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“He’s not my cousin,” Leo shouted at his father. “And I got involved with Ross because I had feelings for him. Feelings that I had been denying because I was too worried about how you would feel about your son being gay, but I guess I know that answer now.” His father looked at him with so much disgust and hatefulness, that he felt like a little kid who had disappointed his dad. But Leo didn’t have anything to be ashamed of this time. Being with Ross was the most natural feeling he’d ever had. Ross was a part of him, and he’d never be ashamed of that.
“But I’m still trying to figure out why you staged your own kidnapping,” Leo said. “Was it just to punish me for being gay?”
“It was to punish you for going behind my back and lying to me about being gay,” his father shouted.
“And what would you have done if I had told you?” Leo asked.
His father didn’t hesitate with his answer. “I would have kicked you out of our family for good. You were trying to trick me into giving you the family business by lying to me about who you are.”
“I never lied to you, Dad,” Leo insisted. “I just kept a part of me a secret.” He would do it all over again because having to give up his relationship with his mother wasn’t an option, and his father would make sure that they’d never see each other again.
“So, what happens now, Dad?” Leo asked. “Are you going to have me killed to cover up the fact that you have a gay son?”
His father looked as though he was actually contemplating Leo’s suggestion. “If you leave, and promise to never come back, I’ll spare your life, for your mother’s sake. But if you show up in town again, I’ll make sure that you and Ross both pay for your disrespect.”
“You won’t lay a finger on Ross,” Leo shouted at his father.
His father barked out his laugh. “You’re not calling the shots here, Leo. I’ll make this simple for you. If you want to keep Ross safe, you will leave him and leave town. So, what’s it going to be?” his father asked as though he’d be able to make that kind of decision on the spur of the moment. There really wasn’t much to consider. Protecting Ross was his only option and if that meant never being able to see him again, Leo could find a way to live with that. Just knowing that Ross was alive and safe in the world would have to be enough for him.
“What will you tell Mom?” Leo whispered.
“I’ll tell her that you needed a break from this place and took off to find yourself, or some bullshit like that. I won’t break her heart the way that you’ve broken mine,” his father spat.
“Being gay isn’t a crime anymore, Dad,” Leo insisted. “But it’s okay that you can’t see past my sexuality and love me for just being your son. Why would I ever expect that from you? Over and over again, you’ve proven yourself to be an arrogant fool and tonight is no different.”
Leo turned his back on his father leaving the building, feeling panic wash over him for what he was about to do. He was about to walk away from his life and the man he loved. “I need your promise that you’ll leave town and won’t contact Ross again,” his father said. “He’s my new business partner, for better or worse, and I’d really hate to have to kill him when things are working out so nicely between us.” It always came down to business for his dad. His father was never a family man, and Leo knew the score. His dad loved his business more than he loved anyone in his family, and that fact just made Leo feel sad for his father.
“I’m leaving town and won’t contact Ross,” he agreed, hating the way that his voice cracked when he said Ross’s name. The last thing he wanted to do in front of his father was cry. Leo took a deep breath and headed for the parking lot, hoping that he’d be able to keep it together until he got to his car.
He didn’t bother to say goodbye to his father, there was no point. Leo needed to figure out where he was going to go because the one thing that he knew about his father was that he hardly ever kept his promises, but that worked for him because Leo didn’t plan on keeping his either. He needed to lay low for a few days and then he’d call Ross and tell him everything. Hopefully, his guy would be understanding and forgive him because he was the only family Leo had left now. The one thing Leo knew for sure was that he couldn’t go home again. It was the only way to keep Ross safe.
It had been two days since he left his father’s office and Leo wasn’t able to contact Ross. He knew that his father had men watching him, and taking a chance to reach out to Ross wasn’t something that he was willing to do. Instead, he laid low and hoped that sooner or later, his father would get bored of playing the cat-and-mouse game that he was with him.
Honestly, Leo didn’t expect his father to keep his promise not to harm Ross or him. His father wasn’t very good at playing fairly, and Leo knew that better than anyone. He just expected his dad to give him a little bit more time before sending men after him. For now, he was safe, but for how long was the question?
He had called his mother to fill her in on what was happening, and she asked if he’d meet her. Leo wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not. He never thought that he couldn’t trust his own mother, but a part of him worried that she was made to choose a side, and she’d chose his father. Leo headed out an hour before their meeting, knowing that he’d have to lose the tail his father had probably put on him, and drove around in circles until he was sure that he wasn’t being followed.
The house that he was staying in had great security, but leaving the place put him at risk, and he knew it. His father’s men couldn’t get to him once he was barricaded in the house, but out in the real world, they were a threat.
Leo pulled into the parking garage where he had agreed to meet his mother and parked his car. He quickly looked around, double-checking that he hadn’t been followed, and when he decided that he was safe, he cut his engine and waited for his mom to show up. Ten minutes later, he was about to give up on her showing up and leave. When he saw her car pull around the corner and park next to his, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t been a little boy for a long time, but there was something about his mom coming to his rescue that made him feel that way again.
He jumped out of his car and waited for his mom to open her door. When she didn’t, he panicked, looking inside to find her crying. She cracked the window and sobbed something about being sorry, and Leo worried that she had set him up.
“Get out of the car, Mom,” he shouted through the cracked window.
“I’m not supposed to get out of the car,” his mother cried. “Your father left me no choice. He said that he wouldn’t hurt you if I did as he asked and lured you here.”
“Shit,” he cursed. Leo knew that his father’s men were going to be there any minute and that he was just about out of time. “Dad is a liar, Mom. You should know that better than anyone. He’s cheated on you his whole life and you’re going to just believe him now?” Leo knew that standing in the parking garage, fighting with his mother would get him nowhere. He needed to get back to the safehouse before his father’s guys showed up.
“I’m sorry,” his mother sobbed again, “I love you, Leo.” He didn’t bother to give his mother back those words. He didn’t believe them when she said them to him—not now. Ross had said those words to him, and God, he should have believed him. Instead, he threw those words back in Ross’s face by leaving him without a word. He was an ass, and all he wanted to do was tell his guy those three little words because he did—he loved Ross, and now, he might not be able to say those words to him ever again.
He got in his car, starting to back out, when a black SUV pulled up behind him, blocking him in. He thought about pulling his gun out of his glove compartment, but he knew that it would do him no good. His father had sent about six guys to bring him in—or worse, and trying to stop them wouldn’t end well for him.
Everything seemed to start moving in slow motion around them as his father’s men surrounded his car. His mother jumped out of her car, shouting for them to not hurt him, but he knew that her please would fall on deaf ears. The head of his father’s security team told his mother to get back into her car, and she complied as soon as he showed her his gun. He didn’t expect her to put her life at risk for him, but he never imagined that she’d sell him out this way. One thing was for sure—his father wasn’t going to just let him go again this time. And promise or no, Leo planned on going down fighting.
Ross
Ross had spent the better part of a week trying to hunt down Leo. He had his guys out looking for him too, tracking down leads and nothing was turning up. He hated that Leo was running from him and everything that they had built together. The worst part about Leo going missing was having to deal with his father again. He could tell that Tony knew more than he was letting on, but he wasn’t sharing any information with Ross.
