by Jessie G
Alaric
Davin didn’t say a word when Alaric led the way to the low-slung sports car, opened the passenger door, and handed him inside. Nor did Davin object when he reached in to secure his seat belt before closing the door. Alaric hadn’t really known what to expect, but the total acquiescence smacked of defeat when Davin only had reasons to be victorious.
When he slid into the driver’s seat and Davin still didn’t react, Alaric asked, “Are you okay?”
“Hmmm.” The soft sound might have been a snore if not for the dark, glassy, swollen, pain filled eyes staring right at him.
At the first red light, Alaric couldn’t resist brushing back the lock hair that had fallen over Davin’s eye. He was prepared to be rebuffed and would have taken it as a positive sign of life, but again, Davin didn’t react. So, he went further, cupping one scruffy cheek, and he wasn’t sure what was more shocking—how cold Davin’s skin was or the way Davin leaned into his touch.
“You’re freezing.” It was Miami. He didn’t keep a jacket in the car, not even a basic windbreaker, so Alaric cut the AC and opened the sunroof, uncaring if he roasted. “Why are you so cold?”
“I’m tired, Ric.”
“I know, baby, we’ll be home soon.” Though he repeatedly reminded himself not to use endearments or push too hard, it slipped out easily in reaction to Davin’s emotional admission.
“Home?” Davin shook his head. “Can we disappear? Just until—” Davin’s throat worked hard as he finally looked away, clearly uncomfortable asking— "until I’m whole again?”
Alaric’s first instinct was to agree, but there were at least two problems with Davin’s request. First, it was obvious he wasn’t thinking properly, so while running away might sound good now, it might be a problem later. Second, Davin had responsibilities that he wasn’t privy too and Alaric didn’t want to inadvertently give him something to blame him for later. “When do you have to go back at work?”
“Captain told me not to come in for two weeks.”
“Then I know just the place.” They could go pretty far in two weeks, but while time was no longer an issue, that first problem couldn’t be ignored. Davin wasn’t thinking straight, and Alaric didn’t want to take them so far away that Davin would feel trapped or worse when he finally realized what was happening. “Recline the seat and close your eyes. Let me take care of everything for a while. You’ve earned the right to rest.”
While Davin’s breath shuddered through him, he did as he was told, and Alaric tried not to see it as a win. The man was tired, not obeying orders, and that was important to remember. Necessary, even, until they figured out what they were now or if they were anything at all.
At the next intersection, Alaric pulled a U-turn and headed for the highway. If Davin wanted to disappear, then he’d take him to the family house on Sanibel. Being able to give Davin the refuge he needed was everything right then, and even though they had nothing but the clothes on their backs, he wasn’t going to detour to pack.
Spotting a gas station just before their turn, Alaric pulled in and glanced at Davin again. With his eyes closed and his body slumped, he was doing a fair impression of sleeping, though Alaric doubted he was there yet. If he were a better man, he would give Davin a chance to change his mind. Instead, he got out of the car to deal with the pump and call his parents.
If he was going to leave for two weeks, he needed to tell his father so arrangements could be made at work. That was the responsible thing to do, even though he really didn’t want to be that person for anyone other than Davin right now.
“Oh, thank god,” Claire answered on the first ring, skipping the pleasantries and diving right in. “A Doctor Everly called and said we could have Terence buried.”
Was he supposed to care? “That’s good.”
“The news is saying they caught the guy. That Davin caught the man who killed Terence.” Claire sobbed softly and Alaric tried to understand how she was feeling. Actually, no, why would he waste his time? He didn’t care if they buried Terence’s body, burned it at the stake, or tossed it to the dogs. “And they’re saying Davin was flying across the MacArthur on his motorcycle! What the hell was he thinking? He could have been killed!”
While Alaric privately felt exactly the same way about that little stunt, hearing her say it had him rushing to defend Davin’s reckless behavior. “He did what he had to do, Mom.”
