Twisted Moon - Book 3 of the Black Moon series - Chapter 74: Surprising Unraveling

(Alex's and Aaron's POV - Sun. 19 July 2015)

"Alex, stop brooding, Baby," Mark says softly but firmly enough as he peeks at me in the rearview mirror, causing Shannon to squeeze my hand a little stronger.

The last couple of weeks have been gloomy as hell. I really wish Noah had simply and stupidly run away like I did earlier this year. After all, he is only eighteen and he could have totally gone through one of those teenage whims, but it was pretty clear from the start it was not the case. He wouldn't have gotten rid of his collar and phone by the river where they were found and he would have brought some clothes with him. He wouldn't have done it, period! I know he loves Master Camden. His Daddy...

Ever since Tony and the guys got certain that Noah had been kidnapped, I have been worrying for what he could be going through all these days, my mind brewing all the worst scenarios. Was he the victim of a psychopath who just simply killed him and got rid of his body in a damp or in the forest? Or is he held hostage by some sort of sick bastard who abuses him all day long?

Either or, these theories keep nagging at my thoughts, day and night. To say that I am exhausted from the lack of sleep and all the nightmares that these images enhance would be an understatement. I am really tired and I can't help yawning as Mark is driving us to Joshua and Liam's place. Aaron is sitting at the front beside Mark, and Shannon is with me at the back, holding my hand and trying to soothe my worries away like he has been trying to do for the past two weeks. Not that he doesn't worry himself, but Shan has that wonderful ability to externalize his emotions and torments through giving out a lot of attention to others.

That has resulted in extreme clinginess and endless cuddles. I don't complain because I really appreciate the attention and I feel really grateful for having him and Mark to support me like they do. I learned my lesson well in May, after I returned from my jaunt to my native town. Mark wouldn't let me forget about my resolutions to open up anyway. So, between his unyielding authority and my determination not to mess up, we have taken the time to talk a lot recently.

I have been able to express all my worries for Noah and it certainly helped lessening the effects of our friend's disappearance on me. I do have these nightmares and I obviously shed a lot of tears each time I start brooding over our missing little brother, but this is probably nearly not as bad as it could have been if I clammed up.

Because yes, Noah has become like a baby brother to us. I mean, who wouldn't gush over his cuteness and adorableness? And life is just so unfair! This boy has already lived hell in his childhood, having to bear with uncaring parents. He had run away from them to live out on the streets when he was just sixteen and for a year a half, so you would think that fate would give him a break!

Sadly, not. Poor boy is once again facing what has to be a difficult and painful situation and that is so unfair. When Joshua broke the news almost two weeks ago when we came back for our long weekend in New York, I could hardly believe it, but reality hit us pretty fast. All I want now is that we find him safe and sound so that we can all return to our normal lives. I doubt this will happen so easily, but I really want him back with Master Camden as soon as possible.

A face suddenly pops in my view and soft lips tenderly kiss mine, bringing me out of my reverie. This is another of Shan's tricks to cheer me up and I have to say it always works. I become completely oblivious to anything else around us – well almost completely as I still hear Mark and Aaron chuckle at the front of the car – and just reciprocate, allowing him inside my mouth so that our tongues can mingle and waltz together.

"I love you, Pumpkin..." he murmurs against my lips when we finally break the kiss before he reclines against the back of the seat.

"Love you too..." I whisper back.

"You two can never stop, can you?" Aaron teases.

"Nope!" Shan replies with a grin, chuckling lightly.

"You're just a horny beast, Shannon! You and Mark just fit so well and you guys just debauched this poor little Alex," Aaron continues in an attempt to lighten the gloomy atmosphere.

He is only partly right. I didn't really need Mark and Shannon to be one of those horny teenagers reading gay erotica, but that was only in my head and my two boyfriends were indeed the ones to make it a reality for me! Though, to be honest, our sex life has been quite... flat recently. As kinky as you may be, sometimes it is a bit more difficult to get in the mood.

"Duh!!! Debauched my ass!!! Alex never really needed us to be a kinky guy!!" Shan exclaims.

"I swear I'm going to shove that bar of soap in your mouth, Shannon if you don't watch your language," Mark scolds him.

"I'd rather get something else in my mouth, Master..." Shan replies playfully, making Aaron burst out laughing.

"Yeah, laugh all you want, Ron. I also swear to be a pain your back when you finally decide to take a Sub and try to teach him some discipline! And I won't be the only one! Count on Josh too and I'm sure we'll manage to get Cam on our side..."

"Brrrr... I'm scared!!" Aaron exclaims, faking some heavy shudders. "That's not for any time soon; you'll have forgotten by then, so I'm all good!"

"Yeah, we'll see to that! Anyway, we're almost there! You guys better behave while you're there!" Mark then warns us as we get closer to the huge mansion.

"No worries! We're not going to destroy the house and we won't drown each other in the swimming pool..." I mumble.

"That's not even funny, Alex. Just be good boys! That's all I'm asking for!" Mark scolds me. If he wasn't watching me in the rearview mirror, I would definitely roll my eyes.

