Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Levi
I 'm not sure if he wants me near him right now, but I rub Adam's back as he vomits, then hand him a napkin and some water. The bottle of bleach I used to clean up after myself earlier is still next to the sink. After leading him to sit down, pulling the trashcan out next to him in case he might not be finished, I clean and sanitize the kitchen sink and counter. I take longer than I need to, trying to give Adam time to process, and myself time to figure out my next move.
There's more to show him, of course there is. A man who is capable of what his father has done has a lot more skeletons in his closet than even what I've uncovered.
Adam speaks, drawing my attention. "He got the Albas deported."
It isn't a question. He must have already suspected some involvement, but the file in his hands is hard proof, not only that he targeted the Alba family, but that he's been paying off judges. There are more records like that one, where he's paid judges or other officials for various favors.
He sits with this knowledge for a little while, looking through each paper, giving them new attention and focus now that he understands what he's looking at. It's quiet, and I'm wondering if I should leave. He hasn't so much as looked at me since I showed him the worst of it. And he's been understandably withdrawn since I told him the truth of my involvement with him.
Part of me wishes I’d never met him, or that we met under different circumstances. But, honestly, none of those scenarios would have led to a happy ending for us, either. It's a gut-wrenching fact that I have to acknowledge. I don't deserve a man like Adam. And he certainly doesn't deserve me. He's too sweet and soft, everything good in the world, and I'm filled with too much anger and hate. And lust.
All I've done is taint him. Punished him for the sins his father committed. Dragged him to hell with me.
"I have something to show you," Adam says. He sounds like he’s still in shock.
He keeps his eyes averted and walks out of the kitchen, to a door near the pool table. Through the door is a small hallway. We pass an impressive home gym on the left, and towards the end of the hallway is a door.
The room is dark. It takes Adam a second to find the light switch, and when he turns it on, I see that we're in a large storage space. There are bins marked with various holidays, most of them Christmas decorations. Along the far wall, there's a row of file cabinets. Adam bends down and runs his fingers along the bottom of the cabinets until he locates a small black box, which he pulls a key out of. He uses the key to unlock the file cabinets and opens a drawer towards the bottom left.
"I lost trust in my father a long time ago. A few years back, during the worst of the pandemic, I started getting suspicious about things. The rest of the world was suffering, people were losing their lives, their jobs, their homes, but we seemed to be thriving. My father was making more money than ever before, despite no longer working at the firm. I felt like something was off."
He moves all the files to the front to reach the back of the drawer, where he pulls out a stack of files. "Turns out he invested in a lot of pharmaceutical companies shortly before official news of the virus started to spread. One might say it was a smart move, and sadly not illegal, but I kept looking. Some of the money transfers and investments seemed off."
Adam hands me the stack of files. "I'm sure there's more, and not all of that is exactly concrete, but I think it's enough to warrant an investigation. Offshore accounts, shell companies, and I'm pretty sure insider trading. I highlighted a bunch of transactions that I wasn't sure about at the time, but now that I've seen what you’ve found, it could be evidence of more bribes."
Speechless and unsure what I'm supposed to do, I look down at the heavy stack of files in my arms before blinking up at Adam. He still doesn’t meet my eye.
"I knew my father was dishonest. Corrupt, even. It seems like all rich politicians are. I prayed for him and had this juvenile plan to donate every cent of my inheritance when he dies. But I had no idea it was this bad. I promise you, I didn't know. I didn't know he was ruining people's lives, hurting them. What he did to your sister…" he gags but holds up a hand when I try to step forward.
"My father is member and donor to The Heritage Foundation. 'Saving babies' and 'traditional values' are the top platforms that he's run and won on. He's fought for anti-abortion reform and legislation that even I felt went too far, and then he goes and forces a young woman that he was committing adultery with to have an abortion against her will? This cannot stand, Levi. He can't get away with this."
Adam sniffs and wipes at his nose with his wrist before straightening his spine. "I don't know how to feel about us, and what you did to get close to me. I feel… used. And I don’t know if I can ever forget how much this hurts. I thought… God, I’m so stupid.” Another sniff, and a deep breath. My eyes are closed, listening to his words but unable to watch the way he can't even look at me. "But I also understand why you did it. And I think that maybe the outcome, getting justice for your sister and all the other people my father has wronged, justifies the means."
"Adam, I?—"
"I'm not ready to forgive you. As much as I understand, I'm not strong enough to let this go yet. But I want to help. What else can I do to help?"
It takes several moments to process what he's just said, and even longer to sputter out the words spinning around in my brain. "I—I don't know. This is a lot, though. A good start. Like you said, it should be enough to warrant at least an investigation. I know someone, from my computer forums, that works in Washington. He's an intern at the U.S. Attorney's Office. I already messaged him, and he says he can meet me. It's safer to do in person, so I?—"
"I want to go with you."
My eyebrows shoot to my hairline.
"It's a six-hour drive, and we'll have to stay overnight." Or longer, depending on whether it would be safe to return.
As much as I'm dying to keep him close, to find a way to make things right between us, I don't want him to risk anything or be uncomfortable.
