Six Degrees of Lust (34 page)

“In a nutshell, I’m not welcome around them until I’m totally

straight and probably the new President of the US of A.” Remy

didn’t smile at his friend’s joke. How could he, when he could see

how deeply hurt he really was?

“So what happens now?”

“I’m comin’ out. Mother might be ashamed of me being gay,

but I’m not. By the end of the year I plan on being out at work

and to all my friends. I know some won’t accept it… won’t accept

me, but I’m ready to deal with that. I gotta say though, I’m damn

happy you’re stickin’ around and I get to keep you… uh… in a

totally non-gay way, of course.”

“You mean to tell me you doubted I would?”

Mac’s blush was answer enough. Remy would’ve hit him, but

it made sense for Mac to think he could have lost him. After

having his family being total jerks about it, it was only logical.

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“You’ll always be my boy, no matter who you decide to be

with.”

He wiped some of his friend’s tears off with his fingers, and

then dried his own. He still had no idea what to do about his own

situation with Christian, but there was time to figure it out. At the

moment, it was more important that he reassured his best friend

he was loved and accepted.

“You said Amy thinks we’re lovers…” Remy said with a

frown. “So she knows… How does she feel about that?”

“She was accepting at first, but now wants for me to change.”

Mac wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “It doesn’t matter

what she feels. She was right there when I made the agreement

with my family… she’s part of it, and she damn well knew the

whole thing had an expiration date.”

“You need to explain this agreement to me, Mac.”

“I will, but not now… just… later, okay?”

Remy agreed reluctantly, because he was going crazy with the

amount of details that weren’t adding up in his head. But Mac

wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was he. It could wait.

“Later, then.”

“Thanks.”

“And speakin’ of lovers… are you seeing anyone?”

“Nah…” Mac rubbed his face with his hands and took a deep

breath. “Well, there’s this guy I met, but I couldn’t say I’m seeing

him.”

“Why not? Is it too soon or too complicated considering your

situation at home?”

“It’s more like a sexual arrangement between us,” Mac

mumbled. “He’s from New York, so the sex won’t be happenin’

that often anyway.”

“New York?” Remy was a smart guy. It only took him three

seconds to put the whole thing together. “So you met him that

time you went with Braxton?”

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“Yeah.”

“And Brax didn’t find out about you?”

“Nope. Sam, that’s his name, he’s damn gorgeous and I was

so attracted to him… I just had to have him, you know? But I

took as many precautions as I could.”

Remy could tell Mac felt giddy and a little embarrassed after

admitting to that. He could only imagine what a big deal it was

for him to finally be able to tell his best male friend about a guy

he liked.

Remy got up and pulled him toward the room. “Come on.”

He flashed a wicked smile and threw himself on his bed. “Ya

need to tell me everythin’, okay? About your family and your

plans and this guy that has you blushing like a little girl. We ain’t

leaving this place ‘til you’ve told me everything.”

July 9, 2009

New York City

“The Leviticus case, as dubbed by the Federal Bureau of

Investigation after the religious nature of the evidence found in

the crime scenes, may be closer to getting solved. A witness has

come forward and provided a physical description of a man who

might very well be the serial killer.” The image of the female

reporter was replaced by a sketch and a digital likeness. “The

person of interest in a case that to date has claimed the lives

of seven homosexual men in the Tri-State area, is said to be

originally from a southern state, in his early thirties, and goes

by the name of Peter, which is believed to be a false name. The

authorities urge the gay community to take precautions and all

citizens to contact the number on the bottom of your screen with

any information that will help the FBI identify and bring him in

for interrogation regarding the murders. The Police Department

and…”

The shattering of a thousand little pieces reverberated

throughout the entire basement when the almost full gallon of

turpentine landed right in the middle of the screen.

“Shut up!” he yelled at the TV. “Shut up, you stupid bitch!”

A can of paint followed the turpentine. Then it was a chair

and several brushes.

He started pacing around, trying to decide what to do about

having his identity exposed on national television.

He hadn’t foreseen something like that happening. None

of the other sinners had gone to the police after he’d warned

them about the consequences of their sinful lives. They’d just

242 Taylor V. Donovan

completely disregarded him and his words and carried on as

usual.

He should’ve known that little cocksucker was different the

moment he got brave enough to snap a picture of him the night

they went to dinner. He’d thought about sending the guy to hell

right away just for that transgression, but he couldn’t do that.

He wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. As a good Christian, it was his

responsibility to give the sinners fair warning and time to repent.

And he respected what that little fruit had done. The guy was

brave enough to take a picture even though he was shaking all

over in fear, and courage was a very manly thing. He deserved

the opportunity to turn his life around more than the others, but

now he’d done something that put his mission at risk, and that

was unacceptable.

He couldn’t have that faggot run his mouth and compromise

years of hard work in the name of the Lord. Not when everything

was going according to plan and his little Lamb seemed to be on

the road to total recovery from the modern day malady that was

homosexuality.

“Shit!”

He pulled at his hair, frantically trying to remember if there

were other details Ryan Lewis might have learned about him

during their brief encounter.

“I was very careful… I know I was…” he muttered, walking

to the small mirror on the wall. “That bitch reporter probably

said everything they know… which isn’t much… but they have a

sketch of me now… Shit! Shit! Shiiiiiiiiiiiit!”

