Chapter Eighty-Three

Dominic groaned, pressing a hand to his pounding head. "Damn…" He opened his eyes, looking to his left as he felt something move in the dark of wherever they were. "John?" He reached a hand out, feeling the thin body of his cousin beneath his fingers. "Wake up." He shook John's shoulder, noticing the sound of a car engine and the hum of asphalt under worn-out tires.

John tried to make a noise of disapproval, but the only thing that came out was a harsh breath. He reached out to Dominic, his fingers wrapping in his t-shirt as the memory of what had happened hit him. He opened his mouth, a small squeak escaping him.

Dominic nodded, wrapping his arms around his cousin as he attempted to comfort him. "I know bebé niño." He pulled John close, pushing his own fear down as he felt John start to shake. "Estara bien." He felt the car slow, listening for some noise to tell his where they were. The car stopped, giving a little bump as it was put into park.

"Do you have the goods?" Someone asked, as the car doors slammed shut.

John looked up at Dominic, knowing that even though he couldn't see him, he was looking at him too. He squeaked, pulling on Dominic's sleeve to try and tell him what he was trying to say.

Dominic pushed John's head down, shushing him. "Act like you're sleeping." He whispered, knowing that they could both pull the act off without a hitch. "No matter what, stay limp like you're still gassed."

John nodded, forcing the tension from his muscles, closing his eyes and evening out his breath as he listened to Dominic do the same. He felt a cold breeze on his cheek as the truck was popped open, feeling strong hands on his ankles as he was pulled from the car. He hit the ground with a thud, the air getting knocked out of him for a moment.

"They're strong boys." The voice of John's uncle Rueben stated, as John's legs and arms were squeezed and his body was examined by the men.

He felt his clothes being pulled at, his shirt being ripped open to show the wraps on his chest.

"What's this?" One of the men asked, slipping his fingers into the wraps and shaking John like a ragdoll. "Is he damaged?"

John's aunt Juanita's voice cut in, her Mexican accent thick as she spoke. "He's Bueno for what you need. He's American, young, tough, he's used everything you're selling so he'd have no problem selling it."

The man threw John's body to the ground, kicking his side as he moved on to Dominic. "And this one?"

Rueben nodded, noticing that his son had more mass to him than John did. "Strong, healthy, he's used as much as the other one has. American citizen, eighteen so he's able to do a little more than the other one."

The man felt over Dominic's body, squeezing his ribs and his hips. "The other one's bonier." He stated, looking up at the pair. "Why's that?"

Juanita looked at John, her lip curling at the money they would lose because of John's lack of weight. "He's a picky eater." She stated, leaning down to give him a hard smack on the cheek. "Never ate my tamales."

The man nodded, straightening to look at the pair. "I'll give you ten for the eighteen-year-old, and four for the skinny one." He stated, showing a wad of thousand-dollar bills. "I might go higher for the older one, but that skinny one I'm doing you a favor with. He'll only last a couple weeks at most, I wouldn't be buying him unless I needed mules."

Rueben nodded, opening his mouth to speak just before sirens wailed and the sound of a helicopter buzzed overhead.