Chapter 20

What the hell is wrong with him today? Devyn wondered as he looked over at Jason as they walked to his SUV. The huge man seemed nervous, jittery. God, he hoped the man didn't do anything stupid.

Devyn slung the backpack on the floor of the Ford as he climbed in, careful of his sore body. He watched the tall man slide in, resting his hands on the steering wheel. Jason took a deep breath.

Devyn slid his hand to the man's thick thigh, hesitantly, wanting to soothe the man.

Jason's eyes shot up to meet his.

^It's okay,^ Devyn assured, watching the man's face crumple in pity and distress. Devyn tried to smile. ^I'm fine.^

"Devyn, I--" But Jason couldn't look at him. And Devyn couldn't blame him. His shame swept over him as he pulled his hand back and turned to the window, not wanting to see the look of distain or disgust from the man.

The engine started, and they pulled away from the Milburn estate. It wasn't long before they pulled up to a familiar apartment building. The 'spanish tutor'.

"Devyn," Jason's voice was suddenly tense but an odd conviction and fierce resolve that Devyn didn't understand, and Devyn looked at him through his blond bangs. "I want you to listen to me--"

Devyn shook his head and smiled. ^Just stay here. I'll be back--^ He didn't want this man to have to walk him in there, knowing what he was leading Devyn to now.

"No, stop."

Devyn frowned.

"I'm not letting you go in there alone," Jason said with a growl. "God, if I'd known all these times what I was taking you to..." Jason dropped his head back on the headrest, his eyes tinged with the hint of tears.

Devyn started to protest, not wanting this man who had allowed him some happiness with Michael to berate himself for something he couldn't have changed. But Jason snapped up, his eyes suddenly hard with steely determination. "No, listen, I have some evidence." He glanced up at the apartment building as he pulled his phone from the front pocket of his shirt. "But we can get more."

Devyn found himself shaking his head insistently. No, no, no. No, he couldn't be saying this. He'd get himself killed if Brad ever found out--

"No," Jason snapped, and Devyn saw the hard look of tenacity in his eyes. "I'm doing this with or without you," he said, and before Devyn could react, Jason had plucked the backpack up out of Devyn's hands and slung it over his own shoulder. He was out of the car before Devyn broke from his stunned confusion at Jason's vehement determination.

Devyn jumped from the car, slamming the door as he raced after the taller man.

^No, no, no--^ Devyn implored, grabbing at Jason's button down shirt sleeve.

"Devyn, just follow my lead," Jason said calmly. "Please."

Devyn stilled at the beseeching look his guard was giving him. Shit, the idiot was going to get them both killed, Devyn groaned. Well, maybe badly maimed. Devyn sighed. What the fuck did it matter anymore? He'd already lost the one thing that had begun to make his life worth living for anyway.

^Fine,^ Devyn finally agreed, heading for the elevator, hoping he wasn't leading the man to his funeral.

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Jason took a calming breath as he set his phone to silent before turning on the video from the camera. He showed Devyn, who just frowned at him, as he hit the record button and slid it into his shirt pocket. The top of the phone peeked out with the camera lens and microphone visible.

Jason smiled as Devyn shifted uneasily.

"Just smile and keep quiet," Jason said.

Devyn rolled his eyes at the ridiculous statement.

Jason flushed when he realized what he had said. "Oh, yeah. Well, you know what I mean."

Jason moved in front of Devyn. "Stay behind me," he whispered before he knocked on the door.

Jason shifted the backpack on his shoulder as the door opened to a smaller, hispanic-looking man. Jorge Natales, 'the spanish tutor', actually looked very friendly. He was well-dressed and very clean cut. Jason would not have guessed the man to be a drug dealer nor a sexual predator. Of course, that was probably the whole point.

"Ahh, Devyn, come on in, son," Jorge greeted, waving his hand.

Jason took the opportunity to step into the doorway, effectively blocking the man from shutting him out.

"Hey there, Mr. Natales," Jason greeted, holding his hand out. "I'm Jason Yates. I'm with Devyn now."

The man looked stunned by Jason's move into the apartment for a second before recovering and shaking Jason's hand.

"Of course. Brad told me a new guy would be escorting Devyn when we last spoke," Jorge smiled, his gaze sweeping over the blond as he edged in behind his bodyguard.

