All that Vince could hear was the heavy thud of his heart as he fled from the room. Flashes of Ian shooting that man with such a cold look on his face burst through his head, making him grimace. He only made it a few steps before he crashed into someone, being knocked back like he weighed nothing. He landed on the floor with a pained huff, feeling dazed at first.

By the time he collected himself, Vince looked up only to see Ian’s cold eyes staring down at him. A chill threatened to shudder through him as he stared back, feeling frozen in place. He knew that Ian was a terrible man, but it still shocked him to see Ian taking someone’s life into his own hands and ending it. It was cruel and vile.

“Take off your mask!” Ian demanded, his eyes narrowing.

Vince’s eyes widened under his mask as he continued to stare at Ian, unable to move. His eyes slowly shifted toward the room where the dead man was at, his stomach churning uncomfortably. He almost could’ve thrown up right then and there.

Suddenly, Ian pointed the gun in his hand right at Vince’s forehead, not a hint of warmth in his eyes.

“I said take off the damn mask!” he snapped, his voice echoing throughout the hallway.

Vince’s own fear coaxed him into action. He didn’t want to get shot, espeically since he knew that Ian had no trouble with shooting people on the spot. He lifted his trembling fingers up, gripping the bottom edge of the mask and pushing it off his face.

Ian’s eyes immediately widened at the sight of Vince. He quickly lowered the gun, glancing behind him to see members crowding in the doorway of the room that he had been in to watch the scene. He cursed beneath his breath.

“I didn’t want them to see you,” he muttered, moving to try to block Vince from their sight. He gazed down at Vince, shaking his head. “What are you doing here? I told you not to wander around.”

“So that you could kill someone? You vile creature. God will cast you to the deepest depths of Hell for being a cold, heartless murderer!” Vince spat, his fear burning into anger. He couldn’t believe that he had actually started letting Ian get closer to him. They couldn’t be friends! Ian was so stuck in his ways, so corrupted by pure evil.

“Is everything okay?” Morris asked as he headed down the hallway from the room to check on everything. He gave Ian a concerned and confused look. “What’s up with Eton?”

“He… lost his memory,” Ian sighed quietly. “I’m handling it.”

Vince tightened his jaw as he glared at Ian. He didn’t like being treated like a situation. He was his own person, but Ian treated him like he was a disappointment. Vince was never going to be the gay, manipulated man that Ian had fallen in love with.

Ian handed Morris the gun back.

“Can you take care of things? I need to get him back home,” he asked.

“Of course, sir,” Morris replied before heading back to the room, motioning for all of the members to get back inside.

Ian turned back to Vince and held his hand out to him.

“Come on,” he said.

“Don’t touch me,” Vince managed to breathe out. He crawled back away from Ian, his legs feeling too weak to stand up. He wished that he had the courage to run far away, but he knew that he wouldn’t get far. Maybe Ian would even shoot him for trying to run.

Ian stepped closer to Vince, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

“Come on, Eton. I’m not playing around,” he gritted out, reaching down to grab Vince’s sleeve.

Vince immediately smacked Ian’s hand away with his own shaky hand. He didn’t want Ian to lay a finger on him.

“You want to act that way? Fine,” Ian said irritably before snapping his fingers, waving Josh and another guard over. “Put him in the car.”

Not again. Vince struggled against the guards’ grip on his arms, but it was no use. They were twice as strong as him, and they weren’t about to disobey Ian. Not only did Ian demand things from others like God, but he also took the lives of others into his hands. It was wrong and immoral, but Ian didn’t care. He took what he wanted.

When Vince was thrown into the backseat, he cowered against the door, moving as far away from Ian as possible when he climbed into the SUV. He didn’t even want to look at Ian right now, and he couldn’t fight the guilt that he felt about considering a friendship with Ian. He had been tricked, but God had opened his eyes to the truth. Ian was pure evil, not someone to be saved.

“I’m sorry for what you saw. I didn’t mean for you to see,” Ian said, trying to break the tense silence that had settled in the car.

