FicWad

“Good morning Frankie.”

“Morning...” Frank gazed at Gerard with large, somewhat suspicious eyes as the older man strolled into the room carrying the usual silver tray laden with breakfast foods for Frank to choose from. It had been this way for the past week, Frank staying in Gerard’s bed whilst his ‘master’ took one of the spare rooms whilst Frank’s room was stripped out and redecorated. Frank was utterly bewildered by this, so confused as to why Gerard would give up his room when Frank had been so bad as to trash his own room. But though he kept expecting this hospitality to turn into a cruel joke, so far Gerard had been nothing short of perfect.

“The doctor is coming over in an hour or so to check your hands, so once you’ve eaten I can help you dress if you like.” Gerard offered, his tone light and happy.

“I... I guess.” Frank agreed vaguely, sitting up and allowing the covers to slip down to his hips, Gerard placing the tray on his knees. “Thank you.” Frank said quietly, gazing at the delicious food the chef had prepared and sighing as his stomach grumbled.

“Your bedroom is getting refurnished today too, you should be able to have it back within the next day or so.” Gerard added brightly, watching as Frank carefully lifted up his cutlery with the little bits of his fingers poking out from the bandages. Since it was only his knuckles that were broken he was allowed some limited movement in his fingers... but it was very limited.

“Oh,” Frank forced a quick smile and speared some scrambled eggs onto his fork. “You must be relieved to get your room back then.” He giggled, smiling shyly at the man who was taking such good care of him. He was healing well what with all the rest he was getting. Not to mention all the delicious meals he was getting morning, noon and night. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten so consistently.

“Well of course.” Gerard agreed, sitting on the edge of the bed and angling his body to face Frank as he smiled. “But I have to say, you do make my bed look much more tempting than it usual does.” He chuckled, Frank blushing deeply at his words though he surprised Gerard by smirking slightly.

Though Frank hadn’t said he forgave Gerard yet, he supposed the older man probably knew he did. And Frank supposed he couldn’t really be blamed for it, not when Gerard had been taking such good care of him. The man came into his room every day and sat with him, keeping him company and talking brightly about all kinds of things. The conversation never went too deep, Frank still knew nothing about what Gerard did exactly in his job, and he still knew only the vaguest details of Frank’s life, but they never ran out of things to talk about it.

The marks on Frank’s back from Mikey’s whipping had healed completely, and his backside was well on the way to being completely healed too. He was glad to have not seen Mikey at all whilst he rested in Gerard’s room, but he had heard the brothers arguing most nights.

Frank knew that Gerard had no idea he heard the quarrels, and he would never let on that he did. They shocked him to no end... to hear Mikey yelling at Gerard that he needed to ‘toughen up’, to teach Frank ‘a lesson’, to beat him until he realised ‘who was boss once and for all’. And what seemed to be Mikey’s favourite line...

‘He’s your pet, not your boyfriend!’

Every time Mikey said it Gerard would fight back, insisting he was going to break Frank in his own way, that he didn’t want to just frighten him into doing his bidding, that he wanted him to want to serve him.

This to Frank was simply absurd. How anyone could be delusional enough to think he would ever want to be a pet was just beyond him. At first he had been irritated that Gerard could ever be so ridiculous... but then as he heard the argument again and again he began to soften a little... Gerard was an idiot, true. But Frank supposed... in a strange, backwards kind of way... his heart was in the right place.

At least he wasn’t like Mikey, just wanting to hurt him deliberately and make him literally break. At least Gerard wanted to use a more gentle approach.

Over the week Frank had had plenty of time to think as he rested in Gerard’s bed. He remembered the first few days of being in the manor house, how Gerard had explained to him then that everything Frank did would result in him either being punished or rewarded. Gerard had made it clear enough then that he was going to try and be a fair master to him, but Frank had barely taken it in. He was just so used to men mistreating him that he refused to give any of them a chance. And even now, after realising this, he still wasn’t sure he ever could give one a chance.

Gerard had hurt him to no end when he had allowed Mikey to punish him. Frank supposed that technically it had been Mikey who had hurt him... but just by allowing it to happen Gerard had betrayed him more than Frank had thought he ever would. He had actually been falling for his tale of punishment and reward, of fairness... and then he just let Mikey rape him as if it was deserved.

Frank knew he had pissed Gerard off that day he had kissed Jamia but he still didn’t think that merited him getting hurt so badly. But then... Gerard had apologised.

