There was something in his wrist.

Through the stifling cloud, Jack became aware of fingers pressing into his skin, manicured nails digging in. He kept his eyes on the floor. He could wait it out. Wait for the timer to go off. He didn't want to see the not-right teeth. To think of Kieran with needle-like things protruding from his mouth.

The chipper beep of a stopwatch echoed off the concrete walls, and Farragut drew back with a disappointed growl. He silenced the alarm and leaned back in to give Jack's wrist one last swipe with his tongue.

"Mmm, damn, Sparky. If I was gay, I'd fuck you like this. Make you like it, too," he said lowly, running his thumb along the seeping blood. "Maybe I'll grab you a hooker next time I'm out. Any preferences?"

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, waste of time and effort. Then again, I can grab two. One to prep, and one to fuck while she sucks you off. Bet you'd taste fucking great after," he said, leaning in close and breathing in deeply.

Nausea settled in Jack's throat. He didn't want anyone's mouth anywhere near his dick. Especially some poor random girl being forced into a fucked up threesome. "I'm fine. Really."

"Slipping… Sorry 'bout that," Farragut said as he gripped Jack's chin. He smiled as he caught Jack's eyes and spoke softly. "You know what'd be great? A blowjob. You want a blowjob. Now, what do you want?"

Not a blowjob. Jack didn't enjoy it the last time. It was weird.

But he had to answer the question. Not answering was always worse. What did he want? "I… I wanna go home."

"You are home," Farragut said slowly, his smile starting to drop. "Home is with me. Remember?"

Jack swallowed and almost nodded. No, home was with his mom. His mom was dead. He didn't have a home, but he didn't dare argue. "I miss my mom."

"God damned fucking tangents." Farragut sighed in frustration and cupped Jack's face with both hands. "You don't have a mom, Sparky. You're happy here. You like it when I'm happy. And I'd be real happy if you got off."

Jack swallowed as he quickly jumped to the easiest misinterpretation. Something he could actually deliver on. "You want me off the bed?"

"I want you to lie back, take your pants off, grab your dick, and jerk yourself off. Got it?"

Jack blinked slowly as he took stock of his body. There was no misinterpreting that command and the clear irritation behind it. Maybe he could have pulled it off ten years ago, but seeing Farragut's pretty blue eyes only set him on edge now. "But I'm not in the mood."

"You are now. You're feeling really horny, babe." Farragut looked away briefly. He forced a smile and lightly stroked Jack's hair. "You wanna put on a little show for me or something. 'Cuz you like me. You wanna impress me."

"I'm sorry. I'm not… I don't feel horny." And no amount of any sort of persuasion would help. Maybe if Kieran read some poetry, but that would run the risk of sending Jack onto a fit of giggles. He doubted Farragut would fetch Kieran just to recite Shakespeare.

"Fuck! I can get you to do everything else, why won't this work?" Farragut pushed away from Jack and stalked to the door and back. He clenched his fist as he glared down at Jack. "You fucking… What is wrong with you?!"

Jack needed to make Farragut happy. But how could he do that if he was too broken? "I'm sorry. I'm not faking it. I don't… I know how to make brownies," he offered. "Would that help?"

Jack watched in confusion as Farragut left in disgust. His mind slowly cleared, and he shook as he curled up in the corner, hugging his knees tightly as tears gathered and fell. Farragut wanted a better high, and Jack had no way of delivering.

He snorted out a short laugh between sobs. If only everyone knew about vampires, then he could say he had proof that he wasn't confused or faking his sexuality.

It wasn't much of a good side to his situation.

---

Kieran tongued one of the tiny slits his fangs retracted into as he contemplated the naked corpse resting in a shallow pool of water and blood in the bathtub. As much as he would like to get a second-hand high, he resisted grabbing a taste of the deceased drug addict. He wrapped the corpse's fingers around the bloody blade he held before letting it drop into the tub.

So many names had initially led him in circles, never able to pin down who was in charge of whom. Now? Now he had a solid lead.

Making the connection that Farragut was a fellow vampire made everything fall into place. No longer was there a mysterious ring leader. Kieran finally had a proper name to track down, and it came with plenty of conspirators and complications.

He stood and removed his gloves as he moved into the living room. He pulled out his phone and called Benoit.

She answered before the first ring finished.

"I'm hoping you've followed a trail that leads to the same conclusion as mine," she said in annoyance.

"I'm led to believe a Michael Farragut is one of us, and he has recently found his freedom," Kieran replied. He looked around the small and grimy apartment, not too different from Jack's. This one, however, had a few more pieces of furniture and far less electronic detritus piled in the corners. He was certain he'd seen a cockroach as well.

"Yes. His sire placed a price upon his head as of this morning."

"For what reason?" he asked, suspicion seeping into his thoughts with how Benoit's voice became prideful.

"He has little control and has drained more than one of her favorite donors. Sarah is deeply regretful of her mistake. To the point of sweeping him under the rug as if he never existed," Benoit said, her tone turning livid. "We had a talk, and she felt it prudent to take some responsibility. Even if it is only to acknowledge him and disown him within the same breath. I cleaned up after Lorenzo, I don't wish to do so for others."

"An overfeeder," Kieran murmured. He headed to the door, carefully picking his way around bits of trash. "And now he has Jack."

"Most likely. It's not yet public, but he died in prison, and his body has gone missing. I've dropped a hint that they should question the coroner more closely."

He paused as he pulled on a fresh glove. "Is that wise?"

"With young Mr. Elster's testimony on file? They've seen a thrall being questioned before," she said, dismissing Kieran's worries. "They'll claim it's drugs or trauma or some such."

"And you're going to rely on the police to find Jack? To hunt down a vampire? To face a vampire whose sire wants his head?"

"And you would prefer to have Jack turn up mostly unharmed? No sign of his kidnappers?" she shot back.

"If it meant he would be unharmed? Yes," he said, unable to grasp why Benoit would leave such a task to humans, much less those associated with the police. "But I have no delusions he'll come from this unscathed."

Benoit sighed heavily. "Very well. Do what you must. The others are in agreement."

Kieran closed his eyes and breathed in slowly. "So they might try to coax him once he's free to roam again?"

"It's better we all know who and what he is," she replied. Her voice was calm and soothing as she spoke. "When all eyes are upon you, you're more apt to be honest."

"Me, specifically?"

She quietly laughed. "I would love to say 'yes,' but no. I may not like you, but I can trust you."

It was quite possibly the nicest thing Benoit had ever said to Kieran.

"Even if it's to make a poor decision."