Finding Gary (The Romanovsky Brothers Book 4) (18 page)

“But your father didn’t know you were bisexual?” Jack asked.  “In fact, you went out of your way to hide it from him completely?”

“I did.  I suppose I was ashamed.”

“And after your father beat you that night, what did you do afterward?”

“He left my bedroom to go to work—at the time; he was Head Chief at the 5th Precinct in Jersey City.  While he finished getting dressed for work, I called Gary.”

“What phone did you use to call Gary?”

“The phone in my bedroom.”

“Did you have your own phone line?”

Reggie’s eyebrows pulled.  “No.  There was one line for the whole house.”

“Objection, Your Honor.  Relevance?” The blonde defense attorney appeared disgusted.

“I assure you, my line of questioning is very relevant.” Jack smiled at the judge.  “I have a witness willing to attest that Victor King was listening in on the phone call Reggie King made to Gary that night.”

For a moment, Reggie seemed lost.  Then, his eyes widened, and he shot a horrified look at the defense table.

It seemed Victor King was just as stunned by this revelation as Reggie because he shifted in his seat.

“I’ll allow it,” the judge said.

“Reggie?”  Jack said after he’d reclaimed Reggie’s attention.  “Do you remember the conversation you had when you called Gary that night?”

Reggie, still collecting himself, cleared his throat.  “I do.”

Jack nodded, raising his eyebrows, silently urging Reggie to continue. 

So he did.  When he looked across the courtroom and caught Gary’s eyes, again, Reggie saw something there that he’d never seen before, and he knew, without words, that Gary was already back in that place.  That ugly place, ten years earlier, that had torn their friendship apart.

***

10 Years Earlier

Squinting at his reflection, Reggie guided a reticent finger to his bottom lip.  When he tapped it against the oozing opening, slicing right through the middle, he regretted it immediately.  The pain was so bad, he nearly screamed, but managed to bite it back.  Gripping the bathroom counter, he pressed his tongue against his swollen lip in apology.  His eyes traveled his face in the mirror.  The lump collecting under the skin of his temple was going to be the size of a tennis ball by morning, and so would his eye.  His eye would also be ten times darker than it was at that moment.  His deep brown skin always had a knack for bruising with more depth than most, and he knew now would be no exception.

He’d had fourteen years to learn his face, his skin, and his body.  He knew exactly how his body would respond to every uppercut, every backhand, and every gut punch. He’d already planned the various ways he would hide the evidence for school the next day, even though there was no point.  His teachers had stopped demanding he remove his sunglasses in class long ago.  They’d stopped asking him if he needed to see a nurse.  They’d stopped noticing.  That was how he’d known his father was going to win the upcoming city council election by a landslide—when the questions started petering off, and eventually stopped all together.  Gone were the days he’d been forced to piece together some bullshit reason why he had a black eye, again—excuses he’d perfected by the age of five. 

No one asked anymore.

No one dared.

Slapping off the bathroom light, Reggie moved into his bedroom, also entrenched in darkness, and didn’t have the heart to flick on the light next to his bed as he plopped down.

Assuming his father had already left for his shift at the 5th precinct, Reggie no longer moved on quiet feet or worked overtime not to make a sound as he snatched up the phone next to his bed. 

He dialed the only number he knew by heart. 

“Yo, Reggie. I was just about to call you.”

Reggie smiled, because he could hear the smile in Gary’s voice.  Then, regret dropped in.  A scowl dominated his smile the instant he realized smiling made his lip scream with ten times more pain than touching it ever could.

“Come over,” Gary said.  “Rome’s out of town.  We can swipe the caddie and go racing at Cedar’s.” 

“Out of town for what?” Reggie asked, leaning on his knees.

“I dunno, some school trip or some shit.”

“Aren’t your folks having a party right now? We’ll never get past your Pops.” 

“Already on his third beer, even though he’s got work in an hour.”

Reggie chuckled.  “Sounds like my old man.”

