Runner (Riders of Apollo #3)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Raphael Flores

I need to move but landing on solid concrete floor after a drop like that fucking hurts. I sit up and wince as a sharp shock of pain lances down my back. I've probably broken something or made something bleed that really shouldn't be.

I finally get myself to my feet and start walking towards the only door but stick to the walls, I'm trying to avoid people noticing me moving because I really don't want to be strung back up again. The door flies open just as I get to the side of it and I only just avoid the swing of the door. It slams behind her and my jaw drops as I recognise the curly brown hair and dark skin.

"Maria..." I whisper, confounded. What the fuck is my sister doing in a torture warehouse in the middle of nowhere?

"Raphael? You're the man he took?" Her voice is shaky, quiet, completely different than what I remember. She was loud and feisty, always ready to go to the bat for anyone. I flicker my eyes over her and notice the small bruises and the way she flinches at every creak of the upper floor.

"Maria, we need to get out of here." I reply, my native language flowing out as I remember that she can understand me.

"No, turn around and sit on the floor. I'll tend to your injuries, you can't leave. We're leaving for the summer house in a few hours." She doesn't respond in Spanish as I expected her too, her American accent is perfect and shows none of her foreign descent but the fact that she's betraying me makes me weak at the knees.

We used to get along so well, I would protect her from idiot boys and help her with her homework and she was the first person I told about being gay and she supported me. Until my family exiled me and I fled from them in panic, having not spoken to her in close to four years.

"Maria, please. I have a husband and a son, I can't be here." I beg, hoping that my sister - someone who I love more than anything - will help me out of here to get back to my family.

"I have both, the same as you but you can be with us now. You don't need them anymore." My heart shatters and the adrenaline that got me off the ground begins to dissipate. Waves of pain roll over me, both physical and emotional and I find myself back on my knees in front of her with tears in my eyes.

"Maria, hermana, please. I beg you, don't make me stay here." (sister) She doesn't even flinch, no flash of pity or any emotion. I can't fight, I don't have the strength. I'm losing blood, I'm dizzy and I'm exhausted.

So I just let go, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as I drift off.

------

It's probably been days since I passed out but at least when I wake up this time, I'm not tied to the roof of a building. I'm in a warm bed, covered in silk and soft blankets. I slowly sit up and recognise the sting of the IV as I pull my arms underneath me to lift me. It looks like a mix of pain medication and fluids, stuff that I'm accustomed to so I gently pull out the needle and try and identify my surroundings.

This must be the summer house that Maria was talking about. I lift the t-shirt that I'm wearing and see bandages tightly wrapped over all of my cuts and most likely holding my ribs together. My head is no longer swimming and my eyes can actually focus so I can assume I'm not drugged, at least with nothing more than morphine.

I try and stand, noticing that my pants have also been changed out of my jeans and into some cotton shorts that tighten at the waist. I feel almost naked without my cut so I avidly search the room for it but have no success.

I check the windows first because if I want to escape then I want to do it without going passed anyone. Unfortunately, the bastards are locked and bolted with bulletproof glass that would make way too much noise if I broke it.

I glare at the wooden door before deciding that that is the only way to go. I dig through the room again, the attached bathroom and closet too for a weapon of some kind but only find a small pair of scissors and nail clippers. Unless I want to walk out of this room with a whole ass lamp, then my fists are gonna have to do.

I bet Saviour's pissed that I got myself taken again since it was her that trained me but it wasn't like I had a chance. Weirdly, the door opens when I turn the handle and I decide that these people are fucking stupid to leave it unlocked.

I slowly ease out of the room and feel slightly creeped out at the corridor, it's dark and quiet despite it being day time outside and four other doors line the hallway that remind me of a horror movie. Who the fuck have I been kidnapped by and why have I been given free reign?

I head to the end of the corridor where the stairs are and slip through the open door into a massive foyer. The floor is marble with a massive golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling with mirrors and portraits, that probably cost more than my bike, lining the walls.

What the fuck is this place?

"Raphael, you're awake! Fantastic, come join us for breakfast!" Mr Bainbridge - who I'm gonna call Douchebag from now on - shouts as he reaches the other end of the foyer and I eye him with disgust.

I walk over to him because most breakfasts are served with knives and I could do with a weapon that I can stab through his fucking neck just for the fun of it. I'm almost disappointed when I get there to find Maria and two little boys sat at the table as well. 

Two things. One, I obviously can't stab Douchebag in the throat in front of the kids; two, how the fuck is he gonna introduce me to said kids and his wife who technically hasn't met me yet?

"Honey, this is my friend Raphael. I found him on the streets and gave him a place to stay. Raphael," His hand clamps down on my shoulder in what is supposed to be a friendly gesture but I grit my teeth so I don't throw up on the breakfast table, "this is my wife Laura." I raise an eyebrow at Maria, who gives me a look to say 'you don't know me' so I just nod and let him shove me into the seat on his right.

Because I can't fight my way out right now, I decide I'm going to do the pettiest shit ever - something even a toddler can do - silent treatment. I answer the kids' questions because I can't help it, I couldn't imagine ignoring Ollie, but I quite happily ignore the other two at the table and I know Douchebag is getting angrier and angrier as the meal goes on.

"Raphael, let's go speak in my office." He declares once the meal has finished, leaving the two kids to head off to their playroom with their nanny while Maria - sorry, Laura - cleans up the table. Surely they have enough money for a maid but I suppose it's another way for Douchebag to control her.

He forces me to sit in one of the leather chairs in front of him before he leans on desk facing me, crossing his arms and his legs as he stares down at me. "You are a guest in my home, you will treat me with respect."

"A guest? A fucking guest? You kidnapped me, you dickhead! I'm not gonna sit around and look pretty, waiting for you to beat the living shit out of me."

"Rapha-"

"Don't fucking call me that." I hiss, my name is private and means a lot to me. The only person that can call me that is Mika but he is so far from me now that I can feel my heart tug in my chest. I feel like I've lost a limb. I don't know how I lasted so long without him before but now I can't imagine a day, let alone however long this has been.

"You are here to be my companion, my lover. You will not be beaten unless you go against my rules." I can taste the vomit in my mouth as I think about his lips on me, his hands touching my skin...

"I am not a living sex doll for your every need, I am a human being with a family that you've taken me from." He hits me across the face and rips my lip open, making me turn and spit the blood in his face. He pulls a posh handkerchief from the pocket of his slacks and wipes the blood away.

"You will come to love me, Raphael. It is inevitable."