“What are you thinking about, huh?” Frank jumped in slight surprise at Gerard’s soft voice, snapping out of his thought stream and turning to stare at the older man who was smirking fondly at him. “You’ve barely touched your food.”

“Oh I, I’m sorry.” Frank quickly apologised, shovelling some more egg into his mouth and fighting away his blush. He didn’t mean to get so lost in his thoughts but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. Especially when he was so confused over his feelings and Gerard’s intentions. “I was... I was just day dreaming.” He quickly covered, Gerard raising an eyebrow, looking unconvinced but he didn’t push it.

“You know, I was thinking...” He finally spoke after a small silence where Frank awkwardly ate his breakfast with his bandaged hands. “Maybe you and me should go out.”

Frank choked on his piece of toast at that, Gerard moving closer to gently thump him on the back until the coughing subsided, Frank gulping awkwardly from the glass of juice Gerard held up to his lips. Once he felt able to talk again Frank turned amazed eyes on the older man, his jaw dropped.

“Go out?” He repeated uncertainly, his stomach swirling. “What do you mean?” He asked, he could imagine two meanings to the statement and neither were particularly likely. “Like... outside?”

“Well, yeah I guess outside.” Gerard shrugged; laughing softly at Frank’s stunned expression which he was finding particularly adorable. “Like, on a date.” He clarified, Frank’s head spinning so suddenly he felt for a moment as if he was going to faint.

“A date?” He breathed, not sure he could have heard that right. Why on Earth would Gerard want to take him on a date? He was his pet; pets didn’t go on dates with their masters. “Why?”

“Cos’ it’ll be fun.” Gerard scoffed, as if the answer should have been obvious. “Anyway, you need to get out. You’ve been cooped up in here all week.” He pointed out, Frank shaking his head dizzily.

“But... But, I don’t understand.” He mewled, pushing his tray away and Gerard quickly grabbed it and placed it on the floor. “Mikey would kill us.” He blurted out, his instinct making him think instantly of Mikey’s reaction and he knew the younger brother would not take lightly to a date between Gerard and his dog.

At the mention of Mikey’s name Gerard tensed and his lips pursed, his eyes growing dark as he scowled at Frank who blushed deeply under the accusing stare.

“What makes you say that?” Gerard asked softly, his calm voice clearly forced. Frank bit his lip and shrunk back into his pillows, his eyes sparkling.

“B – Because... Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m not stupid enough to think he’s okay with you treating me like this. This isn’t how masters treat their pets.” He pointed out as delicately as he dared, Gerard sighing and growing thoughtful at that. Frank breathed a silent sigh of relief as Gerard idly tapped his chin, ‘hmm’ing to himself.

“I suppose. But I’ve told you enough times I’m not going to be like your other masters. And besides,” Gerard turned his gaze back to Frank, a smirk tugging on his lips. “I thought you didn’t consider yourself my pet.”

Frank blushed and frowned deeply at that, folding his arms in a huff akin to a three year old about to throw a temper tantrum. Gerard’s smirk widened at the sight, a strange, indescribable urge coming over him, making him want nothing more than to tug Frank into his arms and ruffle his hair fondly.

“Yeah well... Well that is besides the point. Every time I make it clear I don’t want to be your pet you always make sure I don’t forget my place, isn’t that right, master?” He snarled bitterly, Gerard’s eyes growing wide at that.

“Well...” He breathed, stunned as Frank turned his face away, pouting angrily to himself. “Excuse me for trying to do something nice. If you wanted to stay in here like some sort of prisoner then by all means, be my guest.” He snapped, getting to his feet and grabbing the silver tray. “I’ll send the doctor straight up when he arrives.” He said curtly before leaving the room without another word, slamming the door shut behind him.

Frank bit his lip as he watched Gerard go, his irritation dissolving now he was by himself again. He sighed and bowed his head, looking at his bandaged hands and wondering if he had over reacted slightly. Maybe that had been his chance to escape... he could have gone with Gerard on their date to wherever, somewhere he’d be able to see the surrounding area and not be treated like a pet even if only for a few hours. And then... once Gerard’s back was turned Frank could have made a run for it, if they went to a restaurant or anything he could have just gone straight to one of the other diners and begged for help.

Frank groaned and buried his fingertips into his hair, horrified that he had missed such a blatant opportunity. Gerard had practically been handing him his freedom on a silver platter and he had turned it down bitching about Mikey and punishment. He was a fool!

