Rain laughed. He took a great gulping breath as he tried to control himself.
Zach was surprised he didn’t know how crazy Rain was. Even up until the point he died, Zach was aware of the Movie Emperor. He was the star of the big screen, praised for his ability and generosity.
“Let me out. You have to know the person supporting me before you speak. Careless words can get you killed.” Rain never took his eyes off Tynan.
This confirmed the speculation Zach had. “Tynan is your payment?”
Rain drew in a sharp breath. His head snapped up. “Who are you?” The words lost the usual arrogance that Zach associated with Rain.
“That information doesn’t matter to you. In fact, you should have found out that answer before you decided to fuck with me or mine.” This wasn’t the place for Rain to interrogate him. For a captive, he was far too comfortable. “I think the treatment you have been getting is far too good. If it was me, your arrogance would have been ground down already.”
He didn’t have to look at Tynan or his friends to know that they were still reluctant. Despite what they said or how they acted, it was hard to go from being a friend to enemies in under a week. Though, he had the feeling that Theo held back out of consideration for Cain rather than caring about Rain.
“The next job I do, I will ask him to get rid of you.” The metal frame of the bed shook as Rain vaulted forward. The blanket slipped, and it was only now Zach realized Rain was chained by his ankle. The man barreled forward but could get more than a few feet away from the bed.
Zach smiled, walking until he was just out of reach. “This is cute.”
“That is far enough.” Tynan held Zach’s arm and pulled him back. He’d never seen that crazy look in those blue eyes before. Zach was baiting Rain to see what he would do. Tynan didn’t think Zach would lose the fight, but he didn’t want a hair on his lover’s head put out of place, much less for him to be hurt.
Zach didn’t resist. He leaned back in Tynan’s embrace and took a different type of enjoyment from seeing the pain and unwillingness in Rain’s eyes. “Cain, you don’t need to be here for this.” Zach liked Cain, he couldn’t claim to be friends or to even care about what happened to him, but he didn’t want him to be hurt.
Cain stood with his head bowed. Ever so often, he would look up and open his mouth before dropping his head back down. Theo had a hand on his shoulder. “I need to stay.” The words were a whisper, but they were firm.
“That is reasonable,” Zach muttered. It was the best reason if he wanted closure and to move on from this ill-fated relationship. “Theo.” The man looked similar to Tynan, but he would never have put things together if it wasn’t for Rain. “You two are cousins, right?”
There was a collective intake of breath.
“And, where did you find that out?” Theo asked.
Zach didn’t like the predatory smile on the other man’s face. Still, he felt an answering one crease his lips. They were similar. He and this man probably had a lot in common. “Was it supposed to be a secret?”
Tynan watched them, amused. “Boys play nice.” Walking to Zach, he held his hand. “It is supposed to be a secret.”
Zach backed down from the confrontation. He would take the job Theo was offering. He would either become a good friend or an enemy. The former was more likely because Zach was dating Tynan.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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There was a round of exchanged glances and head shakes before Tynan sighed. With a hand on his hip and his head bowed, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah. I need to know.”
This was another thing added to Tynan’s side of the list of things they needed to share and talk about. “Okay.”
Theo looked at his childhood friend and, in later years, a love rival. “Was it worth it?” Contrary to the burning look in his eyes, his voice was calm.
Rain glared at him.
“Was it?” Tynan seconded the question.
There was a flash of pain in Rain’s eyes, but he kept his head bowed.
“What did you think would happen?” Morris asked.
Rain looked at the four of them. The apathy on Tynan’s face was the hardest to bear. He just wanted this man to notice him. Was that so wrong? “How is he better than me?”
Tynan remembered the way Zach smiled at the sky like it was the first time he ever looked at the stars. He would eat orange marmalade every morning even though he didn’t like it. Tynan knew a thousand little things about Zach. He wanted to learn a thousand more. “You two aren’t comparable. There isn’t any way he is lacking compared to you.”
“Tynan, you need your eyes checked. He is clearly better looking.”
Zach intertwined their fingers. His tiny nose wrinkled as he looked up at him. Tynan knew Zach wasn’t comfortable when things were too emotional. “You look better.” His comment received a snort and a look of disbelief.
Zach didn’t want to pay attention to his nonsense. He felt as though he would melt under the scorching look in Tynan’s eyes. He needed to get this conversation back on track. “He was contacting a reporter for Lor Global. He’s supposed to provide proof.”
“You fucker,” Cain cursed. “Why?” Cain couldn’t understand. If Rain loved Tynan that much, why was he going out of his way to hurt him? If this information got out it would have widespread repercussions. There was no way Rain didn’t know that.
“I’m entitled to it. After all these years of being sidelined and ignored. Don’t I deserve to be happy?” Deranged eyes focused on where their hands were connected. Rain wanted to tear them apart.
“He has proof,” Morris said. The only one who remained completely calm.
“You never liked me. Theo’s always wanted Cain. You’d believe anything if it meant getting me out of the way.” Rain struggled forward. The chain clanged as he reached the limit of how far it could go. “Be grateful I even gave you the time of day. Enjoy the beautiful dream for what it was.”
Cain gave one last look before walking out of the room.
