Make Me Whole

by Marguerite Labbe

  Whatever, they could’ve called him and given him the news themselves instead of using Jason as their spokesperson. “I’ll think about it. I promise. Gotta go, bro. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Nick stared at the phone for a long time afterward, debating whether or not to call Stefan and Damian before dropping the idea. One call a day was stressful enough. He’d think about calling them tomorrow.

  GALEN looked at himself in the mirror one last time and smoothed a hand over his hair as he tried to quell the nerves that plagued him. This was not a date. Nick was coming over to discuss the Dexios Collection, and he’d already made it clear that he was less than enthusiastic about the thought of dating. Galen tried telling himself that the nerves were just because he wasn’t sure what Nick had decided to do about the statues, but he knew it wasn’t the truth, at least not entirely.

  He looked forward to seeing more of Nick, to having the chance to talk about things other than business. Galen turned away from the mirror with a sigh. He didn’t even know what Nick was looking for or what he wanted. And he didn’t want to ask and bring up old wounds in the process. They’d already hashed it out enough.

  A day at a time. Wasn’t that what his mom always said? Just take things a day at a time, and they will work themselves out. He wished he had her patience and serenity.

  At least they’d started out on a different footing this time. They hadn’t jumped into bed at first sight, so that had to be progress there.

  Suzane’s head popped up through the stairwell, and she knocked on the landing. “Looking good there.” Her eyes held questions that she didn’t ask, for which Galen was grateful. He didn’t want to discuss Nick, at least not until there was something to discuss.

  “What are you still doing here? You should be home resting and gathering your strength for tomorrow.” He frowned at her as she climbed the rest of the way into his office. “I thought you went home a couple hours ago.”

  “I wanted my desk clear before I left.” She shot a pointed glance at the clutter on his desk. “I did a final sweep of the place. Everything is locked down tight.”

  “Thanks, I have a business meeting with Nick Charisteas here tonight. He’s agreed to help us authenticate the statues.” Suzane’s eyes lit up with what seemed like curiosity, and Galen decided to give her something else to occupy her attention. “Actually, I have a confession. There’s a bit more to the story than that. The Collection belongs to his family, and he’s trying to decide on whether or not he’s going to let us keep them.”

  Her gaze sharpened, and her voluminous pants swished like a long skirt as she began pacing up and down. Galen wasn’t sure how to describe her new look, maybe Victorian Goth. Her long, black hair was done in tight ringlets with a vivid purple streak over one ear. It was an improvement over the power suits. It fit her whimsical nature far more than the serious look had.

  “You don’t think he’ll try to remove them, do you? It would be a disaster.”

  Galen thought back to their conversation last night and shook his head. “No, I think he’s happy to know that they’ll be shown. We just have some details to work out.”

  “Do you think he knows anything about why there are so many mysteries about the statues? Like where they came from or why the one changed?” Suzane paused with her hand on her hip before she resumed her pacing.

  “He said they had a tendency of disappearing and reappearing. Apparently, there are family journals that might shed some light on it all. I’m hoping he brings them tonight.” Galen got in her path, forcing her to a stop. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”

  Suzane gave him a worried look. “Are you really sure? Maybe I can come in after my appointment tomorrow. We can work on a strategy to change his mind if he decides to move the statues. Or I could stay late, and we can wear him down together and get as much information out of him as we can.”

  Galen caught her by her shoulders and gave her a reassuring smile. “The last thing I want you worrying about tomorrow is me or this place, okay? You’re going to have enough on your mind. And I want you taking all the time you need to keep your strength up. You don’t have to be fussing over me so much every day. Give yourself a couple days before jumping back in here.”

  Apprehension chased across her face, followed by a wry expression. “Fussing over you occupies my thoughts. It gives me something to think about after the chemo, other than puking my guts out.”

