Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
“ S o, I’m going to have Jett, Sniper, Hawk, and Cowboy to the different villages to see if they can get any more details on what happened and why.” Kade said as he settled back against his seat hiding a wince as his back made it clear it didn’t like that movement, he really should have gone home and not slept at his desk.
“I would like the names of the people he killed and the next of kin…I would like to help in any way I can. If at all possible, I have no idea how the man I married could be the same man who did this, but it’s not right.” Leo said softly.
Kade shook his head. “I’ll let them know to ask, but I have to warn you they probably won’t react well to that fact. The families will want revenge. This isn’t America where we rely on a fucked up judicial system. They rely on themselves and will take an eye for an eye.”
Leo nodded. “I know, but I want to at least try.”
“I understand. I’ll tell my guys to ask and see what we can do. It won’t bring back their lost ones, but it could at least help to mend fences, and not cause problems for others that are sent to those areas.” Kade sighed. “They’ll leave at 0500. I wanted to check and see if you wanted to go with them, Torres.”
Torres looked at Leo. “No, I’ll sit this one out.” He wouldn’t leave Leo behind on something like this.
Kade nodded and grinned. “Cowboy will hate to hear that.”
Torres shrugged. “He’ll get over it.” He grinned. He’d have to call Cowboy and tease him later.
Kade snorted. “Right. Are you heading to talk to Paul?” He asked around a yawn.
Torres sighed. “Yeah, I’m going to try to see if he’ll talk to me.” He didn’t really have any hope of this going well.
Kade nodded. “Let me know. I’ll let you know as soon as the guys land.” He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. He might as well try to get a few minutes of shut-eye before he set the plan into motion. He’d be no good to anyone if he was too tired to think things through. Man, he needed a fucking vacation.
“Thanks, brother.” Torres clapped a hand on Kade’s shoulder before leading Leo back to the car. “Do you want me to drop you off at your parents while I do this?”
“Can I come with you or would that make things worse?” Leo asked, looking over at Torres as he strapped into the car. “I want to be there for you but I don’t want to make things harder for him than they already are.”
“You can always come with me.” Torres smiled and jiggled Leo’s knee. “Just ignore him if he starts spouting bullshit.” He really hoped his brother wouldn’t. While the man knew he was gay, he tended to spout bible verses when he was uncomfortable around new things and Torres could only hope he’d keep his mouth shut about the whole gays are going to hell thing.
“He’s in pain. I won’t take anything he says to heart. I just want to be there for you. I know this is hard on you, and you’re trying to do the right thing for everyone else. I just want you to know I have your back on that.” Leo grinned at him.
Torres yanked Leo to him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him hard. “Thank you, baby.” He said breathlessly when he allowed Leo to pull back.
Leo snickered. “You’re welcome.” He kept his fingers intertwined with Torres’ as he drove, but stayed quiet, to let his man think about what was about to happen. When they arrived, Leo followed behind Torres, letting him decide the pace. He waited patiently as Torres worked up the nerve to knock on the door.
Paul answered the door disheveled and hungover, his eyes bloodshot and the bags underneath spoke volumes. His hair was plastered to the side of his head and he smelled like a distillery.
“Jesus, Paul,” Torres said quietly as he took in his brother’s rough state, the man’s eyes were flat and dull, his hair greasy and wild, he looked like he hadn’t slept in days and his face was drawn in pain, the scruff on his cheeks and chin didn’t help his look.
“What do you want?” Paul croaked, squinting his eyes to try to focus as he held onto the door for balance, afraid if he let go of it, he wouldn’t be able to hold himself up anymore. He couldn’t seem to grasp how this could have happened. He was a good man, or at least tried to me. He never raised a hand to his wife or his kid. He worshiped god like he was supposed to and tried his best to not sin. He’d always repented if he did. He knew the Bible said God gave his biggest battles to his strongest soldiers, but he didn’t remember ever signing up for the war.
“I came to check on you and to talk.” Torres said, bracing himself for whatever his brother was going to say.
Paul just shook his head and moved away from the door. “Nothing to say.” He sighed as he sank into the couch, staring at the picture of him and his wife and son on the mantle. The tears pressed hot against the back of his eyes. He loved that damn kid more than he’d ever loved anyone. He had always loved Catherine, although it was more of a platonic love they’d had a good marriage for the most part or so he had thought.
Torres entered the house slowly, allowing Leo to move in behind him as he shut the door. “Yeah, there is, because I want you to know I had no idea about this.” He tried to keep his voice calm and even and not jump to the defense, Paul hadn’t accused him of anything yet so he didn’t want to start a fight.
