Succession (7 page)

I look nervously at Sy, who just nods his approval. “Who is it, sir?”

“Some guy by the name of Torenze,” Lanza replies, shrugging. “Says he’s a friend of your master. You’re not required to go, but you are allowed.”

A part of me wants to hide, to stay here with Sy and wait for Cash, but if Torenze is here, he wants something. I can only hope that it’s something that will help my master. If nothing else, he can give me information.

“All right,” I agree, rising and following the guard. He doesn’t say much, just leads me back out through the series of locked doors and into a small room.

“The room is sound proofed. A guard will be watching the camera; raise your left hand if you want to end the visit,” Lanza advises before leaving me.

Moments later, Oliver Torenze walks in, his face a mask.

“You should have called me to come get you, Sascha,” he chides. “There’s plenty of room in my house for another slave.”

I feel my skin crawl. My last memory of visiting his house had left me miserable for weeks; the marks are barely healed. “My master would prefer that I stay safe.”

Torenze sits. “Like he preferred not to tell me that he was going to release the results of his little research project?”

“He didn’t,” I mutter. “I did.”

Torenze shakes his head at me. “Yes, well, your actions don’t happen without consequence, boy. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?”

I don’t back down. “His mother was trying to expose him. She kidnapped me, said it was part of a slave evaluation, and then she raided the house. You’re his business partner—you knew the research would come out eventually.”

Torenze scowls at me. “I expected it to be fully developed, fully documented, and released in a reasonable manner. You have no idea what your stupid plan has caused, do you?”

I shrug, thinking of the riots I saw the day I was brought here. I can only assume it has gotten worse. “You don’t look like you’re suffering from it.”

“This has become an international problem, and the only reason I’m not sharing a cell with your master is because they haven’t found the data I’m hiding, yet,” he informs me, furious. “I haven’t decided whether to tell them I’m more than just a business partner, or to say I had nothing to do with it. They want a villain. I’d rather it not be me. I might do better to cooperate, but then, Cashiel might come out of this in one piece if he gets the right help. Doesn’t seem like he’ll be getting that anytime soon. His lawyer dropped him the moment this hit the news, and they’re not allowing him visitors.”

“Then how do you even know?” I ask, wondering if he’s just bluffing.

“Unlike Cashiel, I have a lot of connections,” Torenze reminds me, looking smug.

I sigh. Torenze does have connections, and plenty that Cash and I know nothing about. I need to take help where I can get it, at least until there’s another option. “I’m sure you didn’t just come here to visit.”

“I want a show of good faith,” he tells me, smiling. “I’m going to put a lot at risk here just by being involved. Cash has nothing left that I want. You do.”

It suddenly hits me that he’s not talking to me as a worthless slave. He’s negotiating with me. Not with Cash, not with Sy, just with me. I don’t smile back. “Let’s talk business, then.”

Torenze stands, slowly, and comes behind me. He places his hands on my shoulders and leans down to whisper in my ear. “I’m not interested in any more business. I want things that you can give me.”

I shudder, knowing exactly what he means. “You’ll help Cash if I do?”

“Yes,” Torenze agrees, pulling me out of the chair and turning me to face him.

I nod. “What do you want?”

Torenze smiles at me again, making my stomach turn. “You. Today. Right here. And again once your dear master is out.”

I unzip the jumpsuit, ready to meet his demands. “You can’t hurt me in here,” I inform him. “It’s against the visitation policy.”

“I doubt that’s true. But there will be time for that, later. I’d rather take my time with you again. Today, I just want to know you want me. Bad.”

“Okay.” Cash will be furious when he hears I’ve brokered this deal, but I can deal with him once we’re free. I toss the jumpsuit aside, eyes wide and ready to go.

“You’ll visit me at least every other month,” Torenze demands. “Once you’re out. I’ll even be nice and give you a few weeks to readjust.”

He sickens me, but if things go well, we can back out of the agreement. It’s not like it’s a legal contract. Once our project gains popularity, we won’t even need his fucking money anymore.

“Fine,” I agree, shrugging. “Let’s get to it.”

Torenze grabs me roughly, squeezing my cock until it hurts. “I’ll need something else from you,” he hisses. “Something that will guarantee your promises will be kept.”

