by S. J. Coles
“You’re not a man,” Torez sneered. “You’re a waste of breath. A nothing. Worthless.”
“And Melissa thinks that too, yeah? That I’m worthless? Not someone you said you were falling in love with?” A tear worked its way free of his panic-filled eyes and slid down his face to mingle with the blood on his jaw.
“She knows you’re a manipulative, self-absorbed weakling who messes with people’s heads.”
Leo’s chest heaved. His jaw was so tight that James could see the muscles in his throat standing out like cords. Torez was smiling, taking another step closer, flicking the barrel of his gun toward the railings.
“Finish it, Leo. Just let it all go. You know you want it over. You told me so once.”
When Leo glanced over his shoulder at the drop for a long, considered moment, James sprang out from behind the wall before conscious thought could stop him.
“Drop the weapon!”
Torez gaped but recovered instantly and fired. James swore and ducked behind a wall. Brick dust showered down. Torez fired again and again. He heard Leo yell and his blood ran cold. He scrambled to the edge of his cover. Leo was on the ground, crawling backward. Torez glanced frantically from him to James then aimed the gun at Leo. James fired.
The shot grazed Torez’s arm. He yelled, dropped the gun and grabbed the wound.
“Horatio Torez,” James said, pacing forward, keeping his gun trained on the older man, “You are under arrest for—”
Wildness overtook Torez’s face. He let out a roar and flung his huge frame forward. James fired, but he was moving too fast. They collided, knocking the air clean out of James’s lungs. The gun flew from his hand. James was trained, but Torez was ex-military, thick with muscle and next to unhinged. He rained down blows, connecting with James’s gut, his arms, his shoulders. James fought, but the older man landed a blow to the side of his head, making his ears ring and his vision blur.
The weight on him shifted and there was a scrape of metal on concrete as Torez grabbed James’s dropped gun.
The noise of a shot ripped everything apart. Torez howled with pain and fury. James blinked at the white, swirling sky, tasting copper. Over the ringing in his ears came the sound of sirens and screeching tires.
He sat up, his muscles screaming. Torez lay on the concrete, writhing, cursing in a weak, bubbling voice and clutching at a bloody wound in his shoulder. Leo stood a few feet away, his face ashen and Torez’s gun shaking in his hands. James tried to go to him, but his chest refused to pull in air. He got to his knees, wincing. Leo dropped the gun and sank heavily onto the concrete. James crawled toward him.
“Leo. Leo, look at me.”
His eyes were wide and fixed on Torez. His chest heaved and sweat shone on his forehead.
“Leo, breathe. Just breathe.” He reached out, his arm shaking, and put a hand to Leo’s face. His skin was cold to touch. He tried to turn his face toward him but he was frozen, staring, his swollen lips white under the smeared blood and bruises.
“Solomon!” called Gibson as she arrived at a run, taking in the scene with one furious glance tinged with obvious, angry relief. “Christ Almighty, what’s happened?”
Sheriff Coyle was right behind her, followed closely by more police officers and paramedics in yellow coats. The police quickly secured the dropped guns and the roof access door. The paramedics rushed straight for Torez, who lay moaning and bleeding all over the concrete.
“Here… I need a medic here,” James waved frantically, keeping a hold on Leo’s shoulder hoping he could keep him stable by holding on tightly enough. The second paramedic glanced at the gurgling Torez then at James’s insistent gestures and hurried over. She knelt by Leo and shone a light in his unresponsive eyes.
“He’s going into shock,” she murmured, opening her case and pulling out a foil blanket. “Please, step back, sir.”
James obeyed. Gibson’s strong grip was on his elbow, then she was helping him to his feet. “You hurt?”
He shook his head, unable to take his eyes off Leo as the paramedic wrapped him in the blanket and attempted to get a response from him as she checked his bruised mouth.
“He’s okay, James,” Gibson murmured softly, pulling him back gently. “Let them look after him. Come on. You need to get checked out yourself.”
“I’m fine,” he croaked.