“I know. Catherine told me what happened. I don’t blame you, Judas…Vince.” Paul said, correcting himself when he saw Leo’s glare. He loved his little brother, but he had no idea how to relate to him anymore. If he’d followed all God’s rules and ended up like this, was it all a lie? Was there nothing really wrong with his brother? Would he go to heaven? His brain and his heart ached trying to understand.
Torres nodded. “Good, although there is nothing I could do if you did blame me, but I’m glad you don’t. My question to you is do you still want to be a part of Gabe’s life, because he wants you to be, but I won’t push you.”
Paul looked at his brother. “Where is he?”
“With Catherine until tomorrow, she got mad he wanted to be with me, and that caused them to fight, so I asked him to spend the night with her so we can try to mend that.” Torres sighed as he sat on the coffee table in front of his brother.
“I am so sorry Vince…” Paul’s voice gave out. “I am sorry for what she did to you. I don’t understand how she could do something like that to another person. Had I known I would have done something, I promise you that.” The tears came hot and fast as he tried to get Torres to believe him.
Torres laid his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know, Paul, and while I hate the thought of what she did to me and refuse to even think about it, it had nothing to do with you and everything to do with her. You were a good husband to her and an amazing father to Gabe. Make no mistake and she didn’t deserve you. Gabe is an amazing kid, Paul, and that’s mostly you because it sure as hell ain’t from her.”
The tears fell faster. “I tried.” He made a hiccuping noise as the tears fell. “Really tried to be a good man to her, even through the fights, the insults, the threats. I always tried to be a good man to her.”
Torres reached forward and pulled his brother close. “I know you did. I saw it, Paul. You’re a better man than me for putting up with her as long as you did. You deserve better.” He let his brother cry as he held him and looked over to check on Leo, who was watching him with a soft expression. “What?” He mouthed.
Leo smiled and shook his head. It spoke volumes about his man that he would hold the brother he wasn’t close to in comfort as the man’s world shattered because he felt bad his brother was in pain.
“I’m not ready yet, but give me some time and I’ll want to see Gabe again, maybe start slow.” Paul said roughly as he sat back. “I need to figure out what I need to do to make sure Catherine can’t get a hold of my assets.”
“I understand, but didn’t Dad make her sign a prenup, cheating being the only thing that would make it to where she would be out on her own?” Torres asked, it wasn’t exactly how he wanted this to go but he knew his brother was hurting.
“Did he?” Paul asked, confused.
Torres shook his head. “Come on, you need to get some sleep.” He hauled Paul to his feet and led him back to the guest bedroom, understanding his brother didn’t want to be in the master bedroom at this point. He poured his brother into the bed and covered him. “Get some sleep, Paul, I’ll check on you later.” He needed to go talk with his dad and see if everything Paul had worked for would stay protected.
Paul grunted his agreement, his eyes already closing.
“You’re such a softie.” Leo snickered as they closed up and headed back to the car.
“Softie…me?” Torres asked, pointing at his chest.
“Oh, yes, you dear are a softie.” Leo laughed at Torres’ glare as they pulled away. “But you’re more than welcome to take me home and show me how not soft you can be.”
“Jesus, I need to talk to my dad.” Torres swore under his breath as he punched the gas. As he pulled out on the highway, Kade called. “What’s up, Kade?”
“Boys just landed in Madaba, Jordan. They’ll recon the area and see what they can find out, then move on. I just wanted to let you know.” Kade said through a yawn.
“Thanks, man. Do you need me for anything else today?” Torres asked as he blew through a yellow light.
“Nope, I’m going home and taking a nap.” Kade grumbled.
Torres chuckled. “All right, call me if you need anything else.”
“Will do, have a fun night lover boy.” Kade said before he hung up.
“Dick.” Torres mumbled as Leo laughed. “You wanna come with me to talk to my parents?”
“Yeah, I’m definitely not letting you go there alone. They can deal with my presence.” Leo crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke.
Torres chuckled. “Yes, they can.” When he pulled into his regular spot, he immediately got out and headed to the front door to knock.
“Judas, what are you doing here?” His mother asked when she answered the door, not bothering to open it enough for him to come inside.
“I need to talk to Dad about Paul.” Torres told her, ignoring her rudeness. “Paul is trying to make sure Catherine can’t get any of his assets. Dad made the comment that he made her sign a prenup and that cheating was one of the stipulations. He needs to talk to Paul to make sure he’s got everything correct for when they get a divorce.”
“How dare you, Judas, you caused your brother’s divorce and now you want your father to fix it.” She snapped.
Torres just shook his head at her. “The fact that you don’t give a shit that I was violated in this shows how much of a shit mother you are.” He didn’t bother saying anything else after she gasped in horror and turned to grab Leo before heading back to the car. It was time to go home and spend some time with his man.