by Ruby Moone
Christian gave the cat a last stroke. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything.”
Christian waited.
“Things are escalating, and I’m not close enough to it to control it. People are waiting to see what happens in the fallout after Kenneth’s death, and Bryce seems to be the one to make an early move. I strongly suspect he’ll get taken down. He doesn’t have the back up or the wherewithal to do anything alone. Either he’s stupid, or he’s fronting for someone, and lying through his teeth about his connection to me.”
Christian frowned. The gangs in Manchester were entrenched and well known. “Was your father part of one of the gangs?” Things had changed a lot over recent years, along with the way drugs were traded up and down the country. He was aware that the county lines had changed the face of things.
Daniel shook his head. “In his younger days he dabbled, but he inherited a lot of money from my grandfather, along with a position that came with the name, but over the last ten years or so he moved out of gang-related shit and made his money in more diverse ways.”
Christian nodded. He could see Daniel would have influenced that. “Can’t you step in and stop all the speculation?”
Daniel frowned. “Not really.”
“You said that you’d broken away from Kenneth, but you didn’t really explain what you meant. I presume you can’t simply step in and take charge?”
“I did break away from the businesses as much as I could, but I was still involved enough to keep Kenneth happy. I could take over, but I don’t want to do that. His sidekick, Larry Conroy, is filling in, so I need to speak to him.”
“So, you didn’t run Manchester with Kenneth?”
Daniel eyes glinted. “I did for a while. But not now.”
“I see.”
“I’ve not worked with my father in years. I stayed close, steered him where I could into more legit stuff, and did what I needed to do, but I have my own business interests and they wouldn’t withstand too much involvement in Kenneth’s world.”
“Are yours legit?” Christian could hear the doubt in his voice.
“Totally.”
Christian’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
Some of the fire went out of Daniel. He sighed. “We probably need to talk. I don’t have time now, though. I’m going to make some arrangements in case we need to leave in a hurry.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I say. Make sure you’re packed and ready to go.”
Christian shook his head. This was too much. “What are you talking about?”
“Christian, you’ve had the luxury of living in total ignorance of what was going on around you. Christ alone knows how you’ve managed to run a security company and not know what the fuck’s going on under your nose.”
“I deal with cybercrime, not street crime. Given the family connection I’ve made a point of keeping out of it.” Christian said the words through gritted teeth.
“Whatever. You’ve built your little empire, and every fucking time you get stuck with the street shit, you come to me and push me back into the world that it took me almost ten years to leave. Well, now we’re both stuck with it. You can’t run away because they’ll fucking kill you. I can’t run away either. We’re going to have to face this head on.”
“What?” Christian’s horrified shout made Mavis twitch. “You could have said no. You didn’t have to do anything!”
“Yeah, right,” he drawled. “And watch Jack Whelan get scammed by Bryce, and then Travis Baker get killed? I’m really going to do that.”
“But that’s what I don’t understand. It was the whole fucking reason you left me. The whole reason you walked out on us. So you could work with your father and make fucking shit tons of money.” Christian was shaking. Years of pent up fury and hurt barrelled through him. “You walked out on me when I needed you the most so that you could be part of it, so excuse me for thinking that is what you did. What you do.”
“I left you to protect you.” Daniel’s face was stony. Eyes unreadable.
“Oh, yeah, right. So the millions he dangled in front of you was nothing? Was it worth it? Was it worth walking out on what we had? What we could have been?”
Somehow the whole argument had shifted to the break-up. Christian was trembling all over.
Daniel moved closer. The angrier he got, the lower his voice became. His eyes were sparking, and his cheeks flushed. The tattoos on his throat bulged. “Are you not listening? It was not about the money. It was never about the money. He knew. Kenneth knew all about us.”
“What…” Ice slithered down Christian’s spine.
“You heard.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Christian could barely believe what he was hearing. “You said you were going to work with him. You were joining the firm. You didn’t want…”
Daniel turned away and paced. “It was complicated.”
“Complicated? You tell me that Kenneth found out, and then just say it’s complicated? Do you have any idea how much you hurt me? What you did to me?”
Daniel faced the window.
Something snapped inside Christian. “For fuck’s sake, Daniel, my dad had just died. I was in bits. I needed you. I really needed you and…and you just left me.” Christian was shocked at the naked anguish in his voice, and he saw Daniel wince and close his eyes.
“You got over me.”
Christian’s heart was thudding in his ears. “Yeah? Is that what you tell yourself to make what you did easier on you?”
Daniel looked away.
“Oh, and while I’m thinking of it.” He pulled the wedding band from his finger. “We should really stop wearing these, shouldn’t we.” He held it out.
Daniel took it without a word.
