Before she had a chance to answer, the sound of a throat clearing broke the anticipatory silence. When he glanced toward the door, a smile broke out across his face. “Hi.”
Ash leaned his long torso against the doorframe, and although to the average bystander he might seem relaxed, Drew knew better. Those broad shoulders strained, tense and tight against his shirt, while his silvery eyes glittered with repressed emotion Drew had become too familiar with. It hurt to see Ash so wary around him. Especially after all they’d shared.
“I didn’t see you for a while and wondered if everything was okay.” Ash’s gaze settled on Rachel. “I’ll leave you two.” He turned to go.
“No, please.” Rachel jumped up and gave Drew a quick hug. “We’re finished, and I’m leaving.” When she passed Ash in the doorway, she stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips to his cheek. “He’s all yours.”
Rachel disappeared down the hallway, but Drew only had eyes for Ash.
It didn’t come to him like a big bang, with the proverbial trumpets blaring. Ironically, the quiet intensity of it made it so much more real and potent. His chest ached, and his heart raced. Every hair on his body rose and quivered, his skin prickling at the mere thought of Ash’s touch. He longed for this man. Never in a million years had he thought another person could turn him inside out so the absolute rawness of his feelings lay right at the surface of his skin.
And the fact that he was drawn to a man? Irrelevant. The strength of that hard body coupled with the softness of Ash’s touch nearly had him whimpering out loud with repressed desire.
He loved him.
Tonight, he’d tell him. Tell this wonderfully complex man, who was brave yet fearful, honest yet still so hurt and hidden, that he loved him with all his heart.
Drew held out his hand. “I’m glad you came to find me. It’s nice to have a moment of time together, without all the negative judgment surrounding me.”
Ash pulled Drew into his chest, and Drew sank into the embrace, resting his chin on Ash’s shoulder, while their hips and groins nestled together in a familiar position. Nothing gave him peace and contentment like being held in Ash’s arms.
“Is everything all right with you and Rachel? Is she okay with us?” Ash’s hands massaged Drew’s back in a soothing circular motion.
He smiled against Ash’s shoulder. “Yeah. She is. I think it’s all going to be fine.”
A brief press of lips against the top of his head and then Ash stepped away. “We should go back.” His normally unruffled voice sounded ragged and harsh. “People want to talk to you.”
Bemused, Drew nodded but slipped his hand into Ash’s and tugged. “Together, right?”
“Yes. Of course.”
They walked back into the living room, and he found himself surrounded by his friends. Peter and his wife were there, as well as Ryder Daniels and his husband, Jason Mallory. They’d brought along Connor Halstead, who, as a Legal Aid attorney, had become an invaluable resource to them in navigating the convoluted mess of the child welfare system. Connor’s wife Emily had recently given birth to their first child and chose to stay home.
Drew returned to his grandmother’s side and found her in an earnest conversation with Jordan. Upon his approach, Jordan’s expression shuttered, returning once again to an impenetrable icy shield.
Rachel tapped a glass filled with sparkling champagne. “Quiet, everyone.” She raised the glass in a toast. “To my darling brother, Drew, whom I love with all my heart.” She hugged him tight. “I hope you have your heart’s desire. I love you so much.”
Drew squeezed her close. “I love you, baby girl,” he whispered into her hair, loving her clean, fresh scent. “I’m working on it.”
He hugged her hard. After filling a flute with the golden bubbly wine, he raised his glass in a toast.
“Thank you to all who helped me through this, no matter how big or small a part you played. You must know how invaluable you’ve been to my psyche. Whatever’s left of it.”
Everyone laughed, and then he continued. “An extra-special thanks to my family, who stood by me from the beginning to now, the way families should, whether or not they agree with what I did.” He raised his glass. “To family.”
“To family,” everyone shouted.
Drew had finished his glass of champagne when there was a loud crash, then the sound of breaking glass from the far window of the living room. Rachel and Lisa screamed while his grandmother looked about, a confused expression on her lined face.
