by Megan Derr
Looking at Abraham, really looking at him, he wondered how in the world he'd missed it. "I can't believe …"
Abraham looked on the verge of tears. "I never really thought this day would come."
Jason made a rough noise and pulled him inside, into a tight embrace. "No one ever told me."
Making a sound that might have been a sob or a laugh, Abraham just held him tighter. For a long time, they just stood that way, and Jason could feel Abraham trembling all the while. When Abraham finally spoke, the words were slightly muffled against Jason's shirt, "I wasn't allowed. Wasn't in a position to fight. Was afraid I'd ruin your life."
"All that's changing," Jason said firmly and closed the front door before leading him down the hall to the kitchen. "Coffee?"
Abraham nodded. "Black."
Jason poured them both cups, then sat at the island, not inclined, for once, to retreat to his office. He stared, thoughts unable to settle. Abraham stared back, looking like a dying man who had just been offered a cure he could not believe. His eyes were a little too bright, and he ducked his head to wipe them with his sleeve.
Jason's mind flitted back to his earlier thoughts and worries, and he wondered again what Abraham thought of the son he'd never gotten to meet—a son most accounted the prodigal bastard of one of the biggest bastard's in town. His mouth twisted as he realized 'bastard' was literal. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he finally said, "I can't believe I didn't realize it in the hospital. Leigh is right—I look just like you."
Smiling crookedly, Abraham said, "Henry never talked to me, not after making me sign all those papers … except once. He called me, drunk as drunk could be, to scream at me because all he saw looking at you was me. You look like your mother, too, but there's no mistaking …" He shook his head and took a sip of coffee before looking up. "Are you okay? I heard about what happened to you and was so worried. It took me ages to get into the hospital. I couldn't believe your bodyguards let me in, though I was glad you had them."
"I'm fine," Jason said. "What about you? None of this could have been easy on you? I'm still finding it hard to believe."
Abraham shook his head. "It was hell. The dumbest part is that I honestly thought your mother might choose me." He laughed bitterly. "I really should have known better, but not knowing better is the hallmark of youth, I suppose."
"My mother would never give up the safe and familiar," Jason said. "I am surprised Henry kept me, though."
"She really thought there would be no consequences and she could get away with being reckless. As to why Henry chose to keep you and lock me out … he never really said, not to me. I always wanted to understand, because just a few years later they had Dai. They didn't need you."
The pain in his voice twisted Jason's gut all over again. "I'm sorry. I wish I had known."
"It's not your apology to make," Abraham said, looking at his mug, tracing the rim of it with one finger before withdrawing his hands from the island. "I still can't believe … I thought for certain Henry would be coming after me any day now, but I didn't care anymore. I knew it was stupid to see you and then to agree to work for you, but after seeing you nearly killed by those sons of bitches in New York—I wasn't going to keep to the shadows anymore. I couldn't. I was just afraid you'd want nothing to do with me. I don't care about Henry or the others anymore. I couldn't fight them back then, but I can now. I just didn't know how you'd take it. I had no interest in ruining your life. I wanted you to be happy, even if it meant I was left out of it."
Jason swallowed, throat feeling raw. "I can't complain, not really. But I'm happier to know about you. They never should have kept you from me. I'm sorry that they did."
"At least I was able to stay close and keep an eye on you. Too many parents don't even get that much. We're here now."
"Yes," Jason said, and took a sip of coffee to steady himself, though his hands seemed determined not to cooperate entirely. "Oddly enough, this entire revelation is going to make many things much easier."
Abraham smiled. "Does this have something to do with your cousin?"
"How … how did you know about Jet?"
"I pay attention," Abraham replied, smiling sadly. "Watching was all I had. I couldn't even speak to you, not to encourage you, or tell you how proud I was, or anything. So I kept an eye on you. What else was I supposed to do?"
Jason swallowed and couldn't speak. He focused on his coffee again until he could trust his voice to work again. "Well, pretty soon you'll probably be seeing more of me than you want, between work and all the drama I'm about to unleash."
