Rick pulled the needle from the back of his hand and stood up. There was no way he was going to stay after being assaulted.

 

“Where do you think you are going?” Daniel asked when he saw Rick walk toward the door.

 

“None of your business.” Rick noticed that Daniel and Jared had something going on between them. It was obvious with the way Daniel looked and addressed Jared. This guy was one of them sodomites too. It must have been Jared’s fault for tempting another guy to fall into sin just like what he did to his son.

 

“You better stop right there.”

 

“Or what? Are you going to assault me too huh just like that faggot?” Rick sneered.

 

Daniel’s jaw was clenched tight. He glared at the other person’s direction. He hated it when people disrespected him. He loathed it even more when it was the love of his life who was being disrespected.

 

“You ungrateful bastard!” Daniel snarled. He was about to say something else when the door was opened.

 

Trygvason noticed the tense atmosphere when he entered the room.

 

“Boss.” Trygvason handed the manila envelope to Daniel.

 

Daniel took the envelope then pushed it on to Rick’s chest. He glared at Rick in contempt. “At least see this before you leave.”

 

Daniel left the hospital to check on Jared. His boyfriend was more important than this bigot. He already told the hospital director to take care of Rick.

 

Trygvason remained outside the hospital in his car. Apart from the report he submitted to his boss, there was something that he withheld.  

 

Eric Trygvason worked in the marines for 10 years before he was honorably discharged. The first thing he did when he returned to the country was to visit his grandfather’s grave at the veteran’s memorial cemetery. Then he went to visit his parent’s house. His unexpected appearance brought tears to his mother’s eyes. His father called his sisters and their families for a welcome home celebration. Three weeks of staying in his old room made him decide to find his own place to stay.

 

His mother was reluctant to part with him. She persuaded him to stay for a few more days, but his father suggested something which made his mother finally acquiesce. He found a descent apartment then looked for a job. He became a CPO for Daniel Philips, a multibillionaire business mogul.

 

A few days ago, Eric was reassigned by Daniel to become Jamie’s CPO. However, he had to do this in secret. Also, his first task was to find out what Jamie had been doing outside in the wee hours of the morning.

 

Eric considered himself a master when it came to staking out, but he was spotted by the second-year college kid on the second day. He could still recall how the kid slammed his black cane umbrella towards him. It was a great thing that he had a quick reflex. He was able to dodge the makeshift weapon and disarm the kid.

 

“Why follow me?” Jamie was distressed but he did not want to show it.  His arm was twisted behind his back painfully but he did not cry.

 

“Relax kid. I mean no harm.” Eric stared down at Jamie. He released Jamie’s arm but he held the portable weapon. “I’m going to return this if you promise not to use it against me. Okay?”

 

Jamie nodded but his face was filled with suspicion.

 

“I’m sure you want answers kid but trust me this place is not suitable for a conversation.” Eric looked around the dim streets. Not one part of it was safe at the moment. He could already feel the stares on them.

 

The therapist was right. When Jamie was distressed, it became more difficult for him to articulate his thoughts. The words came out as a jumbled mess and he stuttered.

 

“No stupid. No go with stray- strange- er.”

 

Eric was only a couple of months employed under Daniel Philips. He did not know much about his charge except for the fact that he was the nephew of his employer’s boyfriend.

 

“Ah, such a good kid. I’ll introduce myself then, so that I will no longer be a stranger to you. I’m Eric Trygvason. I was sent by Mr. Daniel Philips to protect you.”

 

When Jamie learned that it was his Uncle Dan, he reluctantly agreed to follow the man. Jamie did not completely trust him but he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

Eric walked to his car. He kept his stride short when he noticed in his peripheral vision that the kid was having difficult time walking. He suddenly felt like a jerk for twisting the kid’s shoulder. Once they were both inside the car, he apologized.

 

Jamie did not reply.

 

“Does your shoulder hurt, kid?”

 

Still no response.

 

“I’m really sorry kid. Look, I’ll bring you to the hospital to get that checked.” Eric started the car.

 

“Kid this! Kid that! Kid have name.” Jamie did not care how unintelligible he might sound. He was vexed the more Eric called him a kid every time he talked. The guy did not even look that old.

 

“Ah my bad. It’s a habit of mine to consider all people younger than me as a kid. I’m sorry Jamie.” Eric pulled away from where he parked and merged with the traffic. Their first destination was the hospital.

 

One thing that was convenient working as a CPO for Daniel Philips was the ease of access to medical attention. He could just go to the hospital that was owned by Mr. Philips and he would be accommodated immediately even without prior appointment. Fortunately, the kid was alright and was good to go according to the doctors.

 

The next task was to drop Jamie off back to his apartment. It was around 4 am when Eric reached the apartment.

 

“I know that what you are doing is helpful but it is dangerous. Going out alone in the wee hours of the morning is unsafe even for a young man.”

 

“I know but have to help.”

 

Eric turned around a corner then drove straight to the uptown area. “Look, why don’t we have a compromise on this one. The only orders I have received was to protect you but not to prevent you from doing what you are doing. What if I become your delivery man instead?”

 

“No want that. Must see if he okay.”

 

Eric sighed. “How about this. I bring you to that place but the only thing you can do is to drop the package off. It should take only around 25 minutes to do a return trip. With this, your uncle would not even notice that you were gone.”

 

Of course, this was untrue because Jared already knew that Jamie had been sneaking out frequently, but the boy did need to know that he was found out. Eric also kept the fact that he was tasked to make surveillance report of Jamie’s activities.

 

Jamie thought it hard. Eventually, he agreed.

 

Eric exchanged phone numbers with Jamie.

 

“Send me a message if you are going out and I’ll wait for you.” Eric watched the boy leave. He felt prompted to know more about Jamie.

 

When he left from Jamie’s apartment, he went straight to his own place to do some digging. He found some news reports about Jamie that were dated three years ago. There was a police investigation but it didn’t look as though there was progress based from the lack of media coverage. This could be the case unless the police department was keeping the investigation a secret.

 

Eric looked at the screen display of his camera. There was another thing he was curious about.