Turning the Page

by Andrew Grey

  “True, but I’m also the one who replaced him, and when Gary went after our clients, we shut him out. He had nothing left and couldn’t take it.” That was all Malcolm intended to say until Lyndon arrived.

  “You threw the paperweight?” Detective Rodriguez asked, turning to Hans.

  “Yes. In Malcolm’s defense, and I’d do it again. He had Malcolm at gunpoint.”

  “You are?”

  “Hans Erickson, Malcolm’s boyfriend,” Hans said. “I’m a writer.”

  Detective Rodriguez blinked a few times. “Not the Hans Erickson?”

  Hans nodded.

  “I love your work. I’ve read Diving the Storm twice, and I gave a copy to my son. It’s awesome.”

  “Thank you,” Hans said quietly. “I never expected my research to come in handy in such a practical way.”

  “We’ve arrested Mr. Hanlan and will charge him. I’ll need to take some information and have you both make statements. It’s pretty clear what happened, and your stories are supported by the evidence.”

  “Is Gary talking?” Malcolm asked.

  “All we’re getting out of him right now is gibberish. Maybe the conk on the head scrambled his brains. He’s being transported to the hospital. An ambulance is on its way.”

  “You might have someone see if they can match his shoes with tracks in the snow around the house. I noticed them the other day, and in hindsight he may have been watching the house, looking for me.”

  He made notes. “We’ll do what we can,” he agreed as Lyndon came inside.

  “What happened?”

  “Gary’s cheese fell off his cracker, and he tried to kill Malcolm,” Hans answered. “He held us at gunpoint, and I took him out with a paperweight.”

  “We’ve cooperated with the police, and they’ve been good,” Malcolm said. He’d contacted Lyndon as a precaution in case the police got everything messed up.

  “We’ll need both of you to make a statement, and we’re going to get Mr. Hanlan some medical attention. He’ll be in custody the entire time,” Detective Rodriguez said as flashes went off in the hallway.

  The police took photographs in the house, and everyone stayed clear and let them do their jobs. Finally the police finished and got ready to leave.

  “We got a few good prints in the snow, and they match Mr. Hanlan’s boots.”

  Malcolm nodded, relieved that he had an answer as to who had been outside the house.

  “We’ll arrange to come down tomorrow to sign statements and press charges,” Lyndon told the detective and walked out with him.

  “That was enough excitement to last a lifetime,” Malcolm told Hans once it was just the two of them.

  “Yeah. That’s a new one. And you were so calm—it was impressive.”

  “I was shaking like a leaf.”

  “But it didn’t show. All those years in court and in front of clients really paid off. You looked calm and collected. Gary didn’t have a chance,” Hans said.

  “He was going to shoot. And who knows what might have happened if it hadn’t been for you?” He leaned closer to Hans, holding him and sitting still. This whole thing was overwhelming, and everything that had happened slammed into him all at once. Now that it was over, fear welled up inside. Malcolm shivered and shook for a few minutes. “Gary was going to kill me. I could see it in his eyes. He intended to shoot any second.”

  “I know. I saw him get ready and had to act.” Hans shook as well, and they held each other.

  “The last thing I ever expected was to be held at gunpoint.” He was a tax attorney, for God’s sake. Granted, he dealt with people who tried to cheat on their taxes all the time, but it wasn’t like he defended hardened criminals.

  “It’s going to be fine. Gary is in custody, and he isn’t going anywhere.”

  “His lawyer will try to get him out on bail,” Malcolm said. “That’s what he does.”

  “Maybe. But I’d think that would be hard. He’s been showing signs of mental instability. Make sure you make that clear when you give your statement so that the police can request that he be held as a danger to himself as well as others.”

  “I’ll have to talk to Ellen. She noticed it as well.” Malcolm’s mind was already working toward how he could build a case. “Maybe there are others who can help.” He had no intention of allowing Gary to go free if he could help it. There was little doubt in his mind that Gary would come after him and Hans again if he were allowed to go free once more. He’d been so fixated on him and the perceived slights Malcolm had caused.

