Outcome (Aftermath #2) (22 page)

He sighed contentedly and breathed in the familiar scent of Ade's apple-scented shampoo. The brand changed over the years, but never the scent. It was the same their mom had used. But…hold on.

Chase took another sniff before he eased away and cocked a brow at his sister. "Why the fuck do you smell like cigarettes?"

Chapter 26

After dinner, Remy headed outside to have a smoke with Andy and Cam. For some reason, Chase's sister was sulking.
Odd
. She'd been happy and friendly all night.

"Dad!" Riley slipped out right before the door closed, and Cam looked to her as he lit up a cigarette. "Can I have money so I can make a bet with Uncle Landon and Chase?"

Remy and Andreas smirked.

"Depends what the bet is, baby," Cam said thoughtfully. "Gallardo has you beat in pool and Landon's decent at dart—"

"We're gonna play Go Fish," Riley said frankly. "Me and Aunt Julie and the boys. I'd ask Daddy, but he's busy talking intern…something…with Adriana now."

"Oh." He pulled out his wallet and slapped a ten-dollar bill in her outstretched hand. "Go nuts."

She thanked Cam and grinned in triumph as she disappeared inside the bar again.

"Well, parenting seems easy enough." Andy grinned wryly. "All I gotta do is give it money."

"And stop calling it
it
," Remy advised.

Cam nodded. "That'd be a good start, yeah." He faced Andreas. "What're you havin'?"

"A boy." Andy was getting more nervous the closer they got to the due date. "I hear they piss on you when you change their diapers."

"I…uh. Right." Cam huffed a laugh. "I don’t know what to say about that. Maybe I should call my mom and apologize?"

"He sends me texts sometimes," Remy said, jerking his chin at Andy. "The most random shit about what babies do."

"Suck it up, Stahl." Andreas chuckled. "You're lucky I don’t send you pictures."

"There are pictures? Never mind, don’t answer." He shook his head. "I had a hamster or a gerbil or something when I was a kid. Then I forgot about it." He waited for the familiar pang that usually came with childhood memories, but it wasn’t there. Interesting. "I think my mom released it." Still no pang.

"My mom sometimes forgets my dad at the store." Cam shrugged.

Remy cracked up. "Does she ever release him into the wild?"

"I'm sure she wishes sometimes," Cam replied, grinning. Then he stubbed out his smoke and declared he was done socializing for the night. "I'll steal one of Chase's car magazines and find an empty corner," he added.

Then they were two.

Andy took a sip from his beer and nodded. "They're good people, Chase's friends."

Remy agreed, having been nervous to officially meet Austin and Cam, but yeah, they were nice. The Cam he'd spoken to today was a lot different from the one he'd given a letter to three years ago to pass on to Chase.

"My friends are pretty fucking stellar, too." Remy nudged his shoulder to Andy's.

His eyes lit up with humor. "Are we about to have a moment?"

"Bastard, you just ruined it," Remy laughed. "No, but seriously." He sobered a little, and he'd wanted to have this conversation for a while now. With Andy. He'd already had the talk with Minna. "I wouldn’t be alive if it weren't for you, Minna, and Chase."

"I'd do it again, little brother." Andy threw an arm around Remy's shoulders. "Possibly sooner too, if I knew I'd get a spankin' new house out of it."

"I'm feeling the love, Eriksson," Remy deadpanned, joking. He sighed and smiled. "It's nice, being happy."

Andy hummed and let his arm drop. "And we're not only here for the good days. You know that, right?"

For once in Remy's life, he actually did.

*

Chase was losing.

To a thirteen-year-old.

Go Fucking Fish.

"This ain't right," Landon muttered, who was also losing.

Chase blamed the little ankle biter on his lap for being distracting and unable to sit still. Landon and Julie's three-year-olds had deemed him and Landon worthy of being chairs for the moment. Chase had no idea which twin he was holding; they looked the same.

He asked Julie if she had any aces, which she hadn't, and soon enough it was Riley's turn.

"Chase," she said sweetly, "fork over your aces, please."

"I second that," Chase told Landon. "This ain't right." He gave away his aces.

"Suh-weet!" Riley lay down her four aces to add in her collection. "I'm getting rich here. That's good 'cause I make less than a kid in China on my allowance."

"I heard that, brat," Austin said dryly from the next table. Then he turned to Cam, who'd found a new spot near the bar. "Cam, what do you say we introduce Riley to yard work?"

Cam was clearly on board with that idea.

Riley wasn’t.