>X<

Gerard leant against Mikey as they drove away from the manor, making their way down into the town to deal with some business. Gerard hadn’t been planning to go, he was just going to leave Mikey, Ray and Bob to deal with it but after his little tiff with Frank he had made Ray stay behind to deal with the doctor and the men bringing the new furniture for Frank’s room; Gerard just needed to get away for a while.

Mikey idly stroked Gerard’s shoulder where he rested his arm around his shoulders, glancing at him and watching as Gerard stared out the window with a furrowed brow. Mikey could guess that he had probably fallen out with Frank, but he didn’t ask about it. He wanted Gerard to be thinking as straight as possible whilst they were busy working, he could talk to him about Frank on the way back.

That day’s agenda involved the three men going to visit the capo of another family operating in their area. He was technically part of Bert’s family but he had a lot of power in his own area. It was his job to keep track of certain trade ships coming in to Jersey, and making sure that some of the staff working there ‘misplaced’ some of the cargo which the mafia could then sell on for more money. Bert didn’t actually know it, but when some of the staff had been caught he had been in need of more soldiers, the capo in charge ‘took care of it’... and by taking care of it he had signed into a deal with Gerard, taking some of his soldiers to put in the staff’s place and keep the operation moving smoothly.

That had been almost two years ago and since then the Way brothers had been taking a tidy forty percent of all Bert’s profits without the man suspecting a thing. They often checked in with the Capo every couple months or so, checking what sort of money they could be expecting next and how things were running in general. Gerard rarely came for those visits since he wasn’t needed, but he just needed to get out that day.

Pulling up outside the non-descript corner shop Mikey, Bob and Gerard got out of the car and wandered into the store casually together. They strode straight past all the aisles of alcohol and soda drinks and went straight into the back room.

Gerard led the way though he wasn’t entirely sure where he was going, Mikey following behind him and laying his hands on his shoulders to subtly steer him in the right direction. The back of the shop was larger than the exterior would lead a person to believe, and it was only after walking down a long corridor and round a left turning that Gerard was guided by Mikey to walk through a door.

Gerard didn’t bother knocking before the three men burst into the backroom where another three men were discussing something over a table. They all jumped in surprise when Gerard entered, their eyes growing wide when they realised who it was and the man in the centre quickly rushed over.

“Mr Way, I – I wasn’t expecting you. Is something wrong?” He asked nervously, his eyes darting from Gerard to Mikey and Bob and then back again. Gerard smirked, enjoying the nervousness he could cause just from his presence alone.

“Why on earth would anything be wrong Julian?” He asked sweetly, strolling into the room as if he owned the place, Mikey grinning as he followed him. Bob glanced at Julian with an emotionless face which changed into a slow smirk as he walked past, bumping his shoulder as he did so.

“Well I... Have you come to see the next shipments plans?” Julian asked, quickly hurrying into the room and taking his stand between his two soldiers. Gerard nodded silently, leaning over the table in the middle of the room to stare at the blue prints laid out across its surface. They were of a cargo ship coming into Jersey and where its prime containers were.

“We’re planning to take from here, here and here.” Julian quickly got explaining, touching his fingertips to three main areas of the ship. “We have a man on the inside who can easily send some containers into our warehouse without anyone noticing. These ones have the most containers in so it’ll be easiest to sneak some past the security.” He said simply, the trick an age old one that had been used by the mafia for years and didn’t need any in depth explaining to the brothers.

“And what do these containers have in them exactly?” Mikey asked in a bored tone, examining his nails rather than the blue prints. Julian glanced at him and looked uncertain for a moment before he sighed and answered.

“Women’s clothing mostly. All branded products; they’ll sell for a pretty penny for sure. There’s a second ship coming in soon with jewellery on board that we’re going to try and intercept but if you want in on that then you’ll have to come back in a week or so when we have more information.” Julian shrugged and stood back from the blue prints, gazing at the two brothers suspiciously for a moment as Gerard too stood back.

“Why are you here?” Julian finally demanded, Gerard quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Excuse me?” He scoffed, Mikey quickly laying a hand on Gerard’s shoulder.

“My brother was in need of some fresh air.” He smiled sweetly, Julian scowling at Mikey. “There’s no need to look so worried Julian, he isn’t here to check up on you. You’ve been keeping to your word and so we’re keeping to ours.” He assured him, Gerard nodding his agreement and Julian relaxed a little.