  “Don’t worry about that now. He’s not in any shape to go anywhere at the moment, and he isn’t going to be for a while. He was hit pretty hard. I hope I didn’t hurt him too badly. I mean, he is a real prick and I hope he ends up in jail for a damn long time, but I don’t want to be the one who scrambled his brains.”

  “You sure have a colorful way with words at a time like this.”

  “I’m a writer, and I get a little giddy when my life has been threatened. Sue me.” Hans flashed a nervous smile.

  “Never say that to a lawyer.” Malcolm was pleased that he could tell a small joke of his own, and it made some of the tension that had settled on his shoulders fall away.

  The front door opened and closed, and Lyndon came back into the room. “I think this is going to be a pretty open-and-shut case. The police are convinced that your stories are true and that Gary was the aggressor. I don’t expect any repercussions from you throwing the paperweight to subdue him. After all, you were in Malcolm’s home with his permission and Gary was not. I’m going to go back home. Give me a call if you need anything, and I’ll work everything out tomorrow so you can give your statements. Other than that, I suggest the two of you try to relax and get some rest.”

  “We will, thanks,” Malcolm said, getting up and walking Lyndon to the door. “I appreciate everything.”

  “No problem,” Lyndon said with a sly grin. “Hans seems like a nice guy, and he sure has one hell of an arm.”

  “He’s an incredible man who surprises me all the time.”

  “That’s good.” Lyndon leaned back, presumably so he could see Hans once again. “You two have a good night.”

  “We’ll try,” Malcolm said and opened the door, thanking Lyndon one more time. He watched until Lyndon got to his car before closing the door.

  “Do you want to go or stay here?” Hans asked.

  Malcolm had completely forgotten about their plans to stay at Hans’s. “Let me get the bags and clean up this mess a little before we get out of here.” He got a broom and swept up the glass, then threw it in the trash. Then he grabbed his bags, placing them near the door before helping Hans get to his feet.

  They left the house, and Malcolm locked the door. They rode to Hans’s house in near silence. Malcolm couldn’t help ruminating over what could have happened.

  “I fully expected him to shoot,” he said quietly just before turning into the driveway. “You should have gotten away if you could have.” Malcolm pulled the car to a stop.

  “Did you think I was going to let that bastard take you and not do something about it?” Hans snapped. “Are you daft? Because that wasn’t going to happen.” Hans took his hand as soon as Malcolm turned off the engine. “What the hell is wrong, Malcolm? You look like I just told you that the moon is made of cheese.”

  “I do believe you. I don’t understand why.”

  Hans pulled his hand away and got out of the car, then closed his door with more force than necessary. Malcolm watched him walk across the headlight beams and then go into the house. He wondered if he should go home. He was tired beyond belief, and this whole thing with Gary had left him feeling older than he had in a very long time. He cared about Hans, and yes, he loved him, but he hadn’t been able to protect him.

  A tap on the window brought his attention to Hans.

  “Are you coming inside?” Hans asked when Malcolm lowered the glass.

  Malcolm opened the door and got out,
then lifted his bags from the backseat. “Maybe I should go home and let you get some rest.”

  Hans stepped closer. “Maybe you should stop thinking about whatever is rolling around in that brilliant mind of yours and come inside.” Hans stepped back, pulling Malcolm along with his intense gaze.

  Malcolm closed the car doors and followed Hans back into the house.

  “You really need to let go of this age thing. It’s not an issue to anyone except you.” Hans closed the door. “Unless of course I’m not mature enough for you and you really need someone your own age.”

  Malcolm set the bags on the sofa. “I couldn’t protect you from Gary.”

  “First, neither of us knew we needed protecting from the little nutball. And second, this is a relationship. We’re not cavemen, and I’m not the little woman who needs to be taken care of. In case you haven’t realized it, we worked together. You held Gary’s attention so he wasn’t watching me the whole time, and I was able to take him out. I’d say that was pretty special.”

