Disclamer: Don't own a thing. Just the idea for this story.

AN: Yay! Here comes the next chapter. Sorry for taking so long with it, but we hope that you'll like it.
As usuall this is co-written with the amazing TheWeddingFairy.

Enjoy

Chapter 5

Alex looked up and saw the men too. They still hadn't looked up - they were all looking up and down the road.

"This way," Yassen hissed and pulled Alex by the arm through a small door on the other side of the alleyway.

"It's worrying how at ease you are in this situation," Alex grinned, following Yassen.

"What now?"

"Luckily for us, I always have a back up car waiting further away. We just have to reach it."

They made their way through the sleazy restaurant that lay behind the door Yassen had opened. Some waiter yelled at them in French as Yassen accidentally pushed him as they exited building and came out on the road on the other side.

They were lucky - the men by the car had no clear sight over this area, so they seemed to be able to get to the other car without to much trouble. Yassen kept his gun held high, pushing Alex behind him.

"Stay behind me. If they ambush us, they will attack you as you are more vulnerable." Alex scowled and shoved passed him, holding his own gun.

"I think I can look after myself."

As if to make point of it right after the words had left his mouth Alex stumbled on a rock and almost fell over.

"I can see that," Yassen smirked.

"Shut up," Alex muttered and regained his balance. "Just tell me where we're going."

"Go straight ahead and turn left. Be careful, once we've reached that blue BMW, we'll be directly in their line of sight."

Alex nodded and moved ahead of the older man.

"Alex?" he turned and suddenly Yassen's lips were smashed against his.

First Alex was too shocked to react, but seconds later he welcomed them on his. But Yassen withdrew far too soon for Alex's liking.

"What was that for?" Alex breathed with a smile. The short kiss had almost left him breathless.

"To warn you to be careful." Yassen replied simply.

Alex smirked. "Perhaps I'll be reckless more often, then."

Yassen growled. "Don't you dare; I'd prefer it if you didn't die, thank you very much. And try not to trip over any more rocks."

Alex just stuck out his tongue and Yassen smiled. Alex looked down the road. Further down he could see the blue BMW that Yassen was talking about. He let out a silent sigh - how could Yassen have been so stupid to put the second getaway car so close to the first one? He decided to voice his opinions, ignoring Yassen's look of annoyance.

"I never said that was where the car actually was, Alex. I merely said that was where you were supposed to go."

Alex scowled at Yassen's smirk and ducked behind a car when one of the men turned around, frowning suspiciously. Yassen quickly joined Alex behind the car.

The mans eyes graced over the spot where the two of them had just been standing. But as he saw nothing out of place he turned his back on them again and continued to watch the entrance to the hotel.

"That was close," Alex whispered.

"Too close," Yassen mumbled as he looked towards the men. "We need a distraction."

"Like what?" Alex whispered, turning to find Yassen gone. "Yassen?"

The older man pulled Alex to his feet and shoved him along the road.

"Run," he whispered, and held his gun aloft, firing some bullets into the air.

The reactions were instant. All the men by the car turned towards Yassen to see who shot. When they saw Yassen they all pointed their guns at him. Alex was already on his way over to the BMW that Yassen had pointed out. He didn't know where he'd go once he'd reached it.

Behind him Yassen shot some bullets towards the men to keep them focused on him as he ran down the road. He cursed - perhaps it was a reckless decision to take on three armed men. He saw Alex look back and nodded, urging him on. Alex looked torn - a look of anguish on his handsome face. Yassen shoot two of the men before they could even react. The third man met Yassen's eyes and Yassen couldn't help but smile - the young man was scared. The man didn't seem too sure of if he should shoot or not.

Yassen took the decision away from him as one of his bullets penetrated the boys hand and he let out a cry of pain. He dropped his gun and ducked for cover. Yassen didn't want to kill the boy, but he didn't have much choice. He shot him through the head, as quick a death as he could possibly manage. Alex was no longer in sight, and Yassen was worried for a moment. But he knew the younger man could take care of himself.

"Alex?" He called as he came up to the blue BMW.

"Yes?" Alex looked up from behind the trunk.

"Are you okay?"

Alex nodded and looked over at the once guarded car. He could see all three men laying dead on the pavement and swallowed hard - it didn't matter how many dead bodies he saw because it never got any easier.

Alex grasped Yassen in a tight hug, relieved that the man was okay.

"That was crazy! I can't believe you did that!"

"I did what I had to do to keep you safe... I couldn't risk you getting hurt." he said softly.

"Thank you," Alex mumbled, not sure if he wanted Yassen to know or not. "Should we take that car now that the men are gone?" he continued as if nothing happened.

"No," Yassen said and pulled away. "It's been compromised. Their boss might know about it, and then it's not safe. We still have to take the second one."

Alex nodded. "Where is it?"

"We need to keep going for another half-mile, and turn right. It's parked at the end of that street."

Yassen frowned, watching Alex's retreating back with concern. The boy was holding something back from him, and Yassen wanted to know what.