"We're always good boys!" Shannon exclaims as Mark pulls to a stop in front of Joshua's house. "Besides, you haven't had to punish us for at least a month!!!" Both Mark and Aaron turn in their seats to face us.

"That's because you had a double punishment last time..." Aaron says seriously.

"And I bet you don't want to taste it again!" Mark adds.

Shannon groans and eventually pulls out of the car, leaving the two Dominants with a satisfied grin on their face and causing me to sigh as I remember that infamous day back in June after Shan had eavesdropped on a conversation he shouldn't have heard, then informed us - us being Noah, Liam and me - of the upcoming visit of some of Aaron's friends; which had led us to a certain level of excitement. And to a long lecture.

Whatever! We all get out of the car and are met with a clearly worried Joshua and a not-less worried and very serious Tony. The man who is in charge of the CEO's safety, as well as being his driver and kind of secondhand man, never misses to impress me with his authoritative stance. I know he is not in our lifestyle, but he is definitely not someone you would want to mess up with. It might have to do with the fact that he was the one who investigated on my disappearance back in end of April and I know that it triggered quite a few worries to him as well.

"Where's Liam?" Shannon shyly asks after some quick greetings.

"He's finishing getting ready..." Joshua replies a bit warily. "The night has been a bit difficult for him, so... I only just woke him up."

"I have a good feeling that this will be soon over, Joshua. We've got some serious leads here..." Tony comments, showing off a file he is carrying.

"I hope so. This is definitely wearing a toll on Liam and I don't want to imagine what Noah is..." he starts saying but interrupts himself.

"You have new leads?" I ask shyly.

"Nothing sure yet, Alex, but Mark will keep you informed anyway," Joshua replies. "Go in, boys. I'm sure Liam will be downstairs shortly. Liz will come over around noon to prepare you some lunch."

Huh... as if I couldn't cook myself... Well, I keep that remark in my head and after a long and tight hug with Mark and a brief peck on our lips, Shannon and I head inside the house while the four of them go back into the car and leave. I sometimes resent them for keeping us aside from the investigation but Mark explained that they just don't want us to hear all the long details and that it doesn't prevent him from keeping us updated. Which is true. And in a way, we are certainly better off on our own and in Liam's company than stuck in a room where they only discuss gloomy details of the investigation. As long as we know what is going on, we are fine with it.

If I am supposed to look tired and awful at the moment, I wonder how I could describe Liam... When he joins us downstairs a few minutes later, our friend looks beyond exhaustion. His red-rimmed eyes only express sadness and his usually light-blue irises have lost their glint of happiness. The dark circles beneath his eyes and his depressed expression clearly justify the intense worry Joshua showed a few minutes ago. Of course, and as has been the case every time we met over the past two weeks, we first gather in a long and tight triangle hug, shedding more tears of worry before we can do anything else.

The thing is that Liam has grown extremely fond of Noah. Shan and I have too, of course, and the three of us do consider Noah as a little bro, but Liam has gotten to spend more time with him in June as Noah joined Pierce Construction for a summer job. Since they work in the same department, they have had more time to bond together. So, it's highly understandable that Liam should feel so bad at the moment, and he can definitely count on us – though mostly on Shannon – to try and cheer him up a little.

We decide to lounge into the large family room for a little while. It is barely ten in the morning and even if the sun is already pleasant outside, we decide to watch TV and talk at the same time. Liam says we could maybe enjoy the swimming pool a bit later this morning when it gets warmer and we agree to that. The three of us are comfortably settled and cuddled on the huge couch, with Liam in the middle so that we can comfort him and try to bring him a bit of affection. However, slightly after ten, Liam's phone goes off and considering the expression of disgust and contempt on his face, this is not a call he is willing to take.

"What does that bitch of Chris want?" he grumbles, raising our curiosity. I didn't even know Liam had his phone number in the first place... Chris is a Sub who rarely hangs out with us. Being quite solitary and a masochist, he usually stays on his own and barely speaks to the guys of our group; well except for Noah; which makes me realize how what happened yesterday evening sounds sick!

We didn't get all the details but Aaron was clearly angry. He already didn't like that Chris should come and kneel by Master Camden's side to ask for a moment to speak with him; which is understandable. Camden really has other things in mind at the moment than to comfort a Sub who is not his and it was quite inappropriate from Chris to show up like that.

It didn't surprise me that Master Camden still accepted to allow him a bit of time. I know that he and Chris often interacted together before Noah joined and when Chris was not under a contract. Besides, Master Camden is not the cold Dominant I thought he was. Yesterday evening, I just couldn't help hugging him when we got back to the office and found him there, and I think he truly needed some affection. It was really an emotional moment, I could feel everyone's despair...

Anyway, when Aaron barged out of the couch, just saying he would be back shortly, I didn't imagine that something was going on between Master Camden and Chris. When he returned to the couch, Aaron briefly explained that Chris had nearly assaulted Noah's Daddy in his playroom, talking rubbish about love and wanting him. The rejection must have been hard, but how dare he jump on a Dominant who is not only taken, but also openly in love with his Sub? And even worse that said Sub has been recently kidnapped!! I mean, Aaron has tried to keep the news low at the club, but rumors are circulating and Chris must have heard about it!