  Malcolm couldn’t argue with that. “But I have to ask you something. I’m a decade older than you. That means that there’s every chance I’ll get sick eventually, and you’ll need to take care of me. I did that for David because I loved him, but it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. And I don’t want you to have to do that for me. It ripped my heart out every day to see him slipping further and further away from me by inches. I don’t want to have to go through that again, and I don’t want someone I love to have to do that for me.”

  “You know that doesn’t matter.”

  “But it does. I watched David die slowly, and it nearly killed me.”

  “Malcolm,” Hans said gently. “We don’t get to choose what happens to us, including whether we get cancer or some other disease. That’s all part of life. You know that. But if you stop living, then you’re giving up on everything and everyone, and I doubt that’s what you want.”

  “I don’t. I’ve been happy. You make me happy, and I love you for bringing joy back to my life. But what if it ends?”

  “And what if it doesn’t?” Hans countered. “What if we get another twenty or thirty years together, and then we both die in our sleep because of some rare disease that only two people who love each other can get that makes them die at the same time?” Hans was being silly, but he was trying to make a point, so Malcolm kept his mouth shut. “Does it really matter?”

  Malcolm had to admit that it really didn’t, because the thought of going home and leaving Hans behind made his heart ache and ice water race through his veins. “I don’t want it to.”

  “Then it doesn’t. It’s as simple as that. Because I love you too, and I think you’re sexy, fun, and amazing to talk with, and I want to spend years getting to know you. I think it will take that long.”

  Malcolm carefully hugged Hans to him. “I want that too.” He was finding it hard to believe that this was actually happening to him.

  “Well, let’s get your things put in my room, and then we can go to bed.”

  “Are you aching?” Malcolm asked, concerned that they’d done too much and had aggravated Hans’s wound.

  “I am,” Hans said, lifting his gaze until it met Malcolm’s, and the heat he saw took Malcolm’s breath away. “I’m wanting and aching so badly I don’t know how I can go another minute without you, and I’m going to feel the same way in a decade.”

  Any feeble argument Malcolm might have put forward was swept aside when Hans kissed him, pressing their bodies together. The wind outside whipped around the house, rattling the windows, but they were warm together in a cocoon that surrounded only the two of them. The kiss grew more heated, and Malcolm carefully guided Hans down the hallway toward the bedroom.

  Undressing wasn’t elegant or some gorgeous expression of love. It was two people, one moving very carefully, removing their clothes and getting under the covers. Malcolm made sure Hans was settled and comfortable before bringing his lips in contact with his amazing chest. He sucked at a flat pink nipple, loving the way Hans squirmed under him. “I want you more than I can say. I came close to losing you today,” Malcolm whispered next to Hans’s lips.

  “You know the feeling’s mutual. I watched you with him and wanted to rip Gary limb from limb. All I could think about was what I’d do if he took you away from me.” Hans closed the distance between their lips, and the thinking portion of the evening was over.

  Malcolm kept his weight off Hans while working his lips down his luscious body, careful of the bandage at his side. He drove Hans to a whining, quivering mass. He loved that he could do that. Hans was a big man, strong, with rippling muscles. Looking at him was enough to steal the air from the room for Malcolm. “I want to make love to you, but I’m scared of hurting you.” Malcolm swirled his tongue on Hans’s navel.

  “You’d never hurt me, and I’ve been waiting for that for a while.” Hans carefully rolled onto his side, and Malcolm pressed to his back, holding him gently.

  “Are you sure?” Malcolm asked and leaned forward, licking and sucking Hans’s neck softly. “Your scent drives me crazy.” He pressed his hips to Hans’s butt, sliding his cock along his crack as he slid his hands down Hans’s side and across to his cock, gripping and stroking him as he shuddered against him. This was so intimate and heart touching. They didn’t have to do anything more than this to make his heart soar. Hans here with him, whole, disease-free, and this was all he could ever want.