"That isn't possible," Abraham said quietly. "I've waited your entire life to be this close to you, and I never thought it would be at your invitation. I always feared it would be against your wishes. I was just a billing clerk back when I met your mother, when she was a legal secretary and dating—then married to—your father. If she had chosen me, it wouldn't have been anything like the life you lead now."
"I don't care about anything except moving forward. I did what I thought was right for a long time. Now I'm going after what I want. That means Jet, and now you. We've got to break that contract that forbids you from seeing me and whatever else was arranged." He finished his coffee and set the mug aside. "First, however, how about dinner?"
Abraham smiled. "Fine, but it's my treat."
Jason nodded and went to go get his car keys.
Track 13: Empty Closet (Skeletons On Display)
"You need to stop worrying," Dai said. "You're going to give yourself a heart attack."
Jet shrugged. "I can't help it." He'd never actually agreed to sign the business over to his uncle, despite that being one of the things he had to do to keep his friends safe. The final sale would be happening in a couple of hours and all he could picture was somebody bashing Dai's head in or throwing acid in Nikko's face or a million other scenarios that made Jet think he may need to lay off reading murder mysteries and thrillers for a little while. "What if they don't react well?"
"That's what the cops are for, and if they don't work, it looks like my brother has made some dangerous friends." He nodded toward the front of the car, where Allen and Jack sat in silence. Dai's mouth pinched, but he didn't comment further on Jason's connection to Azura, only sighed and said, "They can only do so much no matter what they threaten. You know that. Once the business is sold, there's precious little they can do about it. Given who you're selling to and that he's had your back since the offer was first made … dude, no one is going to risk pissing off Xavier Lord. So you sell the company, we tell my dad and his cronies to fuck off—"
"They could still hurt people just out of spite and we won't know who they target until too late."
"That won't happen," Dai replied.
Jet wasn't so sure of that, but getting into an argument about it wouldn't help anything. He grimaced as their destination came into view. "I hope this stupid meeting wraps up quickly, but somehow I doubt we'll be that lucky. How much of a ruckus do you think Uncle Henry will cause?" He smoothed his fingers over his blue and black paisley tie. "I hate suits," he said. "I never seem to wear them for good reasons anymore."
"You wear them for interviews," Dai replied.
"I hate interviews."
Dai rolled his eyes. "You do not, and as to my father, I'm sure he'll try to cause plenty of ruckus—but again, there's only so much he can do in the end. So stop worrying." Their conversation lapsed as they pulled into the parking garage and Jet let out a sigh.
Jack opened the car door and Jet climbed out, Dai right behind him. Allen and Jack flanked them as they walked through the garage to the elevators and stood close to the doors, leading the way out when the elevator stopped.
When they reached the office where they were to meet the others, Jack said, "We'll be waiting in the lobby. Call us if there's real trouble."
"Thank you," Jet said, and forced himself to push the door to the meeting room open and step inside. Clear of the door, he shoved his trembl
ing hands into his pockets, painfully aware that the last time he had been in that room it had been to announce his father's death.
Too restless to sit, Jet went over to the windows and stared down at the hustle and bustle of the city below. Pedestrians clogged the sidewalks and a car paying no attention to what it was doing rear-ended a bus. A couple blocks down he could see people with signs and wondered idly what they were protesting.
He half-turned at the sound of the door opening—and all the homesickness he'd been fighting, all the loneliness, slammed into him as he drank in the sight of Jason. He was always at his most devastating in his tailored suits, and right then was no exception.
Jet didn't bolt across the room to kiss him senseless, but it was a near thing. He swallowed while Jason spoke briefly to Ex and a woman Jet didn't recognize, all but vibrating in place by the time Jason walked over to him. "Jet," Jason murmured. "You look a little pale. Are you okay?"
"Asks the man with a scar on his forehead." Jet smiled crookedly. "I'm fine, just ready for all this crap to be done. I really hate this place, all the more now that it's only good point is technically gone. I wish we could have done this anywhere fucking else."
