Race With a Heart
Chapter 152: Hurricane Identity

Chapter 152: Hurricane Identity

Don was attacked so suddenly that he did not have time to react. The situation had turned one hundred and eighty degrees, and now he was paralyzed by the sudden attack.

One blow, then another... The two right hooks were lightning-fast and hammer-strong. Don tasted of his own blood in his mouth. Each blow made his head rumble. The attacker knew how to strike to really hurt.

Alston wanted to recognize his opponent, but didn’t even have time to look up at him. He didn’t even have the strength. He was slowly falling to the ground ...

***

"Steve, stop it!" Martin shouted, grabbing Paxton by the hand. "You’ll kill him!"

"And good! He deserved to die! "

"Steve !!!"

Paxton was breathing hard. But he stopped hitting Alston and watched his younger colleague slowly slide to the ground.

The sight was not enough to contain Steve’s fury. He would have lunged at him again, would have beaten him up like a dog, had it not been for Martin’s frightened eyes that appeared across from him at that moment.

"Steve, please ..."

Martin had a certain innocence about him, a certain purity of heart. The very good lived in it. He was not aggressive. So how could Steve massacre this brute in front of him, even if he deserved such a fate, or even worse?

This innocent boy has just witnessed his boyfriend brutally torment another man. And a moment earlier ...

"Are you okay?" Steve asked worriedly.

"He didn’t do anything to me, he surprised me a little, that’s all," Martin assured.

Was he really okay, or was the boy lying to calm Paxton?

"For sure?" Steve leaned forward and watched Martin closely. The boy held on bravely, but you could see that he was shocked. Was it Alston’s attack on him, or Paxton’s display of aggression?

They heard someone running up and soon saw Feretti and his mate from the stable. What they found surprised them both.

"What’s going on here?" Feretti asked. "Steve? What are you ...? Is that Don?"

Alston moved on the ground. He was not unconscious. He wiped with his hand the blood that was dripping from nose smashed by Paxton and split lip.

"Me, I stumbled and hit the wall," he explained grimly, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes.

The drivers who came exchanged a few words among themselves. They spoke so softly that the drivers from Fergus Stables were unable to hear them.

"Does anyone here need an ambulance?" Feretti asked.

Steve looked grimly at Alston. Don’s face was pretty badly scarred and he would probably need a doctor, although Paxton would have liked Alston to be in the morgue. After what he had done to Martin, he deserved the worst fate.

"No need," said Don, and began to get up off the ground. None of the drivers at Fergus’ Stable helped him, but Feretti’s colleague did. It was a clear confirmation that Alston’s fate did not concerned his colleagues.

Feretti’s colleague took Don and, helping him to walk, led him out of the place. Feretti, on the other hand, came closer to Martin and Steve. His thoughts were hard to guess, but his expression was very serious.

"You are on my soil," he explained, "in my country and I really don’t want any media scandal about this event. So I’ll be quiet, but if Don decides to prosecute, I’ll testify in his favor."

"Do you want to lie?" Steve asked.

"I see blood on your hand. I see you beat him up. "

"You are Italian, you should know that certain things a man cannot forgive or leave to the police."

Feretti looked closely at Martin. Under his gaze, the boy lowered his eyes and blushed to his ears.

"The internal affairs of your stable do not interest me at all, but I do not want it to affect the reputation of my track."

"I understand," Steve assured. "Alston will stick to the version that he tripped and hit a wall. Didn’t you smell alcohol from him? "

"People should be careful when they’re drunk," concluded Feretti. He gave Martin another look, but this time that said nothing, and walked away.

"Sorry," Martin muttered as that driver disappeared through the door.

"For what?" Steve looked concerned.

"They saw that you ... It’s because of me ..."

"Are you talking about this?" Paxton held up a hand that still had Alston’s blood wet. Martin flinched at the sight of her, and Steve quickly hid her behind him.

"I am sorry that you saw ..."

"No, it’s okay," the boy replied, but his voice was trembling slightly. You probably won’t believe me, but I was just waiting for the opening to push him away ... "

"I believe" Paxton assured him strongly, looking straight into his boyfriend’s eyes, trying to prove to him that he was not lying. "I remember the way you treated me. I feel pain at the memory."