On the floor of the living room was a large brick with a paper tied to it. Keith raced over to where the brick landed. “Drew, do you have any plastic gloves and a clear plastic bag?”
Drew ran to the kitchen and opened the cabinet doors under the sink. He always kept a supply of gloves for cleaning the litter box, so he grabbed a pair along with a plastic bag, then sprinted back to the living room and handed them to Keith. He pulled them on and slipped the note out from under the twine.
They all crowded around Keith to read over his shoulder. Drew saw the bold black letters, and his blood ran cold.
Next time the old lady won’t be so lucky. Close down that faggot clinic.
They all stared at each other. Keith slid the note into the plastic bag and handed it to Drew. “Take this and call 911. Tell them what happened and that I’m here at the scene, off-duty but with my weapon.” He then pulled out his service revolver and motioned everyone away from the window.
Drew made the call and returned to the living room. Keith instructed them to stay away from the window, then went downstairs to meet the police officers. Red lights flashed against his windows from the street, indicating the police cruiser had arrived. After about twenty minutes Keith came back upstairs, in full police mode.
“Drew, have you had any threats at the clinic before?” Keith had his little black notebook with him, and his laser sharp eyes never wavered from Drew’s face.
“No. Never. Everyone in the neighborhood has been so supportive.” There had to be something else. He remembered when his grandmother was hospitalized and the two young men who pretended to help her with gardening but shoved her around. “What about the two kids who pushed her around the night she fell ill? You know those kids in Stevie’s neighborhood have hassled him about working at the clinic with me.”
Keith made a note. “And we know their penchant for violence. It’s a good place to start. I’ll talk to them tomorrow then take Esther to the station and have her look at some pictures. I wanted to wait until she was stronger, but I think we have to move fast on this.”
Drew’s lips tightened. “Don’t let her stay too long. She won’t admit it, but she still gets tired.”
Keith patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. She’s special to me too. To all of us.”
Drew smiled briefly, and then he searched the room until he found his grandmother sitting with Ash and Rachel. His heart squeezed.
His family. He’d do anything to protect them.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Esther, are you well? Would you like a drink of water?” Ash sat at her side, worry gnawing away at his stomach. Nothing could happen to her. Nothing.
“I’m fine, Asher. Really. Why is everyone hovering around me?” Her lips thinned as her eyes narrowed with irritation. “I’m sure it was some neighborhood kids. They do these things all the time. What they need is strong family guidance and a place where they can play or read.”
Her naïveté was sweet, but Ash knew better. For some reason, Drew was being targeted. If it was only the brick, maybe it wouldn’t have raised his warning flag, but the fact that there was a note scared him. They’d already had one close call with Esther.
“I’m sure you’re right.” He stood and kissed her cheek, and he and Rachel exchanged knowing looks. With a brief nod, he threaded his way around the groups of people standing about. The two police officers were taking statements from everyone and were in the process of interviewing Drew, so he joine
d Peter and his wife, Lisa, as they waited their turn.
“Hi, you two.” He kissed Lisa’s cheek. “Sorry for the extra entertainment this evening.”
“Oh, Ash, what’s happening? I heard that the note mentioned the clinic. Are you in any kind of danger?” Her green eyes clouded with worry, and she gripped his arm.
Even after all these years, he couldn’t stand being touched, even if he knew the person as well as Lisa. He stiffened and gently shook her off, hoping he didn’t offend her. “I don’t really know, but yes, it’s meant as some sort of intimidation against the clinic.” The worry wasn’t for himself. He didn’t spend as much time at the clinic as Drew or Rachel did, or the kids who volunteered, making them easy targets for this kind of hate crime. The thought of something happening to Drew kicked his adrenaline into high gear. Spots danced before his eyes, his vision grayed, and a roaring sounded in his ears.
“Ash, Ash, are you all right? Here, sit down.” Peter took him by the shoulder. The touch wasn’t right. It wasn’t Drew. Oh God, if anything happened to Drew, he knew he couldn’t survive the loss. “No,” he rasped out. “I need to find Drew. I need to tell him something.”
