A dangerous glint lit Tristan’s eyes. “Yeah? What does he want? Why is he at a seven-year-old’s party?”
“He took his niece. His sister was sick.”
Panting heavily, Chad came to a stop before them, face flushed. “This your boyfriend?”
Scowling, Tristan folded his arms. “I’m his partner. Who are you?”
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Does it look like I care?” Tristan sneered. “My advice is to walk away and go sleep it off.”
“The fuck you think you can tell me what to do. Sean and I have unfinished business.”
“That so?” Facing him, Tristan raised a brow, a slight smile on his lips. “Tell me, Sean. What’s the business between you two?”
“There is none. Chad is delusional.”
“That’s not what you said when you kissed me earlier. Remember? When you were getting dressed?” His grin was nasty.
“You liar. You came at me, and…and…no, Tristan don’t,” he cried out as Tristan picked Chad up by the shirt collar and pushed him against the dirty brick wall.
“Listen to me, you fucking piece of shit. Stay away from Sean. Don’t call him, don’t speak to him, nothing. If you eventhinkof him, I’ll know. You’re a fucking abusive bastard, and if I had my way, your ass would be in jail.” Tristan released him, and Chad stumbled. “Now get out of here.”
Shooting them dark looks over his shoulder, Chad walked away. Tristan huffed out a breath and flexed his shoulder. Instantly concerned, Sean rushed to him and touched his arm.
“Why did you do that? You could reinjure yourself.”
“Never mind that.” Tristan’s jaw worked. “Were you going to tell me you saw Chad and that he tried to assault you?”
Guilt raced through him, and he hung his head. “I-I didn’t want to make a bigger deal out of it than it is.”
“Are you kidding? He put his hands on you, and you were just going to let him get away with it?”
Hearing Tristan say it made him feel foolish. “I didn’t want to start anything. I told him no, and I figured that was it.”
“But it wasn’t. Guys like him don’t understand until they have to face consequences.” Their walk brought them to the park, and Tristan took his hand. To Sean’s surprise, they didn’t head for the train but ambled onto the path. “But what also bothers me is that you didn’t want me to know.”
“It wasn’t that. I would’ve told you later on. But don’t you see that I handled it? I know I’m younger than you, but I’m still an adult who can take care of himself. Chad means nothing to me. I don’t even remember anymore what it was like with him.”
“I hate that he thinks he can do that to you with no consequences.”
“I think he realizes now there are. I doubt I’ll ever hear from him again.”
Tristan squeezed his hand, and they meandered farther into the park. Children ran past them, and couples strolled with their dogs, or like them, hand in hand. Overhead, the sky blazed blue through the trees, and the leaves crunched underfoot. Tristan kicked at a small pile, and they sailed away to blow in the breeze.
“For the record, I never thought you couldn’t take care of yourself.” A light glinted in Tristan’s eyes, and the next thing Sean knew, he was tossed onto a big pile of leaves off the side of the path. Laughing, Tristan rolled in it with him. “But I hope you’re not too grown up to have some fun.”
“As long as I’m with you, the fun is never going to end.”
Epilogue
Six months later
Tristan had returned to full-time work after his physical therapist had given him clearance. Being in the office only two or three days a week for the past several months had left him with too much time alone. Too much time staring at the wall, thinking. Plus, when he did get to the office, Brady Christianson’s absence was a glaring reminder of everything that had happened. He’d tried to move on and thought he had, but obviously he’d failed. It had gotten to the point where at dinner one evening, Sean gave him a stern talking-to.
“You need to get out of your head. You gave Brady instructions, and if he’d listened, who knows? He might still be alive. His death is not your fault. Stop carrying the weight of the world. Give me some of the burden.”
“It might crush you,” Tristan answered with a shrug.