  Galen gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze and searched her face. The chemo took more of a toll as the months wore on. “Is there anything else I can do to help? Your son is taking you tomorrow, right? You don’t need a car? I can arrange for one.” It wasn’t enough; he should offer to take her himself, only the thought of going to a hospital and sitting in a waiting room was something he could not stomach, even if it made him feel like a coward to admit it.

  “I am fine, I promise.” Suzane cupped his face in her hands and smiled at him. “Clint will be there, same as every other time. I know you don’t like to talk about me being sick. I know it scares you, and I appreciate the offer. A few more rounds of chemo, and then hopefully, none of us will have to think about it at all. It’ll be done and over with.”

  Galen admired Suzane’s guts. She almost never complained, and even on the days when she was worn out, with dark rings under her eyes, her complexion pale, she still faced the day with a kind of verve that amazed Galen. “I love your optimism.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “We’ll have to do something to mark the occasion.”

  She patted his cheek and pulled away. “Enough sentimentality. You’re as bad as my son.” Suzane stepped back and looked him over once more. “Now go charm the pants off Nick Charisteas, and make sure those statues stay with us.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Galen tried not to think of her suggestion literally. Getting Nick’s pants off had been a main theme in his dreams all last night. He did not want to complicate this meeting with unrequited lust. The issues between them were tricky enough, and Nick could be prickly when he wanted. “I promise to be on my best behavior and to not antagonize him.”

  Suzane paused and looked over her shoulder. “I know that innocent tone. You already antagonized him, didn’t you? Oh God, do I want to know what happened? Am I going to have to spin this?”

  “No, you don’t want to hear the tale. It’ll just make you think violent thoughts toward me.” If Suzane had known that Nick had issued an ultimatum to him yesterday and he hadn’t tried to ease the situation right away, she would’ve dragged him to Nick’s apartment by his ear. “All you need to know is that I apologized and gave him what he wanted, so everything is good now. I have faith that Nick and I can work out the complications.”

  Suzane laughed and shook her head. “I sense there’s a deeper story that I’ll expect to hear at another time. Good night, Galen. Try not to leave the alarm off and to antagonize Mr. Charisteas while I’m gone. I’d like to come back to see the museum in one piece.”

  Galen spread his hands. “Hey, it’s me.”

  “That’s the part that makes me worry.”

  NICK smiled at the slight woman emerging from one of the small off-to-the-side entrances of the museum. There was something familiar about her. She paused when she saw him approach and smiled. “You must be Mr. Charisteas.” He recognized her then—Galen’s private assistant who he saw in passing yesterday morning. She looked completely different. “I’m so glad to meet our expert. I’m Suzane Eberly.”

  Nick shifted the takeout bags and shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you, just call me Nick. Is Galen inside? I meant to get here before you shut down for the night.”

  “He’s in his office waiting for you.” She tilted her head to one side and studied him in a way that made Nick wonder what Galen had told her about them. “Are you going to let the statues stay?”

  Relief and disappointment swept through Nick. Galen hadn’t shared with her their past or how well they knew each other, which was good. He didn’t really wan
t people thinking they were together, even if Galen had made hints that they could pick up where they left off. He still wasn’t sure what he thought about that. A wise man wouldn’t want what Galen offered.

  “I’d like to get another look at his plans for the whole exhibit. I’ll admit I wasn’t paying attention because I was too excited to see the Dexios Collection.” Nick smiled at her to ease the worry on her face. “But they’re staying, and I’m going to make sure that a real buzz is created around the opening of the exhibit. It’s been too long since the last time those statues were seen.”

  Her expression lightened, and she beamed at him. “Perfect. I’ll leave you two to discuss the terms.” Her eyes slid down to the takeout bags. “Mmm, Pauli’s, good choice.” She unlocked the door and waved him on through. “Do you know where his office is?”

  “Yep, I was here yesterday morning.”

  “Oh yes, I forgot, sorry. Once the day is over, my brain shuts off. Since you already know your way, I’ll be off.” She headed down the street toward the streetcar stop with a backward wave.

