Ryan is a young artist hoping to make a name for himself. When he meets a man who offers to help him advance his career, he accepts. His career takes off when Merrick arranges two shows for Ryan at a local gallery. Ryan is elated, especially when their relationship becomes more personal. What he doesn’t expect is to end up being abused, physically and emotionally, as Merrick tightens his control over the younger artist.<br><br>After a vicious beating, Ryan manages to escape, naked except for a bedspread wrapped around himself. Policeman Shaun Levitt finds him cowering in an alley. Taking the battered young man under his wing, Shaun begins the slow process of helping Ryan come to grips with what happened.<br><br>Will Ryan learn to trust again? Or will he forever look at any man who might be interested in him as another potential abuser ... including Shaun?

In the Name of Love

It’s been four days. I should be getting better. He didn’t mean his body. It would heal at its own pace. The bruises on his throat were already a memory. A bad one, but at least not a visible reminder of Merrick’s choking him. His ankle bothered him but it, too, was getting better. His ribs? They hurt when I touch them too hard, or take more than shallow breaths, but I must be getting used to the pain because I only really notice it when I think about them, or move the wrong way.


Chapter 67