“I don’t have anything,” I insist.

For a few seconds, Torenze squeezes hard, bringing tears to my eyes, and then he lets go and turns away. “I guess our deal is off.”

I panic. “Wait, no, hold on! I don’t have anything else about the business, but I do have… there’s something about me. Something personal. Leverage.”

Torenze raises an eyebrow at me, waiting.

I battle with myself for a few seconds before realizing it might be my only chance at getting out of here, my only chance at helping Cash and our project. “I… I wasn’t supposed to be Demoted. I switched Assessments with someone. I took their place.”

Torenze shakes his head. “Nice try, but that can’t be done. And anyway, that doesn’t tell me anything. What are they going to do, Demote you again?”

I grit my teeth. “It can be done, and when I get out of here, I’ll tell you how.” When Torenze is obviously not satisfied, I continue. “It was my brother. I switched Assessments with my brother and it worked.”

Torenze looks surprised, giving me a moment of victory even as I realize how much danger I’ve put my brother and his family in. But my real family, my master, the man I care about more than anyone else in the world is more important than that.

“What an interesting story that makes,” Torenze agrees.

I wait, nervous, hoping for his approval.

“Beg me to fuck you,” he orders. “Down on your knees.”

“Do we have a deal?” I demand. I need to hear it first.

“Oh, yes,” he agrees. “After all, I don’t want my business partner to suffer. Poor publicity. Puts me at risk.”

I wonder if he’s been playing me this whole time, if he would have helped anyway. I can’t think about it, so I drop to my knees instead. “Please fuck me,” I start. “I want it so bad.”

Torenze laughs. “If you could swap Assessments, I think you can act better than that. Show me. Show me just how desperate you are. Make it good.”

I nod, realizing I hadn’t tried very hard to begin with. I also realize that he’s flashing a smile up at the camera, and I’m not sure if he’s made a deal with the guards, or if he just likes taunting them.

Regardless, I put on the show he wants. I get down on my knees, I beg him, I wrap my arms around his legs and run my lips over his cock, through his pants. I touch myself, and when it makes him smile, I do it more, stripping off my jumpsuit so he can get a good view. I rut against his leg, the desperation turning real as it occurs to me that my failure spells my and Cash’s demise. I unfasten his pants with my teeth and take his cock into my mouth greedily, touching myself as I do.

When I’ve convinced him and brought him to hardness, the show is suddenly over. Without a word, he hauls me up, throws me over the table, and drives into me, hard and ruthless. I press my face into the table, wrapping my hands around my head, and bite back the screams that threaten to emerge every time he thrusts into me, dry and unprepared. When I try to relax, he winds one hand down to grab at my balls, squeezing tightly enough to make me yelp and tense up.

He finishes quickly, but not before turning me around, pressing my aching ass against the table, and jerking violently on my cock.

“Show the camera how much you love it.”

I wish I could think of Cash as I come, but I can’t spoil my memories of him. I think of my days at the re-education centers, at the brothel, and I force my body to comply with Torenze’s wishes. I come across his hand and he wipes it on my chest before pushing me away.

“I have a meeting with your master at ten tomorrow morning,” he tells me, triumphant. “I’ll make sure to give him your regards.”

I say nothing, just collapse to the floor and watch him dress. Without another word, he leaves the room.

Officer Lanza comes in a few minutes later and hands me a box of tissues. I mumble “thank you,” as I clean up and dress myself, and he escorts me back to the locked area.

“If he comes again, do you want to see him?” Lanza asks.

I nod immediately. “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

He nods, giving me a concerned look, and takes me directly back to Sy. I don’t know what to say to my new friend, so I just stand there. He must know. Tissues don’t remove the smell of semen, and they certainly don’t remove the smell of sweat. He motions for me to come closer and I wait for him to hurt me, even if only to satisfy some strange detention facility custom.

He puts his arm around me.

“Everything taken care of?” he asks.

I just nod, unable to speak.

“You can tell me about it later if you want,” Sy offers. “And don’t worry. What free people do… it doesn’t count in here.”