  Nick was struck by the quiet stillness of the museum after the heavy door shut and the lock engaged. It was even quieter than his office at the bank headquarters. Sometimes Nick had to turn his radio on to fill the silence when he worked late. Galen didn’t seem to have the same need, though he’d think that a place like this would almost have to hold ghosts.

  He climbed the spiral staircase up into Galen’s office and found him moving a small table to sit in front of one of the large arched windows. There was something romantic about it with the view and the setting in the old fire station tower. The sun was lowering in a series of brilliant reds and purples, and the light streamed through the window, bringing out the warmth in the brick walls and the honeyed wood of the table. Maybe it would be better if they ate at the desk.

  “How’s it going?”

  Galen jumped and spun to stare at him with wide eyes until he seemed to register Nick’s presence. Then he straightened with a smile and scooped up a stack of papers. He wore another dress pants and vest combo, this one a charcoal with a deep red shirt. Nick preferred the suits to the clothes Galen used to go barhopping in. It was still sexy yet not so blatant. “I was expecting you to call when you got here. For a moment there, I thought you were Dexios.”

  “I met Suzane coming out, and she let me in.” Nick came into his office and set the bags down on the table. “Do I look that much like him?”

  Galen cocked his head to the side and studied him. “Not so much. It’s more in the stance, I think. There are similarities, and in the shadows he reminded me of you.”

  Somehow the statement reassured Nick, though he couldn’t say why. He opened the bags and began pulling out containers of soup and salad, leaving the pasta alone to stay warm. “I wouldn’t have recognized her if she hadn’t said something. She looks the complete opposite today.”

  “She likes to play around with styles, that’s for sure. It’s helpful, though. I can gauge her mood depending on her hair and dress.” There was more to it, Nick was sure, but he didn’t press Galen for details when he didn’t offer. If there had been one thing he learned about Galen it was that if he didn’t want to discuss something, he didn’t. There was no sense in them starting off the evening butting heads.

  “Do you have any idea what you could’ve done to have caused Dexios to appear when he did? Has anybody else here had any similar experiences?” Nick asked instead as he arranged the table with the napkins and plasticware.

  “I haven’t asked anybody else if they heard the statues talking like I did the first day. And no one’s mentioned anything strange other than the fact that they appear to be unfinished.” Galen dropped the papers on his desk, opened a small fridge nearby, and pulled out two bottles of water before he kicked it shut again. “I did skim through the security recordings since the statues appeared in the storeroom and didn’t see anything else strange. So I have no idea what could’ve motivated Dexios to appear when he did.”

  “I have pasta fagioli soup and Italian sausage with white bean, which do you prefer?” Nick held up the cartons of soup as Galen set the drinks on the table.

  “Doesn’t matter, I like them both. You pick because I’m laying claim to the chicken cannelloni I spied in the bag. It smells like heaven.”

  Nick grinned and handed him one of the soups. “That’s okay, I got two.” They sat down and spread out the feast, the scent of garlic and rosemary rising in the steam as they took the lids off the soups. Nick dunked a slice of bread in his pasta fagioli as he considered the problem. “So did you try again? To replicate what you did before?”

  “Yeah, last night before I decided to check the security footage. I begged Dexios to come out and talk to me. I didn’t even hear a whisper in return.” Galen nudged Nick’s ankle, and the brief touch made Nick want more. Why not agree to a date, a dinner somewhere quiet where they could talk about nothing and everything? “Maybe it’s too soon to bring it up, but I’m dying to know if you’ve decided what you’re going to do about the Dexios Collection.”

  “I’m not taking them anywhere. They belong with your exhibit.” The smile that crossed Galen’s face brought a pang to his heart. It was a genuine smile, not one of practiced seduction. He liked this smile more. “Maybe the both of us will be able to find the trigger tonight.”

  “Or it’s just as possible that Dexios got what he was after and now wants nothing else to do with me.” Galen crumpled a napkin in his hand and let his spoon drop back into the container of soup. “You saw it. It was like I was possessed with the part of me that recognized Dexios and disappeared into the statue. Maybe that’s why he didn’t appear again. Whatever was inside of me is now back with him.”