Vince stared out of the window, avoiding Ian’s gaze. He didn’t bother replying either. Ian was a murderer and a manipulator. He would say anything to try to make Vince lower his walls again. He wouldn’t dare let that happen again.

Ian sighed in defeat and stared out of his own window, his shoulders sagging.

Vince glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, feeling a heavy sensation in his chest. He wanted a different fate for Ian. Everyone deserved to try to get right with God, but Ian was too far gone down the path of sin. Why had God dropped Vince into the lion’s cage, though? Was this a test of his own faith?

When the SUV stopped in front of the villa, Vince stormed out of the car and through the front door, not bothering to wait for Ian. He doubted that he would be able to escape Ian for the night, but he would try to get a few seconds of peace away from him. He hurried into his room and slammed the door behind him, sitting on his bed and pulling his knees close.

As expected, his bedroom door creaked open a minute later. Ian stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He lingered near the door, not moving a step forward as Vince moved to the very edge of the bed away from Ian.

“I know what you saw upset you. You probably think I’m some terrible killer or something, but I’m not,” Ian said, showing his hands innocently. “I only take care of people who deserve it.”

Vince remained quiet, tightening his jaw and trying not to explode. Maybe if he stayed quiet, Ian would take a hint and leave him alone. Vince needed to start thinking about his next move. He couldn’t possibly endure this risky life much longer. He needed to figure out a plan to save himself and his faith from being corrupted.

“That man that I shot was a traitor to the organization. He was feeding information to a man called De Leon from a mafia group so that I can’t catch him. De Leon is the one who ordered for you to be shot,” Ian explained, taking a step closer toward Vince. “Of course, I’m going to be harsh with anyone who helps the man who tried to kill my husband.”

Vince’s eyes shifted over to Ian briefly, reading the confliction and frustration on his face. He didn’t know everything about Ian, but he was certainly a devoted partner. He went too far, though, bordering on crazy.

“Anyone who betrays Nox is killed. That’s how it’s always been. It’s a warning for those who want to try to betray me,” Ian said, moving close enough to place his hand on the edge of the bed.

“Only God has the right to take a life,” Vince stated firmly, his body starting to shake as anger took hold of him. “You’ve committed terrible, evil acts against others. I don’t even know if you’re worth saving.”

“Eton, do you hear yourself?” Ian sighed as he moved closer to Vince’s side.

“I hear what I’m saying! Do you? That man probably had a wife. Maybe kids. He had a full life left to repent, and you took that opportunity away from him!” Vince shouted, his voice lifting higher and higher as he grew angrier and angrier.

Ian hushed Vince, placing his hand on Vince’s knee. When Vince tried to jerk away, Ian threw his arms around Vince, crushing him against his chest to try to calm him down.

“It’s okay. I know it scared you,” he murmured, trapping Vince in his hold.

A part of Vince wanted to stop fighting, but all that he could think about was seeing Ian shoot that man without any regret. He thrashed his arms around, trying to fight his way out of Ian’s hold.

“Get off me, pedophile!” he screamed out.

Ian let go of Vince, taking a step back with a shocked and bewildered look on his face.

“What did you just call me?”

Vince tried to catch his breath as he moved to the other side of the bed away from Ian. He panted heavily, fear pumping through him like adrenaline.

“You’re what, thirty-five, thirty-six? You married Eton when he was just eighteen years old. You're sick. You probably manipulated him,” Vince spat. That was the only thing that made sense. Ian was incredibly intimidating. A helpless young adult could easily get swept up in Ian’s charm and find themselves in the middle of sinful chaos.

Ian’s eyes widened.

“I’m not a damn pedophile! Whoever this fucking voice is inside of your head needs to fuck off!” he shouted back, his jaw tightening. Through his anger, he sounded genuinely offended by Vince’s bold claim. “I just want my husband back. If you’re actually this prick of a priest, fuck off and give Eton back!”

