Deadly Desires by Rachel McLean, book 3 in the Zoe Finch series - Chapter 1

Amit Hussain stepped down from the bus and yawned. He had to be up early for work tomorrow and was looking forward to his bed.

He watched the bus pull away, lights receding into the December night, and brought his rucksack down from his shoulders. The three others who’d got off at his stop hurried away, no doubt eager to be out of the cold.

There was a thick hedge behind this stop, separating the road from a patch of scrubland the council never seemed to clean up. Amit knew where the thinnest part was, the least thorny. He pushed through, holding his rucksack to his chest for protection.

On the other side, he grabbed the plain white shirt he kept in his rucksack and flapped it out. Mum would be tired, but she had eyes like a hawk. This shirt had been ironed when he’d worn it to leave the house this morning. And his job processing insurance claims didn’t justify creases.

He shrugged off his coat and tugged his t-shirt over his head. Yellow with black stripes, clinging. Hot, he’d been told.

He stuffed the t-shirt into his rucksack and pulled on the shirt.

“Alright?”

Amit looked round to see a figure pushing through the hedge he’d just come through. He froze, half expecting it to be his older brother.

He nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing.

“Good place to hide out, here.”

“S’pose so.” Maybe if he was polite, they’d go away.

The figure approached. It was a man, dark and slender. Amit couldn’t make out his face in the darkness.

“I saw you on the bus. Liked your t-shirt.”

Amit smoothed his shirt down. He’d been wearing his padded Superdry coat over the t-shirt. OK, so he hadn’t zipped it up, but still. This guy would need to have been looking closely.

Amit straightened up and tried to make out the guy’s face. Was he being picked up, here next to the bus stop?

It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d met someone on the bus. But he didn’t like doing this so close to home.

Get rid of him, he told himself. Mum would be watching the clock across from her chair. She knew which bus he was on, would have the window open so she could hear it making its way along the Alcester Road, even in December. It would have passed the house by now.

“Thanks, mate,” he said, trying to sound confident. “I’ve got to get off.”

A hand landed on his arm. “Stay a bit.”

Amit wanted to shrug the hand off, but something told him not to.

“Sorry, mate. My mum’s waiting. You know what it’s like.”

A laugh. “Women, eh?”

Amit didn’t know much about women. He didn’t hang out with girls much. Although he loved his sister, she lived in a different world, with her husband and her baby and the way she had of making him feel younger than he was. His dad didn’t like him spending time with girls, and it suited him anyway. His mum was the only woman in his life and he wasn’t naive enough to think she was a typical example of the species.

“She’ll have my hide if I don’t get back.”

“Nah, she won’t.”

Amit tried to laugh. “You haven’t met my mum.”

“Five minutes. I like the look of you.”

Amit felt his stomach clench. Fear battled arousal. He hadn’t even seen the man’s face. He could be his own age. He could be old enough to be his father.

He shivered. “Sorry, mate. Not worth it.” He tried to sound confident, breezy, despite the goosebumps prickling the back of his neck.

“Bad move, pal.” The hand tightened.

Amit pulled away, or tried to. But the man was stronger than him. He was held fast.

“Come on, mate,” Amit said. “How about I give you my number, we can meet up?”

He wasn’t about to give his mobile number to a stranger. For one thing, his dad checked his contacts every Friday night. For another…

But it might get rid of him. Stall him. He could use a fake number.

“Nah,” the man said.

Amit pulled again. He eyed the hedge, wondering if he had the strength to drag the man through it and call for help.

But what would he say to anyone who came? I just got home from the gay village and this guy’s trying to hit on me. People round here knew his parents.

“OK,” he said. Maybe if he gave the guy a kiss that would get rid of him. Or at least, he might let go of Amit’s arm while they were kissing.

He leaned towards the man, his eyes closed. The man smelled of dust and metal. Probably worked on a building site.

A hand landed on his cheek.

“Ouch.” Amit brought his free hand up to his face, confused. His heart was racing. His mates had warned him about older men who liked it rough.

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t even pretend.

“Just let me go, please?” He sounded like a kid now, not the twenty-year-old he was.

The man laughed then spat. Amit felt it pass his cheek. “No chance. You’re coming with me.”

Amit swallowed. “I need to get home. My dad’s gonna kill me.”

“Oh, shut up about your fucking dad. Bloody poof.”

Amit felt his knees weaken. This was no pick-up. He had to get away from this man, and fast.

He steeled himself, then pulled his arm down and sideways, managing to yank it out of the man’s grasp. He turned back towards the hedge and threw himself through it, not caring what it would do to his face.

“Oi! Get back here.”

There was movement behind him as the man crashed into the hedge. Amit could make out the lights of the houses opposite the bus stop. He was almost through. Almost safe.

He stumbled through thick brambles and out into the evening, relief flooding through him. As he straightened up, he felt a hand on his ankle.

Amit yelled as the hand pulled. He fell forward, his forehead hitting the concrete. Pain surged through his face, making its way into his neck and down his body. Nausea and faintness followed. He blinked, dizzy.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Amit felt something soft grasp his mouth. He grunted, shaking his head from side to side. The man was on top of him, his bulk pinning Amit to the ground.

Please, let a bus come along, he thought. Let someone be out walking their dog.

But there was no bus for another half hour. And it was dark here, quiet.

He yelled but all that came out was a muffled grunt.

“Shut up, fag.” The man’s breath was hot in his ear. He stuffed something into Amit’s mouth. Amit felt the nausea turn to lightness and then heaviness. His head slumped forward, smacking into the pavement for a second time as he lost consciousness.