“Well... Good. Just, we’re not used to dealing with the head of a family, you understand. I have to assume that if the boss is here then –”

“Wait – Omerta!” Mikey suddenly hissed, all the men in the room falling silent instantly. Bob, Julian and his men all tensed, Gerard looking at Mikey with a questioning glare at his strange choice of words. Omerta meant silence, but it had been a long time since Gerard had actually heard anyone use it.

For a long moment everyone kept quiet, Julian throwing Mikey a ‘what the hell?’ look but Mikey simply held his finger to his lips, urging them all to keep silent and then finally Gerard heard what Mikey must have been aware of.

Footsteps.

The men all exchanged glances as the footsteps grew closer, Gerard frowning slightly at Julian, waiting for him to come up with an explanation.

“Are you expecting someone else?” Mikey whispered, Julian shaking his head and Gerard felt his heart start to race. If Bert or someone else from his family had come to make sure Julian was still doing his job okay then they’d all be screwed. Bert would throw an epi fit if he found out that the Ways had been taking some of his profits, and Julian would be killed for sure.

For what felt like eternity everyone stayed silent and tense, waiting for something to happen. When it became clear the footsteps weren’t going anywhere in particular but just wandering aimlessly around the corridor Julian picked his gun up off the table and loaded it.

“Stay here.” He hissed, pulling back the slide on the gun with a satisfying click before he crossed to the door. He looked to Gerard who nodded once at him, Julian nodding back before he slipped outside with his gun at the ready.

Gerard wandered over to the door once it had closed and laid his head against it, listening carefully and biting his lip when he heard voices.

“Hey, what are you doing back here?” Julian.

“We’re looking for Mr. Drago.”

“You’re looking at him.”

“Mr. Drago, I am inspector Rush and this is Officer Spencer. Do you have somewhere we could speak in private?” The voice speaking was firm and professional, Gerard biting his lip as he glanced at Mikey who looked at him with widened eyes.

“Cops?” He mouthed at him, Gerard nodding silently.

“What do you want to talk about?” Julian asked suspiciously, the police replying that they thought it really was better if they went to talk somewhere more private. “Why? There ain’t no one around.”Julian pointed out curtly. “If you don’t mind I have a shop to attend to, so if you want to tell me something tell it me now or get out.”

For a moment there was silence, Julian’s abrupt manner probably surprising the cops. It was hard to tell though without seeing their faces and Gerard felt uncomfortable hiding in the room. He didn’t like to feel like some sort of rat in a trap and he wanted to get out. Noticing this Mikey stepped up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

“Alright,” It was the cop again. “We have reason to believe that there has been some La Cosa Nostra activity in this store.” The cop was quiet for a moment, allowing this information to sink in. “We’re here to talk about it.”

“La Cosa Nostra?” Julian repeated, his voice one of utter confusion. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“Come now Mr. Drago, I am not a patient man and I think it’s very clear we all understand the term.” Inspector Rush sounded about as patient as he made out to be and Gerard scowled behind the door. He looked at Mikey who shrugged with an equal look of irritation. The cops were always on their back, but it was always a worry when they found a new lead. What had brought them to this place?

“Look, I need to get back to my shop.” Julian snapped, making a move to shove past the cops but he didn’t get far before they shoved him back.

“Mr. Drago, I can assure you this is a very serious matter –”

“And I can assure you I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Julian sneered. “If you wanna question me, then start talking in plain English. If you wanna search this place or something then show me your search warrant. If you can’t do either of those things then get out, I have a job to do. If you keep me back like this I’ll lose on my day’s earnings.”

“Mr. Drago,” The cop’s voice was a lot firmer. “We have reason to believe there has been serious criminal activity taking place in this store.” He said clearly, the sounds of their footsteps alerting Gerard to the fact they were following Julian back to the front of the shop.

“Criminal activity? I don’t think so officers, this is a convenience store, what on Earth do you think would be going on here?”

Gerard strained his hearing but though he could hear that Inspector Rush was replying he couldn’t make out what he was saying. It was clear though that they were walking further away and that Julian was probably trying to give Gerard, Mikey and Bob chance to leave before the cop’s could see them.

Gerard stood back from the door and looked towards the two soldiers still stood by the desk. One of them looked pretty terrified so Gerard guessed he was new, but the other was calm and he stepped forward.

“There’s a back entrance you can leave by.” He said softly, rolling up the blue prints and locking them in a safe set into the wall. “I’ll show you.”

