Hell and Back

by Dirk Greyson

  “That information can be deadly,” Stanley said quietly, but with the same tone most people used to order a meal in a restaurant. Yet the threat hung there, or at least he meant it to.

  “Maybe. But Granger didn’t take the precautions I have. He was bound by ethics and codes of behavior because he was an attorney, but we aren’t. And those files you were looking for so diligently could easily find their way to the news media and then none of you will have a place to hide… anywhere.” Gage kept his lips from curling upward when Stanley flinched. “So I expect you to call off your dogs and stand down. If anything happens to anyone I care about, we go nuclear, and you’re going to be ground zero.” He turned and walked away, not even looking back. He could feel their laser stares at his back, but he didn’t care. They had to think he wasn’t afraid of them. They were like bears—any show of fear and he would be dead.

  His mother and Forge were still talking, which was better than Gage had hoped.

  “What’s going on?” his mother asked as the three guests slowly made their way over.

  “I believe they have to be going, but want to thank you for the invitation.” Gage turned, and all three of them said good night and did indeed thank his mother, explaining that something had come up and they had to leave. Gage grinned, and his mother visibly relaxed once they were gone.

  Gage excused himself and went through the house to make sure his parents’ guests left quietly and without incident. As he peered out the living room window, he saw the valets bring around a large black Mercedes, and the three men got inside. Stanley turned back, and Gage caught his eye, making sure Stanley knew Gage meant business. He watched until the car pulled away and was out of sight before returning to the party.

  “Is everything okay?” Forge asked, hurrying toward him.

  “Yes.” Gage waited until Forge was close enough that he could speak without anyone overhearing. “But we need to find those files, and we need to do it fast. I played my cards and Stanley bought what I was saying, but he’s going to test that I have the goods. And when he does, I have to be able to show that I have what I said I did and that I can bring the wrath of all that’s holy down on the heads of his family, or none of us will ever be safe.”

  “Where did they go?” Gage’s father asked.

  “Something came up,” Gage answered, then lowered his voice. “You and I need to talk after your guests leave.” He met his father’s gaze with the steeliest look he could muster. “This isn’t negotiable.”

  “You come here to my house and give me orders.” The volume was low, but the tone menacing.

  “I just saved your life and your business.” Gage wasn’t going to back down, not for a second. “Maybe I should have let them worm their way into your company until you found yourself on the outside looking in and the company you built turned inside out and run into the ground. That’s what people like that do.” Gage could see he wasn’t getting through and tried a different angle. “I’m here because they might be the ones who killed Forge’s almost ex-husband, Granger. They executed him in his own backyard.”

  His father flinched. “You’re sure about that?”

  “I can’t be sure of anything at this point. Now, go back to your guests, and we’ll talk later. There are things we need to discuss.” Gage waited until his father nodded, and then he found a seat on one of the patio sofas. Forge sat right next to him.

  “I don’t like it here. I feel so exposed, and those men aren’t going to just back away. That isn’t what they do.”

  “No, they aren’t. But I can’t just tell my parents to send everyone home. It will create more talk, and right now, we need a chance to think. We have to solve Granger’s puzzle. The information we need is there, I know it is.”

  “I’ll figure out that box, somehow,” Forge said, and Gage threaded their fingers together.

  HIS MOTHER and father said goodbye to the last of their guests a couple of hours later. His mother went to see about the cleanup, and Gage motioned his father and Forge into his dad’s home office and closed the door.

  “I need some answers, and I’m not going to beat around the bush. We found papers that indicate you took kickbacks or payoffs from the Luccis.”

  “No.” His father stood behind his desk. “I never did. They offered payment, large ones, for some expedited shipments, but I didn’t take them. I knew what they were trying to do and wanted no part of it.”

  “Then why were you doing business with them?”

  His dad slumped into the chair. “Business has been tough lately, and I need more freight. They have plenty of legitimate business, and I was willing to work with them to try to garner some of it.” He sighed. “Maybe that was me being naive.”

  “The records we found, which were in the hands of an attorney, showed those payments. Now, whether or not they were delivered, that isn’t going to look good when they come out. Those people play by different rules, and sometimes people end up dead.” Gage went over to where Forge had sat in one of the other chairs in the room and took his hand, knowing this was going to be upsetting for him. Everything about this situation sucked—well, everything except being able to hold Forge’s hand and try to protect him.

  His father’s gaze zeroed in on where they touched, and his eyebrows cocked upward.

  “Gage is someone special to me,” Forge said rather softly.

  “I see.” His dad’s reaction was hardly a ringing endorsement of acceptance.

  “My relationships aren’t the issue here. Forge and I are trying to get to the bottom of a situation, and you and Mom have become involved in it. Because of that you could be in danger.” Gage closed his eyes and groaned. This was a real mess. “Why don’t you and Mom take a vacation? Go somewhere for a few weeks. Get away and kind of disappear.”

  “What?” His father’s voice boomed off the office walls.

  “If what I think is correct, associates of your party friends may have killed Granger. They won’t hesitate to go after you and Mom if they think it’s to their advantage. Call your security company, have them watch the house, and go on a trip.”