“He’s already kicked us all out of the living room.  Too busy trying to impress his old ass, boring ass friends.  We could walk right out the front door, jiggling the car keys the whole way, and he still wouldn’t notice us.  Come over,” Gary said again, more forcefully.

Reggie licked the cut on his bottom lip, again, eyes lifting to the full moon blaring bright in the sky.  “Give me a half hour.”

15

Gary stood at the window of the guest bedroom, twirling a small box between his fingers as he surveyed the police cruiser parked outside of his family’s Westchester estate.  From the second story window, he could see into the cruiser’s windows.  They were watching a movie on a bright laptop screen.  Gary had to wonder how thorough a job they could be doing protecting his family when they were distracted by Netflix.

He left the window with a roll of his eyes, too exhausted to let it anger him. Even if their protective detail was incompetent, Gary took solace in the fact that, at the very least, the media couldn’t get to his family.  If their estate wasn’t located in a private, gated community, the media would’ve surely set up camp on their lawn weeks ago.  With the scandal all over the news, Victor King couldn’t take a piss without it being publicized.  He’d been forced to double his secret service detail in response to the media flurry.  Gary thanked God that his family hadn’t been subjected to that, and hoped it stayed that way.

Gary moved to the king size bed and plopped down on the end of it.

The first day of court proceedings had ended with Reggie’s testimony alone, and it was now crystal clear to everyone that this trial was going to be torturously long.  Victor King was being charged with police corruption, and they hadn’t even grazed the surface of what had gone on that night when Gary and Reggie had made the biggest mistake of their lives.

Gary tried to hold himself together as he flashed back to Jack that afternoon after court was adjourned until the following week, telling him that the trial could easily stretch on for months.

Months. 

Just one day in that courtroom with Zoey, seeing the pain in her eyes, knowing he was the reason it was there, coupled with the pure agony on Val’s face every time he looked back at her, Gary wasn’t sure how much more he could take.  He just wanted to tell his story, his truth and try to find some way to move the hell on.

Jack, it seemed, had a different idea.  Along with a serious flair for the dramatic, he’d warned the Romanovskys that he liked to stack his witnesses, so the story was told chronologically, and from different perspectives.  It was the best way to strike the jury’s heartstrings; he’d claimed.  Now that the first day in court was over, Gary understood Jack’s style very well.  Amidst non-stop objections from his blonde rival at the defense table, Jack’s aim was to let the story unfold like a mystery novel.  So far, it was working.  Unfortunately for Gary, it was working at the expense of his family’s sanity.

His stomach was still sick that night, leaning on his knees at the edge of the bed he’d yet to achieve a good nights sleep in. 

He continued playing the box in his fingers.  Silver wrapping paper gleamed up at him, catching the moonlight beaming into the bedroom window.  It was the second night he’d spent in the family house, and the first night he’d declined to join them downstairs for dinner.  He doubted it would be the last.  He couldn’t bear it. 

A deep swallow raced down his throat as he stared at the gift in his hands, perfectly wrapped, just as it had been when Reggie had given it to him on his birthday.

Gary was launched back to that night Reggie had shown up to his loft.  The gifting.  The fighting.  The fucking.

His body went into overdrive, and he sucked in a breath, ripping the wrapping paper away from the box.  Tossing it away, the silver paper floated to the floor as he lifted the lid.

What he saw took his breath away.

Before he could stop himself, he jumped to his feet, grabbing his jacket and his car keys before racing out the door.

***

The crunch of wheels on dirt at Cedar’s Point cliff had always reminded Gary of a bag of chips. Not just the crinkling sound, but the feeling.  The excitement that came when he ripped the bag open, mouth watering in anticipation of the salty goodness that awaited him, the euphoria of putting the first chip on his tongue, releasing his deepest pleasure endorphins.  For the longest time, in so many ways, Cedar’s Point had been like a bag of chips to Gary.

And to his horror, he realized, as the wheels of his Mercedes came to that crinkling stop on the edge of the cliff, it still was.