"That's okay. I don't really have anywhere else to be right now. I can't stay here."
I nod, understanding what he means. "Okay. Um, pack a bag and then we'll need to stop by my place real quick so I can do the same."
He jogs out of the storage room, and I follow behind slowly, walking like I'm in a trance. This doesn't feel real.
"You want me to leave the pot?"
I jerk my head up to look at the older woman in a blue apron, my blurry eyes focusing on her nametag. Sal.
"Um, yes, please. Thanks, Sal."
"Long night?" she asks as she tops off my coffee cup.
"You have no idea."
Chuckling, she sets an insulated pot down on the table and says she'll be back around to check on our table when my guest arrives.
Adam is waiting in the car, sipping on his own to-go coffee and waiting for me to do the exchange. We left his truck parked at the church, where we used the office to make copies of everything we have, and took my car since it gets better gas mileage. It will also be harder to track us down if Senator Havre gets suspicious about Adam's absence, but Adam doesn't expect they'll notice him gone until Wednesday night church services. And by then, the deed will be done. Hopefully, an investigation will be underway. It's probably too much to hope for an arrest by then.
A tall, thin black guy with wire-framed glasses and a mess of curly black hair emerges next to the booth.
"Levi?"
"In the flesh," I say, grinning.
Standing, I ignore his offered hand to shake and pull him in for a hug. I've known Freddie for the better part of ten years, but only online. We met playing an online role-playing game when we were middle schoolers and became fast friends even though we've never talked face to face. We've texted, chatted, and thrown conspiracy theories back and forth in our favorite forums nearly every day, and know more about each other's lives than any of our in real life friends do. It's an unusual friendship, for sure. But I trust him, and he has the right connections.
"Wow. So, you are a real person."
I laugh out loud. "I'm going to need to get a selfie so I can show my mom proof that you aren't some old pervert living in his mother's basement."
"I keep telling you I’m not old!”
We banter back and forth until Sal comes to take our orders. I order two club sandwiches and three pieces of pie to go. Freddie just orders a coffee to go since he has to get to the office early enough to talk to his boss. Once Sal walks away, I give Freddie a meaningful look.
"Thank you for meeting me and helping. I have a lot of stuff, but I'm not sure how much of it means anything. I think there's at least enough here to open an investigation, even outside of the evidence regarding my sister."
Freddie knows what happened to my sister, so I told him what I found. After I assured him I didn't touch anything with my bare hands, he told me to put everything back where I found it and take several photos. Once he shows his boss and gets advice from someone higher up, they're going to contact someone that isn't likely to be in Senator Havre's pocket to report the crime to.
Freddie pulls the box over next to him and peeks inside. He whistles. "You're right, there's a lot."
"Those are all copies, but I have the originals, or at least what was in his files. And pictures of everything else, like the pill bottles and the phone. I'll turn it all over to whatever official or police investigator as soon as it's safe."
"You did good, Levi. I'm not gonna lie. I thought you were nuts when you talked about getting close to him to expose him. But you did the damn thing."
"I had some help."
He frowns at me. "I thought you'd be happier."
"Yeah, me too."
Through the diner window, I can see Adam dozing in the passenger seat of my car. My heart twinges. I can't believe he's here with me. The drive was tense and silent. We barely talked to each other outside of bringing up stops for bathroom breaks or caffeine, or to switch off driving duties. Not that either of us slept. I'm glad to see he's resting a little now. The last nine hours have been physically and emotionally exhausting.
Sal brings our orders out, and Freddie pays for everything, despite my protests.
"Go check into your hotel, get some rest. I'll check in with you later today, but it might be tomorrow before John gets through all of this, depending on his court schedule today. Just rest and take it easy, maybe do some touristy shit to get your mind off things."
"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Freddie."
He pulls me in for another hug and thumps me on the back. "I'm happy to help, man. It's really good to see you in person. Maybe if you stick around for a while, we can have dinner or go out? This town has some decent nightlife."
"Sounds good."
We walk out together. Freddie is parked just a few spaces away from my car, and he sees the handsome sleeping man in my passenger seat. He raises his eyebrows and nods like he's impressed.
I wish I could smile back at him and be like, "Yeah man, I know, right? He's just as gorgeous inside as he is out, too." I want to be proud to have him. But he's not mine, and he never will be because I fucked this up so monumentally. Not only did I lose him, but I made him second guess himself. Just when he was coming to terms with having feelings for another man. Just when he'd let go and let himself feel and enjoy.
"Alright, man. I'll check in with you later."
With one last thank you and a wave, I get in the car and place the bag of food in the back seat. Adam sleeps the whole way to the hotel Freddie recommended, and I leave him to check in. When I come back with the key, he's awake but a little disoriented.
"Let's get inside and eat, shower, and sleep—in whatever order works best for you," I say, grabbing my duffle and the bag of food. Adam follows me quietly. Maybe I should have booked him his own room, but I'm worried about him being alone. I might not be his favorite person or the best company right now, but I don't want him spiraling or anything like that.
But then I unlock the door and realize just how much I screwed up.