“I’m not sure my old man and I have much to say to each other,” I said, ignoring the pictures of scantily clad women that covered the walls.
“But you and I do?”
I leaned back, folding my arms over my chest. Uncle Elmar was about as distrustful as me as I was of him, which wasn’t surprising. The family business relied on loyalty, and as far they were concerned, I was about the most disloyal man in the city. “It’s been a decade,” I said. “Surely we have a little to catch up on.”
He scoffed. “You always loved chatting like the ladies,” he sneered, trying to rattle me by making fun of my sexuality. “But are you sure this is your first time back in the neighborhood? I could have sworn you were here just last week.”
He was poking me, trying to see if I had anything to do with his recent troubles. I couldn’t blame him. If I had been double-crossed like he had, I’d probably look at a long lost relative with just as much skepticism.
“Nope,” I said, meeting his eye and keeping my voice cool and confident. “I come back through Seattle every now and then, but I haven’t seen this old dump in longer than I can remember.”
He squinted, still assessing me. “So what is it then? You looking to get back into the family business?”
“You still bilking your tenants?” I asked, playing dumb about the drugs I knew were waiting in the other office.
He chuckled under his breath, leaning back in his chair. “Something like that.”
I shook my head. “I’m out of the game, Uncle. I’ve been retired a long time, and I have no intention of getting back in.”
He studied me, then started to nod slowly, apparently buying the excuse. Before we could take the banter any further, however, a boy walked through the office door. He had the same square jaw and striking eyes as all the men in my family, but still in his early teens, he hadn’t quite taken up the macho swagger people like my uncle favored.
The boy had a cup of coffee in his hand. Averting his eyes, he placed it on my uncle’s desk. “I heard a commotion,” he asked softly. “Is everything okay?”
“Just a little mix-up with your cousin here,” he said, gesturing to me.
The kid looked my way, and I took in a sharp breath when our eyes met. It suddenly seemed very clear. My uncle’s daughter had a kid of her own a few years before I disappeared, and now he was standing before me, grown in ways I had never imagined.
“You must be James,” I said.
“Everyone calls me Jim,” he answered. “You’re my cousin?”
My heart ached to hear the confusion in his voice. I’m sure he hadn’t heard a damn thing about me over the years, although I was hardly the first person in the Richter family to disappear. I thought of all the memories I had missed with him and all the chances to bond. It was like another thing my family had taken away from me, but as I did my best to smile at him warmly, I knew that I shared the blame.
“I’m your cousin,” I said. “My name is Maddox.”
“Cool,” he said, his eyes trailing across my tattoos.
And then my heart stopped all over again. It hit me like a flash of lightning—this kid was gay. I wasn’t sure how I knew, and he hadn’t done or said anything stereotypical. But as our eyes met, the truth seemed so clear. I couldn’t deny it.
I had come into the office thinking I could get my uncle to unwittingly share some information about the break-in or give me some nugget I could use to keep Malcolm and Gunner safe. But as Jim greeted me, I suddenly felt an incredible responsibility to him. He seemed like such a sweet kid, and I knew he was being raised without a single good role model, let alone someone who was affirming of gay people.
Hell, he was bringing coffee to my uncle first thing in the morning and not even blinking an eye at the men I had left wounded in the hallway.
This kid needed me.
“On your way, Jimmy,” my uncle said. “We’ve got business to discuss.”
Jim gave me one last look, and my protective instincts rose up like a tiger. “Maybe I’ll see you soon, kid,” I offered, but just as quickly as that, he was gone.
My uncle sipped from the coffee, his fat lips curling over the edge of the mug. “If you think I’m going to help you make amends with your father, Maddox, you’re wrong. He and I don’t talk much these days, and I can’t say I’m particularly inclined to use my influence to try to do you a favor.”
I nodded. One thing about Uncle Elmar—he never beat around the bush. “I’m not asking for any favors,” I said. “And I’m not pretending there’s any love lost between you and me. But I expect I’ll be coming around the city more often these days, and you know the old family saying. Richters always stick together.”
“Big words from the man who ran off with his fairy boyfriend.”
I bit my tongue rather than jumping in to defend Declan. I wasn’t here to start a fight. Instead, I rose to my feet, then tapped my knuckles on his desk. “You’re a busy man,” I said. “I don’t want to keep you from your responsibilities any longer. But maybe I’ll try to stop by again soon, catch up with the family a little more.Stick together.”
I emphasized the last words. For as cruel and shady as my family was, that saying was the closest we had to a code of honor.
