by Delmire Hart
“We were out celebrating Amelia’s test results. It was only a few weeks after her 22nd birthday and she had been given a clean bill of health. Cancer-free for the first time in her living memory. For the first time, we could plan in months and years, not days and weeks. We could foresee a future…and what a bright future it was. She planned that future with Will and they both just exuded happiness. I remember little of the evening, it's hazy, but I was filled in with the rest of the details after. The young upstart yakuza group decided to take things into their own hands and take out the person who caused them to lose a large profitable deal. They did a drive-by shooting at the bar we were at. Someone we thought a friend sold us out and accepted a bribe for the information of our location.
“They came later in the evening and fired from an unmarked car's window. All I remember is the sound of gunshots, glass breaking, and screaming along with intense pain. A bullet ripped through my abdomen. The only person who escaped completely unharmed was Will. He was unhurt, but he had to stand and watch while a bullet meant for him tore through his lover’s throat and severed her spinal cord. Amelia was dead before she hit the ground.”
Ken sighed again, and he seemed far older than his years suddenly, as though all the pain weighed on him even now. It was etched into his face and Daniel felt his heart tug for the man in front of him.
“Will blamed himself, of course. Nothing anyone said could convince him otherwise. What followed was a train wreck. He didn't care if he lived or died. The only thing worth living for had died because of him, his words not mine. So he threw himself into the underworld, the one thing Amelia didn't want for him. Every single member of the gang responsible was hunted down and extinguished in revenge and the person who betrayed us suffered far worse. Then Will drowned himself in alcohol, drugs, and sex. No matter what I tried, I couldn't pull him out of his self-destructive spiral. Unfortunately, it took another death to bring him back to his senses. Trey Morris. They had been close friends for a few years by that point and he had married Anita only six months prior.
“A drug exchange gone bad. Trey took a bullet through the chest and bled out before we could get him to the hospital. Once again, Will blamed himself. He gave Anita a large sum of money to start her restaurant so we wouldn't lose her to grief as well. He was a broken shell of a man at that point. Broken enough that I could finally get him to listen to me. I had recently moved out of the family home and forced him to live with me. I took the reins of Synnite and slowly tried to put him back together. The drugs were easy, a few weeks of hell but no other lingering effects. The alcohol was harder. He had to drink with clients so he had to learn how to drink responsibly once again. There were a few mishaps along the way but we got there.
“He lived with me for nearly three years before I trusted him enough to let him back on his own and take back Synnite. He seemed functional enough on the outside but no matter what I did or how I tried I could never get him to talk. He never healed, just buried the pain deep inside and masked it over with an unfeeling façade. He never had another relationship either, all one-night stands or short flings. No emotions attached. Until you. If anyone can heal him it's you, his soulmate.”
Daniel sat in stunned silence. He remembered the pain he felt that morning, feeling like his heart was tearing open. That was the pain William still felt ten years later, buried deep inside. He could not let the man continue to suffer in silence. William needed to know he was not alone anymore. He would never have to suffer through so much pain by himself ever again. Something must have shown on his face because Ken gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.
“The ten-year anniversary of her passing is coming up. It would be nice for him to visit her grave for the first time.”
Daniel frowned before squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin in determination. “He’ll go, just message me the date and location.”
“Very well.” Ken smiled at him, the first genuine smile he had ever given the young man. “Good luck, Daniel Miller.”
Chapter Twenty-one: Flux
Daniel left the Synnite office building in a daze. He couldn’t wrap his head around the magnitude of the information he had just learned. It was late morning and Daniel had a friend’s birthday party to go to that evening so he wouldn’t see William until late tonight or tomorrow at the earliest. Although he probably needed the entire afternoon to get his head around it all. It was like something you would see on the news or read in the paper. Something you knew could happen but never in a million years think it would happen to someone close to you.
He walked out into the city streets aimlessly. He needed to think, and he always found it easier to think while moving. The motion seemed to help him process things. He couldn’t imagine the pain William must have felt. His lover had been murdered right in front of him and he blamed himself. He remembered what Ken had said just as he was about to leave.
“I’m not sure if I actually said this earlier.” Daniel turned to look back at the secretary with his hand resting on the door handle. “I never blamed him. Not once. No one did. No one blamed him but himself.”
William not only had to deal with grief but guilt. And apparently, he had done so badly, if at all.
“What followed was a train wreck. He didn't care if he lived or died. The only thing worth living for had died because of him, his words not mine.”
Daniel found himself walking into quiet suburbs already surprisingly far from Synnite and the busy shopping districts. He ignored his surroundings and let his thoughts take over. The man had not only lost a lover, he lost her on the day they could start planning for a future. It was a cruel twist of fate that they were out celebrating her health and that was the day she died. Like William could finally dream only to have it snatched away immediately. Then he lost another close friend.
“Unfortunately, it took another death to bring him back to his senses… He was a broken shell of a man at that point.”