A few minutes later, she pocketed enough money to get her smiling again, and Remy sat down in the spot she left, announcing it was time to shoot some pool with Tuck.

"You have a child in your lap." Remy patted the girl's head.

"Very observant of you." Chase looked at the munchkin. "I've named her Drooler." Were three-year-olds supposed to drool? She was cute, though.

"She takes after her daddy," Julie teased. Landon only looked proud. "Anna, how about we get some ice cream, huh?"

"Yes!" The kid on Chase's lap jumped down, as did the other one from Landon's lap, yelling, "Me too, Mommy! Me too!"

"What about me?" Landon was insulted.

Left somewhat alone, Chase turned to Remy and draped an arm along the back of his chair. "Hey, you."

"Hey." Remy leaned closer and rested his cheek on Chase's shoulder. "Is that a banana or are you just happy to see me?"

"Huh?" Chase looked down and groaned a laugh when he saw that Anna had left bits of her after-dinner snack on his jeans. "This is why I'm uncle material."

"No kids for us," Remy agreed. "I'm kind of looking forward to Andy having one, though. We can spoil him, teach him all the wrong things, and send him back to his folks."

"You're cruel," Chase chuckled. But he loved the idea of all the things he and Remy could do as an official "us." After everything they'd been through, they deserved to be selfish. They deserved to enjoy their outcome and focus on each other. "What else are we gonna do?"

Remy tilted his head up and kissed Chase's chin. "You've told me about the long drives you used to go on years ago."

Chase hadn’t expected to hear that. "On my bike, you mean? But you're scared of it."

"It's a death machine," Remy stated flatly. "But I like the thought of seeing the country with you. Just drive and see where the road takes us."

That was one of Chase's favorite things about having motorcycles. Few experiences felt more liberating than road trips. So…he decided to not tell Remy how sore his ass was gonna be—for all the wrong reasons. 'Cause sitting on a bike for days took some getting used to. Plus, it'd be fun to see Remy bitching.

"I think that sounds great," Chase murmured. "We could use a break." He pictured all the landscapes, the roads, sunrises, sunsets, motels, and having Remy behind him on his bike. "Shit, can we leave yesterday?" Unable to help himself, he closed the distance and kissed Remy.

He was acutely aware of his surroundings and the people they were with, but Chase was growing comfortable in his new shoes. He knew he'd be wary around strangers; however, this was family. Real family. Blood didn’t matter. It was all about loyalty and being nonjudgmental.

"Sure—" Remy smiled into the kiss "—you just have to let me help you with the bar. Hire a few bartenders and we're off."

Oh, this again. "Begin another talk about investing and I won't use lube next time."

Remy hissed. "Motherfucker. You call
me
cruel?"

Chase laughed and deepened the kiss. "I love you."

"Love you too," Remy snickered, "even without lube."

*

Remy spent that night with Chase—at home. It had been a great evening, and this was the perfect ending to it. Remy couldn’t get the perfect ending in the cabin. He needed some downtime soon enough, but he needed this first. This…this with Chase. Getting twisted in the sheets, kissing, tasting, fucking fast, fucking slow, cracking jokes, getting up for midnight snacks, getting back in bed, falling asleep spent and sated.

And the next morning, Remy made breakfast with an audience.

"Okay, I think I can do that." Chase observed as Remy cracked a few eggs into a skillet. "Maybe mine would come with some shell, though."

"I prefer mine without."

"So picky."

It was the perfect beginning of a day, much like the ending of last night had been. Lazy and all about them. Something to look forward to while Remy took baby steps toward more. Until he was ready for it all.

They ate breakfast on the terrace, Remy mentioning that Minna must've gotten lucky last night. A text waiting in his phone confirmed it. Then they made loose plans about where they wanted to go on their road trip, places they wanted to see, places one had been and wanted to show the other.

"I'm just going to get the mail," he said a while later.

He left Chase with some paperwork on the patio and walked through the house. The pavement was warm under his bare feet, but nowhere near the blistering heat he vaguely remembered from the time he'd stumbled home from the first time in Chase's bar.

Crazy how it all started, huh?

"Hi, Remy!"

Remy looked up, having just reached the mailbox, and saw Riley and Austin walking their dogs.

"Hey, guys." He grinned back at them and collected his and Minna's mail.

"Thanks for last night." Austin smiled. "Tell Chase you'll both hear from Julie soon. She and Landon are in charge of Thanksgiving this year."

"Oh. Oh, okay." Remy was kind of dumbfounded, because he'd never had this before. "I'll tell him."

