Page 72 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)

What did he have to do to earn George’s trust? He’d been the perfect IS for months, never faltering as Tyler set him test after test. When would enough be enough? What could Tyler possibly throw at him that was worse than a night with Jake Harper?

He received his answer a few days later.

It had been a bright, clear November day, and the ruins of Old London had looked impossibly beautiful in the sunshine.

Andrew visited him late in the afternoon, carrying with him a garment bag, which meant he thought nothing in Alex’s closet would be suitable for the guest he was to entertain this evening.

“No briefing document?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“No, it’s another surprise.”

That didn’t bode well. The last surprise hadn’t been a good one, and there was little chance this would be either. Still, Alex didn’t let his dismay show. He merely gave a polite smile and waited for Andrew to unzip the garment bag.

The outfit inside was dramatic: black leather trousers, a vivid electric-blue shirt, and big black biker’s boots.

“Sexy, Goth-vampire-type outfit?” Alex mused. “How exciting.” All this leather implied that the sex wouldn’t be vanilla. No sweet, gentle, Rebecca-style encounter was in store for him tonight.

Andrew tousled his hair with gel and applied eyeliner.

Alex thought he looked like a pop star trying too hard to rock a bad-boy vibe, but he kept that to himself.

“It would help my performance if I knew how to fulfil my guest’s fantasies,” he said to Andrew.

“Can you give me a clue, at least? You’ve dressed me very specifically, and I want to make sure I do my job properly. ”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve been assured that you’ll know how to please your guest when you meet him.” Andrew gave him a bright smile.

Alex calmed himself. It didn’t matter who this was, he’d deal with it. None of this was in his hands, he wasn’t to blame for anything Tyler forced him to do, and he had his boundaries to keep him honest. As long as he stayed within those and did his job, he would be fine.

He walked along the hallway to the dining room and stepped inside, wondering what was in store for him – and his stomach lurched in shock.

The man waiting for him was tall, slender, beautiful, and familiar.

If anything could have cracked Alex’s polished facade, it was coming face to face with his old friend.

“Alex?”

Marlon Baxter looked as amazed as Alex felt to be seeing him again.

He’d grown up since their university days.

His hair was cut short now and had reverted to its original black colour.

He was wearing a smart business suit and a tie that changed colours.

Alex recognised it from the prototype Marlon had made at university, only this was clearly a far superior version.

“Oh, God. Alex! I was not expecting you to walk through that door.” Bax wrapped him in a warm hug. He was all long arms and gangly legs, yet somehow graceful.

Alex struggled to know how to respond. Bax was the closest thing he’d had to a real friend prior to his servitude, but they’d lost touch after university.

The last time they’d been together, Alex had chosen to sleep with him to make Neil angry, and now he had no choice but to sleep with him again, if that was what Bax wanted, and in the process offer his old friend up to Tyler’s blackmail machine.

Marlon stood back and held him at arm’s length. “Look at you! You look…”

“Exactly the same?” Alex grinned, gesturing to his clothes. Now this outfit made sense. It was to jog Bax’s memory – and presumably his lust – because Alex was wearing precisely the kind of pretentious, outrageous outfits he’d rocked at university.

“Well, it was always a good look on you,” Bax laughed. The gossipy drama queen had mellowed into an elegant, more mature young man. Alex hated that he was wearing this outfit. It wasn’t who he was now, and it felt completely fake next to this more grown-up, authentic version of his old friend.

“But what are you doing here?” Bax asked blankly. “And why did you ghost me after we left Oxford? I kept texting you, but you never replied.”

“I had other things going on. I’m sorry,” Alex said sincerely.

“I saw the news – hard to avoid it, really – and I felt sorry for you. I wish you’d stayed in touch. You looked like you needed a friend,” Bax said quietly. “I tried calling you when it all kicked off, but it went to voicemail, and you never called back.”

“They took my holopad.” Alex couldn’t bring himself to look into Bax’s beautiful almond-shaped eyes.

He felt ashamed to be here, pretending like this, with a man he’d once been so close to.

“Please don’t feel sorry for me. I made some mistakes and deserved what happened to me.

It’s all good now. Mr Tyler is an excellent houder. He’s given me a second chance.”