"Answer, Li!!! And put him on speaker!!" Shan exclaims, pressing a confused Liam who eventually takes the call.

"Hi Chris..." Liam says sternly.

"Are you alone?" Chris asks gloomily. What kind of a question is that?

"Yes... what's the matter?"

"Listen... I'll make it really short because I don't have time and want to get this over with. I just want to say that I apologize for everything..." Why the heck is he apologizing to Liam? Is that about what happened last night? But then, that's Master Camden and Noah he should apologize to! "I'm sorry for all the bad things I did, and... I'm not really asking for your forgiveness, because I certainly won't ever have it. But..."

"What are you talking about, Chris?" Liam asks with irritation.

"Just that I'm sorry. For everything," Chris continues with a croaked voice. "And... please note that address... in the Poplar Creek Forest... Golf Road... When you drive westbound, there's a little trail on the Northern side of the forest... Noah is here... Please tell him I'm sorry... And you should find an old friend too... Bye now..."

"Chris, what do you mean??" Liam asks but the line has gone dead. "Chris!!!!!"

"He's hung up, Bunny..." Shannon whispers. "How... how does he know that?" the three of us stare at each other in confusion for a few seconds before Liam looks back at his phone.

"I... I need to call Josh..." he stutters, but I stop him as a hundred thoughts fight their way inside my head.

"Wait... Wait a second!!" I plead. Both Shannon and Liam scowl at me but I ignore them. "Okay so Chris knows where Noah is; and we have no reason to doubt his words; he sounded sincere and..."

"And what, Pumpkin?" Shan sighs.

"And... I think we should let Joshua know but if we call now, you know what he is going to say... he or Mark or Aaron or just any of them! They'll order us to stay here and wait! I... I want to go! I want to see Noah for myself!!! I want to go and save him too!" I exclaim.

"But we can't go on our own, Alex, you're crazy!!! We need the guys to help!!" Liam says warily but I can tell his neurons are working fast. "At the same time... I can't stay here and wait... You're right, they'll forbid us to go..."

"Yes, they'll just order us to stay here, and they'll make sure Liz watches over us. We don't have time to waste!!! I have a plan, so let's go!! I'll tell you later!" I say, already rising to my feet.

"How??" Shannon exclaims.

"You're going to drive us, Shan!!" Liam exclaims with exasperation. "You're the only one who has a license!! Let's get to the garage!"

"Are you kidding me, guys?? I'm not driving one of Joshua's cars!!!" Shannon squeals as he follows us outside the house and toward the huge garage. Liam opens one of the doors and goes to a little cupboard where he gets some keys. "Liiiiiiii! I don't want your man to kill me!!" Shan whisper-shouts.

"I'll take all the blame... and say that I forced you!" Liam hastily says, opening the Sedan car. "That one makes less noise than the SUV or the BMW and I don't want Liz to hear us leave..." he then adds, handing the key to a sulking Shannon. What the hell? He's always first to plot or start mistakes! Why is he so reluctant now?

"Shan!! Hurry up!!" I press him.

"They are so going to have our asses, you know that, guys?" Shan grumbles, snatching the key from Liam's hand. "But you're right, I can't stay here and wait either..." We all settle down in the car, Shan and Liam at the front and me in the middle of the back seat. Liam sets the navigation system, then explains him quickly how the car's specifics work and thank God, this is an automatic one. Shan never drives and seriously takes a minute to adjust everything before he drives away.

"Alex... What's your plan? And whatever it is, we have to let them know..." Liam says as he turns back to look at me.

"Of course, we'll tell them... in a minute. Like I said, if we told them before we left, I'm sure Joshua would order Liz to lock us inside the house... So now that we are on our way, we are going to text them the details and then, we will all switch off our phones. It's only 10:20 so they must still be on their way to Camden's place... But they'll be closer than we are so... they should arrive shortly after us..."

"They're so going to have our asses, guys!!" Shannon repeats. "Damn! What got into you, Pumpkin? I'm the one to plan such things in general!!"

"I just want to see Noah..." I reply meekly.

"We all do, Alex... That's a great plan and I'm all for it!" Liam agrees. "Shan?"

"Hell yeah, I'm in too!" Shan cheers.

"But whatever happens there, we'll wait for the Doms and Tony... We're not taking useless risks!" I warn them and they agree.

We discuss the plan for a few more seconds, mostly arguing on who should send the text. Liam is probably in trouble for allowing Shan to drive one of Joshua's cars and Shan is driving so the task obviously falls into my deeds... Liam switches off his and Shan's phones while I write a text to Mark. He is driving but I bet Aaron will see the incoming message on the console. Once that is done, I immediately switch off my device and we remain silent for the rest of the ride.