Jason smiled and chucked Jet under the chin, startling him. "Soon it will all be over. The paperwork shouldn't take long to go over and sign. After—" he stopped as the door opened again. Jet tensed when his uncle stepped into the room, flanked by Carmichael and Jones. Henry's eyes landed on him and Jason, clearly making note of how close they stood, and for a second, Jet honestly thought he was going to resort to violence.
Why did Uncle Henry hate them so much? Had they really behaved so awfully that there was no forgiveness? Didn't it count for something they were happy? Jesus, they were only cousins.
He was drawn from his thoughts by Jason's fingers cupping his cheek, and he shivered when Jason leaned in close and murmured in his ear, "Stop worrying. After today they won't be able to hurt us or anyone else."
"Okay," Jet said. "But if you keep touching me, cousin, he might just flip out."
Jason just laughed and drew back enough to tilt Jet's face up to brush a soft kiss across his mouth. Silence fell across the room, but Jason ignored it as he took Jet's hand and returned to Ex and the others.
It took Jet a moment to remember how to breathe again because he had not expected that, and Jason had never kissed him—never been able to kiss him—in any sort of public setting. Jason, in fact, wasn't really acting like Jason at all. Before Jet could really start freak out and ask him what the hell was going on, Ex held out a hand and said, "Good to see you again, Jet."
"You too," Jet replied, shaking hands.
"This is Tracey," Ex introduced the stunning, heavy-set woman at his side. Her hair was a beautiful tumble of black curls; she reminded Jet of a professor he'd had at school, the kind that kept him on his toes and took nobody's shit.
She smiled warmly and extended a hand, shaking Jet's and then Dai's. "It's so exciting to meet you. I'm sure you hear that all the time."
"Well, we never get tired of hearing it," Jet said with a grin.
"I was so mad that I missed your last concert in my area," Tracey replied, shooting Ex a look.
Ex held up his hands. "Hey, I'm bringing them to Paradise for you, aren't I? And I'm a way bigger fan than you. I'm the one that got you listening to them, so don't scowl at me, woman."
"Stop making excuses, man," Tracey replied, poking him playfully. "Damn right you're bringing them to Paradise for me."
"Yeah, yeah," Ex said with a smile.
Further conversation was prevented by an over-loud throat clearing. The group turned to face Henry, who demanded, "What is he doing here?"
"How dare—" Jet started.
Ex interrupted him, voice so cold that Jet nearly recoiled. "I'm here to close a multi-million dollar deal." Jet had heard that Ex could be just as terrifying as he could be congenial, but he'd never seen that terrifying half of his reputation before. He was really happy he was not on the receiving end of that frigid demeanor. Ex stared down Henry, who finally dropped his gaze, face flushed red. "I'm not sure why you're taking issue with my presence when your firm stands to make a tidy sum for helping in the matter."
"That business belonged to my brother and it should have gone to me not my nephew. He said he would sign it over to me—"
Jet wanted to hit him. "I said no such thing. Your asshole partners there threatened to hurt me and mine if I didn't give it to you."
"We did no such thing," Carmichael said.
"Yes, you did," Jason said, and even Ex could not compete with him for terror-inducing. "The business is going to Lord Enterprises. I agreed to come here to close the deal as part of my severance, but I'll return the money before I let you issue more threats."
Carmichael sneered and reiterated, "Nobody has threatened him."
Jason smiled in a way that made Jet shiver. "I have sworn statements from your thugs saying that's exactly what you did."
Carmichael started to reply, but then seemed to realize he was about to incriminate himself. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Jet really wanted to hit him—all of them. A few months ago he probably would have, because fuck it. But he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize what he had with Jason, the real relationship they actually had a chance of building. He also knew beating them to hell and back wouldn't fix shit, just give them what they needed to drag the matter on for fucking ever. He wanted it done and behind them. "Let's just get this over with."
Henry's mouth flattered, cheeks still ruddy with anger. "That business should be mine. He was my brother and his worthless son doesn't give a damn—"
"You will stop now," Jason said, speaking with such a chilling calm that the room fell silent.