  “No, that would imply it’s over, and somehow I doubt that. We’re just getting started. After all, there are three other statues to complete.” Galen stared down at his soup, stirring it, his expression troubled, and Nick touched the back of his hand. Maybe other things had changed; maybe he could get Galen to open up some and let him know what was bothering him. “What is it?”

  “I’m not sure what made Dexios come to me, but what if kissing him is what completed the first statue? If what you’re saying is true, maybe whatever was inside of me isn’t entirely gone, and it’s not going to stop with the kissing.” Galen pushed aside his soup and leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table, his expression serious. “Can I tell you something without you taking it the wrong way?”

  Nick’s gut clenched. He thought he might have an idea where Galen was going with this, and he already didn’t like it. Dammit, he didn’t have the right to not like it. Galen was a free man. He could do whatever the hell he wanted. Even if it meant carrying on with Dexios. “Don’t worry; I’ll keep my baser instincts under control.”

  Galen searched Nick’s face for a minute before nodding as if he’d made a decision. “The night Dexios appeared I had an urge—no, it was stronger than that, almost a compulsion—to kiss the statue. I even got close to slipping under his arms. Last night I had the same compulsion to interact with the second statue, and I resisted. Maybe that’s why he didn’t appear.”

  “And you think if he does you’re going to have to suck his cock if we want the next statue to be completed?” That came out harsher than Nick meant. He could tell by the way that Galen flushed and looked away that it bothered him. It unsettled Nick even more because it wouldn’t have bothered Galen in the past.

  “It’s just a theory. I can’t think of anything else I did that was different.”

  Nick had to admit, Galen’s theory made sense, though he couldn’t see how it was as simple as that. If completing the statues just involved sex, he was pretty sure Dexios would’ve been able to seduce somebody into it a long time ago. Besides, the family journals indicated that a relationship was needed and that the statues only served as a kind of barometer for that relationship. He’d have to read and refresh his memory, but Nick was pretty sure that th
e relationship had to be between one of Dexios’s and Lykon’s descendants. And he couldn’t see how that had anything to do with Galen. Until yesterday morning, Nick hadn’t spoken to him in months.

  “I’m sorry, that came out wrong, and I did promise to keep it together.” Nick pushed the rest of his food aside, his appetite gone. “What do you think about going forward with your idea? Are you going to try it?”

  Galen shrugged and finally met his gaze. “I’m not sure at this point.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  GALEN watched the conflicting emotions on Nick’s face and understood the struggle. He had the same obsession to see those statues completed. Galen had envisioned them whole even before he’d known it was possible. Now that they had a direction they could go in, a theory they could try, Galen couldn’t help but feel ambivalent.

  He wouldn’t have a problem experimenting if it only involved himself. Dexios was gorgeous, and he could kiss like the devil. If having a fling with a spirit from the past would make those statues whole, he’d do it. At least it wouldn’t be another meaningless encounter forgotten almost as soon as it happened.

  Only it wasn’t just Galen involved. Now Nick was too. As he looked at Nick, Galen realized his feelings for the other man ran much deeper than he’d allowed himself to recognize before. He didn’t want to hurt Nick again, even if it meant that the rest of the statues would remain unfinished.

  An ancient voice inside of him screamed at the thought, probably that same someone who had emerged the first night to return Dexios’s kiss. Lykon. Galen rubbed his chest. It was weird to think that somebody could have been inside of him all this time. Had Lykon been aware during Galen’s entire life, or had he woken up when Galen kissed Dexios?

  “We have to do something,” Nick insisted and began packing away the remainder of their unfinished soup. “If it’s my feelings you’re worried about, don’t be. I’ve seen you with other men before. Hell, I’ve participated. So I’m good. If all it takes is the willing sacrifice of your ass, I say go for it. You looked like you were enjoying that kiss enough.”