He made his way back inside again, dividing the mail into three piles that he put on the kitchen counter.
Minna's, mine, mine, Minna's, friggin' coupons…
He stopped at an envelope addressed to him in a handwriting he'd seen before.

Posted in Milwaukee.

"Shit." Shit, shit, shit. Remy barely even registered his feet carrying him out to the back. He did notice that his hand was shaking, though. "I, uh…" He glanced up at Chase, who was watching him with a frown. Unable to say anything else, Remy simply dropped the envelope on the table and sat down next to Chase.

Had Fred really replied?

Or maybe something had happened to Bill…but then, wouldn’t the nurses or whatever contact Remy? Fred and Clarissa wouldn’t give a crap.

"Want me to open it?" Chase asked quietly. His jaw was clenched.

Remy nodded jerkily and sat forward. He felt nausea creeping up, but he was determined not to do anything stupid this time. It wasn’t worth it. And, he found Fred and Clarissa didn’t have the same effect on him as they'd once had.

Chase slid the pointy end of a key into the envelope and ripped it open and then splayed the single sheet of paper on the table before them. Remy's hand found Chase's, and he read.

Chapter 27

Remy,

The theory you shared in your email is correct—for the most part. You've heard how I failed in school but succeeded later in life, and you know Ben was the complete opposite. He had it all in high school when we grew up, and he loved to bully me and make sure I knew he was Dad's favorite. At the time, he was. I was pushed down by Dad because I couldn’t make it. He praised Ben. But I got my act together eventually, and it was around the same time Ben lost his first job. It went downhill after that; he got fired because he didn’t show his superiors any respect. He acted as if he was still in high school.

Remy's heartbeat slowed down infinitesimally. So far, so good. Chase seemed less tense, too.

Dad was losing his respect for Ben, and I was still bitter from the years they'd both treated me like dirt. I admit, it was my revenge to let Ben know he was a failure. In the meantime, he got the worst beating from Dad. Ben had to move home again, so he never escaped Dad's hatred.

I resented my father like nothing else, but in many ways I was still a kid. When he gave me the attention he'd once only reserved for Ben, I couldn’t help but soak it up. I sought it out, grew addicted to it, and constantly struggled to improve myself.

Over time, Dad probably got bored. Ben remained the black sheep of the family, and I was simply not interesting anymore. Mom and Dad argued a lot, which I assume led to his having an affair with your mother.

When you entered the picture as the nine-year-old child who Dad had already declared as smart, innovative, and promising, Ben lost it. He couldn’t handle another person coming before him in his own family.

I owned up to my mistakes and took care of him best I could. When he called and rambled about all the good things Dad was saying about you, I was the one who calmed him down.

Fear was instilled in us from an early age, Remy. Success equaled power, and powerful people were never to be touched. So yes, I placed the blame on you for destroying Ben. Because despite your achievements in school, no one was more powerful than our father. He could not be wrong. It wasn’t possible because that would mean everything we knew was a sham.

Ben loathed you and feared you, hence your theory being mostly correct. That was why he went after ten innocent men. And as for me, he remembered the years I bullied him, not the rest. Not what he had put me through first. That’s why he took someone to portray me. And I have no real answer as to why I defended him after Chase and the others were released. I suppose grief played a big part. Bitterness and sadness. Guilt.

Here's what not many know: Ben's victims weren't as randomly picked as one would think.

Remy's head snapped up, and a second later, Chase's followed.

"Not random?" Remy asked in disbelief.

They read on.

Since his twenties, Ben carried journals of people who let him down, insulted him, and wronged him somehow. As the years passed, the reasons for people to end up in these books got more and more ridiculous, but I didn't know about the journals at the time. If I had, I would've stopped him and gotten him help.

I found the journals in his room after he'd died, and once I had connected the dots, I burned them. For this, I am not sorry. He was deranged; there was plenty of proof to come to this conclusion. More wasn’t necessary. But for your piece of mind—or your friend's—I can share the following.

I wrote down ten entries from two of Ben's journals. You'll find them on the back of this letter. That is all I have to say. These are all the reasons we can find, unless there's a way to bring back the dead.

Fred

Chase was quick to flip the letter, and there they saw ten scribbled paragraphs in quotation marks.

"'
Despite my assurances that I can be an accountant, my application got rejected before I could even get an interview,
'"
Chase read out loud. "This was dated four years before the kidnapping, and it lists the firm Austin works for." What the hell? Chase read the next line. "'
I got the name of the company director. Subject found: Austin Huntley.'
Shit. And get this:
'Subject update, Huntley is presumed to have lost his status. He works for a local construction company now, and he's mine
.'"