Gerard followed the man with Mikey and Bob trailing behind them. They walked quickly but quietly, the man leading them to a fire exit which he then held open for them. Mikey turned to the man as they went to pass through the door, telling him to get Julian to call him later to let him know how things went with the police, before he followed Gerard and Bob back to the car.

They kept casual as they got into the vehicle and started the engine, chatting to each other and not so much as glancing at the store as they drove away. They were conscious to the fact that they could be being watched by other police so they made sure they just seemed like every day pedestrians.

As they drove away from the store and back towards the manor Mikey glanced at Gerard, assessing whether he was angry or not. When it became obvious he wasn’t he touched his shoulder and began to speak.

“Do you think this is gonna cause any problems?”

“I doubt it.” Gerard shrugged, gazing out the window. “They always think they’ve found a lead, but then forget it. And you know Julian can handle himself.”

“I guess.” Mikey agreed vaguely. “But Bert will have to be informed.”

“Don’t worry about it, Julian won’t mention us.” Gerard assured his brother. Trust wasn’t something that was big in the mafia, or La Cosa Nostra as the American Italian mafia was known as, but Gerard did have a few individuals he did trust; and Julian was one of them.

Mikey shrugged but nodded, taking Gerard’s word on it. As the underboss it wasn’t his place to question Gerard, and they had had plenty of close brushes with the law before. A made man’s life was often violent and brief, the fact that Mikey and Gerard had been in the mafia for so long was testament to how good they were at keeping subtle despite their huge involvement.

For most of the drive back the men remained silent, but as they approached the manor Mikey decided it was the right moment to mention the elephant in the room.

“So,” He sighed, nudging Gerard. “What made you so eager to get out the house anyway?” He asked innocently, Gerard frowning and turning his face further away and refusing to answer. “Was it Frank?” Mikey pushed, knowing already that it was. “What has he done now?”

“He hasn’t done anything wrong.” Gerard quickly cut in, not wanting to cause another argument where Mikey would rant at him again about how he needed to treat Frank harsher. “I just... suggested something stupid, that’s all.” He sighed, Mikey gazing at him curiously.

“What was it?” He asked softly, genuinely trying to be understanding in that moment. Mostly just because he was hoping Gerard had realised he was being stupid for being good to Frank at all and that he had needed this time out to reassess his thoughts and finally start acting like a master should. But to Mikey’s horror that was not the case.

“I...” Gerard hesitated, not sure he should tell Mikey the truth but he supposed it would probably just come out eventually anyway. “I asked him to go on a date with me...”

“You did what?” Mikey hissed, turning furious eyes on his brother. “Why in the hell would you do that?” He snarled, Gerard sighing and rubbing a hand over his eyes.

“Please Mikey, let’s not even start okay?” He groaned, a headache forming just from the anticipation of the argument that was about to ensue. “I know exactly what you’re going to say and I understand. You’re right, it was stupid, I shouldn’t have asked him, I don’t know why I asked him. It won’t happen again. Okay?” He sighed, Mikey glaring at him, his jaw tensed as he struggled to hold back the slew of words he was dying to unleash.

“I...” He sighed, groaning as he dug his fingertips into his temples. “I think you need to get rid of him.” He finally managed to speak, Gerard looking at him in genuine surprise.

“What!?”

“Just face it Gerard, you and I are never going to agree on how you treat him.” Mikey sighed, looking at Gerard gently. “He’s causing way more arguments than he’s worth, me and you used to be so close and now we’re falling apart because of him. I think instead of us constantly arguing about him or you being an idiot and asking him on fucking dates, you should just send him away and forget the whole sorry affair.” Despite the calm way in which he spoke it was clear this was something Mikey had been dying to say for days now and Gerard couldn’t help but feel as if he had just been slapped in the face.

“But I... I don’t want to get rid of him.” He said softly, too drained after all their arguments to let his anger show through. “Mikey, I don’t want to get rid of him.” He said more clearly, his voice firm and Mikey scowled at him.

“Then you can’t blame me for making assumptions as to why that is.” He said darkly, Gerard scowling and turning his face back towards the window.

“Well...” Gerard sighed, unable to think of any come back because he knew exactly what Mikey was assuming and he was starting to fear it might be true.

