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“You certainly are the agreeable one, aren’t you, AJ? You try to come across as such a tough guy, but deep down you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if one of the other guys were to get hurt. The guilt would eat you alive.”

AJ bit at his lip so hard that he tasted blood. The asshole who currently had Nick in a chokehold had hit the nail on the head. Of course, AJ didn’t want to give his captor the satisfaction of acknowledging that he agreed with his words. If he hadn’t been so scared of a bullet ending up in Nick’s brain, he would have punched the smug little prick in the face.

“You need to sit down.”

AJ glanced at the man who was leading him by the arm. It was the first time that he had heard him speak. While he sounded tough, he wasn’t quite as convincing as his angrier-than-hell partner.

He and Nick had been led into another room only several feet away from where they were being held prisoner. There was a single wooden chair on one side of the room and five sets of hanging shackles dangling from the ceiling at the other end of the room. Four cameras were mounted on the walls; one in each corner of the room.

“You need to sit down.” The man repeated his earlier statement and gestured towards the solitary chair.

AJ allowed himself to be forced into a sitting position. He barely even registered the fact that his hands were being pulled behind his back and tied to the chair as he watched Nick being led towards the shackles at the other end of the room. He did, however, feel his heart rate quicken as the other man pulled Nick’s arms above his head and secured the metal bracelets to his wrists. Even from a distance, AJ could see Nick’s face contorting in pain as his arms immediately assumed control for the majority of his weight; only the tips of his toes were touching the floor.

“What’s happening?” AJ directed his question at the man who had just finished tying him up. “I still don’t understand why Nick is here. Why – why is he being tied up?”

“Like I said, we need him to make sure that you do as you’re told.” The bigger man answered for his partner. He finished securing Nick to the hanging shackles and strode towards the far corner of the room. He picked up a brown paper bag and waved it in AJ’s general direction. “Here’s your prize.”

AJ’s chest grew tight as the man pulled out a large bottle of vodka. He knew himself well enough to realize that it would only take one drink to send him back down the slippery slope towards addiction. AJ had relapsed several times before and each subsequent recovery had been harder than the last. He had been totally clean, one hundred percent sober, since Ava had been born, and all of his hard work and willpower was about to be destroyed. The reality of the situation was enough to give him heart palpitations.

The man twisted the cap off of the liquor bottle with one well-practiced flick of his wrist and held it up to AJ’s mouth. “Drink up.”

AJ pressed his lips together and turned his face away from the bottle. He was beginning to regret having been so compliant. He couldn’t escape with his arms tied to the chair. Ava’s face flashed into his mind as the man knocked the edge of the bottle against his closed lips. What had he been thinking? Why hadn’t he put up more of a fight? If he relapsed now, he would lose his little girl.

“I should have known that you were going to be difficult.” The big man sighed and handed the bottle of vodka over to his partner. “That’s why we brought Nicky in here with us.”

The slightly bigger man began to walk back towards where Nick was being held; suspended from the ceiling. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of fabric; twirling it in his fingers to create a long cylinder. The man smirked at Nick and then turned to look at AJ as he used the rolled fabric to create a gag for Nick’s mouth; tying the two ends tight around the back of his head.

Nick’s eyes widened as the gag was pulled tight against his mouth. He instinctively jerked his body away from his attacker’s hands and let out a muffled whimper as the shackles dug into his wrists. His shoulders were already burning from the effort of supporting his shifting weight, and he began to frantically kick his legs; trying desperately to somehow lengthen his body so that his feet could remain on the floor.

“So, AJ, what’s it going to take for you to fulfill your end of the bargain?” The angry man’s smirk intensified as he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a switch blade. He popped the knife out of the handle and pressed it firmly against Nick’s temple. “Nick’s gonna look pretty good with a scar, don’t cha’ think?”

AJ shifted his eyes to Nick’s before returning his attention to the man holding the knife. His whole body was shaking against the ropes that were holding him to the chair. He was struggling to hold his ground. He knew that these men needed to keep them in one piece. He knew that the burly man was just using Nick to bait him into following the ‘rules’. Still, he was unsure; what if the man followed through with his threat?

“I’m not gonna play.” AJ forced the words out of his mouth; his voice shaking just as much as his body. “I’m not gonna agree this time.”

The big man licked his lips and curled his face up into a knowing smirk. “I thought you would have figured it out by now, AJ.” A small drop of blood appeared on Nick’s check as the man applied more pressure to the knife. “Haven’t you learned that it’s always better to agree?”

Nick screamed against the fabric that was lodged in his mouth as the blade sliced through his skin. The burning sensation intensified as the man dragged the knife along his temple. Blood leaked from the open wound; running down his neck and saturating the collar of his shirt.

