“HE SAID WHAT?”I asked Mitch when he returned from his father’s room in the ICU.
“He wasn’t able to tell me much before he fell back to sleep, but he said he knows who wants us dead.” Mitch’s face was pale from the shock of the day and I worried about him. It had been hours since lunch and he couldn’t have had more than a few bites before the call about his dad came in. “He said it’s an old feud dating back to when my grandfather founded Heston’s.”
“How about you save your energy so that you only have to tell this story once, okay?” I put my hand between his shoulder blades and guided him toward the elevator. “Let’s give your statement to the police and Vic all at once so we can get you home where you can get something to eat and rest.”
“Food is the last thing on my mind and I’m not sure I’ll be getting any rest tonight. I can’t believe this, Mark. It just seems like a bad dream.” The exhaustion in his voice told me he would definitely crash hard even though he didn’t think it possible. I planned to be right by his side to guarantee that he stayed in bed. Fuck my own rules.
By the time we returned downstairs, Estelle was long gone but detectives Fowler and Harmon were there.Were they the only two detectives on the LAPD force?They both looked at me speculatively before they introduced themselves to Mitch. I motioned for Vic to come over so that he could hear what Mitch had to say to the detectives.
“My dad was hardly lucid, so I have no idea how accurate this information is,” Mitch began, “but he says he knows who wants us dead.” That got the detectives and Vic’s attention. I watched as all three men stood straighter. “According to my dad, my grandfather, George Heston, was accused of cheating a man out of a partnership in Heston’s. The man couldn’t prove that George accepted startup money from him so it was his word against George’s. He spent all of his money fighting George in court and all he got out of it was poverty and bitterness while George ended up a very wealthy and successful man.”
“What’s this guy’s name and why wait thirty plus years to exact revenge?” Detective Fowler asked.
“I can’t answer those questions tonight, Detective, because my dad fell asleep before he could say more. Just getting that much out wiped him out. The nurse said he can have visitors again tomorrow.”
Mitch was starting to droop right before my eyes. “Can we do this tomorrow, fellas?” I asked.
“Sure,” Detective Harmon replied, “as long as the two of you aren’t going all vigilante on us.” He gestured between Vic and me.
“My only concern is keeping Mitch safe, Detective,” I promised him. “I’ll let you guys do all the tracking down and arresting.” Earlier that day I vowed to do whatever it took to keep Mitch safe and I meant it. However, I had no plans to go out looking for trouble, but if trouble came to us…
“Keep it that way, Bradley,” Fowler warned with a scowl. “Seems to me you’re already under enough scrutiny with the Schafnitz case.”
I shrugged casually because I didn’t care. I had nothing to do with that dickhead’s death and I dared them to pin it on me. I knew that they already would have arrested me if they had a shred of evidence that I was the one who put a bullet in Damien’s brain. I had nothing to hide.
The detectives left a few minutes later with a promise that they’d be back to talk to Max tomorrow. Once they were gone, Vic mobilized our guys so we could get Mitch home safe and sound. Everyone was on high alert after what happened to Max so the ride home was spent in tense silence. I heard communications between the vehicles in my earpiece while I kept my eyes peeled for danger.
Edna fussed over Mitch the moment we walked through the door and I saw a lot of his tension ease beneath her mothering. He told her he wasn’t hungry, but she insisted that he eat some comfort food. She made enough homemade macaroni and cheese to feed an army so we all joined Mitch for a bowl of creamy, cheesy goodness.
After we were finished eating, the guys on patrol went outside while the rest of us went to our rooms. Mitch assumed that I would be sleeping alone in my room again and I let him think it. I took a shower and put on some pajama bottoms before going to his room.
Mitch was lying on his back with Frankie curled up beside him. The exhausted smile he gave me showed me how happy he was to see me. He raised up the blanket for me to crawl in beside him. Frankie opened one eye as if she dared me to move her away from her human. In the end, it was Mitch who picked her up and moved her to his other side instead of between us.
I rolled over on my side to face him and he scooted in close to me. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight, dropping a kiss on his forehead. I silently urged my dick to behave because sex wasn’t what Mitch needed right then. Edna had her ways of soothing Mitch and I had mine.
It wasn’t long before I felt Mitch’s even breaths against my neck signaling he’d fallen asleep. I wasn’t used to sleeping so close to someone and it took a while for my body to relax enough to enter dreamland. I fell into a deeper sleep than usual due to the crazy happenings of the past few days. When Mitch attempted to wake me sometime in the middle of the night with his hands on my body, I didn’t realize where I was or who I was with. It wasn’t Mitch’s loving touch that penetrated my sleepy brain, it was the filthy hands that belonged to an animal.
I came up out of my sleep swinging. Mitch was fast and ducked, but my fist still caught his temple. “Fuck!” Mitch rolled off of me and sat looking at me with owlish, shocked eyes. The momentary feeling of being back in that second foster home again made me physically sick. I jackknifed off the bed and ran to his bathroom where I emptied my stomach in the toilet.
I felt him enter the bathroom behind me, but he didn’t say anything at all. Mitch pulled a new toothbrush out from a drawer in the vanity and handed it to me when I was finished vomiting, then he started the shower while I brushed my teeth. I stripped off my pajama pants and reached for him before I stepped into the shower. Mitch stripped off his boxers and got in the shower behind me.
That time it was Mitch pulling me tight to him and him giving me the comfort that I needed. I hated that he saw me like that, hated it even more that I hit him. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice hoarse with emotion.
“Don’t apologize,” he said softly. He ran his hand up and down my back and then slid it into my hair so that he could tip my head back. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, Mark.”
“There’s things I need to tell you…” My voice broke off before I could complete my sentence.
“Not until you’re ready to speak about them.” His voice was calm and soothing, not unlike the one Edna used on him in the dining room. “I’ll wait patiently.”
“I don’t know if I can ever be what you need me to be, Mitch. There are parts of me that I might not ever be able to give you.”
“You’re exactly what I need and I’ll take anything you’re willing to give and nothing more.” His compassion and understanding was enough to cause me to unravel. I felt hot tears leaking out of my eyes and sliding down my face. The water raining down from the showerhead hid my tears, but the way my body shook gave away the sorrow and torment that racked my body.
“I got you, Mark.”
He held me until the last quake left my body and I was too tired to do anything but lean against him. He lovingly dried me off and led me to his bed where he climbed in behind me. Frankie curled up as close to my chest as she could get while Mitch pressed up tight against my back. I felt all of the remaining tension leave my body. That time when I drifted off to sleep, my dreams were of new beginnings instead of the shattered dreams of my youth.
Mitch didn’t say a word to me about the events that happened in the middle of the previous night nor did he treat me with kid gloves; it was as if it never happened at all. I was feeling too raw about what I unexpectedly revealed to him and I needed time to sort out the words I wanted to say. I appreciated his acceptance more than I could express at the time.
