by Ana Ashley
Tiago
"Wha… what?" I wasn't sure I'd heard Fred properly. My mind had been running at a thousand miles an hour, already planning the help we could provide to those kids. We had two nurses who had access to further medical support if we needed and a few social workers who were always available to us. I'd assumed that as a halfway house, our job was to keep the kids safe so they could be assessed and then be taken to a medical facility or back to their families.
Tears started running down my cheeks, and Vítor's arms tightened around me. It was almost painful, but I needed that to stop me from crumbling completely.
"Baby, take deep breaths." I heard Vítor, but he sounded far away. I tried to focus on his voice and count with him in my head as I took a breath and then let it out, but my brain was resisting because it was focused on those words, "It's Afonso."
When I was able to breathe again on my own, I noticed Fred was holding my hands fiercely, and Vítor had moved me so I was on his lap. There was a glass of water on the coffee table. When had all that happened?
I looked at Vítor, unsure of what to say.
"Fred knows where he is, baby, and we're going to bring him home safe, you hear me?"
I was unable to do anything else but nod.
"You met him a week ago. Why didn't you say something?" I asked Fred.
"I couldn't, Tiago. Apart from working on the investigation practically every hour of the day, I'd have been in serious trouble if I was caught sharing any information at the time."
"You said he had access to the kids. What does that mean?" I asked.
"He works for the organization. I couldn't get much out of him, but he said there are too many kids this time round."
"He works for them?"
"I don't think it's out of choice, Tiago."
"How did you recognize him?"
"Babe, I've been looking at your face for years, and I've been studying his photo for just as long. I'd have recognized him if he’d colored his hair or was in women's clothes. Besides, apart from the glasses, he looks like he could be your twin."
"What do we do? I want him home with me. I don't want him to have to do whatever he does."
Fred took a deep breath, and I knew what was coming.
"Tiago, he's an adult now. It has to be his choice."
I got up and paced the length of the living room with both Vítor and Fred's eyes on me.
"He's going to want to come home, right, Vítor? He'll want to come with me, won't he? When I tell him how long I've been looking for him?"
Vítor got up and put his arms around me. I couldn't stop more sobs from coming out.
"What if he thinks I gave up on him? What if he blames me for whatever happened to him? Oh my god, Vítor, maybe he hates me." I wasn't sure he could even hear me with my head buried in his chest, but it didn't matter because I was too scared to hear the answers to those questions.
"Baby, look at me."
I did as he asked. He removed my glasses, cleaned my tears, and pushed my hair back so he could look into my eyes.
"We have a lot of questions that can only be answered by Afonso. The priority is to get the kids out of there. My feeling is that whatever position he's in, he's relatively safe as long as we don't put him in danger by making the wrong move."
He was right. I rested my head on his chest again, trying to take in some of his strength for myself as he ran his hands in circles on my back, calming me.
I couldn't believe it. My brother had been found. I needed to be patient and have a plan, but I could see him again. Suddenly, I had the urge to laugh, so I did. It was probably not the best reaction to the situation, but I couldn't help myself. I laughed until I was crying again, but this time, with happy tears. God help me when I'd actually get my arms around my brother.
"Fred." I looked at him and saw how much his job had taken out of him. He looked exhausted. "Do you want to stay here tonight? We can talk some more tomorrow. I promise I'll do whatever you tell me to do. I want those kids safe."
"Thanks, I'd love to stay if that's okay with you, too, Vítor."
"Goodness, Fred, you found Afonso. I'll sing you lullabies and bring you breakfast in bed in the morning if you want."
I struggled to contain my laugh when Fred's eyes opened wide.
"That, er… won't be necessary. A bed will do. I mean, I'll sleep in the spare bedroom. Or the sofa, whatever."
I addressed Fred while I kept my eyes on Vítor. "You can stay in the spare bedroom, that's where my stuff is. Feel free to use the shower and look for anything you need. I'm sleeping with my silver fox here."
"You bet your cute little ass you are," Vítor whispered before he gave me a kiss that turned from chaste to full-on heated in two seconds. I heard a groan from Fred as he walked over to my bedroom.
"If I hear any sex noises, I'm going to tell Vítor about that time in—"
"Night, Fred," I shouted back.
"What was he going to say?" Vítor asked, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes at me.
"Nothing, nothing at all. Maybe you're hearing things. Do we need to get you a hearing aid?"
He lifted me up and over his shoulder and slapped my ass.
"I'm going to make you eat those words."
"Babe, we have a guest. We can't make noise."
"Don't you worry about that. Your mouth is going to be too full of my cock by the time you come that you won't be making any noises that will be heard from the other room."
"Fuuuck."
I knew what he was trying to do and loved him even more for it. He knew the moment I let my body give in to the orgasm, I'd fall asleep and find the peace I was craving because tomorrow was a big day and I needed all the sleep I could get.
