarter, then maybe I could
have figured out where they were holding me. While it
was just me and Adam there, if you got Bruce, you may
have gotten him to confess to where his other safe
houses are.”

“That’s not your fault. You were hurt and drugged.

Bruce is good at what he does. You didn’t stand a
chance against him.”

“Well, then I’m sorry that you found me and not

him.”

For some reason that comment made Trent want to

hold Jimmy tight and never let go. Just the thought of
the man still being under Bruce’s brutal control sent
shivers down Trent’s spine. “I’m not sorry.”

“It’s not fair, though. You found me so easily, and

he’s still missing.

Trent got up on one elbow and gazed down at

Jimmy. “I found you so quickly because I’m better at
what I do now. Four years ago, I had no clue as to how
to track somebody down.”

The sucky thing was by the time he did acquire the

skills, the trail had been so cold on Billy that it had
been helpless.

“I would do anything to get him back for you,”

Jimmy said.

As he stared into the other man’s eyes, Trent

realized that those just weren’t words. For while Jimmy
may act the brat on the outside, inside he really did
have a heart of gold.

Little brat Lost

Trent also realized that he was more than just head

over heels for Jimmy. Somewhere, somehow, the punk
had managed to get under his skin, and now Trent was
hopelessly in love with the man.

He so wanted to speak those words aloud, but then

he remembered how Amanda had pointed out their age
difference. While Trent may be ready to settle down,
Jimmy was still young. He had yet to explore the world
and really find out who he was.

There was no way Trent could deny Jimmy that. So,

instead of proclaiming his love, Trent simply placed a
chaste kiss to Jimmy’s forehead.

“Go to sleep. You have a big day ahead of you,”

Trent advised in a gruff tone.

He settled back down, and Jimmy wasted no time

getting back into their official snuggle position.
Eventually, Jimmy drifted off to sleep, but Trent stayed
awake. He knew that their time together was limited,
and he wanted to treasure every single minute.

Since Trent didn’t get any sleep, he had to slug

down a bunch of coffee in order to function in the
morning. As he was downing his second cup, Jimmy let
out a sigh, “You should just let me dive.”

“The last time I did that, we almost ended up in a

ditch.”

Jimmy’s face became all innocence and persecution.

“I told you that wasn’t my fault. That duck just jumped
in front of the car.”

“Ducks fly, they don’t jump.”
“Okay, fine. He flew in front of the car. I barely

managed to avoid hitting him.”

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Trent took another sip of coffee. “Yeah, because

ducks are always dodging in front of moving vehicles.
Those damn buggers.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “You know sarcasm is not

your friend. Besides, I think that duck was suicidal.”

“Okay, let me get this straight. You’re saying that

we almost died because of an emo duck who just
couldn’t take the cruel world anymore?”

“Sure! I’ll bet it happens all the time.”
Trent smiled. “Well, then I better call the Animal

Planet and alert them of this disturbing new trend.”

Jimmy laughed, the sound warming Trent from the

inside out.

“You better. They’ll probably want to do a

documentary about it.”

Shaking his head, Trent pulled into a gas station.
“Why are we stopping here?” Jimmy wrinkled his

nose.

Not that Trent blamed him. The place was a dive. It

looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned since the Kennedy
administration, and even then, only a half ass job had
been done.

“I have to use the bathroom,” Trent announced as he

parked the car and turned it off.

Jimmy pressed his lips together. “I warned you not

to drink all that coffee.”

“Yeah, just make sure you sit tight, and don’t get

into any trouble. I’ll be right back.”

Trent got out and made his way to the bathroom. It

was one of those kind that had the door on the outside
of the building. Nice! Trent knew before he even
walked in that it would be just as dirty as he suspected.

Little brat Lost

He walked in, intent on getting his business done so

he could leave. While the smell wasn’t too bad, the
flood was grimy and he was willing to bet that it was
less than sanitary.

