water without a word.
Alejandro drained half the bottle and motioned for Christopher to follow him.
At one end of the gym was a set of glass doors that led to an ornate stone patio. Alejandro guided him outside and collapsed into a wicker chair with a blissful sigh. “Do you have any more information?”
“He had a contact inside the vice unit.”
“You know I can’t promise anything,” Alejandro explained, “And I need two things from you before I bother.”
“I’m not a cop anymore,” he lied. “And the answer would be ‘no’ if I was.”
“You won’t say no to me,” Alejandro said with a wicked grin. “First tell me why you want me to waste my time playing private investigator.”
Christopher didn’t want to tell anyone what Doug had confided, especially not someone like Ray’s cousin. But he also didn’t know anyone else in the world who might have the connections to find the man Doug still had nightmares about.
“He hurt someone I care about,” Christopher said carefully.
Alejandro stared at him for a long moment, obviously expecting him to continue. “If my help isn’t worth your honesty, you can get the hell out,” he said at last.
“It’s personal.”
“You think I don’t know how to keep a secret or two? Louis can’t hear us, if that’s what you’re worried about, and Raymond will never hear about it from me.”
Doug was gone, Christopher reminded himself. Back into his own private hell, where people glared at him and treated him like a criminal even though he was the closest thing Elkin had to a hero. It wasn’t like Doug and Alejandro would ever cross paths, and even if they did, he probably could trust Alejandro not to say anything. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to trust Alejandro not to stab them both or open fire, but he could trust him to be tactful.
Feeling guilty but somehow less hurt with each word, Christopher told Alejandro about his relationship with Doug, about the flashbacks and the way he treated the racism and abuse in Elkin as though he deserved it. Alejandro said nothing, just nodded to encourage him. When he was quiet, Christopher could almost delude himself into thinking he was confiding in an old friend.
When Christopher finished, Alejandro sat back. “I think I can find him. A guy like that, pulling a con like that—you’re right in thinking he’d have bragged. I can try to find someone who remembers hearing him talk about it.”
“It was years ago, but now that I know he’s out there, I’m always going to wonder when and where he might show up. And I hate thinking he got away with it.”
“I can’t promise anything, but if I can find him, I’ll take care of it.”
“Take care of it? No, I just….” Christopher insisted.
Alejandro grinned at him. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll owe me, though.”
“I don’t have anything you could possibly want.”
“I want you,” Alejandro said, and then his eyes grew wide as he heard his own words. “Not like that,” he added quickly. “I want you to come home and go back to work. Before Mr. FBI came along, Raymond was… self-destructing? I don’t know what the hell he was doing, but he wasn’t okay. You were good for him, and I slept better at night knowing you had his back. Honestly, I don’t see how he could have secretly been into guys all this time and not ended up with you. You’d have been perfect for each other.”
“No, we wouldn’t have been. Absolutely not.”
“You don’t think so?”
“There’s no way that could have worked out. For four years, he told me he was straight. I know he lies to everybody else. But I expected him to be honest with me. His version of coming out wasn’t a conversation, it wasn’t lots of questions. He kissed me! Right after I found out my brother was dead. He’ll always be my friend, but I’m not sure I can work with him again. I’d always wonder what else he was hiding, what else he was lying about.”
“That’s kind of
Alejandro drained half the bottle and motioned for Christopher to follow him.
At one end of the gym was a set of glass doors that led to an ornate stone patio. Alejandro guided him outside and collapsed into a wicker chair with a blissful sigh. “Do you have any more information?”
“He had a contact inside the vice unit.”
“You know I can’t promise anything,” Alejandro explained, “And I need two things from you before I bother.”
“I’m not a cop anymore,” he lied. “And the answer would be ‘no’ if I was.”
“You won’t say no to me,” Alejandro said with a wicked grin. “First tell me why you want me to waste my time playing private investigator.”
Christopher didn’t want to tell anyone what Doug had confided, especially not someone like Ray’s cousin. But he also didn’t know anyone else in the world who might have the connections to find the man Doug still had nightmares about.
“He hurt someone I care about,” Christopher said carefully.
Alejandro stared at him for a long moment, obviously expecting him to continue. “If my help isn’t worth your honesty, you can get the hell out,” he said at last.
“It’s personal.”
“You think I don’t know how to keep a secret or two? Louis can’t hear us, if that’s what you’re worried about, and Raymond will never hear about it from me.”
Doug was gone, Christopher reminded himself. Back into his own private hell, where people glared at him and treated him like a criminal even though he was the closest thing Elkin had to a hero. It wasn’t like Doug and Alejandro would ever cross paths, and even if they did, he probably could trust Alejandro not to say anything. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to trust Alejandro not to stab them both or open fire, but he could trust him to be tactful.
Feeling guilty but somehow less hurt with each word, Christopher told Alejandro about his relationship with Doug, about the flashbacks and the way he treated the racism and abuse in Elkin as though he deserved it. Alejandro said nothing, just nodded to encourage him. When he was quiet, Christopher could almost delude himself into thinking he was confiding in an old friend.
When Christopher finished, Alejandro sat back. “I think I can find him. A guy like that, pulling a con like that—you’re right in thinking he’d have bragged. I can try to find someone who remembers hearing him talk about it.”
“It was years ago, but now that I know he’s out there, I’m always going to wonder when and where he might show up. And I hate thinking he got away with it.”
“I can’t promise anything, but if I can find him, I’ll take care of it.”
“Take care of it? No, I just….” Christopher insisted.
Alejandro grinned at him. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll owe me, though.”
“I don’t have anything you could possibly want.”
“I want you,” Alejandro said, and then his eyes grew wide as he heard his own words. “Not like that,” he added quickly. “I want you to come home and go back to work. Before Mr. FBI came along, Raymond was… self-destructing? I don’t know what the hell he was doing, but he wasn’t okay. You were good for him, and I slept better at night knowing you had his back. Honestly, I don’t see how he could have secretly been into guys all this time and not ended up with you. You’d have been perfect for each other.”
“No, we wouldn’t have been. Absolutely not.”
“You don’t think so?”
“There’s no way that could have worked out. For four years, he told me he was straight. I know he lies to everybody else. But I expected him to be honest with me. His version of coming out wasn’t a conversation, it wasn’t lots of questions. He kissed me! Right after I found out my brother was dead. He’ll always be my friend, but I’m not sure I can work with him again. I’d always wonder what else he was hiding, what else he was lying about.”
“That’s kind of
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