“You’re bleeding,” she insisted. James lifted a shaking hand and touched the warm stickiness at his still-ringing ear. His fingers came away bloody. “Come with me to the ambulance, Agent Solomon. That’s an order.”
He allowed her to lead him to the door but didn’t look away from Leo until the wall obscured him from view.
Chapter Ten
Spring didn’t seem to be making a dent in the chill night air of Winton’s seafront. James was grateful for the bustling heat of Buck’s Bar. He nursed his half-drunk beer, ceaselessly scanning the crowded room. A man dressed as Elvis with an acoustic guitar sang Suspicious Minds on the small stage by the bar. The people gathered closest laughed, swayed and sang along.
James continued watching the door, trying not to shift too much in his seat, willing his still-sore muscles to relax. He was just about to admit defeat, finish his beer and leave, heart like a lead weight in his chest, when Leo stepped in. He was bundled in his worn, unsightly coat, a scarf the color of the sea wound around his neck. His bruised mouth was uncharacteristically grim, and a rush of guilt surged through James.
Leo scanned the bar as he began to unwind his scarf. His gaze landed on James and he froze. They stared at each other a long moment before Leo turned and strode back out into the night. James swore and hurried after him, wrestling his way through the throng of people. By the time he was out on the seafront, Leo was nowhere to be seen. James grumbled bitterly, pushing through the crowds on the promenade. He reached the pier and his heart gave a jerk when he caught sight of caramel-colored hair disappearing down the ladder that led to the beach.
James hurried after him, calling his name, catching up just as Leo stepped off onto the sand.
“You're not even going to give me the chance to apologize?”
Leo stopped with his back to him. “At last count, Agent Solomon, the numbers revealed I owe you precisely dick. I mean, I can demand a recount, but I’m pretty confident the result will be the same.”
“Do you always use sarcasm when you’re feeling vulnerable?” James said, taking a tentative step closer. “Or is that just with me?”
“Are you always this much of an asshole?” Leo said, turning flashing eyes on him.
“No. Not always,” James said softly, attempting a smile. When Leo didn’t move, he dared to get a little closer. The wind lifted the strands of hair around his face. His eyes were dull, his mouth set in unfriendly lines. James tasted guilt like copper on his tongue and fought the urge to touch him. “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked. “Maybe tip some numbers in my favor?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
James fought despair. He forced himself to focus on Leo’s eyes and not the bitter tone of his words. He searched their green depths for the spark of hope he prayed he wasn’t just imagining. “Not kidding. No.”
Leo’s face creased. “You can’t do this to me, James. You just can’t.”
“Do what?”
Leo made a noise and stared out to sea. He took a shuddering breath, blinking furiously. “You can’t pretend like everything’s fine.”
James’s limbs were heavy. “It’s not, is it?”
Leo shook his head. “I’ve been treated like shit my whole life. I’m pretty good at recognizing it.”
James bit his tongue for a moment and carefully schooled his voice. “I’m sorry, Leo. It doesn’t make it okay. But I want you to know I’m sorry.”
“Oh, I know you’re sorry,” Leo responded. “Of course you’re sorry. That’s what makes it so much worse.”
“How?”
Leo’s look was fierce. “You’re a good guy. A little repressed
and a little anal, but a good guy.” Leo took a breath. “And still you thought the worst about me. You thought—”
“Leo—” James started, feeling the words like a kick in the belly.
“It’s not you, James,” he interrupted. “It’s me. Ray was right. I’m the mess, I’m…” He shook his head angrily and turned his back. His shoulders shook in the misshapen coat. “I’m bad news.”
James put a hesitant hand on his shoulder. Leo stiffened. He didn’t turn. But James kept the hand there, and when Leo didn’t shrug it off, he stepped closer and slowly eased the smaller man back into his arms. Leo didn’t resist. After a breathless moment, he leaned into the embrace, but he didn’t remove his hands from his pockets.
They stood there for a long time. James made himself stay quiet, grateful just to be holding Leo, to be able to smell him again, to offer what reassurance he could with his arms if his words weren’t going to be enough.