22
Daniel sat in his snug, staring out of the patio window over the neat garden and turning the gold ring that Christian had thrown at him over and over. He saw nothing. All he could hear was Christian’s words. Giving Christian up had been the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life. Of course, Christian thought he’d abandoned him. Walked out on him. Kenneth made sure of that. He’d made the mistake of forgetting how thorough Kenneth was. Of thinking that because he was his son, he would somehow hold back. He wasn’t one of the most successful men in the area for nothing. He was totally focused, and when he wanted something to happen, it happened. It didn’t matter that it involved his son, his only child, it still happened. Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and fought the rising emotion that threatened to engulf him, as it did every time he remembered what Kenneth had done to make sure it was impossible for him to remain with Christian. Walking out on Christian nearly killed him. He wasn’t sure he was over it.
Mavis jumped on his lap. “Hey sweetie.” He stroked her soft fur and tried to smile. “I should have stood up to him, you know.”
Mavis butted against his hand and turned around and around on his lap.
“I didn’t dare though. Not with what was at stake.”
She looked up at him, plumed tail wafting about.
“He’s dead now. I should be able to pick up and try and mend things. Shouldn’t I?”
He stroked her head.
“Except there’s still that big fat stinking lie sitting between us. I can’t tell him. And it’s killing me.”
Mavis pushed against his hand and he let her lie on his arm. “I’m glad you understand.”
She purred softly and Daniel lay his head against the cushions of the chair.
“I should have stood up to him.”
Mavis rubbed against him, and he held her close.
He stared out of the window again. How was he supposed to survive when Christian went home? When he didn’t have him to come home to anymore? He looked at the wedding band again, and with a sigh, tugged the matching one from his own finger. He wasn’t exactly surprised at how much it hurt to do it.
23
Christian lay with his eyes closed and tried to c
onvince himself that he didn’t need to get up and pee. He was warm and comfortable and didn’t want to move. His bladder, however, insisted. With a sigh, he hauled himself up, clutching at his midriff as he did so, though it was more routine than necessity now. It made him appreciate how he used to bound out of bed with no effort at all. He left the light off, no point in scorching his eyeballs.
He was making his way back to the bed when he heard a noise. He stopped and listened. Footsteps. He stood still and waited. The footsteps paused by his door but continued. Christian moved so he could peep through the slightly ajar door and saw Daniel’s shape disappearing down the corridor.
Odd. Christian scratched his balls and waited for him to come back. He didn’t. He gave him ten minutes, then put on his sweats and followed. Not really sure why.
He found him in his office. The low light of the table lamp cast a golden glow over his face as he tapped away on his laptop. He moved into the room, and Daniel looked up.
“It’s the middle of the night. What are you doing?” Christian asked as he moved closer.
“Couldn’t sleep. What’s your excuse?” He shut the laptop and stood, moving around the desk, bare feet silent on the carpet.
Christian’s throat tightened, and his heart thudded in his chest. He wore nothing but thin sleep pants that hung low on his hips, giving Christian full view of his broad, hair dusted chest and the tattoo that snaked down his neck and swirled onto his shoulder as if it were alive. He’d never really been one for tattoos, especially those on the neck, but there was something utterly compelling about Daniel’s. It was…him. Christian couldn’t fathom it, or put an explanation to it, they just looked right. And fucking hot. He sighed and kept his eyes on Daniel’s face. It took a superhuman effort to do it.
“Couldn’t sleep either.”
Daniel shrugged. “Want some tea?”
Christian nodded and followed him to the kitchen. “So, what was keeping you awake?”
Daniel filled the tea kettle with water and set it to boil. “Don’t always sleep too well.”
“You don’t?”
He shook his head and put out two mugs. “Chamomile?”
Christian nodded. Daniel reached into the cupboard and Christian’s gaze followed the long, elegantly muscled line of his back down to his arse. It was barely covered by thin sleep pants that perfectly delineated the curve of his cheeks and settled into his crease. Christian dragged his eyes away as Daniel pulled down the box of tea and the honey. He put a bag in each mug, then headed out of the room.
“Pour the water when it’s boiled?” he threw over his shoulder. “Won’t be a minute.”
Mavis jumped up on to the countertop and rubbed against him, so Christian scratched her head. He was pouring water onto the tea bags when Daniel came back wearing a baggy sleep top to match the pants. He had to admit, it made talking to him easier.
“So. What is keeping you awake at nights?” Christian asked as he passed him a mug.
Daniel took it. “All kinds of things.”
“Is it because we argued?”
Daniel shot him an unreadable look. “Maybe. It dragged up a lot of shit from the past.”
“I’m sorry. There’s so much I don’t know about you. I thought I knew you well, but…” He shrugged. “That’s stupid, considering we’ve barely exchanged a handful of words over the last twelve years.”
“It’s been a long time. A lot has happened to both of us since we were together.”
Christian wanted to push him to find out why he’d abandoned him, but now wasn’t the time.
“Are you in pain? Do you need medication?”
Christian shook his head. “No, just restless. It’s all a bit much.”
Daniel nodded and took a sip of his drink. He set off in the direction of the snug so Christian followed. They settled onto opposite sofas.
“Have you heard more from Bryce?”