He pulled his keys from the ignition; eyes riveted to Reggie’s broad back.  Sitting on the edge of the cliff, Reggie kept his back to the car, leaning on his bent knees.  He didn’t give any indication that he’d heard a car pull up, and at that moment, waiting with baited breath for Reggie to turn his head and look at him—just once—Gary knew Cedar’s would never stop giving him that amazing, endorphin-fueled feeling because Reggie had never stopped either.

Gathering all of his strength, Gary opened the driver’s door and stepped one foot out.  He stood, half his body still in the car, and clutched the door in his hand, realizing he couldn’t move another inch.

Headlights illuminating the back of his perfectly trimmed head, Reggie turned, met Gary’s eyes, and then pushed his own eyes closed.  “I’m glad you came.”

Gary stepped out of the car.  He slammed the door closed.  His jeans and t-shirt blew in the wind.

Reggie’s did too, dancing against his body the moment he stood.  They faced each other, an expanse of dirt and grass between them.  Reggie didn’t move, even as the Mercedes’s headlights illuminated the debilitating urge to do just that, shining in his eyes.

“2 a.m.… Gary played the small picture frame he held between his fingers, the frame he’d ripped the silver wrapping off of earlier that night, his green eyes ripe.  “Wasn’t sure you’d still be here.”

“Most of my epiphanies happen well after midnight, too.”  Reggie’s throat moved, and he licked his lips.  “I told you I’d wait here all night.  I’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

“Was this the one?” Gary held up the picture frame for Reggie to see.

Reggie smiled at the sight, the contrast of his stark white teeth and dark skin all the more beautiful under the moonlight.  The Manhattan skyline was barely visible as it twinkled in the distance behind him, so far away from that cliff in Jersey that, if not for the lights, it could easily vanish in the black sky.

“Took you this long to open my present?” Reggie nodded to the photo.  “I chose that picture for a reason, you know.  I wanted it to have a little extra punch once I gave my testimony.  I didn’t know it then—the night I gave it to you—but I chose that photo… because I knew I was going to testify.  I knew I would do anything to get you back on my team.  To be on your team.”

“So this was the one…” Gary looked down at the picture.  “This was the one you were looking at that night.”  He cocked his lip.  “I mean, I’ve taken better, but whatever does it for you, I guess…”

Reggie chuckled.  “I’m sure you have.  But there was something about that one…” He licked his lips, shaking his head with a squint.  “I don’t know.  Something about it…”

Gary found himself entranced by the photo of him and Reggie, ten years ago, sitting side by side on that very cliff.  Reggie had stretched his arm out and attempted to take a selfie, but the old windup cameras from their childhood weren’t quite as effective as the smartphones of today, and Reggie had only managed to capture half of Gary’s face.

Even though only one of his green eyes was visible in the picture, Gary saw the feeling there.  It was the same feeling roaring through his stomach right then.  One he was sure would be there forever.

He looked up, breathing deep.  “You should’ve told me.”

Reggie fiddled his fingers, still frozen in place.  When he tried to speak, the words he wanted to say seemed to get caught in his throat.  Then, “I couldn’t,” left his lips, so softly whispered it would’ve dissipated if the wind hadn’t been there to carry it over to Gary.

“I don’t understand.” Gary shook the picture.  “You felt this way, and…  You felt this way, but…” He pushed his eyes closed and tried to collect himself.  “I don’t understand you.”

“
I
didn’t understand me.” Reggie laughed, the headlights still blaring from Gary’s car catching the moisture collecting in his eyes.  “But I do now.  I feel like I’m awake for the first time in my life.  I feel hope, Gary, for the first time in my life because I’m no longer afraid to stand here and tell you that I love you.”

“You should have told me that night.”

“I couldn’t.  Gary, I couldn’t.  That man called me worthless.  And I believed him.”

Gary dropped the photo to his side and looked away.  His jaw tightened.  Lips went dry.  He licked them before looking back.  “You weren’t worthless to me,” he whispered, thrusting his fingers into his heart.

Reggie took a step forward.  Then, he hesitated, giving Gary a chance to stop him.  When he didn’t, the dirt was soon crunching under Reggie’s stomps, and when he was within reaching distance, he took the back of Gary’s neck and pulled him in.

