Born This Way - Chapter 22
Title: Born This Way 22
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, John, Gray, Owen, Toshiko/Tommy, Suzie, OCs
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Contains: Supernatural themes, character death, drug references, dub-con.
Summary: Sequel to Choices - Ianto Jones was born and raised in Hell, but he isn’t feeling as demonic as usual lately-thanks to Jack Harkness. But you can’t desert Hell without consequences and suddenly Ianto’s and Jack’s happily ever after may not be so happy.
Note: Glamours, lust and betrayal... Now things really start to heat up.
22
The Demon’s Lair
Jack
“The Shelby needs new brake pads,” Ianto says.
I know what he’s trying to do, and I love him for it, but as much as getting greasy under the Shelby with Ianto might serve as a nice distraction, it isn’t gonna help Owen. “I’ve got to go to work,” I say, pulling myself off the bed.
Ianto balances on the back legs of his chair. “Call in sick.”
“No. I need to go. Saturday afternoon’s when Giovanni’s is full of birthday parties. He’ll fire me if I don’t show.”
“I’ll go with you,” he says, lowering the chair to the ground and standing.
“I’m fine, Ianto. Stop treating me like a baby.”
He looks at me warily. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Fine. Really.”
He still looks unsure. “Call me when you get there.”
“Sure.” I head to the door and Ianto follows. He peers past me, out into the hallway.
“Focus, Gray,” he says loudly into the empty hall.
When I get to my car, I pull out my mobile phone and dial. “Hey, Mona. Can you tell Giovanni I think I’ve got the flu?” I say in my best weak rasp.
“Ugh! You’re not spewing, are you?” she asks, disgusted.
“All over.” I cough for good measure.
“Gross!”
“Very. So will you tell him?”
“Yeah,” she says, and hangs up quick, like she might get what I have through the phone line.
I sit in my car and hold my breath for a second, waiting for Gray to appear and ask me what I’m doing. When he doesn’t, I blow out a long breath and I pull out of the parking lot. I pass Suzie, parked in the back row. When she follows me with her eyes, but not with her car, I know I’m in the clear. I breathe a shaky sigh and head south, toward the city.
When I get to Russell’s neighbourhood, I start to second-guess myself, and for a second I think about calling for Gray. But I know he’d try to stop me, just like Ianto would have, so I suck it up.
I drive down the street past Russell’s building. My gut clenches and my face pinches involuntarily as my mind shows me Owen on the kitchen table. My heart pounds in my chest as I circle the block, looking for a parking spot close enough to watch his front door. On the second lap, I catch someone just pulling out half a block up and across the street from Russell’s. I pull into the spot and sit for a long time, whispering my mantra: “Owen, you don’t want Russell. He’s bad for you. You don’t want Russell.”
I don’t have any way to know if Owen’s even in there or not, so I wait and watch for him to come or go.
But instead, I see a beat-up wagon pull into a spot just up the street from me.
Elle?
Oh, God! She’s looking for Owen too.
I jump out of the car to stop her before she walks into the lion’s den, but as she turns toward Russell’s, I see she’s smiling.
Smiling?
I hear myself groan as the pieces fall together. She’s not here to find Owen. She’s here to see that Balan guy. In the second it takes me to process that, she disappears into the building. It’s nearly impossible not to charge in after her. But I don’t. I have to focus on Owen right now.
I slide back into my car and wait for any sign of him. After an hour, I’m aching all over from clenching every muscle in my body, and I’m sure I’m gonna die. I’ve called Owen’s mobile a hundred times, but as usual, he’s not answering.
Finally, I can’t stand it anymore. I step out of the car and cross the street toward the building, but before I reach it, Elle emerges onto the sidewalk. My breath catches as Russell follows her out. And her hands are all over him.
I duck behind a parked car and watch as they make their way toward Elle’s wagon, just two cars up from where I am.
Low behind the car, I peek around the fender. Elle says something I can’t hear.
“I’d be jealous,” Russell replies, pressing her into the side of the car with his body, “if I wasn’t already sharing you with half of humanity.” He crushes her in a violent kiss that hurts my lips just watching it.
She pulls back and looks up at him. “You have your toy,” she says. “I’m the one who should be jealous. What if you fall for him?”
“The boy’s nothing,” he says as Elle slides into her car.
“Just have him there when I need him,” she says through the open window. “The timing will be crucial.”
He leans in the window for another kiss, but she pushes him away and pulls out.
Russell stands, watching after her as her wagon chugs up the street and disappears around the corner.
I wait behind the car, my pulse pounding in my ears, trying to sort out what all this means. Elle is with Russell?
How?
But when Russell turns back toward his building, I step out from behind the car. I can barely breathe, and I’m not sure what I mean to do, but I have to know if Owen’s here.