“Rain, you’ve overestimated yourself. If I wanted you out of my way, I wouldn’t have had to wait.” Theo looked at Cain’s back. The other man was well aware of Theo’s interest. He’d never tried to hide it. “The only person protecting you just stopped.”
Rain panicked when he heard that. He knew what Theo did to people. To enemies. “Cain!” Rain tried to move closer to him. “You’ve got to help me. We were good together. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Zach clapped slowly, dispelling the tense mood. “Should I get some popcorn? I mean, wow. No wonder he’s an award-winning actor. I found the pictures, and for a second, I thought I’d made it all up.”
“Rain, who’s the man commanding you?” He squeezed Tynan’s hand before letting go.
Rain took a step back as Zach moved forward. He’d been careful. There was no way anyone could find out. “No one.”
“I was very conflicted about my feelings toward Tynan. I thought it best not to get involved with him or his business.” Zach’s eyes glazed over. He’d committed to exploring the attraction between them. A gentle smile lifted his lips. “Rain, you’re in my way. Even without you, I can locate him. Think carefully; Why did I bother asking you?”
Bluffing, he had to be bluffing. They were careful. He used in-person drop-off, and he never kept any record of that person. Rain didn’t back down.
“It looks like I am going to have to be extra motivated. Were your meetings in a public space?” Zach was playing with Rain at this point.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rain spit.
Zach searched Rain for his phone. “I wonder if you left your phone or if you carried it with you?” Zach watched for a reaction, he didn’t expect one, and he didn’t receive one. “I hope you carried it with you, especially if you met up during the day.”
Rain scoffed.
“You left it at home. I love arrogance. The biggest problem is knowing when you met. If your phone was at home, I know the dates. The second biggest problem is where, but you are very popular. People upload pictures of you all the time. You would have used that to your advantage. Hiding in plain sight and all that. Now, I know where. Even if you did disguise yourself, do you drive? It is unlikely you would take public transport. I can track your car through the city. Do you understand where I’m going?”
“You can’t do that…,” Rain was looking at a monster.
Zach could, and he couldn’t.
He unfolded a picture from his pocket. “I wonder where you were going in such a hurry that you needed to run a red light.” Zach looked at the picture, already knowing the answer. “Is this the night you found out about me? You were rushing to Tynan’s house.”
Rain maintained his silence. He could get out of this. His eyes danced to the picture and back. It was all a bluff.
Zach took out a series of photos and showed them to Rain. There was a violent reaction before Rain settled down.
“Which picture is that?” Theo asked.
Zach looked it over but couldn’t see its significance. It was Rain at his old university. There was no one else in the photo with him.
He gave Theo the picture.
Rain was like a dog with a bone. He was also a good actor. His reaction was a trick to throw them off track.
Zach went through the photos again. “So you did use your fame to meet in public.” Zach was looking at Rain in a public park. He showed it to Rain and was satisfied to see a flash of hatred in his eyes.
“Who are you?” Rain got out through gritted teeth. He’d made a mistake because this boy was young; he hadn’t taken him as a threat.
“I don’t like blood. That’s why you are sitting here comfortably. Do you want me to run out of patience?” It had been a long time since he threatened someone like this. He never meant any of the physical threats, not his style. That didn’t mean he wasn’t able to ruin a person.
“People will notice if I go missing. Even you can’t hide it completely, Theo.” Rain slumped on the bed. He’d moved back until there was nowhere else for him to go.
“First, I release your sex tape. Your company says you’re on hiatus. Second, I will release a tape of you speaking badly about your fans. Third, your company tries to restore your image. We support the fans. Say we are going to hold a press conference. Fourth, before the press conference, we will release some naked pictures of you with different partners.” Zach tapped his chin, thinking.
Theo didn’t miss a beat before joining in. “You will make a public apology and say you are going to reflect on your actions. The company will say that they hope the public will respect your privacy and that they are going to launch an investigation into the parties responsible. That should be enough to keep you out of the public eye for a few months. It also sets up nicely for suicide. I can see it.” Theo couldn’t help smiling. “Prominent actor takes his own life after a sex scandal.”
“He leaves a suicide note begging for people to be more understanding. Championing same-sex love and apologizing to fans for not being strong enough to overcome this hurdle.” Zach tagged on.
Morris chimed in. “The company would start a charity under your name.”
Cain came back. His voice was shaky but he added on. “As your boyfriend, I would give a tribute or memorial. I would talk about our love and how I knew about your past lovers. I speak about how everyone has a past and a person they were willing to give up that lifestyle for.”
Tynan couldn’t tear his eyes away from Zach. “A culprit will be found shortly after your death. A fan who was obsessed with you. Taking his life shortly after you. He would apologize and confess to all his crimes and lament that this wasn’t the outcome he wanted.”
“Stop. Please stop.” Rain was shaking.
“Is it Brad Maxwell?” That was the person all of Zach’s research pointed to.
“Yes.” Rain lay curled up on the bed. He had the blanket over his head.
Zach expected the answer, but it isn’t one he wanted to hear. Brad Maxwell was someone in a different league. Zach turned to Tynan and his friends. “Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
Woah. This is intense. Let’s go.