"Good," Jason took another step, glad that the man instinctively retreated.

"Come on in, Devyn," the olive-skinned man urged, reaching for the younger blond.

Jason shifted to subtly block the man.

"There's a coffee shop across the street," Jorge suggested, not so subtly.

"Well, here's the thing," Jason said, shifting the backpack so that the man realized who was holding his stash. "Brad told to keep an eye on the kid."

"He's never--"

"Yeah, see there was an accident last week with one of the other guys, so Brad's being a little protective today."

"An accident? How so?" the man frowned, as if he didn't believe what Jason was saying.

Shit, Jason cursed in his head, if the man didn't believe him and called Brad...

"Show 'im, Devyn," Jason nudged the small blond, reluctantly conceding that it was probably the only way to appease the man's doubt.

Devyn hesitated before pulling up his shirt slightly to reveal the dark purpled bruise on his ribs.

Jorge scowled, reaching to touch the boy's ribs, "Shit, some of those other assholes don't know how to treat you do they, sweetheart?"

Jason choked down his growl as he shifted further in front of Devyn, blocking the other man's view of the kid, as well as the seeking hand. Like hell you're going to touch him again, you bastard, Jason curled a fist, but managed to keep the slight smile on his face.

"I've never hurt him. Have I, Dev?" Jorge looked like he might step around Jason, but he didn't. Instead, he just looked disappointed. "Well, crap, and I was looking forward to your visit."

Jason schooled his features to mask the disgust trying to rise up this throat.

"So, anyway, I'm here with the kid," Jason reiterated, "Just to be safe."

"Yeah, well," Jorge seemed to focus more on Jason now that he knew that the man wasn't leaving, "the other guy, Kieran, never stayed before, even when--"

"That's 'cause Brad didn't trust him worth shit. Brad and I go way back," Jason grunted, forcing his best tough-guy attitude, hoping the guy would believe him. "We stole our first car together. Stripped it, sold off the parts. Way back when, you know. We've been pretty tight since then," Jason continued with a crooked smile, thinking that the man might think he was more trustworthy knowing he'd done illegal stuff too.

The man tilted his head slightly. "So how come you're just now starting to work for Brad, then?" Obviously, the man wasn't quite ready to believe his story.

"Cause I was in jail for a couple years," Jason lied easily. "I laid low for a bit and then Brad called me to do him a favor. So here I am."

Jorge Natales laughed, holding out his hand. "Give me the backpack."

Jason handed it over, keeping his body angled directly at the man to make sure it recorded everything he was doing. Jorge immediately opened a zipper pocket hidden inside of the pack, pulling out an ziploc bag that held several smaller bags of a white powder. Jason almost smiled when the man held up the bag to examine it, pulling out one packet to test it.

"Not that I don't trust Brad," Jorge explained as he tasted the drug, "But you never know."

Jason just shrugged. "Hey, for all I know it's powdered sugar. I just brought the kid and the backpack. I didn't pack it."

"Powdered sugar, right," the man snorted. The man sighed in satisfaction as he put the bag down and reached for the counter. "Brad does sell the best cut of coke, purer than some of the other shit out there who cut 'til is barely nothin'. My buyers have never been happier."

Jason tensed briefly when he couldn't see the man's hand, worried that the next thing he'd see was a gun in his face. But the drug dealer just pulled back a wad of cash and shoved it into the pocket that the drugs had been in. Jorge zipped up the bag and held it out to Jason.

Jason glanced back at Devyn as he took the bag. The kid was still standing there in near shock at what was happening. "Let's go, Devyn."

He nudged the boy toward the door, keeping his body between the drug dealer and the kid. He noticed that Devyn's hand was shaking as he reached for the doorknob.

"Bye, Devyn," Jorge called, grabbing the edge of the door as it swung open. "I'll see you in a couple weeks."

Not if I have anything to say about it, asshole, Jason thought. Instead, he just nodded his good-bye and herded Devyn toward the elevator as quickly as possible without looking like they were running.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Jason sagged against the wall. Devyn eyed him warily as he grabbed his phone from his pocket and hit the 'stop' button.

They didn't say anything until they reached the car.

Devyn sat with his arms crossed, glaring at Jason.

