“Oh, and Chase,” Seth added, though his eyes never left James’s. “For all you knew, you could have messed up an attempt to get things in order for an actual proposal. Did it even cross your mind that if I was to get married, it would be to James, not some random mystery man?”
“I—um, no. Oh man! Were you going to propose to James? Please tell me I didn’t really screw that up for him,” Chase ranted. James and Seth had already discussed this, but watching Chase squirm was almost too much for James.
“No, and we already talked that out as well,” he explained before again addressing James.
“But, baby, why were you lying down in Chase’s lap? Your eyes look a little swollen,” Seth added and gently touched James’s face just below his right eye.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he replied and turned his head away from Seth’s touch.
“No, something is obviously wrong if you are trying to hide your face from me. What else happened? And where’s Rhys?” Seth asked, looking around suddenly.
Chase reached out and patted James’s arm. “I got this one, hun. Seth, he got another threat, but this one’s a bit different. I didn’t meet this Rhys person, he left just before I got here, but I know your guy’s partner is outside somewhere.”
As he continued to explain, Chase pulled out his cell and started tapping the screen. After a moment he handed it to Seth. He wrapped his arms around James and pulled him back against him as Seth looked at the image. Giving a squeeze to James, Chase continued, “James had Rhys text me a picture of the threat. I’m assuming he didn’t send you one, or you’d know already, but um, Seth? Is your guard friend enough to protect Jamie?” he added, his voice slightly higher and faster than normal.
James watched as Seth stared at the little screen. He wanted Seth to say it would be alright, but he was too nervous to speak right then. Too many negatives running through his head: What if this is simply too much to deal with? Would he take Danni and leave for their safety? Will he leave me now?
Seth’s face twisted in a deep scowl as he looked from the cell to James and back. “Where is this photo from?” he thundered. “When did you ever look like this and by whose hand?”
Before James or Chase could answer, Seth was up, pacing the great room in long jerky steps. Voice so soft he was surprised Seth heard him, James replied, “Um, that’s part of why Rhys left, sir. That’s a police photo from the first time 911 was called in after the ‘accident.’ The only people to have that picture would be the police and maybe the lawyers from the case.”
“What about in all that stuff you gave Mel a couple months ago? He didn’t let me look through the files, something about client confidentiality,” Seth added with a grunt.
“No. Not this one. I don’t know how someone got it but, um,” James paused, not meeting Seth’s eyes as he chewed on the side of his mouth.
“Um, what, pet?” Seth said, his voice obviously strained but controlled.
“Did you read the caption, yet?”
Seth closed his eyes tight for a moment, then opened and fidgeted with the cell again.
All Faggs Should Die!
Stay away from descent people & children or this will be nothing compared to what will happen!
Die pervert!!!
“But it’s Sunday. How was this delivered?” Seth mumbled. “Never mind.”
He pulled out his phone and started dialing. “Rhys? Yeah, what is going on and why is James unprotected?” Seth demanded into the cell. Seth continued to pace while he ranted at Rhys. The worry lines between his eyes and across his forehead seemed to etch deeper the longer he talked. He nearly wore out a path from the great room to the front windows before he finally ended the call.
James knew his eyes swam with unshed tears, but he feared what Seth would decide. If he was really a target for some radical homophobe, it wasn’t safe for Danni to be around him or his home. It broke his heart to think of giving up the little family that had dropped on him. He loved Seth and was quickly falling for the little pixie that he read to and tucked in every night. He knew it hadn’t been long but dammit, he did not want to lose them! Either of them.
They sat together for a long time, James wrapped in Seth’s arms as they talked and waited for Rhys and his brother Dal Sayer, the cop, to arrive at the house. They had managed to placate Seth about Rhys leaving by showing him that there was someone outside from Rhys’s security and that there was a uniform watching the house while he was gone—though neither James nor Chase knew how he’d managed to pull that off.
James heard Rhys’s motorcycle pull up outside at the same moment he was sure Seth had lost his mind.
“With everything that’s happened and the threats, do you think we should at least call your folks, James? I know you are not close, but they should know about the threats, at least.”
Twin incredulous looks pinned him to the couch. “Are you serious?” James asked at the same time Chase asked, “Are you nuts?”
“But they’re his family. They are your family, baby. What?” he added defensively when both men continued to look at him with worried glances—the kind given when you aren’t sure if the person is crazy or possibly suffering dementia, because they obviously aren’t in the same reality you are.
“Why on earth would they care, Seth? They didn’t when I was hurt before. Any of the times before,” James added, his voice rising with a slight maniacal ring all of a sudden. “Rape. Beatings. Hell, they didn’t even visit when I was in ICU after Victor attacked me while I was driving. It was raining but he still thought it was a good idea to hit the driver. He walked away with minimal injury. I was in a coma for two weeks, ICU for five days more after that, and in the hospital for what, a month total? That’s not even discussing wheelchair or therapy time. Not once did they call, visit, or send a card. So why? Why the hell would I call and tell them some psycho agrees with them? That I really am just a sick pervert who never should have existed!”
“James,” Chase whispered.