Bax rocked back on his heels. “So it was Tyler who bought your contract. I heard rumours, but nobody’s seen you since, so…

” He put his hands on either side of Alex’s face and gently lifted his head, so that Alex had no choice but to look at him.

“Darling, I’m so very sorry,” he said gently.

“I can’t pretend to know what happened, but I don’t think you deserve this.

You were so mixed up at uni, so damaged – anyone could see that, if they weren’t blinded by lust for you, which I admit I was for the longest time.

I had such a massive crush on you, and your refusal to sleep with me made it so much worse.

Now I can see you were being a good friend, protecting me and yourself too, I dare say, by not sleeping with me.

You knew we only cared about your damage and not about you .

Hell, you told me so often enough. How tiresome you must have found it.

All that fawning attention, all those curious, prurient people wanting a piece of you.

You always did have a certain quality about you, Alex; you were a flame that drew all of us moths towards you. ”

“Yeah, I know.” Alex managed a smile. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but I knew I could never give you what you wanted.”

“Which was?” Bax took hold of Alex’s hand and drew him to the sofa.

“Love.” Alex sat down next to him. “You always wanted to be loved, Bax. You pretended it was about sex, but it never was. You wanted the thrill of me, the danger of being involved with what I represented to you, but really you just wanted love.”

“You could be right.” Bax placed his hand on his arm, and he saw the beautiful emerald ring on his finger, the exact same shade as his eyes. Bax saw him looking and smiled. “I’m getting married in a few weeks to the most gorgeous man.”

Alex’s heart sank. He’d been wondering how Tyler would blackmail his old friend, and here it was.

The loving fiancé, with the happy marriage that lay ahead of him…

all to be sacrificed for one night with an old flame.

Then Tyler would have his hooks sunk well and truly into Bax, never to let him go.

Why had Bax come here? What possible reason could he have for crossing Tyler’s path?

“Tell me all about him and your life now,” Alex said.

“His name is Ryan, and he’s tall and handsome, and an engineer. You know I’ve always had a thing for engineers. They seem so…”

“Straight?” Alex grinned at him knowingly. “You always liked straight-acting men, Bax.”

“I know. Part of your appeal, I fear, although you were never one hundred per cent committed to the joys of men, as I recall. Is that still the same?”

“It is.” Alex shrugged. “But then, commitment generally was never my strong suit.”

Bax laughed. “Oh, yes. You ran that poor, beautiful girl a merry dance as I recall. Do you still see her? What was her name? Colette? Soleil?”

“Solange,” Alex said quietly, his tongue stinging at having to say her name out loud. Any conversation he had with Bax about Solange would be a lie. “And no. It’s been a long time since I last saw Solange.”

“Well, I hope she’s met some lovely man like I have, and settled into as happy a life with him as I intend to do with Ryan.”

She did, Alex thought. She did meet a lovely man, and she would have settled into a happy life with him, if Tyler hadn’t killed her.

“Let’s hope so,” he murmured vaguely. He knew Tyler was watching him, knew this was why he’d sent Bax here tonight, to see how he behaved under this kind of duress.

“So, what line of work are you in, Bax? Are you still into fashion?”

“Ah, well, that’s why I’m here. It’s the tie, you see.

” Bax pointed at the elegant strip of fabric around his neck, which was now glowing a soft gold.

“Ryan fixed the last of the issues I had with it, and now it’s completely perfect and ready to be unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

The only thing is, I need funding. I’m convinced holoties will be the next big thing in the world of fashion.

I just need enough money to produce them. And who has money? George Tyler.”

“I wasn’t aware that my houder gave to start-ups.”

“Oh yes. He started a fund for young entrepreneurs earlier this year. His people approached me after they saw me modelling the tie at an event.”

Of course they did. Tyler had always played a long game. He’d wanted Bax in his pocket for precisely this moment.

“Well, that all sounds very exciting,” he murmured.

“And you? Can you really be happy being an IS?” Bax looked at him keenly. “I suppose it’s not forever. How long is your sentence? Seven years?”

“Yes.” Alex didn’t share that he was unlikely to be released from his contract after that time. “But honestly, I am happy, Bax. In fact, I’m happier now than I’ve ever been. Mr Tyler has been good to me, and he’s helped straighten out a lot of my issues. I’m looked after here.”

“And what of your art, your designs?”