“We check in tomorrow.” Walker looked up at the sky. “I’m not worried about it.”
“You’re worried about something.” Fernando smacked Walker’s stomach. “Tell me. It’s not like we’ll ever see each other again.”
Walker didn’t like that thought.He’s right, though, so why not?“Here’s the thing. I don’t have anyone. I grew up in foster care and bounced around to several different families. It wasn’t bad, just lonely. The only people I have are a few friends, and they have their own shit to worry about.”
Fernando turned on his side and watched Walker. “No one worries about you?”
“Nope. That’s a good thing, right?” Walker thought he should say something like that. “Normally, it doesn’t bother me. But nights like tonight, right before we deploy…” he trailed off.
Fernando shook his head. “I think it’s human nature to need someone to care for us. My parents died a few years ago, and it was devastating. I had my siblings, but it’s not the same. Suddenly, I wasn’t someone’s son anymore. Someone’s priority. I can’t imagine having no one at all. Maybe some would think of it as freeing, but I can’t. Not after having a family and losing some of them.”
Walker hated the sadness in the omega’s voice. It made something hurt inside him. There was more than sadness there, too. Walker recognized pain when he saw it.
This isn’t how I thought the night would go,he thought with a snort. Despite that, hewantedto comfort Fernando. He wanted to tell him more about his own loneliness and the fear he felt, but tried to hide. At that singular moment, there was nowhere he’d rather be than sitting across from this man and his dark, all-knowing eyes.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, voice coming out huskier than he intended. “Your parents?”
Chapter 3
This wasnothow the night was supposed to go.What kind of man asks a hook-up that? Fernando thought, fighting manic laughter. He closed his eyes and felt everything bubbling up. It wanted out. He tried so hard to keep it in, but he couldn’t anymore.Why not spill it all to the fine ass marine?
“I haven’t really talked about it a lot.” Fernando swallowed hard and rubbed his face. “Are you sure you want to hear about it? It’s really messed up. Their death was all over the news and shit, so my friends know what happened. Hell, after it all came out, I didn’t have many friends left anyway.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Walker said, voice softening. The alpha slowly, almost hesitantly, put his arm around Fernando’s shoulder. The sympathy on his face made Fernando want to cry. “If you do, though, remember, we won’t see each other again. There’s no pressure or judgment here.”
“Well, youdidshare with me,” Fernando said, taking a deep breath. “Okay, so my uncle, Diego, had my parents murdered because my dad found out he was molesting kids.”
Walker’s mouth dropped open, face frozen in shock. “What?”
“Dark, right?” Fernando sighed. “You weren’t expecting all that, were you? It was a convoluted mess worthy of being on one of my mom’s telenovelas. Our family lawyer even told us they plan to make an episode about it for Dateline. Diego was the mayor in our very small town, so it was big news for a long time. Still is, really.”
“Shit,” Walker said, voice barely above a whisper. “He’s in jail now, right?”
“Yeah,” Fernando said, shrugging. He waited for Walker’s arm to move, but the alpha pulled him closer.
“He killed your parents to hide it?” Walker’s thumb rubbed circles on Fernando’s arm, and he welcomed the warmth the man’s touch gave him.
“When Dad found out, he didn’t react right away.” Fernando leaned his head on Walker’s shoulder. “I don’t know why. Maybe it was because it was his brother. Anyway, eventually Dad told Diego to stop, or he’d send pictures to the police.”
“Instead, your uncle killed them.” Walker’s lips brushed against the top of his head. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah,” Fernando said softly. “My youngest sister, Valentina, was just twelve. I’m just happy she wasn’t with them when it happened.”
“Fuck, that’s young.”
“It is. Plus, at first, we didn’t know it was Diego who killed them,” Fernando said, words quivering. “We all thought it was a mugging, so he was someone we leaned on for support.”
“That fucking asshole.” Walker practically growled. “How could he do that? You lost your parentsandan uncle in the worst way.”
“Right?” Fernando’s voice broke. “We loved and trusted him.” So many people blamed them for that. They thought he and his sisters should have somehow known what their uncle was doing and put a stop to it.
“You have your family, though, right? You said you had siblings.”
Fernando huffed angrily. His uncle’s actions were horrible enough, but Fernando had his own sins. “I do now, but I almost lost them because I was an idiot. In the aftermath, Diego manipulated me into thinking my older brother was a greedy, backstabbing asshole. Instead,Iwas the asshole. I treated Mateo like shit and completely ignored Valentina. Our uncle isolated us from one another, just so he could continue to hide his own actions. Instead of seeing all that, I just worried about myself like a selfish jerk.”
“Hey, now,” Walker said, voice stern. “You had just lost your parents, too. I’ve seen people grieving, and it’s hard to think straight when your emotions are all over the place. Someone so cold-blooded as your uncle would probably find it easy to use you and the others.”
“Doesn’t change my actions.” Fernando watched the shadows dance across Walker’s face. “I told you it was convoluted, right? You don’t hear this kind of thing all the time.”
