Felix's POV

Archer was supposed to be back; at least I thought he should have been back. He obviously thought he was okay gallivanting out there. After his threat I'd been too stunned to follow him. I thought he'd realize he wasn't safe out there and come back early but he didn't. He'd been out for 20 minutes, which for me was equivalent to a lifetime.

I sat nervously, waiting for him to open the door. I couldn't hope for him to not be angry, that was asking for too much. I needed him close, the rest didn't matter.

Before he stormed out he'd said, "I am not angry at you for this you idiot". I was stupefied. What else could he be angry at me for? It was a sign I had to leave. I made him angry, and all I wanted was to make him happy and safe.

I sighed as I retrieved my phone from where I'd put it on the couch. I was about to look at Archer's location icon when the door opened. I looked up in anticipation only to be greeted by Alex's form.

"Hi Felix", he said.

"Hi", I said turning my eyes back to my phone. The disappointment was there in my voice.

"Is Archer here?"

"No, he went out", I replied quietly. Archer's location was loading.

"Oh. Damian is looking for him. I think they went out a couple of days ago", he said.

"What the fuck does he want?!" I growled. I may have come off as aggressive. In retrospect I think I could have handled the whole thing better, otherwise Alex wouldn't have stared at me with eyes the size of beach balls.

"Um...I don't... know and I did... not ask" Alex stumbled on his words. "He's on his way here".

"Well Archer is not here", I said softly.

"Um...I'm gonna go to my room", he said. I think he stumbled over his own feet too.

I watched him leave, wondering what he was thinking about my outburst. I would hate to have given my feelings away, but I obviously had lost my ability to contain things. I was experiencing new emotions and I didn't know how to deal with them.

My eyes returned to my phone only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. I didn't hope it was Archer this time. He wouldn't knock. The thought of it being Damian had my stomach in a knot and my heart rate picking up.

I stood up and went to the door just as I saw Alex leave his room. I opened. Damian was standing there looking like the devil's reincarnation that he was. And that's just me saying he looked okay and too self-assured.

"Hi. I'm Damian. You must be Alex's cousin. We met the other day", he said enthusiastically.

Now, Alex wasn't just a scaredy-cat, he happened to be a nosy curious one too. He literally was standing behind me. I didn't miss the confused "Uh?" he gave.

"What can I help you with?" I asked, knowing the answer very well.

"Is Archer here? I've been trying to call him but his phone is on voicemail", he said.

"That should be a sign", I said curtly.

"That his phone is off?" he said uncertainly. He obviously thought I was talking bullshit.

"Yeah, sure, that. Why not?" I said. I almost rolled my eyes.

"Um, can you tell him I was here?" he asked nervously. He wasn't a self-assured son of Satan after all. I'd say he was the devil, but that'd just be giving him too much power- which I obviously though he had because I was suddenly being petty.

"Sure", I said, making sure to smile. It wasn't genuine and if he missed that, he was dumb.

He left and I closed the door.

"You are not my cousin", the person behind me said. I almost physically bumped into him when I turned.

"Geez, move Alex", I warned.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing is going on", I said going back to my seat.

"No. Something is going on. You lied about who you are and you acted like a jealous boyfriend out there", he said. "Are you...Are you and Archer dating?" the excitement in his voice was as if he'd struck gold.

"I thought we've already established that I'm too old for him", I said.

"You are not that old", he said. "5 years maybe?"

"10", I said.

"Okay...that's double what I said. But age is just a number", he said. "So...why are you my cousin?" His demeanor reminded me of a guy I'd seen on the trailer of a movie, something about neighbors. Needless to say, that was not Alex.

"You need to slow down on the energy drinks", I said.

He narrowed his eyes. I shook my head slowly at myself. I'd revealed something I knew about him, again. It would be hard to tell he was high on some Red Bull if you didn't know him, and I knew him quite well.

"You and Archer must be really tight, which brings me to my next question. Stella doesn't know you!" he said.

"That's not a question", I said.

"It still needs an answer", he said.

"I am sure Giselle knows Christina", I said turning my attention to my phone.

Archer's icon had come on. It was red and blinking furiously. That told me the chip was damaged but still working. It had been at the same position for over 15 minutes. My heart pace picked up. Archer was nowhere near the apartment. He was in some building...a Laundromat? Something was wrong.

"Are you the CIA?" I barely managed to hear Alex's question with all the blood rushing to my ears.

