A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House) (26 page)

Julian was wrong. Going back to prison wasn't the worst thing in Matt's mind, or dealing with his mother or the government interview. The worst thing that could happen to Matt was losing Julian. He hadn't actually mentioned 'forever' with Matt nor had he talked about what they would do after the renovations were completed.

He wanted Julian with him forever. He pulled Julian's arms tighter around him, stealing the warmth he always seemed to offer. He just wished that same warm feeling followed him into his fitful sleep.

Matt woke to what sounded like a muffled argument. He reached over and sat up when he noticed Julian's side of the bed was empty and the smell of coffee wafting in the air. He tried to listen more closely but couldn't make out the other voice in the hushed tones. He grabbed his phone to check the time and sighed. It seemed to have died at some point during the night. The light emanating from around the sides of the blinds indicated it was morning. He hurriedly dressed in his frayed jeans and paint-splattered T-shirt as he yawned, hoping Julian would have woken him had it been important. He tried to will himself to wake and start the day, the prospect of coffee was more enticing with each passing second. He quickly washed up in the bathroom then followed the voices to the kitchen. Well, it would officially be called a kitchen after the cabinet and sink installation at the end of the week replaced the folding table and makeshift cinder block sink holder.

"When the hell did this happen?" Julian said in a muffled yell to Alex as they stood against the farthest wall from the entrance. Julian had his back turned to the entryway and didn't see Matt enter.

"What's going on?" Matt asked as he looked at the microwave time display.
Why is Alex here?

Julian rounded, his expression tight but an obvious anger brewed beneath the surface.

Alex walked around Julian and came up to Matt. "I tried to call you," Alex said desperately.

"My phone died. What the hell is going on?"

"She froze your accounts, Matt."

Eight fifteen in the morning was too early to have a conversation without caffeine, especially one that sounded as if it was important. "What are you talking about?"

"Your bank accounts, Matt," Julian interjected. "Did you keep your accounts at the same bank as your family?"

Finally, the dots started to connect and worry seeped in. "I didn't have much of a choice, all the other banks rejected me. They wouldn't let me open an account because my credit went to shit while I was in prison and I wasn't around to take care of my account so I had all kinds of overdrawn charges and it was a mess. Top that with the financial related charges on my record and they were all avoiding me like the plague. The family bank was the only one who'd let me have an account because they knew me from before."

Matt clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to ease his desperation and calm his frantic heart rate. What had he done wrong? What did Alex mean when he said frozen? He took a deep breath. "What the hell is going on?"

"Mom had lunch with Abigail Hamilton yesterday. Do you remember her?"

Abigail. Small woman with a gift for gab and a need to share every little bit of dirt she could garner on anyone. "I remember."

"She's married to Daniel Hamilton at the bank. It's the only way I can see how they could have done this."

"Done what?" Nothing was making sense. Matt rubbed his eyes and tried to quiet the hum in his head. Julian was there at his side, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to sit. Matt fell into the chair and Julian placed a huge mug of steaming coffee in front of him.

"Mom called me last night to talk about the wedding. It was a weird conversation, started about wedding details then she was trying to find out about the will and if I knew anything. I went by the mausoleum early this morning and I heard her talking to Abigail on the phone, thanking her for having frozen your accounts. I was going to ask her about it then I saw the letter from the lawyer on the table. She's contesting Aunt Eleanor's will," Alex said in a rush of words. "So I left and came right over."

"Why?" Matt said helplessly. "What does she want? Why is she doing this?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing she's just pissed she didn't get the money." Alex pulled out the chair opposite Matt and sat with a sigh.

"She can't just snap her fingers and freeze someone's accounts," Julian said. "It's ridiculous."

Matt wished he could agree with Julian but he witnessed too many years of his mother's dire need to control everything. She had cultivated a web of people—businesses, friends, and family—who owed favors. She had somehow managed to tap into that web if she had, in fact, used her resources to do this. Matt hadn't told her about the halfway house or his plans, but her cutting off access to his own funds would undoubtedly stop him from living his life outside of her control.

He quickly ran through the numbers in his head to calculate the figures of what remained, and what was needed. All of Eleanor's inheritance had been used to purchase the halfway house and he had been using the money from the sale of his condo to fund the renovations. He had enough remaining in his account to complete the renovations and have a cushion for a few months until the government funding was approved.

He knew his mother.

Even though she was interested in money, the amount of funds in his account wasn't enough to dent
her
bank account, but it was clearly enough to completely stop Matt's efforts to live his own life. The message was clear—his mother was ready to take this further and stop him and whatever he was doing against his family's wishes.

Julian unclipped his cell phone from his belt and thrust it at Matt. "Call your bank and make sure the accounts are frozen before we do anything."

Matt immediately dialed the number and, within seconds, was connected to the bank. Just as quickly, he had been informed that both his savings and checking accounts were closed for further activity. He listened patiently as the woman on the other end of the line delivered the news that sent currents of panic through his veins.

"I'd like to speak to your supervisor." His leg nervously jumped as Daniel Hamilton's assistant confirmed the account status. "I'd like to speak to Mr. Hamilton now please."

"He's away from his desk. Further inquiries of this nature must be made at the bank, sir," she responded politely, obviously new in her position and unaware of her boss's less than legal actions. He confirmed an appointment for that afternoon and calmly returned the phone to Julian.

Matt was blinded by anger, still replaying the news of his accounts and running the numbers in his head. "You have to stop working until I can get things sorted out," he finally said.

"I'm not stopping. We're on a deadline and I've got—"

"You have to stop, Julian. I can't afford to pay you!" The uncensored words were even colder in Matt's uncharacteristically angry tone.

Julian stilled as the color left his face. He pushed himself up and out of the chair and left the kitchen without uttering a single word.