Jason was grinning like an idiot; he was ecstatic at the three videos he now had on his phone. They'd have to be enough. There was no way that the police could ignore what had been said on them, if the right people listened.

Jason looked up at Devyn. "Now, we can go to the police."

Devyn's eyes widened.

"We have evidence," Jason grinned. "All you have to do is tell what you--"

But Devyn was shaking his head, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

"Devyn, Devyn, calm down," Jason soothed.

^They won't listen. They never do.^

"They have to this time. And I really think the sheriff will listen. At least he seemed different than that Deputy Watson who came by this weekend," Jason said, trying his best to convince Devyn that it was time to seek help. Again.. Obviously, the boy wasn't quite so sure he was ready to do that after being shut out and ignored over three years ago for the same thing. "Look, I want to show you another video." And he played the one he'd recorded last night. At first, Devyn frowned at the blank screen before he heard the voices. His eyes widened at hearing Brad actually admit to murder. "See, they can't ignore this, and if they try, I'll take it to someone else."

Devyn cut his eyes at Jason. ^Not if Brad kills you first.^

"Look, I've sent these to other people, so others will see it. He can't bury this. There's no way he can stop it now. Too many people will know. So if you and I go to the police now, tell them everything...."

Jason could see the faint spark of hope flicker in the blue eyes as the boy considered what he was saying.

^But, Brad will know... when we don't come home... that something is wrong--"

"I'll call him, tell him I'm running over to visit with my dad first. That'll buy us some time before he guesses anything might be wrong."

Devyn still didn't look totally convinced, but he nodded anyway.

"Good." He grabbed up his phone, dialing Brad Milburn.

The man picked up on the second ring.

"Is something wrong, Jace?" Brad asked immediately.

"Nah, of course not," Jason kept his voice calm and even. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to run over to visit my dad while we're out, that's all. So we'll be a little later--"

"Bring Devyn home first," Brad interrupted.

Jason hesitated, casting a worried glance at the boy.

"But that'll take--"

"You can visit your father after you've dropped off Devyn," Brad stated firmly.

Devyn was nodding frantically, waving his hands to indicate for Jason to just agree before Brad got suspicious of anything.

"Alright, we'll be there shortly," Jason said.

"Good," Brad said. "I'm sure you'll enjoy your visit with your father much more without a kid hanging around." Then the line clicked off.

"Well, shit," Jason snapped.

^Just take me home, then go to the police, like you planned.^

"But what about you? You have to tell them--"

^It'll buy you time to tell them.^

"But--"

^Just go!^ Devyn waved his hand toward the road.

Jason wasn't sure that he liked this at all. He didn't want Devyn to be out of his sight. But Devyn had a point. And maybe this way if anything went wrong, Brad wouldn't realize that Devyn had anything to do with it.

His head started pounding and his stomach was in knots as he drove back toward the Milburn estate. He pulled up the circular drive, noting that Sam was already standing at the front door. Jason waved at him from his open window, before turning to Devyn.

"You sure about this?" he whispered as Devyn reached for the door handle.

The teen nodded at him, glancing pointedly at the backpack at his feet.

^Go as soon as I'm out, they won't realize I don't have it until you're gone.^ Devyn worded, knowing Sam's view of him was blocked by Jason and the vehicle.

Jason barely nodded, before calling louder for Sam's benefit. "Go on, kid, get on out, so I can go see my dad."

Devyn opened the door. ^Be on your phone. He'll try to call as soon as he realizes I don't have it.^

Jason grabbed up his phone, turning to smile at Sam as he brought it up to his ear, making it very obvious to Sam that he was making a phone call. "Hey, man, how are you doing?"

As soon as Devyn closed the door, Jason waved with his other hand at Sam, driving off before Devyn had stepped around the car. He made sure that he didn't look over at the kid, even though every instinct told him to. He risked a glance in the rearview as he reached the end of the driveway.

He saw Sam's hands gesture angrily at the teen before the hulk looked up to his retreating car. He could practically hear the man curse as he whipped out his phone. Seconds later, Jason heard the tell tale sound of an incoming call and forced it to voicemail. Eventually, he'd have to return the call, but he needed to be far enough away that returning right away wasn't an option.

As he made the turn out of the drive, he saw Sam grab the kid's neck in frustration, yanking the boy into the house.

"Shit," he grumbled, "this better fucking work."