Russian Roulette: Flashbacks [male x male]

Ch. 62: It's too late

Then

With a relieved sigh, Phoenix closed his laptop after the day's first online meeting, tiredly rubbing his temples. He glanced at the clock on the wall, only confirming what he already knew. It was barely half past four in the morning. Sometimes he hated dealing with Asian countries because of the time difference. It always messed with his sleep and set him off on the wrong foot for the rest of the day.

And on top of everything, he did not need to be on the wrong foot. Life was hard enough as it was. They all mourned the loss of a friend. Grief hung like a shroud of doom over the mansion, where all his and Jace's friends had stayed under heavy protection since Cracker's teams had taken them there. All of Gareth's men had banded together to form shifts, watching over their guests, even if half of them did not know why all the new people stayed there. Of course, they knew about Phoenix's stalker, and the brief, though somewhat vague, explanation they had gotten had implicated the stalker, and that had been enough.

Brothers.

To death and beyond.

The guys tried to make their guests feel as comfortable as possible, taking time to entertain them and leaving them to their thoughts when needed, and the friends tried to adjust, though fear and uncertainty rustled between them. The only one remotely excited was Natalya, because she had a new group to pamper, and she simply adored Niall.

Yet, the situation was volatile, and could not last.

Everyone had jobs and families they needed to return to. Staying at the mansion was a temporary thing. That was why they accepted it - for their safety. Phoenix knew as much, and that put extra pressure on him.

Packard had asked Master Henley to manage the club for the foreseeable future, and Chess tried to study online, though he mainly spent his time with Niall to keep the kid calm in the new situation. Quinn had canceled her patients and had proved a good friend to have around for people to talk with. Brannon organized things from the mansion but seemed unbothered by that, because he had excellent staff to take over while he was gone, and Eoin had called in sick. Those of the guys who had been targeted on the website had moved in as well and took it in stride.

It had been two days since that day. Well, technically, almost three, which only gave him four and a half days until he had to make a choice no human should. A choice between his friends, who had always treated him well and accepted him into their midst, then the man he loved, someone Phoenix would never wish to see hurt, and himself. As disrespectful as it could sound to his friends, though Phoenix knew they would understand and have felt the same if they were in his shoes, he could never choose to give up Jace to that psycho. Not only because Phoenix loved the man with every fiber of his being, but because there was no certainty that the stalker would not come after Phoenix when Jace was gone. That left him to choose between his friends and himself. Choosing the friends would buy him some time, as the stalker had said he would only go after one each week, but really, how could he do that to any of them? Even under protection at the mansion, Phoenix feared it was only a matter of time before they got restless and wanted back to their lives, walking straight back into danger. The stalker might get pissy, but he would probably wait until he could get to one of them. In the end, Phoenix would be the last man standing, and the stalker would get what he wanted.

That left Phoenix with only one choice. Not that it was much of a choice, it was a lack of options. He had four and a half days left with the people he loved, and then he would have to say goodbye. That was his only course of action, however much it pained him to admit.

He had received two reminders already. Text messages from his stalker at the exact time twenty-four hours of his seven-day thinking period had passed. Both on his private and work phone. Horse had tried to trace the number, but it was an unlisted, pre-paid card, which was sold all over Ireland and could be used anywhere. It had been the same number both times, and Horse had set up some sort of hacker voodoo to close in on the bastard, but they had to wait for more texts. By Cracker's demand, Phoenix had saved the number on both phones to not be surprised if the stalker suddenly called. They had all agreed that they could not blindly trust the seven-day window. The stalker could at any time break his own rules, and they had to stay prepared. Phoenix already knew he would get another text later that day. It was only a matter of time.