The closer we get to the location, the more I feel confident about all this. We are not making that big of a mistake. Chris didn't provide many details or the identity of Noah's captor, but between the investigation and Chris' involvement, it doesn't take a genius to guess that Master Andrei must be in it. Again, this is a Dom I barely know. For one, he travels a lot and we don't see him that often at the club. And then, he is a Sadist. So, apart from Master Camden, he is definitely not a person I would approach or want to know. From what Mark has been saying over the past two weeks, I have understood that he doesn't like him, so I guess I should trust my own Master's impressions...

"Be careful the van!!!!" Liam squeals as an old van pulls out of a trail on our right and turns to drive in the direction where we are coming from. If it weren't for Shan's reflexes and the good quality of the breaks on the car, we might have crashed into it. And honestly, seeing how sinister the driver looked, that wouldn't have been a great idea. I suddenly realize that we are in the middle of the forest and probably almost there.

"Guys... I think we missed the trail..." Shannon says after a minute.

"Do you think it was that trail where the van came from?" Liam asks warily.

"I don't know, Bunny... We'll try..." Shannon says as he quickly but cautiously proceeds with a U-turn. "But if that was them... Do you think Noah could have been in there?"

"Why would he?" Liam asks.

"Don't know..." Shannon mumbles as he starts to progress into the narrow path. Oh God... we should have taken the SUV. Joshua is definitely going to kill us... The road is bumpy and Shannon tries to go slowly enough but at the same time, we are eager to reach the end. This trail seems to be endless.

"Maybe we should leave the car here and finish walking. We don't want the guy there hear us coming..." I suggest.

"Just make sure you don't moan as loud as usual when you come and we should be fine," Shannon replies with a smirk.

"Aaaaaah Shan!" I grumble.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, Pumpkin... I love you!"

"Hey!!! That's Camden's car!!!" I scream as I focus back on the road ahead.

"Fuck! You're right!!" Liam adds. Shan speeds up a little as we notice a huge house just a little ahead and when he stops on the right side of Camden's car, three screams echo in the car at the sight in front of us. Our baby Noah is kneeling on the ground, almost naked, with Camden's head over his lap, his left hand bathing in blood. He is bent over his Daddy, his chest heaving with sobs, and when he hears the car and leans back up, his face is streaked with tears but hope somewhat lightens his expression when he sees us rush out of the car.

"They took him... I'm so sorry, Lili... They took him and I couldn't do anything..." Noah cries when we reach for him.

"Oh my God... Peanut!!!" Shan screams, ignoring Noah's words and as we all kneel around them. "What happened to Camden?"

"They shot him... I don't know what to do..."

"Is he..." I hesitate warily.

"I don't know... Can't find his pulse..." Noah sobs, shaking even more. "Please, Daddy... wake up!!"

Oh my God... What do we do now?

* * *

(Aaron)

"Fuck! Why doesn't he answer?" Tony growls at the back of the car after he has tried again to reach Jeff, his second-in-command as far as Security is concerned. Tony not driving himself means an angry Tony. Tony sitting at the back of a car is just unbearable. I should have let him sit at the front.

"Maybe he just slept in..." I suggest.

"Jeff never sleeps in. That guy sleeps like three hours a night!" he grumbles.

"Then maybe he forgot to charge his phone..." Mark proposes in his turn.

"Mark, this is Jeff we are talking about! He's just the best. And he would never forget to charge his phone!" Tony grumbles again.

"Try again to locate his phone!" Joshua then adds.

"I already did! This is not normal! I should have called him last night to see how things were going on."

"No, you shouldn't have, Tony," Joshua argues. "Jeff is your best guy and he was supposed to give you a report on the situation only this morning after the text he sent you in the late afternoon. He didn't have much to do other than follow Andrei. We saw the jerk last night at the club, maybe Jeff hooked up with a cutie from the nightclub?"

"Shut up, Joshua! Jeff is straight as a pole and I'm worried, so keep your jokes for later, please!" Tony replies bitterly.

"Alright, Grandpa! I was just trying to distract you..." Josh comments in the same bitter tone.

"Sorry Son, I'm just really worried."

"I know, I know..."

"I'll call Joaquim and ask him to research where the signal was last located..."

These two's antics have the advantage to also distract me from my thoughts for a few minutes. I am so fucking tired of all this shit! All this guilt I have been feeling for the last two weeks is definitely wearing on me. Between the usual worries, the transformation works at the Black Diamond and Noah's disappearance, sleep has escaped me for too long to be fully efficient. The works at the club are going well, so that's not much of a worry. But then, there was Camden's punishment. As much as I thought I was fair and only complied with my club's policies, punishing one of my best friends was far from easy. Then once I realized it prevented him from seeing his Baby Boy before the abduction, it clearly made me sick.

I doubt it would have changed a thing to what happened on the Monday, but he wouldn't have been two days without seeing his boy before he was kidnapped. Then there was Noah... God knows how I love that kid! I mean, I love them all. I love all my little twinks at the club, but those who belong to my best friends obviously hold something different.