Daniel began to jog, slowly speeding up until he was running full tilt down a quieter side street and cast about for a likely looking building. When he found one with obvious handholds and leverage points, he veered over to it and scrambled up the side of the building. Up and on the roof, he continued his mad dash and maneuvered his way across the tops of the small buildings. The burn in his lungs and the strain in his muscles as he ran and jumped felt good. It cleared his head and narrowed his focus.
The loss and the betrayal that led to it explained so much. Why William didn’t take no as an answer and just did what he wanted. Why he forced three guards on Daniel at all times, a better security force than he himself had. Why Daniel not answering his calls hurt him so much. Why he was so possessive. Why he didn’t seem to want to let Daniel in. Why Stefan’s possible betrayal caused that dark tone in William’s voice over the phone. Hurt once, then twice. Now he had even more to lose. Would William even survive if something happened to Daniel? He doubted it. Not after Ken’s words.
“No matter what I tried I couldn't pull him out of his self-destructive spiral.”
Yet the man held onto that pain still. He never healed, just hid it away. Then one morning it peeked out and Daniel not only saw it, he felt it. He remembered the painful twisting in his chest and the neediness of his soulmate for the rest of the day. He remembered William’s constant surprise every time Daniel let the man in to see all of him. Exposed himself under that gaze. Surprised because he was so blinded by his own pain he hid that he couldn’t imagine opening up to anyone again.
Daniel slowed to a stop on a long rooftop and bent over, hands on knees while he caught his breath. He didn’t know what on earth he was going to do to help William heal but at least he understood what was behind everything. He was startled when he heard multiple thuds behind him and turned to find all three guards sitting on the roof desperately trying to catch their breath.
Oh right.
He had forgotten about them.
“Mi…hah…Mil… Hah… Miller…what?”
Daniel rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. His breathing was already almost under control, so he didn’t have any trouble replying.
“Sorry. I, uh, just needed to clear my head.”
All three guards groaned. Ueda looked up at him in astonishment. “And that…is how you…hah…clear your head?”
He gave an awkward laugh before replying, “Yeah. I’m not a thinker, you know? Moving helps me think.”
“Daniel. Next time, hah, you tell me. We go to the parkour course in the gym. You can do laps. For as long as you like. Hell, I’ll even join you for a couple. Just…let’s not do this again.” Ueda groaned again and stopped for a minute to get his breathing more under control. “I was not fucking ready for that. I thought we were doing so well with the whole parkour thing too. I was so wrong. So very wrong.”
“Sorry.” Daniel gave him a sheepish grin. One of the guards flopped down so he lay spread eagle on the rooftop while the other eyed him in disbelief.
Ueda shook his head and pressed on his earpiece. “Everything’s fine. Everyone can stand down. Turns out he is one of those people that need to run to clear their heads. We have an agreement for next time that we do laps around the gym instead of a full tilt dash over New York’s roof tops.” He shot Daniel a significant glance and Daniel gave him a guilty smile in return. “Can we get a pickup at our location?” The guard took his finger away from his earpiece and spoke with finality. “We are getting a pickup from here and heading back to wherever you need to be. We’re swapping the guards over until tonight.” He ran a palm over his face and sighed. “I need a nap after that.” Both the other guards chimed in with their agreement.
Daniel nodded and moved forward to help the guards to their feet, it was the least he could do. Honestly a nap didn’t sound too bad right about now. They carefully made their way down the side of the building and didn’t have to wait long before two cars and a motorcycle rocked up. They swapped cars in a flurry of activity, his current guards entering one car while he was ushered into another. He directed them back to his apartment and noticed the motorcycle escorting them. He really did have a tightly run security team. Well, now he knew why.
The real why.
***
Daniel ended up having an afternoon nap after he made himself lunch and felt very refreshed and ready for the party tonight. It was Scott’s birthday and he wanted to go out clubbing. Last time they met up everyone agreed to go before Marcus pointed out that a club is probably a security nightmare and Daniel should check in with William before agreeing. What had followed was an argument over whether Daniel could look after himself and make his own decisions and how that wasn’t what Marcus meant.
“I’m not about to risk one of my friends because they feel like they are bulletproof. You admitted that politician had a hit out on you only a few weeks ago! Worst case scenario we go back to Auntie’s place like we did for New Year's.”
In the end, Daniel had been forcibly restrained by his friends while Marcus borrowed his phone to call William himself. The result had been surprising, although in hindsight it shouldn’t have been. William told them if they go to his club Flux, he’ll send a limo to pick them up and they can stay in the VIP area with free drinks all night. All they had to do was message his secretary with the date, time for pickup, and the names of those that would be attending. All of his friends were floored and Scott was over the moon once he looked up Flux on his phone.
A free birthday in the VIP section of one of the hottest clubs in New York right now. Which apparently made Daniel friend of the year and he was constantly getting excited messages and thanks from all of his friends that were going. Even though this had nothing to do with Daniel and everything to do with William. He wasn’t about to kick up a fuss though, not on Scott’s birthday, and he was looking forward to the evening. It would be fun. He needed to keep his thoughts off his soulmate for a few hours after that morning.