"You asshole," Alex yelled at Matt as Julian left. "What the hell?"

"What?" Matt snapped.

"How can you say something like that to him?"

What had he said? Realization bitch-slapped him of the words he had said. "Shit."

He pushed his chair back and stood. He raced into their room, determined to chase after Julian and beg him not to leave. Opening the bedroom door, he expected to find Julian packing his duffle bag. Instead, Julian had changed out of his work clothes and was grabbing his wallet and keys. He cast a look over at Matt and narrowed his gaze. He grabbed a shirt from the drawer and threw it in Matt's direction.

"Get changed. We're going to see your mom."

"You're not leaving me?" Matt asked as he quickly changed his shirt.

In two strides, Julian was in his space, cupping his face, and stealing a bruising kiss that left Matt breathless.

"I know you're panicking about the money."

"Of course I am! With the accounts frozen, I can't—"

"Stop worrying about the money," Julian said softly as he stroked Matt's cheek with his thumb. "I've been working with you all these months and I've spent nothing. All that money you've paid me is sitting in my account. I have more than enough to cover us and what's left of the renovation."

Matt tried to look away, embarrassed. "But what I said to you in there—"

"I know you're upset and hurting right now. You think that crap in the kitchen is going to make me leave?"

"I don't know…I…"

"We're stopping this now. I'm tired of her doing this to you. She's fucking with your head, you money, and your house. And it's going to stop today."

Julian dropped that bombshell and left the room. Matt quickly gathered his dead cell to charge in the truck and then hurried after him.

Alex stopped him just outside the door with a firm hand on his arm. "You want me to go with you?"

Matt thought about it for less than a second. "No, but can you stay here until we get back so I don't have to lock up the house?"

"Yeah, be careful." After a one-armed hug, Matt was jumping the back steps in one go and half running to where Julian had the engine already started. Matt climbed in and buckled up, expecting Julian to pull away immediately. He didn't. Curious, Matt glanced at Julian who looked straight ahead, his flexing jaw muscles the only sign of his brewing anger.

"I'm sorry—"

His second attempt at begging was immediately cut off by Julian's words.

"Whatever happens with the halfway house, and in spite of the people who want us to be apart, I'm yours. Forever. I'm not walking out on you at the first sign of trouble."

Matt stilled when he finally heard the word he had wanted to hear for some time—
forever
. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as Julian's words filtered through his body. Nothing mattered to him more at that moment than the few simple words Julian had said.

"And another thing." Julian looked so damn pissed.

"Yeah?"

"Don't. Call. Me. Julian."

Without a chance to respond, Matt leaned back in his seat as Julian threw the truck in gear and peeled out of the small parking area.

He didn't think he had ever loved, or been loved, quite so hard.

* * * *

Matt looked over to Julian. "I know you want to storm in there—"

"Damn right I do," Julian responded with a bit more than a simmering anger.

"I need you to let me handle this," Matt said in his calming voice.

He appreciated Julian's desire to take a knife to the leash Matt's mother kept tightly on him, but he needed to be the one to slice the tie. Julian's jaw muscles flexed repeatedly. Even he couldn't contain the anger as well as he usually did.

Matt reached out and stroked the back of Julian's shaved head.

"Please, J."

Julian exhaled heavily as he parked his truck in the driveway when they arrived to the mausoleum. He waited for a moment, gripping the steering wheel, until he finally spoke.

"I swear, if she starts up with that bullshit again, I'm going to fucking lose it with her."

"I know. But please, I need to be the one who stands up to her. I need you there with me for support, but I have to be the one."

"I'm not going to let her hurt you again," Julian said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

"I know," Matt said softly, still petting Julian as if he were trying to calm a wild tiger ready to pounce.

Julian's vision snapped to Matt. "You lead, but if you need me to—"

"I will make sure to give you a sign or something," Matt finished his thought with a smile. It would be difficult to face his mother, it always was, but with Julian by his side, he was able to summon the courage he needed to knock on the door and walk through the cold walls of his parents' home. He looked over to the other cars and saw both his mom's Jaguar and his father's Rolls-Royce parked in the front of the house. They finally exited the truck and walked up to the door and knocked.

"Getting through the gate must have triggered something. Someone's got to know we're here," Julian said when no one answered.

Matt tried the handle and pushed open the unlocked door.

"She's probably got a schedule. Where would she be? It's almost nine."

Yes, his mother had a schedule and any inconvenience that didn't fit nicely in her calendar was always perceived as a problem. "Around this time she's usually in the sunroom at the back of the house having breakfast."

Matt walked with determination down the marble hallways until he reached the last room on the east wing. Opening the door, he saw the room was decorated with an array of tropical bouquets. He faintly heard a trickle of water from the small fountain in the corner. A small paradise, one his mother had kept to herself his entire lifetime. He looked over and saw his mother sitting at the circular table, sophisticatedly sipping from her china cup as she turned the page of a fashion magazine.

"Mom? What's going on? I know you froze my accounts," he stated as soon as he neared the table.

She placed the cup on the table and turned to the next page, indifferent to what Matt had said. "It's not your money. The money belongs to your father—"

"Aunt Eleanor left the money to me. She wanted me to—"

"To do what, Matthew?" she asked, finally looking up at Matt. "To help criminals?"

Matt was taken aback a moment by the radical shift in her tone. He immediately recovered and straightened, steeling himself.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out about what you were trying to do? I will not allow you to drag the family name through the dirt. Apparently you are fine with inviting thieves and other people of questionable character into your life, but I'm not," she finished with a look of distaste directed at Julian.

"Wow, lady. Are you always so damn melodramatic?"

"I can have you removed," she responded firmly.

Julian cross his arms over his broad chest and drew himself to full height. "You can certainly try."