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The Queen of Hearts

Chapter eighteen

A moment later, the killer pulled open the heavy door and stepped inside, with Zach slung across his shoulder. He practically threw the man down onto the floor and loomed over Madison, a terrifying look on his face.

“I told you what would happen. He can’t have you, you’re mine, you’ll always be mine.”

The man bent down and tangled his fingers in Madison’s hair, yanking his head up at a painful angle.

“When I come back…I’m going to kill him. And I’m going to make you watch.”

He gave the boy another kick to the side before grasping his broken wrist, twisting it painfully. A smirk spread across his face at the cry of pain he earned and then he let go, turning to head out of the room.

Madison’s first thought was not of his own pain. He scrambled across to where Zach lay as fast as he could, checking for a pulse and finding, with relief, that he was still alive. He stroked back the man’s blond hair as his tears fell onto the other’s chest, thinking about how he’d nearly lost him…how close he had come.

“Zach,” he sobbed, “please wake up…please.”

But the man was deeply unconscious. The killer had hit him very hard on the back of his head and when Madison lifted it, he found blood matting the blond hair, staining it a deep crimson. The man needed a doctor as soon as possible, before it was too late.

Madison decided to remove Zach’s jacket for a makeshift pillow and it took some effort to roll the man so he could take it off. It was only when he had done so and had rolled it up to push beneath the blond head that he noticed the gun in the holster at the other’s shoulder.

His fingers closed around the handle and he pulled, sliding the gun out of the holster until it rested in his palm. It was the only way out…he was going to have to kill the man that murdered his best friend, do it quick before he got scared and backed down.

The boy made sure that Zach was alright, trying to make him as comfortable as possible while ignoring the screeching pain of his own damaged joints.

After he had done so, he simply sat beside the unconscious body of his lover, gripping the gun so hard in his uninjured hand that it hurt and his knuckles turned white. His mind was strangely calm- he knew what he had to do now, there was no going back. It was either shoot the killer, or allow the man he loved to be murdered, and it was an obvious choice.

He had almost drifted off by the time he heard footsteps, his shoulders slouched over as far as his injured chest would let them, his eyes drifting closed. But he jerked wide awake as the footsteps approached the cell and there was a jangling of keys from the other side of the door. Madison steeled himself, grey eyes watching the door so intently, hand raising the gun to the right height. There was no going back now, it was the end…it was kill, or be killed.

As the door swung open, Madison paused long enough for the man to step into the doorway, glaring down at him with a menacing look. He noticed the gun, almost instantly stepping towards him and then it happened. The boy’s slender finger squeezed the trigger and a shot rang out in the room, piercing the killer’s chest. The dark brown eyes grew wide, both from the shock of being shot and the disbelief that Madison had just done so.

“You…shot me…” he rasped, taking a shaky step towards Madison. “You shot me!”

He seemed as strong as ever and when he lunged for the gun, Madison squeezed the trigger once more, sending another shot whizzing through the killer’s chest. It seemed as if the man was still moving towards him but after a step forward, he suddenly collapsed, his weight crashing down on top of the boy’s slender body.

Time seemed to stop for a while and Madison almost passed out with the mix of sensations- the fear, the adrenaline and the pain. When the killer had fallen on him, he’d pressed down on his cracked ribs, sparking an intense pain in his chest that made it difficult to breathe. He could feel blood seeping into his dress from the man, oozing down his stomach in gushes.

Madison took a few moments to manoeuvre his good arm into a position where he could push the killer off of him. The man was a dead weight and the boy was weak, it took everything he had in him to push the body off of him.

When he had rolled the killer onto his back, he could tell instantly that he was dead and Madison suddenly felt overcome with sickness. He shifted upwards, dry heaving heavily- he had nothing left in his stomach.

After the sickness had died down, the boy turned to Zach, pressing his hand against the man’s cheek. It was a few moments before eyes fluttered open, taking a while to finally focus on him.

“Madison…” Zach spoke in a dry, raspy voice, pushing himself to sit up with some difficulty. It was then that he noticed the blood staining the front of the boy’s dress. “Oh…God…”

“It’s not mine.”

Madison didn’t want to turn his head and see the man behind him but he nodded towards the body all the same. It was finally over, they were safe, and Jamie had been avenged. They’d made sure that the killer would never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

“It’s over,” the boy whispered, closing his eyes, “I’m so tired, Zach.”

Madison suddenly felt a wave of nausea pass through him and his body collapsed, pitching forward. He expected to fall on the floor, but he found strong arms wrapping around him and he was pulled against a firm chest. Gentle fingers stroked his hair.

“It’s okay Madison. It’s all going to be just fine. I have a phone out in my car, we need to call the police. Can you stand?”

It took some effort to get to his feet and Zach had to slip an arm around him to stop him from falling as they made their way up the stairs. It felt so good to be back in the man’s arms, like nothing in the world mattered except that.

Zach sat him in the car as he called the police, tentatively touching the wound on his head with inquisitive fingers. It hurt, and he felt extremely woozy, but he would heal and it was nothing compared to what Madison had gone through.