“Russell!”
He turns, and at first, his mouth drops open. He recovers and his obsidian eyes flash as a slow smile quirks his lips. “Well, what do we have here?”
I glare at him. “Where’s Owen?”
“Where’s your boy toy?” he asks, glancing down the sidewalk behind me.
“Is he in there?” I growl, my eyes flicking to the building.
He raises an eyebrow at me and extends an arm invitingly. “Why don’t you come in and find out?”
I step toward him, my fingernails gouging painfully into my palms. “Is he here or not?”
His face pulls into a leer that sends ice up my spine. “Don’t know. Last I saw him, he was with Balan, after Pharin finished with him.”
Without even thinking, I lunge at him and throw him to the ground, where I hold him in a neck-lock.
He grins up at me, not even fighting back. “Impressive. What are you feeling right now, Jack? Rage? Hate?”
I see what he’s trying to do, and it’s working. I can’t control the rage churning my insides into a raw, bleeding mass. I want him dead.
I breathe deep and force myself to let him go. I pull myself slowly up off the sidewalk. Losing control isn’t helping Owen.
Russell stands in one smooth motion. “Please, come in.” He gestures toward the door with a small bow. “I have a set of Ginsu knives.” He lays a hand over his heart and taps his fingers on his chest. A sarcastic smile spreads across his face as he adds, “One of those puppies right here will make you feel so much better.”
“Is he in there?” I say again through clenched teeth.
“Only one way to find out.” He turns and walks through the door, leaving me standing on the sidewalk, staring after him.
I have no choice. Breathing deep to clear the panic in my chest, I step through the door and walk the short, dark passage. I enter the darker room in the back, and in the second it takes my eyes to adjust, there are fingers digging into my upper arms, pulling me deeper into the room. I blink and try to pull loose as I struggle to see who has me. When I can finally make out the figures through the gloom, I see the glowing red eyes of Russell and Balan on either side of me. Pharin sits in a throne of sorts on the platform that serves as the band’s stage.
I twist hard and bring my knee up into Balan’s crotch. He falls away, surprised, then looks up at me with wide eyes and half a smile. “Unholy Hell! Where’d that come from?”
Russell smirks. “Sorry, dude. Should have warned you.” Balan rights himself and flashes me a grin. He steps closer, but instead of grabbing my arm, he winks, then takes a swing at Russell. He catches him square in the jaw and knocks him back a step. Russell’s grip loosens and I swing out with my foot, taking his legs out from under him. He hits the floor, swearing.
From the stage, a low chuckle catches everyone’s attention. I turn and see Pharin, grinning at me through a mouthful of fangs. “I think I like you. Your training is going to be such a pleasure.”
I glare at him. “My training?”
“Yes, once we reverse your tag-which, by the looks of things, is coming along nicely-you’ll need to be trained. Who better to do that than the PR guy? It’s all about image and placement. We get you in front of the right people, Swaying them to do the right things, and we’re golden. There’ll be no stopping you.”
I’ve heard enough. I wheel toward the kitchen, closing the distance in a few long strides, and flip on the light. I glance around the room, trying to block out the image in my mind of what Russell was doing to Owen last time I was here. The flickering fluorescent light reveals an empty room. Owen’s not here.
Balan starts toward me, but Pharin waves him off. I spin on him. “Where is he?”
Pharin just grins at me.
I cross the room and fling open a door next to the stage. The room is dark and smells of sweat, rot, and something fouler. I flick on the light switch, and on the worn brown carpet, the bare bulb of a toppled desk lamp illuminates in a pile of dirty clothes. I pick it up and step into the room.
There are two large stained mattresses on the floor, taking up most of the room. Six or seven bodies, male and female, some naked, are strewn across them. A few of them stir and lift their heads as I shine the light around the room. No Owen.
Part of me thanks God while another part growls in frustration.
I move deeper into the room and crouch next to the mattress, setting the lamp down next to me. I shake one of them-a pretty blonde who looks Maggie’s age-by the shoulder. She barely stirs.
“Are you okay?” I ask, getting no response.
I stand and turn for the door to find Pharin standing there, blocking me in, a hint of wild threat in his expression. Before I can react, he’s closed the distance between us and stands only a few inches from me. He loops a hot hand behind my neck and tips my face up. “You’d make a lovely addition,” he says, motioning to the others with a tip of his head.
“What did you do to them?” I growl.
His lips pull into a depraved grin. “Stick around and you’ll find out.”
“You don’t want me,” I say, pushing the thought with my mind.
For just a second, his face goes flat; then he shakes his head and chuckles. “Mmm…that’s very good. King Lucifer will be pleased that you’ve been practicing.” He grabs my face in his other hand and crushes his mouth into mine, grinding my lips against his fangs. I’m surprised by his strength.