Alex hurried down the road ahead of Yassen. He didn't move so fast that it would draw attention to him, but still fast enough to get to the car. He knew that Yassen was close behind him - he could feel it. He'd seen the way Yassen had looked at him before and he didn't like it. He also knew that there was something going on here that the man didn't tell him about. Yassen knew something about the men and the reason for why they were after them, but he didn't seem to keen on sharing that information. So it wasn't more than right that Alex kept some things to himself too. Alex felt annoyance, amongst other emotions, creep over him. These men were trying to kill him, and Yassen was still refusing to tell him anything about them. He wished that the man would trust him enough to tell him - he thought that he had earned the right to some information. Still, he was as bad as the other.

He sighed. He wanted to tell Yassen about it all, but he didn't know if he could. If he said it then he would put himself in the most vulnerable position that he could think of. And he didn't know if he had the courage to do so. He had to repress the urge to laugh. He'd faced psychos, man eating beasts, assassins and God knows what else - and yet he was scared to tell another man about his feelings. But it was understandable. Physical pain was fairly easy to cope with; a soft bed and some painkillers would help him feel better. Rejection was another thing - if Yassen knocked him back, Alex wasn't sure how he'd be able to cope.

"I can hear you think from here," Yassen said from behind him. "You can do that when we are safe. Now you need to focus."

"Fine," Alex answered without turning around. "But will we ever be safe?" he continued under his breath so that Yassen wouldn't hear him.

Unfortunately for him, Yassen's senses seemed to be a lot more heightened that the average person. He stopped and placed a comforting hand on Alex's cheek.

"I'll keep you safe. No matter the cost."

Alex swallowed at the tender look in Yassen's icy eyes. He was just about to say something when Yassen continued. "Though we need to keep moving. We're by the car soon."

Again Alex nodded. There was only a right turn and a few yards between him and the car that would make him sit close to Yassen for hours again. Sit there and not being able to say what he wanted to. He wouldn't even be able to steal a quick touch. Yassen smiled reassuringly and once more grasped his hand.

"Come on. The sooner we get to the car, the sooner we'll be able to get to the safe house. There's a four hour drive ahead."

Alex followed him dutifully, sliding gratefully into the car and glancing across at the man as he started the car. He suppressed the urge to groan - it was going to be a long journey.

An hour into the drive Alex stomach growled at him and he realised that he hadn't eaten since the day before. Sure, Yassen had been picking up food - but not a single bite had made its way to Alex. But he didn't want to say anything since he knew that they were still on the run. He clutched his stomach to silence its growls but Yassen had already heard them.

"What's the matter Alex?" he asked and looked at Alex with concern in his eyes.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Alex said, turning to stare out the window into the bleak, dark night. He groaned as his stomach intensified its protests, and Yassen chuckled.

"Hungry? I'm afraid we won't be able to stop, but will you be okay for a few hours? I've got some energy bars in the bag."

Alex felt touched at Yassen's concern, and had to blink a few times to clear his eyes of moisture, avoiding the older man's penetrative gaze. He took out the bag and found the energy bars that Yassen was talking about. He grimaced. He'd never really liked those, but he didn't seem to have a choice. He was so hungry that he almost wanted to throw up. He offered Yassen one too - but the man declined. So Alex turned back to gaze out the window to watch the changing landscape around them and he ate under silence.

Yassen gazed at the boy with concern.

"Are you okay? You're unusually quiet."

Alex remained silent, hoping that Yassen would think he had fallen asleep.

"Alex?" he said softly, gently nudging his shoulder. He let out a low moan to enhance the illusion of being asleep. "I know you're not sleeping," Yassen sighed.

"How could you tell?" Alex asked and turned towards Yassen.

"Because you snore when you sleep."

"Do not!" Yassen laughed at the tiny outburst and Alex crossed his arms in annoyance.

"You don't," Yassen conceded. "But you fidget a lot… and you talk."

"What?" Alex yelped. "No way!"

Yassen smiled. "You do, I'm afraid. Don't worry... most of it's not embarrassing."

Alex turned around, his face flushing red. Great - now he couldn't even sleep beside the man in fear that his feelings would slip out.

"So tell me, who is Tom and exactly why should he stay away from the closet?" Yassen asked with a straight face, but Alex heard the laughter in his voice.

Alex groaned. "Tom's my friend...as for the closet, I have no idea what I was talking about. I am so not sleeping in the same room as you ever again." Alex promised.

Yassen raised any eyebrow, looking slightly sad. "Really?"

Alex nodded, ignoring the butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

"Too bad," Yassen said lightly. "And here I thought that you liked it."

If Alex had been eating at that moment he would have choked on it right there. Instead he began to cough to hide his surprise and also to get an excuse for turning all red.

"We've only shared a bed once," Alex muttered.

"It was enough to tell me that you enjoyed being so close to me."

Alex refused to meet Yassen's eyes, instead choosing to pull a pillow out from the travel bag resting between his legs and once more pretend to sleep.

Yassen sighed. He realised that he'd found a touchy subject that Alex really wanted to avoid. He looked over at the boy and saw him laying against the window resting on a pillow. He let his eyes follow the handsome features and resisted the urge to reach out and stroke his cheek. He knew something was on the younger boy's mind, but he didn't want to push it. The last time there had been secrets kept, Yassen had stormed out because of Alex's childish behaviour; he didn't want the same to happen again. It would only risk their safety - especially Alex's. As long as the boy was with him, he'd keep him alive.

He smiled as he watched the younger male curl himself up in the car seat. He turned his attention back to the road and wondered if he should turn the radio on for some company. But he decided against it as it probably would disturb Alex.

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