I knew exactly what he was talking about because I’d had that kind of closeness with Brody. But knowing that there’d been a pretty sizeable age gap between Vincent and his brother made it all the more amazing that Pierce would have been so devoted to Vincent.
“Our father had been grooming us for the army from day one and even though I wasn’t in the same unit as Pierce, I had aspirations to achieve the same rank as him and in the same timeline.”
“He was a colonel, right?” I asked.
“Yeah…he was well on his way to becoming one of the youngest generals in the military. Which was why it didn’t make sense when he told me he was leaving the army instead of re-enlisting when his tour ended.”
Vincent’s finger began stroking against mine where I was holding his hand against his chest. I wondered if he was even aware of the self-soothing gesture.
“I thought maybe he’d done it as some kind of tribute to me.”
“Because of what the army did to you and David?”
I felt Vincent nod before he said, “Yeah. David had been gone for a few years by then and I had no interest in re-enlisting, even if the army would have made that offer. So I was actually pretty pissed at him for throwing away his career.”
“He didn’t do it for you,” I murmured. “He did it for Everett. So they could be together.”
Another nod, but this time Vincent didn’t say anything.
“Did you know about them?” I asked.
“Not until after Pierce’s death. I’d known Pierce was gay…he came out to me after I was kicked out of the military. But I didn’t find out about Everett until I went to the cemetery a few days after Pierce’s funeral.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Pierce was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. When I got there, there were Secret Service agents everywhere. They wouldn’t let me past a certain point at first. When I told them who I was and that I was visiting my brother’s grave, they let me through. I’d figured some bigwig was visiting a loved one who happened to be buried near my brother, but it turned out to be Everett and he was standing over Pierce’s grave.”
I felt my throat tighten at the thought of Everett saying his goodbyes to the man who’d meant so much to him. The man he’d been ready to change his entire life for.
“That must have been surreal,” I murmured. “Seeing the President of the United States at your brother’s grave.”
“Yeah…I couldn’t figure out why he was there. Pierce had been given a military funeral with all the honors, but he hadn’t been high upenough to know the president, let alone have a personal enough relationship with him to explain the man’s presence.”
“He told you the truth about them?” I asked.
“He did. I was…”
I felt rather than saw Vincent shaking his head. “I was completely floored. And then I just fucking lost it. Knowing my brother had finally found the love of his life only to die protecting me-”
Vincent’s voice cut off sharply as a strangled sob left his throat. I immediately sat up and turned so I could face him. His eyes were closed and I could see him struggling to contain his emotions.
“C’mere,” I whispered as I pulled him forward against my chest. “It wasn’t your fault,” I murmured against his head as he clung to me. He didn’t respond, and I knew why.
He’d blame himself no matter what. And even though I knew it wasn’t his fault, he’d told me enough that I knew the perpetratorshadbeen after Vincent, and Pierce had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“He never blamed me,” Vincent said softly. “Everett.”
“Because he knew it wasn’t your fault. And because he knew your brother would have done anything to keep you safe.”
Vincent nodded and pulled back. He wiped at his eyes and then searched out his beer and took a long draw on it, presumably so he could pull himself together.
“So you became best friends with the President,” I mused, hoping to interject some lightness into our conversation.
Vincent smiled. “You’d think it would come with all kinds of benefits, but I usually end up feeding his cheap ass and watching whatever reality show he’s obsessed with.”
I chuckled and reached up to cup his cheek. “I’m glad you have each other.”
“Me too,” he murmured.