They are like nephews, little brothers or whatever to me, and Noah is definitely not an exception. This boy is so adorable and so sweet, but above all, he is the Sub who tamed my Sadist of a friend and made him feel better. That would be enough for me to declare him a saint. Which he is far from being, right? That little minx has some temper but this is exactly what Cam needed and I know that if he doesn't get him back soon, this is going to drive him nuts.

"Yes, Joachim? Have you heard back from Jeff?" Tony suddenly says at the back as he answers a call.

".........." The guy talks and talks, only interrupted by a few grunts from Tony.

"Oh Fuck! Okay, call the Police and send them to Andrei's apartment. They need to dig into that guy's past and find something! And if you hear about Jeff, tell him to call me as soon as possible, but this is starting to stink here! Try again to locate his phone and his car too!" Tony barks before he hangs up. All eyes turn to him; even Mark's in the rearview mirror. "Two of my guys worked with the private detective and they have finally found a link between Andrei and Noah... Noah's parents had debts and they owed him a lot of money. I don't know what the deal was exactly and I don't know if we will ever find out, but there is something there and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Andrei was the one who ordered their murder..."

"Holy shit! Don't you think we should call Cam and let him know?" Mark exclaims.

"We'll be with him soon so, I guess it can wait. Besides, I doubt Andrei would keep Noah there if that's really him," I argue just as my phone goes off. "Aaron Cox."

"Mr. Cox, this is the Police Disctrict of Chicago. Are you the owner of the club... The Black Diamond... and Satin..."

"Yes, I am! What can I help you with? Has something happened there?" I ask, putting my phone on speaker.

"Do you know of a certain Christopher Sandberg?" the woman asks.

"Yes, I do. He is a member of the club. Is there a problem with Chris?" I ask warily.

"I am sorry to announce it to you this way, Mr. Cox, but Mr. Sandberg committed suicide in front of the Police Station and he was holding a letter for your attention in his hand, so..."

"What??? Chris committed suicide? When? And Why?" I exclaim, feeling all the blood leave my face. Damn!!! My mind starts building all sorts of theories but I don't like any of them. Is it because of Camden's rejection last night? Because I promised to punish him tonight? Chris knows the rules of the club and that wouldn't push to such extremes!

"The reasons are not clear, Sir, I'm sorry. He just mentions some apologies... to you and several other persons, for what he did... to them, it says. I would rather you see for yourself, I'm sure it would make more sense to you. We will need to discuss this at some point..."

"Sure... Can it wait until later today or tomorrow?" I ask as an incoming message pops on Mark's phone.

"Tomorrow morning is fine. There were some witnesses, sadly, so there is no doubt on the suicide. We'd just like to have a conversation with you. Sorry again for the brutal news, Mr. Cox," she says and once she has given me the details on where I should go tomorrow, we hang up.

"Who's that Chris?" Tony asks.

"He's - or rather he was - Andrei's Sub at the club..." I reply, looking at Mark's phone whose screen lightens with a reminder. "Mark, you got a text from Alex, and it seems long."

"Can you read it?" he asks, so I unlock the screen with the fingerprint of the thumb he is holding out for me and go to read Alex's text.

"No way... Fuck!!!" I exclaim as the first words take their meaning into my head.

"What??" Mark asks warily.

"Those fucking little creeps!!!" I growl, feeling the anger build in me; and I'm not even their Dom! "Mark, please don't hate us... You guys need to hurry immediately to the Poplar Creek Forest, on Golf Road, and find a trail on the northern side. Noah is being held hostage here. Chris just called Liam and revealed this to him (I bet Master Andrei is behind that...). Please hurry up! We're on our way too! And please don't be angry. We'll be cautious and wait for you to get there!! We love you!" I read.

"Is that a joke?" Joshua growls behind me. "Ron??" I turn around to show him the screen with Alex's text, at the same time seeing how Mark is fuming behind the steering wheel, and watch Joshua reach for his own phone to call Liam. "Fuck! Voice mail!" he growls.

"Ron, call Alex or Shannon, please!" Mark then asks with a strained voice. I look through his favorite contacts and try both numbers but they go to voice mail as well, so Joshua tries again Liam's number.

"What the fuck, Liam? I don't know what got into you three, but I swear you're in fucking deep trouble! The three of you! How can you do this!? How dare you!? You'd better call me back as soon as you get that message!" he growls, anger clear in his voice, but what I see on his face deals more with deep worry than anger. "You three stay away from this! Don't get yourself in danger, Baby... I love you..." he then adds with a nearly broken voice before he hangs up.

"Fuck! I swear I'm gonna..." Mark starts saying, the knuckles of his fingers whitening around the steering wheel. "I don't know what I'm gonna do to them, but they're going to hear from me... Where's that Forest he mentioned?"

"It's west of Northbrooks... Take the next exit to I355," Tony instructs while he is looking into his phone.

"What do we do with Camden?" Mark asks.

"We don't have time to stop by his place, I'll call him and he can join us there..." I say as Mark takes the highway indicated by Tony. "Though I wonder if it wouldn't be better not to tell him... I don't want him to freak out and drive like crazy on the way there..."