“Have you spoken to him? Can we see him? Is he okay?” The questions came quickly, like vicious jabs, and Alaric was struggling to dodge the blows. “Alaric, when can we see Davin?”
Never. As long as her first thoughts were for Terence, Alaric didn’t want her anywhere near Davin. Not unless she planned to grovel alongside him and even then, he didn’t want to share Davin with any of them. He did that once and look what happened?
“Ric? Are you there?” His mother’s voice reached a desperate pitch, but he couldn’t bring himself to say what she wanted to hear. “Dante, what happened? Did he hang up?”
Before he could find his voice or the words to appease her, there was a second of fumbling on the line, and then his father said, “The coroner called at five am. Your mother’s on her second pot of coffee and showing no sign of slowing down.”
If it was supposed to be a joke, none of them were laughing. “I can tell.”
“Is our boy okay?”
Was it irrational to hate his parents for their proprietary tendencies toward Davin? The man wasn’t theirs to share, only his to love. Didn’t they understand? Couldn’t they let him have this for himself, just for a little while?
“Sleeping for now. I’m taking him to Sanibel.” The burglar alarm would send an alert as soon as he disabled it, so there was no point in hiding their destination.
“That’s good.”
“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.” In the years since Alaric took over the Bennett Group, Dante had become more of a figurehead than an active executive. Settled into semi-retirement, he was happy to hear about all the advancing technology they were developing and the various lucrative contracts Alaric had negotiated, but otherwise left him to it. “Will you be able to go to the office for me?”
“Yes, of course.” His father jumped at the chance to be helpful, though they both knew he would simply be a presence while Alaric’s core team kept things running smoothly. “Do either of you need clothes or…anything? We can bring them over.”
“No, Dad. No.” What they needed was to be left alone. Why was the so hard for his parents to understand? “We need time and space, okay? Everything else—”
“Everything else? You mean us?”
“Yes, I mean you! Davin needs to rest before we can even think about talking and I have no idea how that conversation will go.” There was a time when all he had to do was look at Davin to know what he was thinking. Now they were practically strangers and it was killing him. “It’s bad enough that I’m pushing myself on him. How much pressure do you think he can take?”
Dante didn’t speak for long time and when he finally did, Alaric was more disappointed than surprised. “Your mother wants you to know about the funeral arrangements.”
“Don’t bother, I won’t be there.”
“I know.”
“Listen, I—” Any other time he would have soothed his father’s hurt feelings, especially since he was the one who caused it. Today, an apology was beyond him. “I’ll be in touch.”
Not waiting for a response, he disconnected, finished pumping his gas, and got back in the car. Davin’s even breathing suggested he was finally asleep, which was a relief. Alaric knew he wasn’t hiding his frustration well, but seriously, was he supposed to feel guilty for not running home to attend that monster’s funeral?
How ludicrous was it to expect that he would bother, other than to set fire to the body? If they wanted to appear as aggrieved parents, that was on them. And Bethany was twenty-one, more than old enough to stand her ground if she didn’t want to go. His presence was
not necessary and even if they tried to claim to ‘need’ him there, Davin needed him more. Or he needed Davin more.
There was a time when those meant the same thing.
He hadn’t known what he needed until Davin told him to run. Davin hadn’t known what he needed until Alaric kissed him. From that point on, their mutual needs were completely in sync simply because their needs were so complimentary opposite. The give and take worked in tandem, so fluid and beautiful that no one—no one that mattered—thought it was wrong.
John Monroe hadn’t been happy—not that his son was gay and definitely not that his son was in a relationship with one of those ‘rich snobs’—and he took to blaming Alaric and their relationship for everything. When Davin said he didn’t want to be a cop, that was Alaric’s fault. When Davin said he wanted to go to college and study architecture, it was because Alaric was putting ideas in his head.
