The Prison (Book 1)

Popping the Question

My blood ran cold when I realized just what was going on. Interpol had somehow tracked down Schneizel and Cade, two escaped convicts, to this island. They were here to take them back to prison -or make sure they never ran away again.

"Fuck, how the hell did they find us?" Cade growled. He looked like a criminal who'd been caught red-handed.

One glance around me revealed to me that almost every single person on the beach was as equally stunned and alarmed by the chopper's appearance as I was. No one had seen it coming.

"Oh, this cannot be happening right now! What are we going to do?" I yelled over the sound of the spinning chopper blades, the panic beginning to set in my very bones.

Would this nightmarish night ever end? It hadn't even been a full hour since being reunited with Schneizel before we were being chased and hunted by someone else again!

Schneizel's violet-blue eyes met mine. As soon as I saw the sheer strength and resolve in their blue depths, my breathing stilled momentarily.

Even this did not faze him. I was beginning to wonder just what could. He looked alarmingly unworried, his face a stoic mask of resolve, as if he'd been chased down by a thousand Interpol helicopters before. Possibly, he had been. At this point, I wouldn't put anything past him.

He took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "This will all be over soon, I promise."

"Please tell me those are your guys too," I practically pleaded with him, wanting to believe that we were not actually in any real danger.

Schneizel smiled almost bitterly, his harsh face bright with the light of the chopper's beam. "I'm afraid not."

"What do you do?" Every instinct in my body told me to run.

Schneizel looked at me. "Do you trust me?"

Though the question had come out of nowhere, the answer was already ready at the tip of my tongue. "Yes."

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. My heart soared higher than the helicopter hovering menacingly over us. That one little gesture spoke volumes. "Thank you for trusting me," Schneizel was saying.

I suddenly felt empowered, strong enough to take on the whole world. I belatedly realized that Schneizel had known this would happen when he broke out of prison to come rescue my stupid ass. He'd known full well that the world would come for him with guns blazing. Yet he'd done it anyway, heedless of the consequences to him.

All for little old me.

God, I loved him so much. I had never imagined that it was possible to love someone so much, to want to be with someone so badly. It physically hurt to be apart from him. These last few months being held captive on this island had been made all the more unbearable with him being so far away from me.

If I did meet my end on this island, then I would do so as a happy, contended man, knowing that the man I loved was with me. My only regret would be that I couldn't apologize to him for not giving him a chance to clear his name, when deep down I knew that it was Hazel who kissed Schneizel.

"Move and we shoot!" Warned the Interpol agent through his megaphone as the chopper began to descend.

On the horizon, I spotted two speeding boats that were flashing red and blue colors across the black water. They were headed right for us, undoubtedly carrying more agents. Soon, Interpol agents would swarm the beach.

"Aiden, look at me."

I did, turning to face Schneizel.

"If you come with me, this will be your life from now on. You will face danger and peril every step of the way just for being with me. People will try to get to you just to get to me. I never wanted this for you; I even thought you'd be safe if you stayed far away from me, so I let you slip out of my fingers, but it seems we're bound together now, whether I like it or not. Can you handle that?"

For the first time since meeting him, I saw what could only be genuine fear reflecting in the King's eyes. He was afraid that I'd say no. He was afraid of losing me.

"Yes, because you'll be there to protect me," I said unblinkingly and without an ounce of hesitation.

Schneizel's harsh face softened for an instant. "That I swear to you. You'll never be rid of me." And he meant every word, I could tell. His words resonated within me, stirring my heart and warming my belly.

I felt tears brimming at the corners of my eyes. I sniffed them back.

"I won't have it any other way," I smiled through tears. There was so much more I wanted to say, but it was neither the place nor time.

Without ever breaking eye contact with me, Schneizel said to Cain, "I hope that knee of yours is in better shape than I remember."

"I'll take you on in a race any day." Cain replied confidently, but the hint of fear in his voice was unmistakable. "Besides, why should I run? They're here for you, not for me."

"Feel free to stay. It's your island."

Cain watched the approaching boats with dread, and quickly made up his mind. "I'd really rather not."

He took hold of my hand and said, "Good. Now run."

Cain, Cade, about two dozen men and Schneizel and I turned around and ran down the docks in the direction of the jungle. As soon as we did, they opened fire on us.  

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Only a few chapters remain until the book finale! Hope you've enjoyed the ride so far! If you'd like to read ahead, consider joining my Patreon to gain early access to The Prison's and almost all my other stories' chapters, exclusive NSFW chapters, bonus The Prison short stories, spicy NSFW artwork made by yours truly, and much much more! The Prison is also complete on my Patreon, and I'm uploading the next book in the series by the title The Cage ;D