I stood up. "No. You have a flatmate who talks a lot when he's drunk", I said quickly.

I couldn't waste time getting my jacket. I bolted to the door, leaving Alex with probably a million questions. The position of Archer's phone was far so I ran for the Jeep. I hoped he had just dropped his phone, but I couldn't help but think something was terribly wrong. What on earth would he be doing at a Laundromat? He hadn't left with any laundry and the place was far to randomly go there in the middle of the night.

I ran faster than Bolt. Air rushed past me, eliciting a few goosebumps on my skin. I didn't care. I had only one goal in mind. I had to get to Archer and make sure he was okay. My heart was already beating fast from the run. It was not like it could beat any faster, but it did when I put the car into gear, let the clutch in and pressed hard on the accelerator.

Was it too much to hope that Archer had just accompanied a friend to the Laundromat and had mistakenly dropped his phone?

It turned out to be too much to hope for when my phone vibrated. I jumped on it, hoping whatever it was vibrating for had something to do with Archer. It did, it just wasn't what I had been really hoping for.

It was a message from the Vasiliev brothers. It was a picture, which I had come accustomed to as their way of communicating. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the one I saw sent my heart beating at a thousand beats per minute. It was of Archer strapped to some chair. His hair was messy and his face was covered with small bruises.

There was text. It read, "Sorry about how he looks. Quite a feisty one you've got here. It would be a shame if we had to rough him up again. Now that I've got your attention, are you ready to talk?"

I took a deep breath and squeezed my phone. How could I have been so bloody stupid? I knew Archer was in danger and I just let him go out on his own. He'd threatened me, so what? Since when had I listened to anyone? I could have followed him inconspicuously. I was still good at that so why had I listened to the whims of an angry boy? Instead I'd stayed and behaved like a jealous teenager. While I was embarrassing myself with my crazy obsessive jealousy Archer was being abducted.

I cursed myself over and over for being so stupid. I had made a promise to Archer and now I had broken it. I'd chosen to have a jealousy spat with a 19 year old rather than protect Archer. I'd behaved in the most teenage way; it was hard to call myself a man. It only served to affirm to me that feelings were stupid.

I let the guilt wash over me. It wasn't supposed to be, but it was comparable to the guilt I'd felt when my mom committed suicide. I'd failed Archer and now he was going to pay for my stupidity.

I slowed down for a while and another feeling engulfed me. It wasn't new, but it was stronger. It made my heart race and yet the blood in my veins stagnated. My hands perspired and my stomach tightened. It was akin to nervousness but it was also very different. It was fear, something I hadn't felt in a while. It stood my mind rooted in a haze of fear for a while, making me unable to get my bearings straight.

It spun my world off its orbit, making it fall helplessly into oblivion. I couldn't think of anything else other than Archer being in that dingy room. He was in danger, real danger, and for once I didn't feel prepared. I was scared. I was so bloody scared I envisioned all sorts of horrific things happening to him. Just the thought of someone defiling Archer's beautiful skin had my brain unable to process anything else. He was all alone and probably scared.

And then I snapped out of my temporary fear. The next emotion was anger, and there was lots of it. I felt it mount from the tip of my toes and soon it was swimming in my blood. My heart was pumping and distributing it through arteries and capillaries. I was certain I was turning a little red and maybe steam was coming out.

I couldn't process someone else touching Archer because of the fear before, but now I could. Whoever hurt a hair on his head would wish they had never been born. No one, and I meant no one would hurt Pancakes and get away with it.

It was something I'd told him, and he'd only said I was overprotective. He didn't know the depth of my overprotectiveness and what fuelled it.

I spun into action immediately, calling the number that had sent me the text.

"About time", the person said as they answered. I couldn't tell which of the Vasiliev brothers it was, but I imagined an ugly, overbearing Russian on the other side.

"Listen here you fucking waste of space, I will find you and you will fucking pay..." I said and he interrupted.

"Tut,tut...I was told you are a calm man, but suenas realmente molesto senor de la Cruz", the man said. He didn't have a Russian accent, which told me he wasn't one of the brothers. They'd freaking sent me their second-in-charge?

"Whoever told you seems to have misled you. I am not Spanish", I hissed.

"But you speak fluent Russian, and Italian, and French, and Ukrainian...and also Spanish", he said. He was taunting me. "It would be interesting to see if you can understand your boy's screams", he said.