When the door didn’t thud shut behind him, he

turned in confusion. When he saw Jimmy standing
there, Trent grew confused and a little exasperated. “I
thought I told you to wait in the car.”

Jimmy turned around and locked the door. “You did,

but there was something I needed to do first.”

“What’s that?”
By way of answer Jimmy crossed the room and

shoved  Trent  against  a  wall.  The  move  shocked  Trent
so  much  that  he  didn’t  even  put  up  a  fight.  That  was
until  he  saw  Jimmy  coming  in  for  a  kiss.  At  the  last
moment,  Trent  gathered  his  wits  enough  to  put  a
staying hand on Jimmy’s chest.

“We can’t do this,” Trent said.
“Why not?”
Yeah, Trent, why not?
Trent shook with desire, and he so wanted to give in,

but he didn’t want Jimmy to have any regrets. “It’s just
not a good idea.”

“Is it because I’m a whore?”
The hurt in Jimmy’s voice made Trent want to kick

himself. “Of course not. You have no idea how much I
want you.”

“Then what’s the problem? All I want is one kiss.”
Damn it all, but Trent felt himself beginning to cave.

“I’m too old for you.”

Jimmy gave him a crooked smile. “I’m not asking

for a marriage proposal…just one small kiss.”

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When Trent didn’t say anything, Jimmy pressed on,

“Please?  You  don’t  know  how  long  it’s  been  since  I
kissed somebody because I wanted to. I can’t remember
the  last  time  it  wasn’t  because  somebody  was  forcing
me, or  I had to do  it because I was paid. I  just want a
reminder of how nice it can be. Give me some hope to
hold onto.”

This time when Jimmy brought their lips together,

Trent knew he was powerless to deny either one of
them the pleasure. After all, how much could one small
kiss hurt?

As soon as their lips touched, all of Trent’s good

intentions shattered. Jimmy tasted so good, and the
press of his thin body felt even better. All the emotions
and want that Trent had been fighting to control came
loose.

With a growl, he wrapped his arms around Jimmy’s

waist and brought him in closer. The one kiss turned to
another, than another, and another, as their tongues
darted out to tangle and caress.

Jimmy balled his hands in the front of Trent’s shirt,

almost  as  if  he  was  afraid  that  Trent  would  end  the
encounter.  Like  there  was  any  chance  of  that.
Especially  when  Jimmy  began  to  ride  his  leg.  The
feeling of the man’s hard cock rubbing against his thigh
gave  Trent  a  heady  feeling,  especially  when  Jimmy
began to let out cute little whimpers.

A tiny sane part of Trent screamed that what they

were doing was wrong, but then he thought about what
Jimmy had said. They were about to be separated so
was it so wrong to make one memory that they could
both cling to?

Little brat Lost

That logic made such sense to Trent that he didn’t

even think again about stopping things, not even when
Jimmy dropped to his knees and began to fumble with
Trent’s fly.

Jimmy managed to get it undone in record time, and

he  pulled  out Trent’s  cock,  his  pretty  lips  immediately
parting to suck him  in. Trent  let out a yell of pleasure.
Damn, Jimmy got straight to the point. He didn’t waste
any  time  with  demure  licks  and  nibbles.  No,  he  went
after what he wanted and that was to drive Trent crazy
with pleasure.

Whether it be because it’d been nearly a week since

he’d been with somebody or more likely it was the fact
that it was Jimmy who was sucking him off, Trent
found himself cresting after only a few moments.

He tried to call a warning, but it was already too late.

Giving a hard thrust into Jimmy’s hot mouth, Trent
threw back his head as a near blinding orgasm washed
over him.

It wasn’t until he’d been milked dry and Jimmy was

licking him clean that Trent glanced back down. When
he saw that Jimmy had taken out his own cock and was
furiously stroking himself off, Trent decided that just
wouldn’t do.

Reaching down, he grabbed Jimmy and pulled him

to his feet. Jimmy let out a cry of shock that quickly
turned into a moan when Trent took over the job of
jacking him off.