My skin tingled all over, probably from the sun that was also warming my face and causing me to squint in a poor attempt to open my eyes. I was so comfortable, maybe I didn't need to open my eyes at all. This had to be the comfiest beach in the world, so comfortable that I didn't care that I was humping the beach towel under me because I was horny as hell and it felt too good. Maybe I needed to move because the tingling feeling was getting stronger. I didn't remember putting on any sun cream. Thinking about it, I didn't remember coming to the beach at all.
"Time to wake up, baby," the voice whispered in my ear. Vítor.
"Hmm, I am awake."
He chuckled next to me.
"Oh really? Then why are you asking if we can stay on this beach?"
I turned my face to where his voice was coming from and opened my eyes since they were no longer in the sun. His hand caressed my face, and I returned his smile. The last thing I remembered was kissing Vítor after he'd brought me to an earth-shattering orgasm that had left me unable to do anything else but drift off into the clouds.
"We need to go to the beach soon," I said, still feeling sleepy.
"We will, but first you need to get up, and since you didn't wake up with the five million kisses I placed all over your body, I guess you missed out on sexy times."
He pinched my butt, which caused me to rub my already very hard cock onto the bed sheets. I groaned but then lifted my ass up, which earned me a slap.
"If you're going to be a tease, then come to the bathroom. You're far too loud for bedroom activities when we have a guest," he said.
That brought me back to the situation I was going to face as soon as I stepped out of the bedroom this morning. I wasn't quite ready for it, so I followed Vítor into the shower.
After Vítor left for work, Fred and I talked through his plans.
"I'd like to have a look at the center so I can map out the security needs. More than anything, I don't want the press to get wind of what's going on, but if they do, I need to know how we can keep the kids and their families away from that."
"Okay, the plumbers are finishing their work today. The center is going to be closed for the rest of the week."
Fred made a note and sent a text on his phone.
"We've put the house under surveil
lance. It's an old, colonial-style mansion surrounded by nice gardens. There's a wall around it, but it's the only security measure they have. This means we already have footage of Afonso and some of the kids. We've been able to link them to the database of missing children. Some of them have been missing for a few years, but some have only disappeared weeks ago."
"Fred, I know what you're going to say, but I'll ask you anyway. Will I be able to see the footage?"
He looked at me but didn't make eye contact for long.
"Tiago, I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head.
I was expecting it, but it still didn't stop me from being disappointed. I was dying to see my brother's face and see for myself that he was alive and well.
It didn't take long to check out the center because Fred already knew it so well. He was less familiar with the rooms upstairs, but he was happy we had enough space to keep everyone in this location.
"How about the kids that are staying here?" he asked.
"They're all in accommodations at different hostels this week. We can arrange for them to stay longer if we need to."
"I don't know how quickly we can arrange the rescue operation. This involves several authorities, which means working on someone else's timeline. It could take a few weeks to get it all in place."
"Don't worry, I'll work things out with the kids at the center."
Fred made a move to leave, but I held his arm to stop him. I knew the risk he'd be taking, but the big brother in me would never give up asking.
"Fred, is there any way at all I could see just a picture of his face? The thought that he's out there in some house having to do god knows what is crushing me. I can't wait weeks. I need to see he's okay."
Fred took a deep sigh and then looked at his watch. "Okay, but you have to promise to do what I say."
I nodded.
My anxiety spiked as we drove to Fred's office. The prospect of seeing my brother was exciting, but I was also afraid of my reaction to it.
We parked in an allocated space by the front entrance.
The building that housed Fred's unit was not what I expected. It looked like a regular office building. In fact, it looked like they shared facilities with accountants, lawyers, and even a marketing company.
"We have to be discreet because of what we do. It's better to blend in with the rest. As far as everyone knows, we're an IT company specializing in web security. I need you to stay in the car and wait for me here."
I did as I was told, and fifteen minutes later, Fred left the building and got back in the car, driving us away immediately. He didn't stop until we were a few blocks away.
He took a laptop out of a case and turned it on. A few minutes later, once he'd gone through a lengthy logging in process, I saw the screen fill up with the images of a house.
The house where my brother lived, goodness knew for how long. The gardens looked very well kept. Anyone looking at the footage would be shocked to know what went on inside.
"Is that a live feed?" I asked.
"Yes, we've got the gardens that surround the property covered. Some of the cameras have been able to catch images of the inside through the windows, but when the sun shifts, the reflection makes it difficult."
Fred showed me the angle from each of the cameras. I didn't see anyone until we got to the last one. The camera was pointed at the back of the house where there was a large set of stairs from the top floor leading down to the lawn. Halfway down the stairs, I saw a figure sat down with his elbows on his knees and his head resting on his hands.
"Is that him?" I wasn't sure why I asked, because I knew it was. Even though I hadn't seen my brother in eight years, I knew it was him.
I may as well have been punched in the gut or have had my heart ripped out for how painful it was to see him through the screen and not be able to touch him.
"Look up," I whispered. Fred's arms came around my shoulders, and I leaned in to take the comfort he was offering.
After a few minutes, I saw a kid come down the stairs and sit next to Afonso. He wasn't older than fourteen or fifteen.
When my brother looked up at the kid, my heart stopped. Fred had been right; he looked exactly like me, but he also looked a lot younger than his twenty-one years.
