Guns n' Boys Book 1 Part 2 (37 page)

He ran over to the car, time slipping through
his fingers like water. The police signal was getting closer,
Domenico was shot and bleeding on the asphalt. It was all too much.
Nothing would stop him though. He got to the trunk of the car in
hope to find something useful, only to spot the one thing that
could possibly save his ass. A crowbar. His relief was hard to
describe when he grabbed the bar of steel along with a flashlight
and got back to the manhole.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he chanted the magic word
in hope it would help him open the cover. Time was snaking out of
his hands.

“The police’s comin’,” mumbled Domenico,
slowly dragging himself up the wall. “I forgot to pay my taxes, I
think.”

With a strained groan, Seth lifted the cover
and pushed it aside. “It’s not funny! Come on, let’s go.” He rushed
over to Dom. They needed to be quick and close the cover from the
inside before anyone found them. He hoped escaping through the
sewers would be too surreal to be anyone’s first guess.

Domenico’s face, now obscured by all too much
blood and hair turned to him with a slight smile. He reached over,
grabbing Seth’s hand and approached in a half-bent position. There
was something so odd about his behavior Seth wasn’t sure what to
think, but this wasn’t the time for questions. He got in first,
trying to ignore the stench as he descended into the darkness with
only the metal ladder as his lifeline.

Halfway down, he looked at Dom’s face,
surrounded with light as if he had a halo. “Come on!”

It took a moment, but Domenico eventually
managed to get onto the ladder. His moves were slow and a bit off,
but contrary to Seth’s worries, he did go down safely—if slowly—to
join Seth on what felt like a narrow walkway on the side of the
underground stream. Seth pulled him close and extended his leg to
the side, using his foot to check how much space they had. It was
three feet at best.

“Wait here, I need to close it,” Seth rasped,
surprised by how exhausted he was. But he found the strength to
finish the deed and came back down in the darkness. When he turned
on the flashlight, for a moment he regretted he did. Domenico
looked like a dead man walking. Face pale and bloodied, limping, he
was leaning against the brick wall in a large sewer channel. It was
as far removed from his usual glamorous style as it could get.

Dom swallowed, looking at Seth, wide-eyed.
“Go, I’ll fight them off,” he said, even though he looked as if he
could fall down into the dark river of waste any moment now.

“No way. Let’s go. Are you able to? What’s
with your leg?” Seth wrapped an arm around Dom’s waist and kissed
his temple, ignoring the coppery taste.

“Doesn’t hurt,” muttered Domenico, embracing
Seth’s waist and pulling close. Only now did Seth realize his lover
was shivering. “Please, go.”

“No, no, no, we’ll get out, find someone to
fix you up. Come on.” Seth made a brief move with the flashlight,
over the darkness between some pipes above them, then lower,
spotting three round corridors. One was so narrow they’d have to
crawl, another one didn’t seem to have a dry walkway, which left
corridor number three as their best option. Decisions had to be
made, so he pulled Dom forward, his insides getting frosty with
fear. “Sweetheart… Please.”

He wanted to say more, but the moment Dom put
more weight on his injured leg, he stumbled with a low hiss, and
only Seth’s quick reflexes saved him from falling over. “I can’t
run,” he whispered in the darkness.

“That’s fine, I’ll help you. We’ll get
through this,” Seth assured him, but truth be told, he had no idea
where they could get out, the smell was getting him nauseated, and
he was running out of options. His feet kept slipping on the
walkway, but he never stopped pulling Dom along, farther into the
filthy tunnel of his choosing. It could as well end up being their
coffin. Even the illumination from the flashlight wasn’t stopping
it from feeling like a march into a hell frozen over. The channel
echoed each of their steps as they laboriously went on. Seth was a
strong guy, but even for him, dragging Domenico along wasn’t a walk
in the park. The guy was heavy and could go from steady to limp
within a single step. His breath echoed in Seth’s ears, getting
lower and raspier with each passing minute, though it was hard to
estimate time. A steady whisper of water resonated hollowly through
the channel, and Seth tried to focus on it instead of the growing
sense of panic at the idea of getting lost in the sewage system,
dying somewhere in a puddle and getting eaten by rats. The mouth of
the corridor reminded him of the throat of some snake-like monster,
with white teeth of small stalactite-like structures hanging from
the ceiling. But he had to dive in deeper.