  His dad narrowed his gaze. “You’re serious?”

  “He’s deadly serious,” Forge said. “This isn’t a game.” He gripped Gage’s hand tighter as tension ramped up to the ceiling.

  “Trust me, Dad. These people aren’t who you want to do business with. You said things have been tough, then do what you’ve always done in the past: innovate and come up with something new. It’s what you’re good at. Open a new market and take advantage of that opportunity. But don’t sell your soul and do something you’re going to regret.”

  “You should have been here to take over. It’s—”

  Gage shared a look with Forge, who nodded, pulled his hand back, then stood and quietly left the office. It amazed him that Forge seemed to know and understand what needed to happen without Gage saying a word. Forge closed the door, leaving Gage sitting across the desk from his father, exactly where he’d been when they talked about this subject the last time.

  “Running your company isn’t what I want to do. It never was. Building Livingston Cartage was your dream, not mine. I have my own, and it includes the man who just left. I know you have a tough time with that, but I’m not going to hide who I am or what I want.”

  “But it’s my legacy.”

  Gage shook his head. “Your legacy is the relationships you leave behind, not some business. Don’t you see that? I won’t be tied to something just because you want it so badly. You have the right to dream and build whatever is going to make you and Mom happy. But you don’t have the right to determine what will make me happy. Do you understand? Turn the company over to good managers and let them find the next opportunity if you aren’t able to do it,” he said, though he doubted very much that was true. After a pregnant pause where they both stared at each other, he added, “We’re a lot alike.”

  “How do you figure that?” His father didn’t look away, and Gage wouldn’t exp
ect him to.

  “We’re both stubborn as shit, for starters.” He cocked his head, and his dad rolled his eyes and nodded. “I started my own business, Dad. I’m successful and damn good at what I do—the same as you. I wanted to do things my own way and follow my own path. Does that sound at all familiar to you?”

  His dad huffed, and Gage could see his resolve fading. “But I wanted you to have a better life and more chances than what I had. I built the company. All you needed to do was take over and run it into the future.”

  “Instead, I went into the Army and then used my training to start my own company.” Gage stood. “Don’t you see it? I took after you and found my own way. I don’t want to carry on your life—I want to build one of my own. Is that really so hard for you to understand?” He leaned over the desk, forcing his father to acknowledge what he was saying. “Or is all of this just a smoke screen for the fact that your son is gay and you can’t deal with that either?” He pushed away, turned around, and stood tall. “Maybe it was a mistake coming here at all. You can go ahead and make all the stupid moves you want. Do business with gangsters and criminals. I have my own life and my own business.”

  “Gage—”

  “You’re too damned stubborn to listen or care what anyone else wants, so why should I bother with—”

  “Gage!” His father cut through his rant, and Gage whirled around. “I think you made your point.”

  “Fine. What are you going to do about it?”

  His father picked up the phone for his assistant and asked her to make a hotel reservation. Gage stepped forward and shook his head. His father paused in his speech, and Gage motioned for him to hang up.

  “What? You wanted us to get away.”

  “Don’t make a reservation. Just show up and check in. Pay cash and stay out by the airport. There are a lot of hotels, and people come and go all the time. Then decide where you and Mom want to go, buy plane tickets, and just get away. I need to figure all this out, and I don’t want to worry that they’ll use you to try to get to me… to Forge and me. Call me each day to let me know you’re okay.” Gage reached into his wallet and pulled out his card. “This is a secure line, and Margie will get word to me that you’re fine. Don’t tell any of your friends where you are.”

  His father took the card. “What about work?”

  “Buy a new computer and use that. It will be clean and untraceable for a period of time. Again, tell no one where you are, and watch your back.”

  His dad stood, eyes darting around the room in the first show of nervousness Gage had seen. “You really think your mother and I could be in danger?”

  “Those people don’t take no for an answer. Dad, they thought they had you on the hook, and they aren’t just going to let you go if they can help it. I need some time to unravel this puzzle and do my best to make sure they can’t hurt you or Forge ever again. I’m not sure how I’m going to do all that yet, but I need to know you and Mom are safe. So just go. Call the security service, then lock up the house and get out of here. If you’ve got any cash in the house, use that. If not, get some. Don’t use credit cards or anything that can be traced. Stay with friends you can trust if you’d like.”

  “I have some cash in the safe.”

  “Then get it. Pack bags and put them in the trunk of the car. Oh, and make sure you have the security company check the system on the property. Tell them you think it’s been compromised. They need to make sure there aren’t any honey hooks into the system.”

  “Okay. How do I tell your mother all this?” He lowered himself back into his chair.

  “Just tell her the way you tell her everything else. You and Mom have always been a team, so handle this the same way. You know Mom. She loves an adventure. After all, she put up with us for all these years.” Gage smiled, and his father did the same. It was the first time in years that they’d both seemed contented in each other’s company. “Now I think I need to rescue Forge from the grand inquisitor.”

  His dad nodded, and Gage turned to go. “Are you serious about that young man or is he just a friend?”

