Unhinged(Necessary Evils #1)(10)

“You know what to do?” Atticus asked Adam.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ve only done this about a thousand times.” He pulled his phone out, threw an arm around his brother, and sent the picture to Calliope.

Adam: Photoshop that into some nondescript bar and post it on our socials.





Her response came back lightning fast. Is that how you ask for something?

Adam: Sorry. Long night. Can you please do it for me, beautiful?





She sent two kissy face emojis and one suspicious one followed by: Yeah, done.

Adam was about to put his phone away when he saw he had another text. It was just one word. Home.

Noah. A jolt of awareness shot through Adam. He’d told him to text when he’d gotten home and he’d listened. The sound that escaped his throat was almost a growl. There was something about Noah following his orders that went straight to his dick and ignited a primal instinct that had his mind delving into the gutter thinking about all the other things he’d like to make Noah do for him…and to him.

Adam fell into the front seat of his father’s Land Rover but made no move to start the car, too busy thinking about what had happened between them just a couple of hours ago. Noah had been so easy, had melted into Adam, had let him do as he pleased.

But Noah had also been high. Maybe that was why he’d given in so easily, had made those sounds each time their mouths met. What other noises could he bring out of Noah if he had the time? He turned over the car’s engine, tempted to throw it in drive and go find him.

He hadn’t been invited. But his cock was hard just thinking about Noah’s sweet face and his slight body. There was so much fire packed in such a little frame. He’d been so fierce the day they met and so willing just a few hours ago. He’d wanted Adam, there was no denying that. And he didn’t think it was the drugs. At least, not just the drugs.

That kind of power was dangerous for someone like Adam. He lacked the gauge needed to temper his wants with Noah’s needs. If Noah gave him permission, Adam didn’t know if he could stop himself from pushing him to the limits. Adam liked being in control, taking charge, forcing others to bend to his wants. It was something he’d accepted about himself long ago. And there was always somebody willing to play with him, but since that very first night with Noah, there’d been nobody but Noah.

Adam hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. No matter what he did, Noah was never far from his mind. At first, Adam thought it was the guilt. Adam had broken Noah’s heart to save himself. He’d shown him who his father was, the disgusting things he’d done, probably triggering repressed memories Noah hadn’t been ready to face.

But it wasn’t guilt, or rather, it wasn’t only guilt. He just wanted to be near him. Adam spent his life dwelling in darkness and Noah felt like the light. He felt like the sun on Adam’s face. Whenever he saw him, something unknotted deep inside him and he could breathe…even if Noah didn’t know he was there.

And that was the problem.

Adam didn’t understand boundaries. As a child, he’d broken a lot of toys trying to make them do things they weren’t meant for. He didn’t want Noah to be another broken toy. He was already popping mystery pills and making out with murderous strangers in abandoned buildings. When he’d found out Adam wasn’t there to kill him, he’d sounded disappointed.

Maybe Noah needed Adam? Maybe he needed somebody to take care of him, watch over him, show him what he was capable of. Adam snorted. He couldn’t be Noah’s guardian angel—not when every time he closed his eyes he pictured him on his knees, begging Adam to do increasingly dirty things to him.

He threw the car into drive, leaving the parking lot and pulling out onto the road with no real destination in mind. He should go out somewhere, make himself known, give himself an alibi. Adam crawled to a stop at the red light. He itched to make a left and head to The Landing Strip, the strip club by the airport. That was where Noah called home—a rusted out Airstream trailer parked in the lot. Noah worked there as a dishwasher.

An angel and devil were squabbling on Adam’s shoulder. Left brought him to Noah who he knew for a fact was home. Right took him to his studio apartment in the heart of the city. He needed to go home. He needed to leave Noah alone. He was vulnerable; small and sweet and so fucking malleable. Adam wanted to be the one who made him cry, who made him whimper and moan and sigh. Maybe even the one who made him scream.

When he’d asked Adam if he was going to hurt him, Adam hadn’t lied. If given the chance, he would hurt Noah. That was what he did. It was who he was. But Noah had smashed their mouths together only after Adam had said yes. Did he want Adam to hurt him? Or had he somehow convinced Noah he wasn’t the bad guy? Fuck, he hoped Noah didn’t somehow think he was a good person.

Adam was the worst, a bad guy who did bad things to bad people for good reasons. The scales of good and evil would never tip back in the right direction for him. He didn’t just kill people, he enjoyed it, and that wasn’t ever going to change. The world needed people like him and his brothers. His father called them a necessary evil.

Necessary or not, Noah deserved something good in his life, and that would never be Adam. The least he could do was stay away from him. But when the light turned green, Adam made a left.

Fuck.