When the guards come back to torment us that evening, I’m ordered to my knees again by Sy. This time, I don’t fight it. I go to my knees immediately, strangely comforted as I feel his fingers slipping through my hair, holding my head. He doesn’t pull me onto his cock, but our audience can’t tell the difference. We move in time, my head, his hand, and I take him into my mouth without a second thought.

He’s soft at first, but it only takes a few flicks of my tongue to get him hard. I wrap my arms around his legs, supporting myself, and I make sure to bob my head up and down. As his cock works deep into my throat and back out, almost past my lips, I curl my head around, working it from other angles. In different circumstances, it might be fun to explore Sy’s body, noting the way he responds to the tip of my tongue tracing around the head of his cock, or the way he gasps when I suddenly take him deep, flicking my tongue up and down across the underside. I don’t mind that he’s enjoying it; it makes the whole ordeal go more quickly and makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.

Even if I hate the audience, I do like putting my skills to good use. For a moment, I can even zone out, pretending I’m somewhere else. I close my eyes, focusing only on the task in front of me, and I feel him tensing, responding both to my touch and the threat of displeasing the guards.

This time, Sy’s hand stays soft and comforting in my hair as I bring him off as quickly as possible. He holds my head in place, probably making sure I don’t pull off and embarrass us both, but he doesn’t need to. As his come fills my mouth, I swallow quickly, keeping my lips wrapped tightly around his cock until he’s finished. I feel him soften under my tongue, and I wait until he moves my hand and takes my arm to pull me to my feet.

Chapter 6
Protection

A part of me is thrilled when I hear that Oliver Torenze is visiting Sascha. It makes me nervous that my new friend is being taken to a private room with the man; I am fully aware of Torenze’s penchant for torture. While I wasn’t often around in his meetings with my master, I knew that they both dealt in slave organs, and it was common knowledge that Torenze liked to conduct his own “experiments” at home. I saw it myself in the slaves he brought along with him. His pretty pets, most of whom changed with every meeting, tended to sport bruises, cuts, and burns. And those were just the injuries I could see. The way that they cringed, limped or struggled to breathe hinted at even worse tortures occurring behind closed doors. I would rather not see Sascha going home with him, not only because I want to use Sascha for my own purposes, but because I’ve come to like the pretty boy. But the visit gives me hope.

Slaves don’t typically get visitors in detention facilities, especially from private interests. I’ve been ignored for almost my entire stay here—I assume that any visitor I will get will tell me that I’m being sold. Worse, a visit might result in my immediate or impending death. For Torenze to lower himself to visiting a place like this, there must be a reason. I doubt he would have come just to retrieve his business partner’s slave. Sascha must have something he wants. If Sascha is valuable to Torenze, he might be valuable to my master and the Argova family. It gives me hope. Maybe he can be useful. Maybe I can as well.

I can’t help feeling guilty for exploiting Sascha, though. I’m not just forcing him to suck my cock, I’m using him as a pawn for my master’s games and to save my own ass. Torenze obviously took his turn terrifying the boy and fucking him against his will; I don’t want to be in that same category.

“Sorry about earlier,” I tell him, once we’re alone for the night. “I swear, the guards will lose interest in a couple of days, and then you won’t have to do it anymore.”

“It’s okay,” Sascha insists, smiling at me. “I don’t mind. I think I’d rather if you enjoyed it.”

I laugh. “I’m not going to say that I don’t enjoy it, but I don’t like taking advantage of you. It’s wrong.”

“Well, then, can we stick with ‘thank you’ instead of ‘sorry’?” Sascha presses. “I don’t think you have to apologize for it. You’re doing a lot for me; don’t think I’m not aware of it.”

“Sascha, I think you’re aware of everything,” I point out. He’s aware that I’m already using him, just in other ways. He shouldn’t have to do this, too. “I see you all day. Watching. Observing. You act like you’re just aching to get back to some higher purpose, like you’re distracted from saving the world or something.”

“We’re taking on the Miller System,” Sascha reminds me. “We are trying to fix the Demoted system, or at least a part of it. I don’t mind making a few sacrifices.”

I feel uncomfortable, realizing that I am one of those sacrifices. I’ve killed for my masters before, but taking advantage of Sascha seems wrong. Doing it just to save my own ass seems very wrong.