Gary moaned into the gentle kiss, digging his nails into the picture frame with such vigor he nearly split the glass.  His body went still for a moment, sinking into the ticklish feeling of Reggie’s lips brushing his.  Then, Gary was lost, wrapping his arms around Reggie’s neck and parting his lips wide, his body overcome with need. 

“I love you,” Gary whispered as Reggie lowered him to the hood of the car, deepening the kiss.  His guttural moans warmed their sweeping tongues, and his gasps came deeper when Reggie climbed on top of him on the hood, angling his head to go harder.  Gary struggled to breathe under his prominent weight but still yanked, tugged, pulled him closer, digging his nails into the shirt at his back, down his arms, over the swell of his ass.

Reggie’s kisses came faster, with more fervor, and soon, Gary didn’t even notice when the picture frame dropped from his fingers and slid off the hood, tumbling to the dirt.

He was lost, taken, gone, and when Reggie whispered, “I love you, too,” Gary knew there was no turning back. 

For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to. 

***

Zoey’s wide eyes traced the wood designs on her bedroom door, wondering what kind of wood it had been before someone had slapped all that white paint on it.  Then she wondered where they’d found the poor tree that had to die so her bedroom door could live.  Then she cursed herself because she was doing a piss poor job of staying distracted.

It was only the second week, and her knees hadn’t stopped shaking.  Her fingers hadn’t stopped fiddling.  Her heart hadn’t stopped screaming.  Every electronic appliance in the house had been relocated to her bedroom in preparation for this, and they all went ignored so she could stare at her bedroom door.  The door she’d promised herself would stay closed until his hour was up.

Val had arrived less than five minutes ago, and Zoey knew there was no way on Earth she would last another forty-five minutes.  Maybe it was the stress of the trial.  How hard it had been to hear Reggie’s testimony.  The guilt she’d felt for him.

Hearing how he’d suffered, she couldn’t help but wonder if Val had suffered the same.  If Gary had suffered.  If the people she’d called her family for ten years had suffered.  When she let those thoughts creep into her head, it was always a battle to fight them away.  To remind herself that the Romanovskys were all evil.  That, to lie to her for ten years, they must’ve had the Devil’s blood staining all their veins.

When she slammed her hand down on the door handle, she cursed herself.  But that didn’t stop her legs from moving down the hallway.  She wound the gossip magazine she’d forgotten was in her hand into a tight wand, distantly fantasizing about beating the shit out of Val with it.

As she made her way toward the living room, she stopped short at the sound of Val’s voice.  Freezing in the shadows of the hallway, she pushed up against the wall and peeked around the corner.

In the living room, next to Marcus’ playpen, she caught sight of Val in jeans and a white t-shirt, with a beige fedora tilted back on his head.  He cradled Marcus on his shoulder, stroking the back of his head.  Zoey could almost feel Marcus’ baby soft black hairs like she was caressing them herself.  Her chest tightened and closed up when, without wasting a single moment even to cross the room to the couch, Val began rocking Marcus back and forth, his eyes blinking closed.  Zoey knew the beautiful place Val was disappearing into because it was the very place she went every time she held Marcus too. All the ugliness in the world disappeared, and all that existed was Marcus, his soothing scent, his jumbled ramblings, and the weight of his heart beating against hers, letting her know that everything was going to be okay.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Zoey stepped out of the shadows, adjusting her white summer dress.

Taj was the first to see her from where he was demolishing a sandwich in the kitchen, leaning on the counter with a newspaper open in front of him.  He stood tall, freezing mid-chew, eyes going to twice their size.

Val, pressing his nose into Marcus’s head, still had his eyes closed, unaware of Zoey’s presence.

“Did you miss Daddy?” Val whispered, breathing in Marcus’ scent.  “I missed you so much.  I miss you all the time.”

Zoey moved forward, and she didn’t know what it was that made it happen—her scent, the warmth of her body, the sound of her breathing—but Val’s eyes flew open.