Hidden Desire book 1 (Un)Control(led)

Chapter 38. Bones.

Looking at Davis, Briel asked the question that plagued him ever since finding out that he was under surveillance.

"What will happen to that young family watching me once my contract with Mr. Russell ends? Will they be jobless?"

Davis shook his head with clear regret.

"I'm not allowed to comment on that."

"Not even a simple yes or no?" Briel inquired.

"Sorry."

Briel snorted and looked out the window. The streets of Manhattan were slightly dusted with snow.

"Do you foresee any difficulty driving me home tonight?"

Davis looked at him through the rearview mirror.

"The weather reportedly clears up during the afternoon. So there shouldn't be any problems."

'Good', Briel thought. Because knowing he could leave tonight made him feel better.

Despite Kincade's assurance that he was the one in control of the tempo, it still felt the opposite. Today wasn't going to be fun with maybe the small exception of dinner. That was to say if the dietician didn't spoil that for him. Urgh.

Briel wondered what his PDA challenge of the day would be and fidgeted with his clothes during the elevator ride to the Sub apartment. Davis was busy on his phone and right after they left the elevator he received a message.

-Meet me in the Penthouse living room. You've got thirty minutes.-

After a quick shower Briel collected his outfit and spread the clothes out on the bed. Long-sleeved white t-shirt, dark blue jeans, sneakers and to his surprise an oversized dark grey hoodie. 'Perfect cover'. Question remained; for what? Kincade hadn't allowed him to hide yesterday. So why provide him comfort now?
A chilling thought froze him to the ground. 'The good hearted Dr. Laurel must have some follow-up questions after seeing his x-rays. His limp could be simply enough explained by the car accident, but the rest?'

Last time some kind meaning soul tried to 'help' him, he got beaten so badly he had trouble breathing for a week. His cousin was careful to never lay a hand on him. His kicks lay more in mental torture. He left the dirty work to his cronies who were only too happy to execute his orders. Between junior high and high school there were hardly days he was free of bruises. It came to a point that physical pain didn't affect him anymore. Not like the other kind. He learned to suppress and contain his raw emotions. Working with Kincade made him feel unbalanced, something he couldn't afford.

Walking towards the penthouse all he could think about was identifying the situation and enabling damage control. The less waves he made the better it would be. In fact he was heavily counting on the doctor/patient confidentiality to exclude Kincade from this talk without him having to interfere.

Briel entered the living room with a firmly placed mask.

"Welcome, Angel", Kincade said looking up from his iPad. "I'm sorry to see you looking so stressed."

He invited Briel to take a seat, frowning when the boy didn't escape to his 'bunker' instead sitting down on the farthest step.

"Dr. Laurel called and asked if she could see you to discuss the results in person." Kincade gauged his response. Nothing. "Because of privacy regulations I'm not allowed in with you, but I'll be waiting right outside the door should you need me."

Briel could feel the concern radiating of Kincade. He wasn't able to offer the man any comfort. It took all of his willpower not to balk at this point. Rehearsing a variety of scenario's in his mind Briel quietly followed Kincade through the building.