Jimmy shifted his hands so they were gripping

Trent’s arms. He then rested his head on Trent’s
shoulder and gave up complete control.

Trent reveled in how good it felt have Jimmy’s cock

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in his hand as he began to stroke him harder and faster.
The sounds of Jimmy’s hash, raspy breaths filled the air
as he began to snap his hips forward.

“I’m going…” Jimmy panted.
“Do it. I want to see how beautiful you look when

you come for me.”

Jimmy cried out as his body shuddered then his cock

shot off, the warm spurts of semen covering Trent’s
hand.

Jimmy sank even further against Trent, his pants for

breath echoing in Trent’s ear. Then Trent heard it. The
one thing that changed everything, “I love you.”

Trent froze as those three words hit him like a blow.

Then the enormity of what he’d just done slammed into
him. He’d just used Jimmy like he was some piece of
trash.

Trent never hated himself more than at that moment.

What kind of asshole does that to somebody who is as
young and vulnerable as Jimmy? Shit, Trent didn’t even
have the decency to do it someplace nice. He’d let
Jimmy suck him off in the filthy bathroom.

Jimmy deserved so much better. He also deserved

somebody much better than Trent. Who was obviously
a selfish bastard who took advantage of people he was
supposed to be helping.

Jimmy must have sensed something was wrong

because he took a couple of steps back. “Are…are…are
you mad at me?”

“No.” But Trent was plenty pissed at himself.
“Then why are you acting this way?”
“Get back to the car,” Trent rasped.
“But why? We—”

Little brat Lost

“I mean it,” Trent snapped, cringing when Jimmy

flinched at his harsh tone.

Jimmy zipped up and practically ran from the room.

Once he was alone, Trent finally gave into his self-
anger and kicked the wall a few times.

What in the fuck had he just done? Not only had he

used Jimmy like some cheap plaything, but he’d broken
the guy’s heart, too. On a scale of one to ten for screw-
ups, Trent had just scored an eleven.

He quickly washed up and went back to the car. He

braced himself for a fight so when he found Jimmy
slumped against the window and silent, Trent was both
relieved and confused.

The rest of the drive was full of so much tension that

Trent could almost taste it. The entire time, Jimmy
continued to ignore him. A few times, Trent opened his
mouth to say something to break the silence, but every
time he ended up just closing it again.

Jimmy didn’t sit up until Trent pulled up in front of

Marc’s home. As Trent put it into park, he fully
expected Jimmy just to get out so when he hesitated,
Trent was once more surprised.

“I meant what I said. I love you,” Jimmy rasped.
“And I love you,” Trent confessed. “Which is why I

think that you deserve a hell of lot better than me.

“I don’t want anybody else.”
“Damn it, Jimmy. I let you kneel on the filthy floor

like you were a nobody. That wasn’t fair or right to
you. You should only get the best in life, and I’m not
it.”

“Please, don’t do this” Jimmy begged in a trembling

voice.

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Trent reached out and cupped his face one last time.

“Someday, you’ll thank me for this.”

A tear slid down Jimmy’s cheek. “No, I won’t. In

fact, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive you for
dumping me like this.”

Before Trent could say anything else, Jimmy got out

of the car and rushed to the house. As Jimmy closed the
front door behind him, it took everything Trent had not
to chase after him.

The most important person in his life had just

walked out, and fool that he was, Trent had all but
shoved him down that path.

Little brat Lost

Chapter Seven

even days…that’s how long it had been since Trent
had made the biggest mistake of his life by thrusting

Jimmy away.

A week of pure torture as Trent railed at himself and

called himself just about every name in the book, stupid
and stubborn being the most frequently used.

When he wasn’t abusing himself, he was on the

phone  listening  as  Amanda  did  it  for  him.  She  didn’t
hold  back  either.  Trent  had  fucked  up  and  broken
Jimmy’s  heart  in  the  process,  and  she  was  going  to
make sure that he knew what an idiot he’d been.

