An Unlocked Mind (Secrets #2)(11)

Lesson learned. No more rinse and repeat. Enough is enough.

When a car pulled up alongside him, a tremor of fear rippled through him. The club was in a relatively quiet area, especially this late at night, and he was walking alone. Shit. Why didn’t I call for a taxi from the club? He already knew the answer to that one. He’d been in too much of a damn hurry to get out of there, thanks to that guy—

The same guy who was now staring at him through the rolled-down window of the car.

“Where are you going?” the man—Vic, that was his name, right?—asked. Except it was more of a demand than a question. Well, fuck him. Rob marched on, ignoring him, the wind driving the rain into his face. He was way beyond wet by now. Like a drowned rat would have been a better description. “Don’t make me ask a second time, boy.”

Not your fucking boy! The words were on the tip of Rob’s tongue. Then he remembered Vic’s size. “I’m heading for Euston.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Do you know how far that is from here? Get in.”

Again, not a request. The wind chose that moment to blow a heavy gust of rain right at him, and Rob was done. He opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. He buckled his seat belt and put his head back against the rest.

Why did I bother to come here again? Shit. What a mess.

The driver switched on his hazards, then held out a hand. Rob stared at it.

“I’m Victor Prentiss. My friends call me Vic.”

Rob sighed, then took Vic’s hand. He wasn’t surprised to see it dwarfed his own. “Rob. Robert Daniels.”

“Nice to meet you. You don’t live in London?”

Rob shook his head. “Manchester.”

Vic lifted his eyebrows. “You’re a long way from home. Don’t you have a club nearer to you?”

Rob wanted to snort. He could just imagine the look on Alex’s face if he was to walk through the doors of Collars & Cuffs. The sheer audacity of the thought made him laugh, but it was less mirthful and more hysterical. Why am I doing this to myself? What had he really hoped to gain?

“My question amuses you?” Vic’s voice was low-pitched and rumbled out of him.

Rob ran his fingers through his sopping-wet hair. Here he was, in a car with a man he didn’t know, and he was getting everything soaked. “No. Yes. I don’t know. Maybe.”

“You know the trains don’t start running for hours yet.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Silence fell for a moment, and Rob’s stomach churned at the thought of what Vic would say next.

“Well, you’ve got a couple of options here. First, I can drop you at the station and you can try to sleep there, assuming they’ll let you in. Second, you can let me drive you home.”

“What—to Manchester? You’re joking.” Rob stared at him.

Vic merely shrugged. “It’ll take a few hours, but I prefer that to leaving you out here alone. That leaves us with one last option. You can spend the night at my place. I have a guest bedroom, and it’s a lot safer than trying to get across London in the dark.”

It took a second or two for Vic’s words to sink in. Then another to realize he’d spoken in earnest. He really would drive me back to Manchester. Rob had no clue why he should believe him, but the fact that he did was huge. The enormity of the offer had Rob’s head spinning. No one has ever done anything nice for me. Not really. His brother had run off and left him alone with their crazy mother and a father who was too indifferent to care. Alex hadn’t even bothered to invite Rob to his wedding. Not that Rob could blame him. He’d been so damned angry at Alex.

Except that wasn’t quite true, was it? His anger had morphed into concern, but when he tried to share that, there had been unforeseen consequences. The police had questioned Leo, armed with their mother’s accusations of abuse, and then Alex had understandably cut most of the ties with his family.

That was my fault. I did that.

Tears trickled down his cheeks. I am such a fuckup. He ruined everything good he wanted in life by being a little prick. Anger and jealousy had driven him to create a schism between him and his brother. And now Rob was alone. His friends—not that they ever really were—kept ragging on Alex, and after a while, it got old. Alex hadn’t done anything wrong. All he’d done was find love.

Love.

What must it be like to love someone like that?

When a heavy hand landed on Rob’s shoulder, he flinched, his breath hitching.

“Sorry. You just looked like you were so lost. If you want to talk, I’ll be happy to listen.”

Do I want to talk? Would Vic really understand how truly horrible Rob had been? Could he stand to see the censure in Vic’s expression that Rob saw every time he looked in the fucking mirror? How do you destroy everything and then expect to come back from it?

The car still hadn’t moved, and Rob’s heart sank. Great. Vic was going to put him out too. But when Vic unbuckled his belt and pulled Rob closer, all the emotions that had been so perilously close to the surface finally burst free. For the first time in his life, Rob silently admitted he hated himself for what he’d done to Alex. For the part he’d played in Alex’s leaving. For the fact that he’d been such a bastard. Even if Alex had… no, that didn’t matter right now. It was beside the point. Rob was….