L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 122

Even that question Ashley had asked him... now seemed more loaded. What would you do if I’d had sex with someone else? He’d brushed it off as a joke, but now it felt strange—why that kind of joke, of all things?

Maybe it had something to do with the pheromones...

He reached his doorstep as those fearful thoughts swirled in his mind.

The neighborhood was quiet. It was long past midnight, but the lights inside the motorhome were still off. Seeing the dark interior from outside, Koi instinctively let out a small breath of relief.

He’s not home yet.

Thank God. He hurriedly walked to the motorhome and opened the door. He needed to wash up and lie down. Think about it all later. Dropping his bag in a rush, he reached up to flip on the ceiling light. When the dim light flickered on, he turned around—and the moment he did, he gasped.

His father was sitting in a chair at the table, staring at him.

Koi couldn’t say a word. He instinctively took a step back. His brain stopped functioning entirely, unable to process the unexpected scene.

“Ah... Dad.”

He barely managed to whisper, but his father said nothing, just stared. And Koi instinctively realized—he’d been waiting for him. A chill ran down his spine as his father finally opened his mouth.

“Where have you been... doing what... at this hour.”

His voice was hoarse and kept cutting off. Koi knew why. His voice always sounded like that when he was drunk.

He drank.

Koi went pale and froze. Like a frog in front of a snake, he couldn’t move—just stood there. His father staggered up from the chair.

“Always saying it’s for studying, for work... You’ve been lying to me, haven’t you?”

Koi could only stare at him, eyes wide. His father took a step forward.

“You dared to lie to me.”

“D... Dad...”

Koi barely got the word out. His father’s face, lit by the dim bulb, was redder than usual, eyes bloodshot. Saliva dripped from his clenched mouth, and Koi could already guess what was coming next. His father started fumbling with his belt. Koi’s breathing grew rapid.

“You ungrateful little shit. Think you can make a fool of me? I told you not to hang around that bastard!”

His father shouted, voice booming, and whipped the belt in his hand against the wall. The crack of leather echoed through the motorhome. Koi flinched, covered his head with both hands, and crouched down.

“N-no, I didn’t—”

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He shook his head, stammering in fear, but it didn’t matter. His father grabbed him by the collar with his free hand. His bloodshot eyes bore into Koi.

“What’s that smell! Covered head to toe in pheromones and still trying to lie to me?! You filthy little shit!”

Then he shoved Koi hard. Koi fell and hit the floor, and before he could recover, the belt started raining down on him.

“You ungrateful bastard—I should’ve thrown you out long ago! Should’ve let you die! You’re the reason I ended up like this! I should’ve strangled you at birth! No—your mother should’ve scraped you out of her belly when she was pregnant! I should’ve taken a knife and gutted you both when that bitch ran off and left me!”

Koi couldn’t even scream. He curled into himself, silently enduring the blows. The old, thin leather belt whipped across his body again and again. It burned. It stung. And no one was coming to help. Backed into the corner, all Koi could do was hope it ended soon.

That was when he felt it—his phone vibrating in his pocket. Desperately, he pulled it out. No time to check who it was.

“P-please, help—augh!”

Before he could finish, his father slammed the belt across his face. It missed slightly, but the searing pain was real. The phone slipped from his hand. All he could do now was curl up tighter and endure the pain.

*

Ashley, ghost-white, was flooring the accelerator like a madman. He’d never driven this fast before. Koi had barely answered the phone before a panicked scream was cut off. Ashley’s heart had nearly exploded at the sound.

The unease had been unbearable ever since Koi hadn’t picked up. He told the secretary he was stepping out for a bit to see Koi. He’d kept his expression calm and casual.

Just going to see him for a minute.

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Tracking Ashley’s phone would make it easy to find his location anyway. Better to leave openly. Besides, the secretary clearly saw them both as reckless teenagers. Fine. He’d play into that.

As expected, the secretary let him go without much reaction. Maybe she thought he wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway. Didn’t matter. All Ashley needed was to make sure Koi was safe.

He kept calling as he sped away from the mansion. Finally, one call connected—only for Koi’s terrified scream to pierce through and then cut off. Ashley’s chest tightened with panic.

No way. Koi. That man—again.

He could already see Koi’s bloodied face in his mind. He slammed the brakes by the roadside where he usually dropped Koi off, jumped out, and sprinted like a madman. The motorhome was a ways in. He just prayed he wasn’t too late as he ran full speed. Soon, he reached his destination.

Through the cracked glass window, he saw a faint, flickering light. Then a scream, followed by a sharp, smacking sound. As soon as Ashley realized the choked voice was Koi’s, something in his head snapped.

“Koi!”

He shouted and threw open the motorhome’s rusted door. It groaned weakly as it gave way, and the narrow, cluttered interior came into view.

And Ashley saw it with his own eyes.

Inside the wrecked, cramped motorhome—Koi was curled up on the floor, while his father was mercilessly whipping him with a belt. Ashley charged in and slammed his fist into the man.

*

“Ugh... uh...”

A faint groan escaped his lips. The pain across his body forced Koi back into consciousness. Ashley spoke to him immediately upon hearing the sound.

“Koi, are you awake?”

His mind had returned, but it took a little longer to process what was happening. Koi slowly blinked, forcing his swollen eyelids open.

The first thing he saw was a dark road lit only by headlights. That’s when he realized he was in the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) passenger seat of a car.

He looked down and sighed in relief. A large hand was holding his own tightly. A smile almost touched his lips—until the pain from his split lips and swollen face twisted it into a grimace.

“...Ash.”

He barely managed to say his name. Ashley turned from the road to look at him. With one hand on the wheel and the other clutching Koi’s hand tightly, he looked more reassuring than ever.

“Where... are we going?”

Koi asked in a whisper. It was the first thing that came to mind. Ashley looked forward again and gripped his hand even tighter.

“Mexico.”

“...Huh? Why?”

Koi blinked, not understanding. He looked at Ashley, confused. Ashley added softly:

“I kidnapped you.”