Page 190 of A Million To Fall

“He tried to end it,” Jake says while Boston tries to find his voice. “After you helped him get the apartment. I think my mom anticipated Boss eventually trying to get out of her little fun arrangement. But my mom wasn’t just going to give up her shiny toy. She was prepared. Took pictures and then started blackmailing him. She told him no judge would let him have his siblings if they found out Boss was exchanging sex for money.”

I don’t blink. Just stare at Boston, gutted. “You were trapped,” I whimper.

He looks younger than twenty lying in that hospital bed. Until I notice the exhaustion carved into the lines around his eyes and remember that Boston has never really been allowed to be a kid.

“Yeah,” he breathes.

Heavy silence engulfs us, my mind whirring. I have so many questions. Too many. How often were you forced to sleep with her? Have you slept with her since… since you and I became intimate? When was the last time? But maybe I don’t want to know.

I shake my head, clearing it. “So how does Archer play into this?”

Jake moves up to Boston’s bed. “That text my mom accidentally sent last night—those pictures—was fucking pissed,” Jake says, gaze directed at Boston. He doesn’t look angry. Just… sorry. “I told Archer I was going to fuck you up.”

“Guess I can’t blame you,” I admit.

Boston sighs. “I don’t either.”

Jake drags a hand over his face. “Archer was gung-ho about it. Offered to drive. Looking back, I think he’d been waiting for an excuse.”

“I don’t think he likes me,” Boston mutters.

My eyes widen. Is he… making a joke right now? Right on cue, the corners of his lips twitch, making mine want to tug up in turn.

“Yeah, no shit,” Jake chuckles.

“Did you know they were coming?” I ask Boston.

“Jake called me and told me he was on his way. Asked me to meet him outside. I didn’t know why, but I wasn’t expecting… this.”

“I just went to town on Boss the second I stepped out of Archer’s car,” Jake says, sheepish.

I nod. “I saw the video, remember?”

“What video?” Boston asks, voice tight.

“From the surveillance cameras at the complex,” I say. “I saw it this morning. I needed to know.” I take a steadying breath. “I know it wasn’t self-defense. I know you weren’t the aggressor,” I say to Boston. He shakes his head, but I don’t let him get a word in edgewise. “Jake jumped you. He beat you. Then he stopped—”

“Yeah, because Boss explained what the hell was going on with my mom,” Jake cuts in.

“But then Archer… this is the part I still don’t understand,” I say, the frustration rising once more. “It looked like you were talking and then… he just tackled you. He was hitting you, like, for no reason at all.”

“Oh, I gave him a reason,” Boston says quietly.

“Not undeserved, though,” Jake says, seemingly intent on defending Boston, maybe as a way to atone for what happened, for Boston’s injuries and the fact that he’s in the hospital right now, recovering from a freaking gunshot wound.

I look at him expectantly.

“Archer obviously heard everything Boss was saying—about my mom propositioning him, and the arrangement and the money. And he just… laughed. Called him a hooker and said Boss was just like his mom.”

My face twists with disgust. “That’s vile.”

“And Boss…” Jake’s eyes snap to Boston, devastation flickering in his gaze. “He… he told Archer that he must be a good hooker then, because Archer’s mom’s a repeat customer.”

My mouth drops open. Way to escalate the situation. “Oh my god.”

“Yeah. Not his brightest moment. Archer lost it. He just tackled Boss and beat the shit out of him.”

“I knew Archer had kind of a short fuse, but I never thought he’d be capable of… of shooting someone for making a comment about his mom,” I mutter.