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

“No. But I have some time to kill, so let’s do it.”


“Hell of a reason, but you’re on.”


Given the state of Ryan’s finances, they ended up at a wholesale outlet store. There wasn’t a wide selection, but he managed to find a charcoal gray, two-piece suit which was inexpensive enough he could afford a shirt to go with it.


It wasn’t until they got back to the boarding house that Ryan realized he’d neglected to buy a tie. He said as much to Shaun just as Walter came down the stairs. “I’ve got plenty of them,” he told Ryan. “Left over from when I had an office job. Why I kept them…” He shook his head. “Anyway, feel free to borrow one.”


Ryan thanked him, then, after dinner, went up to his room to see what he had. At Walter’s suggestion, “To add a bit of color,” he chose a gray and red striped one.


Chapter 82