Six Degrees of Lust (14 page)

talented artists that were sure to attract the crowds. She smiled at

Luna Montero’s sculpture and grinned at Julian Michels’ painting.

The guy may be a shitty boyfriend, but he was gifted beyond

belief. Next was the sample of Landon Phillip’s work.

Although he was a favorite of Gabi’s from the moment she’d

discovered him in Atlanta five years ago, they’d had a very hard

time choosing a piece from his new collection to include in the

catalog. As opposed to his previous three showcases, where

he had presented twenty-five impressionist pieces that spoke

of beauty, happiness, freedom, and love, this time he was only

doing five pieces, insisting that five was enough for people to

understand the theme of the collection.

So far they had seen four out of the five pieces, respectively

92 Taylor V. Donovan

titled Desperation, Fear, Torture, and Hopelessness. Landon’s

vision had taken a turn for the dark and disturbing side since his

wife was killed in an armed robbery three years ago, a clear sign

that he was having a hard time dealing with his grief. Gabi was

worried out of her mind for the artist who was also a friend. He

needed some counseling and he needed it soon, before he hurt

himself.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and was about to check

her messages when she heard a knock on the office door. “Come

in.”

Marie, her assistant, entered and cleared her throat, a slight

blush covering her cheeks.

“Is there something you need?”

“There are two gentlemen here to see you. Two extremely

handsome gentlemen,” she finished with a flirty smile, handing

Gabi the business card she was holding. Marie was hardly the

blushing type, so the men must be quite the lookers.

Gabi was unable to hold back her own smile when she read

the name. “Please tell Agent Brandenburg I’ll be with him in just

a moment.”

“Is everything okay?” Marie looked worried for a second,

then flustered all over again. “I mean, they are with the FBI.”

“Everything is fine. Logan is a friend of a friend. Just go

tell them I’ll be right out and see if there’s anything you can get

them.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Marie backed out of the office in what seemed to Gabi a little

bit of a rush, probably eager to be in Logan’s presence for as long

a time as possible, and who could blame her? Mr. Brandenburg

was a gorgeous man.

She walked over to her grandmother’s antique mirror and

inspected her appearance. After making sure her makeup was

intact and there was no lint on her emerald green blouse and

cream colored slacks, she went to meet the guy.

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Marie walked up to her as soon as she saw her in the main area

of the gallery. “They didn’t want anything to drink, but appear to

be very interested in the art. Maybe we can make a sale.”

“I like the way you think, girl.”

“They’re waiting in Moments Privé.”

“Thanks.”

§ § § §

“I see you found your way to Christian’s exclusive exhibition.”

Logan and Duncan were standing in front of a painting titled

“Café,” admiring it in complete silence when Gabi’s low voice

reached them from the door.

“It’s good to see you again.” Logan met her halfway, kissing

her on both cheeks. “And may I say you look smashing? Totally

makes a boy want to reconsider his preference.”

“Oh shut up!” She grinned and Logan winked at her. “What

brings you to Metaphora, love? Chris is not here today. He’ll be

very disappointed to know he missed you.”

“I called him earlier and he said he had some photography

work to do, but that I could stop by and talk to you about artists

and paintings. Is that okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

“This alcove is exquisite,” he said in a very low voice, unwilling

to disturb the intimate and serene atmosphere of the place. “The

illumination alone takes my breath away.”

“We call it in Moments Privé. And we’re very proud of it.”

Logan and Gabi turned when the third person in the room

cleared his throat.

“Gabriela Moreau, meet Special Agent Duncan Kowalski,

one of my teammates.”

Gabi stepped forward at the same time as Duncan and the

two shook hands. He kept her hand a little longer than necessary,

but Gabi didn’t seem to mind.

94 Taylor V. Donovan

“Pleasure to meet you, Agent Kowalski.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Moreau.”

“Please, call me Gabi.”

“Duncan.”

“Hi, Duncan.”

Logan watched her smile again, and darn it if she didn’t look

like a frigging teenager all of a sudden.

“And now that we got that out of the way,” Logan muttered,

eager to move things along and slightly disturbed by the look

passing between Gabi and Duncan. “I had no idea Christian was

an artist. I thought he was only the owner of the gallery.”

He glanced around the room, incapable of deciding which

painting he liked most. He’d come to the gallery with the intention

of showing Gabi some photographs of the little paintings

recovered from several crime scenes and see if she recognized the

style or work. He’d never expected to see something so beautiful.

“He’s very modest,” Gabi joined him in front of the painting

he’d been admiring when she first walked into the room. “Never

brags about his work, even though he most definitely could. Isn’t

he fabulously talented?”

“That he is.” The answer came from Duncan, also in a low

voice. “I noticed none of the paintings are for sale.”

“They all represent special, pivotal moments in Christian’s

life.” Gabi smiled at Duncan when he walked over to them. “He

would never part with any of them. This was the most wonderful

little coffee place by the bay in San Francisco. Chris and I spent

hours there planning our futures while enjoying the coffee and

looking out the window.” She smiled at the memory. “We used to

take the same table every day.”

“This is an interesting style,” Logan said, moving along

with Duncan to look at the next painting. “Looks familiar, even

though I have no idea what it is called.”

It was of a gazebo of some sort, with the silhouette of a man

lying on a day bed, his dark blond hair falling to the side. The way

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95

the light filtered through the colors and the man’s naked back,

buttocks, and long legs gave the painting an air of intimacy, and

for a second Logan felt like he was violating Christian’s privacy

and he had no business looking at it.