Trent should have gone back to the office, but all he

could do was sulk  around his  house  like  some teenage
girl.  He’d  even  started  to  walk  around  with  his  cell
phone, just in the hopes that he’d finally get up enough
courage to call  Jimmy  and  beg  for  forgiveness. So far,
Trent had remained a big fat coward.

Somebody knocked at the door. For a brief moment

Trent almost decided to ignore them, but then they
started ringing the bell, as well. Wondering if it could
be something important, Trent went to the door.

As soon as he opened it, a fist came from the left and

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clocked him on the jaw. Trent staggered back a few
steps, registered that it was Marc, before his friend
swung again. His fist connected with Trent’s gut.

Trent dropped as the wind was knocked from him.

Marc walked up and stood over him. “The first punch
was for messing around with my baby brother.”

“What…was…the…second…one…for?”

Trent

gasped.

Damn, he’d forgotten how well Marc could throw a

punch.

“It’s for breaking his damn heart. Ever since you

dumped him at my front door, he’s been a mess. He
won’t sleep, eat, or even talk.”

Alarm shot through Trent. “He won’t eat?”
That wasn’t good. Jimmy was already way too thin

to begin with. He didn’t have any spare pounds to lose.

“No, he won’t. All he does is stare out his window.

The only times he moves are to use the bathroom and to
take a shower.”

Trent staggered to his feet. “I have to get to him.”
Marc grabbed him by the arm. “Give me one good

reason why I should even let you within breathing
distance of Jimmy?”

“Because I love him, and I realized I can’t live

without him,” Trent confessed, not caring if it earned
him another punch.

“If you love him, then why in the hell did you leave

him in the first place?”

“Because I thought he would be better off without

me. I didn’t think I was good enough for him.”

Marc gazed into the house. Trent winced knowing

how bad it must look. He hadn’t exactly worried about

Little brat Lost

housecleaning the past week.

“So, instead of coming back to Jimmy, you stayed

here and wallowed like some brat?”

Ouch, that hurt, but then again it was true. “Yeah, I

did.”

“Damn it, your self-flagellation trait used to be cute.

That was until it broke and nearly destroyed my
brother.” Marc shook his head.

“Then take me to him. I promise to make it up to

him.”

Marc narrowed his eyes. “How do you plan on doing

that?”

“Groveling and begging.”
“I think he’ll have you groveling for the rest of your

life.” Marc sighed. “Fine, get in the damn car.”

The drive over to Marc’s only took a few moments,

but once they got there, Trent still had the door open
and was out before Marc had the engine off.

Trent ran to the front door and shoved it open. He

heard Sammy yell something, but Trent didn’t pause, he
ran up the steps that led to the bedroom. It took him a
couple of tries before he found the right room.

As Trent walked in, his gut clenched with guilt. “Oh,

baby. What have you done to yourself?”

If Jimmy heard him, he didn’t give any indication.

He just kept his gaze directed out the window. He had
his knees pulled up to his chest, but Trent could still see
how painfully thin his man had gotten.

“I’m so, so sorry,” Trent said as he took a few steps

closer.

At first, he thought that Jimmy was going to

completely shut him out, then Trent saw the other man

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take in a shuddering breath, and Trent knew that he was
getting through. While it wasn’t much, it still gave
Trent enough hope to press forward.

“I was afraid. Afraid that you would get tired of me

or discover how lacking I was and decide that you
didn’t want me. I know that probably seems crazy to
you, but I couldn’t understand how somebody as sweet
and wonderful as you could want me.”

He was now standing right next to the window, yet

Jimmy still hadn’t turned around. With nothing to lose,
Trent fell to his knees, if Jimmy wanted groveling, then,
by god, he was going to get it.

“Please, baby, forgive me. I’ve been miserable

without you. I didn’t realize how empty and dull my
life was until you came in and turned everything on its
end.”

Jimmy sniffed, a tear sliding down his cheek. “You

left me.”