“I’ll drink! I’ll drink it! Do you hear me? I said that I’ll fucking drink it!”

AJ panicked as soon as the blade pierced Nick’s skin. He turned his eyes away from the blood and the tears that were trickling down his friend’s face and fought the urge to vomit as the bottle of vodka once again appeared in front of his lips. His worst fear had just come true. He had called the man’s bluff and he had lost. AJ had been sure that tying Nick up was just for show; he had convinced himself that these men weren’t actually going to hurt them. He had been wrong, and now Nick was hanging in front of him with a slice down the side of his face.

“I heard you.” The bigger man mercifully pulled the knife away from Nick’s temple and motioned for his partner to start tipping the liquor down AJ’s throat. “It really is a shame that you waited so long to come to that decision.”

AJ said nothing. His own tears were already running down his face as he tilted his head backwards and allowed the vodka to slide down his throat. The alcohol burned as he gulped it down, and it wasn’t long before the all-too-familiar warmth began to spread through his stomach. He didn’t dare choke or stop to ask if he was going to drink the whole bottle, he just kept swallowing as the tears kept leaking from his eyes. Nick’s painful whimpers were enough to remind him that he deserved all of the negative repercussions that were about to come his way.

It was over in less than ten minutes. AJ’s head was swimming as the smaller man dropped the empty vodka bottle back into the brown paper bag and kicked it towards the far wall. He blinked hard in an attempt to focus on Nick’s face, but his vision was too blurry to distinctly make out the blonde’s features. It had been a long time since AJ had had a drink and the alcohol was already hitting him hard. He felt completely out of it; like his head was detached from his body.

“See, that wasn’t so bad.” The man standing next to Nick chuckled. He flipped the switch blade closed and stuffed it back into his pocket. “It’s unfortunate that I had to hurt Nick in order to make you so agreeable.”

AJ rolled his head loosely around on his neck. He could already feel the familiar cravings starting to surface. He was starting to enjoy the numbness. He was starting to want more. “You – yer a-asshole.”

“Let’s go. You’ve done what you needed to do.”

AJ lolled his head in the direction of the man standing next to him. Even in his intoxicated state, he could hear the hint of remorse in the man’s voice. AJ willed his brain to try and hang on to that tidbit of information as the man began to untie him from the chair. The two men may have been in this together, but it was clear that the smaller man wasn’t as tough as his friend. This guy was the weak link; the potential key to their escape.

“Where – whereare wegoin’ now?” AJ slurred. He swayed unsteadily on his feet as he was forced to stand up. “Where’s Nick?”

“He’s right beside you.” The man holding on to AJ’s elbow now sounded nothing but exasperated. “You two are going back to join the others. We’re done with you ... for now.”

“N-N-Nick is comin’ too?”

AJ could barely make sense of what the man was saying. He was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sense of panic. His body was betraying him; he couldn’t focus his eyes or keep his balance. The effects of the alcohol were reaching a level that AJ had never experienced before. He was more than just drunk. It was like he was drugged; on the verge of completely losing touch with reality. He had absolutely no clue what was happening around him. He hadn’t seen Nick be released from the shackles. What if the men took Nick somewhere else and he wasn’t able to save him?

“I’m here, AJ.” Nick’s voice sounded small and impossibly far away. “I’m okay ...”

“Your friend really needs to be more careful. Doesn’t he know that mixing drugs and alcohol never ends well?”

“What?!” Nick struggled against the bigger man’s iron-clad grip as he turned to look into his amused face. The blood was still running down the side of his throbbing face. “What did you do to him?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The big man smirked. He jerked Nick violently towards the door, enjoying the look of pain that crossed the blonde’s face as he stumbled forward. “It really is too bad that I can’t tell you.”

“You – you never said anything about drugs.” Nick licked away the blood that had found its way onto his lips. The side of his face was burning, but the pain was secondary to the knowledge that AJ had gone completely limp in the other man’s arms. “You lied! What have you done to him? You were just supposed to give him a drink!”

Angelo shook his head in amusement. He unlocked the door to the holding cell with one hand while maintaining an unbreakable hold on Nick’s upper arm with the other. He waited for Carl to drag AJ’s flaccid body into the room before swinging Nick forward to join the rest of his band-mates. He reached into his massive back pocket and tossed a couple of washcloths on top of AJ’s unmoving frame; struggling to hold back his laughter.

“Clean yourselves up.” Angelo instructed. “We need you to be ready for the next challenge.” He backed out of the room, but paused to address Nick directly before closing the door. “Oh, and we didn’t lie to you, Nickolas. Since we make the rules, we can change them whenever we want. It’s probably best that you keep that in mind from now on.”