I gasp and push away, tasting blood, and trip over the lamp and tangle of clothes on the floor behind me, ending up on my butt.
He chuckles again and holds out his hand to me. “I had to get that in before you changed my mind.”
I pull myself up and throw a punch at his face, but he catches my wrist and holds it. “Where is Owen?” I say, yanking my arm away.
“I don’t know,” he says after a long pause.
“He’s not here?”
He hesitates, and something feral flashes in his eyes. I drop into fighting stance, thinking he’s gonna grab me again. But instead, he smiles down at me almost tenderly. “No, he’s not. We have what we needed from him.”
I toss one more desperate glance back at the others and push past Pharin at a run. I head straight for my car, my heart pounding in my throat. When I get to it, I floor the accelerator and tear out of the there, afraid to look back.
On the way back, I call the police and tell them about the other guys and girls. Then I call Owen every two seconds-still no answer. Come home, Owen. I say it out loud over and over.
And Elle. What was she doing with Russell?
*~*
Ianto
Elle stands in my door, looking different-more confident, somehow. Her pale skin contrasts sharply with her dark hair, which is pulled back in a tight ponytail. She brushes her fringe out of her face with the back of her wrist, giving me a clear view of those intense green eyes, and smiles up at me. “Hey, Ianto. Jack around?”
I look away and swing the door open. “He’s coming by after work. You can wait here if you want. Shouldn’t be too long.”
She slides by me, brushing against my arm, and I’m startled as some deep need rolls through me. I shake it off as she passes. She wanders to my CD rack, runs a finger along the titles, and pulls one out. “Can I put this in?” she asks.
“Be my guest.”
She does, then eases into a kitchen chair, curling one leg under her.
“You want some coffee?” I ask, pouring myself a cup.
“Not much of a coffee drinker, thanks. So, you’re sure Jack’s coming over?”
“Yep.”
“When?”
“Soon, I think.”
I join her at the table, and she looks me in the eye from under her long, dark eyelashes. “So, what’s the deal with you and Jack, anyway?”
Her question takes me by surprise. “In what way?”
“I don’t know. How long have you been…together?”
“Technically…a few months.”
“What does that mean-‘technically’?”
“Our relationship was a little…complicated…at first.” I feel the smile pull at my lips, and I let it spread into a grin.
She cocks an eyebrow and smiles back. “How so?”
I lean forward, elbows on the table, and wrap my hands around my steaming coffee mug, staring into its depths. “Doesn’t matter. Ancient history.”
“So, is he your ideal? You know, your ideal?”
My eyes flick to her sly little smirk. I draw a long swallow from my mug, feeling the coffee burn on its way down. “Pretty damn close.”
“That’s not a yes. What would you change about him if you could change one thing?”
“Wow…” That’s a tough one, because my first reaction is to say I wish he didn’t have Sway-Hell wouldn’t be after him and he’d be safe. But it’s his Sway that made me what I am-who I am-and I wouldn’t trade what I have with Jack for anything. I picture his face, and a shudder works through me. “Nothing. I’m revising my answer to just plain yes. He’s perfect. He’s the one.”
She raises her eyebrows and reaches across the table to touch my hand where it rests on my coffee mug. Her voice is soft, hypnotising. “Really-?”
For a second, the room seems to shimmer in and out of focus, shapes and sounds blurring together. The last thing I see clearly before my head starts to spin is Elle, leaning toward me, with her elbows on the table and her hand on mine, smiling.
I pull my hand off the mug, plant my elbow on the table, and close my eyes, waiting for the vertigo to pass. But it doesn’t. If anything, it intensifies. I hear a faint voice as if from a great distance. At first I think it’s still Elle, but then I realise it’s Jack. He’s calling my name. And then I feel him touch my face. My head starts to clear and I look up.
Jack is there, standing next to my chair. I stand, pulling him to me. The world blurs again as his lips touch mine. A light-headed rush sends my senses whirring, and I breathe deep to keep my bearings. Jack’s in my arms, pulling me closer. He crushes me in another kiss, deeper, grinding his teeth into mine in his urgency.
Tiny bits of bliss surge through me as he pushes me backward toward the bed. He looks up at me with wicked ideas dancing in his sparkling sapphire eyes. And when he rips my T-shirt off in one hard yank, leaving it in shreds, primal lust flares in me. My need to be with him is suddenly overwhelming and insatiable. His own gravitational field pulls me to him and I moan as our bodies collide.
“Jack,” I growl as I grab his head and yank his mouth to mine, crushing him with my kiss.
He bites my lip and I taste blood, heightening my lust- pure animal need. He pushes me hard and I stagger back onto the bed. He climbs on top of me as everything starts to spin into a black fog.
“You’re mine,” he says before devouring me with a kiss.