Vince nearly flinched at Ian’s booming voice, but he stood his ground. He knew that he was right. Ian was the messed up one. He threatened people, manipulated people, and killed them when he believed that they crossed him. He was a danger to the world, and Vince refused to believe that he was the bad guy in this situation.

“Instead of being angry with me for telling the truth, you need to take a hard look at yourself. Your morals are rotten. You have doomed yourself to an eternity of hellfire for what you’ve done to Eton and to so many others,” Vince said in a cold voice. Maybe his words were harsh, but they were true. He believed that God would cast Ian down.

“That’s it,” Ian gritted out before lunging forward. He grabbed the front of Vince’s shirt and yanked him across the bed. He didn’t even let Vince get his bearings before dragging him off the bed, making Vince stumble behind him.

“Let me go!” Vince protested, trying to drag his feet. He even tried to grab at the bedsheets on the bed, but his hands were easily ripped away. He attempted to use his weight against Ian, hoping to figure out some sort of weakness to use to his advantage.

However, Ian was far too strong and far too angry to let Vince get away. He dragged Vince out of the room and down the hallway to his own bedroom. He shoved Vince onto the bed, immediately crawling on top and straddling Vince’s waist to pin him down to the mattress.

Vince’s heart nearly burst out of his chest as he stared up at Ian. A faint spark of heat flared inside of him, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He tried to push Ian off him, but Ian rested all of his weight against him.

Ian leaned over and opened the drawer of his nightstand, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. He wrenched Vince’s hands together, locking the cold handcuffs around both of his wrists.

“Stay still or I’m going to make this even worse for you,” Ian warned Vince. He leaned forward and grabbed a thin rope that was attached to one of the bed posts behind Vince’s head. He connected the handcuffs to the rope, which allowed Vince’s arms to move, but his wrists were still bound together.

Vince pulled against the rope, but it was fastened tightly. He didn’t know why it was there in the first place, but he suspected that it was there for sinful, abominable acts. Instead of feeling completely disgusted, there was a faint feeling of something else also mixed in. He didn’t want to label the feeling, though. It was fleeting, unimportant, wrong.

Ian grabbed the front of Vince’s shirt and yanked outwards, ripping the material down the middle.

“What are you doing?” Vince gasped out, his voice shaking slightly as he watched Ian move down his body. His body writhed under Ian’s strong figure, causing more friction and pressure than he was ready for. He tried to breathe through every conflicting sensation that he felt, but nothing helped.

“You won’t fucking try, Eton! You agreed to try, but you haven’t put in the work. So, I’m going to push you,” Ian replied, sounding as angry as he looked. He undid Vince’s pants and grabbed the waist of his pants and boxers, shoving them off his hips and down his legs.

The air hit Vince’s exposed body immediately, making him shake even more than he already was. Fear thundered through him, prompting him to yank against the handcuffs until red marks formed on his wrists.

“Let me go. Please,” he said, resorting to begging because he was so scared. He didn’t know how to get out of this, and it didn’t help that he saw Ian kill someone earlier. There was no telling what lengths Ian would go to for what he wanted. He didn’t care about other people, even if he said that he did.

Ian shook his head as he tore off his robe.

“I tried to play nice. I really did,” he muttered, tossing the robe elsewhere. He yanked off his shirt before crawling over Vince. He leaned over close to Vince’s face, his expression stony and dark. “The only way you can get out of this bed is by sleeping with me.”

Vince couldn’t breathe as he stared up at Ian. He was frozen in place, unable to even blink for a few seconds. He wished that he heard Ian wrong, but the words still hung in the air. He was trapped here unless he committed an ultimate sin. The thought made his skin crawl, but the lingering heat was still there.

“Decide or I’ll decide for you,” Ian said as he gripped Vince’s chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

Vince wanted to scream and shout, to cry for help. He needed God to do something. Anything. However, he felt alone in that moment as he stared up at Ian, being faced with a choice that brought him more confliction that he should’ve never felt in the first place.