"You're pretty right about that, but he'll never forgive us if we don't tell him..." Joshua argues and I have to admit that I would react similarly in his place.

"Camden's calling me..." Tony says with surprise. "Hi Camden! Hey we've got some news..."

"..........."

"What??? Where are you exactly? How far?"

"............"

"No way!! You don't go on your own!! We don't know how many people there are or if they have guns. This is too dangerous! Don't do anything stupid! We're also on our way! Wait for us!"

"Fuck!" I groan, understanding that Cam seems to have gotten the news before us and has decided to play it on his own. And from what I understand, he must be much closer than we are. That bastard! "Mark speed up please!"

".........."

"No, this is not between you and that guy! Don't be stupid and wait..." Tony booms, not finishing his sentence. "Shit! He hung up! Mark, Boy... you'll have to speed up some more! Josh... Please, track Liam's necklace on your phone."

"I am already... They're still on I90, but they're getting closer," Josh replies worriedly after a little while.

Silence then falls in the car as Mark speeds on the highway, everybody brooding over their own thoughts. I can tell Mark is trying his best to keep focused on his driving but he is certainly thinking about his two boys being on their way to something that could be really dangerous. Joshua keeps grumbling at the back about the boys' stupidity and Tony is fumbling with his phone, sending orders through texts. As for me, seeing my friends worry is just as painful as hell. All their boys may not be mine, but I sincerely adore them. I am just as angry as my friends that they should have forgotten some of the fundamental rules of our lifestyle, such as never put yourself in danger or communicate or trust your Dominant.

But I know that this is even worse for Mark and Josh, and this might be a reason for me not to ever settle down with a Submissive, or at least not attach myself to him like they have. Settling down means a lot more worries to deal with. When I look at the past year and a half and see all that has happened to my best friends and their Subs, of course I see all their happiness and how it has changed them into even better men. But I also see all the troubles they have had to deal with; which is part of our roles as Dominants, but would I ever be able to succeed in that role?

Mark has really been fast and we are only barely minutes away from our final destination. As Josh keeps checking the tracking app, we know that the boys have been on site for about ten minutes, and my phone suddenly goes off.

"Yes, Liam," I say sternly as I answer the call, obviously catching Joshua's attention.

"Aaron... Aaron... hurry... please!!! I... We... I..." Liam stutters through sobs.

"Liam, first you calm down!" I order while Joshua is trying to snap my phone, making me shift on my seat to quiet him. I put my phone on speaker in an attempt to calm down the renewed agitation and tension in the car. "Liam, breathe and then you speak," I instruct him.

"Camden... he... I don't know what to do... and Noah is completely freaking out... I think he is having a panic attack... please hurry!!" Liam squeals. Seems like Noah is not the only one having a panic attack! I don't like how it sounds and I'm getting really worried about Camden.

"Liam, please calm down! What's with Camden?" I ask, hoping to get answers with direct questions.

"Wounded...  He's wounded... Noah is panicking... He... I don't know..." Liam sobs. Damn! We're not going anywhere...

"Baby, calm down..." Joshua growls but I mouth him to shut up.

"Liam, pass me Shannon!" I order. I don't even try for Alex who must also be freaking out. Thanks to his always positive spirit, Shannon has that ability to put things into perspective, and even if it often proves disorganized, at least he can detach himself from the situation and I'm sure I'll get answers more easily with him.

"I'm sorry Aaron... We..." Shannon says when he gets on the line.

"Shannon!" I say firmly. "Remember that conversation we had two weeks ago at Joshua's place! Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Detach yourself from the situation and tell me when you're ready," I instruct him. I hear him take long breaths for a few seconds. "Right... Now separate all the elements of your surroundings. Don't let each of them mingle with the other and answer my questions. Are you guys alone or is Andrei still there?"

"I think he fled... We've been here for ten minutes and haven't seen anyone but we saw a van pull out the trail..." Shannon replies rather calmly.

"Is Noah with you? And is he physically ok?"

"Yes, he's here... I don't know what happened, but he's here and he's... oh my God... and Camden..."

"Shan! Calm down! One thing at a time! Is Noah wounded?"

"I don't think so... but he's been... beaten down and bruised... And he's completely incoherent..." Shannon replies and I also take a deep breath to calm myself down and reign in the anger that is filling me.

"Is Camden... wounded?" I then ask, refusing to think about anything worse.

"Yes... He's been shot and there's a lot of blood..." he squeaks.

"Where?"

"His chest... left side..." Shannon breathes out and I might as well freak out myself.

Mark, Joshua, Camden and I are like brothers. Our friendship is actually stronger than brotherly love and they don't mean the world to me, they are the world to me. I love them equally; but Cam and I have a tiny peculiar past together that binds us just a little differently, a bit as if we were twins while Mark and Josh are our brothers. That bond is so tight that we would never bear with anything happening to the other. Killing one would be like killing the other. And something lethal happening to Camden would simply kill me.