>X<

Frank spent the day lying in Gerard’s bed, waiting for him to get back from wherever he had gone and to come sit with him like he usually did. But as the evening grew later, and the sky outside grew darker, he began to realise Gerard wasn’t going to come see him. He didn’t even bring him his food, the chef did it instead. Frank tried to ask him where Gerard was, but the elderly man simply shrugged and said he was sure he would be up to see Frank shortly.

Frank sat up waiting for Gerard to arrive, though he didn’t really know why. He told himself he was just hoping the older man would ask him on a date again so Frank could say yes this time and maybe get the wheels in motion for him achieving his freedom. But really he just felt incredibly bored and lonely without his usual company.

Frank tried to stay awake as long as possible but soon he found himself sinking down beneath the covers of Gerard’s bed, his eyelids drooping as he began to fall asleep. He sighed and mewled quietly, whimpering as he tucked his bandaged hands around the pillow, his head growing heavy as he began to fall asleep.

“Mm... G – Gerard...” He breathed softly, his lips pouting as he fell deep asleep.

>X<

Tap

Tap

Tap Tap

“Uhh?” Frank sighed and awkwardly rubbed his eyes with his bandages, groaning as the tapping at his window continued. It took him a long moment to come round enough to understand what was going on, the tapping that had been morphing into his dreams suddenly becoming a reality and he jumped as he realised someone was throwing stones at his window.

Heart pounding Frank shoved his covers back and slid out of the bed, dashing to the window and peering through the glass down at the garden below. He wasn’t able to open the window, but he didn’t need to, to be able to see who was down there.

“Oh my – Jamia!?” Frank’s eyes grew wide and his heart began to race faster as he stared down at the girl below. It was dark outside and Frank could mostly see his own reflection in the glass, but he knew what he was seeing.

Jamia grinned wide as she saw Frank, beckoning him with her finger to come downstairs. Frank hesitated for a moment, wondering how late it was and whether anyone else was going to be awake at this hour. He supposed Jamia wouldn’t beckon for him to go down though if there were any lights on downstairs and so he quickly held his bandaged hands up to indicate the girl should wait before he walked away from the window and made his way out the room.

Frank was still in the sweatpants and shirt Gerard had dressed him in to see the doctor. He usually got stripped to his underwear to sleep in but he needed help undressing and Gerard hadn’t been there that evening to help him. At least now though it meant he was fully dressed as he tiptoed down the stairs to the first floor.

Frank held his breath as he crept as silently as he could, his heart pounding a frightened, erratic beat inside his chest. He knew if anyone caught him then there’d be hell to pay, he wasn’t supposed to get out of bed without permission; and if anyone say Jamia then they’d kill her for sure. God, Frank had thought she was already dead.

Frank dashed through the house to kitchen where Jamia was stood by the French doors. As soon as he saw her Frank broke into a run and charged across the tiled floor to press his bandaged hands against the window, Jamia’s hands already resting there as she beamed at him.

“Jamia!” He whispered, his heart pounding. “Oh God... you’re okay.” He breathed, feeling a lump in his throat as Jamia sighed and smiled warmly at him. Her once beautiful long hair was now completely gone, cut right down until it was short and patchy, as if someone had attacked it with blunt shears. But her smile was wide and genuine.

She said something but Frank couldn’t hear her through the glass. They couldn’t raise their voices loud enough to speak to each other, and after a moment of thinking Jamia gasped and started to point behind Frank’s shoulder.

Horrified Frank quickly spun round, expecting to see a furious Gerard or Mikey stood behind him, but there was nothing but the dark, empty house. It took him a long time, but eventually he realised Jamia was pointing at the front door.

Confused, Frank pointing at himself and then at the door, Jamia nodding frantically. Frank hesitated a moment before he began to walk back through the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder to see Jamia had already disappeared. Frank stared at the dark place where she had once stood before he began to walk towards the front door, standing awkwardly beside it before jumping in shock when the letter box was pulled open by pink painted nails.

“Frankie?”

“Jamia!?” Frank gasped, falling to his knees to peer through the letter box, grinning and feeling tears in his eyes as they met Jamia’s beautiful hazel orbs. “Oh God, Jamia are you okay? I’ve been so worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” Jamia giggled quietly, her own eyes glistening. “I’ve been worried about you. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, I’ve come to get you out.” She whispered, Frank’s heart missing a beat.

“I... What? Get me out?”

“Yeah. Out of here. You don’t wanna be here do you?” She asked softly, Frank blushing deeply and staring into her eyes with parted lips.