“It’s called Pointillism.” They all moved onto the next

painting while Gabi explained, “In plain English, it means a

series of patterns made from tiny dots of color. Christian has a

very particular way of seeing the world. He believes that almost

everything in our lives comes down to how infinitesimal we are in

the grand scheme of things, that particles of our being are ripped

apart then put back together every single day. He feels Pointillism

represents his vision the best. He has a unique sense of style

and the detail and color of his work is fascinating.” Pride for her

friend was evident in her tone.

The next picture was of an older woman working in her rose

garden “That was Christian’s grandmother, Mrs. Violet Jean

Murphy. Wonderful lady, supportive of Chris to the very end,

even when she was frowned upon for encouraging her grandson’s

immorality, which is how some members of their church referred

to Chris’s homosexuality. The two were very close.”

“What happened to her?” Duncan asked, but Logan noticed

he seemed to be more interested in looking at Gabi than the

paintings. Couldn’t blame him. She really was stunning.

“She died back in 2003. There was a robbery and for a while

the police looked into it as murder, but they could never prove it.

At the end the death was ruled as accidental. The gallery we have

in Houston belonged to her. She left it to Christian, along with

everything else.”

Gabi moved on to the next painting. Three figures were

standing in what looked like a graveyard. A brown haired man

was flanked by a blond one and a brunette girl. They were all

wearing dark clothes and although only their backs were visible,

Logan could see their pain.

“That’s me and Chris with our friend Landon at his wife’s

funeral.” Gabi shook her head. “Such a tragic and unnecessary

loss.”

96 Taylor V. Donovan

Logan squeezed her shoulder briefly. “What happened?”

“She was the victim of an armed robbery on her way home

from work. Got attacked by this beautiful boy… a homeless gay

teen hooked on drugs.”

“He shot her?”

“He didn’t have bullets in his weapon,” she explained with a

sigh. “But she fainted when he pointed it at her. Leah, that’s her

name, fell and hit her head. It was instant. The boy himself got

the police and stayed with her until she was taken away.”

The next painting was of a building set in a grove of trees

and a beautiful landscape bursting with brightly colored flowers.

“This is the LGBT center we used to visit when we were

attending college, a place that was very near and dear to our

hearts. We both spent a lot of time there, striving for equality

for all people. It’s a cause I’ll be fighting for until the day I die.”

“May I ask why?” Duncan asked.

Logan frowned at his teammate. The question was completely

out of line and the answer wasn’t any of Duncan’s business.

“Most of my friends are part of the LGBT community. I

support and help their efforts to the best of my capability,” Gabi

answered with a bright smile, and Duncan about swallowed his

tongue right then and there.

“Which, in my opinion, is completely admirable.” Duncan

gave a smile of his own, checking her out from head to toe as

soon as she turned around and walked to the next painting.

He was so lost appreciating her magnificent curves he totally

missed Logan’s elbow until it connected with his stomach.

This was not good.

“Fuck.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Logan asked

through his teeth.

“I keep thinking that Leah could still be alive had this kid

gone to an LGBT center and gotten some help,” Gabi said.

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97

“Instead he’s doing time in a rehabilitation facility and our friend

Landon is consumed by grief because nobody’s paying for his

wife’s death.”

“I’m not doing anything!”

“Knock it off!”

“This is The Heat Wave, located in Houston.” Gabi pointed

at the buildings on the next painting, completely oblivious to the

exchange taking place behind her. “Our friend Braxton Sinclair

owns the place. We visit it every time we’re down there on

business.”

“What exactly is The Heat Wave?” Logan asked.

“It’s the name the three establishments are referred to by

pretty much everybody. This one here is The Five Alarm, a

sports bar.” She pointed to one of the buildings on the painting.

“And this is Utopia, one of the finest restaurants I’ve been to. If

you ever visit Houston make sure to stop by. Remy, the executive

chef, will greet you personally and make sure you’re well taken

care of. The final building is Inferno, Brax’s newest endeavor.”

“Inferno?” Both guys asked at the same time.

“It’s a very popular gay club. So popular that Brax is planning

on opening a second one here in NYC. I’ve only seen it during

day time but I can tell it is magnificent. The decoration alone,

with the laser flames and whatnot, is to die for.”

“Death by flames,” muttered Duncan, a frown on his forehead

Logan knew meant he was making the connection between the

flames pattern they had seen on the evidence recovered from

their crime scenes and a gay club called Inferno. “Would love to

check out the club.”

“Do you frequent gay clubs, Duncan?”

Gabi’s eyes opened to the size of saucers as soon as the words

escaped her mouth. She bit her lower lip hard, but even though

her face was flushed and she looked like she wished the floor

would open and swallow her, she didn’t look away.

“As a matter of fact I do,” Duncan replied, never breaking

98 Taylor V. Donovan

eye contact with her. “Our unit deals with hate crimes. The gay

community is often a target. But if you’re asking me if I’m gay—”

“I am asking, yes.”

“I am not,” he said in a very low voice, finally looking away.

“Who’s the guy in the gazebo painting?” Logan was irritated

to no end. He needed to have a conversation with Duncan pronto.

“That’s Braxton,” Gabi said with a fond smile. “Gorgeous

back, don’t you think? And I can tell you, it doesn’t hold a candle

to his front. The guy is stunning.”

“Is Christian romantically involved with him?” Duncan asked,