Of course, the guys know that. And so does Tony who suddenly snatches the phone from my hands to continue the conversation with Shannon while I strive not to drown into desperation. I don't really hear what Tony says to Shan. I just vaguely register words like tee-shirt, compression, hole, shoulder... I am barely aware of Joshua's hand on my right shoulder and Mark's on my left knee. The only thing that helps me to grab myself together is when we finally reach what seems to be a clearing with a huge mansion and Camden's car next to Joshua's.

I finally recover my self-control and hurry out of the car, only to find a very painful sight before my eyes. Camden is lying on the gravel ground with his head in Noah's lap. The boy is almost naked and bent over Cam's head, shaking worse than a leaf and indeed out of his mind. Alex is kneeling behind him, trying to soothe the poor boy while Shannon is pressing on Camden's wound. I almost have a sigh of relief when I see that the compression point is way above his heart. Liam rushes to us to say that an ambulance is on its way and we all get into action. The weird thing is that we don't even need to discuss or argue to know what each of us has to do.

Tony gently takes Shannon's place to take care of Camden. Joshua orders Liam to go back to the car while he goes and helps Tony. Mark detaches Alex from Noah and takes him to the car, grabbing Shannon on his way. And once I have gotten confirmed that Camden is just unconscious, I naturally get to Noah and try to pry his arms from Camden. The little devil is indeed freaking out, shivering violently and screaming all he can for his daddy to wake up, but I still manage to grab him and take him a little away by the cars. His back is striped with whipping marks, he has quite a few bruises and his hands and knees are scratched. His wrists are also bleeding from cable ties. I can't tell how much physic contact he can really bear with after what he seems to have gone through, but I still pull him into a rather tight hug, enwrapping him in my arms as best as I can without hurting him, and try to soothe him with reassuring words.

"It's all over, Noah... you're safe now, calm down, Buddy..."

"He's gone..." he keeps mumbling.

"Shhhh... He'll be fine, Noah... It's just around his shoulder... He'll be okay, don't worry... Calm down, Noah..."

"No... he's gone... they took him..."

"Noah, he's not gone! He's alive and he will be fine!" I insist.

"Master Aaron... he's been saying that since we arrived..." Liam says meekly as he releases Shannon's hand and takes a few steps in my direction. "We told him that Camden was breathing but he keeps saying that... as if he wouldn't believe us..."

"They took him... I'm so sorry..." Noah goes on and on although he seems to calm down a bit. Things start clicking in my head. The police said that Chris was speaking about them, not him. Were there more boys held hostage here?

"Noah... Who are you talking about?" I ask softly.

"J...  Jeremy... I couldn't save him... I just couldn't... and they... they took him... I'm so sorry..." he sobs and my heart skips a bit. Realization also hits Mark as shock displays on his face. Fuck!!! Mark and Josh were right from the start about Andrei!!

"Jooooooosh!!!!" I shout when I see how Liam suddenly pales, wobbling on his knees. Fortunately enough, Mark quickly reacts and lets go of his boys to catch Liam who seems to feel faint. Joshua rushes over here to comfort Liam while Tony joins us. Cam is still unconscious but I can hear some sirens in the distance so I guess help is getting closer. "Noah... This Jeremy... Is he a young guy with dark h..."

"He's from the club too... and he said he knew you all... he mentioned someone named Gary..." Noah mumbles, removing the slightest doubt we may have had about his identity. My heart is now sinking into my chest. Painfully. Jeremy. My protégé. "And... I think... they killed a guy... they said red head..."

"Oh fuck!!! Jeff..." Tony gasps. "Noah... where's the guy?"

"Basement..." Noah whispers and Tony dashes off to the house, with Mark in his tracks. Joshua tries to comfort a shocked Liam before he trusts Shannon and Alex to continue while he goes back to Camden. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him..." Noah sobs again. "It all happened so fast..."

"It's not your fault, Noah. Don't say that!" I tell him as the sirens get closer.

"But I... I should have gone to free him while Daddy was..."

He cannot finish his sentence and bursts into more tears, just like Liam within Shannon and Alex's hold. Two ambulances finally show up, followed by three police cars and things go rather quickly from there. Three paramedics hurry to Camden's side while two others take care of Noah who is just starting another panic attack.

I leave him with them and go to check on Camden. As expected, the wound is not that bad and according to them, he hasn't even lost that much blood. The sight was mostly impressive due to his white tee-shirt and he shouldn't need too much surgery. They are a bit more worried about his head that apparently hit a rock, which explains his unconsciousness; as well as his exhaustion, I would guess.

The police don't let me get into the house to check on Jeff, but one of them suddenly calls out for a doctor, saying that there is another wounded person downstairs. Since Camden's body has already been laid on a stretcher and into the ambulance van, two of the paramedics hurry inside the house. Noah is in the other van now and the doctors there tell me that they have injected him some tranquilizers to calm him down, so I go back to Josh who has returned to Liam after the ambulance arrived. Mark and Tony join us only a minute later with the news that Jeff was found tied in the basement and with a bad stab that has made him lose a lot of blood. Fuck! I hope he will make it...