“Well... No but I... But Jamia, how are you gonna get me out? How did you even get in?” He whispered back, Jamia giggling quietly again.

“I climbed the gates.” She shrugged, smiling as she peered at Frank through the tiny gap. “I was hoping you’d be able to get a key or something...” She admitted quietly, Frank shaking his head.

“If I could’ve done that I’d have left already.” He sighed, biting his lip as he stared at the pretty eyes staring back at him. “Jamia what did they do to you? I thought you were dead.” He breathed quietly, his voice full of pain and Jamia sighed, wishing desperately that she could reach through the door and touch his hand.

“They didn’t do much.” She assured Frank softly. “They just yelled at me mostly. Mikey told me if I wanted to go around kissing gay men then I ought to look like one, and cut off my hair with a knife.” She sighed, making Frank’s stomach churn sickeningly. “Then they fired me and said that if I ever told anyone about them, you, or this place then they’d hunt me down and slaughter all my family infront of me.” She sighed, her voice growing a little shaky at the memory and Frank squeezed his eyes shut.

“I... You shouldn’t be here Jamia. You need to leave before anyone sees you.” He whispered softly. As incredible as it was that someone would ever try to help him, no matter how much of a dream come true it seemed this was all too risky. He didn’t have a family or anyone like that to worry about and so he wouldn’t let anyone else lose theirs. Besides, there was no way Jamia could free him. “Just go, now.”

“What? No, Frank I’m not leaving without you. I’m not afraid of them.” Jamia hissed firmly, scowling at Frank through the letter box. “Frank I’m getting you out of here, I don’t care what it takes. I... I don’t know what it was, but when I kissed you I just knew I couldn’t leave you here... I really care for you Frank, and... And I think you care for me too.”

Frank blushed deeply at that, his stomach churning. He wasn’t sure how he felt about someone making such a grand assumption after only knowing him for not even a full day. He bit his lip and bowed his head for a second, wondering what would even happen to him if he did go with Jamia. Would he have to become her boyfriend? Was he ready for that? Wasn’t being someone’s boyfriend practically being their pet anyway just without the collar?

“I... Look, Jamia I do care for you.” He finally whispered, meeting her gaze again. “Just, this is too risky. Your family... you. I don’t want any of you getting hurt, and there isn’t even any way you can get me out of here.” He sighed, Jamia shaking her head.

“But there is. If I go to the police they can get a search warrant, Gerard and Mikey think they frightened me. They won’t be expecting anything – the police will just burst in here and get you and –”

“No.” Frank instantly snapped, sighing as he rubbed his aching hands through his hair. “Definitely not. Trust me Jamia I’ve been a pet to mafia bosses enough times to know any protection you think the police can offer you will be nothing against these men.” He whispered, his eyes boring into Jamia’s. “You bring the police into this and you’ll get the entire American Mafia on your back in an instant. You won’t stand a chance.”

“But –”

“No buts.” Frank hissed, Jamia scowling at him. “Forget this. Forget me. I’ll find my own way out without you risking your life and your family’s life too.” He whispered, his voice growing calmer as he sighed and bowed his head. “Please Jamia... Promise me you won’t go to the cops.”

Jamia sighed and pouted moodily, wanting to refuse but she supposed Frank was right. She would have gone ahead with her plan anyway except... she really didn’t want to see her family hurt. She would never risk their lives, not even for this.

“I... I will find a way to get you out Frank.” She swore quietly, Frank looking at her. “But alright... I promise I won’t go to the cops.” She mewled, Frank breathing a sigh of relief and nodding.

“Thank you Jamia.” He whispered, smiling weakly at her as his heart ached.

Frank wanted nothing more than to get his freedom. It was what he had dreamed of since he had been fourteen years old, but he knew that the police wouldn’t be enough to save him from this. The only way out was to escape himself, without any outside help. That way the only person who could get hurt was himself, and Frank wasn’t willing to risk any other lives.

Jamia though couldn’t stop herself from thinking as she reluctantly said her goodbyes to Frank, promising to get him out somehow though he continued to protest. By the time she snuck her way back down the drive and Frank began to creep back up to bed the young gardener was already thinking of another option.

It would be risky, that was for sure. But if she bargained correctly she could ensure at least her family’s safety if not her own. And if she could think of any person who would want Frank out of that place, and be able to deal with the mafia at the same time... then it involved becoming friends with the enemy themselves.

R&R?