“I didn’t mean to say all that. Oh God,” James groaned. He clasped his hand over his mouth, mortified at what he’d just revealed to Seth. Chase had been the only person to know the level of his parents’ hatred and disappointment in him. At least I didn’t tell him that my father even tells people he only has one son, he added mentally.
Seth sat in stunned silence as he stared blankly at James, seemingly unsure of how to respond to what he had revealed.
Chase glowered over James’s shoulder at Seth and tipped his head, motioning toward James. Seth reached out, slowly, to pull James into his arms. “I didn’t know, baby. I am so sorry for bringing them up, but James,” Seth said, his voice soft but sure. “You do have a family, one that loves you very much,” he added.
“No, I have a—friends,” James corrected, leaving Seth to wonder what he had originally intended to say. “Some I even let close to me. And I have a lover that has a daughter to think about. But my family, the people who should be there no matter what, can’t see who I actually am. They are too busy hating the gender of whom I love, Seth.”
“No baby, you have a family. Chase, Danni, me,” he added, brow arched, daring James to argue the definition of family he set forth. “Probably others if you would let people get close to you.” He held up a hand to stall the argument he could see James formulating. “Yes, you have reasons to not trust, but you still build walls around yourself that block the very people who would be there for you, if you’d only allow.”
“Seth,” James said, but then they all heard a knock on the door. “Never mind. Rhys is back so we can focus on the current hate instead of my past.”
“Look Seth, I’ll go let your guard and cop in. You two figure out how you want to deal with the threat right now. And Seth,” Chase added softly. “Don’t push him on his bio-tards. They’re even worse than he said.” With that confusing statement, Chase turned and headed to the front door.
Chapter 17
RHYS entered the great room f
irst, followed by Dal and Chase. James had seen that look on Chase’s face before and had to work hard not to grin. He knew the topic at hand was not a pleasant one, but the mingled look of lust and fear on Chase’s face was wonderful to see again. He knew how rarely someone actually got to Chase, almost never, but it looked to him like Rhys might just be a possibility. Thought so.
No one else seemed to notice the wide-eyed look Chase shot James before he cleared his throat and practically ran to the kitchen, claiming he needed to get drinks for everyone.
“That was Chase, if you’re wondering,” James said and gestured to the fleeing form of his best friend. “And you both know Seth Burns already.”
Now that Chase no longer distracted him, he took in Officer Dal Sayer and nearly swallowed his tongue. Dressed like Rhys instead of in his uniform, Dal stood before him with his leather jacket in hand, a tight red T-shirt on with body-hugging jeans and chunky black leather boots. Add in the wide leather bands at his wrists, the shoulder holster, and the tattoo peeking out from under his shirtsleeve—just like on Rhys—and you had a somewhat smaller version of intimidating maleness. He hadn’t realized how alike they were. Dal was shorter by a couple of inches, and his muscles were less bulk, more tone, though.
“Rhys. Officer Sayer. Welcome to my home.”
“I’m not in uniform, Mr. Bryant, so no need for officer. Just call me Dal, please. May we sit?” Dal asked, gesturing to a couple of chairs in the room.
“Of course,” James said with a nod. “But, if you’re Dal, shouldn’t I be James?”
Dal smiled and gave a sharp nod.
Once they were seated, Seth spoke. “I don’t like that you left James here, Rhys. You are supposed to guard him, not run off when something happens.” His voice was cold, angry, and James was glad it wasn’t aimed at him.
“You hired me to protect James and Danni,” Rhys countered and scowled. “I was doing just that. Mark is outside, keeping anyone not authorized to be here away. I would not have left James and his friend unprotected, and you know it!”
Seth seemed to think for a moment, looked out the back window, then nodded.
“Now, to address the actual issues. Not long after you left, the neighbor woman from across the street stopped by with a letter for James. She said it was in her mail by mistake and wanted to return it. She was dressed up and in a hurry but insisted that I take him the mail if I wasn’t going to let her do it herself. She left muttering about bossy men and mailmen that can’t read.”
“That’s Mrs. Jazz. She’s very,” James paused to think about how to describe her. “She’s a very driven woman. Be glad she decided you were a respectable person, Rhys. She is a serious handful if she’s on a crusade,” he added with a chuckle.
“Crusade? Is it possible she, this Mrs. Jazz, is in on the threats?” Dal asked.
“No. She sits on the board for the new GLBTQ Teen Center that opened about a year back. Her twin sister is a lesbian and so she decided to sponsor, support, push for, et cetera, anything promoting equality and support for those like us. Well, other than the good officer here, anyway,” James added. Seth had mentioned Rhys was gay but as far as he knew, Dal was straight.
Seth and Rhys looked toward the front of the house as if they could see over to the Jazz house. “That was Cynthia Jazz?” Rhys asked.
“It was. Let her know you’re a gay man and a bodyguard-slash-investigator and she’s likely to hit you up for mentoring at the shelter.”
“That’s great to know, but can we get back to the threat and deal with donations later?” Seth snapped. “What took so long?”
“Sorry, sir,” James murmured.