"Or what?"
Jason reached into his blazer and pulled out a small envelope. "How much more do you want to lose? When is enough enough?" Henry just glared hatefully at him when Jason held out the envelope. Taking it, Henry opened it and pulled out whatever was inside—a photo, it looked like, though Jet couldn't see more than the back of it.
He'd never actually seen someone's face lose color. It was kind of freaky. Henry's skin went from red to white in the span of a moment before he shoved the photo back into the envelope with trembling fingers. He looked twice his age as he stared at Jason, who stared somberly back. If it had been anyone but Henry, Jet would have said he looked like he'd just lost his whole world. What in the world had been in that picture?
"We'll talk later," Jason said softly, even gently, though the firmness of his tone never faltered.
Henry nodded and turned stiffly away, as though his limbs were sore or had gone numb. When Carmichael started to protest, he gestured sharply, and Jones and Carmichael silently followed him out of the room.
Silence stretched on after the door closed behind them, until it was broken by Jason's soft sigh. "Shall we?" he asked, a hand on Jet's back guiding him to the table.
The paperwork seemed anticlimactic after all that had preceded it, nothing more than a couple of hours of discussion and signing and hand-shaking. Ex leaned back in his seat once the meeting officially ended, smiling brightly, and Jet half-thought he'd imagined his earlier moment of frigidness. "I promise I'll take good care of it."
"I know," Jet said with a smile. "I'm sorry about earlier."
Ex waved the words aside. "I'm well acquainted with the trials of difficult parents. I'll have to tell you the story sometime of what my parents did to my youngest brother after he got expelled. Which, fittingly, brings me to a question I wanted to ask—an invitation, actually. It sounds like you've all had it rather rough lately. I know how draining family can be and how vicious the media can get, especially when they think they have a shot at Azura. Would you like to come stay on Paradise for a while? A week, maybe two? Stay a whole month if you like. My treat."
"That's so generous it's almost obscene," Jason said.
Ex laughed. "I do not have many pe
ople I'm inclined to call friend and I can afford to spoil those few I do. If you, Dai, Jet and the rest of the band want to come, do. You can come today, tomorrow, next month—whenever you want."
"Man, that sounds tempting," Dai said with a sigh. "We've been going practically non-stop since we got back from Europe, and then Uncle Jeff passing away, Jay getting hurt … If I could pack up and leave tonight I totally would."
Jet opened his mouth, closed it, then said, "We could, you know. That last concert was it for a few months. I'm sure as fuck not going back to recording any time soon. We need a break before we kill each other. We should say fuck it and go before something else comes up." The more he pondered it, the more he liked it. He glanced at Ex. "If you really don't mind …"
"Of course not," Ex said and grinned. "Anyway, all I have to do is say 'make it happen' and she does all the work."
Tracey rolled her eyes even as she picked up her phone and started arranging everything. A few minutes later, she set it down and said, "Plane leaves tonight at nine o'clock. We'll arrive at zero dark, but everything will be ready for you."
Jet just shook his head, more than a little impressed it was that easy to arrange an impulse luxury vacation.
"That should be more than enough time," Jason said. "Thank you."
Jet quirked a brow at him. "Enough time for what?"
"To speak with my father," Jason said. "First I need to speak with you and Dai." He looked apologetically at Ex.
Mouth quirking, Ex stood up and shook their hands across the table. "Oddly enough, waiting until tonight to leave gives me plenty of time for some interesting conversations of my own. I will see you tonight."
"Come on," Jason said when they were alone. "I hate to be dramatic and mysterious, but there's someone you need to meet first, at my new office. I'm not having this conversation here."
Sharing a baffled look with Dai, growing increasingly concerned with Jason's strange behavior, Jet nevertheless followed him quietly out of the room. He gave in to a sudden impulse and stepped close to take Jason's hand. Jason looked at him in surprise for a moment, then smiled and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Almost done, I promise, and then we won't have to think about anything except what drinks we want brought to us on the beach."