Puck Me Harder: A Stepbrother Romance [BL]

Micah’s POV

Five minutes later, the cab dropped me off at the main glass entrance of the bustling mall. I walked inside, taking a deep breath of the air conditioned building. I quickly navigated through the crowds, heading straight up the escalator to the official mobile brand store on the second floor.

The store lady was very sweet and helpful. She showed me a few options, and within fifteen minutes, I picked out a simple black smartphone. I paid for it using Noah’s black card, signed the digital receipt, and took the small, neat paper bag containing the boxed phone.

I decided not to unbox or setup the phone inside the busy store. I wanted to wait until I got home so Noah could help me set up the settings like he wanted.

Walking out of the mobile store into the wide, open indoor courtyard of the mall, I pulled out my wallet to grab my student ID while reaching for my pocket to order a private ride on my ride-sharing app.

Suddenly, three tall, broad-shouldered guys stepped out from behind a large pillar, completely blocking my path.

I stopped dead in my tracks. My breath hitched in my throat as my eyes scanned their faces.

My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit of cold terror.

I recognized these faces instantly. They were the exact same aggressive guys who were standing right beside George Jenson at the Phoenix Club a few days ago. They were Jenson University students... maybe they were criminals posing as athletes.

Panic flared violently in my chest. My instincts screamed at me to turn around and run as fast as I could toward the security desk near the main entrance. I took one quick, frantic step backward, preparing to sprint—

POKE.

A hard, metallic cylinder pressed directly into the small of my back, right through my thin shirt.

"Don’t move a fucking inch, cute boy," a deep, rough voice whispered right into my ear from behind me.

My entire body froze. I went completely rigid. Hot tears instantly spilled over my eyelashes and rushed down my pale cheeks.

A gun... Is that a real gun?!

"Scream, and I’ll put a hole through your spine right here in front of all these shopping idiots," the guy behind me hissed softly, pressing the heavy metal barrel harder into my lower back. "Nod if you understand me."

I nodded, my jaw trembling so violently my teeth were clicking together. "P-please..." I sobbed quietly, clutching the small paper bag against my chest. "Please don’t shoot me... I’ll... I’ll do whatever you want..."

"Good boy," the guy in front of us sneered, stepping closer to crowd my vision so passersby couldn’t see what was happening behind my back. He leaned in, glaring at me coldly. "Are you here alone? Is your psycho brother Noah with you?"

"N-no," I stuttered, tears blurring my vision as I shook my head rapidly. "I’m... I’m all by myself. Noah is... He isn’t here."

The three guys exchanged quick, triumphant looks with each other.

"Holy shit, we hit the jackpot," one of them chuckled quietly under his breath. "Boss is gonna be thrilled. We caught the tyrant’s little brother totally defenseless."

"Keep moving," the guy behind me ordered, poking the gun deeper into my back. "Walk slowly toward the side parking exit. Try anything funny, and you’re dead."

I stumbled forward, my legs feeling like useless jelly, tears continuously rolling down my face. I was so terrified I couldn’t even form a sentence inside my head. I was completely trapped.

As they ushered me down the wide walkway, my desperate, tear-filled eyes frantically swept across the upper levels of the mall, praying for a miracle, praying for a police officer, praying for anyone to notice a helpless boy being forced along by three thugs.

And then, my heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it would burst.

Standing right across the courtyard, heading towards the luxury designer boutiques on the lower level, was a familiar tall figure with styled dark hair and a sleek jacket.

Damon.

Damon was standing right there!

A massive surge of pure, overwhelming relief flooded my chest. Damon! Oh thank God, Damon is here! He’ll save me! He won’t let them take me!

I parted my trembling lips, about to scream his name with every drop of air left in my lungs—

The words completely died in my throat.

My entire world shattered into a million sharp, bloody pieces right then and there.

Standing right beside Damon, wrapping her arms tightly around his arm, leaning her head affectionately on his shoulder, was a strikingly beautiful girl with long hair and expensive clothing.

My heart didn’t just break; it completely hit the floor and shattered into dust.

I watched as Damon stood there, letting her cling to him, letting her pull him toward the luxury bag shop.

Who... who is she? my mind screamed in pure, suffocating agony. Why is she touching him like that? Why is she holding his arm? Is she... his girlfriend? Was everything he said to me a lie?!

Right at that exact second, as the Jenson guys pushed me past a gap in the crowd, Damon shifted his head. His sharp eyes swept across the courtyard... and locked directly onto mine.

He saw me. He saw the tears streaming down my face. He saw the terror in my eyes. He saw the three men surrounding me.

"Damon..." I whispered desperately, my eyes pleading with him across the distance, begging him to step in, begging him to come rescue me.

Beside him, the girl noticed his sudden pause. She wrapped her hand even tighter around his arm, pulling him back, pointing her finger at me, and asking him a question with a suspicious frown on her face.

I held my breath, my chest aching so badly I couldn’t even feel the gun against my back anymore.

I watched Damon’s lips move. I saw the cold, detached expression that washed over his handsome face as he looked straight into my eyes, turned his head completely away from me, and spoke to the girl.

"I don’t know him."

The words echoed in my ears like a physical slap across the face, even though I was too far away to hear them out loud. I saw the movement of his lips. I saw the way he turned his back on me. I saw the way he let that girl lead him away into the luxury shop without taking a single step toward me.

He denied knowing me. He abandoned me.

"Hey, look!" one of the Jenson guys whispered frantically, spotting Damon across the courtyard. "Is that Damon Silver over there with the Riley girl?!"

"Fuck! Did he see us?!" the one in charge cursed, looking panicked. "Move faster! Before he recognizes who we are and calls for backup! Move!"

They grabbed my arms roughly, dragging me sideways through a dark service door that led straight to the underground loading dock.

I didn’t fight back. I didn’t scream. I didn’t even try to twist out of their grip.

I was completely numb. Hot, silent tears streamed endlessly down my cheeks as they shoved me into the back of a tinted, black van. My mind was spiraling down a dark, endless vortex of pain and heartbreak.

Who was that girl? Why was she holding him like that? Did he just use me all this time? Was I just a game to him? Was everything he did at my house last night just a fake act? Does he even care if I live or die?

The questions burned in my chest, tearing my soul apart, but there was no way for me to get any answers.

Because I was kidnapped.

The drive was a blur of dark misery. Twenty minutes later, the van slammed to a stop. They pulled a dark sack over my head, hauled me out of the vehicle, and dragged me up several flights of dusty, bare concrete stairs.

When they finally ripped the sack off my head, the harsh afternoon sunlight blinded me for a second.

I was tied tightly to a heavy, broken wooden chair in the middle of a dusty, unfinished floor of an incomplete building on Jenson University’s abandoned athletic expansion site. There were no walls on the outer perimeter... just bare concrete pillars and a drop straight down to the hard ground three floors below.

The rope was dug deep into my wrists and ankles, biting into my skin until it burned.

The kidnapper in charge stepped up right in front of me. He reached out, grabbed my chin forcefully, and shoved my head back so I was forced to look down over the edge of the bare floor.

"Listen to me carefully, little boy," the guy sneered, his hot, nasty breath hitting my face as he pointed out toward the open horizon. "Your brother Noah and that arrogant bastard Damon Silver are currently racing all over the city trying to find you."

He let go of my chin with a harsh shove, a dark, wicked grin spreading across his face as he gestured to the empty air beyond the third-floor ledge.

"If Noah and Damon don’t show up here in thirty minutes and bow down to our terms... we’re going to push you straight off this third floor."