“It’s my fault,” Leo murmured a long time later, his breath misting in the frigid air.
“What’s your fault?” he asked gently.
“Benson. Renny.” He choked. “Everything.”
James tilted his head slightly to press his mouth against the fragrant hair. “And how’s that?” he murmured.
The younger man took a long, shuddering breath. “I broke up with him.”
James pulled back slowly. “With Torez?”
Leo nodded. “Ray was such a sweet guy to begin with, James. You gotta understand that. Fun. A little paranoid about people finding out, for sure. I think being bi in the army was hard. And what he told me about his parents was…”
James felt more than saw him wince.
“Yeah. They were…old-school. But, you know, even with all that, he was fun.” He paused. James heard him swallow. “To start, anyway. But then he started to get weird.”
“Weird?”
Leo started to shiver, and James pressed himself closer, careful not to hold too tight. Leo stiffened but soon relaxed a little, lifted a gloved hand and laid it on James’ arm. James took the opportunity to wind his other arm around the smaller man’s waist. Leo glanced back at him, then looked forward again and continued.
“He started turning up at my apartment drunk, like he had to get the courage to come over. He flew off the handle for no reason. He would either not return my messages or get on my case for not paying him enough attention. I had to end it.”
“So, what?” James asked softly. “You think he did all this to get back at you?”
“No,” Leo replied, shaking his head. “Not directly. But to prove something to himself? Maybe.”
“You think you breaking up with him made him start an affair with the boss’s wife and hatch an elaborate, murderous plan to take over the business?”
Leo shrugged. “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds a little ridiculous.”
“That’s because it is. It’s not your fault.”
Leo pulled away, and James let him go, feeling the cold air rush between them. “You don’t know him,” he said softly. “He’s controlling. He’s defensive. He didn’t like it when I teased him. He really didn’t like it when I tried to take the lead in bed.” He touched his bruised lip unconsciously, froze then dropped his hand. “He also told me about his last ex…a guy from the army.” His eyes were far away and slightly frightened. “He was so mad whenever he spoke about him. Still so angry, even though it was years ago.” He shook his head. “I should have known ending things would send him over some kind of edge.”
James stared out to sea for a long moment. “My ex, Glen… He left me for a woman. His own ex, in fact.”
Leo’s brow creased slightly. “Oh?”
James nodded. “Yeah. We were happy, too. Really happy. I made him laugh. We were together nearly ten years. We owned a house, a dog.” James smiled crookedly. “We’d even talked about getting married. But then, one day, he decided he really did want what his family had been telling him he should want—a ‘normal’ marriage. A family. He even took the dog. They’ve got a kid on the way now.”
Leo examined his face carefully. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I’m just saying…the stuff that makes up who a person really is—what drives them, what they want—half the time they don’t even know what it is themselves. The other half they’re usually fighting it. No one else stands a chance,” James sighed and met Leo’s questioning gaze with a frank look of his own. “You weren’t able to know what he’d do.”
Leo chewed on the inside of his cheek. He stared out to sea again for a long moment then took a step closer. “Did your ex attempt to throw you off a roof?”
“No.”
“Then I think I’m one up.”
“So this is a competition now?”
“If it is, I’m winning.” He winced. “Or losing, depending on how you look at it.”
James let the cold wind sigh between them a moment, then reached into his pocket. “I’ve got something for you.” Leo frowned at the piece of paper he held out. “Our Information Services found this letter on Benson’s hard drive. There were several versions of it. Looks like he’d been working on it for a few weeks. I’m not sure if this was his final version, but it was meant for you.”
“Me?” His frown deepened. “What was Benson writing to me for?”
“Read it and find out.”
Leo eyed the letter like it would bite. “I…don’t want to.”
“It’s important—”
“Tell me what it’s about,” Leo cut in, looking at him hard.
James searched his face. “You have some idea then?”
“No,” Leo replied after a shaky pause.