  “Yes. I’m always sure with you.” Hans groaned as Malcolm gripped him tight, stroking the way he’d learned Hans liked, with just the right amount of pressure.

  Malcolm thrust his hips, sliding his cock between Hans’s buttcheeks. Hans pressed back, adding to the sensation and intensity. Holding Hans in his hand, all silky heat, was always incredible. “You feel so good everywhere.” Malcolm sucked at Hans’s ear. His intention was to drive Hans crazy, but the effect was to do the same to himself, especially with the way Hans filled his ears with a symphony of steady moans that grew in intensity and volume, telling Malcolm that he was getting closer and closer to pushing Hans over the edge and threatening to carry himself along for the ride.

  “Damn it,” Hans groaned, pushing back against him, then thrusting his hips forward. “I want… need….”

  “I know what you want, and you can take it all. Whatever you need is yours.” He stroked faster, tighter, and Hans groaned louder, throbbing and pulsing in his hand.

  “On the edge… please… just….”

  “I know.” Malcolm was quickly getting beyond words as well. His own excitement grew and grew. He was going to tumble off the edge, and he needed Hans to go first. Malcolm held his own pleasure at bay, adding speed and friction until Hans inhaled deeply, moaned loudly, and stilled.

  Hans came in a rush, yelling at the top of his lungs, pushing Malcolm back and to the very precipice of passion before he too rolled down the other side in an uncontrolled freight train of heat. Malcolm stilled and held Hans as he floated. He hoped like hell he hadn’t hurt him.

  After a few minutes, Hans slowly rolled over and pulled Malcolm toward him until their faces were inches apart. “God, I love you. I don’t know if I said it before so plainly, but I do. You make me happy.”

  Malcolm blinked a few times. “I love you too.” He had never in a million years expected to be able to say those words to another human being again. “You make me feel alive—no, because of you, I’m awake again, really awake, and I can’t thank you enough.”

  “How about when I feel better, you thank me properly and energetically?” Hans stroked Malcolm’s cheek lightly.

  Malcolm shifted, letting Hans roll onto his back. “How about I thank you many times for the rest of our lives?”

  “I can live with that.” Hans pulled him down into a kiss.

  Epilogue

  A year later

  IT WAS the coldest day of the entire damned year. The wind howled as the sun blazed in its glory before going down. Clear skies always meant
blistering cold, and tonight was going to be no exception. “This is it,” Hans said as he joined Malcolm outside the house he and David had shared, carrying the very last box. “We can put this in the spare room for now.”

  “Yes, though it’s getting full.” Malcolm locked the door and turned to look up at the front of the house. Tomorrow he’d give the key to the real estate agent, and that would be the end of it. A young couple with a newborn was due to move in tomorrow, and the house would be filled with life and love once again. That made leaving so much easier.

  “It won’t be for too long,” Hans said as he headed toward the car, placed the box in the trunk, and closed the lid. “I wish the deal on the new house could have closed a little earlier so we could have brought your things right over there.”

  “It’s the way of things. Thankfully your house will close a few weeks after we get the new one, so we can move our things after doing some of the projects we want to get done.

  “After we get moved in, I was thinking that we could take a much deserved vacation. Say in late April. You’ll be done with the book you’re working on, we’ll be settled in, and we could fly down to Bonaire for some dive time.”

  Hans came around the car and moved right into his arms. “That’s perfect. I know an amazing small resort, and I’ll book diving classes for you.” Hans kissed him. “You won’t believe the wonders in store.”

  Malcolm slipped his arms under Hans’s coat, cupping his tight butt. “Speaking of wonders….” He kissed Hans hard, and his body reacted with gusto.

  Over the last year they had grown closer and closer, spending time at both houses. It quickly got to be too much, and in the end they decided to sell both of them and buy a home they could enjoy together. One that would be theirs together. The decision had been a hard one for Malcolm, and he’d gone back and forth with it for a few days. In the end, he decided selling the house was more about starting a new life with Hans than it was about saying good-bye to David.