Daniel shook his head. “No. Nothing more than he’s already said.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Plan?”
“Yeah. How are you going to, ah, neutralise him?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
“I do. I can’t be part of this if involves hurting people. Even Bryce.”
“Then don’t be. Leave it to me.”
“Daniel, stop pissing about. Tell me you aren’t talking about having him murdered.”
Daniel’s shoulders slumped. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”
Christian let out a breath.
Daniel ran his thumb around the top of his mug. “If Kenneth were here, he’d be dead now.”
“I know. Thank God you’re not Kenneth.”
“Why do you say that? If I got rid of him, you’d be safe. It’s only because I’m prevaricating that you’re still here and not settled back in your flat.”
“And you’d be a murderer.”
They sat in silence for a while.
“What is it you do for a living?”
Daniel shot him a look, with the beginnings of a smile on his lips. It was a genuine smile that warmed his eyes. “I’m a financier.”
“What?”
“Yep. Boring old financier. I work out of London and Manchester. Mainly London.”
Something fluttered in Christian’s chest. He’d never been able to see how Daniel could follow in his father’s footsteps. There was too much good in him. Too much kindness. “So, you really don’t work with Kenneth now?”
Daniel looked away. “I did at first, but I had to move away from what he was doing. I couldn’t bear it. The best way to do that was to offer to make him more money. I got a job in finance, it’s what I did my degree in, and…I’m good at it. Once he discovered what I could do... He shrugged. I run my own company now and we’re doing well.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What’s the point?”
“Well, the point is you let me think that you were a fucking gangster, that you made all this money out of dealing in drugs, weapons and God knows what else.” Christian waved an arm about indicating the house.
Daniel looked him in the eye. “Don’t sanitise it. I’m completely complicit. I knew what Kenneth was doing and didn’t stop him. I’m as ‘in it up to my neck’ as he was. I still worked with him, I just tried to move some of his businesses into a more legit arena. He liked the money, so didn’t object too much. But I knew where that money came from initially.”
“Hardly.”
“Christian. I’m the son of a crook. I have been that crook. I’m as guilty as charged. I might make my money in other ways these days but believe me, I’m no innocent, so don’t start thinking I am.”
“Well, why are you hell bent on protecting me then?”
“You’re family.”
“And that’s it?”
“That’s it.” Daniel took a long drink from his mug.
Christian put his mug on the floor. He went and sat beside Daniel, and almost smiled when Daniel recoiled and edged away from him. He put a hand on Daniel’s knee. He went very still.
“Talk to me.”
“We are talking.”
“No, I’m asking questions and getting one-word answers. Or answers that raise more questions. Talk to me. What happened after we split up? What have you been doing this last twelve years?”
For a moment, for a tiny moment, Christian thought he might talk. But something hardened in him again. He stood up, shaking off Christian’s hand.
“Nothing to tell. We should get some sleep.”
24
Christian woke in the morning with a thumping headache. His arm and his guts hurt, and he felt crap. Last night had been so damned frustrating. He needed to know what had happened. Why Daniel walked away from their relationship. One Christian thought would last a lifetime. Why had he lied? Why? So many damned questions. He dragged himself out of bed, and when he was shaved and decent, headed downstairs trying not to keep rubbing the empty place on his finger w
here the wedding band had been.
Daniel wasn’t around. He made some toast and coffee, and Asher came into the room with Sam.
“Morning, gentlemen. Coffee?”
He poured three mugs and they sat at the kitchen table.
“Daniel had to leave.” Asher sipped his drink without meeting Christian’s gaze.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“Business.”
What a surprise. Not. Fucking coward had bailed on him. “Yeah? When’s he back?”
“Not sure.”
Well, without Daniel’s distracting presence, he could get on with the work that Michael had sent through. He made some toast, then headed for Daniel’s den where he pulled out his laptop. It was the only room in the house where he felt even remotely comfortable. He put the TV on in the background for some noise since the place was so quiet. His guards were about somewhere, but he’d no idea where. He buried himself in work. It was the only thing he could do. That and start planning for when he went home. He was disheartened to realise the thought still made him sad.
Another week went by and they settled back into their routine. They didn’t argue again, they co-existed peacefully. Christian was feeling significantly stronger. Daniel was spending more and more time working, away from the house, and Christian had had enough. He’d been strong enough to leave for a while, and had been forced to admit, if only to himself, he’d stayed to be close to Daniel. He couldn’t do it to himself anymore. Daniel was utterly unbending, and it was killing him to be so close but not able to talk to him properly, touch him… Plus, he found he did have some fucking self-respect. Daniel wasn’t going to let him get any closer, wasn’t going to give him any answers so the only thing he could do was to leave.
He sat outside on the patio in the sunshine that had suddenly appeared, and Daniel came out of the house to find him. He was dressed for business in his dark grey suit, white shirt and blue tie that somehow matched his tattoo. Christian took a breath and braced himself.
“I’m going to London, but I should be back tomorrow.”