"You fucking touch him again..." I said but was interrupted by the words, "Aren't you young to be bald? It makes you one hell of an ugly man, not that hair would move you down the ugly scale". It was Archer.

I couldn't help but chuckle. I'd been so afraid for him, but he was doing well. He still had his spirits up. I couldn't believe I had expected him to be cowering in some corner. This was the boy whose only complaint when I kidnapped him was there being only beans and bread on the menu.

I heard something that sounded like a punch and then an "ow" from Archer. My anger returned. It was so palpable it was a miracle I was still managing to hold my phone and drive.

"You messed with the wrong guy", I growled.

"It's going to get worse if you don't do your job. Your little boyfriend talks too much", the man said.

"The truth too much to handle?" I said.

I didn't stay on the phone for long. Anger and taunts weren't doing me any good. I couldn't just drive to the place and demand they release Archer. I'd have to kill all of them for that and I wasn't prepared. The guy was right, I needed to be calm and formulate a good plan. Planning was what made me good at getting rid of scum.

Anger, as much as it was a good motivator, was not a plan. My anger would put Archer in more danger than he was. If I marched there and started firing shots, they were going to put a bullet in his head. Besides, unless I killed all of them, this thing would never end. He would always be in danger.

I slowed the car to a stop. The Vasiliev brothers didn't think I knew where Archer was, I could use that to my advantage. I couldn't just march in there, but someone else could. I formulated my plan. It was the quickest plan I had ever formulated and I wasn't sure about it, but it would have to do. I didn't have time. Archer didn't have time.

I grabbed my phone and dialed the last number I'd called.

"Tell me good news", the person said as they answered.

"I'll do it", I said quietly.

"I knew you'd come to your senses!" he said excitedly.

"I need three days", I said.

"Then you have three days. Any more and we'll unfortunately have to put some more bruises on your boyfriend to remind you", he said.

"You'll let him go?"

"Of course. The boys dies and yours will live", he said. "It's so interesting, substituting one boy's life for another".

"Okay then", I said. "We have a deal".

He couldn't possibly think I was naïve to believe him, could he?

"If you get it done we might even strike up a partnership in the future. You will of course be rewarded, fatly too", he said.

"It sounds promising. Let me do this first", I said.

"We have a deal Mr. de la Cruz", the person said.

"Can I talk to him?" I asked.

"Checking if he's still alive?"

"I won't do shit until I know he's okay", I said.

"Well then you better work quickly. He's getting some people pissed off", he said, and then, "Hold".

I heard shuffling movements, before "Stavros, remove his gag". I waited in anticipation. I could imagine the man putting the phone near Archer's ear before I heard some coughing.

"Hey", I said. I tried to sound a bit cheerful, but it was hard. "How..."

Archer interrupted with the words, "Don't fucking do it!" It was an order. It seemed to be the only thing he wanted me to know.

"I have to", I said quietly.

"If you lo...care for me like you say you do, don't do it", he said, seemingly changing his wording in the beginning. My mind hung on his incomplete word, wondering if he knew how I felt about him.

"Whoa! That's it! Gag him before he makes his boyfriend change his mind", I heard the man say.

"Remember my definition of caring Pancakes", I said hoping the phone was still on loudspeaker. If he heard, I hoped he got what I was trying to tell him.

I could hear Archer resisting being gagged in the background. He seemed very passionate about telling me to sacrifice him instead.

"Pancakes? So cute it's disgusting. Killing for the one you love, that is almost sweet", I heard the man say into the phone.

"He doesn't love me you clueless son of a bitch!" Archer managed to scream.

How wrong he was.

"Stavros, you can't do a simple thing like gagging a 16 year old?! Goddammit, his yelling is annoying", the man said to someone.

I almost laughed. Archer was being a handful, like he always was. I was as proud as I was scared. I hoped it didn't end badly this time. He could touch on sensitive spots like he'd done with me and end up with more bruises.

"You have a fiery one", the man said to me.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Keep your hands off him or I'm going to have to kill you too!" I warned.

"Do your job and he'll live. I expect to hear from you soon", the man said and hung up.

I started the car andthe engine roared. I made a U-turn and hoped I wouldn't be too late to saveArcher. I wouldn't live with myself if I was. I couldn't live with him and Ididn't want him dying because of me. The plan had to work.

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Sorry about having to post it again, Wattpad messed up. The previous one was deleted so can't see the comments or votes. And oh, I need help with choosing a genre. This can no longer be considered a short story. If you've got ideas, hit me up.

Dante