"Can you zoom in?" I asked.
Fred nodded, and within seconds, I had a closer view. Afonso said something I couldn't decipher to the kid and then hugged him before the kid left him again. He looked ahead, and it was like we were staring into each other's eyes.
"Does he know about the cameras?"
"No," Fred said. "They were placed a few days ago. Like I said, the place doesn't have any security, so it was easy to jump the surrounding wall in the dark of night and place the cameras."
I took a guess that it hadn't been as easy as Fred made it out to be.
Fred's eyes were glued to the screen. I could swear there were unshed tears trying to escape.
"He's a victim, too, Fred. We need to rescue him."
"Yes, we do."
When Vítor arrived home that night, I couldn't contain my excitement. He hadn't even closed the front door when I blurted out, "I saw him. He's alive. Oh my god, I saw him. He's so grown up. And Fred was right; he looks just like me but without the glasses."
"Baby, breathe." He put his hands on my face and gave me a kiss that nearly made me forget what I was talking about. "What happened?" he asked.
"I saw my brother. Fred showed me the surveillance cameras on his laptop."
I couldn't ever thank Fred enough for keeping me so involved. Even with the center being part of the post-rescue efforts, I knew he didn't have to share as much as he did. It was risky for everyone, but Fred knew just how much I needed this. He'd been right there with me for all the times when information had led to a dead end and the subsequent disappointment. After today, I was exhausted but also felt lighter than I remember feeling in a long time.
"Oh baby, that's great news."
I burrowed into his strong chest and nodded. His arms went around me instantly. When I was with Vítor, I felt invincible, like I was soaring.
After a few days, the excitement of knowing where Afonso was and that he was okay was quickly replaced with the frustration of not having him with me already.
I ran to my phone as soon as I heard the ringtone I used for Fred.
"Fred, any news?"
"Hi, Tiago. Some, but not the kind you'll like. Afonso was in touch. Apparently, there's going to be a party at the house, so they're moving the kids. We haven't had enough notice to intercept, but I managed to get an invite to the party because one of their big players is out of the country on business."
"How did you manage to get the invite?"
There was silence on the other side.
"Tiago, I…"
"That's okay, I know you can't tell me. Please, Fred, be safe."
If I was already anxious, after Fred's call I was close to panic, so it was a good thing Vítor had arrived home early from work. I went to the kitchen where Vítor was cooking dinner, turned off all the burners on the stove, and pulled him toward the bedroom.
"Vítor, I need you," I said, pushing him onto the bed and trying to get rid of his shirt at the same time.
"What's up, baby?"
"I'll tell you later. Please, Vítor."
19
Vítor
As much as I was happy to let Tiago lose himself in me, it also worried me that whatever news he'd got from Fred was bad enough to put him in this state.
Unfortunately, I'd had to wait until the next day to hear it since Tiago had exhausted us both to such an extent that we'd fallen asleep straight after finding our joint release.
As Fred and his team worked on the new intelligence they'd gathered at the party, Tiago was getting more and more impatient. He wasn't eating properly, and he wouldn't sleep in the hope Fred might call with news that they were ready to carry out the rescue.
It all came to a head when Tiago had been called by Fred's te
am to talk about the plans for the center and to make sure now that the center was open, they could still go ahead as planned. He'd ended up watching some of the surveillance with them. I'd been called to pick him up because he was too distressed to drive after seeing Afonso's bruised face on the screen. Fred went mad at the team because he hadn't been there and wasn't able to either warn Tiago or to stop him from seeing his brother after he'd clearly been beaten to a pulp.
I couldn't stand seeing him suffer like that, so I'd spoken to the partners at work and arranged to take a few days off to take Tiago to Porto for a break. I knew it would take a lot of convincing to get him away, but Fred had agreed it would do him good, and he reassured me that nothing was happening until we came back.
The first part of the plan was to catch him by surprise, so I left work early and headed to the center to take him out to lunch. My workload had grown considerably in the last few weeks, so despite discussing with Tiago about volunteer opportunities, I hadn't actually been to the center.
There was a guy working at one of the desks when I walked in. The other desk, which I assumed was Tiago's, was empty. The guy told me Tiago had gone out for a meeting with the city council, but if I wanted to wait, I could go to the back garden. I'd heard great things about this garden from Tiago, so I decided to check it out.
I was directed to follow the corridor leading to the kitchen. I wasn't expecting to find anyone in the kitchen, so I stopped in my tracks when I saw a guy standing by a kitchen island surrounded by bags of flour, sugar, and various other ingredients.
"Hey, sorry, I didn't know there was anyone here. I'm just on my way to the garden."
"Hi, no problem. Sorry if I scared you. The garden is through that door." He pointed at the double doors behind him. "Are you one of the new volunteers? I haven't seen you around here before."
"Oh no, I'm not a volunteer yet. My name's Vítor." I extended my hand, but the guy stilled and stared at me like I was a ghost. I was about to take my hand back when he recovered from his strange moment and shook it back.
"You're Tiago's boyfriend."
