Hunted (The Tinder Chronicles) Read Online Free

cringeworthy part of L.A.
    “He wasn’t raping me,”
the blond said as I pulled into traffic. “I was letting him do that to me.” His
voice never seemed to rise above a whisper.
    “That’s crazy. What
were you thinking? He wasn’t even wearing a condom.”
    “But you were doing the
same thing.”
    “Doesn’t matter. I’m
over twenty-one, what I do is my choice. You’re what, eighteen? Nineteen? It’s
not even legal for you to be in that place.”
    “I’m older than I
look.” Still that soft little voice. He was quiet for a while, then finally
said, “I’m Tyler. What’s your name?”
    “The same, actually,” I
muttered distractedly, reading the street signs and trying to navigate a part
of L.A. I didn’t know very well.
    “Most people call me
Ty,” he said. “You can call me that if you want to.”
    “Promise me you won’t
go back to that place, Ty. If you want to get laid, there are dozens of nicer,
cleaner, safer gay bars in Southern California. That place is a shit hole.”
    “Then why were you at
there?”
    “In my case, it doesn’t
matter if it’s dangerous, because I can defend myself if I have to.”
    He fell silent for a
while, before admitting, “I was there because I want a new master, and that
seemed like a good place to find one. Mine was killed a few months ago, and I
hate being on my own.” Oh man, so he was one of those D/s boys that thrived on
abuse. He asked, his voice softer than ever, “Do you think…do you think maybe
you might want to keep me?”
    I glanced over at him.
His huge blue eyes were so hopeful. It was absolutely heartbreaking. “Ty, you
don’t even know me. Do I really need to tell you what a bad idea it is to go
around offering yourself to total strangers? That’s a great way to wind up in
the morgue.”
    “I know you’re a nice person.
You wanted to save me from that place.”
    “I could be a total
psycho, for all you know. You need to be more careful.”
    “I am careful. And I
know I don’t seem like it, but I can defend myself, too,” he said, looking down
at his hands, which were folded in his lap.
    “No offense, but I
really doubt it.” Then I asked, “Am I going the right way?”
    “Yeah. Just take a left
at the next light.”
    When we pulled up in
front of his building, I muttered, “You have got to be kidding me.” It was a
total dive. In fact, the word ‘dive’ wasn’t nearly strong enough to describe
it. Some whole new word would have to be invented to really capture the essence
of this place, something like
‘terrifying-hellpit-shithole-of-retched-fuckedupedness.’ Ok, that was more of a
phrase. And even that didn’t cover it. I looked at my companion and said, “How
have you not gotten murdered twice a day, every day, living in this place?”
    He grinned, just a
little. “Like I said, I can defend myself.”
    “Christ,” I muttered.
This had to be one of the roughest neighborhoods I’d ever been in – and I
didn’t exactly spend most of my time in Mayberry, if you know what I mean.
    “Will you come inside
with me? Please? I’ll let you do whatever you want to me.”
    Man, this guy was one
huge cry for help. “Oh come on!” I exclaimed. “It’s like you’re trying to get murdered! Never say that to a stranger. Never! Do you hear me, Ty?”
    “You’re really sweet,”
he said. “Thank you for caring about what happens to me.”
    I normally didn’t stick
my neck out for other people like this. But God, this guy was like a tiny
newborn kitten playing in traffic. Not even the most heartless asshole could
leave him out there to get run over. “Look,” I said, “let me drive you to a
motel, someplace where the murder rate isn’t measured in deaths-per-minute. My
treat. At least that way, I know you’ll be somewhat safe for a night or two.”
    “You don’t need to do
that. But you can walk me inside if you want, Tyler,” he said, his grin
graduating to a very cute smile. He hopped out of the car and stood