A Dangerous Game (27 page)

Right now Wren had other things on his mind, like the bus that was due to arrive from Minnesota in just a few minutes. Rufus was on that bus, homeward bound after a six-week stint in rehab examining his own motivations for why he had become an addict and why he had worked so hard, for the past year or so, to hide from that fact.

Martha Williams, in her own sick way and by her deadly, twisted actions, had finally made Rufus see he needed to confront himself. It was why, he said in one of the many letters he sent to Wren from Minnesota, he could not permit himself to love.

But now he had faced himself and come away stronger, armed with tools that would not only help him keep clean but allow him to develop relationships that were more real, more mature, and based on mutual respect and yes, maybe, love.

Wren hoped he would be one of those relationships.

He moved to a bus-stop bench and sat down, sipping his coffee and enjoying the quiet of the city morning. It was only 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday. Few people were out, on foot or even in vehicles. He had peeked inside the bus station, and it too, at this early hour, was quiet, with a few sad-looking travelers asleep in plastic chairs.

Wren drank his coffee and stared up at the dull white sky, burrowing down farther into the winter jacket Linda had just bought for him at Eddie Bauer, a quilted green garment that contrasted nicely with his red hair.

Wren wanted to look good today. Rufus had told him when he was coming back to town and how, but also that he had no expectations. Meeting his bus would be a surprise, Wren’s way of saying “I waited for you.”

He realized Rufus might have changed during this period. Wren accepted the fact that the man who stepped off the bus this morning might not be the same man who had left on it six weeks ago. Self-realization changed a person, and sometimes, with growth like that, allegiances and attractions shifted—or vanished.

Wren himself had changed a lot during the aftermath of Martha Williams’s arrest. He’d had to lie low for a while, bombarded as he was with requests by the media for interviews and curiosity seekers who came to the supermarket to have a look at the bag boy who had been caught up in the sensational “Gay-for-Pay” murders, as they were being called, and the female serial killer at its epicenter.

It wasn’t that hard to do. The glamour of a grocery store worker who lived with his mother in an apartment hotel was not all that exciting. Much to Wren’s relief, the thrill seekers quickly moved on to other crimes and tragedies in a city where there was no shortage of each.

He settled into a quieter life, one that wasn’t characterized by partying or promiscuity as it once had been, but one that was more centered on who he was. Wren had started taking cooking classes at Kendall College in Evanston and was working toward one day becoming a chef. He spent most of his time with Linda or writing to Rufus, reassuring him that someone back in Chicago was waiting for him, was there for him.

Although Rufus chronicled his journey of self-discovery in language that was smart, economical, and often moving, he seldom said much about what had happened that horrible, hot morning when he had almost been killed. Worse, he seldom said much about the love he had admitted for Wren during those stressed-out days.

Wren knew he would have to accept whoever stepped off the bus and would do so with grace. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to get the two of them back to where they were before Rufus went away.

He glanced down at his watch and saw that it was almost six twenty. The bus should be pulling into the station any minute now. Wren finished his coffee, threw the cup in the trash, and headed through the station to meet the bus.

Wren watched as the big blue and silver bus maneuvered into its slot, wondering if Rufus would be tired and grumpy, if he would look different. He supposed not, since Rufus had—as far as he knew—stayed away from cocaine since far before he had gone to rehab. He had just never learned how to deal with the demands of the addict inside him properly.

Wren leaned against the wall, watching as the passengers disembarked, all looking a little disoriented from the 500-plus mile trip.

He watched a mother and two small children get off, followed by a couple of old men, a guy in a Navy uniform, a woman who looked like someone’s grandma, and then, finally, there was Rufus.

He didn’t look any different. Same lanky frame, same wheat-colored hair, tiny moustache, and goatee. His dark blue eyes razored through the tendrils of fog still clinging to the dirty concrete, searching.

For Wren?

Wren wanted to clutch his heart but knew such a move would be melodramatic, requiring the accompaniment of surging violins. So he simply remained in the shadows, admiring the man he loved and thinking of why he loved him—because he was beautiful, because he was sexy, because he was creative, because he was a bit of a bad boy, but most of all, because he was kind. He was kind enough to offer compassion to a wounded woman who was also a killer, a woman who had stolen the lives of his friends.

A guy like that had to have a lot of heart.

And when it came to hearts, Wren thought, grinning, size definitely did matter.

He stepped out of the shadows just as a beam of sunlight broke through the clouds, and Rufus saw him. Rufus’s blue eyes lit up, and his lazy grin lifted a corner of his mouth.

Wren moved forward, knowing that, somehow, everything was going to be okay.

More from Rick R. Reed

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But when he loses his wife, Dane finally confronts his attraction to men. And a new teacher, Seth Wolcott, immediately catches his eye. Seth himself is starting over, licking his wounds from a breakup. The last thing Seth wants is another relationship—but when he spies Dane on his first day at Summitville High, his attraction is immediate and electric.

As the two men enter into a dance of discovery and new love, they’re called upon to come to the aid of bullied gay student Truman Reid. Truman is out and proud, which not everyone at his small town high school approves of. As the two men work to help Truman ignore the bullies and love himself without reservation, they all learn life-changing lessons about coming out, coming to terms, acceptance, heartbreak, and falling in love.

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But this opposites-attract tale does not run smooth. What happens when Arliss is approached by one of the biggest porn producers in the business? Can he make his dreams of stardom come true without throwing away the only real love he’s ever known? This question might not even matter if the mysterious producers realize their dark intentions.

Henry Appleby has an appetite for life. As a recent high school graduate and the son of a wealthy family in one of Chicago’s affluent North Shore suburbs, his life is laid out for him. Unfortunately, though, he’s being forced to follow in the footsteps of his successful attorney father instead of living his dream of being a chef. When an opportunity comes his way to work in a real kitchen the summer after graduation, at a little Italian joint called Fiorello’s, Henry jumps at the chance, putting his future in jeopardy.

Years ago, life was a plentiful buffet for Vito Carelli. But a tragic turn of events now keeps the young chef at Fiorello’s quiet and secretive, preferring to let his amazing Italian peasant cuisine do his talking. When the two cooks meet over an open flame, sparks fly. Both need a taste of something more—something real, something true—to separate the good from the bad and find the love—and the hope—that just might be their salvation.