He ran over to the corner where the TV had been, picked up

the chair and threw it against the wall this time. When it didn’t

break, he grabbed it and sat on it. Raking his trembling fingers

through his hair, he took several deep breaths and prayed for

wisdom, knowing the Lord would lead him through it all, but

it was imperative he be in total control in order to follow his

directive.

“They’re on to you now.” The voice interrupted his

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communication with the Lord. As usual, it seemed to come from

the darkest corner of the basement, but he couldn’t be sure.

“They know what you look like. It won’t be long till they find you

and throw your ass in jail.” There was a chuckle, then a sinister

laugh. “Or maybe they’ll send you to the electric chair instead.”

“God will not allow that,” he said, not bothering to look in

the voice’s direction, though it sounded closer now. “He has

bigger plans for me.”

“You won’t be able to hide now.” The voice moved again.

It seemed to be coming from behind him, or was it his left?

Sometimes it felt like it came from all corners at once.

“I can change my appearance easy enough.” He got up and

went to the table where he’d left his bag on the way in. “I can

keep them so busy they won’t have time to start looking for me.

But before I do that I’ve got to go take care of that little fruit.”

He was careful on his way out, going through the back and

jumping the fence onto the neighbor’s backyard; walking the next

ten blocks before catching a bus that would take him to the place

he’d parked his car this time.

He never came straight to the house. Not unless he was

driving the van and had trash to dispose of.

Once in his car he drove straight to the hospital where that

cocksucker Ryan worked. After weeks of following him he’d

learned his routine and could find him pretty much anywhere at

any given time.

He didn’t get out of his car until it was close to the time

when Ryan took one of his smoke breaks. He had yet to decide

what was he going to do, but he’d figure something out once he’d

taken the little asshole far enough.

As predicted, Ryan was smoking a cigarette on the sidewalk

across from the hospital, but he wasn’t alone.

“Damn it!”

He narrowed his eyes. There was that very pretty blond with

him again, and they seemed to be in deep conversation. He

244 Taylor V. Donovan

watched Ryan smile and put his arm around the girl’s skinny

shoulders briefly before taking a step back, but he kept touching

her arm… and she let him.

“What am I supposed to do now, God? What do you want

me to do?”

He stood behind a car and observed the whole thing. It

wouldn’t be smart to get too close just yet, as Ryan had this

tendency to constantly look around him. But he wasn’t sure if he

should get close. First he’d shown signs of courage and now he

had a girlfriend… it had to be a girlfriend, as he’d seen the blond

girl several times with Ryan outside the hospital during the past

few weeks.

He’d listened… Even though he’d gone to the police, he’d

listened to his warnings and seen the light.

“Damn it!”

He couldn’t do anything now. He needed to wait and see if

Ryan’s repentance was honest, but in the meantime he was going

to make sure the authorities wouldn’t be able to keep up with

him.

That was what God wanted him to do.

§ § § §

Ryan put the cigarette out and looked around one more time

before giving his full attention to the teenager in front of him. It

broke his heart to see so much pain. Sorrow and desperation were

deeply set in those beautiful blue-green eyes, and after months of

observing the dynamics among the family whenever they came

to visit, he was more than worried. This was one teenager that

seriously needed the support of the entire family, but the only

things they seemed to offer were mockery, scorn, and threats.

What was going to happen now that his grandmother—and

protector, from what he had gathered—was gone?

“I’m so sorry for your loss, sweetie,” he said. “I know how

close you were to your granny.” And that was an understatement.

The kid had practically lived in the hospital while the old lady

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fought for her life.

“Thanks… and thanks for… you know… allowing me to say

my goodbyes in private before you notified the family.”

“Don’t mention it.” After death had been pronounced, Ryan

had taken some time before placing the phone call to her son.

“I’m glad you had alone time with her before things get a little

hectic with the funeral arrangements.” He took a deep breath and

touched the skinny arm. “Are you going to the funeral?”

“No.” The answer was firm and immediate. “I can’t be around

her murderers.”

“Well, technically—”

“I know they did not pull a trigger or anything, but they tried

to take me away from her. It is their fault that she suffered a

stroke. In my eyes, they are murderers.”

Ryan definitely could see the reasoning behind that.

“So what now?” he asked softly. “Are you going back home?”

“Absolutely not. I refuse to stay there and allow them to make

me do degrading things because of the way I look. Their hands

are not touching me again. Besides, they told me not to ever

come back if I did not agree to their terms.”

Ryan wanted to ask what degrading things he was talking

about, but shut his mouth just in time. He knew that pushing for

information was the most effective way to get the teen to clam

up and run.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Perhaps.”

“Did you at least go to that center I told you about?”

As soon as Ryan met the family he’d put two and two together

and come up with lots of threatening and rejection towards the

teen.

Being a gay teen could be hard enough sometimes. Being a

gay teen that looked and occasionally behaved like a girl and didn’t

have any support from his family to boot could be devastating,

246 Taylor V. Donovan

so he’d mentioned Horizons to the kid in a very casual way. He

had a feeling Sasha Gabrienko didn’t allow for anyone to tell him