Novels by T.Maryann

Adrian spent the whole morning making calls.I sat on the edge of the bed and listened. His voice stayed low and cold while he spoke to people I never met. Every few minutes he wrote something in a small black book. When he finally put the phone down, his face looked different — harder, as he had already decided how this would end.“I found him,” he said.My stomach dropped. “R.M.?”“Richard Moreau. Old money. Lives on an estate three hours from here. He funded the clinic your mother used. He paid for every year of your life until you turned eighteen. Then the payments stopped… until Soren started moving.” Adrian looked straight at me. “He’s been waiting for your twenty-fifth birthday to claim full rights under some private contract your mother signed when she was desperate.”I stood up. “What kind of rights?”“The kind that treat you like property.” Adrian’s jaw flexed. “He’s not going to touch you. I’m going there tonight.”I shook my head. “Not without me.”“Noah—”“I’m done sittin

The phone stayed dark after that last message.Adrian didn’t answer it. He didn’t throw it either. He just turned it face down on the nightstand and pulled me closer until there was no space left between us. His good arm wrapped around my back. His wounded shoulder stayed carefully still. I could feel the heat of the fresh bandage against my skin.For a long time neither of us spoke.The lake house was quiet. Water moved against the dock outside. Somewhere far off an owl called once and then stopped. I lay with my forehead against Adrian’s collarbone and listened to his heartbeat. It was slower now. Steady.“I keep waiting for you to run,” he said finally. His voice was low and rough from everything that had happened.“I’m still here.”“I know.” His fingers moved slowly up and down my spine. “That’s what I don’t understand.”I closed my eyes. The truth sat heavy in my chest. I had every reason to leave. Blood. Lies. Guns. The knowledge that the man holding me had known I was his son a

Adrian didn’t speak for a long time after he turned the car around.The road stretched black and empty in front of us again. Trees closed in on both sides. His good hand stayed locked on the wheel. The other rested on my thigh, fingers digging in hard enough to leave bruises. Every few minutes he glanced at the rearview mirror like he expected headlights to appear.They never did.“Where are we going?” I finally asked.“Back to the lake house.”“They already know that place.”“That’s the point.” His voice was flat. “They think we’re running to the hotel. They’ll be watching the city. While they’re waiting for us there, we go back to where they already were and start digging.”I looked at his profile in the dark. The bruises on his face, the tight line of his mouth, the way he kept his wounded shoulder carefully still. He looked like a man who had decided to stop being hunted.“You’re hurt,” I said.“I’ve been hurt before.”“Adrian—”He cut a sharp look at me. “I’m not losing you to so

The note was still in Adrian’s hand when the silence in the bedroom turned heavy.Your father was never the only buyer.I’ve been waiting twenty-four years for what’s mine.See you soon, son.I sat on the edge of the bed, naked, heart slamming so hard I could feel it in my throat. The little black camera lay on the floor between us, still warm from being under the bed the whole time we were fucking.Someone had been in this house before we arrived.Someone had watched us.Someone who called me son.Adrian didn’t speak at first. He just stared at the paper like he could burn a hole through it. His wounded shoulder was bleeding again through the bandage. A thin red line ran down his arm and dripped off his elbow onto the wooden floor. He didn’t notice.“Adrian.”He looked up. His eyes were colder than I had ever seen them.“Get dressed. Fast.”I moved. My hands shook while I pulled on pants and a shirt. Adrian kept the gun in his good hand the whole time. He checked the closet, the bath

The message on the screen kept repeating in my head even after it disappeared.He’s not the only one who paid.Adrian didn’t waste time. He got out of bed, turned every camera back on, and started checking the feeds one by one. The forest looked empty. No cars. No people. Just black trees and quiet. But we both knew quiet didn’t mean safe anymore.“Someone else is still in this,” he said. His voice was low and hard. “Soren wasn’t working alone.”I sat up. My body still felt open and used from earlier. His cum was drying on my thighs. None of that mattered right now.“What do we do?”“We leave. Right now.”He threw clothes at me. Dark shirt. Dark pants. Boots. I dressed fast while he packed a bag with one hand — guns, cash, new phones, fake papers. Blood was starting to show through his bandage again but he didn’t stop. When he finished he grabbed my face hard and kissed me like he was trying to brand the shape of my mouth into his memory.“You stay on my ass the whole time. No wanderi

Three days later they finally let Adrian leave the clinic.He walked out on his own feet even though the doctors told him not to. The bandage on his shoulder was clean now but still thick. He moved carefully, as every step reminded him of the bullet. I stayed close. His good hand never left the back of my neck.The car took us straight to the forest place again. Same concrete building. Same heavy door. Same bed. This time no alarms. No red dots on the screens. Just quiet.Adrian locked everything himself. Then he turned and looked at me for a long time.“Come here.”I went.He kissed me slowly at first. Then harder. His mouth tasted like the mint from the clinic and something darker. When he pulled back his eyes were already hungry.“I almost lost you twice,” he said. “I’m not waiting another night.”He walked me backward to the bed. My legs hit the mattress and I sat. He pushed my shirt up and off. Then my pants. He didn’t rush but he didn’t waste time either. When I was naked he sto