An earnest-looking young police officer was still interviewing Drew, so Ash could only watch him from afar as the thoughts tumbled around in his head. When had this man become so important to him, and why? Mr. Frank, as usual, had been right all along. Somewhere along the way, the need for human touch, to feel warmth had returned to his soul.
“Ash? What’s going on?” Stevie’s voice pierced through his internal musings.
“What are you guys doing here?” Ash saw not only Stevie, but also Javier hovering by his side, a fierce, protective expression on his face. “Are you two dating?” His lips tugged up in a smile.
Javier scowled. “Don’t make fun, man. It’s all right. We’re having a good time together, right?” Javier took Stevie’s hand, and Stevie blushed a bright red.
Stevie’d had a crush on the older boy for several months now, so it made Ash happy that they’d gotten together. Stevie needed a strong male protector to teach him how to stand up for himself.
“But what’s going on? We were biking by and saw the cop cars.” Stevie surveyed the room. “Did anyone get hurt? Is Dr. Drew okay?”
Ash patted him on the back, happy to notice that Stevie didn’t seem as bony as he had a few months ago. “Everyone’s fine. It’s a brick thrown through the window with a threatening note attached. You remember Keith, right? He called the police to come down.”
Instead of looking scared, Stevie looked thoughtful. “Is Dr. Drew gonna have to close down the clinic?”
“Why would you ask that?” It was a strange question coming from Stevie, especially since the note had mentioned that very thing. “Have you heard something, maybe out on the streets?”
All at once, Stevie’s nerves seemed to get the better of him. “No, I don’t know nothing.”
Ash steered him over to the sofa and sat next to him. “Don’t be afraid of anything. If you’ve heard something, anything, let me know. You should talk to Keith again.”
“Now?” Stevie gulped, his wide eyes darting to where Keith stood, talking to one of the officers.
“Don’t worry,” Ash soothed. “I’ll be right here while you talk to him.”
“O-okay,” Stevie stuttered.
Ash motioned over Keith, and Drew followed from behind.
“Keith, remember Stevie?” Ash took the boy by the shoulders. “He said he may have heard something on the street about the clinic.”
“Sure I do. Hi, Stevie.” Keith smiled, and Ash caught Stevie’s eye and nodded.
“Don’t be afraid. You’ve spoken before, and nothing bad happened to you. Tell Keith what you know.”
Javier moved in next to Stevie and held his hand. “Go on, tell ’em everything you heard.”
Stevie took a deep breath. “Um, well, you know the two guys who always give me trouble, right?”
Ash was only too well acquainted with those punks. “Yes.”
“I heard them talking about how they didn’t like having so many queers in the neighborhood now. That Dr. Drew should leave before something bad happens.”
Ash’s chest tightened as Keith spoke. “Did they talk about hurting anyone or doing something to the clinic?”
“No.” Stevie tucked his hair behind his ear. “But they keep telling me that Dr. Drew ain’t gonna be around much longer; then I won’t have any friends.”
Javier put his arm around Stevie’s thin shoulders. “Don’t you worry. I’m here, and Dr. Drew and Dr. Jordan ain’t closing down the clinic, right?”
Ash’s nod was emphatic. “Absolutely not. Don’t you worry, Stevie. Go get something to eat, then go home, all right?”
“Okay, if you say so.” Stevie let himself be led away by Javier but kept shooting troubled looks over his shoulder.
“What do you think?” Ash turned back to Keith, who put a finger up in a “just wait” gesture as he finished jotting down notes.
“I think,” Keith said grimly, “the time has come for me to pay these boys a little visit and make them see the errors of their ways.”
“I’ll come with you.” Ash jumped up from the sofa, anxious to get going and confront the bastards who had not only terrorized Stevie, but also may have hurt the people he loved.