“I know I did, but I swear I’ll never do it again.”
“How can you promise that?”
“Because, once I get you back again, I’m never

going to be stupid enough to let you out my sight again.
I may even handcuff us together.”

Jimmy finally turned to face him. “You hurt me,

bad.”

“I know I did. I’m going to spend every day of the

rest of our lives making it up to you.”

When Jimmy reached out and caressed Trent’s

cheek, it was as if a damn had broken. Hope filled
Trent, and he even let out a little sob.

“I love you so much,” Trent said.
Jimmy lips curled up into a smile. “Why don’t you

Little brat Lost

show me just how much you do?”

That was a plan that Trent could get behind.

Standing up, he grabbed Jimmy’s hand and led him to
the bed. Halfway there Jimmy let out a gasp. “Oh, wait.
We need something.”

Jimmy went to the door, opened it, then jerked as a

couple of items were throwing his way.

“Here you go,” Sammy sang.
Jimmy laughed before he turned around to show off

a strip of condoms and a bottle of lube. “Now, where
were we?”

“You were about to get naked so I could make love

to you,” Trent said, as he quickly shucked off his own
clothes.

With another laugh, Jimmy tossed the supplies on

the bed then lost his clothes, too. Once he was naked,
Jimmy laid back on the bed and crooked his finger.
“Come here and fuck me already.”

Trent crawled up on the bed, pinning Jimmy’s thin

body underneath him. They shared several slow, lazy
kisses. Once Trent reached down to circle Jimmy’s
hole, though, the younger man tensed and a brief flicker
of fear passed over his face.

Realizing where his fear came from, Trent gave him

another kiss then said, “Roll over on your side.”

When Jimmy looked up at him in confusion, Trent

explained, “I don’t mind taking things slow and easy.
Your comfort is the most important thing to me.”

Jimmy gifted him with the sweetest of smiles. “I

love you so much.”

Trent gave him a tender kiss. “I know.”
As Jimmy rolled onto his side, Trent opened the lube

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and squirted it over his fingers. Once Jimmy was in
place, Trent stretched out behind him. Then as he
whispered gentle words into Jimmy’s ear, Trent slowly
stretched his lover out.

Trent took his time, wanting their first time to be

perfect for Jimmy because he deserved no less. It
wasn’t until Jimmy was flushed and moaning that Trent
relented. He took out his fingers, rolled on a condom,
then lined the tip of his cock against Jimmy’s hole.

“I promise to never leave you again,” Trent breathed

right before he surged inside.

Trent took his time, moving in slow easy thrusts.

Then entire time he made sure to keep talking to
Jimmy. He told him how much he loved him, how
perfect he was, how perfect they fit together.

All the while, Trent marveled at the beauty that was

now his. Just the way Jimmy tilted his head back, his
face a mask of pleasure, was sheer perfection. The way
he arched his body was a work of art, too. One that
Trent knew he’d never tire of.

When they finally came, it was together. Their

bodies perfectly in tune. Even as the last shudders of
pleasure faded, Trent continued to hold Jimmy and
stroke his creamy flesh.

“I can’t believe how close I came to blowing

things,” Trent breathed.

Jimmy tilted his head up for a kiss. Once they broke

apart, Jimmy said, “But you didn’t. You have me now
and forever.”

“Forever, I like the sound of that,” Trent replied.
Yes, he’d found his lost little brat, and Trent knew

that he would never let him go. For Jimmy did have a

About the Author

Stephani  Hecht  is  a  happily  married  mother  of  two.
Born and raised in Michigan, she  loves all things about
the  state,  from  the  frigid  winters  to  the  Detroit  Red
Wings hockey team. You can usually find her snuggled
up to her laptop, creating her next book.

Contact her at:
Email Address:archangelwriter@yahoo.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht

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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profil&id=1
109353859

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http://www.myspace.com/stephanihecht

Blog:
http://stephanihechtauthor.blogspot.com