Martin blushed, then suddenly paled.

"He surprised me completely. We talked, he laughed, and then ... "

There was something else on his mind, but he didn’t share it with Steve. Now that the adrenaline was draining from both of them, Paxton felt a painful stab in his heart. His lovely Martin has been mugged! Admittedly, he was not more seriously injured, unlike Steve, but the assault was sexual, so it was more psychological than physical.

"Let’s get out of here!" Steve took Martin’s hand and pulled him away. Instinctively, he wanted to use his right hand, but since he had blood on it, he swapped it for his left hand.

"Where?" Martin asked, rushing after him.

"Anywhere," Steve replied. "Just away from this place."

"Have you checked into the hotel yet?" the boy asked.

"Yes."

"Then let’s go there."

"Let’s go."

Steve’s handshake was strong, as if he was afraid that if he loosened it even a little, Martin would slip out of his hands. Paxton called a cab and quickly put Martin in it, then sat down next to him and took his hand again. In doing so he didn’t think, instinctively he wanted to be as close to his lover as possible because he felt how shaken Martin was.

It was like that before. Almost exactly the same. Martin trembled as he sat next to him. Only then Steve was driving the car, and they weren’t together yet, so he wasn’t holding the boy’s hand.

In the hotel, they disappeared without paying attention to the surroundings. As soon as Steve closed the door to his room, he hugged Martin very tightly, pressing him to his heart. There were no words, no commands, no questions, only the warmth of his shoulders and his love hugging the young man who had just been attacked.

They stood there for a long time, without words and without moving. Steve wanted to be a safe haven for Martin to stay in after escaping the storm. The deck still wobbled slightly, but the calm waters slowly allowed the sailors to walk more confidently.

After all, Martin, too, was trembling less and less. He calmed down to the point that he took a deep breath and said, now quite strong:

"Thank you for saving me."

"I didn’t save you," Paxton announced. "You would do just fine on your own. I just couldn’t watch him..." He wanted to say ’how he touches you’ but he didn’t want to remind Martin of that. "I couldn’t stand it and that’s it."

"Thank you," the boy repeated, and to Steve had a feeling that Martin was feeling relaxed and soft, as if his cells were completely losing tension. If he goes on like this, even the knees will bend under him.

The rage was reawakened in Paxton. Don is finished! Okay, Martin is a little too sensitive to solve this bastard’s problem with violence, the cute idiot would still feel guilty about it, but Steve would do anything to destroy that son of a gun. Nobody will do such things to his Martin with impunity!

"But ... what are you actually doing here?" Martin asked, taking a break from Steve. "How did you get here?"

"I came by plane ..."

The old joke wasn’t funny and Martin grimaced.

Well! That’s good! Martin shouldn’t be thinking about what just happened. His thoughts and emotions should run the other way.

"It’s okay! I wanted to surprise you. I’m here for the second day and I’ve been spying on you a bit ... "

"You’re here the second day and you’ve only revealed yourself now?"

"Don’t get mad, honey. I was curious how you were doing. I didn’t want to distract you, but I couldn’t live without you, so I followed you a bit. "

"Like ... stalker?"

"Well ... kind of," Steve agreed with resignation.

"You know this is illegal?"

"Only if the followed person feels discomfort because of it. I don’t think so in your case. You didn’t even notice that I was following you. "

"But but..."

"But what? Hm? If I showed myself to you, could you concentrate on your work? "

Martin’s expression told Steve that he wasn’t. Paxton felt a double joy at the sight. Not only was he glad that he was so important to Martin, but also because his lover doesn’t seem to think about Alston’s assault any more.

At that moment, Martin’s phone rang. Only after a moment did he realize that the signal was coming from his pocket.

"It’s Jack," he informed Steve. "He probably can’t find me ..."

Martin looked strangely confused, as if he had no idea how to act in this situation, whether to answer or ignore the call.

"Pick up. I can give him a minute or two, but then you will be all mine. "