The boy was struggling to stay awake as he climbed into the back of the car with him to wait for the police and the ambulance and as much as he wanted to let him sleep, he knew it was best to keep him awake.

“Come on, baby,” he whispered, sliding up behind the boy and stroking his hair softly, “you can’t sleep, you need to stay awake for the ambulance.”

“I’m so tired…”

Madison lay his head back against Zach’s shoulder, feeling the man’s hand slide down to rub his stomach soothingly.

“I killed a man, Zach. I’m a murderer…”

“Ssh,” the blond nuzzled his neck softly, “you’re not a murderer. If you hadn’t shot him, he would have killed the both of us. It was in self defence, no one’s going to convict you.”

“I murdered him with my own hands…he’s dead because of me.”

“He killed Jamie. He killed those other boys. He was going to kill us.”

Madison fell silent, struggling to stay awake until the police and ambulance arrived. The police had many questions, but Zach ushered them away, knowing Madison was in no mood to answer them.

He insisted on going in the ambulance with the boy, not waiting to watch the police recover the killer’s body. He wanted to get as far away as possible and never have to think about what had happened to them ever again.

Everything was over. He and Madison were free to be together and, once they had both healed, he intended to be with the boy as much as possible. Perhaps they would have some time to be happy for themselves for a change.

Zach thought Madison had fallen asleep in the ambulance, but as he shifted closer, he saw dark grey eyes turn to his.

“I love you…” the boy whispered, reaching out with his free hand to snag his lover’s. “I love that…you came to save me.”

“How could I not?”

Zach pressed a kiss on the back of Madison’s hand, reaching out to stroke his hair gently.

“It’s going to be alright now, love. Forever.”

The boy fell asleep before they reached the hospital, his head lolling to one side. He looked so peaceful in sleep, even covered in blood and caked in dirt as he was and Zach couldn’t resist pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.

It was going to be alright, he just knew it.

It was a few days before the doctors felt Madison was strong enough for visitors and when Zach went to see him, he found him sitting up in bed, reading a magazine he’d been given.

He had his wrist in plaster and bandages round his shoulder and his chest, but he still looked sickly, pale and far too thin. Still, Zach was intensely happy to see him and it was all he could do to stop from throwing his arms around the boy and hugging him tightly.

“I’m so happy to see you,” he told Madison as he sat down next to him, taking hold of his hand. “The doctor said you’re making a great recovery…you’ll be out in a week.”

The boy smiled.

“Good to see you’re okay too.”

Zach’s injury hadn’t been too bad. He’d had a doctor see to him and beyond feeling a little woozy for a day or two, there were no other problems. Still, work had given him a week off so he could spend the time with Madison, and to get over the experience he’d had.

“I decided something.”

The blond raised his head to look into the other’s dark eyes and drew the boy’s hand to his lips so he could press a soft kiss to the skin.

“What’s that, love?”

“I’m going to quit my job.”

Zach’s eyes widened slightly in shock, then a smile spread across his face and he couldn’t resist throwing his arms around Madison and hugging him as tight as he could without hurting him.

“Oh you don’t know how much that means to me.”

“I just can’t do it anymore,” Madison said softly, shifting to relieve the pressure that the man put on his chest, “not after everything that’s happened. I never wanted to do it…I stayed for Alysia and Rob…because they needed the money I earned, but I decided it was time to do something for myself. They’ll find another roommate, but I won’t have another chance for an opportunity like this.”

Zach released the boy reluctantly, but shifted to sit a little closer, leaning down so their lips almost touched.

“Move in with me.”

“I fully intended to.”

The boy leaned forward, slipping the fingers of his free hand around the back of the blond’s neck and pulling him down for a soft and gentle kiss. His fingers found the edge of the bandage that was secured around Zach’s head and he toyed with it gently, reminded of what the two of them had been through. Hopefully, there would never be anything like it again, hopefully they could be happy together.

Eventually, Madison pulled back and his fingers caught the other’s lapel, not allowing him to sit back.

“But I’m getting a job. I’m not going to let you carry me through life without doing anything for myself.”

“That’s fine with me, love.”

The blond leaned forward to capture his lover’s lips once more, toying with a lock of his dark hair. He’d been so worried about losing Madison, about never being with him again. It meant more to him than anything in the world to see him smile again, to know that nothing could come between them again.

He had a feeling everything was going to be fine for them from then on. Madison would get out of his job, move into the home that had felt too big, too empty for too long and they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. They could make love in every room in the house and settle down before the fire on a cold, winter night, wrapped warmly in a blanket.

It was hard to imagine that mere weeks ago, he’d locked the boy in a cell on a cold night, dismissing him as just another prostitute that had been stupid enough to get caught. But he’d grown to love the boy, more than anything, more than he ever thought he could.

He knew their relationship would never be perfect, but it was the closest thing he could imagine to it. Just having Madison back with him was all he needed, all he would ever need.

“I love you,” he whispered, knowing that he meant it with all his heart.

“I love you too.”

The whispered words were all he needed to hear. They made his heart leap in his chest and a smile spread across his face.

Yes, they were going to be fine. As long as they had each other.

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