Dressed up in the same fancy clothes that William brought for him to wear to Syndrome, Daniel tried one last time to get his hair to behave and stay behaved when a message popped up on his phone. The limo had arrived. Giving up on his hair, it was good enough, Daniel snagged his things and locked up his little apartment. He skipped down the stairs and sure enough a limo waited out front, idling at the curb. One of his neighbours was ogling it from the sidewalk and Ueda casually leaned against the passenger door. Upon seeing Daniel, Ueda stepped aside and opened the door with a small bow and murmur of ‘Mr Miller’. Daniel paused before getting in.
“Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Not at all. I was told it was full VIP service for tonight, Mr Miller.” Daniel groaned and Ueda grinned at him. “Now if you don’t mind, sir, I believe we should be going.”
His eyebrow twitched at the ‘sir’ and Ueda’s grin just widened.
“This is just payback for this morning, isn’t it?”
“I was told it was VIP treatment tonight from Mr Hunt himself. What does it matter that I have a little fun with it at the same time?”
“Scott better damn well enjoy tonight,” Daniel grumbled as he slipped inside and let Ueda close the door for him. He really hated being treated like this. He was just a person and not even the one who was paying for all this. Although he probably owed it to Ueda to have a little fun after the impromptu run that morning.
The limo took off smoothly and it wasn’t long before they arrived to pick up Marcus. He had stayed to have dinner with his wife before they headed out for the evening. Next stop would be Scott and three of their friends that had been at his place for the afternoon. Then two more single pickups for those who had to work late and then on to Flux with the eight of them.
Marcus raised his eyebrows and grinned as he slipped into the vehicle but when they stopped to pick up the group of four, neither Scott nor Rafael would stop gawking and exclaiming over the limo. Of course, the excitable duo had to explore every inch of the space, gleefully helping themselves to the stocked alcohol in the little minibar and playing with all the buttons on the remote they found. Daniel quickly confiscated the remote after they kept rolling the privacy screen up and down much to Ueda’s and the driver’s amusement.
They finally picked up the last of the group and were making their way to the club when Daniel got cornered by Rafael and his embarrassing questions. The group were discussing how ‘awesome’ it would be to pimp out the limo with strobe lights or a disco ball much to Daniel’s horror.
“Guys, it’s not my limo you know.”
“That’s right. It’s William’s. Hey Dan,” Rafael said with a rather terrifying glint in his eye and a wicked grin. “Does William give you rides often?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Daniel flushed, eyes wide.
“Wha—?”
“Well, it’s just there’s a lot of room in here and from what you’ve let slip, having some fun in the limo is totally something you would do.”
“No. No, no. No.” He waved his hands in front of himself in hot denial, refusing to think of all the times that, yes, things happened in the limo. His bright red cheeks were probably giving him away but thankfully a few of his other friends came to the rescue.
“We really don’t want to know about that!”
“Aw, stop embarrassing him, man, he’s the reason we get to go out tonight!”
It was Scott who ended up putting a damper on Rafael’s scheme’s with, “No teasing Dan tonight. He is the one behind this awesome birthday so he can have a night free too!”
The limo pulled to a stop not long after and Ueda pulled open the door to let them all out. He shut the door after the last person and waved to the driver before gesturing towards the entrance of the club. “If you and your guests would follow me, Mr Miller.”
Daniel heard a snigger from somewhere behind him, probably Rafael, and a low whistle. He sighed and followed Ueda as he led them through the door, straight past the long queue and around the dance floor into a more secluded VIP area. As they seated t
hemselves at the booth reserved for them, Daniel took a chance to look around.
He could definitely see why William had picked this place. Like Syndrome it was aimed more at Daniel’s age group and had an upstairs balcony filled with people and tables. Unlike Syndrome it wasn’t catering to the young money and while everyone was dressed in their best, there were no glittering jewels and far fewer high fashion brands to be seen. The atmosphere of the club seemed to be focused on the music and the massive dance floor taking up the majority of downstairs. He could see the live DJ from where he stood and the place was decked out in glowing green and blue neon lights. Suddenly the dance floor lights switched off and a strobe light flickered across the press of bodies. Daniel grinned to his friends. The atmosphere in the club was electric. With a collective whoop of excitement, they parted ways, some heading for the first round of free drinks at the exclusive VIP bar with the rest heading off to the dance floor, Daniel in the lead.
A few rounds of drinks and multiple trips to the dance floor later, Daniel collapsed in their booth next to Marcus. He claimed another beer to sooth his parched throat and maintain the liquid feeling in his body. Unfortunately, just as he put his drink down and turned to talk to his friend, he noticed they had company. A woman with long dark hair, a little too much makeup for Daniel’s taste, and a very revealing dress sat herself in the booth next to him. She had been trying to dance with him on the dance floor for a while now, which Daniel didn’t mind so much but didn’t actively encourage. He danced with everyone and was more dancing for him and sake of dancing than to actually dance with anyone.
Unless William was involved in which case that was a whole different story. His thoughts drifted to his soulmate and their dance at Syndrome before he was pulled back to the present by the women leaning up into him and getting far too into his space. He tried to reel back but she tightly grasped his arm and she looked up at him with what was probably supposed to have been a seductive pout. All Daniel felt was uncomfortable.