He was illuminating the walkway in front of
them, constantly stopping to listen if they were being followed. It
was getting his nerves so tense, he could practically feel them
pulling his body into a hunch.

They got to another crossroads, and to go
farther they would have to cross the disgusting black water at
their feet. Seth let Dom sit by the wall and kneeled by him. He
leaned down with the crowbar and put it into the liquid to check
how deep it was. He needed to carry Dom over if he wanted to avoid
an infection. To his dismay, the dark water wasn’t nearly as
shallow as he had hoped, and he let go of the crowbar, leaving it
beneath the surface. He couldn’t risk Dom falling in there while
wounded, so in the end, they carried on, taking yet another turn.
He swallowed, praying the battery in the flashlight would last. And
to make matters worse, Domenico seemed heavier with each passing
step.

“Seth... rest,” he suddenly muttered,
slumping on his arm.

Seth took a deep breath of the filthy air and
helped Dom sit down. His muscles were strained, but he wouldn’t
give up. “Show me where you’re hurt,” he said between one breath
and another. His arm was tingly and almost numb when Domenico let
go of him, falling to the ground like a stone.

Dom grunted and pressed his hand to his
thigh, but hair was obscuring his whole face. “I’m bleeding,” he
whispered.

“Fuck. Fuck. We have to put something around
it.” Seth huffed and took off his leather jacket and hoodie, to get
to his T-shirt. It was sweaty, but it would have to do.

“My pants are fucking wet,” whispered
Domenico, and as he pulled his hand away from the leg, Seth
shuddered at the bright red on the glove.

“Oh, God.” Seth’s stomach plummeted. “We’ll
take care of it. You will be fine.” Seth helped Domenico up and
pulled off his pants. He hadn’t noticed how much Dom was bleeding
because of the dark fabric. Seth’s mind was focused only on getting
Domenico to safety. He tied the T-shirt around the tender flesh of
Dom’s wound, trying to think of a way out. He made sure to apply
extra pressure above and helped Dom into his pants again. His
throat was clenching at the stickiness on his bare hands.

Domenico let out a bone-chilling laugh, as if
reading his thoughts. “We’re not gonna make it together...”

“Don’t even say that,” Seth grabbed Dom’s
hand with a steel grip. He refused to let go. “We ran away. All we
need is to push forward for a while longer.”

Domenico shook his head, but it was hard to
read his face with so much hair obscuring it. “You can’t travel
with me in this state. I’ll slow you down.”

“We’ll think of something,” Seth said, though
his mind was blank. They were in a dark tunnel, with Dom wounded,
no idea of where they were, and on the run from the mafia. And the
police. The epitome of ‘fucked’.

“What? You can’t get me to a hospital, and I
know no independent doctor around here.” Domenico’s wet,
copper-smelling hand went around Seth’s throat, but it was more
like a hug than anything else. “I won’t make it.”

“No, no…” Seth sniffed, and his voice became
shaky. “You’re strong. There must be a way out somewhere close.” A
few tears ran down his face so he turned off the light. He needed
to be strong for the both of them.

When Domenico spoke again, his voice was as
calm and steady as ever. “I love you. You need to go.”

More tears streaked down Seth’s face. Why
now? He couldn’t breathe. This was all too much. He hugged Dom
tightly, shaking with the amount of stress twisting in him.

But his mind never lost focus. He knew what
to do.

“I love you too. That’s why I’ll get you
out,” he whispered and kissed Dom’s lips gently, not to hurt him.
“I know someone who can sew up a wound.” Seth got up and slowly
pulled Dom up with him. Domenico’s muscles were even laxer than
before, but having finally heard those three words he so longed for
made Seth feel invincible. “I love you so much.”

“You can’t,” muttered Domenico, letting his
head fall to Seth’s shoulder. “In Williamsburg, ask for the
Elephant in a place called Monsoon Cat,” he uttered against Seth’s
shoulder.