Keith walked toward the front door with the police officers, and Rachel cleaned up the glass from the floor. Most of the guests had left after making their statements to the police, and only Drew and his friends remained, along with Esther and Rachel. Ash joined them, coming in on the tail end of an argument between Esther and Drew.
“Nana, look. I have to go. I’m sure it’s those two punks who are always harassing that boy Stevie who threw the brick. If they’re the ones who hurt you and are also planning something against the clinic, I need to know.”
“Let the police do their job. You could get hurt.” Her eyes bored holes into Ash. “Tell him, Asher. Tell him not to go.”
He opened his mouth, only to be cut off by Drew. “Not you too. Are you going to try and tell me what to do?”
Ash had never seen Drew so upset. “Wait, let me talk.”
“No, Ash. You’re as bad as they are, trying to tell me what to do. I won’t let them destroy what I worked so hard for. They’re only a couple of punks. I can handle them. It’s my clinic and I need to confront them and show them they can’t run me out, despite their threats.”
Without waiting for anyone to speak, Drew ran out of the apartment, and within minutes, Ash heard a car engine revving up, tires squealing down the street. “Damn it. I’m going after him.” He remembered he didn’t have his car. “I need a ride, please,” he heard himself begging, and didn’t care. Drew had run off, spoiling for a fight, and as hopped up and angry as he might be, Ash knew he wasn’t capable of handling a physical altercation with two teenage punks.
Keith waited by the front door. He was on his phone, calling his partner, Jerry Allen, to let him know what was happening and to meet them at Stevie’s apartment building. Jordan yelled out. “Come on, let’s go.”
Ash bent down and kissed Esther’s cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he comes home safe and sound.”
She held him close. “Please. You children are all I have.”
He hugged her, then broke away and ran after Keith and Jordan.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Drew knew Stevie’s address from the forms the boy had filled out prior to his starting work at the clinic. It didn’t take him more than fifteen minutes to reach Stevie’s foster home in the forbidding area in Red Hook, in one of the hulking projects. He swallowed his nerves and stormed up the path leading to the front of the apartment building. Drew figured he’d start with Stevie’s foster parents, as they might know where he should start looking for the neighborhood boys.
After waiting for several minutes for them to answer the security buzzer, it became apparent no one was home, so
he chose to wait in his car. It only took another five minutes of him ignoring several texts and phone calls from Ash before the two punks came swaggering up the street.
He exited the car and met them in the front of the apartment building. “You’re Jimmy and Donny, right?” They looked at each other in surprise, and Drew could see right away Jimmy was the leader of the two.
“Who the fuck are you?” The boy’s hands balled into fists as he strutted up to Drew.
“I’m Dr. Drew Klein. Stevie works for me.”
Jimmy’s sneering face grew even uglier. “Oh yeah? What’s he do for you, suck your dick? Are you a fucking queer too?” The boy had several inches and about twenty pounds on Drew, and shoved his face up close in an attempt to intimidate him. “We don’t need no more fags, so you need to get outta here.”
Drew prayed his voice wouldn’t shake when he spoke. “I’m not closing down the clinic, and we aren’t going anywhere. So tough shit and get used to it, punk.”
Sirens wailed in the distance. The two young men muscled their way up close to Drew, pushing him until his back pressed uncomfortably into the stairway post.
“Listen, Dr. Queer. We’re telling you to get the fuck out of our hood, or we’re gonna torch the place, and maybe you might still be inside.” Jimmy’s laugh rang out into the night like an evil carnival clown’s. “Maybe we’ll pay your dear old grandma another visit.”
Drew’s blood ran cold, and a red veil of anger descended over him. “I knew it was you two who went to her house.” The thought that Nana had trusted them, and they’d almost killed her emboldened him. “You fucking bastards, you dared to put your hands on her? You almost killed her, you sons of bitches.”
Drew never saw the punch coming. A hard, heavy fist connected with his cheek, and he saw stars. Though his head still reeled from the punch, the knowledge that these boys could’ve killed his grandmother spiked his adrenaline and he charged at the two young men.
A Walk Through Fire Page 25