That rejection from his only parent was devastating for Davin and Alaric was powerless to help. Both he and his parents tried appealing to John, but he shut them down hard. When they found out John lashed out at Davin in retaliation, they agreed to stay out of his way. It wasn’t a truce though, and Alaric knew Davin wasn’t being completely honest when he said things had gotten better as a result.
Understandably, at the beginning of their relationship, he had wondered if Davin’s willingness to cede control was because he was used to living with an overbearing parent. For that reason, Alaric tried to tamp down his dominant nature, not wanting to be like John in Davin’s life. But Davin wouldn’t let him and, well, needless to say, Alaric never was John’s favorite person.
Terence hadn’t been very subtle in his judgment of their relationship either. That in itself was a joke since he was never so discerning in his own life. Depending on his mood, he could appear personable and charming, then, without warning, flip into a monster who loved nothing more than to stir shit up for his own amusement. Growing up, nothing amused Terence more than picking on Bethany, then laughing when Alaric would step in.
Somehow, defending his sister turned into running interference anytime Terence caused trouble. Still, Alaric hadn’t truly understood his brother’s motives until Davin came along. Terrence took one look at the boy who was quickly becoming Alaric’s reason and immediately set about sabotaging them.
But, while Terence was a first-class prick, they never believed he would physically harm anyone. Purposely wreck a car, skip out on a bar tab, or streak down the beach—yeah, Terence was good at causing trouble. Violence was harder to imagine and that was Alaric’s first mistake.
Even when Bethany flat out said she was afraid of Terence—Alaric spent more time trying to reassure her than actually listening. Terence wouldn’t cross that line, he wasn’t violent, and if he was, Alaric would never let anything happen to his little sister. When she expressed fear for Davin, he was even less inclined to believe her. At the time, Davin had half a foot and forty pounds of muscle on his brother. In what world could Terence get the better of him?
If possible, Davin was even more imposing now and seeing that heavily muscled body slumped over in exhaustion hit Alaric hard. There was a time when Davin trusted him to see beyond the tough exterior, handed him the most vulnerable parts of himself, and believed Alaric would hold them safe. He devoted five years of his life to that role and still missed the biggest threat of all…and Davin paid the price.
But he hadn’t made that mistake alone. He was a child when Terence started acting out, a teen when the trouble escalated, and just shy of twenty-three when his brother destroyed his world. More importantly, he wasn’t Terence’s parent. Dante and Claire had years to get their son help. Instead, his father had done everything in his power to protect his mother from the truth and counted on Alaric to help him do it.
Alaric wanted to hate him for failing them. He truly did. But he understood because he feared…no, he knew, if Davin gave him another chance, he would do anything to protect him.
As if sensing his thoughts, Davin shifted restlessly and speared him with one blurry eye. “Where are we?”
With his thoughts firmly planted in the past, Alaric hadn’t been paying attention to the mile markers. “Disappearing.”
That got him a small smile. “Thirsty.”
“I’ll pull into the next rest area and get you some water.”
“Okay.” It was more of a sigh than a word. “And aspirin?”
“And aspirin.” Reaching into the console, he rooted around for a spare pair of sunglasses. “Here. Put these on.”
Davin didn’t hesitate and Alaric had to remind himself again that it was exhaustion and not submission that had him obeying. “Did Everly call your parents?”
“We aren’t talking about work.” There would be time enough for that and all the other issues later. “In fact, we aren’t talking at all. You’re supposed to be asleep.”
“I’ll go to sleep when you answer the question. Did Everly call your parents?”
“Yes.” It wasn’t the first time Davin dug in, but it was the first time Alaric caved without giving him what he was really asking for. “Now, please go back to sleep.”
“Still so fucking bossy.”
“Still so fucking stubborn.”
Davin remained silent, staring at him through the tinted glasses. It was a little unnerving, though certainly not the first time they’d just silently gazed at one another. But those were happier times, connected times, when words weren’t always necessary or adequate to express the depth of their feelings. Now it was anyone’s guess what Davin saw in him.