“No, no, you don’t have to tell me this.
You’ll be with me.” Seth started pulling Dom forward for an
eternity of steps. In the end, they reached a ladder in the wall
and he took a deep breath. He didn’t hear any cars so maybe he
wouldn’t be decapitated when he tried to push up the cover.
Domenico attempted to climb up, but he swayed and almost fell back
into Seth’s arms with a grunt of pain. He was becoming increasingly
boneless, and Seth had to act fast if he wanted to fulfil his
promise.

“Go on first,” Seth urged, “I’ll be right
behind you.”

Domenico hugged the ladder, but tried again,
struggling up step by step. Seth followed him right away, just to
make sure he wouldn’t fall down. With Dom caged against his chest,
they slowly made their way up, step by painful step. But what would
await them above? He only hoped they wouldn’t emerge from a manhole
in the middle of the street, surrounded by cops. It didn’t seem to
be the case though, the street above them was completely quiet.

Seth pushed out the cover, which was a lot
easier from down in the sewer. Some slush fell on them from above,
but it didn’t matter. He gave it his all, and even though his
muscles were screaming with pain, he eventually pushed the metal
plate all the way off the manhole. “Crawl out,” he whispered when
he realized there was grass under the snow. It was difficult to
hold on to the ladder with Dom moving up, but he bore it, and
eventually even helped his lover onto the surface. Dom rolled onto
his back, and only now, in daylight, could Seth see how pale he was
in contrast to the red and black mess on his face.

Seth hardly cared about the possibility of
anyone seeing them, especially since they were somewhere between
tall buildings, on a small patch of ground behind a bush. He
climbed out and quickly pushed the cover into place.

There was no time to lose. Seth looked
around, hardly able to get up, but when he realized where they
were, he wanted to laugh. They had to have been walking in circles
down in the sewers because they’d ended up only across the street,
behind the building Seth used to live in with Peter. This was the
Christmas present he didn’t know he wanted. Maybe there was a God
after all? Now only a harrowing trip up the fire escape, and he
would get Dom to the only person whom Seth trusted enough. With the
best of intentions, but Rob
would
give them up.

“Let’s go, Dom. We’re so close.”

Domenico glanced at him and nodded, slowly
rolling to his hands and knees. It was painful to watch him so
weak. Dom was unbreakable. He was supposed to be.

Seth helped him to his feet and looked out
from behind the bush. The tiny square was empty now that it was too
cold for the local children to play in the sandbox, so he half led,
half dragged Dom toward the emergency stairs. Hidden in a narrow
alley between two buildings, they should be safe. Especially at
this time of day when most of the residents were at work or hiding
from the cold.

For a moment, Seth left Dom so he could pull
down the ladder. He had to move a dumpster and climb on top of it
to reach the bottom rung, but he dealt with it as quietly as he
could. His heart was pounding in panic that someone would see them,
but it was sink or swim. He helped Dom into his arms and picked him
up. Step by step, they climbed up the ladder as quietly as they
could. Seth pulled it up the moment they reached the bottom
platform. He used to love that Peter lived on the last floor, but
now he detested each flight of stairs with a passion. Domenico was
trembling all over, and eventually stumbled over the railing,
falling to his knees with a low hiss.

“Wait,” he pleaded, reaching out to grab the
hem of Seth’s shirt.

“We need to go up before someone sees us.”
Seth quickly rubbed his eyes.

“My head’s fucking spinnin’,” mumbled Dom,
pulling himself to all fours and moving up the stairs in that
position.

“I’ll help you.” Seth shook his head and
scooted down for Dom to climb on his back. When he was sure Dom was
holding on tightly, he started a march up the never ending stairs.
He didn’t stop for a second, afraid that if he did, he wouldn’t be
able to continue. While he was keeping noise to a minimum there was
always a possibility of someone calling the police, but he couldn’t
let himself be distracted by fear now that Dom needed him so badly.
Seth’s muscles burned, but all he could think of was Peter helping
Dom survive this. Sewing up the wound with those dainty, skillful
fingers of his.

The moment he stepped on the landing by
Pete’s window, he wanted to cry with joy. He put Dom down and
knocked on the window. Tuesdays were Peter’s days off, so there was
a fair chance he’d be in. The spare room was so familiar Seth
hardly stopped himself from attempting an entry, but that was when
he saw a movement inside.

Peter looked at him, wide-eyed, with perfect
blond hair and a smooth chest showing from underneath a light pink
robe.