James examined him a moment longer then drew a breath. “It looks like Benson knew your parents. His first wife was your dad’s ex-wife, in fact. Which made him your half-brother’s stepdad,” James watched Leo’s face, which was a hard mask, though his eyes flickered. “They married not long after she and your dad broke up. It seems they were all in a band together, back in the seventies,” James added with a corner of a reassuring smile.
“I don’t understand,” Leo said in a small voice.
James glanced at the letter. “Benson says that your dad was a good man but had a way of…letting things slide, through no real fault of his own. Your dad had been drinking, yes? The night of the car accident?” Leo’s face went white. James continued hurriedly. “Sounds like Benson was very fond of him, though sad about the pain he sometimes caused without meaning to.”
Leo’s eyes were wide, frosted with barely contained feeling. His lips were pressed together. “Why would he tell me all this?” he forced out.
“Benson wanted to tell you that you have a job with his company for life,” James said, holding the letter out again. “He left strict instructions. Boon and Michaels now have joint management and a contract that says your job is safe for as long as you want it.”
Leo took the piece of paper tentatively. It whipped about in the wind. He grabbed it firmly with both hands, skimmed it with a tight expression then stuffed it inside his coat. He swiped at his face with his sleeve, muttering.
“Did you know?”
Leo shook his head “No. At least…no, I didn’t know. There was something about the way he looked at me when I first got hired.” Leo’s gaze was far away. “I couldn’t figure it out. But he gave me a job. I didn’t question it.” He frowned slightly. “I’ve had a couple of voicemails from Frank since last week. My brother. I haven’t listened to them.”
“He’ll be coming to town for the funeral,” James ventured. “You should get in touch. Benson probably told him everything.”
Leo raised his eyes, realization dawning on his face. “Benson wasn’t going to fire Ray because of Melissa. He was going to fire him because of me, because of the way he treated me.”
“Benson cared about you,” James said softly.
“Why didn’t he say anything?”
“My guess? He didn’t want
the shareholders finding out about his rock’n’roll past.”
Leo stared into the middle distance, the streetlight from above glinting in his glasses. James searched his face for a long moment then reached out and took hold of his chin. Being careful to avoid the bruises, he turned Leo’s face toward his. After a moment, he finally focused on James, closed his mouth and swallowed.
“You’re beautiful, you know,” James murmured breathily.
Leo’s brow creased. “What?”
“I don’t think anyone’s ever made you understand that before.”
“James,” he said in a tight voice, but James cut him off by kissing him. Leo stiffened. But after a breathless pause, he began to respond. James could taste the coppery sharpness of the cut in his lip, the cigarette he’d just finished, the whisky he must have drunk before coming out. The kissed deepened. James breathed him in. Something loosened in him and he stepped closer, pressing into James and gripping his shoulders tight. Leo’s kiss grew feverish, then his hands were sliding inside James’ coat and under his jersey. James shivered as his cold hands connected with his flesh. He fumbled at Leo’s coat buttons, thrusting his own hands into the delicious warmth underneath.
Leo made a low, keening noise in his throat, almost helpless, almost plaintive, and James grew painfully hard. Not breaking the kiss, he backed Leo into the shadows below the pier and lavished attention on his throat. He ran his hands up and down his thighs, trying to tell Leo everything through touch.
“Right here?” Leo breathed in his ear as his fingers threaded in his hair. “Are you crazy?”
James didn’t respond in words and instead grazed his fingers down Leo’s torso to knead at the front of the younger man’s jeans. Leo gasped and James leaned in, pressing his erection into Leo’s thigh and fighting open his fly.
“James, wait,” Leo breathed but James was already dropping to his knees in the sand. Leo let out a strangled cry when James took him into his mouth. He tasted like mint and sea salt. James swallowed the taste greedily, working Leo with his mouth while watching his face transform. Leo slumped against the sea wall, pressing his knuckles to his mouth, stifling another moan as James took him in deeper. James didn’t let up, a desire to show Leo what couldn’t be put into words, so keen it was almost painful, tightening his insides.