“What took so long,” Dal explained, seemingly unaffected by Seth’s irritation, “was researching the details of the case the threat photo was from. The only officer on record as having accessed your materials, other than the recent case—the one where Mr. d’Leone was finally convicted of felony battery—is an Officer Delanco. I’ve got someone looking into why he would have been in your case file.”
James paled and audibly swallowed before he spoke. “Mike Delanco?” James’s voice thinned and cracked on the name. Three heads turned to look at him, and he was certain Chase was probably staring at him from behind.
“Yes,” Dal and Rhys said together.
James started shaking his head. He could see and feel the tremble in his hands as he fought the sudden rush of memories he’d hoped never to suffer through again. Before he could descend into a full-blown panic attack, he felt two sets of hands on him. He stiffened at the touches but quickly realized it was Chase and Seth trying to comfort him.
“What the hell,” Rhys thundered.
“Mike was one of Ty’s sharing buddies back in the days that James still lived at home,” Chase said, staring daggers at the men. “He’s a cop now?”
Dal nodded, his face pinched with worry.
“Figures a rapist would get himself into a position of power over others,” Chase growled.
“That’s a pretty serious accusation to level, Mr. Manning.” Dal’s voice was cold and tight.
“It’s a fact!” Chase snapped. “Ty abused James when he was still in high school. If James didn’t do, and I mean that literally, anything and anyone Ty told him to, he’d beat and rape him or hold him down so the buddy could. Athletes, mostly football, versus an artist whose joints dislocate if you handle him too harshly…. Who do you think won? Huh?”
James wanted to ask them to stop talking about him like he wasn’t there, but couldn’t seem to find his voice, so instead he continued to watch and listen in a detached fog. On some level, he knew Seth and Chase would be worried that he’d phased out again, but nothingness was better than hell.
Dal’s mouth gaped open, but he said nothing. It was clear he had no idea the kind of person he worked with or the history of the person he was attempting to defend.
“No formal accusation was made. He would have never made it into the academy otherwise.”
“True, but that was because James never went to the cops. He asked his family for help and they turned on him. Why would he have trusted the cops when he couldn’t trust his own mother or brother?” Chase spat out. “You have any idea how hard it was for me and some of our college buddies to convince James to go to the police when Vic hurt him? Or how long it had been going on before he ever spoke up?”
That seemed to jar James out of his stupor. “Chase,” James snapped. “They don’t need to hear all that and it was ages ago.”
“No. If what he said is true,” Dal paused, staring at James until he gave a slow nod. “Then it’s important we know. Doing background checks on Mike wouldn’t do any good if you never reported anything. It would just lead us to the fact he was a friend of your brother’s. But what would Mike have to do with threats against you, if it was him who took the photo?” he added in a soft mumble.
Seth looked between James, Chase, and Dal before he looked over to Rhys. “Is it possible that the threats are coming from James’s own brother and friends? And if so, why?”
“I can’t believe that, Seth. My brother wrote me off the moment I escaped home. He has never bothered with me in all this time. Why would he now?” James knew his voice bordered on begging, but he couldn’t imagine why his own brother, so many years later, would threaten him.
“I don’t know, baby,” Seth answered. “But we need to look at all possibilities. Maybe Ty is the one actually behind this. He was pissed when I had him thrown out of the restaurant after he tried to force you to leave with him.”
“Does Ty have a last name?” Rhys asked.
“His name is Tyler Webbs. He doesn’t live locally, though. He was only in town for a convention, so I doubt it’s him,” James answered.
“I might agree,” Rhys said. “But, he is the only link we know of between you and the only person on record as having accessed the case that photo came from. I know it’s frustrating, James, but let us do our job. That’s not to say we don’t wan
t any information you have, but your brother is local so it could still be any of them. They are all friends after all.”
Chase bristled at Rhys’s words. “Has anyone thought that the actual target might be Seth, not James?” he snapped, glowering between the brothers. “I mean, sure James has had trouble with guys attacking him, but that’s always been a physical thing with someone he was involved with.” At James’s huff, he amended, “Even if he was not willingly involved. Happy?”
“Sorta,” James replied but gave a small smile.
Seth stilled, then looked at Chase. “You think I have something to do with the threats against him?” His brows drew up, voice confused.
“Yes and no. I think it’s awfully strange that James has never been the target of death threats before and now the latest threat mentions him being around kids. Your daughter is the only kid who he’s really around, right?”
“Well, yes.”
“Right, so what if the threat is from the grandparents, not Jamie’s ex?”
“I, um,” Seth mumbled. He faced Rhys again. “Is it possible that they could have this Officer Delanco in their pocket? I mean, I knew they were desperate to find a way to cause trouble so they could get Danni from me but—” He paused again to think. “It’s too risky for them to do something like this,” Seth finally concluded.
“Not if they don’t know you have an in with the cops,” Dal countered. “With your status and wealth, many would assume you would rather not risk your reputation—especially with the custody case looming. There are also many who assume that love between men can’t be real or binding like het love. So, threaten your lover, get you to dump him, move back into your condo or whatever, and then it’s you alone and they can try to claim that you bounce from man to man and that you drag your poor, already heartsick child into unhealthy, short-term relationships.”
Designs of Desire Page 15