  Gage paused at the door. “Dad, he’s the other half of my soul. I knew that when I first met him when I was in the Army hospital.” There was no need to bring up old wounds, not when he and his dad had made progress. “Forge and I lost touch back then. But we found each other now. I know you don’t understand the whole gay thing. But it’s the same as you and Mom. I love him and will move mountains to keep him happy.”

  His dad sighed. “Then that’s how it should be.”

  Gage opened the door and went in search of his mother. He found her and Forge in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a drink in front of each of them. When he’d brought Forge, the last thing he’d expected was for him to hit it off with his mother. Maybe there was such a thing as miracles after all.

  His mother looked up at his approach. “Forge was telling me that you knew each other in the service.”

  “Yes. We met back then but lost touch. Forge sent me letters, but I never got them.” He held Forge’s hand and watched his mother for any reaction, but only saw the slightest flinch around her eyes. She might not have consciously made the connection, but somewhere inside, he thought her conscience jabbed her.

  “Gage…,” she whispered, looking between the two of them, her eyes darting from one to the other.

  “Yes, Mom. He sent the letters to the house, but I never got them.” He let the implications hang in the air and waited while her mind wound through her own actions.

  Gage saw the moment she remembered. Her eyes widened and she gasped softly. Then the mask she usually wore when she was in society and encountered something unpleasant slid into place.

  “I know what you did.” He wasn’t letting her get away with it. Not that there was anything that could change the past. It was what it was, and hanging on to the hurt was never going to help.

  “Gage, I—”

  “It’s in the past, and through some miracle of fate, we found each other again.” Gage held Forge’s hand tighter. “Forge and I need to go.” He turned to his dad, who had just walked in from his office. “Please do what I asked.” He’d had all of his mother and father that he could take at the moment. Gage didn’t want to hold what had happened against them. “Call me to let me know you’re safe.”

  “Harry, what’s going on?” his mother asked, standing as Gage gently tugged Forge out of the room and toward the front door.

  “Shirley, just go sit down and I’ll explain.”

  Gage turned, and his father met his gaze and nodded. At least he could breathe a little easier knowing his parents would be safe.

  He closed the door to the house and looked around carefully. Gage had the feeling they might be watched, but the hair on the back of his neck didn’t stand up. Still, he wasn’t going to take any chances. “Let’s get to the car and back to the hotel. It’s late.” The valet was waiting for them and handed Gage the keys.

  “Did anyone get near the car at all this evening?” Gage asked.

  “No. Why would they?” he answered, and Gage handed him a twenty before getting in. Once Forge was inside, Gage pulled out of the circular drive and onto the quiet suburban street. He took multiple turns and made certain he wasn’t followed before driving anywhere near the hotel where they were staying. Finally he pulled into the parking lot, and they went up to their room.

  “Will they be able to find us here?” Forge asked once they were behind closed doors.

  “No. I didn’t check in under my own name. Over the years I’ve developed a number of alternate identities, and I used one of them. I’m very good at what I do, and believe it or not, it’s very easy to get a credit card in any name you choose. So, unless they know the name I registered under, we’re safe enough for now. We also used the underground garage so they’re going to have to specifically look for our car.” Gage sat on the edge of the bed as Forge picked up the bag containing the jade box and sat next to him. He took it out and t
urned it over in his hands, a soft rattle coming from inside.

  “There’s a way to open this. I have to find it. Granger told me that there is usually a piece that presses inward and starts the cascade of movement that allows them to open.”

  “Okay. But what if it’s a piece you have to pull out? The box is small, so there isn’t going to be much room to push anything inward.” Gage extended his hand, and Forge placed the box in it. He turned it over, lifting the box so he could look the dragon in the eyes.

  “I don’t think he can look back,” Forge quipped, laughing. He reached for the box and gasped slightly before gently taking it and pulling the tail of one of the dragons, which moved outward slightly before coming to a complete stop. “That’s it.” Forge carefully moved the remaining pieces until the side of the box lowered and the lid slid off to the side.

  “What’s in it?”

  Forge placed another thumb drive in Gage’s hand, along with a folded piece of paper.

  Gage opened the page, read it briefly, and then turned to Forge. “This is for you.” He stood to give Forge a chance to read the note. “From the date, it was written six months ago.”

  Forge took the page and read aloud.

  “Dear Forge,

  “If you’re reading this note, then I’m dead and the precautions I took to try to save myself—and by extension, you—weren’t enough. The last few months have been difficult for us, and my work has been suffering. I know it’s because I can’t concentrate, and the two of us arguing about everything has gotten me to the point that I can’t think straight most of the time. I want you to know that none of what’s happened is your fault. I know it was mine because I was weak.”

  Forge sniffed and looked up from the page, wiping his eyes. At Gage’s nod, he continued.

  “I know you have no reason to believe me. I know I was weak, but I was also set up, and since I thought I was too smart to let that happen, it’s exactly what did happen. Then you found out, or they arranged for you to find out. I don’t know which, but hurting you brought my world to an end. Like I said, everything is all my fault, I know that. I should have been stronger.