During the next half hour, while the doctors take care of all the injured people, we obviously have to answer the first questions of the police but Tony takes care of most of that and Joshua already has some lawyers on the case. They tried to get a bit of information from Noah but the boy is way out and unable to say anything for now, so they can only deal with what we have. Alex suddenly mentions something about an old van that pulled out of the trail when they arrive and the boys give the best description they can to allow the police to start their investigation. We finally agree to discuss this in more details tomorrow as we would all like to follow the ambulances to the hospital now.

Mark takes his boys with him in his SUV, both of them going to the backseat, most probably because none of them wants to sit beside a furious and worried Mark. Liam is not so lucky as Joshua goes to sit at the back with him while Tony takes the driver's seat of the Sedan; but there's much more worry on Joshua's face than anger, so Liam is definitely safe. And I eventually get to Camden's car.

The ambulances are the first to start off, followed by the SUV, the Sedan and then two of the Police cars while one is staying on site. I take a minute for myself to relax and think things over. Of course, we are missing a lot of answers to our questions but some of this mess is quite obvious. And this is all fucked up. All completely fucked up!

I can't believe it was all in front of us. In front of me! And I didn't see anything coming! One of my favorite Subs was kidnapped almost a year and a half ago by another member of the club... A dominant who managed to kidnap another Sub over a year later... A Dominant whose background we had checked! And I didn't see a fucking thing!

Never has such guilt invaded my soul... I just feel like shit and I have never felt so guilty for anything before. As tears escape my eyes, the darkest thoughts fill my head and I wonder how I will be able to look at myself again in a mirror. I am losing all the faith I had in our lifestyle and I doubt I will be able to keep this going on. I might as well sell my club.

Aaron, do you need ANOTHER reminder?

That deep voice. One that never missed to impress me. Certainly the only voice that ever impressed me, to be honest. The voice that brought me back to reason in the old days. The voice that saved me from a doomed fate.

Prudence! Justice! Temperance! Courage! Faith! Hope! And Love!

All those virtues that this voice taught me. All the virtues that kept me away from all my sins. Right now, two of them emerge above the others.

Courage, because I need to find the strength to face this disaster and bear with the consequences.

Love, because whatever those consequences are, the love I have for my friends is unbreakable; and right now, I owe them much more than my love.

With that in mind, I wipe the treacherous tears on my cheeks and start the car. Several of my best friends might need me at the hospital and I can't waste another minute. I want to make sure I'll be there when Cam wakes up. The rest can wait. Guilt can wait. And I still have another month before I make a decision about the club.

Published on 15 September 2017

That was the hell of a chapter. But at least Camden and Noah will be reunited. Like I promised, they will have their happy ending, so you just have 10 more chapters and an epilogue in two parts to see how they will heal each other. And then... There'll be The Darker Side Of The Moon. In order not to spoil the next book, you won't find out about Jeremy's fate before the end of TM (which is why this book finishes around end of August in the timeline). But I should hope that the prologue gave you a bit of hope ;)

I also hope you liked being in Alex's and Aaron's heads for this chapter. You might have preferred Liam since he was directly affected with the loss of his mentor and his little protégé, but I thought Alex was a better choice. His perception skills have always been strong and he's been missed since I Was Shooting For The Moon, I Hit Two Stars. Then Aaron was just an obvious choice. Not only for the teasers regarding his own story but also because he's his friends' anchor, the one with whom everything started.

Now that being said, I'll see you at the hospital and inside Camden's head for the next chapter on Tuesday next week!

As promised, here's a map of the region with all the different locations of everyone and the roads they took. As well as a chronology of the events.
Yellow is Cam's itinerary, orange for the Subs, and blue for the Doms and Tony. And obviously, the trail and the mansion don't exist ;)

10:00: Chris sends an email from his phone to Camden with explanations and location of Noah

10:02: Chris calls Liam to apologize and tells him where Noah is

10:02: Camden reads the email

10:04: Chris calls Andrei to reveal he told everyone before he commits suicide

10:08: Andrei panics and decides to leave right away.

10:09: After the shock of news, Cam decides to go on his own (about half an hour drive for him since he'll drive fast)

10:10: The Subs leave Northbrook (they are a bit closer than Camden to the destination, but Shan doesn't drive as fast as Camden does, so it's a 40-minute drive for them)

10:20: Aaron receives the call from the police about Chris's suicide

10:20: Andrei has secured Jeremy in the van and prepares a few things on the first floor of the mansion before he goes to take care of Noah

10:22: Aaron reads Alex's text to Mark

10:32: Camden suddenly realizes his mistake and calls Tony to let him know

10:37: Camden arrives at the mansion at the same time as Andrei walks out with Noah on his shoulder

10:44: End of the fight with Camden being shot

10:46: Andrei abandons Noah and leaves the house with Will

10:47: Andrei pulls out of the trail and they almost crash into the Subs' car

10:51: The Subs arrive and find Noah and Camden

11:01: Liam decides to call Aaron

11:10: Tony and the Doms arrive at the mansion