Thankfully, the rest area came up quickly and Alaric focused on finding them a spot. He expected to run in and out, but Davin began opening the door before the car came to a full stop. “Where are you going?”
“Need to pee.” He stumbled a little as he got out, then peered at him over the roof. “Is that okay with you?”
“Dav.” Alaric could only laugh when people sidestepped them warily. “Davin, you’re scaring the tourists.”
“Huh?”
How could he explain how dangerous and brutal Davin looked in that moment? “You do realize you’re still wearing your gun?”
“I am a cop.”
“I know.”
“I caught a killer tonight.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Now I have to pee, and the guns are coming with me.”
“Whatever does it for you.” Alaric watched him walk into the men’s room before veering toward the shop for water, aspirin, and something to snack on. It only took a few minutes, but when he stepped out, Davin was waiting in the doorway. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” At the car, Davin didn’t say a word when Alaric handed him into the passenger’s seat and secured his seat belt. But when he would have moved away, one big hand curled around his wrist and held him so close, he could feel Davin’s breath when he whispered, “It’s very heavy.”
“What is?”
“The gun.”
In that moment, Alaric might have hated John Monroe more than Terence. “When we get to our hideaway, we’ll put it in the safe.”
Satisfied, Davin let him go and when Alaric got into the driver’s side, he was curled in the seat facing him. Alaric offered up the aspirin and a bottle of water, watching as Davin drank it all without stopping. “Want another one?”
“Not yet.”
“How ‘bout a snack? It’s not good to take the aspirin on an empty stomach.”
“What’d ya buy?”
“Here.” He handed over the plastic bag. “Eat.”
It didn’t take him more than a second to tear into a box of Fig Newtons and stuff one in his mouth. A handful of cookies and one obscene moan later, Davin resealed the box, dropped it back in the bag, and gave him a curious look. “You remembered.”
Though the rest area wasn’t busy, Alaric kept his focus on the road as he admitted, “I remember everything.”
“Everything?” Davin asked softly, doubtfully.
“Do you think there’s a way back?”
“No.” Though he was shocked by the hopeful question, Alaric could only be honest. The only reason to go back would be to either stop Terence before he hurt Davin or kill him afterward. Otherwise, no, they couldn’t and shouldn’t. “But I do believe there’s a way forward.”
“Are we having this conversation now?”
“No,” he said again. Fact was, until Davin was capable of arguing with him, Alaric was keeping the gloves on. “It wouldn’t be very sporting to do that to you in your weakened state.”
“I could still kick your ass.”
“There was never any doubt.” Except right now, when Davin was soft and needy and completely unaware of how badly Alaric wanted to hold him tight. “Close your eyes for now, Detective. You can kick my ass later.”
“Consider it done.”
It took a few minutes longer than he was expecting, but Alaric finally relaxed when Davin started to snore. While they hadn’t settled anything, Davin gave him something better.
Hope.
Chapter Twelve
Alaric
It was midmorning by the time he pulled into the garage and killed the engine. Davin had slept peacefully since leaving the rest area and while Alaric loathed to wake him, that big body wasn’t made to be shoehorned into a sports car for any length of time. He needed to stretch out on a bed. Maybe have a shower and a meal too. Alaric wanted to give him all that, in any order, and that meant getting him into the house.
“Dav?” Having recently spent the night in Davin’s bed, Alaric knew he was a light sleeper who twitched over every little sound and was sitting up seconds before the phone actually rang. So, Alaric expected him to wake up as soon as he turned the car off, and when that didn’t happen, he figured the creak and groan of the garage door going down would do the trick.
But nope, he was out cold.
Concerned, Alaric eased out of the car and let the door shut with a decisive click. When that didn’t get a reaction, he went through the motions of unlocking the house and disengaging the alarm before walking around to the passenger’s side to wake his detective.