"Holy fuck," Remy whispered. Ben must've updated his journal
after
he'd already kidnapped Austin, who happened to be the last victim to be taken. "So Austin rejected a work application from someone who didn’t even have a degree in that, and…"

"It means Austin ticked off both of Ben's boxes of demands," Chase went on.

Remy nodded. "Austin was supposedly not successful anymore, and he had
wronged
Ben."

"It's all about us, Remy…" Chase was scanning the letter again. "Victor, James, Pete… Tim's on the list for not delivering mail on time. Lance is here because he'd cut in line at the fucking grocery store.
Jesus
."

Dread filled Remy when Chase closed his eyes and accidentally crumpled the paper in anger.

"You're on the list too, aren't you?" Remy already knew he was. "What does it say?"

Chase shook his head and handed over the letter to Remy, who smoothed it out and searched for the right entry.

There.

"'Went to Grapes & Malt for a beer. Both bartenders ignored me completely. Subjects found: Chase Gallardo and Sandra Kim.'"

"You used to work there?" Remy asked, knowing it was a stupid question. This entry had been written seven fucking years prior to the kidnapping. Ben could hold a grudge. Once he'd decided to move forward with this kidnapping, he'd picked out these ten men from his journal. They all fit the bill.

"Yeah," Chase muttered. "High-end place, mostly suits. They came in after work, and it was always packed." He sighed tiredly and leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his hair. "Guess I got my answers, huh?"

"You don’t—um." Remy hesitated. "You don’t blame yourself for this, right?"

"No," Chase said quickly, then chuckled humorlessly and brought Remy's hand to his mouth. A brief kiss to his knuckles. "I'm not
that
masochistic."

Good. Good. Remy was relieved.

Then Chase stiffened. "Christ." And he sat up straight in a beat, his gaze finding Remy. "It makes sense now. When Ben took me, I was in fuckin' Fresno. He'd obviously followed me there, and he didn’t take me 'cause I'm gay." He pointed to the letter. "That's why he came after me. Remember what I told you in the cabin after Santa Barbara?"

Remy's brow furrowed. "You gave me the details on how Ben took you."

Chase nodded. "And what was the last thing I remembered before I passed out from the chloroform?"

Remy remembered now. "He'd laughed and said it was
fitting
."

"Exactly. It was fitting that I was gay, since I'd be playing you. My being gay was a coincidence. His only real demands were that I had a shitty job and that I'd offended him somehow in the past."

A heavy breath escaped Remy as he slumped back.

*

An hour later, they were on another patio. Austin and Cam's.

Chase wondered if their reactions would match his.

Austin appeared pensive after having read the letter, and Cam was currently pacing, smoking a cigarette, and checking the journal entries for the reason he'd been taken.

"As much as I hate it, I sort of agree with Fred," Austin mused. "About burning the journals, I mean. Well," he backtracked, "it would've shed light on something that was current three years ago, but now…? I doesn't really matter to me. I'm sure as hell not going to feel guilty about rejecting a man who wasn’t qualified for a job." He rolled his eyes.

Chase was almost on the same page. This new revelation had shocked him at first, but now, only an hour later, he was calmer. Ben had been fucking insane, for several reasons; however, Chase was finally beginning to put it all behind him. It was over and done with. The past was a part of him; it had shaped him in more than one way, but it wasn’t his future. His future sat right next to him.

Nevertheless, Chase was happy to have gotten his answers.

He was also glad it hadn't set them back.

"What the fuck," Cam said flatly. He turned to the three men at the table and pointed angrily at the letter. "I'm on the list 'cause I called his car a piece of junk six years ago? That's not even funny."

Austin pursed his lips to hide a grin and held out a hand, a silent request to read the entry. Cam sat down with a scoff and handed over the letter.

Austin read out loud.
"'Took my car to Nash's Auto Service. Subject Cameron Nash said he was too busy to give my "dented pile of rust" a paint job.'"
While Chase and Remy chuckled, Austin smirked wryly at his husband. "Always so polite, aren't you? Landon's lucky to have you."

"Whatever." Cam stubbed out his smoke. "This is why I never gave a shit about finding answers. You can't find anything rational when all you have is Psycho. That's like looking for dick in a lesbian bar."

In retrospect, Chase would agree. But he'd always itched for answers. He needed to understand.

Now he did.

"Anyway…" Austin snorted in amusement and faced Chase and Remy. "We were going to order pizza for dinner. You guys in?"

Hell yeah, Chase and Remy were in. All in.